It's Christmas Eve ...

... and time to put out milk and cookies for Santa. When my brother and I were kids, we also put out carrots and/or brown sugar for the reindeer, too. Did you leave something for Santa as a child (or, do you do it now for your own little ones)?

(photo by Hannah of honey & jam, via creative inspiration)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

The Homies
It's nomination time for The Homies, Apartment Therapy's celebration of the best home and design blogs of 2009! It's mind blowing to see just how many amazing home design blogs are out there, and I'm excited to see so many of my faves on the list, too. Vote for your own faves (or nominate them) by December 29 — the final voting takes place from December 30 to January 6, with the winner announced January 7. Thanks so much to the kind lovelies who nominated automatism (which you can vote for here)!

Honey & Jam
I recently discovered the lovely honey & jam blog by Hannah, who combines a love of baking and photography to stunning effect. Delicious and beautiful.

Check Out Checklists
Fascinating article about the power of the humble checklist — something so basic is not only a great way to be organized, but it can actually save lives.

Dressing for Success, Again
Seems that youthful rebellion these days means dressing up rather than dressing down, as an earlier generation did: "Today the well-off 55-year-old is likely to be the worst-dressed man in the room, wearing a saggy T-shirt and jeans. The cash-poor 25-year-old is in a natty sport coat and skinny tie bought at Topman for a song."

The Fall
The Fall is a series of photographs by Richard Mosse that depict abandoned and/or wrecked airplanes slowly being absorbed by the natural world. Via things magazine.

The Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year 2009
A selection of titles (the full list is in the print version) with Seamus Heaney, Julian Barnes and others choosing the books they liked best from 2009.

Gallery of Early Computers From the 1940s - 1960s
Fun collection of photos of early computers — and I'm so glad my little iMac doesn't take up an entire building!

Spiced Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake
This sounds wonderful — perfect with tea on Boxing Day afternoon. From No Special Effects, via Tastespotting.


(the stunning photo was styled by Sweet Paul and photographed by Ellen Silverman)

Advent Calendar: 24

A lovely glass chandelier becomes even more beautiful when decorated with glass ornaments and ribbon.


(photo from my Domino Deco Files archive)