Coco gets married, en France...

Having a little trouble getting into the wedding spirit? This should remedy that.

Canadian supermodel, Coco Rocha, gets married in true fashionista style at the Chateau Challain in France. Beautiful bride, dreamy location, could this wedding get anymore gorgeous? Yes, yes it could. Add a Zac Posen gown, the bride and groom's nearest and dearest, and fireworks to top it off. Enjoy!!

Coco + James // Teaser from Americana Cinema on Vimeo. via La Belle Bride

ps. You can see the full 19 minute film here.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

xx Bess

Wedding Week

It's finally arrived - the week of our wedding! I'm starting to get excited, but honestly it still doesn't feel real. I think in part that's because we've been doing most of the planning from Montreal (we're getting married in Toronto), and because we really only started organizing this whole shebang in June!!

Regardless of whether I or not I can believe that this time next week I'll be a married lady, I'm determined to enjoy this week to the fullest. There are a few things left to do for the party (aka reception), and I've had lots of offers of help from family and friends, so I'm going to be taking people up on those to make sure that I don't turn into a stress ball as we get closer.

Next up on the list:

Order wine glasses.

Have a wonderful week!!

x bess

ps. We bought a dozen of those white vases to decorate the cafe with. I think they look pretty with the wild flowers I picked from our neighbourhood in them. Still haven't decided what flowers we'll buy... thoughts?

Happy Friday

Big Chuck giving us a nature lesson at the cottage.

I hope you've had a great week! Mine's been pretty good.

I've begun working on the 2011 English Muffin calendar and I think it's coming along nicely. I've also been steadily crossing off items from the Wedding To Do list (the big day is only a week away!!), and working on a freelance project for a fun fundraiser later on this year. On Tuesday, we celebrated Big Chuck's sister's birthday and I made this, and last night I got together with some super lovely Montreal design gals here.

This weekend, we're having Big Chuck's brother and his lovely (and pregnant!!) wife over for dinner, so I'm super excited to see them!

How about you? Any plans for le weekend?

Have a great day!

xo Bess

Perfect Pairs

1. Merde Pillow 2. Letterpress Dice Print

1. Indoor Garden Print 2. Wedding Nest

1. Painted Pots, set of four 2. People



I love the Merde Pillow! When I was dancing, we would always say merde before a show to wish one another luck. In French, merde means sh*t! Not sure how that's good luck, but it seemed to work ;) I would love to have this pillow on our couch, so funny!

My own perfect pairs for the week...

rainy days + soup

Tiffany's + chinatown

babies + weddings

How about you?

Have a thrilling Thursday ;)

x bess

Canadiana: Bess & Charlie

Surprise!

Today's Canadiana designers are me and Big Chuck! You may remember a while back I told you we had some DIY projects on the go for our new apartment. Well, they're pretty much done, and today I'd love to share with you one of the projects, our Ace Hotel inspired bookshelf.

You've probably seen the original DIY post on The Brick House blog and perhaps the similar shelf that Daniel and Valeria from the Hindsvik blog made too, we took some inspiration from both units, but in the end opted for a simpler freestanding shelf.

When it comes to styling, you'll have to forgive me. Since returning from Europe we've had to start pretty much from scratch and have yet to accumulate the lovely odds and ends that make a shelf look pretty. We do however have this gorgeous Eames child's chair and I think it works so well with the shelf. The matte black chair base and shelf frame = match made in heaven. Now to find the perfect print to go on that wall and a pair of antlers for the top shelf and we'll be cookin'!

Have a great Tuesday!

Bess

Courtney + Parry get married!

Hello!

I'm back from my week in Ontario, which was quite the roller-coaster ride complete with some car stress, ticket stress and Subway sandwich stress, but overall a really wonderful time.

Of course, the reason for our trip was to attend my best friend Courtney's wedding. We all had a smashing good time at the big event and besides seeing my best friend walk down the aisle, I also got to see my wedding stationery in action!

Along with the wedding invitations, Save the Dates and website, I also designed the name cards, table numbers and menus. I was really happy with how everything turned out, and even happier that the bride and groom loved it too!

The beautiful bride and her father.

It's official! They're Mr. & Mrs.

Big Chuck and I on the shores of Georgian Bay. The reception was held at the Charles W. Stocky Centre in Parry Sound, a really lovely venue.

Now onto my own wedding! Less than 2 weeks to go....

Happy Monday!

x bess

Wedding + Holiday

Tomorrow morning we're waking up bright and early, hopping in the car and heading west. It sounds so romantic, traveling west, really we're just going to Ontario, to the pretty northern towns of Parry Sound and Haliburton to be exact.

The destination, however, is not as important as what's bringing us there, we're attending my best friend C's wedding. The beautiful C will be marrying the handsome P/L and I can't wait!! As a wedding gift, I've designed all the stationery for their special day, from the Save the Dates to the place cards and I'm eager to see how everything comes together. Of course, I will take plenty of photos, and will share them with you here on the blog.

Following the wedding, Big Chuck and I will be joining my family at the cottage for a little R & R. I'll be back in town on Thursday and hopefully back to blogging then too.

Have a wonderful week, and à bientôt!

xx Bess

Canadiana: Dear Libby

How cute is this sock monkey named Chester?! This little guy along with many other adorable toys was designed and made by Calgary-based illustrator, designer and crafter Dear Libby. You can check out the rest of the family here!

Have a great Tuesday!

Bess

Sunday Pie

I did, I made a cherry pie - and with a lattice pie crust no less. I was inspired to pick up some cherries at the market on Sunday after reading Lake Jane's tweet about making a delicious cherry slab pie. I had every intention of waiting until the recipe was up on her blog today, but alas, there's just something so 'feel-good' about baking on a Sunday afternoon. So there it is, my over crusted, under-cooked cherry pie. Despite it's flaws, it was delicious.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Bess

Happy Weekend!

Lots of "to do's" to take care of this weekend. From finishing up our kitchen table to finding the perfect wedding shoes (ugh) to making some time for a hike on Sunday, there's already lots of stuff planned. But let's be honest - it's the weekend, Big Chuck and I will probably nap most of it away.

How about you? Any plans?

Have a great weekend!

x bess

ps. how CUTE is that kid?

image via morillo

Perfect Pairs

1. Navajo Indian Wool Rug 2. Candela



1. Vintage Wooden Letters 2. Vintage Wire Cutters

1. Object MIMIC 2. Felt Camp Fire

This week's yummiest perfect pair at our house was...

strawberry rhubarb pie + vanilla ice cream

How about you? Any perfect pairs you're enjoying this week?

Happy Thursday!

x bess

Small Business, Small Steps: Pressure's on

I find I work best under pressure. That's probably true for a lot of us entrepreneurs/perfectionists. There's something very motivating and freeing about watching the seconds tick down to a deadline. Knowing that whatever choices you make are final and not allowing yourself to, or having the time to, second guess. Of course, I don't enjoy being in the situation where I run out of time and can't produce a quality piece of work, but when the stars align and the majority of the grunt work has already been done, forcing myself to sit down and complete the project can feel extremely rewarding and productive.

I should really hire a scary boss type to demand work be completed on time, I'd get a lot more done at English Muffin!

Have a productive Wednesday!

Bess

image via Boomerang Thang

Canadiana: Tamé

Love this pretty necklace from Montreal shop Tamé. The fancy knot would be sure to impress the sailor in your life.

Happy Tuesday,

x bess

Back patio

Big Chuck and I have been working on some crafty projects around the house recently, namely a kitchen table and a bookshelf. While both of them are complete we have yet to put the finishing touches on them and so they're not officially 'done', but once they are I'll post all the pics we took documenting the whole process from beginning to end on the blog. In the meantime I thought I'd show you our new and improved back patio. Big Chuck built this little table with the off cuts from our kitchen table and stained it a nice dark grey. We're debating whether to stain the kitchen table the same colour... I think we're leaning towards yes.

We got those school chairs in Fenelon Falls, where Big Chuck's parents live. We picked up all four for $6 at the local Salvation Army - deal!

I got a chance on Saturday afternoon to break in our new outdoor nook with a cup of jasmine tea, an apple and peanut butter snack and a good book. Yay for weekends!

Have a great Monday!

Bess