modern beach

The Stinson Beach House by Blasen Landscape Architecture is a lovely example of a contemporary landscape that balances clean, simple lines with softness and warmth. I love the rich materiality of the built features juxtaposed with the soft texture and movement of the grasses. Although this project takes place in the California landscape, this style would transfer quite nicely to coastal Nova Scotia.

fall show

Autumn seems to be moving through rather slowly this year - which is fine by me! I love long, leisurely walks through Halifax's older neighbourhoods which afford glimpses of vibrant foliage (like this hydrangea) juxtaposed against colorful, historic houses.

evening stroll

A few pics from a late summer stroll up the path behind my cabin shortly before I left Oregon. Magic?

hot hot hot!

I took this photo of my cayenne peppers on my last day on the farm in Oregon. It's the first place I've lived that I could really grow these spicy little heat-lovers. I'm now home in Halifax, NS and the lovely fall we had been having has turned bitterly cold! Just thinking about that long hot summer takes away a bit of the chill...

st. john's salve

I spent the other night making a st. John's wort salve - simply melting beeswax into oil infused with st. johns wort, calendula, comfrey and echinacea. It has a beautiful, rich, red tone and would be great for burns, nerve damage and all-purpose skin healing. 

I'm feeling inspired to put together a line of pure, plant-infused body products. I can't wait until I have a bit of land to grow all of the herbs myself...

pretty partnership

I just came upon this photo on the Evergreen website - cabbage and nasturtiums - what a lovely edible plant combination.

a day at the office

Yesterday was a nice break from my usual design desk job- I got to visit a site I've been designing in order to check the alignment of a road that will soon be constructed, and to find a place to install a bridge to cross this stream... 

When I left the city it was sunny and mild, but the Annapolis Valley was a winter wonderland. I've been feeling a bit jaded lately with working in a high-pressure firm, but days like this make me appreciate what a great profession I'm in.

This site will soon be a camp for sick kids, and I intend to make sure the camp rests lightly on this forest and keeps all of the magic that drew us in the first place. 

I hope you're having a magical pre-holiday weekend! xo

rock solid

As much as I love the beach, I could never quite see myself getting married on one. This wedding on a rock outcropping on the other hand is perfectly sweet and simple. My perfect wedding would still be under big trees in a beautiful garden, preferably my to-be garden. 

(via a cup of jo )

desk dreamin'

I'd love to be here right now...

But right now it feels more like this...

Ok, it's not that bad. I'm not in a cubicle, I have a window and a giant plant, but being stuck inside on a gorgeously warm November day feels like cubicle hell.

{photo via Bliss}

a mod entrance

This mid-century modern path is really fun! Check out the DIY here . {via Apartment Therapy }

Underwater Park

Who doesn't need a moment of calm amidst a hectic workday? Check out this video of scuba diving in an ephemeral lake.

Explore this recently flooded meadow park in Austria with walking trails, benches and picnic tables. {via antlermagazine  }

The “Grüner See” (Green Lake) is situated in Upper Styria, Austria. It is amazingly beautiful because of its deep green/blue colour and the surrounding alpine scenery. The lake itself dries up in autumn but fills up with melting water. The water itself of the lake is extremely pure, like glass. The colour is a result of light refraction.

I missed PARK(ing) Day!

 Pioneered in 2005 by Rebar in 2005, PARK(ing) Day is a one day (Sept. 18) event where people take over metered parking spaces and create temporary parkettes or other public spaces. Last year over 500 installations where created worldwide. The essence of the event is to question car-oriented infrastructure. {via Polis}

Speaking of questioning car-oriented infrastructure, Nocturne, Halifax's equivalent to Nuit Blanche, is featuring an installation entitled The Parkades Project. "Exploring the spaces of car-parks this project is inspired by the movement of people, inherent architectural acoustics and environmental considerations. Through rhythm, scent, light and sound this piece creates an aesthetic experience for pedestrians in a building for cars..." This is definitely at the top of my must-see list for Nocturne.

Skylights

I looked up while sitting in the Halifax Public Gardens into 

the canopy of a horse chestnut and was stunned by this 

beautiful pin-wheel design created by the silhouette of 

leaves against the evening sky.

This reminds me of the stick-on wall decals that are popular 

right now. Although, much lovelier, of course!

My first post...

{spotted on Christian Barnard landscape blog}

I've recently been enticed into the world of blogging 

by a friend  "You're the type of girl I'd expect to have

 a blog". So here it goes. 

I'll share my daily excitables, my experiences of 

being a young land architect in the real world, 

the challenges of decorating a small loft apartment 

and maybe the occasional juicy personal tid-bit.

I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

I'm happy to have you along.