rikrak

Quilt coasters

Rikrak is a cute little shop based in Ottawa, Canada, that specializes in "handmade one-of-a-kind and limited edition and upcycled vintage fabric creations". Shop owner and designer, Kristal, offers lots of great items in her shop. In addition to coasters and bibs, you can also find fun iron-on's, wallets, clutches, purses and pins! Be sure to take a peek.

Quilt coasters

Fabric Bib

Fabric Bib

Along with some other Canadian Etsy shops (you can find them all listed here), Rikrak is participating in the Team Canada Road Trip giveaway! There's a chance for you to win some wonderful prizes and support Canadian Etsy shops too. You have to hurry though, the winner will be announced July 2nd!
To get more info on the Team Canada Road Trip giveaway, click here.

Have a great Tuesday :)
bess

Postcards from Panama

Well, they took a little while to get here, but Big Chuck's postcards from Panama have finally arrived! To be honest we have yet to speak in person, only over Google chat, so I'm not too sure what it is exactly we're looking at - except for the buses, I got a brief explanation about those!

A church in Panama City

Public Transit! Apparently this is one of the city's public buses, cool, eh?! We'll have to ask for more info...



Ooooo, scary spider!

The Panama Canal

The jungle, where Big Chuck is working. Good luck BC!!
(photos: Bess Callard)

Muffinettes - Bite Sized Fun!

Preston - Sharon Montrose Photographs

I often find things in the vast and wonderful world of the web that I think are cool, but either are not in the "theme" of English Muffin (what is the theme of EM?), or I just don't feel like quoting another blogger word for word, and so they never make it onto the blog. Instead, they sit in my bookmarks folder. So, I thought today I would pick some of my favourite little bite-sized posts from this week in internet-land and share them with you. Just click on the link, and let these little... muffinettes (!) whisk you away to fun and interesting new sites. Enjoy :)

...dearest fiancé, i know you would approve...

...and most likely of this one too, i'm not sure how i feel about the blue, i think silver is more my colour...

...do it, you'll thank me...

...pretty ladies from the 50's...

...farewell, mj...

Have a great weekend!
bess

Tigerprint Contest

I entered the "Baby Character Card Contest" through Tigerprint. "The aim of this brief is to develop New Baby character/s that would be suitable for our New Baby card range in Marks & Spencer."
Here are my entries:

Whales

Duckies

Wish me luck :)

bess

Uh, how do you say....?

Listen up folks! Tired of being snickered at, ridiculed, embarrassed when you mispronounce this season's 'it' designer's name? Well no more - check out these super fun and educational videos from the Imperial Hotel Management College (IHMC) in Vancouver.

Think you know how to pronounce Thierry Mugler? Go ahead, have a listen...


Salvatore Ferragamo?

Hervé Léger?

Hermès?


How did you do?
(via The Moment)

The Beautiful Project

Pink Soy Milk and Vegan Cookies note card

"The Beautiful Project was established in 2006 by graphic artist, illustrator and web designer, Jeannette Ordas. Her work is inspired by her love of all things vintage and cute, from 1950’s cookbooks to textiles and typography."

Another great illustrator and stationary designer from Vancouver. I love how original all Jeannette's cards are, there are some really cheeky ones in her shop too, you should check them out ;)

You Are Easy To Be Around note card

Hand Signs note card set

Dutch Themed Birthday Calendar

Rain, rain, go away...

(photos found on flickr)
I'm feeling a little uninspired today. It may have something to do with the grey skies and sounds of cars driving through giant puddles just outside my window, or the fact that BC is in a warm tropical land far far away, or because I'm ramming my head against my laptop trying to make my moose work in a repeating forest pattern.

Whatever the reason, the rain has inspired me to share with you my wonderful Japanese umbrella. I love it - it's transparent. Isn't it the most brilliant invention. I never walk into people on the sidewalk anymore, and it was cheap cheap cheap. Well to be honest, I'm not sure exactly how cheap it was since it was a gift from a friend who was traveling in Japan, but apparently it came from the "dollar store".

See you tomorrow...
Bess :)

Destination: Panama

It's a busy day around the flat, Big Chuck is getting for a big trip! Don't worry though, I'm not going anywhere.


This Friday the post is actually about me. I'm a PhD student studying forest ecology and I'm going to be traveling to Panama to study the tropical forest there. I hope to have some nice pictures to post in the coming weeks, in a little feature we are calling "Postcards from Panama".

See you in 5 weeks,
Big Chuck

O Pistachio

O Pistachio
I was browsing my favourite food blogs for a recipe to make with all my fresh Burgenland strawberries and came across this great recipe for Strawberry Galette from O Pistachio.

O Pistachio is a beautiful food blog, if you love food photography you should check it out. Here are a couple of my faves...




(All photos via O Pistachio)
I could have posted so many more photos - go check out O Pistachio!!

Flocks

I first read about artist Christien Meindertsma on the Style Files and fell in love with her larger than life Aran Rug. Could you imagine having one in your house - wow, luxury! Visit her knitwear label, Flocks for more designs including, mits, hats and sweaters.

Aran Rug
The Aran Rug is handknit from the wool of 18 merino sheep.


Urchin Pouf

Identity Card from the lable, Flocks.
(via the style files)

dring dring!

Dringdring's Montreal shop
With the beautiful weather we have been having here in Vienna, I think it's safe to say that bicycle season has begun! But before you hit the asphalt, make sure your bike is road worthy with all the necessary safety gear.

Dringdring is a great company, out of Montreal, that designs the cutest bike bells I have ever seen! I am loving the cupcake - so cute ;) To buy their designs you can head over to their Etsy shop, or check out the brick and mortar stores they sell to via their website.

Cupcake

Crazy Cats

Daisy

Ice Cream

Have yourself a great Tuesday!

Sunday Swim

Sunday afternoon we headed out for a swim in the Danube river just outside of Vienna in a town called Kritzendorf. The weather was so beautiful, and the river so cold! It was the first time I'd swum in a river, and the sensation of being pulled by the current was pretty cool. Here are a few photos from our lazy afternoon.

A beach house on the Danube.

The swimming area, Kritzendorf.

A boat on the Danube.

Our little companion.

The view from our beach blanket.

Sweet Soul Friday

Guest blogger, Big Chuck, is here to share some sweet soul finds with you. Enjoy!

Mayer Hawthorne

It's sweet soul Friday,

A little while ago I posted about Mayer Hawthorne when he released "Just ain't gonna work out" a heart shaped single. Well, he's still bringing us seriously good music and I wanted to share a recent video and some links with you.

Mayer Hawthorne's barbershop quartet from Stones Throw on Vimeo.

If you enjoyed that last video you may also enjoy this one. Hope you can enjoy his music with some sunshine and a beer this weekend.

BC

Dans le jardin

Today is a holiday here in Europe - how I love a summer full of bank holidays!

We've been having a lazy day, as I speak Big Chuck and Tyke are napping on the couch. This morning we went on a lovely walk and ended up in a church procession and finally at a café across from an outdoor church service (hence the religious holiday). I took a few fun photos of our new window garden, I really love our new camera (still!).

(photos: Bess Callard)

Have a great Thursday,
Bess

Musée Hergé

Musée Hergé
How exciting! A museum devoted to my favourite comic strip, Tintin. The museum opened to the public on June 2nd in Brussels and pays homage to the artist behind Tintin and Snowy, Hergé. To see more images of the museum you can visit the blog, Daily Icon.




all images from Musée Hergé