ST. MARY'S NURSERY & GARDEN CENTRE

I've been visiting a lot of garden centres around the city lately.  The beautiful flowers, the lush green plants, the succulents…What's not to love about summer at the garden centre?!  Today I visited St. Mary's Nursery & Garden Centre and snapped some photos.  Here are some of my favourite shots from my visit at St. Mary's Nursery…

ADVENTURES IN MEDIUM FORMAT FILM

As part of my Diploma in Professional Photography, we had to take one class called Analogue Techniques (AT - "eh-tee" is what we called it, for short).  AT focused on film photography including 35mm film, medium format film, large format film and darkroom techniques.  When I told friends and family that I was shooting film, developing my own film and learning how to make prints in the darkroom some of them replied: "They still teach that?!?!"  They do, indeed!  As the saying goes: "You can't know where you are going, until you know where you've been."  I think having a good understanding of the basics of film photography can only enhance one's understanding of digital photography…The more knowledge the better!  Being a child of the 1980's, I had taken photographs with 35mm film before (that's how we did it in the "old days!")  However, I had no experience with medium format film,  and no clue as to exactly what "medium format" meant.

H2OFFICE BY CIBINEL ARCHITECTS LTD

I bought myself a bike last week, and I`m so happy with it.  I have been going for a ride every morning and I`m loving it!  I took this photo on my ride last week.  The little yellow umbrella and table is just so cheerful, and I`ve always been intrigued by this building that is supported by stilts and goes over top of the pond.  As I was taking this photo I realized I didn`t know anything about who designed this building.  After a bit of Google-ing I found out that this building is called H2Office (hee hee...cute) and was designed by Cibinel Architects Ltd.  You can scroll through some other photos on the Cibinel Architects Ltd. website here, and the inside of the building looks pretty darn cool, too.  ▲

5468796 ARCHITECTURE

I'm not really on the up and up on architectural theory, but I do know what I like when it comes to interesting and modern design.  One of my favourite new things is photographing interesting buildings, and Winnipeg seems to have lots of really amazing designs popping up all over the place.  Above are some photos I took of a condominium building here in Winnipeg called Bloc 10 by 5468796 Architecture.

PARLOUR COFFEE

I treated myself to Parlour Coffee today.  I haven't had coffee for a couple weeks now, so it really felt like a special treat.  I am obsessed with the Parlour lattes, and their iced lattes are equally delicious.  The only problem is that their lattes are so good that I drink them so quickly, then I want more!  If you are in Winnipeg (or visiting Winnipeg) and haven't yet tried Parlour Coffee then you should.  Their hours are Monday to Friday, 7 am to 5 pm, and Saturday 9 am to 5 pm (closed on Sundays and holidays).  ▲

COOL GARDENS

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!  This weekend I wanted to get out and enjoy the nice weather so I decided to check out Cool Gardens at The Forks.  Cool Gardens is a series of public art installations all within walking distance of The Forks.  I heard about Cool Gardens from the Winnipeg Design Festival on Twitter and I have been wanting to check it out ever since it was announced.  I'm glad I went - It was such a  warm sunny day and perfect for getting out for a walk.

PURE PAPER EXTRACT

I wanted to share this amazing Etsy shop with all of you, since the designer is from right here in Winnipeg!  Pure Paper Extract is the shop belonging to Donna Hainstock who is a Freelance Graphic Designer.  I stumbled on Donna's booth last fall at a local craft sale, and I picked up a couple of her "Don't Cry" baby onesies for Christmas gifts.  The onesie is made of certified organic cotton, comes in three different colours and sizes, and is screen printed with this ADORABLE original illustration by Donna and her husband.  Isn't it just the cutest?!!?  I've now gifted three of these onesies to different friends who are new parents and everyone has just loved them!  They definitely make original gifts for baby showers!  Also, if you've got some toddlers to buy for, Pure Paper Extract has some aprons with the same "Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk" screen printed on them which would be perfect for little helpers in the kitchen!  They've also got adult size aprons, tea towels and some other neat things - check out the full Pure Paper Extract shop here!  ▲