PLEASE, DON'T KISS ME

Hello Lovelies,

I've always liked this one... not sure I could have tea with her, more like.... Dry Martini, perhaps? This one? Rita Hayworth, of course!

PLEASE, DON'T KISS ME 
Lyrics: Allan Roberts 
Music: Dorothy Fisher 

Please, don't kiss me ... 
But if you kiss me, Don't take your lips away. 
Please, don't hold me ... 
But if you hold me, Don't take your arms away. 
Comes the change in weather, Comes the change of heart; 
Who knows when the rain will start? 
So I beg you: Please, don't love me ... 
But if you love me, Then don't take your lips or your arms or your love away.


Enjoy!

Alix of TeaButterfly

 

 

Tea (and butterflies) With... Siobhan Wilson

Hello Lovelies,

It's Tuesday - time for this week's butterfly!
I spotted this Tuesday butterfly on the most beautiful & talented girl, and it's pinned high in her hair as you can see...

Her name is Siodbhan Wilson, she's more than pretty and I love her music!  One of my favorites from this artist is her "Song for Anthony" and it achingly says about childhood:

Of course, I'd love to have tea with her some time... Now that I'm back in Paris, France (yes, I've moved back!), this is all the more possible! ;-)


Siodbhan Wilson's details:
Facebook page 
YouTube channel
More  images of that pretty face



Enjoy!

Alix of TeaButterfly

Fall Beauty Essentials

Hello Lovelies!

Autumn Mood by Rachel Whiting via the 79 Ideas blog (source)

Today is the last of September - where oh where did that beautiful month go so fast? - and I realized that at 7AM the sun was not up yet, anymore. So it's time to go back to my Fall Essentials pinboard for inspiration & comfort.

I didn't buy any of the items on my wishlist - they were here more as a reminder than an actual prompt to buy. I will show you Lovelies what I did buy in a minute. But back to Fall Essentials first.

The beautiful "Autumn Leaves" lipstick (source)

That pinboard is all about simple living, simplicity in the everyday, what you really need, the bare essentials & joyful simplicities the Breathbach way.

"Grand Amour" butterfly perfume bottle (source)

Part of my Fall Essentials is a daily dose of serendipity. Take the Grand Amour perfume - it has my name written all over it. The behind-the-scenes story about this scent, the way it smells - divine!, even the butterfly on top of its bottle: all these elements give me the impression that perfume was somehow meant for me.

autumn leaf (source)

This perfume is devoted to love, the most powerful force which can move the worlds: love of beauty, love of perfume, love of music (Annick Goutal's husband a lifetime love was a cellist) and simply put; love of life.

I will tell you later this week about my Fall Style Essentials. Stay  tuned!

Alix of TeaButterfly.

The Beauty of the Letterpress

Hello Lovelies!

I recently posted the following blogpost on my design/home decor blog (you can read the original post here), but thought I should really share it here, too!

Please read below, a new update awaits you at the end of this blogpost.

the Beauty of the Letterpress logo.

After reading this blog post over at "how about orange" (a fave blog of mine), I decided it was really worth donating a little dough in order to help the Hamilton Type Museum. You can donate as little as 5 dollars and get a nice letterpress postcard for your contribution to the project. 100% of your contribution goes to help the Hamilton Type Museum.

More details here and on the "Beauty of the Letterpress" contribution page.

image source : the Beauty of the Letterpress.

Since the "Beauty of the Letterpress" is a fairly new site, I am now off to explore all the goodies the printers and artists have to offer over there!

 image, my own. taken from my flickr "Beauty of the Letterpress" image set

[Edit: I am now so, so happy to report that the lovely letterpress print, a limited edition of "The Beauty of the Letterpress" pictured above has safely arrived to my mailbox. It now adorns my home office desk. *Swoon* will post pictures soon here on this blog and on my flickr "Beauty of the Letterpress" image set. You can also check out this other set of mine about interesting type & fonts as well as the "Interesting Type Face" set.]

For more visual inspiration, check out my "Type Love" pinboard.

Enjoy!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

However Vast the Darkness: Thoughts on Simplifying One's Day & the Meaning of Life

Hello Lovelies,

One of my main goals in simplifying my day & life is this: "Do more of what makes you happy".

So... I have started to simplify my day and joined the June 2013 ZenHabits challenge. Part of my simplifying project consists in simplifying my online life, too.

I started emptying my email inbox, 35 emails at a time, 70 per day. My inbox currently has over 11 000 unsorted emails in it! I file away the important messages, answer immediately the really important and urgent ones, and toss the rest. I have subscribed to a gazillion newsletters over the years, as I surf the net daily since 1997... I unsuscribe from one newsletter a day. I still need to do the math as to know when exactly my inbox will be finally 100% clean & empty.

After that, I plan to go on a light media fast once i complete the June challenge, at the beginning of July 2013 (more on that later).

Simplifying my online life means that I started to clean and empty my email box, as I said before, but also cleaned my computer desktop icons - now I only have 10 of them, along with a new beautiful abstract painting desktop wallpaper from Ghostly, found via apartmenttherapy.com. It looks like this (you right-click the image in order to save it as a desktop wallpaper):

I also organized my many, many digital files, all the photos I have been taking digitally since 2003! While cleaning my photo files, I found this gem, and wanted to share the wisdom with you lovelies.

Excerpt from a Playboy interview with Stanley Kubrick:

Enjoy!
-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

My Two Loves

Hello lovelies,

When looking deep down, what do you think are my two loves? Nabokov has the answer:

 

Enjoy!

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Seasons's Greetings

Hello Lovelies!

I'm signing off for the time being, i will let this blog rest during the holidays. There is no internet where i'm going, but there will be lots of PEACE & JOY! I wish you all the best times with your family and loved ones!

image via pinterest

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Sharing My Happiness

Hello Lovelies!

flower photo from a French organic cosmetics company... I hope I'll remember their name!

Today I sent this email...


"The GON (Get Organized Now) happiness project - I'm quite HAPPY to share my thoughts with you!
My name is Vic and I live in beautiful South of France, Europe.


1) Five Happy Moments

* well I'm in love right now, so i feel very happy every day!
* but the small things matter, too: good music, fresh flowers etc...
* when learning something new
* when travelling to a new and interesting place
* this one is for future surprises!

* * * * *

2) Small Doses of Happiness

I drink water! when hydrated properly, i get less to no-headaches, and feel less grumpiness

i listen to good music, whether upbeat ou smooth, depending to my mood

i have fresh flowers every week from the farmers' market

i raise my eyes and watch frequently the sky, the moon, the clouds

* * * * *

photo via

3) Putting Yourself Back Together

i don't put pressure on myself to be happy again
i smell essential oils from the bottle : try oils of litsea cubeba and citrus aurantium aurantium
i drink strong tea


* * * * *

4) Three Inspirational People

my boyfriend, because he's so young yet so mature. he amazes me everyday.
albert Einstein for his inspirating life and witty quotes
Phineas Newborn Junior, the underrated jazz pianist.. he was a genius!

* * * * *

5) Top Ten Things

writing in my blog with no pressure to do it everyday
fresh flowers: looking at them arranging them smelling them etc..
snap photos with my mobile phone
flickr and pinterest as new ways to doiscover interesting visual things
DIY projects that i can actually complete
essential oils and aromatherapy
going to my weeky yoga class
cloud-watching
anything that involves water: washing my body/swimming/bathing
walking a daily walk

for further information:
my flickr
my pinterest
my blog

-Vic"

I hope you enjoyed it!
-Vic from TeaButterfly

Many Loves

Hello Lovelies,

I just found online, on the Cabinet of Wonders blog, and by mere chance, a wonderful short video featuring the Book of Kells. This little gem reunites some of my many loves: love for Medieval manuscripts (I studied Medieval History and Art History in college), love for dandelion seeds floating around in the foreground, and for beautiful butterflies, of course.

The Secret of Kells - Aisling's Forest video

Of course the Book of Kells is full of swirls, spirals and vortex, which I love, too.

Enjoy!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Summer Dreams

Hello Lovelies!

...and happy Monday to y'all!

 dream.

Despite the heavy heat going on here in the South of France, I've been living life to the full lately and so neglected this blog a bit, sorry. Now here's what i've been up to (i like to kiss and tell). 'Cause, yes, I've been kissing and quite a lot!
I've fallen in love! First I tried boy no1 then boy no2 but they wouldn't do. Then out of a sudden, i met IRL an on-line friend i've been corresponding with for over a year! instant mutual click, it was.

And so i've been daydreaming about moving back to Paris because that's where I'm from and also where he lives and about decorating our new place because I love home decor and i dream of the place we will live in together. he's a man, so this has revived my love for masculine flair and he is from Togo, West Africa, so I thought of adding some African highlights to an otherwise, modern, sleek and clean home.

African chic style - As'art galerie

If you follow my pinterest (i have won the hearts of over 20 45 followers within a very short time - all total strangers to me), you also know i will add a touch of orange, an old love of mine, to that dark, masculine african wenge wood. it will make everything just bright and chic!

source

I've also been needing to redecorate/reorganize my home office for some time now. I love contemporary art, as you well know (so sad about Cy Twombly's recent death).

decorating with tape: source unknown.

So everything will be clean, tidy and counter-balanced by a crazy, colorful piece of art by Yellena, just like this:

art by Yellena.

Our bedroom will be very tranquil, peaceful and understated in a "greige", or "perfect grey" spirit. Just white linens, soft grey accents and a comfy bed. The bare essentials.

bedroom image via decorology

The bathroom will also be very plain/bare in white and lightest grey possible. What i call "Belgian gray", because of the likes of Vincent van Druysen and other great Belgian architects. See more Belgian gray interiors here.

source unknown, maybe the jjjjound.com blog

It will have soft turkish cotton towels (the best quality!) and a few streamlined bottles of organic (since 1983!) French cosmetics by Centifolia-bio.

For a similar look and quality, try the organic products of John Masters' in the US. 

source

Lately, i find myself more and more drawn to simplicity and the bare essentials. I have categorized them by season on pinterest, and now have a Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring Essentials inspiration boards. The main reason for that is to not face harsh winter or very hot summer days unprepared.

"al fresco in the valley"

My secret for winning over any winter blah? Ginger!

 excerpt from the "3191" magazine.

Yes, ginger, be it the root dipped in hot water and then slowly sipped or wonderful, deluxe scented ginger souffle by Origins. Since the latter is a bit difficult to find in France, it will be replaced in my all-white bathroom by the "gingembre" rich moisturizing cream by Roger & Gallet.

 

I find very hot, dry summer days difficult to bear sometimes so i turn to citrusy, zesty, light scents and drinks! rosemary lemonade is a must, and i use guess what the organic citrus weleda deodorant as a light cologne. it's very cheap for a great summer scent!

Want to know more? Follow me on pinterest! What's your current summer obsessions? Pray tell!

 source.

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Happy Week Report (art exhibition and new projects inside)

Hello Lovelies!

playing with type: the title of my new drawing. (c) 2011 Lipson

I had quite an eventful week! A trip to Avignon, France and a weeks' long art collective exhibition, including two of my works (oil paintings).

Here is my latest drawing, in its blue envelope:

my new drawing: "Never Let Me Go". (c) 2011 Lipson

Also of note:

A series of coasters I've been drawing lately... (c) Lipson 2011

Here are some snapshots from the medieval city of Avignon (mainly the Virgin with Child, i dunno why):

Sandro Botticelli, Virgin and child, from an art poster found in Avignon. A current exhibition.

 Virgin with Child: in the streets of Avignon.

Another Virgin, another corner of Avignon.

Amazing wooden carved door - St-Pierre Church, Avignon.

I went to Avignon in order to meet a friend, a photographer who had an exhibition there, called "Oeuvre nocture" (Night Art Work).

The "Oeuvre nocture" (Night Art Work) poster. Avignon May 2011.
 

The "Oeuvre nocturne" exhibition consisted in night-lit shop windows displaying art of young and emerging artists. Here are my friend's Yoan Loudet photographs, as displayed (they are of Avignon's streets under heavy and unsual snow):

Last but not least: as an emerging artist, I really enjoyed reading (and I hope you will, too) this Pikaland interview. These are Summer's top tips be for people struggling to juggle their daily commitments/day jobs with their creative endeavours.

enjoy!

-Vic from TeaButterfly

PS: I'm in love!