What We Wore for Family Photos

On Sunday we had a family photo session done with Cat Watson, a Vancouver-based photographer who I connected with through work. Cat has a really warm and wonderful way about her (she's a fellow mommy too) and Eloise was instantly comfortable with Cat and her camera. It turned out to be a beautiful - but very chilly - day and in just about half an hour Cat had what she needed. Perfect timing consider this was consequently the same time that Eloise started to meltdown.

I must admit I was rather stumped on how to dress for our family photo shoot without looking too 'matchy matchy'. I wanted us to coordinate of course, but not in the 'everyone wore jeans, white tees and bare feet' kind of way. Yuck. My colour inspiration for all of our outfits came from the wintery jewel tones in a red & navy plaid dress of Eloise's which I topped with a jean jacket to tone down the formality of the taffeta material. I wore an emerald sweater, a short black pleated skirt and a red plaid scarf, Chris wore a navy gingham shirt, a great sweater and dark denim, and Noodle sported his auburn-tinted winter coat (ha ha). I think our colours were perfect for the setting and the season.

Design Mom has some great tips on family photo shoots and I like this guide on Say Yes to Hoboken. Here are a few other colour combos I came up with:

I can't wait to share our photos with you!

Craving Colour

I love the look of our home but things have gotten, well, a brown. Brown isn't even a colour I really like, but somehow our living room is nothing but: a brown chenille couch, a teak coffee table, a burled walnut armoire, a taupe chair. I finally found a sideboard that is the perfect shape, size and function (doors that fold totally in on themselves!) for the tv, alas, it too is brown.

I am craving colour. It doesn't help that the weather has gone from gorgeous to grey, but I have an intense urge to redecorate our very neutral home with colour. My plan for the sideboard is to paint it turquoise but I haven't had the time to pull everything apart in order to sand, prime and paint it. We also need more light in the living room and I am really missing the arc lamp that stayed behind at the condo when we rented it last year.

I need an instant solution. I am thinking a bright rug, some fun accessories and finally, a turquoise sideboard. Here are a few rooms I'm loving right now, see if you can spot the theme.

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Spring Colour

I had no idea what Pantone was or the huge influence it had on fashion until I took a mandatory course on colour as part of my fashion program at university. The instructing professor happened to be a member of Pantone's colour board and regardless of the way she terrorized us with her 'particularities', her lessons on colour and her introduction of Pantone definitely held my interest.

Twice a year the geniuses behind Pantone release their colour planner, a tool used for forecasting colour trends in fashion and design. I love seeing the colours that Pantone predicts for each season and couldn't help but share the beautiful palette for Spring 2013.

Interestingly, a few of the colours above were already popular in Spring 2012. The 'Grayed Jade' is not unlike all the mint we saw on denim and 'Linen' was certainly a popular choice throughout this year's wedding season with the heavy 'vintage country' theme. I am especially loving 'Monaco Blue' and 'Emerald', do you have a favourite?