Sunflower Madness

DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!  I'm so excited to announce my girl Emily is officially selling her homegrown veggies and florals, all which have been an intensive labour of love!  After recently setting up at a few of the local markets, she pitched her stand up at home to take part in Experience Delta's Culinary Farm Tour.  She collaborated with One20 Public House for a true Farm to Table experience for all those coming through.  Chef Michael Ferreira created a vegan taco, exclusively using the vegetables grown from the farm which included standouts of a guacamole alternative using minted mashed peas and deliciously crispy garlic chips.  In addition to her produce and floral stand and the delicious tacos, her two giant rows of sunflowers were open to the public for picking! 

Come out this weekend for a break from the city, pick up some fresh produce, grab a bouquet of fragrant sweet peas and bring home as many giant sunflowers as you can carry!  Feel free to bring a blanket and some snacks for a cozy picnic, there will be a lemonade stand set-up to wet your whistle!

6395 60th Avenue, Ladner BC
Located just outside the tunnel between the 2 giant willow trees!
 

Hope to see you this weekend!

xo

Beach Evenings

i had posted this in my personal blog but decided these were too good not to share here as well.  we are so lucky to live so close to the beach.  it's so clean and quiet (at least during the week anyway throughout summer) and it's my favourite place to be all year round.  i'm so grateful we were able to have a few family evenings here as i've been pounding out a lot of work and not able to spend as much time together as i would like.  this was such a great day as it was the first time Malcolm experienced walking in the water on his own.  it hasn't been warm enough until recently and this time last year he was only a mere 6 months old.  to see him wander in right up to his chest and fall in love with the ocean was the heartmelting treat i needed.  seeing him get right in there with his older siblings and watch as they both rush to his side to help him is definitely the greatest reward i could ask for!  NO FIGHTING for one beautiful evening was all i needed.

for anyone interested in Booking one of these Beach Sessions, hit me up at my Contact page and we'll get you some beauties to frame and share!

 ENJOY!

Paint Night No. 2

These nights are just so so awesome. Food, drinks, and meeting new people while creating an awesome piece of art for your home!

We feasted on 3 homemade pizzas with the help of my friend Sally

Cardamom sweet potato with olives and curry roasted cauliflower
Pesto with roasted cherry tomatoes, red onion, and rosemary
and
White pizza with garlic-parsley oil, shaved parmesan, prociutto, and arugula

It was an intimate group of 4 ladies I just love.  Such different and yet so very spectacular human beings.  We had a lovely time and created stunning pieces that are now all up in their homes!

Beautiful work ladies!

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come as you are | charlene + emma

finally.  getting caught up with a few drafts that have been waiting eagerly to be shared!  with all the mom-friends from past and present booking these Come As You Are Sessions, it was a lovely surprise to have a family member call me in to capture her early motherhood days.  i come from a big family, with six aunts/uncles on each side of my family.  Char was one of the first of our generation and therefor was always looked up to, always harassed, and one whose lap was often occupied by a wiggly younger cousin with a bony-butt.  She was always generous and kind to us and I feel like all that patience must have paid off now that she is a Mother.  Capturing someone after a life-time of family get-togethers, through so many joyful births and heartbreaking losses took the meaning of this session to a new level for me.  We can choose our friends, but we can't choose family, so I'm so grateful to have had such a caring, thoughtful and supportive cousin in my life and so happy to have been able to give back with these photos.

Congratulations on having the sweetest little girl!
You guys are doing a great job

xo

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Paint Night No.1

After a million revisions, Paint Night was relocated and whittled down to a tight group of 4 ladies.  This was not the original plan, but it ended up working perfectly for a simple test run.  If we are defining success by delicious food, wet whistles, and attendees who had a great time and left happy with their final product, then in spite of a sudden downpour, Paint Night was a definitely success!

Downpour?  Yes, we had a very unexpected 20 minutes downpour midway through the event (as well as all day Saturday...), so these photos are actually a compilation of 3 different days of documentation.  We all had to scramble to bring everything inside: the table full of paints, the food table, the rug for chilling, and of course all the easels with their canvasses.  The rain failed to dampen our spirits and we continued on drinking + painting in the middle of my living room!  Snacks and dessert was served just before Kevin arrived home.  He was probably expecting/hoping to return to a quiet home, however, he was instead accosted by a room of roaring ladies forcing him to play "guess whose painting is whose" followed by a critique of each piece.  Best.

Alright, enough chatting, onto the photos...

RECIPES
Crostini Platter via The Artful Desperado
Chocolate Cake inspired by ILĀ

Mega thanks to Kevin for the insane amount of work he did throughout the week helping to prepare everything from designing + building easels to slaving in the kitchen making all the delicious food and sangria for our lovely guests.  Big hugs to my buddy Dave for helping me to streamline my ideas and keep my mind focus while accompanying me on the grocery run!

Stay Tuned for PAINT NIGHT No.2 coming this July!  Date to be announced!