Have a Royal Weekend!

Did you watch the Royal Wedding? I have still yet to watch it, but am loving the photos and outtakes -- so fun, I can't wait. I hope you will all have a excellent weekend!

1. Enamel Teapot
2. Tea Towel
3. Royal Wedding Print

Koukku

How adorable are these bright handmade crocheted teething rings by Finland based etsy shop Koukku? I love the idea and quality of wood being surrounded with something soft. I also think their toddler necklaces are adorable! I am adding these to my wish list as I think about which colors to get.

(spotted on Alyson's Unruly Little Things)

Contemporary Comfort

'Contemporary with a not to quirky, Euro Style' is how Style at Home editor Erin McLauchlin defines her narrow row house space. It looks like a great combo of minimal design, pops of color and comfort -- my favorite. See more photos and read more about the space at Style at Home.

What do you think?

Photos by Virginia Macdonald

Matter of Words Exhibit

Last week I was able to go to the Museum of Art at BYU and was blown away by the current exhibits. They were all very well-thought out and amazing if you are local, you should really take a trip. The current feature exhibit of Carl Bloch's paintings is out of this world and I was also drawn to the gallery which featured contemporary artists called 'Matter of Words' that is all about communication and the printed word. The curator Jeff Lambson said this about the exhibit "The words we choose reflect our mindsets and establish our connections to our physical and social environments.”

Adam Bateman did the above site specific book sculpture which included over 80,000 pounds of books that were donated along with these book rubbings that were all quite remarkable.

John Fraser did these stunningly simple and beautiful book cover and spine works that I found myself gasping at in a good way.

 Harrell Fletcher in collaboration with Veda Epling to create these outstanding color-coded bible prints.

Something that I find most fascinating about contemporary art like this is not only the eloquent simplicity but also the conceptual thinking behind all of the works that takes you to a deeper level. Things often have more meaning the longer you look...

Music Monday : Nerina Pallot

Have you heard of British singer Nerina Pallot? Check out this video of her upcoming new release called, "Put Your Hands Up". What do you think?

photo:  from nerina pallot

Happy Weekend!

Have a most excellent weekend -- a Happy Easter and Earth Day!

1. Kid's Bunny T
2. Bunny Sweatshirt
3. Pretty Anemone Boquet
4. Bunny Rocker

Alinea Restaurant

I just added the Alinea Restaurant in Chicago to my foodie dream list. Do you keep one of those? A list of places both elegant and causal that you want to try locally and around the world? What is on your list?

At Alinea there is a 12 and 23-course experimental menu where the food seriously looks like little sculptures created under the direction of the amazing chef Grant Achatz. It would be an evening that would knock my socks off! I believe you have to reserve months in advance but wow... what a place to try. Have any of you lucky readers been there?

Read and see more here.

photos from Alinea

Become Someone Else

This campaign, "Become Someone Else" by the Lithuanian Agency called Love for Mint Vinetu is a clever concept, well executed. Here is what they said about it,

"When one reads books, he/she starts living it and identifies (or not) with main hero. These print ads for the Mint Vinetu bookstore, which sells lots of classics, focuses on the idea of becoming someone else. And provokes people to try on different personas."

What do you think?

I recently thumbed through this book which has moved Don Quixote to the top of my reading list - sadly, I've never actually read it have you? There are so many classics I have yet to read! What classics are your favorite? How many have you read?

(via fubiz)

photos: from Love

Katherine Sandoz Painting Sale

Last year I came across the amazing abstract nature paintings of Katherine Sandoz in a charming shop in Savannah (see previous post) and since then we have become friends and she has become one of my favorite abstract painters.

Today I am delighted to tell you that Katherine is having a sale on her artwork -- something she does only about every five years! She is in the process of spring cleaning and making way for some new work including these gorgeous garden abstracts that I am excited about. Have a look at her beautiful artwork sale where most of her pieces are dramatically reduced in price around 50% off!! Snatch up a original luxury painting for less like some of my very favorites shown above. It is first come, first serve sale where you select what you would like and then drop Katherine an email: katherin@katherinesandoz.com. The sale runs through May 5th.

Music Monday : Peter Bjorn and John

Check out this great new song from Peter Bjorn and John called 'Second Chance' from their new album Gimme Some. This is a great track for summer huh, have a look and listen and tell me what you think!

You can pick up the mp3 album on amazon here or itunes here.*

(via cliptip)

*these links support B*E, thanks!

Have an outstanding weekend!

I took a spontaneous road trip with the girls this week (meeting up with Mac who was on a business trip) and the 80 degree weather and sitting by the pool for a few days is exactly what we needed. Over the next few days remember to enter this giveaway and to enter this giveaway for your chance to get clean with Martha and Method if you would like. I hope you will all have an outstanding weekend!

 

Today I came across the inspiring photos of renowned German photographer F.C. Gundlach from the 1960s. If you are in Germany there is currently an exhibit running at the Neue Museum Nürnberg through June, you can read about it here.

photos : F.C. Gundlach

Listening to...

Do any of you have things that you do before you go on a vacation? I usually always do two things... I have to clean my house, and spend some time (probably too much) filling up my iPod with music and audio books. Here are a just a few that I bought and put on for the road trip I am going on this week. I've never listened to any of the albums in their entirety, so I am excited to give them a through listen.

1: Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
2: The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
3: Water for Elephants - This happens to be audiobook of the month so it is only $5.95 on itunes.
4: Florence + the Machine - Lungs
5: The Alchemist

6: Adele - 21


(#3 and #6 were actually previous books my bookclub read that I didn't get to, so I am excited to listen to them, thanks Bonnie for the recommendations and reminder.)

What music are you excited about listening to? Are you an audiobook fan or reading anything that you can't put down? Hit up the comments...

Watching Design Documentaries...

I've had these two documentaries - Visual Acoustics : The Modernism of Julius Shulman and Objectified in my Netflix queue for some time and I finally got around to watching them. If you are interested in architecture, photography, and design these are both outstanding ones you may want to put on your list. Have you seen them? What have you been watching lately?

Love & Victory Custom Framed Silhouette Giveaway

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED : Abby and Sy Pie were the winners who were randomly selected and contacted.


I would like to welcome our newest sponsor Love & Victory and they are sharing with us a little giveaway that is perfect for the upcoming Mother's Day holiday! Two lucky readers will win a custom framed hand-cut silhouette in the color selection of their choice. They kindly did a silhouette for our girls above so you can see what the final product will look like. See all of the options to get your creative juices flowing. Enter by commenting on this post by Sunday night and the winners will be announced here on Monday. Welcome Love & Victory! Be sure to check out all of their great gifts here.


*If you would like to become a Black Eiffel sponsor email blackeiffel@gmail.com. 20% of ad proceeds will also be donated to the Japan relief.

Aqua Notes

Do you ever get your best ideas in the shower? Aqua Notes came up with a clever idea... a waterproof way to jot things down, you learn more about them here.

Music Monday : Mt. Desolation

Check out this fun video from Mt. Desolation that plays around with polaroids. Mt. Desolation is an alt-country side project of Keane's Tim-Rice Oxley and Jesse Quin. According to Babanuki films which this song Departure was directed the line up includes members from Keane, Noah & the Whale, The Killers, The Long Winters, The Staves and Mumford and Sons.

On Babanuki's vimeo page it also states that the artists recorded themselves on video cameras and were brought together in this video clip. Pretty rad, huh. What do you think? Happy Music Monday!

Jigsaw

Loving these looks from Jigsaw.

How to make playdough

This is pretty crazy to me in hindsight, but I have never made playdough until yesterday! My daughter ran out of her other kind, so we decided to make the homemade stuff and it was super easy and fast. Would you like to know how to make playdough? Follow the tips below...

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 cups water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
food coloring or other desired color agents like carrot juice etc.

Steps:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a pot over low heat and stir until the dough pulls away from the pan and forms a ball.

2. Take warm dough out and place on counter and knead, then divide into balls for coloring.

3. Make a hole in the center of each ball and place desired color in each section and then knead each ball again to mix in the color. (You may want to use plastic wrap or gloves for this stage)

4. Voila! The playdough is ready to play with. Make sure to store in an air-tight container, temporarily we are just using plastic sandwich bags. Another tip I've heard, but not observed is to dispose of the playdough after a month or so it doesn't go bad.

Have you made playdough before? Any tips you would like to add?

 

Photos by Rachel Jones - Black Eiffel.

Norweigan Architecture in Nature

Architectural elements were created in Norway to enhance the tourist routes and experiences. I love seeing beautiful stuff combining nature and structures like this. How would you like to stop at one of these rest stops?! See more at the National Tourist Routes in Norway website.

 

 All photos from here by various photographers credited below:
1 by Vegar Moen // 2 & 4 by Jarle Wæhler // 3 by Jiri Havran // 5 by Helge Stikbakke 


(via knstrct)

Space

Thinking about the elements of space after a recent lecture I went to that pretty much blew my mind. These graphic Astronomy poster prints by Simon C Page are brilliant. You can find these and more in his shop.

(spotted on CR Review)

Kit + Lili

Crushing on the new fun bold and graphic kid's clothing designs from Kit + Lili. That apple and fish print ... so cute!

Music Monday : World Order

With all of the creative music videos out there lately, I feel like I'm saying this more often, but seriously... this is a really awesome Japanese video for the band World Order it brightened my day instantly, and I hope it will for you too. The choreography and editing is off the charts insanely cool and intricate. Created by Genki Sudo this guy has a interesting resume for sure... fighter, essayaist, musician, actor and dancer etc. Have you seen the other videos they've done like World Order in New York, and Mind Shift.

Happy Music Monday! What do you think?

Download the song on Genki Sudo's blog here for free. Find other songs to download *here.

(via Stereogum)

*purchasing from this link supports B*E.

Spring Cleaning the Bathroom

First off, be sure to enter the Get Clean Sweepstakes!

Over the weekend I worked on Spring Cleaning our bathroom with the brand new nice smelling French Lavender All-Purpose spray that Method sent over and here are a few of my tips when it comes to cleaning the bathroom.

1. Matching Towels: Discard any shabby towels and invest in matching ones. I prefer white ones because they feel like the spa or hotel at home and are super easy to clean. It also may be a good idea to have an unused set or two set tucked away for guests, so you will also always be prepared. (I'm kind of like Monica on Friends when it comes to this... ha)

2. Sort through your cosmetic and beauty products and make sure they are being used. Why have things that you've had in your bathroom closet for years if you don't use them or plan on using them? Save the space and discard that old eyeshadow color or shampoo you don't like. If you wear makeup, also make sure to clean your makeup brushes often.

3. Start being an educated consumer: This tip may not be for everyone but is a personal preference. A few years ago I sorted through all of our bathroom and cosmetic products and chucked everything above a 5 on the EWG Cosmetic Safety Database and I do my best to not purchase anything above that number. From what I've learned, what you put on your body gets so quickly absorbed into our systems and just like the food we consume, I want to make sure we are not putting unnecessary harmful toxins in our bodies.

p.s. If any of you have found a great 'aluminum-free' deodorant that works, hit up the comments -- I've tried 3 and I'm still searching.

4. Clean your bathroom once a week : When you keep on top of the weekly cleaning it really isn't that big of a deal to clean the bathroom. It is my least favorite chore so I often make it fun by turning on upbeat music and just going for it.

5. Have supplies handy: Make sure you have certain bathroom supplies stocked up and close by. The worst is running out of t.p. when it is most needed or eek... has this ever happened to you when you were at someone else's home? Have backup supplies accessible for guests as well.

What about you, what types of things do you do when cleaning the bathroom?

*This post is sponsored by Martha Stewart and Method, but these opinions and tips are how I really roll.

Photos by Rachel Jones – Black Eiffel.

Rachel Castle

Have a bright and cheery weekend just like this new work from Rachel Castle! Love it.