Happy Birthday Lisa.

Today's my sister's birthday.  Both of these photos are from last summer.
Her birthday always reminds me of this scene from the simpsons:

We used to sing that song when we were kids.  And somehow we knew it, even though we weren't allowed to watch the Simpsons.  Anyone else not allowed to watch?

My Summer Vacation - part one.

I've been away from the blog for a couple of weeks, enjoying some summer vacation time.

I went back to my hometown - Thunder Bay - and spent a lot of time visiting family and friends.  I took loads of photos, so this will have to be broken into a few posts.

First stop was actually a mini road trip/shopping adventure with my mom to Duluth, MN.  Mostly for Target (still not in Canada for a few more months) and Charlotte Russe (please come to Canada!)

I snapped a quick picture of the sun rising as we drove toward the US border, and then left the camera packed away and shopped instead.  haha. 

View from the car window as the roadtrip began. 

fave things bought from charlotte russe by smilesfrommel featuring charlotte russe boots

That is about all I can offer for the first 2 days. lol.
A summer tradition is photographing the flowers in my grandma's garden. (Mama is what we call her.)  She has an album of my photos from each year.  My visit back was a bit late in the summer this time, and sadly a lot of the flowers looked like this:

But there were still some survivors, waiting for me, looking gorgeous. 

 

Visiting my grandparents is my fave.

More summer vacation to come, what is your fave moment from this summer?

Guest Blogging

Hello friends!

If you head on over to Atlantic Atlantis today, you can see my guest post: my fave summer tradition - light painting photography. 

Let me know if you have any questions, or to show me your pics too!


I am back in Toronto, safe and sound - although curiously I did feel my first earthquake this afternoon when the 5.9 hit Virginia. 

Loads of photos to edit and show off - including my first shoot with a male model - whoop whoop!
See you soon!
Mel

Away for a bit.

I am popping in for a moment to say to let you know I'm on vacation.  Gone to a land far away from Toronto (Thunder Bay) to visit family, celebrate my Dad's milestone birthday and see some old friends.
So I will have lots to share when I get back next week but until then enjoy what's left of summer!

 

My fave bookshelf & Vintage Enamel Flower Brooches

Welcome to my favourite (so far) part of our apartment.  

This little bookshelf is home to some of the prettiest things I own. 

The painting was from my mom, who thrifted it. (go mom!)

On the bottom shelf are my scrapbooks, vintage fashion magazines and boxes of photos.

2nd shelf has photo albums, data discs storing photobackups, an old Pentaz SLR and an ice cream cone that is actually a bubble blower.
Above that we have my 2 polaroid cameras (post about them to come) and the typewriter in my favourite color that I found at a yard sale for $7.

Then we've got a vintage globe, (the first of a hopeful collection - I love inaccurate geography.) my lomography camera, the camera from my grandpa (story here) and my vintage flower pins. 

 They were a little dusty yesterday, so I cleaned them up and then did a little photoshoot :)

They've all been thrifted over the past 6-7 years, never bought online, only found surprises at yard sales and good will shops.  I find it more exciting of a collection that way, they're all found treasures. 

Tonight my friends are hosting an outdoor movie night in their backyard E.T. & Jaws under the stars.  What are you up to this weekend? I hope it's a good one!

Crafty links & things.

I browse online a lot.  And I make a lot of bookmarks. 

I really make too many bookmarks. 
And so, in what's finally a brilliant idea - I will share the links here.  I'll still be able to find them, and you can share in the fun of cool things online. 

I am also on Pinterest - where I save pictures of pretty things. 

Arigami - the art of making things out of balloons.  Incredible things - like ballgowns, clones of yourself and this giant octopus. 

Inkodye - a crafty paint that activates in sunlight - they have a few cool DIY projects worth checking out, I'd love to try this.

Did you know that Sharpie has fabric markers!?! I haven't seen these in Canada yet, but will be going State-side soon and will hunt for these!

Another reason for me to have an iphone.  Because when I don't have an iphone, I can't use the Instagram app, which means I can't order this mini book of my photos from Printstagram.

I don't have an iphone.

( I hate those commercials rubbing it in my face, btw)

Over at the Design Dazzle blog you can make your own bubble wand kit - for making gigantic bubbles!
This was my fave thing ever as a kid, my grandpa would make the best ones, my brother would always pop them.

And for those who are less crafty, and more shop-crafty, did you know about this tool ?  You can browse Etsy (or ebay) listings with loads of photos at once - making the hunt much quicker.  This is what I found when I searched for my favourite vintage enamel flower brooches. 

Alas, that's it for this week, I'm sure I'll have more soon!

52 weeks: weeks twenty-eight to thirty.

It's been a while.  How are you?

Here's a little bit of what I've been up to, photographically speaking.

week #28 of 52.
The first time I've ever approached a complete stranger to take a portrait. 

I was a little nervous!
I met Sujan at his place of work - a fabulous button and textile shop on Queen west. He let me snap 2 frames, then the shop owner came over and was confused about why I'd want to take his picture. I offered to take the owner's as well, but he just laughed it off. All in all, a unique & pleasant experience I suppose I'll try talking to strangers again.
If you ever see me in Toronto, wave me over!

week #29 of 52.
Spending some time in the pool with a friend is never a bad thing, although wow. After trying to get a decent shot with my point and shoot, I have a new respect for underwater photographers but also want to get a housing for my SLR! Have you ever seen the work of Elena Kalis?  I love her work.

week #30 of 52.  (a) is above (b) is below. 

My friend Bry was in Toronto visiting this weekend, which meant - photo of the week! 

We headed to the darkest place we could find in my neighbourhood - a field in a schoolyard. 

We experimented with a few different compositions and styles and I have 2 favourites. 

The fight against himself (#30a) was fine-tuned over about 20 attempts at spacing, lighting, speed and whew! we had a winner. The second photo (#30b) was one shot to test lighting and then the winner. 

We finally packed up, both tired and sweaty, then headed to meet Steve for ice cream. 

Good times.

But while we were out there with the shot set up...

I hope your summer is loads of fun so far! 

See you soon!