by Amanda on July 30, 2010

I probably should have mentioned that I was taking a blog rest for a week but I never really like to commit to things like that so I went with the flow. The flow unfortunately did not direct me towards writing anything meaningful, so silent ole Mocking Bird sat.

My mind has been filled with all things moving, furnishing and decorating for the past month and my poor noggin is starting to spin. We will be moving in a month ( if everything goes to plan) and I can’t wait to share my new little place with you all once we are moved in.

In my never ending searches for items to make my house a home, I find I become obsessed with the hunt. Are you like this? Once I get an idea in my head that I want a cream coloured, ceramic utensils pot with a little circular detail, I don’t stop until I find it. Half the time I think I invent these things in my head. After much searching, I’ve had to settle on a white, ceramic utensils pot that has no detail whatsoever. Sometimes you just need to let it go. I mean, really, it’s a pot for holding spatulas and wooden spoons!

I did however find the most glorious, girly lamp that I’m over the moon about. If you’re ever in Vancouver and you have a penchant for French inspired white girly things,  you must visit Stella Bleu. It is my absolute favourite store.

Here are some of the places that have had my attention captured for the past few weeks:

Apartment Therapy
Lovely Design
Maillardville Manor
The Happy Home
Whole Lotta Lovely

CATEGORY: Shop Shop Shop, The Move | 9 COMMENTS
TAGS: Decorating, Home Decor, Moving

by Amanda on July 24, 2010

How’s your weekend going?

CATEGORY: 1st Year in Vancouver, Photography | 13 COMMENTS
TAGS: cafes, Foodie, Weekend

by Amanda on July 23, 2010

I always imagined that I would get to visit beautiful places on planned vacations. On planned vacations that take me 2o plus hours of plane travel to arrive at. This little trip came out of the blue on a dark, winter’s day when the possibility of a family reunion taking place in Edmonton was announced. Sean suggested we make it into a road trip so I could see the Rockies and experience the awesomeness that is Canada.

I never imagined that this little road trip would change my life the way it has. I have always been a traveller and a lover of seeing the world. It’s something we Australians do, we travel, we see the world, we leave our homeland to go exploring. I think it comes from being so isolated from the rest of the world. We have to go out there and make sure it really does exist.

So it changed my life, how? I had the most amazing experiences with nature that I never dreamed could happen. I literally had a close encounter with a deer as tall as the car as she peered into my window, our eyes locked and I was transfixed by her beautiful, honey coloured fur. I was gob-smacked at how calm she was, at how beautiful her eyes were…and then she was gone.

And I think the gob-smackedness comes from that thing about Australians being so isolated from the rest of the world. We hear about these creatures in fairy tales and books like Wind in the Willows and because of that they seem mystical and surreal. Stumbling across elk one morning gave me the same feelings I felt when I saw Bjork on stage. She was as much an enigma to me as these majestic creatures were with their velvety antlers and prancing through the forest. Yes, I did just compare Bjork to elk.

I still peer into the trees and bushes whilst driving along the highway into Vancouver hoping for the slimmest chance that I will spot some wildlife. My animal spotting obsession is now with me for life but that’s OK. While many road trippers were sleeping through their drive, I spotted over 30 animals in their natural habitat. I think that’s pretty damn awesome.

Photographs taken with a Nikon FM3A 35 mm SLR using Kodak Portra 400NC film.

CATEGORY: Inspiration, Photography, Travel | 27 COMMENTS
TAGS: Banff, Travel, Wildlife

by Amanda on July 20, 2010

Today I’m taking off the photographer hat and snuggling on my teacher hat. In my many years as a primary educator, my greatest love in the classroom came every morning when the kids and I would get out our writing books and create new worlds with our imaginations.

For me, writing is one of the greatest ways to get kids using their imaginations and creating. Every little kiddie is a natural born author waiting to have their ideas and stories explode onto the page.

It’s currently summer holidays in the Northern Hemisphere and the mid year holidays are wrapping up down under. Unfortunately, kids will lose some of their learning over a big holiday break, so it’s really great if parents can continue with activities to keep those little minds ticking over.

Here are some ideas to get kids writing:

This is just a tiny sampling of ideas to get kids writing. As a parent, I wouldn’t be too concerned about their spelling and grammar. Definitely help them out if they ask you, but at pre and infants ages (2-7) it’s far more important to just let them write. Their teachers will have set ways in which they teach them about spelling and grammar. The teacher’s job is to teach them strategies to figure out spelling and grammar when stuck on unfamiliar words.

You can of course remind them of these four rules:

Every sentence must have; a capital letter to begin, full stop at the end, spaces between the words and it must make sense. Obviously Pre schoolers and even some Kindergarten children are not going to be familiar with sentence structure, so helping them to simply write familiar words is more than enough.

As I mentioned in the Ways to Inspire Kids to Love Books post, the best way to get kids excited about learning is through being excited yourself. Use yourself as a model and show them that you love to write. Call them “writers” and “authors” to make them feel proud of their accomplishments. A little praise and encouragement is the best gift you can ever give a child.

Photograph taken with a Holga using black and white Ilford film- this was a love note given to me by one of my Kindergarten students. She and her dad left it on my car one afternoon. It made my day.

CATEGORY: Creating With Kids, Photography | 16 COMMENTS
TAGS: Creating With Kids, Writing with Kids

by Amanda on July 19, 2010

Hello friends,

I hope your weekend was a lovely one. I’m easing myself into this week with a hello to any new visitors to Mocking Bird and a big thank you to all my lovely regulars for the ongoing support.

The lovely Amanda of Here Comes The Sun wrote a sweet post about my Polaroid photography today. Her blog is beautiful, you should definitely check it out. Thank you Amanda! I am now offering prints of the Tulip fields, Treats and Moraine Lake from my recent trip to Banff. I offer all my Polaroid prints in sizes 5″ x 5″, 6″ x 6″ and 8″ x 8″. You can see many more in my print store here.

Here are some links I’ve been enjoying lately:

• This talented lady with her super savvy business tips.
• Jen and Martha are at it again with their summer series.
• Tec Petaja Photography- sigh!
• Win a Poster print at Sacred Lotus.
• The Cook’s Atelier – gourmet goodness.
• Censational Girl is so creative and clever with her home decor renovating.
• Beautiful cake bunting on etsy.
• Great blogging tips from Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim.

Be back tomorrow!

Photograph taken with Polaroid SX70 camera and Polaroid Artistic Tz film.

CATEGORY: Announcements, Inspiration | 8 COMMENTS
TAGS: Links, print store

by Amanda on July 15, 2010

One thing about living abroad that I find totally inspirational is just getting out there and doing things that you wouldn’t ordinarily ever do at home. One thing that I can say I’ve never done in Australia, is go to a baseball game. Seeing as Vancouver doesn’t have a Major Baseball League team, we go to the minor league games at Nat Bailey Stadium. It’s a beautiful little field with all the right colours and sounds to create beautiful memories.

This is what I love about living in a foreign country. You get to experience little snippets of a very different life that you would never get to do while holidaying. I love embracing this part of a culture that I’m learning to fit in to.

Going on these little adventures are a great way to stretch the photography skills and I can totally recommend getting out there and doing these things in your own city. Things that you may not have necessarily ever thought about doing or experiencing. Imagine you’re that tourist for the day or the new kid in town. Take your camera and explore, shoot a photographic essay of the day. You never know the gems that may follow you home.

CATEGORY: 1st Year in Vancouver, Creativity, Inspiration, Photography | 17 COMMENTS
TAGS: Baseball, Photographic Essays, Summer

by Amanda on July 14, 2010

Crescent Beach is one of those hidden little places that upon entering feels like you’ve almost stepped into somewhere completely separate from Vancouver. The ‘Welcome to Crescent Beach’ sign looks like something out of a Jaws movie and sets the tone for the quiet haven that rests ahead. Beautiful, quaint ocean houses line the streets and some are lucky enough to have the ocean as their backyard. I’ve never seen the place as busy as it has been the past few weeks with all this gorgeous weather we are having here in Vancouver.

Photographs were taken with a Yashica FX3 camera using Kodak Portra 400NC film.

CATEGORY: 1st Year in Vancouver, Photography, Wandering Neighbourhoods | 20 COMMENTS
TAGS: Beaches, Crescent Beach

by Amanda on July 13, 2010

As this is mostly a photography blog, talking about houses and homes and all things decorating isn’t usually on the menu. However, one thing you should know about me, author of this here blog, is that I am a housey decor fiend. When most teenagers were reading Smash Hits and Dolly Magazine, I was checking out my mum’s Better Homes and Gardens and Country Homes mags and salivating over the latest kitchen designs and Italian pasta bowls. I think it’s all part of that Cancer Crab Domestic Goddess thing.

The Canadian and I are moving into a new apartment come September and I cannot express how excited I am. We have found a new place in a great part of Vancouver, surrounded by restaurants, cafes and transport, and all within walking distance of the beach.

I have been furiously pinning housey things to Pinterest and checking out furniture store after furniture store. Before we left Sydney, I had to really just deal with the fact that when we moved, we would have to start over. I hate the fact that we have to buy everything again but it is kind of fun. I also get a re-do and know what mistakes not to make!

So here are the mistakes I made and will not make again:

Mistakes Not To Make When Furnishing a House

1. Don’t buy a white couch unless you never plan on sitting on it.

2. Don’t buy “for now” furniture. “For now” furniture ends up costing you more in the long run because it will need replacing after about a year.

3. Don’t get a place with “on street parking”. This is pretty hard to avoid in Sydney as so many places only have on street parking. If you can avoid it, do! Having to drive around the block a dozen times before being able to park your car at your own house is a pain in the butt. It used to drive me insane.

4. Don’t buy just one chair/sofa/couch. It makes entertaining very hard when your guests have nowhere to sit or have to B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Chair).

5. Nobody should ever live without a dining table for 4 years.

6. Don’t buy a sofa so small that it can’t be laid upon.

7. Don’t take hand me down furniture if you hate it. It will depress you.

8. Cheap vacuum cleaners are cheap vacuum cleaners.

9. If you like coffee, you should be able to drink coffee in your house.*

10. Square plates and bowls are very hard to stack in a dishwasher.

* My friends think I’m weird because I don’t drink “house coffee”. I only drink coffee in cafes and restaurants. I am going to be brave and invest in a good quality coffee maker because having to drive to Starbucks when I get a coffee craving is just silly.

Have you got any home decor/furniture mistakes that you wish you could correct? Anything that drives you crazy about your place?

CATEGORY: 1st Year in Vancouver, The Move | 19 COMMENTS
TAGS: Decorating, Home Decor, Moving, New Apartment

by Amanda on July 12, 2010

Always my biggest dilemma when travelling is figuring out which cameras to take…or more correctly, how many I can fit in my bag. Before the Canadian and I went on our Canadian Rockies road trip, I wrote about said dilemma.
In the comments, one of you lovely readers asked about what photographers take with them whilst travelling. I think that’s such a great idea for a series of interviews. In running with the theme, I thought I’d share what I took with me on this last trip.

I am clearly not one to take pointers from as I take FAR too many cameras with me. I would love to condense it down but I get sad when thinking about leaving them behind. I do use them all, if that helps any. Here we go:

Top row:
Yashica FX 3 with 50mm lens for 35mm film- every day photographs on film. I usually choose between this or the Nikon.
Holga- I don’t always take this with me but thought it would be great for mountain shots.
Nikon FM3A- my main travel camera. It has a 28mm lens which is great for travel photography. It’s trust worthy and I know I won’t miss any shots with this camera.
Second row:
Polaroid SX70 – I don’t really need to say why, do I?
Canon 40D – I really don’t use this camera personally anymore. The Canadian made me bring it.
Polaroid Spectra- I wouldn’t ordinarily bring this for travel but I needed to shoot for our Polaroid book.
Third row: 120 film for the Holga, 35mm film for the Yashica and Nikon, Polaroid film for the SX70.
Bottom row:
iPod touch- for checking my notes app which I store photo ideas.
External hard drive- I recommend bringing one on a long trip, you never know what might happen to your digital pics.
Photograph holder- I bought this at Urban Outfitters about 3 years ago and I use it anytime I leave the house with my Polaroid camera. It’s great for slipping Polaroids in to keep them safe and protected.
Canon IXUS Point and Shoot- crappy little P&S we use for all our family and friend snapshots.
Polaroid Spectra film- for my Polaroid Spectra camera.

To carry all these items, I use a Lowepro slingshot backpack and my handbag for the day to day touring. To transport them around, I use the Lowepro and a leather weekender bag I bought in Sydney. I also have some individual Crumpler camera bags which work well but I’m not a fan of  ‘Look at my bag, it’s got expensive camera equipment in it’ type bags. I will get around to getting one of these beautiful babies eventually.

As I said, I don’t usually take all of these cameras with me. I would usually only take one Polaroid, instead of 3 ( I also took the SLR680) but I was shooting for the book on this trip. While travelling around on individual days, I wouldn’t obviously take them all with me either. I usually only have one film, one Pola and one digital at a time.

Do you have any camera travelling/packing tips?

CATEGORY: Photography, Travel, What's In Your Kit? | 18 COMMENTS
TAGS: Camera Addiction, Packing for Travel, Travel Camera Kit

by Amanda on July 9, 2010

I adore my flickr contacts. They inspire me every. single. day.

The sunshine and summer is finally here in Vancouver, so I figured I’d share some of my favourite summery shots from the past couple of weeks. I never thought I’s see myself in a tank top sitting by a fan in Vancouver, but it’s happening and it makes me so happy!
Most of these pictures are Polaroids and those that aren’t are film.

Have a great weekend all. I plan on being back full time next week with some film photography from our Canadian road trip and some travel tips. I have a roll from the Yashica, one from the Nikon, a little black and white and a Holga roll waiting for me at the lab.

I’ve already attended a baseball game this “weekend” (OK so I started the weekend on Thursday night), plan on sitting by the fan, reading more of this and making these. What are your plans?

Please go visit the streams of these fabulous photographers and tell them how lovely their work is. I know they’d appreciate it.

1. Untitled, 2. rwb, 3. Untitled, 4. Cherries!, 5. wide open, 6. **, 7. summer so far, 8. hotels with swimming pools, 9. Untitled, 10. lantern, 11. Untitled, 12. Our Weekend

CATEGORY: Fave Me Fancier, Inspiration, Photography | 9 COMMENTS
TAGS: Flickr faves, Summer, Summer Is Here! Woo!