Music Monday on a Wednesday...

Long time no check in, I hope you readers are doing well. This video and song called Follow the Sun by Xavier Rudd brought a smile to my face and inspired me and hope it does the same for you. Lately I am working on taking things day by day and these lyrics really resonated with me. After seeing it I want to take the littles on a spontaneous trip to the beach!

A Pep Talk

I needed this today and hope you enjoy it too...  a little "Pep Talk".

A Bird Ballet

 

At a lengthy stoplight during sunset the other day the girls and I sat in silent awe as hundreds of birds danced above us in the sky. It was a magical moment.

This bird ballet clip by Neels Castillon is a stunning and a grander scale of what we saw, perfectly paired with the right music. Nature constantly blows my mind.

3 Apps that have made my life better...

Several weeks ago both my husband and I independently deleted Facebook off our phones and later discussed how it felt like we could breath clean air again. I've heard of others going towards the more minimal social media route and I find it refreshing. I'm not opposed to social media, but there is a fine balance to it, right? This article about going off the Facebook grid really resonated with me to welcome more deliberate living and clearly addressed many of the quarrels I have with it all.

After I deleted the Facebook app off my phone I also scrutinized other apps on my phone that I don't use or need. Besides other apps I've previously mentioned before, these three stood out as making my life better so far in 2013. (They are all free too.)

1. Day One : I've teetered back and forth between a digital and handwritten journal for years and have now decided I'm going digital. I will definitely still always have sketchbooks and adore handwritten things but what I decisively love about digital journals is that they are searchable and you can recall experiences, words and notes with ease and speed. Day One is award-winning and has a well-designed interface with the ability to tag your entries. For example, when my kids say something I want to remember I type it down on my phone really quick and tag their name on it. When I want to take a photo of something memorable and catalog it with words sans Instagram this is what I use. I also bought the corresponding app for my computer and although it has a few kinks (like not being able to tag) I believe they are working on improvements. I adore this on my phone and it syncs with everything seamlessly.

2. Pocket : This app is my go to for clipping articles I want to read later. As I explained to someone the other day it is like Pinterest for words. When I'm craving content with more depth or something to read that is lengthy, Pocket will help me digitally clip and save until I have a bit of downtime to read it later. This app is likewise well-designed with a lovely interface.

3. My Fitness Pal : I am currently doing a 30 day detox (more on that later) and before my cleanse I was really keeping an eye on my nutrition and tracking with this app which showed me what nutrients I lacked. Also (nerd alert) my husband and I wear these and have this and they all sync up flawlessly with app so we can see our activity, weight, and food and nutrient consumption all in one app. We've tried quite a few gadgets, and apps and have found this one to be the best yet at overall health tracking that we've come across. Although my husband now just bought this so we'll see.

While I'm on the app subject, have you heard of the trend in app land of waiting lists, ugh.  My husband Mac clued me in to get on the list for Mailbox - which supposedly puts email in its place and Tempo - a new calendar app, although when hundreds of thousands of people are in a virtual download waiting line I wonder if it is going to be like a Disneyland wait without a good ride. Thoughts?

What are your favorite apps for 2013?

Pink Australian Lagoon - By Steve Back

Check out this pink Hutt lagoon in Western Australia. It made me do a double take, it is so beautiful especially the artistic way photographer Steve Back captured it.  Remember this pink lake I shared here? Well, this one is also a natural occurring algae, nature you blow my mind. You've got to see Steve's other work too, it is stunning. His Pink Lakes series is also jaw-dropping. How great would these be enlarged on a wall for art?

// via Dreams + Jeans

Music Monday on a Tuesday : Cover Love Mix

Hope you had a nice weekend, I've been listening to some great cover songs all about love in its various forms. Enjoy this Cover Love 2013 mix, listen to it over here. Dang, it seems like all I use is Spotify these days, what about you?

Food Valentines by Erin Jang

I adore the minimal and graphic work of Erin Jang for The Indigo Bunting and was happy to see her newly designed Food Valentines for this year. They are perfect, check them out here.

Music Monday: Morningsiders

Some of my favorite emails are the ones I receive from you readers with your unique music suggestions. There are many great sounds and bands out there and where you hear about them is so interesting.

Sophie a student at Columbia University sent me a line the other day recommending some of her other fellow students from Columbia jamming it up called the Morningsiders, I really enjoy their sound with the strings, horns, piano, clapping, etc. What do you think? (If you want you can download this song for free from their youtube link.)

Any fresh new music on your radar lately?

Organization and HomeGoods $150 Gift Card Giveaway

Hi readers it has been a while, how are you?! I went off the grid online for a bit and took a long blogging/technology break (the longest ever in 5+ years) it was refreshing and gave me some perspective, but today I'm back to share with you some fun travel inspired kitchen container organization and a fun giveaway. Also, if you have emailed me (blackeiffel@gmail.com) in the last bit (or 2012 -- haha) please try again one of my goals for 2013 is to keep on top of email.

HomeGoods currently has a fun quiz on their website called Stylescope that can help you discover your style personality. They contacted me about it and I am honored to have Black Eiffel classified as “The Traveler Style”. Take the quick quiz, I’d love to hear what style you are!

They engaged me to put together a little project with them with a Traveler twist. While in the store perusing, I wandered into one of my favorite areas the kitchen and food section, which I really think they excel at as a store. I came across some cool and modern simple containers imported from Italy and France and since I’m kind of an organizational nut, I audibly gasped and got excited! Instantly the shot of Emerson Fry’s sweet pantry that I have long been inspired by popped into my mind.

Here is what I came up with for our space. Right now we don’t currently have a pantry in our rental, so rearranging cupboards it is! Most everything in this photo was purchased from HomeGoods except for some of the bulk food items. Although even some of the bulk items are from HomeGoods. Their gourmet and international foods section is stellar, definitely a place to look behind a few bottles and explore. Over the years I have discovered gems including specialty cooking oils and salts directly imported from France, my favorite McClure’s pickles, Ginger Ale, and gourmet vanilla bean paste at a fraction of the price. Also for you designers and packaging lovers out there it is a haven. Last visit I was delighted to come across some Louise Fili designs!

When I came across more pretty smaller Italian jars I evaluated our small powdered, dried goods and spice area. It was a bit of a mess. Tons of bulk baggies huddled together squashed up in a bin, not good people, not good. Along with those I picked up some pretty new exotic and foreign spices that I really look forward to trying out and also using the containers for the future.

HomeGoods was kind enough to provide me with a gift card to tackle this project, but now it is your turn. I have a $150 HomeGoods gift cards to share with one of you readers! To enter, leave a comment below by Tuesday, January 21st and I will randomly select a winner. What fun Stylescope inspired project do you want to tackle in your space for 2013?!

Giveaway Closed. WINNER : (randomly selected with random.org) - Erica Herold 

// photo 1 :  black lidded containers imported from Italy, white bowl from Portugal, French tea kettle.

//photo 2 : stainless steel lidded containers imported from Italy, spices with stainless lids are Victoria’s Gourmet.

Music Monday : Lia Ices

I've been playing the song Love is Won by Lia Ices on repeat. If you are a Feist and Julia Stone fan you will really enjoy it. Hope you had a nice weekend and happy Music Monday.




photo from : Lia Ices

*If you want to support the artist you by the track Love Is Won here.

Top 25 Christmas Books for 2012

Last year we started the advent style tradition of reading Christmas and winter themed books each night in the month of December. It was such a big hit for our girls (now ages 2 and 6) we are doing it again this year. I love the notion that we can mix up our selections each year with library titles and then deliberately choose to make purchases focusing upon ones that we absolutely adore.

I'm quite selective about children's book in general and when you are talking Christmas books it adds a whole new layer to my book neurosis. Classic and solid story lines, beautiful illustration/design and high marks on review meters are my general guidelines. I also like to keep it real and adaptable with our kid's ages since our girls are still pretty young.

Here is my list of favorite Christmas books for 2012:

1 Pashmina the Little Christmas Goat - We loved this book so much from last year I purchased it. The story is heartwarming and the watercolor illustrations are gorgeous!

2 Reindeer Christmas - Another selective purchase but worthy of a repeat, it is so beautifully illustrated.

3 Dream Snow - Eric Carle is sure prolific eh?

4 Uncle Vova's Tree - A Russian tale.

5 The Mitten: An Old Ukrainian Folktale - A Ukrainian folk tale

6 Babar and Father Christmas - Got to have a little Babar!

7 The Night Before Christmas - I remember my Grandma reading me this version growing up.

8 Madeline's Christmas - Madeline is a household favorite.

9 Singing Away the Dark - Julie Morstad's illustrations are fantastic, can't wait to get my hands on this.

10 A Christmas Carol (BabyLit) - This will appeal to our two year old, for sure.

11 Father Christmas Goes on Holiday - This looks quirky and fun.

12 The Clown of God - Looking forward to reading this old French legend.

13 Petunia's Christmas - I love Richard Duvoisin books.

14 The Twelve Days of Chirstmas - This vintage beauty makes a repeat.

15 The Lost Christmas Gift - I received this in the mail a few days ago and really enjoyed it.

16 The Third Gift - Got this last year and it remains on the list. A great overall story about Myrrh.

17 Santa's Favorite Story - The Story of the First Christmas through Santa's eyes.

18 The Elves and the Shoemaker - We are going to this play this year, should be fun to read too.

19 Silent Night: The Song and Its Story - A story about the beloved carol.

20 Nutcracker - Trying different versions of this until we find our favorite. This one is illustrated by Maurice Sendak, last year we did this one.

21 Christmas in the Stable : I'm excited to get my hands on this one as it is written by Astrid Lindgren!

22 How the Grinch Stole Christmas : Classic and keeper.

23 Letters From Father Christmas : Tolkien wrote this one and our book club is reading it this month, will probably read the girls only excerpts as it is on the longer side.

24 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer : A classic and look forward to seeing this vintage version.

25 The True Gift: A Christmas Story : Excited to read this one.

So what would you add to the list? What are your favorites you know, the ones that you come back to year after year?

ps. Last year's list here and here.

Torafu Architects

The colorful and minimal work of Japanese based Torafu Architects is blowing my mind today. Have a look.

A Hip Handmade Holiday

No doubt if you read craft (or even lifestyle and design) blogs chances are you are going to hear about A Hip Handmade Holiday. I am in constant awe of people creating deliberate and well-designed craft projects with a purpose like these two savvy crafting gals I know Susan and Alison.

They created this meaningful and stylish holiday gift idea guide with all the DIY instructions your little heart could fancy. It is really great, full of multiple ideas to make a beautiful unique and handmade statement for the holidays.

Cool part is that you can create gifts for people on your list for $10 or less, and the book download itself is also only $10. Learn more about it here. I may have to join the Craft Pack and get my craft on with you crafters, when you can achieve amazing results like this. Bravo ladies and gent!

Music Monday : Music for Yoga

My favorite Yoga classes are when they play modern music. There is definitely room and I also enjoy songs without words, but I am energized when doing crazy long planks and hearing bands like Yeasayer playing "Fingers Never Blead" in the background. Don't tell my Yoga instructors but every once in a while when there is an especially rad song playing that is unfamiliar to me, I may pull out of a pose, take a small water break, and 'Shazam'. Totally against the whole point of being in the moment with a solid Yoga practice hehe -- I've really got to stop that.

Here are ten of my favorite Yoga songs to add to your list. Or if you just want to listen to this while chilling in the kitchen and making dinner one night or something else that works too.

Shout out your favorite yoga tunes or energizing jams.




// photo : My sister Becca who teaches Yoga classes on the beach in Hawaii.

Standing together...

Last week Mac and I adventured into the redwood forrest at Muir Woods and came away from the experience with a heightened sense of gratitude and wonder.

What stood out to me most and I am still thinking about is this one battered down burnt tree. It was charred almost to the core but still standing and hanging in there. What marveled me was how a group of younger trees grew a tight-knit circle around this lonely charred out tree. I like to think that they grew up this way to protect and surround 'the one' to give it strength.

This beautiful scene in nature humbled me. The more we stand together and help one another, the stronger we are. My heart goes out to the East Coast, I hope you and your families are all safe.

Music Monday : Alt J

First off, a big thanks to Eva for filling in for me last week while we were in San Francisco. Her posts were rad, huh? Can't wait to hear about her European adventures.

Up for Music Monday today is a song called Something Good by Alt J which is quite stunning. I'm currently listening to their album now as I type this and am loving what I hear. As for the visuals in the video, my husband lived in Spain for a few years back in the day, so we've had some interesting discussions about matadors and the running of the bulls and this clip intrigued me. Happy Music Monday.

(via Wongie // photo from Alt J's facebook)

Finnish Color

This post is part of the Finnish Design series by guest contributor Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press.

In a land that’s dark almost half the year, many designers make up for it by using pops of cheerful color. I feel a little brighter just looking at these lovely objects.

This is the final day of Finnish design week and my guest posts for Black*Eiffel. Thanks to Rachel and to all of you for having me! If you’d like to see more of my Scandinavian adventures, design finds, and experiences in letterpress, you can follow me on the Sycamore Street Press blog: Paper Life Love.

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Marimekko

This post is part of the Finnish Design series by guest contributor Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press.

A week centered on Finnish design wouldn’t be complete without everyone’s favorite Finnish import, Marimekko. I wouldn’t mind dressing my daughter in their clothes every single day.

Alvar Aalto

This post is part of the Finnish Design series by guest contributor Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press.

Alvar Aalto -- the famous Finnish designer and architect -- is known for the way he considered each project as a whole. When he designed a building, he would also design the furniture, surfaces, cabinets, etc...

For this look, I drew inspiration from the living room in Aalto’s Villa Mairea. He completed the home around the year 1940, but it still feels current, doesn’t it?

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Photo of Villa Mairea by Larry Speck

Kaisa Riivari

This post is part of the Finnish Design series by guest contributor Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press.

These bold looks are from Finnish fashion designer Kaisa Riivari, who says she was inspired by “ancient mystics and punkrock attitude”.

I love how she combines effortless chic with a little quirk to keep things interesting.