I’ve been working on expanding my products and offerings this week, and I’m really excited about some of the new stuff I’ve got going on! Check it out:

• Hair and makeup styling for engagements, bridals, or any portrait session. Fifty dollars and we’ll get you all done up before the shoot. The stylist will also come along for the photo session to make sure you stay looking fabulous. FIFTY DOLLARS! Do you know how awesome that is?
• Newborn sessions: for one hundred dollars I’ll come to your home wielding cute props (or I can use what you already have) and my camera. You also get twenty five birth announcements out of the deal, which brings me to my next point…
• Cards! Folded or flat cards printed with one of your images on smooth cardstock and designed to say/be whatever you’d like. Wedding thank you cards, holiday cards, birth announcements–you name it, we can do it.
• Metallic prints, canvas wraps, and mounted prints now available on the proofing site.

p.s.: that’s my niece June. Isn’t she the cutest?

I had such a great time photographing the Oveson’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. The have a really fun (and musically talented family)! All the live music was provided by the family band, entirely composed of kids and grandkids.

You can see more here.

So, this week was my birthday and I’m feeling quite grown up. This is largely due to the fact that said birthday coincided with my last week working at Publications & Graphics, which means that I am now 100% self employed!

Though I’ll miss my job and my awesome co-workers, I’m really excited to be able to totally devote myself to my business.

I’ve got big plans for improvements, so you can expect to see:

-A mega website revamping

-Some much needed portfolio updates

-Pricing adjustments I think you’ll like

-New offerings (did someone say hair and makeup styling for engagements/bridals? YESSSS!)

-And of course, much more of yours truly

Are you excited? I most certainly am.

We’re in the middle of a surge of tomatoes and zucchini and though I’m scrambling to find new recipes to use them all, I totally love eating fresh from the garden.

The botanical gardens in Montreal are some of the best I’ve ever been to. I used to go all the time when I was a kid.

Here are just a few from the greenhouses.

This is one of the biggest markets in Montreal and it’s only two blocks from my dad’s apartment. I would die to have such a massive variety of fresh local food so close to me. Some highlights were things like bundles of purple, yellow, red, and orange carrots and fun sized cantaloupe (the size of an apple).

Vegetarian foodie heaven? I think so.

I woke up my first morning in Montreal to find a bunch of jars like this one in the kitchen. I guess my dad lets his jam cool upside down.

More photos from the trip are coming up soon.

I’m heading out of town and won’t be reachable by phone. If you need to get ahold of me, feel free to email (claire@clairemarika.com).

Let’s just hope the tail section of my plane will be in better shape than this one.