Tuesday, June 1, 2010

T is for Tins, Souvenirs de Bretagne

T is for

Tins, Souvenirs de Bretagne


Galettes from St. Michel

Join me as I share a collection of delightful souvenir tins. I'm recycling this post from one I published as guest blogger for Quimper Club International last September. A special "Thank You!" to QCI members Diane, Gay, Judy, Doris, and Barbara for sharing photos of tins from their collections as well. All you pinkies here for Pink Saturday this week will find lots of pink used in the designs on some of these tins.




Group of Tins Filled with Galettes


If you are like me, you like to take home small gifts from your travels to family and friends.
I've discovered the perfect gift from Brittany is a tin of galettes. Designed for the tourist trade, one can easily find tins filled with the traditional Breton butter cookies: the flat"glaettes," the thick shortbread "palets," or the rolled crêpe cookie "crêpes à dentelles". Of course the charm for me of a souvenir of this sort is the gift tin in which these cookies are packaged. Often these delicious French butter cookies come in hinged tins decorated with Quimper faience designs. So once the cookies are gone, the charming little tin box can be reused for any purpose. In our home one is usually filled with fig newtons, while another may have fresh baked brownies. Several are home to tea bags, odd buttons, or anything that needs to be stored on a shelf. A friend in France says they are the perfect size for a box of sugar cubes.




No wonder these are so good. They are made with lots of butter!




This tin shows the typical decor of "Décor Mistral".




This one is in the "Décor Soleil".




One of my favorites is "Décor Le Coq Ancien".




Another of our feathered friends, "Décor Jardin d' Eté".




Here we have another version of the "Décor Jardin d' Eté" with a "Décor Mistral" .


This tall cylindrical tin shows the same HB-Henriot décor as the large square tin show in the header.



It was produced in recent years and often used to store spaghetti once the cookies were gone.



The beautiful floral design is also found on the sides of the square tin of this design.



This tin shows a painting by Philippe Lalys in the tradition of Porquier Beau.




This unusual tin with handle shows the décor of Jim-Emile Sévellec.



Another tin, Galettes de Pleyben, is from the 1930s and is also a design by Sévellec.



Each side is decorated with additional scenes.




Notice the detailed borders




And of course this identifies the contents.




This vintage tin is possibly a design by Fouillen.




This tin shows the Modern Movement work of artist Mathurin Méheut.


Obviously this tin held the curled crêpes dentelles. The delicate lace border mimics the lace of the coiffe, a traditional Breton headdress.




Looks like these young ladies are having a good time!




Oh, the Breton crêpes are the best!




Vintage tin from Le Croisic




Yet another vintage tin with typical Breton scene.





This is the colorful border on the tin pictured above.




Contemporary tins typical of those found in the souvenir shops of Brittany.




Another tin with a scene of celebration.



This one shows the beloved Bretagne character, Becassine.




These two contemporary tins show typical seaside scenes from Brittany.




This delightful tin depicts a celebration along the river bank.



If a trip to Brittany is not in your near future, this charming "Décor Mistral" tin filled with Galettes de Bretagne is just a click away here in the US at Frenchy Bee. Click here to order your tin today.



Click here to buzz over to Mrs. Matlock's class for more about the Letter T at Alphabe-Thursday. I'm also linking this post to Le Chateau de Fleurs' French Obsession Party for June and the following memes this week.







Friday, May 28, 2010

Happy Birthday, Pink Saturday!


It's a Party!

A Birthday Party for Beverly's Pink Saturday

Today Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound is celebrating two years of her now famously popular weekly meme, Pink Saturday. This weekly meme has occurred every Saturday since Beverly posted her first Pink Saturday photo on May 31, 2008. It has steadily grown to include over 700 different people participating at various times over the previous two years. Join me for a bite of a pinkolicious strawberry cupcake in honor of this occasion.



Beverly make a wish and blow out your candle!

Happy Birthday, Pink Saturday!




hey cupcake! An Austin Original

The cupcakes for today's party are from 

hey cupcake! an Austin original.




The strawberry cupcake is hey cupcake's newest flavor, and is it yummy. This is the eighth flavor, and is made with strawberry cake and a strawberry cream cheese icing.



hey cupcake! has seven additional flavors as well. Each is made from rich, moist cake and topped with a creamy icing and sprinkles.



Check out the menu board and place an order for a dozen to take home. You'll get an extra cupcake free!



The most popular flavor hands-down, 

according to an employee, is the 

Red Velvet with cream cheese icing.



Airstream Location on Congress Ave.


Started in 2007 by a young man named Wes Hurt, today hey cupcake! has four Airstream locations and one actual storefront. The storefront location is in connection with the business office and bakery and is designed to look like the inside of an Airstream.



Menu Board of the Offerings

The menu board now features 8 choices: Vanilla Dream, The Standard, Double Dose, Snowcap, Red Velvet, Michael Jackson, 24 Carrot, and Strawberry. There is also a vegan option sometimes. When a flavor is gone a little "Sold Out" magnet is placed over that variety. One can also ask to make the cupcake a "whipper snapper". That's when they inject it with fresh whipped cream.



Billboard Sign at the Walk-in Location

This is the clever sign that is posted outside the main office and bakery. It's just a hint at the creativity that one encounters once inside. I think Wes Hurt must have a terrific sense of humor.



Order Counter

Once inside of the store you feel like you could be inside an Airstream. It's a small space with just a few tables, and the order counter is constructed from actual parts from an Airstream. Lots of shiny stainless steel and accents of chocolate and bubblegum pink create the yummy mood.



Cruising Along in the Airstream

There is even a "window" which streams video of footage as if one were actually cruising along the streets of Austin in the Airstream.



The menu choices are the same at each location. Baked fresh at the storefront location, the cupcakes are transported to the Airstream locations daily. The Red Velvet and the Vanilla Dream are the best sellers. hey cupcake ! sells thousands of cupcakes a week. Better get there early though before your favorite sells out.



Trivia Board

One wall has this large board that displays interesting trivia about cupcakes and Airstreams. Another wall has one of those wavy mirrors like what I remember from the House of Mirrors at carnivals of my youth. If you stand in front of it you look elongated or wide or whatever. You get the idea.



The Snowcap

Those of you who follow my blog have seen this one featured in a previous Pink Saturday post here. It's chocolate cake with a buttercream icing and still my all-time favorite.




Wes Hunt's Great Sense of Humor


Yum....oh so good!

Happy Birthday, Pink Saturday!


Click here for more Pink Saturday Birthday Celebrations.

Since cupcakes are some of my favorite things,
I'm also linking this to Laurie's A Few of My Favorite Things