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A quick fix for pre-holiday stress…

by Siobhan
Animals & Nature + Humour / December 08, 2009

I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little stressy in the lead-up to the holidays. It seems that every day there are more and more things to do... and fewer days in which to get them done. Fortunately, here's the ultimate distraction from all that madness: cats in wigs.

Yup, I said it. Cats in wigs.

It doesn't get any sillier than that. Well, not until you put it on film.

Here's a trailer for the book Glamourpuss by Kitty Wigs creator Julie Jackson.

"The photos in this book are equal parts cute, funny, and creepy (in that "obsessive cat lady" way), and the combination is most enjoyable. The book is well-designed for casual flipthroughs and kitteh-obsessive pageturners alike, with vivid color reproduction with which to faithfully present all those technicolor wigs. I may buy several copies for teenage, female cat-fanciers on my holiday list. Something about the brand of humor here seems particularly fitting for that age group, and I do not say that with the intent to condescend (although, hey, if the wig fits...). It's sweet, ridiculous stuff." -Boing Boing

Still feeling stressed? Check out this behind-the-scenes video about photographing the cats for the book. There's also a Flickr pool of photos of cats in Kitty Wigs. And in case you missed it, here's Glamourpuss on the cover of Publishers Weekly.

Me-ow.

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Picking a Planner

by Siobhan
Design & Typography + Gift & Stationery / December 03, 2009

If you're like me, getting to the end of the year signals three things:

1. An onsalught of "Best of 2009" lists.
2. Writing down New Year's Resolutions.
3. Choosing a new planner.

What do these three things have in common? They're all about making lists.

Now, before I come off as totally obsessive, I know I'm not the only list-maker out there. (In fact, I work with quite a few of them!) Writing lists is oh-so-satisfying. You feel organized, efficient, clear-headed. Not to mention the cute colour coding! :)

The yearly planner is the mother of all list-making. Am I right? It's like a blank slate for the new year. What kind of lists will you write? What amazing things will happen this year?

But choosing the right planner is tough. It needs to suit your lifestyle (Can you fit it in your purse? Do you leave in on your desk?) as well as the way your mind works (Do you orgazine your time by day, week or month? Horizontally or vertically?) and your style (Are you looking for classic black? Or is red the new black?).

I love that Moleskine has started making videos of their planners. They really give you a good sense of how each planner is organized, and shows you each format's unique features.

Here are the videos for two new formats for Moleskine:

Video #01 Moleskine Colour-a-Month Daily Diary/Planner

Video #02 Moleskine "Days that Count" Desk Calendar

There are lots more planner videos (and other fun stuff) on Moleskine's YouTube channel:

Video #03 Moleskine Monthly Notebook Diary/Planner
Video #04 Moleskine Panoramic Diary/Planner
Video #05 Moleskine Project Diary/Planner
Video #06 Moleskine Weekly Horizontal Diary/Planner
Video #07 Moleskine Weekly Notebook Diary/Planner
Video #08 Moleskine Weekly Vertical Diary/Planner
Video #09 Moleskine Daily Diary/Planner

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Green Christmas

by Dan
Environment / December 03, 2009

Reduce your carbon footprint and save money this season (without sacrificing style or tradition!) with green living expert Anna Getty's new book I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas!

Anna advises how to best choose a tree (real or fake?), mitigate the negative effects of necessary travel, recycle post-holiday, and more.

She also shares her favorite holiday recipes and homemade craft ideas:

Organic appetizer anyone?

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Going West

by Dan
Art & Photography / November 26, 2009

OK, so I know this is for the New Zealand Book Council which is a long way from Canada, but it is (a) awesome and (b) called Going West, both of which are sufficient reasons to post this incredible stop-animation video:

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Looking for a party?

by Chelsey
Travel / November 18, 2009

Looking for the hippest places to party in style? I'm not surprised that Montreal came in at #2 of the world's top ten party cities in Lonely Planet's 1000 ULTIMATE EXPERIENCES.  Belgrade tops the list -- check out the Ottawa Citizen article for the full list. Salut and santé!

Easy-going Montreal is increasingly popular with foreign travellers, who enjoy the joie de vivre of a place with bilingual ambience, good local beer and even cross-country skiing at nearby Mount Royal. Montreal’s irrepressible student population and atmospheric old quarter give the city a light-hearted, Bohemian air. There are Old World cafes, cool jazz clubs, packed discos and late bars to choose from, plus a popular comedy festival each July.

1000 ULTIMATE EXPERIENCES brings together 1000 ideas, places and activities to inspire and entertain, for travelers and lovers of life-lists alike. Start the party!

Coming soon:

Montreal & Quebec City Encounter
1st Edition
by Lonely Planet
978-1-74179-055-9

 

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Living - and Eating - Off the Land

by Siobhan
Food & Drink / November 16, 2009

When we say that we made a meal 'from scratch', for most of us, that doesn't include actually catching the fish or forgaging for the mushrooms. It certainly does not mean free-diving into icy Puget Sound in hopes of spearing a snaggletooth lingcod.

But that level of committement to living - and eating - off the land  is what author Langdon Cook is all about. Cook was a senior book editor at Amazon.com until 2004, when he left the corporate world to live in a cabin off the grid with his wife and son. In his book, FAT OF THE LAND: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager, Cook shares his experiences living in a new way.

Monqiue at  SoMisguided.com has posted a review of the book. The subject's close to home for her: she and her partner James also enjoy going out  to catch crabs in the cold waters in and around Vancouver. Read the full review on SoMisguided.com - along with some cool (cold?) photos of crab catching.

You can find out a bit more about FAT OF THE LAND here, and keep with the author on the Fat of the Land blog, where he writes about his adventures in the culinary wilderness  and also posts some recipes - such as fishing for pink salmon, then making Blackberry Must & Citrus Cured Salmon. Mmm.

“In Fat of the Land, Langdon Cook invites us to share in his enthusiastic, salubrious, wild food foraging quests. Get out of town, breathe in the fresh air, hear the quiet, exercise, feel good, connect with nature and the season—then return to the kitchen to delicious preparations of dandelion greens, squid, fiddleheads, or whatever the quarry. Lively, informative, soul-satisfying narrative.”  —Jon Rowley, Contributing Editor, Gourmet

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Whale Done Parenting

by Dan
Parenting / November 16, 2009

Q: What do raising children and training killer whales have in common?

A: Chuck Tompkins, Sea World whale trainer and author of WHALE DONE PARENTING!

Chuck and his son Cody were on Fox & Friends this morning chatting about the subject:

 

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May the Best Zombies Win!

by Siobhan
Humour / November 13, 2009

It's Friday the 13th... so it seems appropriate to be writing about blood, gore and zombies.

But wait, who am I kidding? I've been writing about zombies consistently for the last few weeks here on the Raincoast blog. I couldn't help it though, as photos (and even a video!) have been pouring in from booksellers across the country to share their Quirk Classics Monster Mash-Up displays.

We sent all the entries down to our friends at Quirk Books to deliberate which deathly display should be crowned the best in Canada. After much deliberation -- and, in true zombie fashion, with much blood, sweat and tears -- the judges finally came back with the results....

1st prize: University of Alberta Bookstore (Edmonton, Alberta)
Judges' comments: Particularly impressed by the zombie lady and the Col. Brandon.

See photos of their display

2nd prize: Millennia Books (Hanover, Ontario)
Judges' comments: Enjoyed the sea monster balloon (very creative).

See photos of their display

3rd prize: Kwantlen Polytechnic University Bookstore (Surrey, BC)
Judges' comments: Liked the zombie lady and the smaller touches.

See photos of their display

Honorable Mention: Misty River Books (Terrace, BC)
Judges' comments: These ladies dressed up as regency era zombies -- pretty cool.
See photos of their display

In case you are wondering, the judging committee at Quirk Books consisted of...

• Jason Rekulak, Quirk Classics mastermind and a sucker for regency era zombie costumes.
• Doogie Horner, Creator of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters covers and judging his 5th window display contest of the year.
• Brett Cohen, enjoys his trips to Canada.

Congratulations to all the booksellers who participated:

• Chat Noir Books (New Liskeard, Ontario)
• University of Alberta Bookstore (Edmonton, Alberta)
• Millennia Books (Hanover, Ontario)
• Westminster Books (Fredericton, New Brunswick)
• Book Express Ltd. (Cambridge, Ontario)
• Books on Beechwood (Ottawa, Ontario)
• Misty River Books (Terrace, BC)
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University Bookstore (Surrey, BC)

Quirk Classics:
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: DELUXE HEIRLOOM EDITION

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How many eyeballs can you count?

by Siobhan
Humour / November 12, 2009

Book Express in Cambridge, Ontario, just sent in a video of their Quirk Classics window display. Watch it to get a close-up view of all the gorey details… I think the rat is my favourite. He’s wearing a monocle and a top hat! Oh, and he’s munching on an eyeball. Awww. And ewww…

Quirk Classics:
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: DELUXE HEIRLOOM EDITION

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I’m Dreaming Of A Green Christmas

by Danielle
Environment + Home & Garden / November 06, 2009

Since there’s over a month and a half before Christmas, try your hands at making these beautiful crafts from I’M DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS by Anna Getty. It’ll make any guest you have green with envy…get it ‘green’? This book is totally environmentally conscious! It also has great recipes too. I’ll post some soon!!

Pinecone and Nut Wreath

To Anna, a pinecone and nut wreath is a gift direct from nature. It looks just as beautiful on an outside door as it does hanging in the house or in the garden. In the dining room, place these wreaths on the table with candelabras in the center for a striking visual effect.

Gather

* Pinecones of varying sizes and shapes (you will use anywhere from 25 to 100 pinecones, depending on the size of the wreath)
* Old towel
* Baking sheets
* Used aluminum foil
* 1 roll of light-gauge florist wire
* Wire cutters
* Wire wreath frame (For best results, use a size 2 or 3 wire base.You also can use a wire hanger, but the wreath will not look as full.)
* 20 to 30 nuts in their shell, such aswalnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and chestnuts
* Nontoxic-glue gun
* Gloves (garden or rubber) (optional; if the pinecones are prickly, gloves make handling easier)
* 24-inch/61-cm piece of used ribbon or raffia (optional)

Create

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F/90°C.
2. Wash the pinecones. Fill the kitchen sink or bathtub with 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) of lukewarm water. Place the pinecones in the water and swoosh them around to remove any dirt or bugs. Drain the water, rinse the pinecones, and dry them with an old towel.
3. Line the baking sheets with the used aluminum foil, arrange the pinecones on the sheets, and bake for 30 minutes. (Baking the pinecones dries them out, removes the resin—and makes your home smell extra Christmasy!) Note: wash and bake the pinecones only if you’re using pinecones you collected outside. Skip this step for pinecones purchased at a florist shop. Be sure to ask the florist if they have been cleaned.
4. Cut as many 7- to 8-inch (17- to 20-cm) pieces of light-gauge florist wire as you have pinecones. Fold the wire pieces in half.
5. Wrap a folded wire piece around the first pinecone and twist the loose ends tight around the pinecone to make sure the wire is secure. Repeat with the remaining wire pieces and pinecones.
6. Starting with the larger pinecones, and working from the inside of the wreath frame out and the bottom to the top, attach each pinecone’s wire securely to the bottom wire of the wreath frame. Wire the second pinecone snugly next to the first, and repeat with each successive cone, keeping the pinecones snug against one another.
7. Once the wreath is as full as you want it, take the nuts and glue them to the pinecones. Make sure you find secure grooves in the wreath where you can easily attach the nuts.

Note: Wreath frames are available in any craft store around the holidays (see Resources). Prewashed pine cones are avai;able at your local florist.

Optional
Take the ribbon or raffia and make a bow. Cut one 6-inch (15-cm) piece of florist wire and loop it through the back of the bow. Twist the loop of florist wire around a pinecone near the top of the wreath. Cut the ends of the bow to the desired length.

Newspaper Stocking

These stockings are sturdy enough to hold a few holiday items, but don’t fill them with too much stuff! Remember, the whole point is not to buy too much stuff anyway.

Gather

* Four sheets of Christmas-themed newspaper (ads, articles, or any festive images) or used wrapping paper
* Scissors
* Needle and thread
* Glue
* Beads, small bells, faux fur, cashmere or fabric scraps, vintage buttons, recycled glass pieces, seashells, decorative images cut from holiday
cards or magazines

Create

1. Fold the four sheets of newspaper into 8 layers (8 layers will make a sturdy stocking) that are still at least 12 by 10 inches (30.5 by 25 cm) in size. With the scissors, cut a stocking shape out of the paper in your desired size. (You can always place a cloth stocking on the newspaper and trace around it to create the shape.)
2. Using the needle and thread, hand stitch the outer edges of the stocking together,  leaving the top open.
3. Glue on any extra holiday images to decorate the stocking
4. Layer the remaining four pieces of scrap newspaper and cut them into strips 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide by 4 inches (10 cm) long. Stack them and create a loop.
5. Sew or staple the loop to the inner top edge of the stocking, to hang it.
6. Glue whatever trimmings you’ve gathered to the top of the stocking (be sure to cover the stitches or staples from the loop). Add bells and other embellishments.

I’M DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS: GIFTS, DECORATIONS, AND RECIPES THAT USE LESS AND MEAN MORE

By Anna Getty
Foreword by Zem Joaquin
Photographs by Ron Hamad

Anna Getty is a leading green living expert. She works with the Organic Center, Global Green, NRDC, and Seventh Generation, among others, and is the author of the upcoming Easy Green Organic. Anna lives in Los Angeles.

Ron Hamad is an acclaimed photographer and director who lives in Los Angeles.

Zem Joaquin is ecofabulous.com’s founder and editor-in-chief. She lives in San Francisco.

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