1-2. Over the weekend we shot Larkspur’s Summer Lookbook ’14. Gerald shot everything on 35mm, Leesa gave us beautiful Bridget Bardot inspired looks, and the beauteous Marta and I modeled. Things have been a bit difficult for me since Gertie’s passing, and I was considering postponing the shoot, but I’m glad I didn’t. It was a wonderful and much needed distraction.
3. Ryan spent the whole day on the beach with us while we shot Larkspur’s lookbook. It can be horribly boring to sit around during a shoot you have no involvement in, but I really appreciated him being there for me. Yes, that is his mexican blanket wrapped around his head. He is very good at entertaining himself.
4. For my birthday Ryan bought me a cactus and Meaghan got me a jade plant. I like plants.
5. Ryan had once claimed he had never tried a pickle before, which I thought was ABSURD! He kept saying he didn’t like them, but that made very little sense to me, since he said he had never tried one, so I made him eat one. It is still unclear whether he likes them.
6. This was the last picture I took of Gertie. It was on Tuesday evening, the day before she passed. She was looking to Ryan to give her a little taste of what we were cooking.
7. Cute cook in the kitchen.
Tag: photography
Belle Vie / 15
1. My parents have been redecorating their home and bought this beautiful antique table. I guess it’s pretty obvious where I get my love for antiques and vintage from.
2. Cleo and Maya! I grew up with three dogs, but Sophie passed away over a year ago. Just these two are left. They have grown so attached to each other over the years. It’s so cute!
3. My parents always have such a lovely garden.
4. My brother Nick, and his son/my nephew Jason. Jason has autism (and wears those headphones a lot because too much noise upsets him) and it’s definitely not an easy thing for any parent, young or old, to have to deal with, but we love him to death. He couldn’t possibly have a better father or grandparents here to do whatever they can for him.
5. My two brothers, Nicholas and Zachary. I don’t see them often, but I love them dearly.
6-7. My beautiful, wonderful mother. This lady is an actual angel and I don’t know what I’d do without her. I can talk to her about anything and I’m so grateful for that. When I’m upset or overwhelmed she is the first person I call.
8. My dad! If you ever wondered where I get my strangeness from, it’s him. My dad is the most generous human I have ever met. His kids and grand kid are his whole life and he goes above and beyond for us. We didn’t really get along when I was a teenager, but our relationship has turned in such a beautiful direction.
9. My cousins Matthew and Ashley and their other halves. It had definitely been over a year since I had seen them (maybe more!?), and it was so nice to see how well all my cousins are doing.
10. My amazing grandparents cutting their cake for their 60th anniversary. I surely hope I can stand someone for that amount of time (haha)
11. My grampy! We kept joking that he looks very bohemian with his long hair.
12. My dad and I taking Cleo and Maya for a walk.
13. More flowers!
14. Cleo is the best! Growing up she was my dog, and it was really tough on her when I moved away from home back when I was 19.
15. Every time I visit Ottawa it is an absolute must that I see Upjeet. I have known him since I was 12, and we dated in high school for a couple years (teehee), and then became best friends (well I guess we have always been best friends). I don’t see him very often, but he is so important to me, and lucky for me he is moving to Toronto, so I’m pretty excited about that.
Belle Vie / 14
1. I was trying to take some silly photos for my birthday when Ryan walked in the door with some gifts for me and then decided he wanted to be in front of the camera. I let him be a weirdo for a moment, and then joined him. It would be nice to have more photos together I think.
2. I love love love the outdoors and I love being near water, but I’m actually pretty terrified of swimming in lakes/oceans. I don’t like the idea of not knowing what’s beneath my feet. It always takes a bit of self-encouragement before I get into water with lil’ fishes in it.
3. Ryan and our friend Oskar got really into soccer during the World Cup. They’d watch a game and then head to a soccer field to kick the ball around for a few hours.
4. Before sitting on the beach for the day on Saturday, we strolled around the paths on Ward’s Island, checking out the houses and wishing we lived in them. We found this one home with a giant boat hanging in a tree.
5. Jiggly Balls! I don’t know if that’s an actual name, or if Ryan made it up, but Ryan filled 3 balloons with sand at the beach and started to juggle and then tried to teach me. I don’t think I will ever get the hang of juggling.
6. We turned the Jiggly Balls into smiling fish, or smiling tadpoles, or smiling sperms (inappropriate)?
7. Boats!
8. He’s just like really handsome, and he shaved his head!
Belle Vie / 13
1. A little snap from Canada Day. The weather was so confusing this day. Our original plan was for Meg and I to go to the beach, but chances of thunderstorms quickly ended that idea. However, it never rained, so we ended up getting some tasty drinks at the Abbott and sitting at a small park nearby discussing how lovely it would be to live in the country.
2. My little angel, Gertie – when she gets really excited she starts snorting like a pig.
3. For Christmas Meaghan had bought us a groupon to take a pottery class together. We didn’t end up taking that class until very recently. I am kind of obsessed (we both are) and we are hoping to scrounge up enough money to take a 10 week course.
4. Some interesting people have moved into an apartment in the building behind ours. They are the type of gentlemen (I use that term quite loosely) that like to interrupt us while we are peacefully sipping beers in our backyard having good conversation. Thankfully we have four dogs who do not take kindly to strange men approaching and scare them away with their high pitched barks.
Constant Resurrections / Gerald Larocque
Had I never started this blog or selling vintage clothing, I probably would have never met Gerald Larocque, which would have been a crying shame because it’s not often you get to meet and befriend such a brilliant person. I’ve now worked on three shoots (two in one day!) with him, which I feel lucky even saying. Gerald’s photography is mostly focused around a conceptualized, surrealistic nature, in conjunction with fashion, leaving you with photographs that make you wonder “How?!” But it doesn’t end there, his editorial work holds feelings of romance and dreamy imagery that he captures on both analog and digital. His process is one I very much admire. I think one of the beautiful things about his work is that he can visualize a concept and bring it to life in what I can only assume is exactly how he saw it in his head. This is no easy feat. It’s been quite interesting for me to be a part of someone’s artistic vision, and help turn it into something tangible. This particular series, ‘Constant Resurrections’, is one of my favourites. It’s eerie in just the right way, thought provoking, and visually stunning.
If you’d like to see more of Gerald’s work, you can find it here.
And you can follow him on twitter, instagram and FB
okay andie 