Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

An Art-Filled Space
Take a tour of the welcoming home of interior designer Paige Geffen, a space with a minimalist aesthetic warmed with honey wood tones and great art.

7 French Art Terms You Should Know
Make the next trip to the art gallery with a little more confidence, with this short glossary of French art terms from Artsy.

Interiors Inspiration Courtesy of Vintage IKEA Catalogues
AnOther magazine shares a few favourites from an archive of vintage IKEA catalogue covers. Groovy stuff. Find the entire archive on Pinterest here.

This Is What Happens To Your Brain When You Read Poetry
Interesting new study shows that there's a unique, pleasurable neurological response to reading poetry, activating parts of the brain that don't respond at all when listening to music or watching films. Time to read more poetry.

The Design Duo Behind The Century's Most Famous Album Covers
Lovely article about the legendary London-based design studio Hipgnosis, whose iconic album cover designs from the '70s recall a time when there was no digital media and designers were treated like (and hung out with) rock stars.

How to Choose the Right Compact Digital Camera For Your Travels
Great list of digital cameras over at Travel+Leisure, suitable for every kind of traveler and every kind of budget. Definitely thinking of upping my Instagram game.

Top 10 Books About Gardens
From the Guardian: "From theatres of social snobbery to fiery manifestos for rewilding, these volumes show that gardening can be sexy, scary and sometimes scandalous."

Eggplant Flatbreads
Lovely recipe from Aunt Martha that's perfect for warm weather lunches or light suppers—flatbread with charred eggplant spread, topped with arugula salad, pickled red onion and a citrusy, smoky tahini sauce.

(photo by benoit linero via here)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

A Loft In Montreuil
Take a tour of the lovely loft of architect Marika Chaumet, located in a former knitting factory.

28 Days of Black Designers
Fantastic project that spotlights black designers during Black History Month. So inspiring, and covers a whole range of creative fields, from architecture to graphic design, fashion and more.

The Vibrant Life of a Legendary Design Editor
Anyone who loves interior design will be familiar with the English magazine The World of Interiors, the creation of the extraordinary Min Hogg. I've been a huge fan for years—it's an artist's approach to interiors, paying as much attention to the beauties of the humblest abode as it does to grander spaces.

How To Put Pandas In Your Hard Candy
Mesmerizing video of Canadian candy company Candy Labs making by hand candy with tiny pandas in the centre. Also quite soothing to watch, actually.

Before the Garden Gnome, the Ornamental Hermit
Fascinating review of a new book that explores the 18th century fad for ornamental hermits—real people hired by wealthy estate owners (mainly in England) to dress as druids, grow their hair and not wash for years at a time. Oddly enough they often found it difficult to find takers for the job...

The Royal Society Biographical Memoirs
Based in London, The Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Recently it made its biographical memoirs archive free to access—read the memoirs of such distinguished Fellows as Albert Einstein, Dorothy Hodgkin, Alan Turing among others.

How Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn Restored Grey Gardens
If you've seen the stunning documentary Grey Gardens, you have to see this—the amazing restoration undertaken in the early 1980's by legendary Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee and his wife, journalist Sally Quinn. 

Fettucine With Kale, Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese
Perfect for a weeknight supper, this 5 ingredient recipe by Amy Chaplin from her book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen is quick and easy to put together. Via A Cup of Jo.

(photo: designort)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Factory Turned Home
Take a tour of a beautifully converted former factory in Bavaria, now a tranquil family home with great industrial details. Love this one.

How a Colour Designer Creates the Perfect Backdrop for Famous Art
I've always wondered this when visiting art museums — nice behind the scenes look at how the colour experts at Farrow & Ball choose and create colours as a background for art.

Radiooooo.com
This is such an inspired idea. Basically, it's a musical time machine — pick a decade, pick a country and listen to what was on the radio then! 

Raw Chocolate in Paris
Follow Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini on a virtual tour of Rrraw, a small Paris-based bean-to-bar chocolate company specializing in high-quality, raw, organic chocolate.

What Silence Taught John Cage: The Story of 4'33"
Why would a composer write a musical piece that is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence? Find out in this essay, written for the catalogue of an exhibition of Cage's work.

The Long History of Women in Astronomy
Fascinating Atlantic piece about how women have played a major role in astronomy's breakthroughs for centuries.   

The Art Assignment
Feeling uninspired creatively? Check out The Art Assignment, a weekly video series that introduces you to innovative artists, presents you with assignments, and explores art history through the lens of the present.

Judging Books By Their Covers: US vs. UK
The Millions kicks off this year's London Book Fair with a look at the differences between British and American versions of notable book coverss from 2015.

Evelyn Sharpe's French Chocolate Cake
First published in 1969, this flourless chocolate cake recipe is an elegant ancestor of the ones you see everywhere today. It's also a very simple recipe, with few ingredients — perfect if you want (or need!) cake within an hour or so.
  (photo: studio fabio fantolino)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

At Home With Maira Kalman
Take a tour of the lovely New York City home of artist and author Maira Kalman over on Design*Sponge. Love.

The Saveur 2014 Cookie Advent Calendar
It's back! Saveur features 25 delectable cookie recipes from around the world, to discover each day of December up to Christmas Day. So wonderful.

The World's Most Expensive Gingerbread House
Do you have $78,000 lying around? Then this is the holiday treat for you — the world's most expensive gingerbread house. Or skip the jewels and make one just like it for much, much, much less ...

Ladies Last: 8 Inventions by Women That Dudes Got Credit For
Monopoly, nuclear fission, programming: ladies did it first. And five other inventions, too. Share with your daughters.

Britain's Silliest Place Names
Feel like reliving being 10 again? Check out this map of authentic and rude place names in Britain. You'll be giggling for hours afterwards, I promise you.

Five Baking Books Worth Buying This Holiday
Great New York Times review of five new baking books — perfect for treating someone to for the holidays (or yourself, for that matter).

Top Ten Gothic Novels
The Victorians loved telling ghost stories around the Christmas fire (see Dickens). Any one of the tales on this list of classic gothic novels from the 18th and 19th centuries will definitely give you a pleasantly creepy feeling as you sip your eggnog. 

Leek, Lemon and Goat Cheese Breakfast Tart
Perfect for a Sunday breakfast, this elegant tart is quick and easy to make, too. Site is in Finnish — scroll down for the recipe in English.

(photo via nordal by way of woontrendz)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

50 Famous Quotes From Fashion Icons
Harper's Bazaar has collected 50 great quotes from fashion's greats, ranging from the inspiring to the amusing to the eyebrow raising.

Vintage Charm
Lovely post over at 79 Ideas featuring a pretty Swedish villa filled with lovely vintage details. Great photos.

On Kindness
"Kindness is like holding an ice cube in your hands." Lovely essay on kindness by Casey N. Cep. Link above takes you to an excerpt if you're in a hurry — read the full essay here.

Financing Alternatives For Women With Small Businesses
Design*Sponge recently had a great post in their wonderful Biz Ladies series on sourcing alternative forms of finance for women small business owners — lots of inspiring ideas.

A History of Bacon in Space
"Happiness is bacon squares for breakfast." Fascinating Popular Science article on bacon (plus other food) on the Apollo missions. Via Epicurious.

Inside New York's Art World
This looks interesting — interview from 1977 with Robert Rauschenberg and Leo Castelli for the programme Inside New York's Art World, now uploaded to YouTube.

Hidden Reading Space Around London
Looking for a peaceful space in London to read your book for an hour or two? This list of tranquil spots throughout the city ranges from canal-side coffee shops, cavernous bookstores and sleepy inner city squares for a welcome respite from the crowds.

Vintage Blue Bird Play Costumes
Retronaut recently had a lovely post featuring vintage photos of costumes for The Blue Bird, a 1908 play by Maeterlinck that premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre. Extraordinary designs — I only wish they were in colour.

Oatmeal Brûlée
Make your weekend oatmeal a little special with this great twist on a classic. 

(photo by prue ruscoe via dustjacket attic)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Good Reads: Remodelista
Victoria of the lovely sfgirlbybay recently did a great review of the Remodelista blog's new book, with lots of stunning photos — definitely putting this one on the book list.

The Grand Budapest Hotel's Real Life Inspiration
Wes Anderson's film was inspired by a real hotel — the Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic's spa town of Karlovy Vary.

Fictional Places That Attract Real-Life Tourists
And in contrast to the above — places created in films and TV that now attract tourists, such as Bond villain Blofeld's mountain hideaway in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Cameron's house in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and the Overlook Hotel from The Shining.

Cottage Loaf for Virginia Woolf
Samantha Ellis reviews The Bloomsbury Cookbook, and meditates on Virginia Woolf's love of cooking, which she didn't learn to do until she was 32.

What Famous Paintings Reveal About Pollution
Fascinating intersection of art and science — studying the colours of sunsets in paintings helps scientists determine the level of aerosols in the atmosphere hundreds of years ago.

A Girl Called Elastika
Sweet little stop-motion animation film made entirely from office supplies. So creative and fun.

Covet Garden
The April issue of the always lovely Covet Garden is live — looking forward to having a tea and browse through later today.

Seven-A-Day Veggies and Fruit
Are you up for it? Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day is healthier than the minimum five currently recommended and would prolong lives, experts now say. 

2-Ingredient Sandwiches
Hungry? Impatient? Saveur has you covered with these 9 suggestions for quick and perfect sandwich pairings, such as Tomato and Avocado, Goat Cheese and Olive Tapenade, Ham and Hard Boiled Egg or Ricotta and Honey. 

(photo by pia ulin)

Smile

Love this. Would make a great gift, too. Available here from Human.

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

A Dutch Bookshop Goes Goth
Take a virtual tour of the stunning conversion of a 15th century cathedral into a beautiful bookstore located in Zwolle, just outside Amsterdam.

Fellini TV Commercials
Just stumbled across this and was instantly enthralled — TV commercials by the great Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, created towards the end of his career. Wonderful, surreal and tiny films in themselves, they're also a lot of fun to watch.

Six Castles That Cost Less Than An Apartment in New York City
Sad but true. And a little mind boggling.

The Wintour Effect
Intriguing article on how Vogue editor Anna Wintour's additional new role as roving artistic director is changing the look and tone of publisher Condé Nast as well as its other magazines.

Top 10 Books About Paris
From Baudelaire to Balzac to Proust, these 10 titles provide an insider's guide to a city of intrigue, romance and squalor.

The No-Diet Diet
Real Simple asked nearly two dozen food and nutrition experts for advice on the foods (and strategies) you need to feel healthier. Practical and humane suggestions.

How Do They?
Produced by the wonderful National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the How Do They? series of wordless videos reveals the mysteries behind everyday things — find out how they put the centres in chocolates, how a chain link fence is made, how paper is recycled and much more. Great to share with your kids. Via Kottke.

Tagliatelle with Spinach, Mascarpone and Parmesan
A lovely quick Jamie Oliver recipe — perfect supper for a chilly autumn weeknight.

(photography by hervé goluza)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

The Queen of Sicily's Paris Shopping List, 1277
Fascinating glimpse of the domestic side of being a medieval queen — and who doesn't love reading lists?

Seashell Sound
Anyone who's spent time by the sea has put a seashell to their ear to hear the roar of the sea — this thoughtful essay looks at how we've listened throughout history and literature.

The Tower House
Check out this lovely skyscraper-style treehouse with a view of the mountains, designed to reflect the leaves of the trees around it.

Good Advice
Great selection over at Brain Pickings of inspiring advice on: how not to worry about money, courage and the creative life, fueling the inner engine of learning and making good art.

Weird and Wonderful Fruits and Vegetables
Celebrate Vegetarian Week with this selection of oddly (and at times rather rudely) shaped fruits and veggies.

5 Celebrity Favourite Natural Skincare Products
Check out how get Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Nichole Kidman and other celebs get their radiant glow with this list of their fave natural skincare products. 

Portrait of a Bookstore as an Old Man
Just found this and can't wait to see it — a 2005 documentary that revisits Shakespeare and Company, the most famous bookstore in Paris. A and I visited when we were in Paris — it's utterly atmospheric.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Lovely recipe for a late spring dessert from Cookie and Kate.


(photo from alison milne design via escapade)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson
Lovely documentary about the life of Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson. I adored her books as a child — and still do. 

George Sand's Omelette for Victor Hugo
I love reading vintage recipes — and this one detailing the elaborate omelette that writer George Sand prepared and sent to fellow writer Victor Hugo is extraordinary.

Leading Men Age, While Their Love Interests Don't
Vulture recently analyzed the data of ten middle-aged leading men and the ages of the women they've wooed onscreen and put it together in a chart — all for fun, but it does raise a serious point about how women are still disappearing from the screen once they hit a certain age.

A Coffee Geek's Guide to the Best Coffee in Paris
Sitting in a Paris café watching the world go by is always wonderful — and if you're also serious about your coffee, here's a guide to the best spots for great java, too. 

The Cosmic Menagerie
Fascinating New Yorker article by Laura Miller that explores what the first fictional aliens looked like — such as Voltaire's suave Saturnian from his satirical 1752 story, Micromégas, who looks like an earthling, except that he’s six thousand feet tall.

Make Your Twitter Feed Instantly Happier
Tired of the doom and gloom that erupts on Twitter now and then? Fight internet fatigue with newborn lambs! Follow @herdyshepherd1, a real shepherd of the Lake District, England, who tweets while he herds. Lovely.

Five Great Things Libraries Are Doing With Old Books
Library Journal checks out five innovative ways that libraries are disposing of obsolete titles.

Spring Vegetarian Recipes
Saveur has a lovely round up of 60 veggie-friendly spring-themed dishes that will have you heading off to the farmer's market for asparagus, artichoke, fava beans, mushrooms and more. Lovely after a long winter.

(photo by an-magritt)

Smile

The Icelandic waterfall Litlanesfoss is blowing my mind today — take a closer look at the extraordinary stone columns on each side of the waterfall. This naturally occurring rock formation is called columnar jointed basalt — more about it on Kottke here.

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Love Is ... Minding the Gap
Unexpectedly heartwarming story about the London Underground. Read it and feel better about humanity (and about the endurance of true love, too).

Coffitivity
Based on the idea that people are more productive with the sounds of activity around them, new beta service Coffitivity offers those who work from home ambient coffee shop noise at the click of a mouse — plug in your headphones and be instantly transported. Definitely worth checking out if you're stuck at home with deadlines and cabin fever.

The Benefits of Optimism
Interesting essay by Emily Esfahani Smith over at the Atlantic that uses two recent movies as a springboard for an examination on how a positive outlook is the most important predictor of resilience.

Go to Your Room (and Decorate)
New York Times house tour of a modern family home, featuring the rooms that the kids have decorated themselves as well as the spaces decorated by the parents. Fun to see how personal and creative these rooms are.

Built of Books
From Design Boom: "Dutch artist Frank Halmans explores themes of domesticity and memory through his sculptural installations. His series 'Built of Books' employs vintage publications ... which he arranges into stacks, lining them up along shelves, carving windows and doors through each (and thereby) creating sets of imaginary buildings and interiors in each section of volumes." Love the result.

Ditto
If you've avoided buying designer glasses or sunglasses online because you worry about getting the right fit, the Ditto site has an innovative feature that allows you to try on glasses on your computer through video, using clever technology that measures your facial shape and size. Interesting idea.

The Mysterious Vanishing Island
Recently an island situated between Australia and New Caledonia vanished from maps forever — for a surprising reason. Fascinating story.

The Ten Best Simpsons Songs, as Picked By Their Writers
Revisit all your fave musical numbers from The Simpsons, as chosen by its writers. Love the Planet of the Apes tune, but definitely feel that Canyonero was overlooked.

Roasted Broccoli, Arugula and Lentil Salad
A great early spring salad featuring both leafy and roasted green veggies, with black lentils to make it hearty enough for cool mid March weather. Via Cookie and Kate. 

(photo by karl anderson)

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a good one. We'll be having a busy working one again, but we're also looking forward to a nice family dinner out, too. How about you?

(photo by seth smoot)

Smile

Love this clever series by artist Aakash Nihalani — called Sum Times, it incorporates Aakash's signature 3D style forms into urban environments, turning architectural features into math problems. So fun. More here.

(via design milk)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Favourite Book Cover Designs of 2013
The New York Times asked people in and around the world of graphic design to name one of their favorite book covers from 2012 and briefly describe its appeal — follow the link to see a slide show of their picks.


Step Away From the Electronics and Be More Creative
Having trouble working on that art or writing project? From Kevin Charles Redmon's article in the Pacific Standard: "New research suggests that stepping away from the shiny Apple product and into the woods can have a big impact on creativity and problem-solving." Via Arts Journal.

Covet Garden Issue 30
The latest issue of the beautiful Covet Garden is out — make yourself a cup of tea and settle down for another lovely read.


Unusual Books: January 2013
Robert Birnbaum shares his interesting book finds on the Virginia Quarterly Review — lots of fascinating stuff to add to your book list.

Unbored: The Power of 'Making' in the Classroom
Via Boing Boing: "Joshua Glenn and Elizabeth Foy Larsen, editors of the fantastic kids' activity book Unbored have an article in the Huffington Post about the power of making in the classroom. Their finding: 'Decades of research confirm that making and doing things cement knowledge in ways that lectures can't.'"

Bon Appétit Food Lover's Cleanse 2013
With gorgeous photos by Stephanie of The Year in Food, Bon Appétit's third annual two-week meal plan is a great way to reboot your eating habits after indulging over the holidays — it's about healthy eating rather than deprivation. I especially like the emphasis on whole foods. Day one's menu: breakfast of Pomegranate-Walnut Oatmeal, lunch of Kale Salad with Tuna and White Beans, snack of Apple-Blackberry Smoothie, dinner of Black Cod with Swiss Chard, Olives, and Lemon plus Red Quinoa with Pistachios followed by a dessert of Salted, Seedy Chocolate Bark.

On the Approach to the New Year
Lovely reminder from an astronomer to keep things in perspective by looking up at the stars every so often.

The Versatility of Spinach
Looking to get more dark leafy greens in your diet? Check out these suggestions in the New York Times Recipes for Health column — Spinach and Millet Timbale With Tomato Sauce, Spinach Gnocchi, Penne With Mushroom Ragout and Spinach and Garlic Soup With Spinach are just a few of the delicious recipes on offer.

(photo by readyluck. via ruffled by way of modern hepburn)

Smile

Love this illustration by Wendy MacNaughton for the article An Ode to My Neighborhood Listserv by Caroline Paul. Click the illo to see it larger, too.

(from tech page one via explore)

Monday

A natural history-themed still life to start your Monday on an interesting note — have a good one.

P.S. As you can see from the new header, I'm updating automatism a little to give it a fresh new look!

(lovely photo by sharyn cairns)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Rue Gastronomy
Wonderful and wistful letter from Paris about changes in an historic street. As Liz Lemon would say, "I want to go to there."

How to Talk Like Jane Austen
October 30 was Talk Like Jane Austen Day, which celebrates Austen's first published novel Sense and Sensibility — follow the link to a list of 10 Austenite words and their use in the novel.

Loss and Gain, or the Fate of the Book
Lovely essay by Anthony Daniels on what it truly means to be a book lover at a time when an appreciation for the physical experience of reading books is slowly dying out. Loved this one. Via Andrew (thanks!)

Hollywood Unseen
Slide show of behind the scenes shots from Hollywood's golden age, taken by the studio photographers — check out Humphrey Bogart on a bike, Joan Crawford boxing on a beach and Lana Turner fishing among others.

Wind Map
Elegantly designed project that charts in real time the moving patterns of wind over the United States. I first came across this when Hurricane Sandy was in full force, and it was eerie to see the swirling vortex of wind hovering over New York.

War and Prosthetics: How Veterans Fought for the Perfect Artificial Limb
Fascinating article on the development of artificial limbs, and how their design was driven by the veterans of centuries of war. A bittersweet reminder — especially with Remembrance Day just around the corner — of another way that veterans have contributed to society.

Ninety-Two Years of Women Voting, in Pictures
Great gallery of archival images of American women voting, from 1920 — the year after the Nineteenth Amendment passed — to now.

Cubicles Made From the Detritus of Demolished Buildings
This is such a good idea — can't think why it isn't done more often.

Spinach Puffs
Lovely little puff pastry, spinach and feta cheese appetisers — easy to make and perfect for the upcoming party season.


(photo by sköna hem via q en bleu)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Icons of Style
Vanity Fair slide show featuring icons of style from the silver screen, including Audrey Hepburn (of course), Grace Kelly, Fred Astaire, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Cate Blanchett among others.

Rethinking Sleep
Fascinating NYT article about how our ideas about sleep (and how much we really do need) are changing radically — our ancestors had very different sleep patterns than what we now have.

Six Women Science Pioneers Celebrated in Posters
Check out these great minimalist posters that honour the contributions of six pioneering woman scientists — radioactivity researcher Marie Curie, physicist and astronaut Sally Ride, primatologist Jane Goodall, marine biologist Rachel Carson, British biophysicist Rosalind Franklin and computer scientist Grace Hopper. Inspiring.

Winslow Homer's Studio
Interesting slide show tour of American landscape artist Winslow Homer's newly renovated studio by the seaside in Prouts Neck, Maine.

Best Recently Reissued Books
Just discovered that The Telegraph has a weekly column covering reprinted editions of books — some which have been out of print for many years. This week's list of reissues features playwright Arthur Miller's autobiography Timebends, Richard Hughes’s novel The Fox in the Attic (set against the social and political upheavals of WWII), Malcolm Bradbury’s 1959 academic satire Eating People Is Wrong, Italian-Scottish diplomat Daniele Varè's The Maker of Heavenly Trousers, based on his experiences in Peking in the Thirties and Joan Aiken’s children’s classic The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, set in an alternative 19th-century England that’s bitterly cold and overrun with wolves.

The Secret Spy Life of James Bond Producer Harry Saltzman
An excellent example of how truth is stranger than fiction — fascinating.

Google Street View — Under the Sea
Via Laughing Squid: "Google Street View is now available under the sea. Six coral reefs around the world, including The Great Barrier Reef, can now be explored using Google’s panoramic technology (video). The imagery was captured by Google partner Catlin Seaview Survey." Direct link here. My afternoon productivity just took a nosedive ...

English Crumpets
Treat yourself to a scrumptious weekend brunch treat with this lovely recipe for home made crumpets — add butter and jam or honey and you're good to go. Via Always With Butter.

(photo by jake curtis)

Atelier: The New English

Today I'm admiring the quirky Anatomica collection from fab ceramics company The New English — both witty and beautiful. Available from the shop here.