Posted By Red Headed Frog on November 11, 2009

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I’ve been recieving the Aubin & Wills Almanac for some time now, and their designers never cease to amaze me. I am especially fond of the absolutely brilliant typography showcased in each volume. I do love the company’s clothing as well, but I must admit that I look forward to the Almanac for the graphic design and typography. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but there you go. I keep all of their issues, but my absolute favorite one is the Autumn 2009 Volume I received some time ago. I adore the front and back covers. They are stunning! The photography and editorials are beautiful as well. Everything about the design in this issue is brilliant.

Almanac via Aubin & Wills

Category: Art & Design, Typography | No Comments »
Tags: Art & Design, art and design, aubin wills almanac, great typography, Typography

Posted By Red Headed Frog on November 10, 2009

Unfortunately, my laptop died this past week. It was a black Macbook that has lasted me over 5 years, and I must admit I was a bit disappointed it bricked on me this soon. I figured something would go wrong with it about this time, but I did not anticipate it being the hard drive. Needless to say, I either had to spend quite a bit of money on a new hard drive, or spend money on getting a new laptop. Thankfully, my lovely husband keeps most of his old machines and offered to give me his broken Macbook Pro instead. Oddly enough, the hard drive had gone on it as well, but it was still under warranty. Now, I have a shiny Macbook Pro. I couldn’t be more pleased, but now I have to find something to carry it in. It doesn’t fit in my travel cases so I had a look around and found these lovely bags by Kazzki.

I am not sure if they are meant to be laptop bags, but I can certainly fit my computer in one. They are made from 100% Industrial Wool Felt and each bag is created by hand. The designer weaves together her creations, then secures the parts with rivets. They look like very strong and sturdy bags to me. If you would like more information on Kazzki bags, I do recommend you visit the Kazzki website. The designer is based in Australia, but she ships all over the world.

Images via Kazzki

Category: Style Find | No Comments »
Tags: accessories, felt handbags, industrial wool bags, kazzki, laptop bags, style find

Posted By Red Headed Frog on November 9, 2009

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These are my kind of designs. Lilac Pop has a lovely collection of art, fashion and crocheted items all handmade by the very talented artist behind the shop. She is based in Michigan, USA, but I do believe she will ship anywhere in the world if requested. There isn’t one thing I don’t love in Lilac Pop, and I certainly recommend giving it a view. I am especially fond of her jewelry designs. If you fancy any of the items in this post, I do recommend visiting the Lilac Pop website.

Images via Lilac Pop

Category: Style Find | No Comments »
Tags: beautiful accessories, brooch, earrings, funky accessories, lilac pop, style find

Posted By Red Headed Frog on November 4, 2009

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I don’t quite know how to describe the artwork of Lena Yampolsky. I can say that I absolutely love it. Her work is a bit dark, a bit playful and very revealing of her traveling life. The brush and pen strokes she uses are very interesting to me. It seems as if the worlds created in her paintings are composed of liquid colour in a way. Everything seems to melt into itself and back out again into the landscape. Her work is is very different, and I quite love her style.

Lena grew up in the southeast of Georgia, and has traveled throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. Her work is certainly influenced by her travels and the melting pot of cultures she has come across. She creates digital and mixed media work for sale and as an independent illustrator. If you fancy giving her work a browse, I recommend visiting the Baba Yagada Shop via her website. I don’t know if she would be willing to sell originals, but she does sell high quality prints online.

Images via Baba Yagada Shop

Category: Art & Design, Fine Art, Illustrations | No Comments »
Tags: art and design, baba yagada shop, Fine Art, Illustrations, lena yampolsky, middle eastern artist, surrealistic paintings

Posted By Red Headed Frog on November 2, 2009

I had a little expedition the other day with my husband through Great Windsor Park. We were absolutely amazed at how beautiful the park is during Autumn. The landscape was painted with warm, fiery tones, and the ground was littered with nuts, berries and the occasional giant fungus. It was quite a site to behold. I am adding a few of my favorite images from that trip. I quite fancy the fungi the best. They are quite the experts at camouflage.

Category: Art & Design, Photography | No Comments »
Tags: british autumn, fall colors, images of autumn, wandering the forest, windsor park

Posted By Red Headed Frog on November 1, 2009

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Today is Day Of The Innocents which is when children that have passed come back home to see their family. Tomorrow is Day of the Dead, and this is when adults that have passed come home. Dennis and I don’t have the luxury of spending these two days at the cemetery where our friends and relations were buried, but we still celebrate in their honor at home. It’s a very important part of my culture, and a very important tradition to me. I’m just glad Dennis helps me celebrate. I don’t feel so alone on these two days because of him. Now, it’s time to get the food cooking, the wine flowing and the party started. I’ve added a few videos about Day of the Dead and Day of the Innocents in case some of you aren’t familiar with the tradition. Happy Dia De Los Muertos everyone!

Image via sfmission.com

Category: Wayfaring The World | No Comments »
Tags: day of the dead, day of the innocents, dia de los innocentes, dia de los muertos, mexican culture, wayfaring the earth

Posted By Red Headed Frog on October 26, 2009

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I’ve been in need of a new winter coat as mine are starting to look a bit tattered. Most of my sweaters and jackets are actually full of paint from wearing them to the studio, and my only trench coat seems to have some sort of security tag still attached to it. I literally beep every time I enter or leave a store that has those security panels by the doors. I do love my trench coat, but I just can’t take having to explain myself every time I go shopping. Trust me, I’ve tried finding the thing, and I don’t think I’ll be able to located it unless I take the coat apart. I’ve pretty much given up on it, and I plan on donating it to charity. Well, I am also donating it because I’ve had it for about 10 years, and it certainly needs an upgrade.

I’ve been looking for the right coat for some time now, and I think I’ve narrowed down a few choices. One of them is certainly out as I seem to walk past someone who has it every 5 minutes in London. Then, I came upon Little House Clothing this afternoon and I became hooked. The coat and jacket designs are absolutely stunning! The artist creates all of her designs by hand from start to finish, and uses 100% wool for most of her pieces. If you fancy any of the designs below I recommend giving the Little House Clothing website a view. The designer has detailed information on ordering one of her pieces to your measurements. I recommend giving it a look.

Images via Little House Clothing

Category: Style Find | No Comments »
Tags: coats, etsy, handmade coats, handmade designs, jackets, little house clothing, style find, wool coats

Posted By Red Headed Frog on October 24, 2009

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The Carre d’etoiles might be a tiny cube out in the middle of the countryside, but it is certainly a luxury habitat I wouldn’t mind living in permanently. Louis and Nathalie BLANCO developed this concept through the Bocages company as a means to introduce a new form of sustainable tourism. The cubes aim to combine accommodation that lets you get closer to nature while bringing high quality hotel service into the mix. In 2009, the tiny homes became available throughout France, and more are scheduled to open in the next year. Each cube includes a shower, sink, kitchenette, storage, loft, telescope, furniture and luxury appliances.

I am quite interested in visiting one of these on holiday now that France is only a train ride away from me. The business idea is quite brilliant, and the finished design looks absolutely stunning. I am very interested to see if the concept works in practice. I actually wouldn’t mind living in a building like this permanently. It is quite a bit smaller than we were thinking, but it is certainly a experience I wouldn’t mind having especially if we can try it out on holiday. I wonder if they would sell these as homes in France as well offering them as holiday accommodation. For more information, visit the Carre d’etoiles website. What do you think of the concept?

Images via Tiny House Blog

Category: Green Companies, Green Design, Green Ideas, Green Living, Greener World | 2 Comments »
Tags: Carre d’etoiles, eco building, french accomidations, Greener World, natural accomidations, prefab homes, sustainable buildings, tiny home

Posted By Red Headed Frog on October 22, 2009

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It’s getting quite cold on my side of the world, and I’ve found myself baking and cooking hearty meals quite a bit more. I absolutely love cooking, but summer isn’t really the season to cook stews and apple pie. Thankfully, Autumn and Winter are upon us, and I can now start enjoying some of my favorite seasonal recipes. I’ve cooked all of these dishes during these last couple of weeks. It simply reminded me of how much I love the colder months, and I decided to share some of my favorite recipes with everyone. Enjoy!

• Fantastic Beef and Barley soup via Recipe Zaar. This stew is a big lengthy, but certainly worth the work. Delicious!

• Lovely Carne Asada Recipe brought to you by Simply Recipes. This is one of my favorite recipe sites, and this recipe is one of the reasons why.

• My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe via Recipe Zaar. I’ve made this for my neighbors and they gave them great reviews. These biscuits are very chewy.

• Fantastic apple pie recipe via All Recipes. This is one of my favorite recipe sites as well. Everyone gives great reviews of these recipes so you are always sure you get the best one. Very delicious apple pie recipe.

• Very good Southern Buttermilk Biscuit recipe via Recipe Zaar. I love having these with hot chicken noodle soup or beef stew. They are very delicious, but a little tricky to make. This recipe helps you get through the hard parts.

• My favorite Garlic and Onion Mash recipe via Recipe Zaar. I absolutely love mash with my Sunday Roast, and this recipe is my staple.

Image via Crystal Woroniuk

Category: Link Loving | No Comments »
Tags: autumn recipes, beef and barley stew, biscuts, carne asada, chocolate chip cookies, colder month recipes, Link Loving, mashed garlic mash, recipes, seasonal recipes, winter recipes

Posted By Red Headed Frog on October 22, 2009

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I have the absolute pleasure of living ten minutes away from this magnificent university. My husband is currently attending the University of London Royal Holloway for his Masters Degree, and we moved from Brighton to be closer to the school. I was sad to leave the seaside city, but I am very pleased to have moved closer to this lovely and very iconic establishment. I’ve visited the grounds before, but this is the first time I took my camera. I took some lovely shots of the outside and inside of the building today. The grounds are quite grand. I don’t think I could describe the magnificence of the building in words so I decided to show everyone instead. I had a really good time on campus today. I feel very glad and privileged to live so close to this university. I only hope I will be able to attend one day.

General Directions

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Here are general directions from Heathrow Airport in London. You will probably find this more useful if you are visiting the UK from another country. Let me know if you have any questions.

From Heathrow Airport

• From Heathrow Airport, take the tube, which is London’s underground train network. Here is a tube map.

• Take the Piccadilly Line to South Kengsington

• Get off the train at South Kengsington and get on the District Line to The Embankment

• Get off the train at Embankment and get on the Northern Line to London Waterloo

• Step off the train when you get to London Waterloo and walk upstairs to the Overground train station

• Buy a ticket to Egham at the ticket booths in Waterloo Station and take the next train there.

• Once you get to Egham Station, you can take a taxi to Royal Holloway or take bus 71 to the University.

• When you get out of the station, turn right and keep walking until you get the the intersection. You want to turn left at the intersection and walk up the curves street. You can take the bus from the bus top on the curved street, or turn at you next left once you get to the pub. If you decide to walk, keep going up Egham Hill after you reach the pub. Remember, you turn to you left after you reach the pub. Keep going up the hill until you reach the University. It will seem like a long walk, but it only takes about 20 minutes. I recommend you take the bus or a taxi on your fist trip.

Let me know how it goes if you visit.

Category: Wayfaring The World | No Comments »
Tags: beautiful university, english university, royal holloway, travel, uk university, university of england, university of london, Wayfaring The World