Wintry Mix

If I can't beat the winter blues, I may as well enjoy them... Amazing collection of Iceland imagery from photographer Kevin Cooley:

Hibernation

You know it's going to be a long week when you're ready for the weekend and it's only Tuesday. I just want to curl up in this bed, pull the drapes around me and sleep through the storm that looks fast approaching. Or maybe I should do a quick dance to the snow gods to get classes canceled?

Image from Marie Claire Maison

Just a quick thought

Image via Raina Kattelson

Light and Shadow

Continuing my desire for some sunshine (it's freezing right now in DC!), and in the midst of trying to start thinking about thesis research, I'm thinking about the play of light and shadow. Most of my friends at school know about my obsession with lighting (thanks Aalto), but I also love the play of shadow created by manipulating form - and here's a pretty amazing example from a temporary "hotel" on the coast of Finland (what can I say, my summer there has stuck with me).

This rug is also pretty reminiscent of the one designed for my parents' house...

All images from ArchDaily

Today I'm loving...

Alright, maybe I need to break out of my color comfort zone, but it's hard to when I keep coming across perfection.

Found via Emily Henderson

In Need of a Little Sunshine

I know it's only January, but I'm already sick of this cold weather. You can take the girl out of California but you can't take California... Anyways, dreaming of basking in the warm, sunny glow of home - a Sunday at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and an afternoon nap on the beach?

From Domino Magazine

I may have met The One

I have been in love for far too long with a chandelier that is way out of my league. Alas, $5,800 for an Emil Stejnar chandelier does not fit into my grad school budget. Ah, but a girl can dream...

Someday, someday...

So for now, the closest thing I could find in my price range (i.e. ridiculously cheap) was the Maskros pendant from IKEA, problem was it was like 30" in diameter and way too big for my bedroom:

(Yeah some people for scale would have helped, but trust me it is huge in person.)

So imagine my surprise when I was searching online (thanks to my Aunt Cheryl who is hunting for lighting for her new house and now has me addicted, too), and saw that new for 2011 is a smaller version of the Maskros! It is still a little big (almost 20"), but I think it just might work. And hey, it's $5750 less than the Emil Stejnar one - what a steal! Now I just need to drop by IKEA in all my free time and find a way to install it.