Favorite moments

It wasn't easy to decide what my favorite moment last year was. We had a wonderful year and everyday brought awesome surprises.
I decided to choose this moment in Grasslands National park. My husband and I drove there for a nice weekend getaway camping and hiking at the beginning of summer. The weather was warm and the grasslands were especially pretty. It is one of my favorite places on earth. This photo was taken from the top of one of the highest buttes in the park. It was a nice little hike and the views were spectacular. We saw one other couple on this day. A very nice couple (a decade or two older than us) from Regina Sask. They told us that they return to grasslands every single year. It is that sort of place. Once you leave, you start dreaming of when you can return. Some people are Ocean people. Some People are city people. Me, I'm Grass people. I love the wind and the scent and the endless views. Ken has really discovered his love for the grasslands as well. We travel well together (Ken and I). These little getaways together bring me much joy. Happy New Year!

Tomboyfriend is a cool band

The artist who created Deerfly is fund raising for this awesome band so that they can produce their first album. Watch a video that Margaux made (it's currently on a loop in a Toronto gallery) . I made a $20.00 donation and got my free Mp3 immediately. It's a different song than the one in the video and honestly it's crazy good. If I had $500.00 I totally would have bought the band for a private concert.

I need this

This Stainless steel bean bag sculpture would be awesome in my yard. Oh wait. I can't afford it. Still I love it!

Camera as Art

Run, don't walk to buy one of these prints from my flickr friend Jördis !
(photo by Jördis)

I bought the holga one right away. I won honorable mention in a photo contest recently so the holga is my favorite

36 reasons why Flickr is inspiring

Some of my contacts have been complaining lately that they don't feel the vibe in flickr. I would dare to suggest that perhaps they just need to get out more. Meet some new flickr stars, get away from their comfortable circles. :) Flickr is amazing. Flickr is Fun. Here are 36 reasons why I looked at Explore this week.

award winning

Hey ! Another project I worked on has won awards. This time the house is a "cabin" in BC. I had worked with the clients before and they called me to help with their vacation home. I never went on site and instead made all my designs from the house plans. I gave the client interior and exterior paint colors (based on local bylaws) I chose the stains, the stone for the exterior of the house, the lighting (K-scope), the cabinetry, the granite countertops, the furniture etc. It was fun. we simply emailed back and forth and I arranged to ship much of the furniture (and now that I think of it the lighting and the rug) from here to BC. There were a few small problems but in the end the clients were quite happy. and now it has won awards! yay!
here are some pictures from the website. I did not take them. You can follow the link to the award website. I chose a great creamy white dining table and then all of the chairs around the table and the bar are red. The sectional came from Calgary as did the custom area rug I had made. some of the items came from Pottery barn so the client could have those shipped direct.

everytime someone links to one of these I can't help myself. paper dolls gone wild

My Rosendahl

Abe Monkey design by Kay Bojesen
Danish design
now in my home :)

2009 Edition, Interior Stories

2009 Edition, Interior Stories, originally uploaded by The 10 cent designer.

The up to date version of my portfolio is available now

Ottawa Landing

Well we are flying to Ottawa to visit Kens brother "Chris" and his lovely girlfriend this weekend. He has just bought his first house. There will be a house warming party. And yes, I suspect there will be a little decorating going on as well.

As you can see from this photo, "Chris" has been schooled by me in the art of mountain flying. At well over 6 feet tall, he is amazingly light in the air.

Camping!

The weather is gorgeous here in Alberta so Ken and I are doing a little back country camping trip. We will hike in from Buller Pass and camp the night at Ribbon lake. If we can get ourselves out of bed, we will hike up the mountain for some dawn photos. We have our camping permit, and our gear (I'm going to go buy some bear spray tonight) and I can't wait! Hope you are doing something equally as excellent this weekend!

Norway in a 10 cent nutshell

Well I am nearly over the jet lag from our trip back from Norway and finally I can tell you all about it!
About a year ago we decided to go and visit Astrid and Solve in Norway. We booked our business class tickets on points and counted the days until the trip would finally happen. It actually came faster than expected! Astrid and Solve took their belated honeymoon just before we arrived in Norway so ken and I planned a few days in another area before joining the Norwegians in Bergen.

Ken and I arrived at Stavanger airport and went straight to the Sola Strand Hotel . We loved the hotel. The room we were in was kinda small (that's what happens when you wait until the last minute to book a room) but the view was incredible! One of the staff members (I forget his name darn it) immediately took us on a mini tour of the hotel. He proved to be most helpful and pleasant for our entire stay! The rest of the staff also went out of their way for us constantly.
We had the use of the hotels free bikes (be prepared to do a little light maintanence yourself on the bikes, the staff can give you an air pump and some bike oil) which was super fun. There is a great pathway system that will take you all the way to Stavanger. We got lost several times haha but can probably make the 1/2 hour trip in one go now. (I think it took us a couple of hours the first time).
Like most Norwegian hotels, breakfast buffet is included. Sola Strand had an excellent breakfast! So many healthy choices and plenty of bacon etc. for the decadent indivduals. (Ken)
The beach that Sola Strand Hotel overlooks is beautiful, huge and wonderful.

After a few days in the Stavanger area , Ken and I took a ferry to the mountain lodge Preikestolen Fjellstue . The Lodge is architect designed awesomeness. Made entirely of Norwegian wood. We hiked to pulpit rock , and enjoyed a great dinner at the lodge. In the morning I got up early and had one of those "magic" photographer moments. Then it was back to the Sola Strand Hotel for a night and a walk on the beach and off to Bergen by air in the morning.

Astrid picked us up at the airport, we settled in to her gorgeous home and started touring us around Bergen right away. We ate like kings every night with the Norwegians cooking some nights and Ken and I cooking on others. It was awesome. Then they took us to their amazing second home at Voss . We hiked (sort of) haha. Biked! We feasted every night and day again, toured the area and had an amazing time. Once we got back to Bergen we walked the sites more, went to the natural history museum, and had some more great flickr moments . Astrid and Solve were so good to us. We were spoiled rotten and I'm certain we are some of the most demanding guests ever to visit. It was great. thank you Astrid! Thank you Solve! so many flickr moments and so many friendship memories.

Next Ken and I flew back to the Stavanger area as we wanted to take a Fjord cruise and do some more beach hopping. We don't recommend the second hotel we stayed at (Viste Strandhotell). It felt a little like the Hotel California. I swear we were the only guests yet our room did not get cleaned and well the room wasn't great. the carpet was stained and the breakfast didn't even begin to compare to Sola Strand hotel. Actually I couldn't even find anything to eat at the breakfast buffet with my gluten and dairy intolerances. Don't stay there. go to Sola. :)

Obviously we did much more than I can possibly write about. If we come back to Norway we will take a trip to the North. We wish we had pre-planned that now in hindsight. Don't plan on doing a whole lot of shopping in Norway. It is a very expensive place to visit. We think it was worth it though. Norwegians are super nice. We met and made new friends every where we went. The weather can be wet but we were quite lucky and only a couple of days were drizzlely and really only our travel days were full on rainy. so lucky!

Now we are home and planning our grand canyon rafting trip next summer will be on the agenda.

Norway

well we are having a grand time in Norway. I have not done the epic hiking I planned but hey, whatareyougonnado. We can hike when we get home. :) Tomorrow we take a Fjord cruise. quite the opposite of hiking but hopefully just as thrilling. Oh and this photo totally got blogged by Utata. which rocks.

Chanel

I am in love with Karl Lagerfield & Chanel.
This has been a 20 year love affair. Today I came to the conclusion that owning a Chanel Ready-To-Wear dress is officially on my list. Gonna do it. somehow. Ken understands. He has listened to me go on about Chanel since we first started dating. I remember showing him Vogue issues that nearly brought me to tears with the beautiful clothing and photographs. Usually of Chanel.

Blurb Book

I decided at the last minute to enter the juried book competition over at Blurb. So I put together this book called Two of a Kind. It's my simplest book to date. Not even a title on the front cover. :)

Two of a Kind

By Lori Andrews

Book Preview

Black Prince Trail and the rise to the top

As usual we got up and took our sweet time getting ready.
Once we decided on our hike, we packed our things and headed out to Kananskis country, arriving around 1:30 pm
This trail started out sweet and easy with a pretty trail walk to this lake. We walked around the lake to find that the trail head snakes it's way through an avalanche rock bed full of cairns. And then the trail heads up. It's a bit of a grind making your way up out of a lovely valley. There is a waterfall to convince you to keep going up. The part of the trail over by the waterfall would likely be quite treacherous in wet conditions so we kept that in mind in case of rain. The forecast for the day was 60% chance of rain. The light was quite flat at the waterfall and I opted to keep going rather than take photos. Keep going up that is. This trail was pretty steep we were thinking. but thankfully we knew it was not very long (only about 8 or 9 km to the cirque round trip ).

When we reached the top of this part of the climb we were in a nice big bowl (cirque) with views of the soaring Black Prince Mountain and Mount Warspite. Also the view from whence we came was lovely. So we found a nice big rock and took our lunch there. I had curried quinoa with spinach and chutney, rhubarb crisp and a couple of my hiking bars. When we arrived, there was another couple that had been just in front of us on the trail, taking their lunch as well. Also a young woman resting in the sun with her dog. I started taking photos and eventually got out my gitzo tripod that I carry and took some headless self portraits. Ken took a nap in the sun. By the time I was done shooting all of the other people had left the area to head back down.

This is when I decided we would push on to the top of the ridge. This would add quite a bit of distance and time to the hike. We chose a route on Mount Warspite that was grassy and was a low point in the ridge (col). From the ground the pitch looked do-able enough though experience had taught us to multiply by ten our expectations. haha. None of my photos show how steep it really was. It took us about an hour to make it up that final climb. I expect it was at least 400-500 m. It was the sort of steep, that you would need to scramble a bit with your hands as well if you didn't have poles with you. Thankfully we carry poles now. Our cardio wasn't tested so much as our leg muscles were.

And then we made it! It was really beautiful. It didn't rain. The kananaskis range to the east was amazingly impressive and imposing as we were viewing the highest part of the pass. The light was beautiful for taking photos. This is partially because Ken and I always start our hikes so late in the day. I expect it was around 6:30 pm by the time we made it to the ridge. It wasn't freezing either! Half the time the ridge walks have such a howling wind I curse myself for forgeting my gloves! Ken and I ran all over the ridge, snapping photos and having fun. We enjoyed the MOST delicious apple ever up there. It was quiet and there was not another person around for miles. Such a reward for our hard work!

Going down. Heading straight down a mountain is often as challenging as heading up. Ken found a nice scree area and we scree skiied down much of the mountain. Once the rocks got to big for my comfort level I picked my way down the grassy slopes while ken kept finding the rock to slide. The rest of the hike was a total picnic to descend compared to this section. By the time we got down to the cirque again, the mosquito's were out and after us. We moved as quickly as we could to hike out the rest of the way. When we reached the lake finally we overtook a family that had done the hike to the waterfall area only. We stopped to chat with them and their nice girls for about a 1/2 hour once we all reached the parking lot. You meet the nicest people in the great outdoors. Their daughters were around 12 and 8. My favorite age of children! I had a great time chatting about photography with the girls while Ken pointed out more great hikes for the saskatchewan vacationers on his topo map.

And at 8:30 pm we left the parking lot. Home by 10:30. A quick spinach omellete for dinner, a warm bath and bed. It's now 2 days later and the sore muscles are recovering nicely and we are starting to plan our next hike.

360 degrees of Saturday

360 degrees of Saturday, originally uploaded by The 10 cent designer.

Mist Ridge.
18.4 km return
655m Height gain to South Summit
High Point- 2423
moderately strenuous.
and way delicious!
6 1/2 hours with lunch and photos galore

awesome rewards on this hike. highly recommended

Hiking season begins!

I was a little worried this year. Spring has come so late and I was starting to think we would never get out hiking. And then I broke my toe. (I dropped a 60 pound glass tabletop on it). Well spring has finally arrived and I tested out my toe's fitness with a little hike with an American visitor the other day. Yay! No problems! My hiking boots (new full leather boots) that I bought last year did a good job keeping my toe on the straight and narrow. Tomorrow Kencent and I will go for a nice long hike. There is still plenty of snow in the mountains so we have chosen a hike that isn't so deep in the kan. I can't wait. I have already made my lunch.

it's official, Grasslands is my favorite place on earth

we will be going back next year. absolutely. this time we will camp in the more rugged badlands of the east block.

One Million Views!

I'm getting ready to celebrate! My flickr account is nearly at the 1 Million Views!
A New book seemed to be appropriate! I intend to give one book away to a flickr viewer. Watch my flickr stream for contest details next week! And in case you can't wait, feel free to pick one up now :)
The book is a whopping 160 pages with 365 photos representing my favorite moments from the last 4 years. Thanks for making me a contact and thanks for making flickr so much fun!

The Rainbow Co...

365 photographs

By The 10 cent Designer

Book Preview

Front Page Utata!

Oh I was thrilled to see that this photo was chosen for the front page of Utata!
Thrilled I tell you. You see, I maybe had a couple other items chosen back in the day, and well, there is this little rule about fairness and spreading the wealth etc. But today! My photo broke the rules! I am a fan of Utata. Utata and flickr go together like 10 cent and ken cent.
:)

Sweet potato t-shirts for sale

My friend Wayne is in a band and asked for my help with some photos to help him sell t-shirts. I said, I know just the location. So back I went to the little red barns. I asked permission the first time, second time round, nobody was home. Until we were about to leave. Hope they didn't mind.

Sun600 Polaroid

well it's official. I love my new/old Sun600 polaroid camera. alas, I am already out of film. I don't even know where to begin finding more. sigh. I should never have picked it up in that antique store in Cremona.
This is the very first shot I took with it. My Papa Larry, flattening the vole hills with his tractor to prepare the hay fields. He actually stopped and posed for me. Papa Larry does not pose. He despises having his photo taken. But a man's tractor is another story. This tractor represents everything he wants the world to see. Practical, not too flashy, strong and most important, not to difficult to fix up in a pinch. :)

Polaroid Love

Oh and here's an update- more polaroid film is on it's way, courtesy of the wonderful girlreaction :)

Spring

We went to the ranch for Easter dinner and brought our bicycles. haha it's kinda fun riding through fields of gopher holes and tall grass.

Dr. Nevermind's

I have always been unnaturally fond of tiny rubber baby dolls.
It wasn't until my mom presented me with a box of my childhood toys (for my 40th birthday) that I realized I actually had a bunch as a child.
I seriously considered opening a toy store when I was in my thirties. Buckarooken and I even started touring potential rental locations. I wanted to carry those little cans that moo like a cow when you tip them over, tin toys, retro toys, puppets, and everything else that the adult buyer would be nostalgic about.
I planned to call my store
Dr. Nevermind's Emporium of Curiosities, Potions and tinkatures.

Mom and I already had plenty of retail experience form running our store - The Heavenly Outhouse.
and that experience is alas, what kept me from opening the store. There isn't much money in retail and the only clerk who cares is the owner.
still, I do love toys.

Desire to Inspire

My new favorite blog
Kim at Desire To Inspire totally changed my day for the better. go check out the blog! click on the title for the link

We are going here

Somehow in the next few years we are going to this most awesome place (see title for link)
First Ken and I go to Norway next summer and the summer after that we are going on a private rafting trip down the Colorado river for 18 days. We waited 13 years on a wait list for the colorado river trip! But then, as soon as we can find the time, we are going to China. One look at this website and you will see why! come with us!

Cabin Fever

Mom and Larry are building a one room cabin on their ranch for guests. To quote my mom "it's not like we need it, we just want it". Oh indeed! I can't wait to wake up at dawn to the view of the pond on a gorgeous summer morning! Papa Larry has installed wind and solar power on the ranch this year. The cabin will have electricity supplied by the wind and the solar panels. as well, it will have a composting toilet (shhhh, pretend I didn't say toilet). I can't wait for it to be finished. so awesome.
I feel responsible for the best design feature on the cabin - windows that face the lake! seriously, I had to really explain the benefits. Just wait until I post photos of it next summer. I might just quit the city and move in permanently. :)

They all fall down

Watching the old barn.
Lately I feel a sense of urgency about photographing this old barn. It sits on a neighboring property to my parents ranch. The property it sits on is for sale. The owner does not live on the property, but rather rents out the pasture in the summertime.
Every time I get close I am certain that "this" will be the very last week the barn remains standing. I hope that it in fact remains standing for another 20. these 2 photos were taken just under a year apart. I could swear the north wall was on the verge of collapse now but it really doesn't look much different. I'm gonna cry when it falls though. That is "so" the sort of thing that could make me cry.

1stdibs Saturday sale!

1stdibs is having a sale every Saturday! now I will need to get up early Saturdays!

The Coffee Table Book

Lori Andrews I...

By Lori Andrews

Book Preview

Like most of my flickr friends, I am addicted to making blurb books.
My latest is a 54 page (landscape orientation) hardcover book filled with my favorite Interior design projects. I have ordered two, but I know I will probably order 10 more. :)
It took me this long in my career to have enough photos of my clients beautiful homes. There are plenty of gorgeous projects that I have not even had a chance to photograph!
I am working on new projects of course so who knows, maybe next year I will come out with a new volume.

Moccasin love

I have preferred moccasins over slippers for years. My first and favorite pair came as gift from my brother. He was working in Northern BC at the time doing wildlife biology work on government lands and native reserves. Somehow he managed to find an elder woman who was still making the moccasins completely by hand the old fashioned way. Of course when they arrived in the mail the moccasins were overwhelmingly permeated with a deep smoky smell as that is part of the tanning process. They were so beautiful with just a small amount of beadwork. they fit like a glove to. I wore them constantly indoors and out on quick errands. Needless to say I wore right through them in just 6 months.
I loved those moccasins. I have tried through various government agencies to contact that woman or someone like her, but it is becoming harder and harder to find someone making them in the old way. I like the ones I'm wearing in this photo. My mom bought them for me in Saskatchewan. They are "authentic native moccasins" and very warm with this fur lining. Still I hope one day to get another pair as good as those first ones. Just thinking of them conjures up the strong smokey smell and buttery feel. Anyhow, fur lined moccasins are just the thing when the temperatures dip. :)

JPG chair challenge

yay! One of my photos was chosen as a winner in JPG magazines most recent photo challenge. (the orange chair photo)
It's fun to win.

Flickr Moments

The best thing about flickr? The friends you make. Flickr helped me reconnect with awesome friends in my own city and even better helped me make new friends from all over the world.
Without flickr, Ken and I would likely never have traveled to Berlin and even if we had there is no way we could have experienced the city so easily without our flickr friends Matt and Jördis.
Without flickr, I highly doubt Ken and I would have travelled to San Francisco twice in only 2 years. Pilar, Emdot, Jody and so many other awsome Californians keep bringing us back.
And let me tell you about Victoria! We travelled to California and stayed in Victoria's amazing "by the bay" apartment without ever meeting our friend "in the flesh". Seriously, that is the true flickr moment. I just love her and I know she will come to visit soon.
The friends you meet on flickr are of the highest quality. Trustworthy, creative and amazingly open.

Like Kathya who came to stay a few days with us this fall. Oh my gosh we had fun. so much fun. teehee. When you meet your flickr friends for the first time, you quickly realize that you have known them for like evah!

This March I will go and visit Anna Beth Chao in Lousiana! I can't wait. Oh and Next summer Ken and I will travel to Norway and spend some quality nature time with our good friend Astrid and we will finally get to meet Solve!

I love flickr and flickr moments. oh and film. I love that too.

Bath Time

Ken and I love to take baths. I like to joke that the reason we bought the house was because of the tub. Well that and the shower with 7 different shower heads.
Ken and I have a saying. "The couple that bathes together, stays together."
Ok we don't really say that. But we do love our baths.

Film Lovers

Frans Peter Verheyen has a most excellent website dedicated to film photography. I was lucky enough to have a photo blogged on the site today! Have a look at The International Analogue Photographic Society website. (just click on the title Film Lovers)

Dear Boots

I have been wearing this pair of boots for years. I don't deserve them. I drag them through muddy fields and scuff them on concrete. They just had a revamp at Jim's Shoe Repair. I really ought to go and shoot Jim in his shop with my hasselblad. He has operated his shop for as long as I can remember. Jim is an adorable old Italian man. He told me "see. I fix good and cheap too!". I promise to go and shoot Jim this week. He fixed my boots. My beautiful dear Brazilian leather boots. I love my boots. I love Jim too.

That's my mom

This photo of my mom was taken in May 1970. My sister and I would have been nearly two years old at the time. My brothers, four and six.
As was the style of the day, she did nearly all of the physical work of raising us. I don’t know how she did it when I hear my friends talk of their difficult times with just one or two children.
The lovely smile you see in the picture has remained on her face for all the subsequent years. Despite nagging health concerns like arthritis and others, I rarely hear her complain.

Mom is a fabulous cook (a real Julia Child), an amazing decorator, a former entrepreneur, she is instantly adored by everyone who meets her.
Every year she manages to reinvent and creatively challenge her self. She got her first computer laptop just over a year ago or so and yet, somehow, she has managed to get hooked on facebook, and make friends all over the world already. She surprised us all recently when she flew to Estonia and Crimea to do further research on our family tree. World traveler- Check!

No, today isn’t her birthday, or any special occasion. I just wanted to boast about my mom a bit. She is fiercely loved.

Making a house a home

We are just starting our fifth year in our little house. Ken and I have no plans to move on to something bigger or to a fancier neighborhood. Every year we are able to complete another renovation project and add a few more "permanent" furniture items. We like living close to downtown. Ken is able to walk to work and I am mere moments away from the shops that I prefer for my Interior Design business. Our house was built nearly 100 years ago but it is very solid and should last many more. A small home at 1100 sq feet, it feels good to buck the environmentally disastrous trend of over scaled houses and suburban acreages. Our neighborhood is vibrant with hundreds of young families and a wonderful mix of people and cultures. We love our house. Together Ken and I are making it a home.

haircut

haircut, originally uploaded by The 10 cent designer.

Why do I always get my haircut on a nuthing, go to the gym night?
such a smooth blow out deserves a date. next time. I like my hairdresser. Her sweetly teenage opinions on world affairs and hair salon chatter never fails to amuse me. she is cute and 25 and she gives a nice cut for only $60.00 including tip.