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}
I'm having one of these days when everything falls into place, and somehow life becomes clearer. Excuse the musings, it is Sunday after all. Have yourself a pretty, exciting (or pretty exciting) rest of the weekend.
P.S. as you can see, I've been experimenting a little with my new camera. Nicole also posted a picture from this impromptu little photoshoot.
(image: Chedva Kleinhandler for Belly's Button)
Two days ago I decided to take a brief break from work, which of course, resulted in an hour of shelter mag hoarding. I picked up my August and September issues of Living etc (I'm subscribed but have to pick 'em up from the store), and September InStyle, Elle Decor, House Beautiful and Country Living.
Somehow, I never payed attention to CL, its cover images never called my name up until now and so I hadn't notice it. I was surprised to discover a pretty awesome publication! I initially picked it because its cover - I'm obsessed with blue & white right now (in fact, I also bought this book, and you can expect a moodboard soon) - but the content didn't disappoint. (remember my notebook roundup? This is the one I chose after all, from Etsy seller PHOGLIE.)
Look at this wall, for an instance- would you believe it's not wallpaper, or even stencil? It's just this patterned roller, which you just... errr, roll, down your wall to create this beautiful effect. Pretty amazing, don't you think? I must try it somewhere.
In other news, this is now my favorite watercolor I did with Chanoch (in fact, I think he did this one on his own). I love how it looks like there's a tree there, even though it wasn't intentional.
I'm having a very busy week, but there's some awesomeness in store for the blog, which I can't wait to share as soon as I have time to breath.
Happy Tuesday, friends.
P.S. is it me or is every magazine having a makeover issue right now?
We've been meaning to throw a housewarming party since we moved here, but somehow it couldn't happen until this week. First, we were still living in chaos (now the chaos is limited to spare bedroom/guest room), then everybody went on vacations (including us). When we returned, I was still swamped with work and C was just going to start a new school, but we decided it's time.
We invited the closest family, about 20 people in all, which was the perfect number. Everyone fit just right into the dining room, and the conversation was lovely. For tableware, I decided to rent (lease?) the plates and cutlery. Last year at C's birthday we bought disposable dishes (is that what you call them?) which I hate (even though they were the pretty, expensive kind) and which made me feel guilty: A. over the environment, and - B. for throwing so much money to the bin at the end of the night. The renting cost me about 1/5 of what the disposable dishes price - crazy, right? I just kept it simple and chose the set with the plainest lines they had available, so it would blend in seamlessly.
I sewed the tablecloth 4 hours before dinner. The runner is an Ikat from Uzbekistan I bought on ebay. I love the unique heart pattern woven into it. I put it on the table as is, because I may want to sew something else with it.
A couple of hours before the party I went and bought this gorgeous Japanese vase, the crystal parrot and a tea set (because I realized I don't have anything to serve tea in. Of course nobody wanted tea) in this charming old store full of Wedgewood, Cobalt and Bohemia dishes sold for ridiculously low prices along with Chinoiserie and Japonerie lamps, vases and ginger jars (even elephant garden stools).
Dinner was Amy's fiesta salmon (with pepper jelly I made myself), green beans, and mushroom and sweet potato pie. Desert was, funny enough, 4 times bigger than the main course, with apple strudel, my mom's signature lemon ice cream, a birthday cake for my MIL and a huge fruit platter my mother brought.
After dinner everyone helped themselves to sweets from Nicole's gorgeous lucite and gem boxes. The photo doesn't do them justice, so here's a shot of them in my bathroom, where they give me that luxurious hotel feeling (though I never visited a hotel THAT luxurious).
That was about it. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and it was fun playing hostess. This weekend I'm also hosting, so I'm off to cook and there will be no outfit with a past post this week - but we'll return with a bang next week.
How did your week go?
Here are my new shoes (mine are in black.)
Don't they remind you of Mary Poppins?
They're not the most beautiful, or flattering shoes. They don't really go with any of my clothes.
But they called my name. I had to buy them, even if they'll spend the rest of their lives in my new, pink dressing room.
Have you ever purchased anything just because it called your name?
I've been busy making this
For this guy
See you tomorrow, dear friends.
I blabbed and teased about my Oprah Dress enough, and that was a little because I don't have much to show for it.
Will you believe me this dress was beautiful and flattering at one point, not many months ago? What was I thinking? Didn't I realize that if I had to take in 8 centimeters (that's 3.15 inches for you USA folks) in two skirts, this dress cannot in a million years be fitted in time for a dinner party?
Well, apparently I lost some weight (how much? I don't know, I don't weigh myself anymore, just take my size), and apparently I lost it all over the friggin place, and apparently fitted dresses don't look any better when you lose a lot of inches than when you gain them.
So what? Should I squeal of joy? well, yes, that's what I did a day later, but at that point I was near to tears (aren't you happy I didn't say I went into a fit? yeah, me too) - there was no way I could fix the dress in time (see all these arrows? that's just a few of the places that needed mending) and I couldn't think of anything else to wear.
Enter the Charlotte cardi. remember how I told you I am not going to take it the Park Avenue route. What the heck, I said to myself, and decided to go all the way with it: A little black dress from my favorite Israeli designer, Delicatessen, was teamed with pearls, princess-y makeup, the notorious, still button-less cardigan and Miss L-Fire shoes for a bit of irony.
Et voila.
I guess I'll be spending the next week or so reading closely the section on mending and adjustments in Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing.
P.S. I just got my first tripod. Please bear with me for the next decade or so, till I learn to take decent pictures with it.
