Falling for Fall

Fall is definitely here and, while I'm not thrilled about the dropping temperatures, I've actually been really enjoying it. I love that, unlike the past few years when the whole season seemed to go by in a flash, the transition this year has been much slower and smoother. Granted, it was bittersweet to see the leaves on a few trees start turning red in the middle of August, but the colourful show is still going on now, almost two months later, and it feels like every day they're only getting prettier. It's really been an autumn more beautiful than I've ever seen before here in our corner of the world. Needless to say, it's been a treat to go for walks around the neighbourhood lately, and attempt to capture a fraction of the beauty that can be seen with the naked eye.

I'd love to know, what is the weather like where you are? Are you enjoying an equally beautiful fall season?

PS: A few of my favourite sights from past autumn seasons: 2014 and 2015.

Knotted Beauty

A few months ago, I mentioned on Instagram that I was spending the afternoon taking pictures of a few scarves that my mom had crocheted. Thankfully, after a couple of hours of photographing, I got to see the results of my efforts and I was actually pretty happy with how they turned out, so I wanted to share a few of them here as well, because this is not a frequent occurrence in this camera-challenged girl's life.

Like I mentioned, the scarves were all crocheted by my mom, after learning this beautiful new stitch called "Solomon's knot", as a way to use up some of the yarns we have around the house and to stay busy during her long commute to and from work.

The reason I was photographing them is because we decided to list them on Etsy. As much as we love a handmade scarf, we really don't need so many of the same, and we'd rather share them with others who will appreciate their beauty and softness just as much as we do.

Besides, after seeing how beautiful this pattern looks, I've requested a larger, shawl-sized scarf, that I can drape over my shoulders and wear during all 4 seasons, not just the 3 colder ones that these scarves are perfect for. To this day though, I'm still debating what colour or yarn I'd like my shawl to be crocheted with (maybe one of these neutral, lighter yarns that we have in the shop?), which always seems to be the hardest choice for me when it comes to handmade projects. Usually, when I pick the material first, I know almost instantly what I would like to make with it, but when I pick the project first, I have the hardest time settling on the material.

Does this only happen to me? What is the hardest choice for you when starting a new project? And also, speaking of Etsy, what are your favourite shops there?

PS: Naturally, I had my whiskered assistant along with me for the picture-taking, to make sure everything was in order!

Show of Beauty

By now, we are well into the fall season. Thankfully, it's still the beautiful part of the season, in which the trees are filled with the most gorgeous shades of yellow, orange and red, the leaves that have already fallen are crunching under every step, and there is a tolerable crispness in the air. I know this part won't last much longer though. As I look out the window, I can already see more leaves on the ground than there are left in the trees; yesterday, although mild, was one of the windiest days in a long time, and the weather lady keeps reminding us to go out and enjoy all this beauty and colour, because it will only be here for another weekend or two at most. In other words, the grey part will take over soon. But I'm doing my best not to think of it and instead just enjoy what is.

The other week, I took out my camera and photographed all the colours in our neighbourhood and I love how the pictures came out (though I can't decide if I like them equally as much or more than the ones from last autumn). In another few weeks' time, they'll serve as a great reminder that fall is really not all bad.

Spectacle of Colours

We're already at that point in the fall season where the leaves have almost completely fallen of the trees, the temperatures keep dropping and we keep bringing out the cold weather essentials one by one: thick scarves, fur collar jackets, and boots. On the weather channel, there's mention of the first snowfall getting to us any day.

It's not the greatest feeling knowing that another few months of even colder and darker weather awaits us, but I'm trying not to think of it too much yet. Instead, I'm just happy and thankful that the fall we had this year - the beautiful part, with colorful trees everywhere you look, fallen leaves crunching at your feet everywhere you go, and just a little crisp in the air - has been much longer than the quick two weeks we were consistently getting for the past few years.

For anyone interested, I loved the way this photo turned out so much that I have made it (along with a few other ones) available for sale as an art print!

I feel like this year, despite the crazy schedule I have had, I was able to really take in all those beautiful parts. I noticed all the shades of orange, yellow, red and brown, and I really enjoyed seeing the progression from week to week; for instance, the colorful branches from our backyard that I posted on Instagram a few weeks ago were practically empty just a week later!

Photo Memories: Green

By now, even the fall foliage is long gone. A few weeks ago already, we were left with bare trees and that grey shade that will stay until sometime in April, if we're lucky. It's no secret that I love the warm seasons much more, so the arrival of these temperatures that hover just above or below the zero mark is a crude awakening that there is no going back, and that winter is just about to get settled in our corner of the world for many long months. In fact, last week we had one of the first dustings of snow around here.

What makes this particular cold season even more bitter than the ones before is that this year we were barely greeted by the sweltering hot summer temperatures that I was waiting so anxiously for, before they were gone without a trace. Even fall went by in a blink; I could swear that the leaves took no longer than two weeks to turn from green to the rich yellows and reds, and then to be all fallen from their branches. I actually missed taking pictures of them altogether, when I skipped the occasion one weekend and by the next they were all on the ground.

Needless to say that the cold has kept a firm hold of our parts in the past many months, but the little time that we had to delight in those warm temperatures and lively green shades of spring and summer was glorious. So before I prepare myself for what's to come, I want to look back at that beautiful colour that we won't see much of for a long while.

Summer Skies

I'm not sure why or how it happened, but over the past few months, I have developed a habit of looking up at the sky often - much more than before. I don't know if it was the fact that I looked up so much, or if it really was a special kind of summer, but almost every time, I felt like I was in the audience at an outstanding show being put on right above me.

I was even talking to my brother about this one day, and he agreed with me and added that sometimes the clouds look so perfect, they almost seem fake. I took a few pictures one evening - the same evening that I photographed the sun shine behind the trees - but this is only a very small part of what I have been lucky to witness all summer long, and I am so thankful for it.

I'd love to know, what about summer did you find particularly beautiful or special this year?

Evening Light

Last night when I got home from work, I went straight to the backyard for a little outdoors time - with my camera in hand. There were many things to be captured - my brother and my dad pruning the side branch of a maple tree, our growing garden, or Toby in action -  but the first thing that caught my attention was the sun's light peeking from behind the trees. So I pointed my camera directly towards it to see what happens.

I kind of like the result, which reminds me that I need to take this little gadget out more often and experiment, because I really do want to learn.

Photo Journal

I have a love-hate relationship with photography. I'm a very visual person and seeing a beautiful image has the power to really move me. Sadly, I don't have the skills or equipment to take spectacular pictures and so, I often keep my camera tucked away, overwhelmed and intimidated by the actual talent that exists out there.

Two weeks ago though, I stumbled upon Elise's blog and looking through many of her posts, I realized just how important everyday pictures are. I learned that they are a great way to capture precious memories that would otherwise be forgotten forever, and as a result, I've reconsidered my entire approach to photography.

I want my pictures to be little snapshots of my life that I can look back on with satisfaction and a smile years from now, because they evoke a beautiful memory, not because they're impressively styled and perfectly lighted. Those photographs still have their crucial role, and I'm still just as inspired by them, but waiting until I know how to take such pictures - if ever - means missing lots of precious moments. And I've done too much of that already: with the exception of this year, I can probably count on one hand the number of occasions I've taken photos of me and my family in each of the last few years.

In that spirit, I thought it would be nice at some point to have a collection of pictures from my first year or first few months of my post-grad life - an idea inspired by this photo book by Elise. So far, I've had a lot of fun snapping pictures throughout the days, and I've found Instagram to be a great and practical tool to gather them, which means I've been updating it almost incessantly this month.

So, here is a little peek into how I spent the week before Christmas:

Food was a big part of these days, since a long to-do list meant that I needed to have enough energy to get through it; on the menu, there were: a serving of grapefruit before breakfast, a hearty winter soup, a healthy breakfast porridge and raw cookies.

A major project that had to be finished was painting the living room/entryway area in our home, and the staircase railing proved to be quite a tedious detail, but so rewarding when I got to see the progress!

With the second snow storm of the season so far, we got record quantities of snow, and I got my wish for a white Christmas. Thankfully, the highway was still easy to navigate so that we were able to finish our last-minute shopping in time.

During quiet moments, I winded down with a good book, a cup of tea and beautiful, inspiring pictures (yes, I finally got on board with Pinterest, and I'm having so much fun with it!).


PS: I just changed the blog header - long overdue! - because I couldn't take the old one anymore and, although I'm not sure how long this one will stay, I really like its simplicity - and the yellow colour! Hope you're enjoying it as well! :)

Disclaimer: The book link used in this post is part of the Amazon Associates program.

Instant Life

• Piling on the brights on a dark day • Daffodils in our frontyard • A little evening sun coming in through my bedroom window • Fresh homemade coconut milk •

These days, many people are singing the praises of Pinterest as their go-to photo resource, and though I can definitely see the appeal, at this point I don't think I could handle another account in addition to all the ones that I already have: the blogs, an Etsy shop, a Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. Besides, the iffy terms of service have given me a great excuse to stay away so far. That's not to say that I'm short on image inspiration though - in fact, one of my favourite sources of inspiration lately has been Instagram. I signed up for an account the day that it became available on Android, and I've been having so much fun with it. I read somewhere the other day that the appeal of Instagram has to do with the fact that it's not about carefully set up photoshoots but rather about capturing those little moments that make every day special. To me, it's a good reminder to take the time to notice the little things and enjoy them, rather than rushing through the day - something that's been on my mind a lot recently. Apart from uploading my own pictures through the app, I've also discovered quite a few other people on there that consistently post such beautiful images that I had to share a few of them.

Row 1: • @keikolynn • @vmacandcheese • @cocoandvera •

Row 2: • @denisebovee • @_ifb • @apartment_34 •

Row 3: • @herwaisechoice • @ohjoystudio • @strawberrykoi •

Sartorial Motivation

It's no secret that I'm wishing winter away, even though it's been the shortest and mildest one we've had in many years. I can't even contain my excitement when I think of spring and I'm looking forward to everything that it's about to bring with it: pastel colours, green grass and flower buds, along with longer and sunnier days! Clearly it's quite hard to think about winter still, and almost impossible to get motivated to put together nice, cold weather outfits, so I need all the inspiration that I can get. Many weeks ago, I stumbled upon this new (to me) sustainable fashion brand, Studio JUX, and their Fall/Winter 2011/2012 collection photos are just what I needed to see. Now that spring is getting close, I'm ready to let go of the thick knits but keep the colour palette of sandy neutrals and colourful accents, with fewer dark colours.

Mint is everywhere these days, and I think this picture shows that men can take on the trend just as effortlessly as women do.

• All photos via Studio JUX •

Flowers and Dots

A few days ago, I stumbled across these pictures that I thought were beautifully styled. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they're from a photoshoot for an ethical lingerie label called Life's Not Fair But...My Knickers Are!, so I couldn't help showcasing them here for a little bit of mid-week inspiration.

All pictures via Life's Not Fair But...My Knickers Are!'s Facebook 

Although these pictures were taken for the AW2009 range, there is just something about polka dots, flowers and pastel colours that to me screams spring!

PS: I just recently joined Twitter so you can keep up with me over here!