green

Summer is such a short but sweet season up here in the North. Extremely long days give us that much more time to enjoy this stretch of heat and sun. This year we've spent many of them outside, on the patio. 

We brought the indoors outside this year, thanks to a little mini makeover we did at the start of the season with an outdoor rug from Lowe's, new seating from Ikea and Pigro Felice, and a little table from HomeSense (the wood one above is usually inside but sits just inside the door and we bring it out for the day). I made sure everything that stays outside is neither wood, metal or fabric. We did the wood patio set thing before and it is just way too much work to maintain. (you can see more peeks of the patio on my instagram and instagram stories)

I am SO not a green thumb so the yard flower beds are all wildflowers and easy to maintain plants that were already here when we moved in. We FINALLY filled in and sodded an area in the yard where there was once a large Koi pond and waterfall, which has made mowing and trimming SO much easier LOL.

A few pots from HomeSense around the deck as well as these wall planters (also from HomeSense, and only $9.99 each!) are all filled with VERY low maintenance plants for those stretches we are at the cabin and not around to regularly water. So far they appear to like their situation, and I am actually feeling successful at gardening for the first time ever. 

If only Boys really smelled this pretty.

It's hard to believe we're in the thick of the hot, glorious Summer already! I had a little moment to myself this morning and something lead me to pick up my camera, which I haven't done in quite some time.

The convenience of capturing life through the camera on my phone has definitely made my old buddy, Canon, less necessary. But, there is something about the magic of capturing something EXACTLY the way you see it (sometimes only in my head) through shooting on manual. No filters, no editing for shadows or dark spots. The pictures I capture on my 'real' camera, and share here, are always uploaded straight from the memory card and on to the site without any editing which forces me to really look at all the angles and think about what I'm trying to capture before clicking that shutter. 

So, playing around led me to pick a subject, one that long time readers already know I gravitate to: candles. Our model for today's blog post is my current crush, or maybe obsession is a better word, Boy Smells Candles. 

I adore this scent so much, I decided I better have a back up on hand!

Here's the description of the scent:

None of those scents are ones I've ever seen combined together, but somehow they blend beautifully to create a smell I can't even start to describe other than to say "mmmmm".

The adorable packaging is my favourite, because well, PINK. (need I say more?)

It felt really good to shoot, even for just a few pictures today. It really reminded me why I love photography and the creativity it brings out of us when we share our work as well as enjoy other people's work. A little break is always good, and makes coming back to something that much more refreshing and exciting. 

Made Social Night

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the latest Made Social Co. craft night! We made these cute little wooden cactus gardens, and enjoyed a variety of south west inspired food and treats. It was a wonderful evening of relaxing conversation and creativity, so basically the perfect evening. Here are a few snippets of the fun!

Churros, cake, and jalapeño hors d'oeurves made for a flavourful night.

cute party decor and live cacti from Fabloomosity lined the work table.

laser cut wood we painted and pieced together to make the cacti in the garden

And of course, CONFETTI!

I am taking Wren for a mother daughter craft morning they are hosting in just a couple weeks because she was so disappointed she didn't come this evening (you can still grab tickets here). Another amazing party Christine and Andrea!!! You girls know how to throw a bash.