Friday, July 15, 2011

see you soon, nicies.


gorgeous artwork by the fabulous katie daisy, 
the artist behind *the wheatfield*
:: above :: wild air
:: below :: life is beautiful
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dearest nicies,
you're wonderful. 

... and so i'm off for a little family-time break.
*to bask in the wonderment of our little sweetie;
*to have a little tune-up done on my windpipe! (many thanks for your hugs & well-wishes in the winds, sweeties! fingers crossed it'll all be good!)  
*for hot summer day roadtrips with the windows down &amp &  the music LOUD; 
*to cheer on the flowers & veggies in the garden;
*to play in the water and get covered in sand as often as possible.


excited to hear what you'll be up to for the next month-or-so, sweeties.
tell me ... what's your perfect summer day look like?
 wishing you lots of them.


be well
& i'll see you mid-august.

lots-o-love 
-k.

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

the *i love my sponsors* & summer giveaway!


row one

row two 


row three

row four
row five

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woohoo!
aren't you the loveliest readers around!
thank YOU, sweet nicies.

thanks for your encouraging words & dear dear comments. it's a pleasure to read thru your comments each day.  i always love seeing what you have to say! and thanks for playing all the little games and activities on the blog, for your warm and wonderful emails too!


AND... thanks so much to all of you lovelies out there who have really made my day by supporting my little adventures, as dear sponsors. you nicies mean the world to me, and i really appreciate it! so with a thankful heart, and a happy focus on the beautiful summertime... a little giveaway for all of you!



:::::::::::: the prize ::::::::::::
a fabulous $25.00 gift certificate from me to YOU to spend in
ANY ONE OF MY SUMMER SPONSORS' shops or on their blogs!


that's right...
one lucky winner will get to spend the prize in any of my sponsors' e-shops or blogs!


1. visit my lovely sponsors' shops & blogs.
(as seen on the left hand column).
come back here and leave ONE COMMENT per SHOP on what your favourite item is from their works! = 1 entry per comment. = 16 possible entries!

you can visit as many sponsor shops/blogs as you like
and comment once for each shop.

---> in the case of a sponsor that is a BLOG: please visit the blog & tell us something you ADORE about it!

2. heart / fave each of the above shops on etsy OR follow/subscribe to each blog/site
= 1 entry PER shop or blog.


3. in the spirit of the glorious summertime, tell us something fabulous you hope to do this summer!
= 1 entry

  
4. come follow or subscribe to my little blog 
and join the fun everyday! 
you can become a google friend connect *follower* by clicking "follow" on the top left of the blog home page OR subscribe via email or *reader* on the left hand colomn.
 (please note:--->  to WIN this particular giveaway you must be a rikrak studio follower or subscriber! thanks nicies!)

please leave me a comment about it.
 = 1 entry

5. grab one of my rikrak studio buttons,
like this one for YOUR BLOG!


the rikrak studio



the rikrak studio

and add it to your blog!
{ ... just copy & paste the text in the box above  onto your blog sidebar! thanks! } 


6. tweet about this giveaway
= you can tweet about this giveaway ONCE PER DAY for the duration of the giveaway! (one  entry for each tweet!)
 and come back here and tell me about it. please include my twitter account in the update: i'm @therikrakshop on twitter!)


7. follow me on twitter
i'm @therikrakshop
= 1 entry

8. blog about the giveaway and tell me about it here.
= 1 entry

9. do a facebook update
about the giveaway with a link, and tell us here 
= 1 entry

10. please just make sure that each entry is its own comment!

.................................

RULES:


a) it is possible to have numerous entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as it's own comment. thanks!
c) as always, this giveaway is open to all contestants, worldwide.
d) for this particular giveaway, YOU MUST BE A RIKRAK studio follower or subscriber,
old or new! thanks!
e) the winner of this giveaway will be chosen from random.org on
tuesday august 30th, 2011 @ 11pm EST.
f) please be sure to leave me an email where i can reach you if your account 
doesn't link to one. thanks.
g) thanks so much everyone! and thanks for visiting the blog!

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and one last thing... 
many congrats to the winner of our most recent giveaway: the jenny pong studio clutch purse! {ooh i wish i could have one that one!} ... random.org choose lucky # 171- liz of *liz secret rendezvous!*(such a lovely blog, nicey!) congrats!
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Monday, July 11, 2011

my pretend home {element 5} : a pool with a breathtaking view



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and breathe.
the infinity pool @ the alila ubud resort in bali.

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can you imagine?
the stunning view from the Lebua Hotel rooftop in bangkok via twistedlifestyle

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lovin' this wallace E. cunningham rancho santa fe beauty!
via architectural digest 

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mmmm... a nice andes mountaintop view
via chile's grand hotel portillo.

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or how about this mountain view?
via jade mountain resort in st. lucia

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and i was thinking maybe an indoor hot springs, too.
via japan travel mate
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don't have a backyard in your dreamhome?
no worries.
the SPG building in dallas via coolamazingblend.
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how about a private view of my fave phang nga bay in thailand.
(way better then looking at your neighbour's yard!)
via six senses hotel.
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*sigh *
via best interiors
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it may be all those lego fantasy homes i build these days or my happy chance to work-from-home every day, but gosh i could day-dream away a week or two designing my dream home in my mind!  {plus ... it's easier on the pocketbook!} 

so welcome to my pretend home. each installment focusing on a fun designerly element i adore.




and today...
{element 5} : a pool with a breathtaking view


good golly our family loves to play in the water. in the summer i think we'd LIVE at the beach if we could... but wouldn't it be fun to have the most beautiful pool in the world at your dream home? with the most amazing view overlooking your fave city, or a dream pool gliding into your favourite ocean, or with a view to your favourite mountains?

found some lovelies for you, nicies.

some are not necessarily practical for a family with a young child...
but who needs practical in a pretend home? 

what's a design element you long for in your pretend home?

come on over for a swim!

.................


how about a crater pool?
ps: it's super warm... mmmm...
but eek - a little scary for my liking!
the homestead crater
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 hey - this one comes with a cheetah! (EEK!)

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how about the deepest pool in the world
in your own backyard?
{here's the NEMO33 in brussels via coolthingsinrandomplaces}

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stunning.
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gorgeous & green. it's an oxygen pool.
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how fun to reach over the side of your pool & touch the ocean! 
arthur erikson & nick milkovich's gorgeous maui home design via architectural digest
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swimmity swim swim swim... ooh there's my dining room! 
how about a transparent pool? via toxel
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oh my heavens! i'll take two please. 
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yes please.
via trendland
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Friday, July 8, 2011

9 more days & counting

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luscious strawberry images above by:
picky photo + kristybee + shannon pix

..............................

remember last summer when i confessed that we'd been eating fresh cherries for 10 days straight ... or the summer before when it was fresh corn on the cob we were so happily crazy about?!... well it's another food-fan marathon here this summer.

this july, it's been a strawberry bonanza .... i don't know about you, but here at the rikrak home we're obsessive. oh heavens... about so very many things, really!


like with our food... sometimes we just get on a kick.
and then we eat the same food, everyday, 
for days.
or weeks.
or more!

that's where we're at right now with that perfect red berry.

anyone else crazy like us?
soon enough, fabulous fresh local strawberries will be a distant summer memory.
so i'll obsess while i can.

food obsessive like me?
about what?


..............................


luscious strawberry images below by:
 icha photography + lit photography

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

congrats & the appalachian quilt trail


morning nicies!

as you know, i always love *meeting* new folks by reading your lovely comments, and curiously clicking to visit your beautiful handmade shops, blogs and sites! i can honestly say i've found 100s of folks to feature by following those fabulous hyperlink names from your lovely notes here! yay to that!

in keeping with this... i love feature a little something  by (or found by!) the winners of our rikrak studio giveaways!cause hey: i'm proud to say my readers make, dream, think, find the most amazing things!

today's lucky winner is random.org's  #209 ... christy of salvaged fabric . YAY! you've won the june *i love my sponsors* $25 gift certificate giveaway!

when i went to visit the winner's blog, i was delighted to find a most fascinating post about her adventure along the fabulous appalachian quilt trail

what fun: it's a 300 mile tour that features over 350 painted wooden *quilt blocks*  - such a great way to see rural tennessee & beyond! {and superfunly - you can choose your route by location or by favourite quilt blocks! it must be a quilters paradise!}


how about you? 
been on any fun tours lately?

{and psssst: one more day to enter to WIN the gorgeous jenny pong studio clutch purse giveaway here. oooh how i wish i could win it!}

thanks for always inspiring me, cuties!
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Monday, July 4, 2011

handmade red, white & blue

 paper flower pushpins by LBCpaper

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happy july 4th to all our lovely handmaking friends in the usa!

in honour, thought we'd all share some of our favourite handmade reds, whites & blues.
so show us what you make, 
or add the work of another amazing another artist!

just add a link to the item with the magical widget!

have a colourful day!

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Friday, July 1, 2011

happy canada day!

map of canada pillow by nicole tarasik

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so what do you think about canada? 

for example - i'm quite a fan!
we're not perfect as a nation. that's for sure. 
but i still love my canada!
happy birthday today, sweetiepie country!
i'm so thankful to be part of a wonderful nation that values human rights, pursues the equality of all people, strives for kindness, has given me so many opportunities be the person i want to be,  and is made fun of for being "too nice" and " too polite."

my kinda country. :}


and boy... can we make great things: check out some of our fabulous canadian handmakers  
here

have a glorious, celebratory weekend sweeties!
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