Part of what made our trip to Collingwood extra relaxing was that we made a point of stopping to smell the roses, or in spring in Ontario stopping to take in the beauty of the trilliums. We got a tip about a loop of the Bruce Trail we should check out while we were in the area so after a nice slow wake up one morning we packed up some muffins, filled our water bottles, donned our wide brim hats, and headed out for our hike.

It was such a gorgeous morning! Wandering through the woods in this beautiful spring weather is such a simple way to relax. And we were lucky enough to see the trilliums in bloom – which is an amazing feat for these plants since it takes them about seven years to flower, pretty crazy huh?

What are your favourite simple ways to relax? Do you like to head out for a nature walk? Poke around in your garden? Or do you prefer to cozy up to a good book?

Two weeks ago was our five year anniversary so last week we took a three-day mini-vacation to Collingwood primarily to visit the Scandinave Spa. Oh Scandinavian spas, how do I love you… We went to the Scandinave at Blue Mountain two years ago for our anniversary and we were hooked. It led us to a day at the The Nordik Spa in Chelsea, Quebec later that same year and the Strom Spa in Montreal last year.

The baths are simply divine… They have wonderfully hot pools, refreshing cool pools, and beautiful relaxation areas. The idea is that you spend 10-15 minutes in the hot pools which vary between 38 and 40 C (101-104 F), allowing the heat to open your pores, release toxins, and stimulate circulation. Then you go for a quick 2 second to 2 minute dip in the cool pools, which are 12 to 16 C (55-61 F), to rinse off those toxins and close up your pores. After that you head to one of the various relaxation areas for 10-15 minutes - a warm room with Muskoka chairs and a big beautiful window, a hammock under a tree, or you can dry off by one of the fires. If you’re like me you’ll spend this time sound asleep.

Oh, and if you need a break from the hot pools you should DEFINITELY try out the eucalyptus steam room. The first time Darren and I ever went to one of these spas we were both skeptical about whether we’d like a steam room. I thought it would be suffocatingly humid and way too hot. It turns out they’re the perfect balance of hot and steamy, we’ve actually been known to lose track of time and spend a half hour enjoying the easy breathing. And yes it’s just like in the movies, you walk in and can’t see a thing. Unlike the movies everyone was clad in bathing suits and there weren’t any back room deals going down.

We ended up spending a full five hours there, including our fantastic one hour massages. Now this is a getaway I could get used to. If only it were closer to home…

I love all the bath spas we’ve been to so far but I like Collingwood the best because the scenery is stunning and they have lots of clocks to help monitor how long I’ve spent in each area, sometimes it’s the little things that really matter. It’s set in a small wooded area surrounded by lots of trees making it cozy, quaint, and very tranquil.

I was surprised to see how much I loved the silence. I spend a fair amount of time alone in my studio retouching and writing blog posts causing me to crave social interaction, but spa silence is completely different. It helped quiet my mind in fifteen minute intervals, which was exactly what I needed.

If you ever have a chance to check out a bath spa you totally should. It’s one of the most relaxing things I’ve ever done. And they all seem to have their own personalities. The one at Blue Mountain offers yoga classes, I even saw a yoga day that they’re hosting, while at Strom some nights they have martinis and a DJ.

So what are your favourite relaxing getaways? Do you like to camp far, far away from the city? Are you into all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean? Or is a massage all it takes?

I am so in love with our new dining table centre piece. It’s something that just happened after stocking up on herbs at the Royal Botanical Gardens spring plant sale. It’s still too early to plant them out in our zone 5-6 garden so we needed to find a place to keep them safe inside but still be easy to water. And the thing with living in a small cottage-style home is that there’s no hiding anything. We could have lined them up on a plant tray beneath our living room window with the others but we chose to show them off in all their natural glory on our dining table.

How’d we get this lovely look? It was super easy! We had eight plants that needed a home and I thought it would be nice if they took up residence on our table, especially since most of them are herbs. Setting them all loosey-goosey on our table was one option except it seemed haphazard and unfinished. My first thought was to put them on a large dinner plate but that wasn’t ideal since our plates are round so it wouldn’t have been a great fit, though it would have done an awesome job containing the runoff from watering.

Then I remembered we had this square Ikea dish that could work, so I dug it out and it ended up being the perfect fit! I lined up our eight potted plants on it, looking for an arrangement the worked best with the cascading plants on the corners. Since I had two sweet potatoes I put them on opposite diagonals for balance. But with only eight pots I still had one spot left. I was going to leave the middle open then I remembered a jar of fresh cut parsley from the market in our kitchen so I dropped it in, and bam we were done. I know the jar isn’t perfect, but it makes the whole thing feel a lot more casual so I’m pretty happy about it.

So which plants did we choose?

• two sweet potatoes
• sweet marjoram
• variegated marjoram
• scented geranium
• corkscrew rush
• nasturtium
• siam queen basil

Darren’s favourite, hands down, is the corkscrew rush. I think he secretly wishes he’d picked up a few. Personally, I love how crazy looking it is, kinda reminds me of Darren’s hair some days, in a very good way. It’s an annual that Darren was told he may be able to nurse through the winter indoors. Maybe we should look into how to propagate it…

My favourite is the sweet marjoram. Not just because of how yummy it tastes on eggs, but because this particular plant just has a beautiful, sensual shape that seems so dainty and delicate yet very happy.

And what did this whole thing cost? I feel like it didn’t cost us anything since the herbs are destined for the garden in a few short weeks and we already had the dish. But lets say you wanted to make one from scratch. Well, each of the potted herbs were $3 and the Ikea dish was $7.99, putting you at a grand total of $34.99. Not bad. You could create a similar, smaller arrangement with the smaller version of Ikea’s Ideal dish that would hold four plants bringing your cost down to $18.99.

I always find it soothing to have bits of nature spread throughout our home. What are you doing this spring to add some life to your space? Are you bringing in some plants? Adding some bright pops of colour? Or are you throwing open those sashes and letting in the sunshine and fresh air?

Here’s to five of the best years of my life and the dawn of fifty more spent with you. May we love, laugh, and picnic together everyday for forever.

I love you.

{Our anniversary was on Friday but I was too busy eating cupcakes to share the details on our blog}

We get a ton of emails from clients asking what size art is most appropriate to hang above a bed. There’s a lot of factors to consider – bed size, ceiling height, headboard height, if there’s lighting above the bed, etc. Ultimately it boils down to personal preference and because I know it can be hard figuring out where to start when cutting out paper to see what you like best, I thought I’d give you a starting point.

The bed shown above is a double so it measures 54 inches across. The left column simulates what it would be like if you were to hang the photograph without a mat, say, if it was a stretched canvas or had some other sort of flush mounting. The column on the right shows pieces in standard size frames with mats that are readily available at photo labs and art stores, though frames larger 20 x 24 can be harder to find. Framing can be a good way to make a smaller piece of art look larger, plus it can add a finished look and a nice architectural detail to the space.

So what size art do you like for above a bed? Do you prefer matted pieces or unmatted? Are there other areas of your home that you’re struggling with art sizes? Maybe above a couch or chair?

Summer’s Serenity, Seascape Photography

Eeeek! I can’t believe I haven’t officially shared this photograph with you yet! It’s one I made last summer, I guess things got a little crazy with my artist in residency at Beausoleil Island that it slipped through the blogging cracks. You probably recognize it from our May desktop calendar plus it was the cover image for both our 2013 wall calendar and 5×7 calendar.

I just wanted to share with you a few details from this early morning session in Bayfield. I’d seen these rocks during my location scout, and as you can see, they’re in the water. I remember the water level was up and down that week with rain and hot dry spells so I had no idea what I’d be in for when I showed up at the beach. Luckily the rock in the foreground was just at the water’s edge so I was still able to get some of the coarse beach sand in the bottom left, then a band of foggy water fading out into the smoothness of the lake. For those of you just tuning in you can click through to read all about how I create the look of calm water in my seascape photographs, hint – it’s done entirely in camera.

Here’s how my schedule looked that day:

2:50 am – wake up call

3:20 am – load car and leave for Bayfield, gear was packed the night before

4:45 am – arrive at the beach in Bayfield, set up and begin photographing in pre-sunrise light

5:48 am – sunrise, keep shooting

6:00 am – wrap shoot and head back to the studio

7:30 am – arrive back at the studio and unpack the car

7:45 am – begin downloading and backing up files

8:00 am – breakfast

~ Spent the morning tending to client orders ~

1:45 pm - choose selects, tweak images for colour, contrast, lightness, and darkness, process raw files

2:15 pm – retouch

3:00 pm – send test prints to the lab and archive final image

And here’s a little video so you can get a sense of how beautiful it was out on the beach {if you’re reading via email or RSS you’ll likely need to click through to our blog to see it}:

Days like these can be busy and long but they’re oh so rewarding I’d never trade them in. Plus, it’s awesome to start my day on the beach!

Happy {almost} May everyone! I’m starting to get pretty excited about the upcoming photography season! Looking forward to spending many mornings and evenings on the beach. Our calendar this month features Summer’s Serenity, which you may recognize from the cover of our 2013 calendar. Somehow it slipped through the cracks and not only never became a downloadable calendar, but it also hasn’t been available as a print in our shop until now. On the bright side, it’s a nice summer preview for the month of may. Enjoy!

May 2013 Calendar - iPad (1024 x 768 pixels) (40)

May 2013 Calendar - Regular Screen (works well with screen resolutions of 1280 x 800, 1440 x 900, and 1920 x 1200 pixels) (73)

May 2013 Calendar - Wide Screen (works well with screen resolutions of 1366 x 768, 1920 x 1080, and 2560 x 1440 pixels) (44)

You can see our whole archive of calendars here: Downloadable Desktop Calendars.

So what are your plans for May? Camping for the long weekend? Getting started in your garden? Or hosting your first barbecue of the season?

I love to linger over a meal. A nice long dinner with Darren melts my heart. The problem is, food gets cold. So I like to come up with foods to dawdle over. Food that’s good to pick at. Food that doesn’t wilt or tire. Food that lets conversation go on and on.

Dippy bread works quite lovely. Rounds of baguette mounded on a plate served with a saucer of olive oil bread dip. Here’s our current favourite, I think there’s a touch too much balsamic vinegar, but Darren thinks it’s just right.

Olive Oil Bread Dip

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar {or a little less}
1/2 Tbsp Oregano, Dried

Whisk together in a bowl. Pour onto a rimmed plate with a side of fresh bread. Serve after dinner but before dessert. Candle optional, intimate conversation preferred.

What are your favourite foods to draw out a meal? Finger foods like breads and cheeses? Do you prefer dessert foods like pies and cakes? Or is a good glass of wine all you need?

When Maaike Koorman from Delicious. magazine emailed me in November I was thrilled! She wanted to use Elviage Pearl for the introduction image to the appetizer section of their Christmas issue. Heck ya! Count me in!

The Christmas issue is stunning! I’m so used to seeing food photographed on a white background I had no idea it could be so gorgeous on rich dark grey. And the food looks, well, delicious! The magazine is entirely in dutch but I may have to translate a few of these recipes.

What are your favourite food magazines? And what do you like best about them? Is it the diversity of recipes? Loads of gorgeous photographs? Or the easy to follow instructions?

I have a newfound love for maple syrup. I think it was in there all this time but I just didn’t know it. I grew up on brown sugar, I mean, who didn’t? But when I met Darren and he took me on my first sugar bush tour a natural, sugary light went on in my heart. The “maple syrup” I’d been served my whole life was a facade, it was really pancake syrup and sadly lacked the depth of the real thing.

Maple syrup and I rendezvoused a few times a year over pancakes, waffles, and occasionally ice cream and was a delightful on again off again relationship that I quite enjoyed, while my jar of honey sat quietly in the cupboard reserved for tea and baking.

Then last fall I found a recipe for blueberry muffins sweetened only with maple syrup. They were dairy and gluten-free and chock-full of healthy breakfast protein so I gave them a whirl and haven’t looked back. I’ve been known to substitute in apples when we’re out of blueberries too.

Honey, it’s over. Maybe we can still meet up for tea now and again?

Nerdy Maple Syrup Facts

• It takes 40 litres of sap from a sugar maple to make 1 litre of maple syrup
• More than 80% of the world’s maple syrup is from Canada, primarily from Quebec but also from Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island
• Maple syrup season is only 4-8 weeks long, typically in March and April, with ideal sap flow temperatures being +5C during the day and -5C at night
• If trees are tapped properly for sap it doesn’t hurt them, it’s similar to when we donate blood
• We just bought 2 litres of maple syrup for $29, roughly half to a quarter of what it costs in Europe. {What does it cost in your part of the world?}

Maple syrup, another reason I love Canada.