Snapshot: Tranquility 11

I took this photo last year during the holidays, shortly after we’d moved out of the city. It’s a little blurry and I can’t quite figure out the angle in which I took it, but I love it. Something about it just makes me smile—it conjures up memories of our first Christmas together in our new home and makes me think of what’s to come. This season we’ll have something new to celebrate, since our daughter will have just been born. We’ll have a highchair seated at our Thanksgiving table, another stocking to fill on the mantle, a new ornament to add to the tree, and tons of new memories to make as a family. To me, there is nothing more tranquil than this—being with the people you love most during the holiday season.

— Melissa of the lil bee

Buffet

Welcome to this week's link buffet. Enjoy.

Living With White
A blog dedicated to the colour white in design finds, homes and interiors. I liked their recent post about the pretty meringue rings by German designer Tanja Hartmann. Via Archinect.

Back Up Your Mac
After my computer meltdown last week, I've been researching various types of backup solutions for my little Mac. This article from Go Media Zine is an excellent overview of backups for creatives — and after my experience I can't emphasize enough how important this is! Via inspiredmag on twitter.

Moon Face Giveaway
Lovely Cassandra Marie of Moon Face is having her very first giveaway! It's a sweet little pendant necklace by Bird in Flight Boutique — hurry over to enter (and to find out about some entry bonuses, too)! Deadline is Monday, November 16 at 10pm PST.

Chocolate Milk May Reduce Inflammation
Here's some cheery health news — a new study suggests that regularly drinking skim milk with flavonoid-rich cocoa may reduce inflammation, potentially slowing or preventing development of atherosclerosis. Yum.

Built to Trash
Thoughtful little opinion piece by Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin on how a possible answer to our overconsumption issues (and the mounds of waste that it engenders) is heirloom design — that is, investing in quality furniture from an earlier generation that (unlike more recent stuff) was built to last. Which I for one am very happy to do!

Rare Jane Austen Letters
I'd love to see these! A major Jane Austen exhibition recently went on display at the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan. It features more than 100 items, including rare manuscripts and letters written by the British author to her family — and are full of the author's famous sharp wit and spirited sense of humour.

Automatism Atelier Love
Lovely Tina of the English Muse blog wrote a very nice post about my shop this week — thanks so much again, Tina! Do have a good browse around while you're there, too. Her blog is wonderful.

Nigella Lawson
Just discovered the Nigella Lawson website, and had to share. Enjoy exploring — and happy cooking!



(photograph from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Moments of Beauty

I'm fascinated by the austere beauty of this bedroom — so simple, but so carefully considered. There's a sculptor's eye for form and contrast here that shows in the draped robes hanging on the wall, the way bedside light and shelf echo the tones of the floor ...

(photo via Home Sweet Home)

Helen Dardik Patterns

I've always admired the work of illustrator and designer Helen Dardik, and today I've been happily checking out her gorgeous pattern designs. Love them all. Have a look at more of her wonderful work on her website — and be sure to visit orange you lucky, her great blog, too (where I discovered the patterns shown here).

Remembrance Day

A moment of silence for Remembrance Day.


(photograph of poppies by vampasavannah, via we heart it)

Simple Pleasures

Listening to silence — it gives one such a feeling of peacefulness. It's best in the countryside, but even in the city there are moments when all is hushed and you can hear the quietness of the things that surround you.



(lovely photograph by Bestill on Flickr, via you carry my love inside of your heartbeat)

Up in the Clouds

Inside what was once a 19th century water tower, Swiss-Italian architect Monica Donati has created an unusual apartment, which, though small (it's 80 square metres in size) more than makes up for the lack of space with its spectacular 360° views across Paris. To the east, the Eiffel Tower. To the south, the Champs de Mars. To the west, the Invalides, the Pantheon and Notre Dame. To the north, the Grand Palais, Arc de Triomphe and Montmartre. Here Monica lives happily in her fantastic space perched up in the clouds, away from the noise of everyday life. Details (in French) here. Via Marie Claire Maison.

holiday advertising

Interested in becoming an automatism sponsor over the holiday season? Book now for December and enjoy the last two weeks of November at no charge! It's a perfect opportunity to get a head start on holiday orders for your shop or business. Find out more about advertising on automatism here.


(photograph via my Domino Deco Files archive)

Monday

Hope today starts off on a happy note — and then sets the tone for your whole week, too. The photo of the sweet teacup and saucer (which makes me feel cheerful just looking at it) is by ghostlings on Flickr. Via the happy girl I am.

Darling Clementine

Based in Oslo Norway, Ingrid Reithaug and Tonje Holanda of Darling Clementine create an extraordinary and lovely range of designs (graphic, web, clothing, poster, packaging and stationery, to name a few areas) and illustrations. Charming and wonderful — and they have an Etsy shop, too (which I'm afraid to go near at the moment, as I could do some serious spending on there). Via grain edit.

Meet the Sponsor

Ayse of EQart Jewelry finds inspiration for her beautiful work both in her native Istanbul — where the spiritual and the modern happily coexist — and in nature, which is reflected in the forms she creates and in the materials she makes them with (she uses reclaimed metals to minimize her environmental footprint). Beautiful wearable art — and there's more to discover at her website here, too. Happy browsing!

May I Suggest ...

A little thought and a little self promotion: Miss Cabbage, my collage letterpress print (or Mr. Onions, Lady Asparagus or Sir Potato, her fellow members in the limited edition Veggie series) would make a lovely hostess gift for a holiday dinner! You'll find them in the automatism atelier.

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one. For me it'll be a weekend spent catching up on things — plus a movie or two here and there for fun, too. Enjoy your own!


(lovely photograph by {elena} on Flickr, via the happy girl i am)

Have a Seat.

I've finally got my little mac back after some fairly extensive work (new hard drive, data transfer and memory) and am very happy to be here again. I've missed you guys! Thanks for your support and patience this week while I've been away — you're the best.

xoxo



(photo of the work of stylist extraordinaire Sasa Antic via rather nice)

Domino Archive: Chaise Lounge

Assorted divans, chaise lounges and the like — designed for elegant reclining, reading, chocolate nibbling, the odd (well timed) swoon or to simply look fetching on. Via my archive of Domino Deco Files.

Snapshot: Tranquility 10

living in the south.....
.....we don't see much snow
on march 1, 2009
we had our first......
and last... snowfall of the season
my daughter snapped a quick picture
with her small camera,
before it all melted.
this much snow,
and school was already canceled for the next day
.....and the city pretty much shut down.
the peace of untouched snow

— Michelle of blue moss

Minimum Colour, Maximum Style

Another favourite post for you today! Hopefully by tomorrow my ailing little Mac will be back from the shop, and I'll be happily posting new finds for you. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this lovely home from Denmark, which I first wrote about in April 2009.

This is the elegantly simple apartment of Danish stylist Sidsel Zachariassens. Sidsel opted for the minimal black and white palette as a way of simplifying her own surroundings, since as a stylist she spends a lot of time looking for inspiration in magazines, attending exhibitions, trade shows and browsing in decor stores. With so much visual stimuli on the job, she was finding it difficult to keep it all outside her own four walls (past versions of her apartment have included schemes of grey and lavender, as well as brown and orange). She finds her new limited palette actually very freeing, as it makes it easy for her to keep to the style of the apartment while avoiding impulse purchases — something she previously found difficult to control as she spends so much time on the job shopping. You can see more of Sidsel's apartment here, too. Via Bolig Magazine. (photography by Carsten Seidel)

Lili Diallo

My computer is still in the shop, getting some extensive work done (poor little thing), so once again we'll be revisiting one of my fave posts. This one originally ran in January 2009.

I love stylist Lili Diallo's beautiful Brooklyn loft — and her philosophy of starting with neutrals and then adding colour, which works to brilliant effect in her home. She's also utterly genius at mixing disparate elements into a beautifully cohesive whole. More photos of Lili's lovely home here. Via Domino magazine.

Elegantly Modern

My computer is in the shop again! It's getting fixed by my wonderful Mac guru Steve, but it means I won't be able to post regularly for the next couple of days or so. In the meantime, I thought we'd revisit this beautiful home that I discovered on the lovely blog Purple Area, which featured this amazing space from Bo Bedre in December 2008. I love the way the amber glass, wood and other natural materials pop against the black and white elements. Gorgeous!

Monday

Hope that Monday brings a comforting warm start to your week. We're in for some cool weather here over the next few days, so cosy woolens (both to wear and to snuggle into) are definitely a must — and a pleasure, too.


(lovely photograph by the wonderful Polly Wreford for stylist Atlanta Bartlett. Via truth and beauty bombs)