Simple Pleasures

Unplugging from the computer. No work, email, surfing or facebook, just relaxing and — spending a day with family and/or friends, taking a personal holiday, enjoying nature, reading, exploring a new hobby, visiting museums or just doing pretty much everything else people did before the internet.

(photo by pia ulin)

Atelier: Flat Earth Studio

I recently featured the gorgeous Grasp porcelain set by Bryce Wymer of Flat Earth Studio on Etsy, but there's so much loveliness in this shop — Bryce also makes prints, wood sculptures and books as well as ceramics — that today I'm sharing a few more of my faves from there. Enjoy.

Monday

To start your Monday with a little inspiration — a stunning Moroccan pendant light.

(photo via the portfolio of stylist marie olsson nylander)

Minimalist Beauty

Love the elegantly minimal London house of architect John Pawson and his wife Catherine — a serene space designed for a contemplative existence. More here on House to Home.

(photography by james merrell)

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one. I'm finding it hard to believe we're almost there, actually — this week has gone so quickly for me. A lazy Sunday brunch is definitely sounding good right about now! How about you?

(photo by sharyn cairns)

Monochromatic Cool

A few tantalizing photos by Sara Landstedt of Swedish blogger Lina Johansson's gorgeous space, featured in the May 2013 issue of Plaza magazine. Just stunning.

(photos via sara landstedt's blog and plaza magazine blog)

Smile

This is wonderful. Caitlin Freeman, pastry chef at the Blue Bottle café at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, has a new book out called Modern Art Desserts: Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections, and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art, in which she translates the artwork she's surrounded by into edible masterpieces. Awesome. More about it here on brain pickings.

Sweetness and Light

A lovely still life styled by Anna Gillar, to add a little inspiration to your Thursday.

(photo by kristofer johnsson. via pinterest)

Buffet

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)

Smitten

I'm smitten with this completely over the top palm tree floor lamp — just wonderful.

(photo from modern furniture via this is glamorous)

Moments of Beauty

Love this stunning and dramatic photo of French model Marie Piovesan. photographed by Ben Hassett for the May 2013 issue of Interview Germany. More from the same shoot here.

(makeup by yadim, styling by julia von boehm and hair by akki more. via fashion gone rogue)

London Boho

Love Dee Koppang's elegant end-of-terrace Victorian house in north London — relaxed bohemian style. More here on House to Home.

(photography by jake curtis)

Sponsor Spotlight

With warm weather just around the corner, thoughts turn to clothes that are flowing, beautiful and with a little bit of bohemian style — like the lovely long caftan from Love Tanjane. Available in four colourways, this easy and versatile piece can be dressed up or down depending on your mood, making it ideal for travel. Alas, the adorable baby goat is not included! Start shopping here.

Listening to the many requests addressed to her successful online shop JAMIESHOP, interior designer Jamie Herzlinger and her staff realized there was a huge need for more involved design. The answer was JH ONLINE, a revolutionary approach to the world of interior design. Unlike other online interior design services, you become a client of Jamie Herzlinger, giving you access to a nationally renowned interior design firm at the click of a button! Dedicated to protecting your vision, JH ONLINE gives you the ability to truly work at your own pace, by creating a design that works with your entire home — not just one space. Warm, courteous and professional interior design service is now just a click away!

Add classic early 20th century style to your space with the stunning and classic Egg Chair, a high quality reproduction from Rove Concepts. Available in either Denmark Wool and Cashmere fabric or 100% full grain Aniline Leather imported from Italy, the entire chair is hand stitched around a synthetic 'dimension true' curvature shell poised on a high quality aluminum base in a chip and flake resistant satin finish. This quality piece will give you years of stylishly comfortable seating, as well as instantly becoming the focus of any room! Visit Rove Concepts here to view the huge range of fabric and leather options available for the Egg Chair.

Boston native Pam of Bates Mercantile Co. is offering 20% off her lovely Grow Love print through the month of April especially for automatism readers. Even better, 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this print will be donated to Bucks for Bauman, a fund set up to assist Jeff Bauman, the young man who lost both of his legs in the Boston Marathon bombings. Jeff also assisted the FBI in identifying the bombers upon coming out of anesthesia, writing a description of the suspect (more on Bucks for Bauman here). Just use coupon code GrowLoveAuto at checkout to receive your 20% off — and to help Jeff, too.

Simple Pleasures

Going out for lunch. Working from home as I do, lunch is usually something I grab at my desk while doing three other things at once, so getting away from emails and chatting with a friend over a leisurely meal is something I appreciate even more these days.

(photo by james merrell)

Atelier: Herbie Fletcher

Love the Wreck-Tangle series by artist and surfer Herbie Fletcher — fantastic colourful collaged sculptures made up of the broken pieces of surfboards that have gradually been destroyed by rocks and relentless waves. A lovely testimonial to surf culture and the power of the sea. More here at Beautiful Decay.