Some Mondays start off real ordinary and then a dear friend drops by and then you go out for lunch and then she takes you and Panda for a hike up a mountain and then you go home and eat cherries together and suddenly, your day was awesome.
Happiness Is...
Sweet, sweet anticipation. Knowing what's coming can be as good as actually getting to it, sometimes. Have a wonderful, sunny weekend everyone!
Twelve years
Montreal is a bit of a small place. Stick around long enough and you get to know pretty much everybody. Back in the day, this meant that sometimes I would avoid making eye contact on public transportation, for fear of running into someone I barely knew and having to small-talk it all the way to my destination. Sounds grinchy, sure, but it was handy.
Twelve years ago, give or take a few days, on a sticky, humid Montreal evening, I was on my way home from dinner with a friend. I got on the metro, sat down, forgot not to look up and there was Christian, looking at me, trying to figure out where he knew me from. We looked at each other for a fraction of a second too long - pretending like it never happened was not an option. Curses, I thought. There goes my solitary ride home. We started chatting and I figured out pretty quickly that we were going to the same stop (drat) AND that he would be waiting for and taking the same bus as me too (double drat). It was pretty much the worst-case scenario of small-talkiness. Look what happens when you look at people, I said. And now he knows where you live, I said. Dumb, dumb, dumb, I said.
This story? TEXTBOOK MORAL-OF-THE-STORY type thing. As in, don't-wish-you-avoided-a-person-on-the-metro-because-you-may-just-marry-them kind of story. I sure learned my lesson. Happy anniversary, baby. I love you.
My Saturday with Cannelle et Vanille
I don't have as much time for reading blogs as I would like but I have my favourites. One of them is Aran Goyoaga's blog, Cannelle et Vanille - I discovered it several years ago when I was first figuring out my gluten-free/auto-immune diet and I've since spent a lot of time on there. I've made her recipes (delicious), drooled over her photos and soaked up her stories - I adore recipes that come with stories. And I want to LIVE in her photographs. I rarely comment, which is odd because I don't usually have a problem sharing my thoughts (haha) and, for my part, I love receiving comments over here - but perhaps I just felt shy about it. Even though I had never met Aran in real life, over time I became certain that we would get along: that we would hang out if we lived nearby, or that she would come visit and love Montreal/Hudson and take pictures of my dog (haha just kidding... not really). It didn't help that we were already friends on Twitter and she was so sweet and gracious (and likes a lot of the same music I do - a sure sign of get-along-ness).
So this past February, when I found out that the lovely Mayssam was bringing Aran to Montreal for a workshop... well. You can imagine my excitement. And slight panic. The week before the workshop I was so excited I forgot that I barely know how to use a camera properly. On Saturday morning I packed up a few props, our camera, some backup gluten-free crackers and Panda and we headed into town.We arrived at the lovely, bright and airy SAT Foodlab at 9am - I invited Panda and Christian in for a quick hello (Panda may or may not have peed on the industrial entryway carpet - sorry SAT!) and hugged Mayssam and Aran because I just couldn't help myself. I was so happy to be there.
It was an AMAZING day. Aran shared how Cannelle et Vanille came to be, we all took turns introducing ourselves, and then Aran got to work on the first of many styling projects for the day. The ease with which she put a shot together was amazing to watch - like a true pro, she made something hard look incredibly easy. And delicious! I think my stomach grumbled all day, everything looked so tasty. Aran shared camera tips and demonstrated her process - from setup and styling to lighting strategies, bounce boards and photo editing. One key element that really stayed with me was to decide what story you want to tell with your photograph. Take the time to shape the mood you're going for and the rest will fall into place.The talented chefs at Foodlab prepared a gorgeous lunch for everyone and were on hand all day to help - it really felt like an amazing day at camp. Everyone was happy to be there, pitch in, learn and share. Aran styled a beautiful salad of shaved fennel, fava beans and quail eggs, a gorgeous (and gluten free!) trifle that I wanted to devour and a tray of luscious roasted tomatoes. I was in heaven.
That afternoon, it was time for us to try our hand at what Aran does so well - it was the part of the day I was most nervous about. There was a too-great abundance of cool props and beautiful food, and I was almost frozen with indecision and uncertainty. A beautiful piece of fabric caught my eye, and then a plate, and a fork. I started fiddling with radishes, sprigs of thyme, and a strand of cherry tomatoes. It wasn't bad. I played with my camera settings but I could tell they were wrong; although I knew what I wanted my shot to look like, I wasn't sure how to get there. I raised my hand and Aran came over. She looked at my setup and said - it's good (huge sigh of relief), but why so much stuff? Look how beautiful these tomatoes are. Just make it all about the tomatoes.
She was so right. We cleared out the radishes and thyme and put the tomatoes front and center - then Aran scattered a few herb sprigs, artfully crushed up some crumbs and lo and behold, it became a beautiful shot of true simplicity. Then she helped me find the sweet spot in my camera, and here's what I came up with. It's my Anile's-best-try-but-mostly-Aran shot.
Another aspect of the workshop that I really enjoyed and appreciated was meeting and befriending a whole whack of talented, sweet and funny women who were just as pleased as I was to be there - it's been so much fun to get to know them and keep in touch with them. As for Aran, she was everything I thought she'd be and more - sweet, funny, beautiful, incredibly generous and humble, and just a joy to be around. I soaked up as much as I could that day and am still energized by it over a week later. I know that each person can take away something different from the same experience but after many months of chronic illness and the compromises that come with that, this day was really memorable for me and truly kicked off this summer in the best way possible.
A huge, special thank-you to the wonderful and sweet Mayssam Samaha who orchestrated the entire weekend from beginning to end, and whom I was so happy to finally get to meet in person. This week I'll be making some gluten-free strawberry trifle and getting to know a few more settings on our camera. Thank-you Aran :)
Happiness Is...
Anniversaries! And contests for bling!!
My dear friend, the gorgeous and talented Rachel of Brazen Design, is celebrating FIVE YEARS OF JEWELLERY MAKING. That's pretty amazing. Not only that, but she's holding a contest and wants to give away lots of loot. I am entering, every which way I can. Normally I don't post so many pictures of myself, but Rachel says this is how you do it. So here are some pictures (thank-you Christian) and a story from me.
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Anile. Every time Anile went to the toy store, she would see all these amazing items personalized with childrens' names on them. Door plaques, toy cars, photo frames... She would always search hopefully to see if her name was there. It never was. As little Anile got older, she noticed personalized toothbrushes at the drugstore, and would come across keychains, bracelets... but her name was never there. Those were very sad times.
Then one day, Anile met RACHEL!! and she discovered BRAZEN DESIGN!!! And she FREAKED OUT!!! And ordered an Anile necklace. Now Anile is happy, happy happy :)
HAPPY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY BRAZEN DESIGN!! Here's to many, many more years of gorgeous, feisty designs :)
p.s. Rachel I think I need some bracelets. xoxox