Monday

Hope your Monday sets a delicious tone to your week. The lovely photo of gingerbread and more is from stylist Kim Ficaro's site, via simply photo by way of we heart it.

Accidental Expat

French designer Valerie Pasquiou moved to the US twenty years ago for an intriguing reason — as the result of losing a bet, the terms of which involved her traveling somewhere she hadn’t been before. Now based in New York, she works as a stylist and designer with some of the bigger names in Hollywood. I love her home — a loft that mixes French and American style with beautiful results. See more photos and read the LoftLife interview with Valerie here, too.

Meet the Sponsor

Lovely Estefania created the Puerta Sur shop with the happy aim of sharing the beautiful crafts of her native Argentina with the rest of the world. Entirely hand made by local artisans, each item is a work of art that will bring pleasure for years. You can enjoy a lovely browse here.

Shown above: Child's solar system mobile in felted wool; Pre-Columbian butterfly sterling silver necklace; Pre-Columbian sterling silver bird earrings.

Advent Calendar: 7

An elegant and inventively wrapped gift. Wouldn't this be lovely to give (or receive)?


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Advent Calendar: 6

A soft palette of cream and chartreuse make a pretty change from the usual red and forest greens.


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Advent Calendar: 5

Holiday decorating doesn't always have to be about greenery (as nice as that is). I love this modern twist on the traditional Christmas tree.


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely and peaceful one. It'll be a mostly busy one here, but we're hoping to have a few hours to chill out and relax on Sunday. What are you doing?


(lovely photo by Pelle Söder via Eva Lindh, who styled it)

Domino Archive: Window Seats

Places to perch by the window, where one can look dreamily outside while reading or sipping a cup of tea. Via my archive of Domino Deco Files.

Advent Calendar: 4

A fairy tale Christmas scene to dream about — what do you imagine is in the boxes?


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Nordic Style

Living in Canada as I do, winter often means sacrificing style for warmth when the temperature dips to a freezing -30C. But looking at these photos from a shoot for the Swedish magazine Damernas Värld, I'm inspired to go for a more Nordic approach this year ...


(photography by Lena Koller and styling by Eva Lindh, where I found these images)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Thither
Lovely Jane of Ill Seen, Ill Said has a book out! It's called Thither, and it's a gorgeous collection of her photographs from her recent visit home to Ireland. Go look.

Lily and the Muse & The Next Page
What happens when two fab bloggers get together and start tossing around ideas? Two new amazing blogs happen, that's what! This week Tina of the English Muse and Liss of Daydream Lily launched Lily and the Muse, dedicated to girl-friendly video (or as they poetically describe it, "beauty in motion") and The Next Page, which is conceived as a lovely ever changing collage of beauty and inspiration. I know where I'll be visiting regularly ...

Holiday Gifts With a Story to Tell
Interesting NYT article about the increasing move away from mass produced goods and towards more individual and hand made items, such as what you find on sites like Etsy. Very cool.

Polish Film Poster Exhibition
A great selection of Polish film posters that are beautiful, offbeat and inspiring. Via Design Observer.

Unfortunate Cookie
Interactive game with not so positive fortune cookie messages. Silly fun.

Saveur
Have you checked out the online version of Saveur magazine? Loads of great recipes.

Lushlee
A lovely and inspiring blog that covers fashion, accessories, design and more.

No Country for Old Typewriters
Cormac McCarthy is auctioning off his typewriter. A portable Olivetti purchased in 1963, it was used to write such classics as All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, No Country for Old Men and The Road. The money will be donated to the Santa Fe Institute, a nonprofit interdisciplinary scientific research organization.

The Art of Manliness
A great site about classic guy stuff — I particularly loved this post on men's hats (and I'm seriously thinking of getting Andrew a porkpie hat). Too cool.


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Advent Calendar: 3

Delicate silver accents against snowy white linen napkins on a holiday table.


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Moments of Beauty

A delicately lovely still life, photographed by the wonderful Victoria Pearson.

Guest Post

I have a guest post today on lovely Victoria's sfgirlbybay blog — hope you can stop by for a look! And while you're there, do enjoy a good browse — you'll see just why it's one of my absolute faves. Thanks so much, Victoria!

P.S. And while you're out and about visiting, do pop by Tina's English Muse blog to see the new banner I designed for her!


(lovely photo from the Toast Spring 2009 catalog, via we heart it)

Walther & Co.

It's perhaps just as well that Walther & Co. is located far away from me in Denmark, as I think I'd go a little mad in their shop at this time of year. The styling of these photos is stunning, too. Just gorgeous.

Advent Calendar: 2

Pretty paper snowflakes drift across a holiday window for Anthropologie.


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)

Simple Pleasures

Armchair travel. Whether it's through books, films or magazines, discovering new countries (real or imaginary) is always a pleasure.


(cute photo by Kristine May on Flickr, via you carry my life inside of your heartbeat)

Stellan Herner

Beautiful Scandinavian style, from the portfolio of photographer Stellan Herner. Lovely and inspiring — and you can view more of his work here, too. Via My Scandinavian Retreat.

Meet the Sponsor

I'm very happy to introduce new sponsor Rachel of Lamb Rabbit! Rachel describes her delicately beautiful work as "handcrafted artisan jewellery with woodland and vintage flair," and her pieces bring a gentle and elegant note of nature to their lucky owners. So pretty — and a wonderful gift idea, too. Have a look at more of Rachel's work at her Lamb Rabbit shop here.

Advent Calendar: 1

Welcome to the Advent Calendar series on automatism! Each day in December, right up to the 25th, you'll find a holiday image here that's sure to put you in a festive mood. Happy Holidays and enjoy!

Shown here is an advent tree — such a creative and fun idea.


(photo from my archive of Domino Deco Files)