Urban Condo

My cousin told me he was selling his downtown Toronto condo and so I offered to take some photo's for his listing. In my business, I've photographed many home interiors as well as businesses for various magazines, advertisements or even real estate companies. Although his was a pretty standard unit, he had built in some very appealing features and I wanted to capture them.

It's a one bedroom plus den with lots of natural light coming from the large windows and a great view of the downtown waterfront. Pretty typical for a new unit in town (minus the view) but he had taken this ordinary urban condo, and turned it into a one of a kind space with just a few alterations. Installing this bamboo wall to feature his living room was one example.

A wood casing was made to house pot lights and river rocks where the tall bamboo stalks were embedded in a trough of river rocks. The wood was then stained a darker stain to compliment the light floors. Also, a small open shelving unit was made to divide the kitchen from the living area but also allow for more storage in this small space. I love the orange accents they had used to compliment the neutral colours in the space. Using a coloured pillow, throw and some tall leaves in a jar could be some of the easiest and most affordable ways to add colour and impact to your space.



Another feature which I thought was pretty unique to this space was what he did with a plain open wall. Most likely the choice of wall to place a television against, either by hanging it on the wall or finding a television unit to fit the wall. What my cousin had done was pretty clever. He had cut a hole in the wall, installed a swivel system and attached the t.v. to it. This would allow for the t.v. to swivel and turn 180º into the next room being the bedroom and once swivelled, it now faced the bed head on. You could watch t.v. in either room without having to purchase 2 t.v.'s or move anything (aside from a simple twist of the wrist). This also keeps all of the unsightly television and stereo wires tucked away as to keep the focus on where it needs to be.

I'm not sure if this unit is still available, but if you're looking for a downtown Toronto condo, contact me and I can give you the info!

I thought it was all pretty ingenious and I'm always impressed at the imagination that people have with their homes. This just shows what you could even do with a small space like a downtown condo. Don't be afraid to let your personality shine through. If it's simple things like adding a coloured pillow and throw or building your own bamboo wall, it's your home, an extension of who you are. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money and it doesn't have to be a lot of work. I'm always so proud and content when someone enters my home and says that it is a true reflection of who I am. Inspiration can come from anywhere, don't be afraid to let yourself shine through with whatever you do.

Check It Out!!

Here's what I've been shooting the last few months!
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These were shot for Clean Eating Magazine, November/December 2009 Issue


That's me!!! Top left corner of pg. 11 in the November/December 2009 Issue of Clean Eating Magazine!!

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And these were shot for Today's Parent Magazine, October 2009 Issue

The "Door" Project

This summer was all about giving the front of my house a face lift. This 85 year old house would finally have that great curb appeal I had been wishing for. In just a few short months, two dedicated and determined home owners, some help from a dedicated father, and a very limited budget, we managed to do quite a bit of work around the outside of house and transform it.

Along with the front, we also worked on a few projects around the back of the house which included a new backyard fence and gate. At the front, we had painted all the windows and doors, painted a very rusty old iron railing, painted the brick and details on the front of the house and added a new gate in between this house and the neighbours. If there's time, I'd like to replace the evestrough and tile the front walk way with slate. Yes, I'm a little ambitious seeing that it's October now in Toronto and working outdoors will soon become miserable.

When we had begun our summer project on the outside of the house, we started with painting the front porch railing. Realizing that we had plenty of Tremclad metal paint left over, we continued with the windows. Sometime in the early 80's, someone thought it would be a good idea to replace all their windows with brown aluminum windows with small sliders along the bottom. Seems like everyone else in the neighbourhood had the same idea. Now I certainly don't have the budget to replace the windows because they're unsightly, but since we had plenty of leftover paint, we kept going and painted all the windows. What a huge difference a new coat of paint on an old metal railing and dated brown windows make. We've even had comments by neighbours looking to update their brown windows! Still lots of leftover paint....

In front of my door, was a brown and white glass storm door. Replacing it was a consideration, but again, the cost just didn't seem worth it.

We thought we'd try and paint that as well but knew we had a big project ahead of us. We started first thing in the morning so we could give the door plenty of time to dry. Oh, to make things easier, we removed the door and set it up on some paint cans to avoid drips. We lay the door down, taped carefully around the several windows in the door and painted, about 2 coats per side. So far so good. Later that night, it was dry to the touch, but just to be safe, we leaned it up against the wall and left it for a few more days for the paint to cure.

Next was the door. Now, when I first moved in, this door was ugly. The yellowish brown stain on the entire door covered by a high gloss laquer was not pretty. The orange patterned window inset with a small square frame around it didn't help. I hoped to one day replace the door altogether, but never got around to it. Instead, I built up the frame around the window painted the door white, and lived with that for years. But now with the whole house starting to look much better, it was time for a drastic change. I had gotten used to the ugly orange glass in the door, but it was time for it to go. I started looking at replacing the glass and saw several patterned glass options to choose from, but I wasn't loving any of them. Shopping at Home Depot one day, I discovered rolls of plastic window film from Light Effects which would stick onto windows, glass etc. I've seen these before, I have some on a bathroom window, but these were much nicer, much more stylish. I fell in love with one pattern, the Etched Lace, but it cost a bit more than I had wanted to spend. I called my my glass guy and asked him to quote me a few different options of glass. I decided to have 2 thinner pieces cut and stick the film between the two. This way, the film would be protected and no one would know it was not actually etched glass. The Light Effects treatment was super easy to use! The two pieces of glass were $18, and the window film was $30. First we had to remove the existing wood frame around the glass and then pry out the old glass, very very carefully. We managed to pull the glass out in 2 pieces, but it could of been much worse! If you're doing this, please wear protective clothing, goggles and gloves!

Once removed, we cleaned out the old glue and placed a thin bead of construction adhesive or caulking around the inside of the frame (glass facing outside). I'm no pro here, so you'll have to do your own homework as to what's best to use. Then the glass is carefully put into place and another bead of caulk is run along the edges of the glass. The strips of frame are pressed into the caulk against the glass, the screws go back into the existing holes, wood filler fills the holes. and sanded when dry. The door lock was salvageable, but the handle was upgraded for approx. $47.00. A previous door lock left a large hole in behind the newer deadbolt. I had used a metal plate to cover the hole, but as you see in the 'before' picture, it was a lovely shade of brass. We painted the plate to match the colour of the new door. Before the locks went back on, we painted around the door lock and handle holes before they were secured back onto the door. This way, we didn't have to worry about getting paint on the new hardware, and any odd brush strokes. We also replaced the weatherstripping around the door with an aluminum coloured one to match the knobs (about $17).

Finally, we primed and painted the door. The front was the same matt black paint from Tremclad used to paint the railing and all the windows (you can also use this 'rust' paint to paint wood!). The inside of the door was painted white with some leftover paint used to paint all the doors and trim inside. So for about $120, and some leftover paint, all of a sudden (ok, days later), we have a stylish new front door!
What do you think??

Pizza Margarita with fior di latte mozzarella

There's a restaurant I frequent in Toronto, Il Gato Nero, that has one of the best pizza's I have ever tasted. It's so simple in ingredients, yet full of so much flavour. A relative to the owner, who also works there, had seen me order this pizza time and time again and had told me a story of where this pizza recipe had come from. If I have my story correct, it goes something like this. This pizza originated in the owner's home town of Naples, Italy, in a tiny pizza shop there. And although this pizza shop in Italy only carries 2 types of pizza's, the line up out the door never seems to shorten. And I can understand why!



Pizza is one of my favorite foods, and I have occasionally made pizza at home, loading them up with any leftover vegetables and cheeses in my fridge. They can be fairly inexpensive to pick up, so if I were to make one at home, I usually cheat a little since all the ingredients can really start to add up in costs and with letting the dough rise, it could take some time to make. I usually keep a can or two of pizza sauce, in my pantry, bags of dough purchased at the local grocer can be kept in your freezer, and any leftover bits of veggies in your fridge will do. If you like pepperoni or other meats on your pizza, you can also keep those in your freezer for those pizza craving moments.

This time I cheated.
I had a bag of dough thawing in the fridge and it had started to rise quickly. I took a walk to the local butcher (who also carried fresh cheese) and bought a ball of fior di latte mozzarella went. I pulled the dough out of the fridge, let it warm up so it could continue to rise and opened a can of pizza sauce. Ok, pizza sauce is really easy to make, but what's easier than opening a can of sauce and dumping it on? I usually have some can's of pizza sauce, tomato paste, and sauce on hand since you can do almost anything with them. Today, I didn't want to waste time.

So I had my ball of store bought whole wheat dough rolled out onto my pizza stone, slapped on the pizza sauce, and sliced up the ball of fior di latte mozzarella and placed over the sauce. There's so much flavour in this cheese that you don't need to much of it to make it taste great. The final touch was the basil out of the garden and then sprinkled some dried oregano (just for fun) and popped it into the oven. It took less than 20 minutes, but you'll have to keep an eye on your pizza. The cheese shouldn't go too brown, and you can also check to see if it's ready by using your lifter to check under the pizza, that should start going brown. You just want to make sure the dough is baked. If you've let the dough rise for some time, your crust will be thick and the pizza might take a bit longer to bake and if the dough is a thin crust, it won't take as long. Got it? You can't really go wrong!



If you had a bit more time and wanted to make this from scratch, here are some recipes.
For the dough:
1 (25 oz) package of active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for 5 minutes
Then add the remaining ingredients and mix by had or by mixer (or just throw it all in a bread maker)
Kneed dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Coat the inside of another bowl with Olive Oil and place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
I haven't tried making pizza sauce from scratch, but this is as close as I've come
Pizza Sauce:

1 can of tomato paste
using tomato paste can, measure 1 can of warm water
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried italian seasonings
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp parmasan

Place all ingredients in a small pot and place on stove top turning it to Medium heat and let simmer for at least half an hour while stirring occasionally. You can adjust the seasonings to your liking. Add different herbs, more garlic, make it spicy! Whatever you like!

Sweet smell of Lavender

Lavender makes me happy. Really! Aside from the incredibly soothing scent of lavender, did you know that it has many natural healing properties? The oil which comes from the flowery spikes, has been known to treat many ailments from: skin conditions, to sleep problems, muscle aches and tension, to depression, even stress and anxiety. It is one of my favorite scents and it really does takes away my anxiety, calms me down and makes me happy! Perhaps that's why everything from my skin cream, hand cream, shampoo and conditioner, bath oil, even cleaning and laundry products have lavender in it. When I can’t sleep at night, I put a bit of my lavender scented Shea butter creme around my nose. Every time I take a breath, the calming aroma relaxes me and helps put me to sleep. I even have lavender oil which I burn in my candle diffuser to bring the calming scent to the whole house! You can even cook and bake with lavender, although at this point, I just like to smell it :) I think this scent is pretty magical, it calms me from the inside, out. Not that I'm a bundle of nerves or anything, but who doesn't like to feel a little more at peace if they could, only by the natural scent in the air they breath?

I have quite a lot of lavender in my garden, both front yard and back. The little perennial plants that I purchased years ago and planted in both gardens, have grown and expanded beautifully. When I walk by a lavender bush, I can't help but run my fingers through the stems up to the flowered spikes. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and smile as the scented oils that had rubbed off onto my hands bring a state of calm and peace over me, even for just a brief moment. I have not yet been adventurous enough to use the mass of lavender in the garden to create my own concoction of home-made soothing scented products. Perhaps I’ll leave that to the professionals. All I can do is admire these beautiful plants, and from time to time, cut a few back and display them in a vase in my home from my indoor enjoyment as well.
I walked home after a rain shower a few weeks back and admired the changing colours of the lavender in my front yard. They had gone from a pale grey lilac colour to a vibrant purple in just a matter of weeks, and the colours seemed even more vibrant after the rain. I couldn't resist grabbing my camera to take a few snapshots of the garden.
After I took some photo’s, I wanted to do more. I photographed a few strands in a tiny vase to sit on my powder room's sink. The bathroom is tiny enough to appreciate the small bouquet. I still wanted more. I looked at my ever growing collection of plates and dishes that I have for my studio props. Over the years, I had photographed hundreds of meals on lovely dishes, for various recipe magazines, but every so often, the shot was about the place setting itself and not the meal. So I though, why not use the lavender to decorate a place setting? Ok, so I'm not so formal as to use name tags for my dinner guests place settings, BUT, it might be a nice idea for a wedding, bridal or baby shower, or perhaps an anniversary party? Sky's the limit when you have fun and use your imagination!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I picked up the Martha Stewart Holiday cookie magazine a few years back. I love making cookies at Christmas and although I have a handful of standard favorite recipes, I'm always looking for new ones (this one now belongs to the "standard favorites").

They’re super easy and I almost always have all the ingredients kicking around. These loaded crispy Peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are always a hit! Chocolate chips, whole peanuts and peanut butter, who doesn’t like peanut butter with chocolate?
The original recipe makes 6 dozen cookies, so I usually cut the recipe in half, and whatever doesn't get eaten, I put into ziplock bags and into the freezer. And no need to thaw, they taste great cold!


Original Recipe: From Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies 2005
(makes about 6 dozen)

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups salted whole peanuts
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Put sugars, butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix in peanuts and chocolate chips.
4. Using a 1 1/2" ice cream scoop, drop balls of dough 2" apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.


This time around:

I tried something a little different with them this time. In the past, I have used applesauce as a substitution for oil or butter in different recipes and they’ve worked out just fine. Not sure how it’s possible for one to compensate for the other (I’ll have to Google that later!), but it works…it cuts out the fat and tastes great. This recipe called for 1 cup of butter, so this time, I’ve used unsweetened applesauce instead of the butter. The cookies came out looking the same, but curiosity got to me and I had to taste one hot right out of the oven. It tasted as good as always. I let them cool on the baking rack for a little while, and tried another one. As the cookies had cooled, the difference between the applesauce substitution became evident to me. Although the cookie tasted exactly the same, it was soft, not crispy like they had been in the past. I had my taste tester check them out and he agreed, texture was off but they still tasted as good as ever. Still the same yummy cookie without the added fat but with the consistency of a granola bar (hmmm, gives me an idea for a new recipe! Stay tuned…). Perhaps next time I make these cookies, I’ll only use 1/2 cup of apple sauce and 1/2 cup of the butter, still cuts out the fat and hopefully bring the crispiness back to the cookie.

If you love peanut butter and chocolate, you'll LOVE these cookies!! Try the original recipe and experiment from there.

Check it out!

Check out some of my food photography in the current (July/August 2009) issue of Clean Eating Magazine, on stands now!

Best Banana Bread

I'm not sure when I had first come across this recipe, but I remember it this way...
When I was a kid, my parents had gone to a yard sale and came home with this little square booklet of typed recipes. I picked up the book and skimmed through it when my eyes landed on a recipe for Banana Bread. I had never made banana bread before, but had tried the recipe and it was perfect. It still is years later! I admit, I'm a bit biased as I have never used another banana bread recipe, but when I find a recipe that works, even as a child, why try anything different? I have altered this recipe from time to time, but I never really stray far from the original.

Original Recipe: Unknown Author

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Cream together butter and sugar
2. Add beaten eggs
3. Add sifted flour and baking soda
4. Add mashed bananas (and nuts etc)
5. Bake in a greased loaf pan for 45 minutes at 325º (preheated)


This time around:

I always add about a cup of Walnuts and about a cup of Chocolate Chips to the Original recipe (what doesn't taste great with chocolate chips and walnuts?) Oh, and it always takes at least an hour to bake but be sure to test it out for yourself! When you think it's done, stick a knife in the centre and if it comes out doughy, it's not done yet.

This time around, I used 1 cup of Unbleached Flour and 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour instead of 2 Cups of White. I thought I had more Walnuts in the kitchen cupboard, but I was running low, so I used 1/2 cup of chopped Walnuts, and 1/2 cup of chopped Pecans. In the end, I had forgotten to add the Vegetable Oil to the recipe but it was too late since it had already gone into the oven!

The results? Well, tasty as usual! The missing Vegetable Oil made the bread a little less moist than normal (and a little less fattening!), and the Whole Wheat flour gave the bread a bit more of a grittier taste. But even with these changes, the loaf of bread was still as yummy as ever! Delicious and warm right out of the oven, tasty the next day after it's been sitting out wrapped in tin foil to keep it moist, and the last few pieces still yummy after sitting in the fridge to preserve it for just a bit longer. The bread was gone in just a few days, and even passed my guest of honour's, taste test!

Spring Flowers

The spring flowers had come up after the last frost, they've bloomed and called it quits for another year all to make room for the vegetables, herbs, flowers and weeds that were eager to grow. Even though these perennial's will come up on their own again next year, there were only a handful of them and I was hoping to save the seeds so I could have more the following year. After the flowers had bloomed, I waited for them to wilt and shrivel, then I trimmed the dried up blooms and lay them in the sun until they were fully dried. I’ll plant the seeds this fall for next spring’s growth and hope to see more of the little spring flowers next year.

I love to garden, but there’s still so much I have yet to learn. After a few years in my home, my garden has evolved quite a bit. It still has a long way to go and I'm continually learning. I'm sure with more time and money, it could finally become as abundant and lush as I had always wished, but alas, I am not a patient girl, and with the impending renovations indoors, I’m also not interested on spending more money on my garden right now. Besides, the garden has become pretty self-reliant over the years. In my first year here, I had spent a wad of cash to fill up the garden with annuals. When year two came, and my garden was bare once again, I finally realized what the big deal was about perennials. Spring #4 has just passed and I had very few annuals in my garden, the perennials have now taken over and have left me with only weeding and some rearranging left to do.

The spring perennials that I’d planted over the years or that I had inherited from previous owners, never seem to last long enough. It feels as though, by the time the weather warms up enough to get out and admire them, they're all dying off. A couple of years ago, I had planted some Lily of the Valley’s. They're the tiny white bells surrounded by giant green leaves. I remembered seeing them on a Martha Stewart Magazine cover from several years back and thought they were adorable. I had used this issue as inspiration for the photo’s I took. Muscari or also known as Grape Hyacinth, were found in the yard when the weeds were cleared away years ago. These little spikes of blue flowers resembling bunches of grapes have almost a musky scent.


Now that my summer garden is taking care of itself, I'd like to devote more energy in developing the spring one. There are so many different flowers to choose from, tulips perhaps being the easiest but tastiest among the squirrels that live in the trees, aren't the best option. So I continue my quest for beautiful spring flowers that can thrive just a little bit longer...
I love spring! Forget New Years Eve, spring is like a fresh start every year. One of the best things about that time of year is watching the spring flowers come up. As my summer garden continues to prosper and is self-reliant, I’d like to expand my spring garden and watch it flourish. With the seeds that I had saved and now stored in ziplock bags from the recent blooms, and a little effort, I’m on my way to an abundant, and full spring garden...all for free!