a ginger beer announcement

I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seat to hear the outcome of the latest ginger beer venture. Wait no longer, ye ones with bated breathe. (What is bated breathe anyway? It sounds a little bit yucky.)


Without further delay: it was a flop. I received news from my brewing buddy on Saturday advising me of the moulding puddle that was supposed to be deliciously refreshing ginger beer. The beverage attempt was consequently poured down the sink, leaving me with a distinctly empty feeling in the pit of my stomach and a rather sour taste in my mouth... that was the lemons, I would say.


I've got one thing to say to you Country Women's Association... stick to JAM, ladies! (I'm sure their other recipes are okay. Well, they'd want to hope so...!)


All is not lost. Although no fizzy ginger joy could be found on this side on the planet, I did come across this Canadian advertisement that makes up for everything.

Found my Ginger friend here.

Big grins for this one. If only more things were 'gingervating'!
And if we ever do hit a winner recipe... I know which way I'll be heading to market the liquid gold!


e.

the shot

I find that photos can capture something that you almost don’t notice when you’re there in real life. Seems quite absurd, I know, but I love it.

I also love shoes… a little too much. (Yes, Mother, I can feel you rolling your eyes from here. I love you too!)

I stumbled upon this photographer, Arnel Henry, while playing ‘close-my-eyes-and-click’ on tinyvices. Somewhat like Russian Roulette, although I’ve found it’s mostly win-win in this case. By the way, tinyvices is a great place to get lost in photo-browsing if you've a spare few hours on your hands.

There is something deeply evocative about these snaps… then I spied shoes - SOLD! mmmMMmm shoes. No doubt I will talk about shoes much more during our wonderful blogging relationship. Get excited, friends!

This guy also loves hands. For more of his stuff, click here.

This last one is my favourite. So many stories begin from this one photo.

What story do you see?

Happy imagining.

e.

a shore thing

I don't know about you but for me there is something about the ocean that makes me get all self-reflective.


I'm heading away for the weekend with a few good friends to the beach, the weather is supposed to be good - what more could one want!? Aside from the gorgeous company, the thing I look forward to most is getting lost in thought staring at the ocean.
My brain, leaping ten steps ahead of my body, seems to have already kick-started this self-reflection. Don't roll your eyes... I'm not turning into Miss. Soppy-Boring-Blog-Betty but I want to share something with you, a quote from an amazing man, C.S. Lewis. (Apologies to my housemate who has already been subjected to an entire list of quotes from this remarkable fellow - simply because they sound awesome read aloud.)


He says: 'We are what we believe we are.'


This struck a chord with me so I have taken the liberty to provide an appropriate selection of ocean-ish images from my winter trip to the seaside last year. The pondering atmosphere is complete - the rest is up to you!

I hope each and every one of you have a splendiferous weekend. 
(Yes, it is a real word - look it up!)


May you believe the best things of yourself & thank you to my caring compadre who encouraged me to do the same this very evening.


Now group hug, everyone!


e.

if you're crafty then you shoulda put a bird on it

I like flying creatures as much as the next person, they possess all kinds of neat little characteristics. Cute, snooty, stubborn, nonchalant – jeepers – the list could just go on! 

We even had this petite little budgie back in the day. He was quite the fun chap. He chattered away on our shoulders and raced with us up and down the lounge room floor. The silly duffer must have forgotten that he had wings because we would always win. He was happy to waddle along on his cumbersome clawed feet, chirping 'howdy-doo' to the fluff on the carpet.

As with all pets, they don’t last forever. Poor Toby met his demise at the heel of my sister’s foot. That was a sad day if I ever did meet one.

Anyhow, birds, however nice they are have winged their way into cool like the Fonz on a good day.

It does sound like I’m complaining, I really do like the bird fad when it’s done well and within reason.

The pic below is the winner for me! Kate Wilson of London has a fan-flippin-tastic collection of artworks that can be found here.

And to add insult to injury she’s a mere 24 years old – like I wasn’t asking myself ‘what have I done with my life’ enough already!?

It is all-together the funniest and most fashion-savvy bird I have ever encountered. How it got its head in there I shall never know.

more little birdies here
I suggest checking out Mimi and her berries.

And you will never guess what led me to find Kate and her kit of kooky pieces? Yes, that’s right an ice-cream with a bow tie and moustache! You can’t help but smile.

Hope your day has been chilled just like this special guy!

e.

looks like it tastes good

Today marked the grand second attempt at making a batch of ginger beer with a friend of mine. Sadly the first batch, although refreshing, bore about as much taste-bud-resemblance to ginger as a burnt piece of toast does to fruit salad. This time we went for a completely different recipe but as ginger beer goes, only time will tell.

I figure that perhaps our first batch would have tasted better if I were allowed to make some fancy looking labels to enhance the beverage-consumption-experience. Nothing says ‘buy me, I’m delightful, not that lame other bottle of stuff resembling poo’ like some shmick-o labels and packaging. 

Yes, I am one of those people who will select a wine based on the label and sometimes even hold it close to my face in a little snuggle. (What? You don’t do that? Sheesh!)

Infact, the only time when I’ve considered that pretty packaging didn’t have bearing on the quality and fabulousness of the product in question was the other day when I was at the supermarket pondering an assortment of 'nibbily' options. I tried to convince my comrade that the dips with the boring labels must be good because it reflects focus on the creating a solid product rather than exorbitant amounts spent on the packaging to sell an inferior savoury biscuit accompaniment.

Am I the world’s most contradictory person?

Our friends at thedieline.com showcase some stellar work and just like a well-designed wine label, I find myself wanting to hug most of this stuff through the screen of my laptop.

You think I’m weird? Stop staring at me and look at the pretty stuff!

All these tasty samples from thedieline.com
(oh and I hoped you spied the 'mo'! I cant help it...they're following me!)

So tell me would a well-dressed, Sunday-best bottle of yumminess win your favour?

e.

me in wonderland

Don't be misled by the title... I do not live in Wonderland or anywhere near it, as far as I am aware.

Although, I did almost hit a cat yesterday who seemed to be a little flustered - somewhat reminiscent of Mr. White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll's tale. It couldn't decide what it wanted to do, leaving me assaulting the ears of my car companion with a scream and a nearly hurling the two of us through the windscreen. Never fear, the cat made it across the road alive and hopefully ended the day with better pedestrian habits.

Wonderland, in this case, refers to the band that my best friend's bro belongs to.

I have been having fun playing with some branding ideas for them this afternoon.

They're pretty straight forward but I had a nice time messing around with them.
Returning to the previous tangent: how adorable are the illustrations from the original 'Alice in Wonderland'?

Ahh, the Mad Hatter! Don't let him catch you without your 'muchness'.
Sorry to subject you to my turbulent ramblings today but 'Everything is funny, if you can laugh at it.' - Lewis Carroll
Smile heaps!


e.

sighing for sleep

When your brain still creaks and fidgets into the wee hours like mine, it's nice to be reminded of this.

not so secret 'stache

I assumed that the furry upper lip trend was reserved for that spring month where men of all ages, sizes and hair-growing ability sprout spikes about the mouth in order to promote awareness for Prostate Cancer. But here we are in not-so-sunny February enjoying the 'stache in all its glory and the cause is...well...because it's fun!

Thankfully, I do not care to share the facial hair fad on my face but kiddies worldwide can 'mo'-up in so many other ways.

Check out these fun fuzzy finds:

1. Moustache Pillow Case Set

2. Zuzanna W on LookBook.nu

3. Toddland Moustache Trunks

4. Incognito Ring

5. Moustache Pencils

So in the spirit of all the moustache frivolity I couldn't resist jumping on the band wagon.

I dub thee below t-shirts 'Patch-Stache' and 'Albino Ringmaster'.

Got a fav? 

I (not-so-secretly) like albino ringmaster. 

Everyone has fun at the circus, right?

Till next time.

e.

hello world

Greetings Blog Browsers, Surfers of the Internet World and whomever of you have just stumbled upon here by accident...

Whether you are interested or not I am going to aim to share some things with you. Things that inspire, amuse and perplex me.

For those of you who are curious, the title of my blog is a term coined in the fifteenth century, it refers to days of rejoicing and celebration that were marked on a calendar in red whilst every other day was marked in plain, old, boring black. 

It is also common to find the words of one of human history's most significant and life-changing men printed in red.

So may you find a reason to celebrate each and everyday... and if you can't find one, I will see what I can do to help.

Let this be the beginning of a happy, smiling friendship.

e.