Certain things have made it to my bucket list solely due to Instagram. Places like, Iceland, Petra, the hot air balloons over Cappadocia, Turkey, the White Sands National Monument (crossed off!).
The Lights Festival was also one of those things.
Rockport, MA
My favorite part about living in the city is that we can drive to a different town and beach at any moment because it's close enough to not feel like too many hours in the car, but far enough to feel like we've gotten away for a day.
Boston: The Nutcracker 2013: A Backstage Look, Part I
I was beyond excited and honored to photograph a live production of the Boston Ballet's Nutcracker from the wings and backstage this season. It was a dream come true! If you remember, last season, I was invited for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the costumes, which was a delight in itself.
Kancamagus Highway + North Conway
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus
Boston: Spring 2013
“There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
Stay Strong Boston.
Vermont: Stowe Mountain Lodge
You know how you picture "skiing in the mountains" to be? Snow, skiis, hot chocolate, a log cabin, a fireplace and alpine sweaters?
That's exactly what Stowe Mountain Lodge is like! We even lucked out with maple taffy treats courtesy of Slopeside Syrup, scored a free gondola ride to the top and back, while having a great view of my hubby skiing down.
All in all a good ski weekend, I'd say!
Vermont: Stowe, Von Trapp Family Lodge
By show of hands..who has seen The Sound of Music? Everyone. Like, everywhere, right?
I'd always wanted to visit the Von Trapp Family home in Stowe, Vermont (read their story, here) and with Spring nearly upon us, the time was now! I'm not much of skiier but give me a good lodge and a fireplace and I'm all set.
With five of us in one car, a pair of skiis wedged between, and beautiful scenic views along the way, we took off to Stowe, Vermont.
Here, the Von Trapp Family home, and lunch and beer at the Von Trapp Deli Bakery and Brewery!
Miami: Fontainbleau Hotel
What a glorious stay at Miami's Fontainbleau Hotel.
Not only is it one of the most beautiful hotels in South Beach, it also has the best service I've ever encountered, both indoors and out, not to mention the incredible Hakkasan restaurant.
After I was stung by a jelly fish one afternoon, the Lapis Spa staff's immediate concern and quick response helped ease the pain (and who knew vinegar is the solution!) and allowed me to get back into the ocean soon after.
We're immensely thankful to the kind staff of the Fontainbleau, who generously donated the luxurious Lapis Spa products for the Nashua Soup Kitchen. We were happy to bring back a giant box of mini shampoos and lotions, that we distributed at the NSK this past weekend.
Thank you so much Fontainbleau, we'll most definitely be back!
Greece: Santorini, Breakfast, Buses + Beaches
Although simple, the breakfast provided at the Hotel Sunny Villas was perfect and satiated us on our bus trip out to the black sand beaches for the day. One of the things that surprised me was seeing a Metro newspaper stand on the black sand beach! And seeing actual prickly pear plants!
Change in and out of your swim suit in here: Oh Hai!
Throwback Monday: Toronto Beaches
Summer '06, Toronto Beaches.
Boston: Celtics vs. Raptors @ TD Garden
I went to my first ever basketball game tonight at the TD Garden (many people don't know that TD stands for Toronto Dominion) and it was extra special because it was the Boston Celtics vs the Toronto Raptors. Whaa-!
We had spectacular seats and were surrounded by green jerseys, hats, balloons and other memorabilia. It was hard not to cheer on the Celtics, but there was no booing for the Raptors from us! The Celtics won 96-73.
The best part of the night? Likely the drummer outside North Station who had a whole audience dancing to his tunes and us bopping home.
Amsterdam: The Hilton Hotel
It was raining pretty hard as soon as we arrived in Amsterdam, and it remained fairly wet and quite chilly throughout the trip. As soon as we got to The Amsterdam Hilton, made famous for John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Bed-In-For-Peace", all we wanted to do was have a quick bite to eat and some tea. So, while we waited for our room (not the John Lennon/Yoko Ono presidential suite, alas), we dined at one of the hotel's resturants, the Half Moon Lounge. We ordered some teas and a falafel sandwich with a side of fries. How amazing was this sandwich? And the service was wonderful and unintrusive while we relaxed by the huge canal side windows. Highly recommend this hotel, which has beautiful rooms and bathrooms with gorgeous canal views and a spectacular breakfast buffet, which may make an appearance on Foodhogger, later.
Merry Christmas, 2011!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the holiday season! We were so happy to be able to go home to Toronto for the holidays. After moving to Boston in the summer, this was our first trip back, so it was really nice to catch up with family and friends and do not much of anything else. Except eat, of course. The following sums up our holiday fairly well. 
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's strange for us to be celebrating Thanksgiving in November, as Canadian Thanksgiving falls in October (2nd Monday in Oct).
Nevertheless, any excuse to eat, drink and be merry is a good one.
It's been an unbelievable few months since our move to Boston from Toronto in August. Boston is a lovely city and we've felt so welcome in many ways. I've also had some very cool opportunities to shoot fun events in the city, and I'm thankful for each moment.
I'm also so very thankful for our family who've helped set up our new home, for the friends who've visited from Toronto and made the distance seem much closer. And for the new people we've met so far who've made us feel at home.
What are you thankful for this season?
(Image processed with Poladroid)
Halloween: FRIDA KAHLO
A few years ago I was Frida Kahlo for Hallowe'en. It was the easiest home-made costume for me to pull off, I loved doing it. So much so, I did it again the following year for a work Hallowe'en party. Here's what you need:
- Dark hair or wig with hair that is already pulled up and away from the face.
- Flowers - I like red Carnations
- Hairpins - bobby pins
- Dangly earrings
- Spanish looking attire - ie. a full length skirt in a bright colour or ruffled, tiered skirt
- frilly top or bright spanish-looking dress/shirt
- a shawl
- red lipstick + blush
- mascara
Simply part your hair down the middle, into two sections, and french-braid your hair starting from the bottom of your scalp (from you neck) up to the top of your head so that you can pile your hair up at the top of your head. Tie the braids and pin the end of the braids at the top of your head. Hide the pins by pinning flowers (carnations) at the top of your head. Apply the mascara in a thin layer between your brows making it look like a uni-brow. You can also fill the rest of your brows with the mascara to add to the thickness. Put on some blush, lipstick, wear your earrings and outfit, wrap yourself in the shawl and you're done!
What are you doing for Hallowe'en? Are you dressing up? If so, what as?