Belly's

feast of light{ing} part one

Molly Luetkemeyer couldn't be more right: Lighting is jewelery for the home. This is at once the reason I'm so fond of it and the reason I have such trouble committing to lighting in my apartment (there are so many pretty choices out there!).

The Feast of Light is all the more reason to re-visit an old favorite of mine: the star lantern! Turns out I (and Markham Roberts) am not its only fan...

{WoI}

Here it is in the Duchess of Devonshire's entry of her home, Old Vicarage, Edsenor.

{Simon Upton}

The golden/brass framing with clear body is my favorite finish, too.

I got these photos from one of my favorite blogs, called Little Augury. Every time a new post hits my reader it gets bookmarked, and I never tire of them. To see more on the Duchess go there, and to see the star lantern in other settings and get some affordable resources, go to my resource post.

Are you a lighting geek like me? What's your favorite?

monday morning coffee

And once again it's Monday. They just keep on coming, you know? Surprisingly, it's a good Monday - and I hope yours is, too. But even if you're having a case of the Monday Blues, I hope I can help remedy that with those links I gathered while y'all were dressing up and stuff. Have a good, good week, you guys!

• Starting with a positive vibe, Karen's "say yes" campaign has pushed just the right button for me. Say yes and go read her post.
• This gorgeous nursery by Lindsey Brier on Haute Mama Daily (a new blog to get addicted to) just strengthens my decisions to write a nursery post, but I have so much to say I really have to edit myself! Until I kick my procrastination habit, you should visit 6th Street Design School, where the best designers and bloggers are giving their two cents about "good design, kids in mind."
• Love this bookcase roundup from Erika- great ideas for styling your own, IKEA or not.
• Brilliant event designer/blogger Kelley Moore does it again- click for a super sweet party idea.
• And let's finish up with some pretty- Oh Joy has a sneak peek of Happy Chic Jonathan Adler's new book series. Don't tell me it didn't brighten up your day...

{image: Windsor Smith}

 

monday morning coffee

Good morning and good week, you all! Doesn't it cheer you up seeing all those colorful shoes? Today I'm going to hunt for some shoes myself, so we'll keep it short and simple. Here we go:

• The image above is from Manolo Blahnik's home, no less. I love how utilitarian his pantry/supply closet is, a true craftsman.
• A few weeks ago Live Like You started a new series called "10 things I love about my bedroom" and the first guest was the adorable 6 years old Kate and her beautiful room (speaking about pink!).
• I love all the book-y posts recently, and it's so appropriate for fall. Can you think of anything better than cuddling with a good book when it's raining outside? Here are two from Sacramento Street and La Dolce Vita.
• The Jeremiah Goodman exhibition sounds amazing. I hope to catch it when I'm in NYC this winter. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying his home tour by Heather from Habitually Chic.
• Well, as we're a bit shoe-themed today, what do you think of these (literally) tongue in cheek designs?

{image photography: Ivan Terestchenko}

mind games

 

Dusk.

Isn't it magical? I took this picture just moments before reading Lisa's post on the same subject. As always, a worthwhile read.

I handed in the book I've been translating since July, so I'm taking the rest of the day off to celebrate the remains of the holiday and maybe (dare I say it?) rest a little.

Come back later for another installation of cube into home, this time colorful and bursting with inspiration.

{image photography by Chedva K for Belly's Button}

monday morning coffee with a side of links

Aren't you glad Monday Morning Coffee is back? What, you didn't notice it was gone? Well, I hope you enjoy this week's link anyhow:

• Hop on to Design Blahg to read more about where I blahg from. Thank you Erica for featuring me, and welcome to all new visitors via her awesome blog.
  
• Will, or as I like to call him Mr. B, wrote a touching, heartwarming story about his passion for decorating as part of Hello Splendor's Blog Crawl. Check out the other stories as well.
• What happens when two mega-bloggers with great style decide to collaborate? Amazing design is born. What I like about the rooms Jenny designed for Joanna is that they are so beautiful, yet have this down to earth quality about them.(Living room: 1, 2, 3. Nursery: 1.)

• I've been experimenting with my new camera and with the advice we got from Leslie at the BYW course. Here's what's in the picture above:

1. An Etrog for Sukkot, from my family's business.
2. A tiny portrait print on canvas, Tushtush.
3. Watercolor by my son, Domino back issue.
4. Roald Dahl book (yellow, in Hebrew) and a '50s edition of Little Women.
5. Premier Prints fabric samples.

Have any links you wish to share? Hit me (not literally, please) in the comments.

{image styling & photography: Chedva K for Belly's Button}

lonny love

I know it's Rue day, and more on that as soon as the magazine hits my email... But following up on my last post -  how cool is Lonny's new site? The magazine is much easier to browse with no flash, and finally it's painless to save some images through their decorate page, which will make it so much easier for bloggers to show their magazine love (and critique, of course). Lonny is now also available in print, though at 34$ for issue, I guess I'll stay with the digital edition for a while.

What I really loved about the new site, though, is the Lonny Loves page, where they feature different people and their fave picks - I'm such a sucker for this last-page-of-the-magazine style stuff... It's literally the first thing I read when I get my hands on a Living etc issue.

And I'm curious to see in which direction does their blog go, and how consistent would it be. Lonny editor-in-chief Michelle Adams is an ex-blogger, so I do have my expectations. Meanwhile, we can enjoy their adorable contributors' bios, in true Lonny style (see above).

So, what did you think?

(image: lonny magazine)

where am I?

 

Dear readers, I had a few posts lined up for this week, but I'm swamped with the move (tomorrow), nearly buried in cartons and I'll be disconnected from dee interwebz in a bit. So there you have it.

Meanwhile, why don't you hop over to Raina's at If The Lampshade Fits for some serious inspiration she's sharing this week or to Sketch42 and Design Blahg for the Blogger Tag Sale they are graciously hosting? If you are more of a sewing personality- hop to Sewaholic to check out her new sewing space or go congratulate Gertie on her one year blogi-versary and maybe win her anniversary giveaway!

I'll be back and posting in a jiffy,

Chedva

[image vogue living australia via if the lampshade fits]

hey, look!

via www.designblahg.com

Nicole and her amazing bedroom are in the delightfully snarky Design Blahg today. Go there, you really should.

monday morning coffee

source

Thank God it's Monday (Don't you hate Sundays?) and it's time for coffee and links. I had such a bad day yesterday, and I'm happy it's over and there's a new week ahead of me. Today I'm planning on some sewing (remember the power skirt?) and I also need to find handles for our kitchen cabinets. I plan to sew a muslin of my blouse sloper because I made some changes I need to test, and this week my teacher agreed to show us how to draft a bathing suit pattern - can't wait!

But first: A deep breath and some links

• Nina Katchadourian is not your regular library organizer (cause we all have a library organizer, right?). She organizes books in all different ways and themes and creates new (clever, witty, thought-provoking) stories through her work. Truly inspirational. (Thanks go to Edna for the link.)
• Threads published a helpful article on their site on using the right pins for different fabrics and purposes. I admit I don't do a great job matching the right pins to each project, but now I'll try to change that.
• Style.com's Style File blog runs a series of interviews called The Future of Fashion and this time they featured fashion genius Alber Elbaz. Elbaz has been one of my favorite fashion designers for the last 3 or 4 years. I adore his work for Lanvin (though I don't love ALL of it anymore) and he seems so gracious and humble in all the interviews I've read with him.
• I hope I'm not tiring you with my constant linking to Lisa Borgnes Giramonti's blog, A Bloomsbury Life, but I can't stop. I don't know what's better in this post about her office: the writing or the photos.
• I'm re-watching The West Wing for the umpteenth time. Any other Aaron Sorkin / Bradley Whitford fans out there? I'd love to analyze every bit of this legendary series ad nauseum (I, like Jedd Bartlet, love Latin; Unlike him - I don't really know much of it).

That's all for now. How are you doing today? Found an interesting website? Had your coffee yet?

I'm not asleep, I'm just closing my eyes

I'm dreaming of getting some sleep, and ex-Domino's Rita Konig's girly bedroom looks like a place where only sweet dreams interrupt (or enrich) your sleep.

See you in a couple hours.