happy {halloween} monday...

Monday here again, a brand new week, the end of October, and a happy Halloween! This past weekend was fairly simple, gathering items for my costume, catching up on episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, a graveyard photoshoot (pics to come this week hopefully), and dinner with Rick's family to celebrate a birthday...

I love Halloween and getting all dressed up, but the scary side of things is not for me. I haven't seen one horror movie in the past ten years. My imagination is way too creative and i'd be up all night terrified and unable to sleep. The classics however, I love the most, with the Addam's Family being a favourite. Who doesn't love Christina Ricci as Wednesday with her quirky weirdness?

Hope you have a fun Halloween and if you're out taking little ones trick-or-treating tonight, hope they get a lot of good loot!

Photos: Sean MacEntee, Justin McCormick, Cinematte, Gary Buckle, Addams Family, Alan Turkus, Matthew Paton, Julio Zenillo, Corrine Garstang

seasonal delight...

Have you ever had apple cider doughnuts? A farm nearby my parent's house bakes them during this time of year and they are absolutely amazing... moist and cake-like, they're apple cinnamon deliciousness that I always look forward to. It's a good thing they're not available all year round...

Photo: My own, from film

frost on a friday...

Today feels like the weekend already after a late night with the girls yesterday (too much taco dip, Grey's and fruity wine!). People watching at a local café, coffee in hand, seem just about right as the sun goes down earlier and earlier these days. That glowing light is just as strong as ever now, as the temperature has dramatically cooled. Has the frost made it your way yet?

Hope you all have a Happy Friday!

Photos: Painted by Numbers - Katharine, Raehin - Rachel, both on Flickr

perfect pumpkins...

With Halloween just around the corner, now is the time to pick out the perfect pumpkin for carving a ghoulish frown or cheerful grin to light up the way for all the little trick-or-treater's.

I'm not a big fan of orange, but pumpkin orange is always such a wonderfully bright shade of Autumn, it's hard not to love. Packed together and picked up one-by-one, pumpkin season always seems so short-lived...

Do you carve pumpkins for Halloween? If so, here's a few unique ideas to get you started...

Faux Bois...

Beautiful detail...

Vine and leaf...

Pantone 144...

Profile...

Candy bowl...

Toothy grin...

Filled fireplace...

+ tips for keeping carved pumpkins fresh...

Photos: My own, from film

wedding wednesday {no.10}...

The other day I started thinking about what music we'd like to have during our ceremony. There is access to a sound system at our venue, but frankly the idea of having someone set it up and play songs at exactly the right time is way too nerve-racking. Rick agreed it probably wasn't the best plan. Someone had suggested a few different live options instead, and after some research we've decided to go with a string duo! Surprisingly, it's not as expensive as we thought it might have been. A violinist and cellist will play some light classical music before our ceremony as our guests arrive and then 2 - 3 songs during the ceremony (processional, signing, recessional). I think it'll be a nice touch while people are waiting, and it all fits in perfectly with our historical venue.

The one big surprise however, is walking back down the aisle to bagpipes! It was my Mother's only request with my Granda not being with us anymore, and as loud and crazy as they are, my parents also had them at their wedding, so it seems like a good tradition to continue. I secretly think it will also be a little funny to see the shocked looks on our guests faces, lol. With the majority being Italian (My Dad, and both Rick's parents side of the family), it'll be a fun surprise, but also a really nice surprise for my Granny and Scottish relatives who will be joining us from Glasgow. Our piper will also play a little bit as we gather outside just before pictures... something i'm sure the neighbourhood will love, ha!

Photo: Infaerina - Michael Johnson, on Flickr

chloé locket...

Chloé is my absolute favourite fragrance. It's light, feminine, and sweet with the scent of rose amongst other flowery notes. My collection of pretty Chloé products is ever growing, including the parfum of course, the scented lotion, shower gel, and most recently... the new Chloé solid perfume in a smooth, oval locket on a long silver chain. Perfect for little "scent touch-ups" throughout the day, don't you think? Plus, once the perfume is done, it's the perfect hiding spot for photos or secret notes...

Photos: My own, from film

notes from the weekend...

Monday is here with a new week ahead, after a quiet and casual past few days. There was shopping for boots on Friday night (with some potential here + here), sleeping in on Saturday as well as a french treat or two, catching up on some reading, and two new rolls of film to be developed... all in all, uneventful and absolutely perfect. Although, now i'm craving an espresso and buttery croissant for breakfast...

How was your weekend?

Photos: By Lorena Arrance

sometimes...

...the best of plans, are no plans. Enjoy the weekend.

Photos: Leslie M K, Isabelle Bertolini, both on Flickr

a love for nutella...

As soon as I saw this photo by Andrea on Flickr, I had to share it. When I was younger my Mother went to visit family in Scotland (all of my Mother's side of the family still lives there). My Dad packed our lunches instead of course, and we got Nutella on crackers for a week straight! It's his favourite on toast or any kind of bread, so it's not that surprising that it ended up in our lunch. There was also the time we went to Italy together just before college, and like in the photo above, I collected quite a few Nutella glasses after we quickly emptied each jar. The European glass jars are much more effective that our plastic, aluminum sealed ones, which my Dad accidentally microwaved one day – sparks and smoke included, lol. It had been placed in the fridge, making it too hard to spread.

Some have baked goods, heirloom vegetables, or Sunday night roasts... but Nutella will always be a family favourite...

Photo: Andrea on Flickr

rainy autumn days...

It's been grey and rainy all week long, with a cold wind scattering leaves all around. It's definitely making me want to stay at home and curl up with a good cup of tea. I'm finding the dark mornings are making it so hard to get up lately. I mean, when exactly did that start? Suddenly 7am is still pitch black. There's just no comfort like staying at home all cozy and quiet on days like these. I'm definitely planning on a cozy, casual weekend...

Photos: Hanne Johansen, Benjamin Haywood

wedding wednesday {no.9}...

After Rick and I got engaged and shared the news with our family, I immediately wanted to write everything down (I am a blogger afterall). I thought it would be nice to record all those special pre-wedding moments, so I could look back years from now, and remember all the fun we had planning our wedding day. From the moment we knew our venue was perfect, to our uncontrollable laughter at an appointment with our dj, and the minute I knew it was the dress... i'm so glad i've written it all down. It's nice to have all those little details, in a pretty leather journal with gold lined pages...

Photo: Jen (Louveciennes) on Flickr

blue skies & sunshine...

With all the cold, rainy weather we've been having lately, I had to post some blue skies and sunshine from earlier this month. On the way home one day I passed by a group of cute little goats munching away by the side of the road. Unfortunately a twig I snapped underfoot sent them running for the middle of field, where I found myself apologizing to them out loud, lol... annnd time for the crazy girl and her camera to get back in the car. A pretty day out in the field though, no?

Photos: My own, from film.

notes from the weekend...

Good morning everyone... hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was oh-so-rainy and super cold, but it was spent sleeping in and shopping, with a new lip treatment from Fresh, plenty of Sephora samples, pretty things from Victoria's Secret, and a navy cable-knit sweater from Banana Republic. I also had an amazing time having high tea with a friend at the King Edward in Toronto, and many mini sweets and sandwiches later... drinks with Rick and a roasted, Sunday night, chicken dinner.

What did you get up to?

Photos: Lorena*Arance, Lorena*Arance, Tara Thayer, all from Flickr

pretty things...

I love photos of pretty, girly things all grouped together, like jewelry and perfume. These two by Thank you, ok make me want to display all my items nicely on the counter and find a pretty glass for my makeup brushes asap...

Photos: Thank you, ok, found via Fieldguided

october favourite...

As promised, I thought i'd post some of the photos I took while my Mother made apple pie this past weekend. Using my film camera I took about 25 photos, but with my digital camera as a back up I took over 200 – way too many! Plus, I really only ended up liking a few of the photos from my digital camera (can you guess which one I used above?).

Even with the small amount of carefully arranged photos I took on film (i.e. making my Mother pause every few minutes so I could actually focus and snap a shot, lol...), I still like the results of film better. There's something more honest and authentic about the way film captures light. Sure, most of these shots are probably underexposed and what-not, but compared to my digital photos I think these ones serve the pie-making tradition that much more.

Our apples came fresh from the farm that morning (along with the Cortlands I picked last week), and with dough from scratch, a little brown sugar with cinnamon, and a simple egg wash to coat, the apple pies were a huge hit after turkey dinner! I love October.

Do you have any family pie recipes?

Photos: My own, from film... minus the egg. Did you guess right?