{Bits of Beauty} » {bit of beauty}

{bit of beauty: ave maria}

Jenn — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:10:32 +0000

Tanya Dziahileva by Danil Golovkin in Ave Maria for Harper’s Bazaar Russia July ’10 {via} Fashion Gone Rogue

{bit of beauty: draped}

Jenn — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:30:19 +0000

{via} fashion gone rogue

{honeysuckle sorbet}

Jenn — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:57:35 +0000

Found this gorgeous recipe and had to share it!

Bill Smith’s Honeysuckle Sorbet

Makes about 2 quarts

4 cups (tightly packed but not smashed) honeysuckle flowers, leaves and stems discarded
5 1/3 cups cool water
1 1/3 cups water
2 cups sugar
Few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Speck of cinnamon

Place the flowers in a nonreactive container (glass or stainless steel) and cover with the cool water. Weight down with a plate. Let stand on the counter overnight.

In a small saucepan, make a syrup out of the sugar and the water by boiling it until all the sugar is dissolved and it begins to look lustrous and slightly thick, 3-5 minutes. Add a few drops of lemon juice to prevent the sugar from recrystallizing. Cool the syrup completely. Strain the honeysuckle infusion, gently pressing the blossoms so as not to waste any of your previous efforts. Combine the two liquids and add the merest dusting of cinnamon. You don’t want to taste it, but you can tell if it’s not there. I use the tip of a sharp boning knife to measure it. Churn in an ice-cream maker. This does not keep for more than a week or two.

Enjoy!

{an exotic escape}

Jenn — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:16:31 +0000

There is something so right about shelters that act as soothing sanctuaries. Couldn’t you imagine relaxing in this perfect plein air escape? I could spend hours reading and writing here, afraid to disturb the sacred peace with any noise beyond the rustling of paper and scratching of my pen. I’ve taken a liking to decor mimicking or blending with nature, using stone and wood, to create a simple space that makes you want to breathe deeply.

{via} cabbage rose

{bit of beauty: floral details}

Jenn — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:00:28 +0000

images 1. & 2. {via} susie bubble, 3. robin pika

{small sanctuary}

Jenn — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:00:56 +0000

images {via} small house style

{summer inspiration}

Jenn — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:43:04 +0000

{p.s.} I did a guest post on Paloma Contreras’ La Dolce Vita yesterday. Pop on over and see the 10 Things I Can’t Live Without. {And, just as important, what I CAN live without.}

1. angela kohler, 2. {via} flickr, 3. {via} lace & tea, & 4. noa noa {thanks Caroline!}

{bit of beauty: angela kohler}

Jenn — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 03:39:32 +0000

I’ve just recently discovered who Angela Kohler is. Well, actually, I already knew her work, as do most of you. She’s responsible for the Girls with Glasses video we all loved so much. Oh, and did I mention she also did the Kindle videos? Ya, that’s her. Interview and information on how to own some of her work coming soon!

{btw} You can visit her blog here.

{a different kind of minimalism}

Jenn — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 06:43:30 +0000

When you think of minimalism, what do you see? I see stark, white, clean lines, that verge on harsh. It’s always been a turn off for me; I’ve never identified with that aesthetic. I’ve been slowly reducing the amount of things I own, but I’ll admit, I’ve had a bit of anxiety over my inability to reconcile what makes a space comfortable to me and what I thought minimalism should look like. I have a tendency to let clutter build up if I own too much, so the solution is to own less. It simplifies life in a way that borders absurd. But, I still gravitate toward the glamorous, detailed, ornamented, and elaborate.

So, I put aside the aesthetic of the minimalist design movement, and thought of what minimalism really means: simplicity.

Now, take a look at the rooms below.

If you think about it, there are little to no frills in the rooms below. It’s all bare bones, but with beautiful lines. The palette is earthy and natural, which keeps it from looking as cold as many more modern minimal spaces do. It’s absolutely elegant and inviting, yet it still meets the standards laid out here.

I could live with this. I know most of my design-loving readers could, too.

So what’s the point? Why am I writing about this? Well, I think that to most people minimalism can be intimidating and exclusionary. It’s all or nothing, which doesn’t make it simple to work toward. The solution is to re-imagine it. Get rid of the assumptions, because it really doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone can benefit from simplicity, so if you’ve ever felt that you might want to live with less of anything in your life, you shouldn’t be intimidated. It’s personal. It’s not a competition. In fact it’s the opposite of that. Just start somewhere, and don’t be afraid that you aren’t doing it right.

Simple.

images from Coté Sud {via} Haute Design

{make your macbook even more awesome}

Jenn — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:36:22 +0000

I’ve contemplated engraving my macbook a few times, but have been so afraid of screwing it up. I’d all but given up on the idea until I saw this beauty pop up in my feed last night. If you don’t have the patience to do this yourself {or the cash to have someone do it for you}, check this out.

{via} garance dore