Back to Paris

Hello Lovelies,

 Paris view at dusk - source unknown.

And so... I've moved back. To Paris, I mean.

I've left Paris, France exactly 20 years ago. Yes, I've decided for some time ago that I wanted to leave the small town in the South of France I was living in, simply because I've outgrown it and it no longer fitted the size of my (big) dreams.

 a jar full of dreams - image source unknownFirst, I thought of Avignon, a bigger city in the same Southern French area. But then I stumbled upon an unexpected job opportunity that was too good to decline. The only condition was to move back to Paris - and so I did.

The lesson learned in this is the one stated on this poster:

a better dream poster - source unknown

And here I am, strolling down the Parisian streets again, between now and then - which is the FMS photo-a-day challenge theme for October the 21st, btw -  sometimes feeling down memory lane but very often enjoying the beauty of the moment.

We're having a really warm Fall 'round here, and the weather was glorious yesterday on the Opera house (image coming soon).

I'm still settling down, but this is what home looks like now (image coming soon). Life's good when this is what you see from your window:

Image, my own. 

The picture above was taken a few years back, I'll upload a more recent version of it real soon. So, this is what my new room in Paris looks like, for the time being:

Image, my own.

...not bad, hey?!

Now, just my heroine Josephine Baker, I can sing out loud: "Me revoilà, Paris !" (Here I Am Back, Paris!).

Enjoy & wish me luck with making my dreams come true!

Alix of TeaButterfly

Dans mes cartons

Hello Lovelies!

 From Pia's book

This post's title is a pun: it means I am both "in my cardboard boxes", sorting things out and decluttering, as well as having interesting stuff in my paper files, waiting to be published here. Simply because "cartons" means both "cardboard boxes" and "paper files". ;-)

So, what's up? I'm not perfect, but I feel at home, despite the mess that is going on right now in my house. Don't declutter like I did: avoid taking all of your possessions at one out in the open to be sorted. Be patient, work one room at a time. Maybe I feel good during difficult times because there are 2 or 3 things I know about wabi-sabi, or happiness.

Hearing about Seamus Heaney's death, this end of august really feels like the end of an era. Maybe we all need new beginnings - and ask to be given light.

On another note, I've been thinking about sharing my own version of the hummus recipe. Soon. and end of summer doesn't equal the end of dipping one's toes in the nearby river, either. Ditto:

 

photo, my own.

Links in this post will all lead you to lovely posts on blogs by people I admire (found through Pia's blogroll. Pia's book is very high on my want list right now, too.

Enjoy!

-Alix of TeaButterfly.

Things I Like Friday: The Decluttering Edition

Hello Lovelies!

"Softly glowing Japanese paper lamps" - photo, my own. 2013

Today is Friday, and I'd like to share with you a couple of links and highlights of beautiful and/or useful stuff I have found online this week.
I am in the midst of a major decluttering process which you can view and follow here.. It's (not-so) hard work, yes, but mostly, i am having fun doing it! This will give me freedom, and will help a situation like the one I told you lovelies about a year ago LINK and will my moving house (soon) process a breeze.

I am loving simplicity and embracing minimalism in my daily life now because of the sheer happiness & joy it gives me.

 Fall 2011. Photo, my own.

So, what did I find worth a read or a look this week?

Well, through the ZenHabits forum, I have found a new blog called "The Minimalists". I really like their blogposts, the most popular are listed here and Joshua, one of two authors of this blog, has a cool playlist to share with us.

JFM's Top 12 Albums of 2012

I am also very excited by this upcoming Fall season - as end of summer (2011 LINK) and back to school are my fave time of the year!

I have listed a few pros and cons about Fall. Enjoy!


A few cons a friend of mine reminded me on Facebook recently:
too much to do, rushing arounf, being stressed out, mess daylight etc...

Painting session with my nephew. Photo, my own.

But... lots of pros!

The heat is bearable again. It's Indian summer, with its beautiful "golden hour" light still lingering.

My fave designers & artists are showing their new creations. I plan to buy an original painting by Jane Cornwell as soon as I can afford it, to add to my small personal collection. F&B has a new range of paint colours due in September 9th. It's the "rentrée littéraire" in France - hundreds of new books are published between end of August and September each year. I plan to read 1% of it all. This means about 5 new books to read by Halloween (details here).

I am enjoying my end of summer decluttering process so much that  I have decided to make up a new tradition: very year from now on, from august 21st to 31st, it's assessing your own possessions and decluttering time!

 

"Shadow of a chair". Photo, my own.

Now is also a great time to enjoy the outdoors and take great photographs (I eally like the shadow of a chair I took, shown above). Or you can go visit a city and admire its street sculptures and monuments, like in the pic below:

Or visit local artists' market:

 "Haiku". Photo, my own.

Of course, back to shool is an exciting time for a stationery junkie like me! I just need to carefully write down a wishlist and assess my wants vs. my needs.

image via

 

image via

There are also plenty of photo-a-day challenges out there from you to choose from, so...

Enjoy!

-Alix of TeaButterfly.

A Small Glimpse at My Behind-The-Scenes

Hello Lovelies!

I am currently thinking about moving this blog and other content in order to gather all my art, photographs and texts in just one address:

http://teabutterfly.virb.com/

Here is what it will look like:

screen shot of my TeaButterfly website homepage, as hosted by Virb.

 screen shot of my TeaButterfly website blog page, as hosted by Virb.

 

 screen shot of my TeaButterfly website - shown is one of my galleries.

I am still working on it, so it's visible online yet, but of course I will keep you guys posted!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Why Not? A Personal Journey in Amateur Design

Hello Lovelies,

image: this is Muriel Cibot's living-room, as of 2011 - as published here, among other photos of her place.

I recently bought a French home decor magazine called "Le journal de la maison" and stumbled upon what I believe is the perfect inspiration for me: a house tour of a Paris apartment the same size as mine, 60m2.

I couldn't help but think: "If Muriel Cibot, owner of said apartment, can do it, why shouldn't I at least try?" Muriel Cibot is a trained interior decorator and you can see some pictures of her home here, while I am just an amateur and design-enthusiast, but... WHY NOT?

The pictures of Muriel Cibot's place you can see here were taken back in 2011, while the photos in my home decor magazine, published April 2013, showed an updated version of the apartment. I then realized that the right use of textiles such as an area rug, a throw and a pillow on the sofa, drapes on the windows, a lamp with an actual lampshade on it, etc... could add incredible warmth to an otherwise very bare and cold interior.

Keeping simplicity in mind, I started using pinterest to gather eye-pleasing, beautiful but realistic and affordable ideas.

I must admit that I started with myself, since tackling a home decorating project can be a huge task. First, I researched (and found) the perfect Spring/summer fragrance for me. It is going to be "Orange blossom" by Jo Malone. "Après l'ondée" by Guerlain was also a favorite option, but not an affordable one.

Then I bought two dresses, one for spring, and one sleeveless for hotter summer days. The first dress is from Taillissime.fr - as pictured below:

The second dress is from laredoute.fr :

Yes, i have a classical taste in clothes and I love navy. ;-)

That done, I started a pinterest board with random want/need stuff for my rental, in no particular order. Again, I *do* intend to eventually pair this stuff down to the essentials.

One of the first projects I want to tackle is organizing and decorating the living-room. I want to hang my artwork (and as an artist, I have quite a few oil paintings I want to show off) and I want it *so bad* because I firmly believe it gives a room a "grownup" look and I'm tired of the "forever adulescent" look. Hey! i'm not a kid anymore, and I like it that way. I want to see that fact reflected in my interior.

My inspiration is gathered here. This board helps me define my style, a little "industriel", a little "wunderkammer" with a "masculine flair" twist, but is not realistic nor affordable. It's about dreaming (which a necessary function, too).

Now, let's have a look at the bones of my living-room, which are quite good. It is a classic French living-room. high ceilings (hooray!), high French windows, a grey marble chimney, parquet flooring, nice proportions and one built-in storage cabinet. The walls are painted a nice medium grey, and the mouldings are painted white. So far, so good.

I got a new (very cheap) couch at a thrift store, because my previous cat had scratched my old couch beyong recognition, alas. I got a new kitty, with less fierce claws. Here is my new friend, Kachimo:

 Here she is, asleep in a cardboard box.

I also bought flowers on a weekly basis for my place. Just an example:

The vases pictured here, all my own, are displayed on the mantel of my grey marble chimney.

And when Spring arrived (at long last!) I bought a pair of chartreuse silk accent pillows to add a punch of color, and one geometric patterned pillow grey/white with a hint of chartreuse in it). As seen on this image from the laredoute.fr catalog:

Since the room has high ceilings, I think a nice chandelier is in order. I found at least four nice and affordable options online, and I gathered them here. I love this option from Habitat:

The genaral layout of the couch area in my living-room will be as pictured below:

 image: design by Mark Tuckey, via green design blog.

A medium-sized couch against a wall, a big statement artwork above couch, like my painting below:

 oil painting by Naomi Lipson. all rights reserved.

A chandelier hanging from the ceiling (to be bought soon). And two small coffee tables (I actually have three vintage IKEA esting tables with a glass top).

So the chandelier is my next buy. Any ideas? Suggestions?

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

P.S. This post was so fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it. but I still need to take some time off the internet and this blog. Please understand. Will be back in a month or so.

My New Home, My New Couch, My New Cat...

Hello Lovelies!

[this is a re-writing of a blogpost I published elsewhere] 

I haven't told you much on this blog about my epic move, back in July 2012, to a new and much better apartment, just a five minutes' walk from my previous one. So i still live in beautiful southern France.

Here is the first picture I took of my new place:

photo, my own (c) 2012.

I definitely need to take more pictures for my flickr set called "My New home since July 2012". Will keep you posted!

Back in April 2012, I asked my mom to take care of my cat Philo for a few days while i was away and unfortunately, she didn't do it right and my beloved cat disappeared at that time. After over six months of grieving her loss, I adopted a stray cat named Kachimo. When I take more photos of my new couch, you will see more of that adorable creature... Here she is:

Kachimo the cat. instagram photo, my own (c) 2012-2013.

Until then, take care!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Maybe It's Spring? Don't Wait For Things To Happen

Hello Lovelies!

Don't wait by This Rocket Ain't Mine via the resolve project website

Spring is coming soon and it gets me excited and inspired! Right now, I am just itching to start something new, exciting and fun.

So I jumped on this photo challenge and boy! Am I having fun! It really got my creative juices flowing (try it, too!) and now I want more. So, what's next?

I believe in serendipity. Just as I was feeling finally ready, I stumbled upon the right tools online. Call it "New Year's Resolutions" for the late bloomer, if you will... ;-)

First, I found visual inspiration (and I love me some visual inspiration) in these awesome contemporary artists' resolutions, compiled online on the "Resolve project" website. Another great and funny read is this article about how famous people make their resolutions.

Then I found Rachel's food blog, with a small and inspiring blogpost about how to pamper yourself. It led me to this insightful article, that I interpreted as a sure sign that i was ready to move on, to give up on the past in order to move forward.

We can all have one or many goals for this year in our lives. Here are powerful tools for increased productivity, everyday creativity and a fave of mine, weight loss through a healthy lifestyle.

So, what am I doing right now in order to have a better life?

I'm reading Susannah Conway's story on her blog, ordering her book, This I Know.

I am reading and practising the "Joyful simplicities for March" detailed in the classic book, "Simple Abundance: a daybook of comfort and joy".

I am pinning inspiring images on my Spring Essentials pinboard, not necessarily intending to buy anything, but rather using what I already have in order to "Bring on the Spring" in my wardrobe, cleaning routine, kitchen, home decor...

I am adopting healthy lifestyle habits (and losing weight) by subscribing to SparkCoach.

I am taking photographs and doodling everyday.

Finally, i am enjoying life's little pleasures (this list is a gem!).

I now hope that all these links will inspire YOU in turn... Enjoy!

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

The Promise of April

Hello Lovelies!

 photo, my own

Though this year has been quite an exception weather-wise, February and March are usually two very harsh months. Come April, we can start to relax, and enjoy the blooming trees.

If you are the religious type, you know April is the time for Ressurection, and if not, you might call it simply Renewal. And there are new paintings in my Etsy shop, I'm quite happy to say!

-Vic from Teabutterfly

It's Time for Spring (and Renewal, too!)

Hello Lovelies,


I've had some difficulties of late, sure did, as I got very ill this last winter and had my computer stuck in for repair for two whole months.

Now I'm back on track... And I'm feeling ready for things and art to spring under my little fingers!

This is also a time for renewing my pledge to the Creative Everyday Challenge, the 2011 edition! more details here...

Talk to you soon!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Trying Something New

Hello Lovelies,

József Nemes Lampérth's self-portrait, 1911, Budapest. 

Image from wiki commons, originally found here.

I love hungarian Fauvism, and I intend to copy this self-portrait one of these days... Actually, I did, inwatercolor form, just need to add a picure of it here.

Now back to my hospital life.

I dreamt of Brancusi last night. Here's why.

Today, in the crisp early morning air, I got out in the Park, feeling pretty excited. My path lead me to a small corner with all kinds of half-carved stones, mostly of the softest kind.

At 8:45 came Joel, our teacher. A nice, tall man, he taught all the men (I was the only woman around!) and me how to carve soft stone or even plaster, which is even better for beginners.

I am an artist at heart.

I have tried with some success - and some interesting "failures" - b/w photography, film editing, oil painting (abstract mostly), insect drawings (now my the specialty at my Etsy shop), Chinese ink sumi-e, creative writing, ceramics and more..

So, yes, I was pretty excited this morning to try a new art form. It always brings some inspiration to your current body of work. This morning, I have tried my hand at stone carving for an hour and half. At the end of the lesson, I felt hot and my back hurt.  

But what I wrote to Joel in the end was that I felt happy trying something new and glad to deal with something "concrete", as opposed to abstract (and usually gloomy) thoughts.

A delightful morning, indeed.

Vic from TeaButterfly.

As usual, pictures will be posted here as soon as I come back from the hospital. ;-)