Mid-Week Random Links

Article Posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 1:23 pm

Hello & Happy Wednesday to you and yours! Today I thought I’d share a few things that have been capturing my interest around the interwebs lately. Hope you enjoy!

1.) This article in the New York Times offers a fascinating question. How much “authenticity” is too much? How should art meet the consumer? What does it mean when everything becomes handmade and nothing is left to just be?

2.) I could not be more excited about this collaboration between one of my favorite food journalists: Michael Pollan and one of my favorite illustrators: Maira Kalman. They have offered a brand new, illustrated and updated version of Food Rules, a book which I have shared with friends and family since the first edition came out. My favorite new food rule? “Place a bouquet of flowers on the table, and everything will taste twice as good!”–a Southern Belle rule if there ever was one!

3.) Are you in the market to buy a house? For a mere $3.75mil, you can live like Jenna Lyons! Do you think if I add this to my Amazon wishlist someone will buy it for me? This Belle is ready to relocate to the big city, and I think this may be just the way to do it! (P.S. Alaina Kaczmarski has some really interesting angles of the house posted on her blog that I’d never seen before. I also had no idea how large it is… 7 bedrooms and a terrace off the master?! My goodness!)

4.) Husband and I are huge fans of Charles and Ray Eames, and now I just can’t wait to see this documentary due out later this month…

5.) It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Martha, and I found this interview she did with Google fascinating.

Here’s to a new week…

Article Posted on Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 8:00 am

Random Note:
Please excuse the unrelated Kate Spade ad on the left above. I can’t stop staring at it. I think I am starting to channel my need to get the heck out of dodge into my design work. Totally normal, right?
*For more Kate Spade eye candy, head over to the Tumblr!

:: Listen ::

I admit that my ADD may be on full display in this little end-of-August playlist I’ve put together. I don’t really know if there’s a common thread in any of the songs, nonetheless I’ve found it to be great background music for working. You can find the little Grooveshark player in the right sidebar. Enjoy!

:: Read ::

This weekend we happened to be in Nashville just in time to pick up a Design*Sponge newspaper! As a girl still in *love* with the printed word, I couldn’t help but be excited that I’m now able to hold one of my favorite blogs in my hands.

P.S. My favorite part is the beach house. Have you seen it? There’s something about scallopped shingles that had me at hello. For a list of locations click here.

:: Dress ::

This week my goal is to put on my gym shoes–preferably more than once. Last week was incredibly stressful, and I can’t help thinking that a little routine may bring a little more sanity.

:: Live ::

With the news of Steve Jobs’ retirement this week, I couldn’t help but remember this “Think Different” campaign. Do you remember it? I tore the ads out of any magazine I could get my hands on in when I was in middle school and hung them around my room. I was fascinated by the idea that world/culture/fact-changers were not necessarily the most educated or the richest but rather were those that simply chose to look at the world in a new and unique way.

Don’t you just love that narrative? Did you know that the Text Edit icon is actually a minuscule copy of it?

On that same *Apple* theme, here are a couple of my favorite articles released after Jobs’ retirement:
- An essay written for Fast Company by a former parking lot buddy of Jobs.
- An overview of Steve Jobs’ legendary turtlenecks throughout the years.

Hello, gorgeous!

Article Posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 10:01 pm

It has been such a busy summer, but regular posting will commence soon… promise!

:: Listen ::

Around this time (July 25th to be exact) in 1788, Mozart finished his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, one of my personal favorites. I was listening to it on WUOT while driving to work yesterday, and it’s just so uplifting–the perfect thing to listen to first thing in the morning!

{This light, mod poster above was created by Iskra Print Collective for the 2010 Vermont Mozart Festival. I hope they have an extra copy laying around somewhere because it really would be the perfect addition to my new office.}

:: Read ::

I enjoy buying books as souveneirs when we travel instead of meaningless tzotchkes and on one of our last trips I picked up a copy of The Selby book. It’s full of great inspiration. My 2 personal favorites? Karl Lagerfeld’s large room of books and the humble (*note sarcasm) abode of Simon Doonan and his husband, Jonathan Adler.

As a side note, if you have an extra minute be sure to click over to the NYTimes website and read a lovely editorial written this weekend by Mr. Doonan about the day he wed Mr.  Adler. So sweet.

:: Dress ::

This week, in honor of Grace Kelly’s gorgeous baroque costume you see above, put on a little touch of gold. While I personally don’t have any all gold outfits in my wardrobe, after watching To Catch a Thief this weekend I’ve been reaching for the gold bangles for days! Something else to try? Gold nails… the perfect match for sunkissed skin.

{Also, keep your eyes peeled here tomorrow for a To Catch a Thief Style File!}

:: Live ::

While we’re in a *golden* state of mind, I just had to post this picture of our mirror (or at least the corner of it). When I was little, my parents inherited this chintzy gold mirror, and I totally fell in love with it. It was just so over-the-top! Well, a few weeks ago while he was busy redoing our house, Husband painted it purple… and it is super cool!

5 Random Things

Article Posted on Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 2:19 pm

Disclaimer: This list is particularly nerdy (quirky?)– even for me.
However, if you are interested in receiving more quirky randomness on a regular basis,
be sure to follow me on Twitter (HB_Belle) and Facebook.
And be sure to say *hello!

1.) Husband has decided that when we are rich & famous, we will own a one (or 2) of these iconic chairs. He’s absolutely in love with their design, as am I. Well, today on Valet, one of our favorite daily reads, there’s a little write-up on the anatomy of the chair as well as a *fascinating* video of Charles Eames introducing the chair on the Today Show in 1956.

2.) Also, if you’re interested in the design of Charles and Ray Eames, this Ted Talk with their grandson, Eames Demetrios, might interest you.

3.) If you are a bit of a geek like myself and are free tomorrow night, might I suggest going to the movie theater to see Sondheim’s Company? It was a limited run in NYC and is now playing 4 nights in theaters across the US and Canada (Tuesday will be the last showing). I’m super excited because it stars some of my favorite people– Neil Patrick Harris, Craig Bierko (you remember: the hot guy from Boston Legal!), Patti Lupone, Jon Cryer, Christina Hendricks– joining forces with the NY Philharmonic! Click here to get tickets in your area and watch the trailer.

4.) On that same note, Stephen Colbert was a guest on NPR’s Fresh Air last week to talk about his role in Company as well as his persona on his show The Colbert Report. I found it really interesting to hear him speak as himself about the character he plays as well as about his admiration for Sondheim. Click here to listen to the show.

5.) I have been in love with Buddy Holly’s music since I was little. At my house we always played Buddy Holly, we loved Peggy Sue Got Married, and I learned early on about the tragic story of the young musician’s death. All that said the release date of this album (next Tuesday) has been marked on my calendar for a while. Ever since I heard this Florence + the Machine cover in fact.

Lucky for us, if you want to listen early to the album in its entirety, you can visit NPR Music. I’m particularly fond of the covers by Paul McCartney, CeeLo, & Modest Mouse.

Friday’s Random Things

Article Posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011 at 1:15 pm

1.) I have been coveting this custom dress Tory Burch wore ever since the CFDAs! What star were you fawning over?

2.) I am totally in *love* with TradHome (the fab online mag, that I wish was a real-live-holdable-magazine) created by a partnership between Lonny & Traditional Home. In particular, I thought this Proper Table Setting tutorial from Mrs. Lilien (of Sunday Suppers) was the perfect little addition to the Belle’s home handbook…

3.) How much do you *love* this hat?

4.) If you aren’t on Pinterest, you should be. It’s the perfect distraction when you’re waiting in an elevator or lunch line. One of my *favorite* pinners is Ez of Creature Comforts. (Click here to see the rest of this mood board she made for her sister’s wedding and here to follow her on Pinterest.)

5.) These bottles were designed by a student at the Fashion Institute, and I saw them on The Dieline. I’m adoring the typography!

How Yummy is This?!

Article Posted on Monday, June 6th, 2011 at 10:30 am

New on my wishlist? This super cute pink recipe box from Sugar Paper! Don’t you just *love* the scalloped dividers? There are 6 sections: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Starters, Sweets, & Family Recipes.

A few random links…

Article Posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 8:54 pm

I’ve been finding some really great links via Twitter lately, and I just couldn’t resist re-posting a few of them here as well.

~ I found this interview with the creator of Apartment Therapy on the99% and found it super inspiring! I just adore both of those sites, don’t you?

~ I am ordering the latest collaboration between Steven Heller & Louise Fili as soon as I’m done with the post. This book looks like hundreds of pages of gorgeous!

~ I’m sort of in love with Madonna’s dress from the MET gala. *sigh*

You can click here to follow me on Twitter & click here for the Secrets of a Belle Facebook page!

Design Army

Article Posted on Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 at 8:11 am

Yesterday, Husband & I spent a *lovely* afternoon together and the first stop was at the bookstore. Whilst perusing the design magazines I saw the firm Design Army pop up several times. It’s out of Washington D.C. and while I really like a lot of their work, I am absolutely smitten with these 2 layouts done for the Washingtonian. I love the lighting, the colors, the style and, perhaps most of all, the pages dedicated to shoes! What do you think?

{Browse more of their portfolio.}

In honor of Fat Tuesday…

Article Posted on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 at 6:02 pm

I went to see this movie as soon as it came out with one of my best friends in high school. We’d both read the book, and we were totally into absolutely everything about the movie. We even had our own YaYa names and crowns that we made after an impromptu trip to Hobby Lobby. All that to say, when I turned on this movie the other day, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still love it just as much. If you don’t have the soundtrack, I’d highly recommend downloading it… it’s one of my very favorite things to listen to no matter my mood. On this Fat Tuesday, I couldn’t stop listening so I thought that was definitely a sign that a Style File was in order! Without further ado, a few of my *favorite* things about the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood:

I’m not exactly sure, but I think this quote is in the Southern Belle Bible somewhere…

If not, it should be. If there’s one thing a Belle should know how to do, no matter where she’s from, it’s make a great Bloody Mary. Perhaps I need to post my own recipe sometime? (*Things of greatest importance: hot sauce & horseradish!)

The images of the actual scrapbook are absolutely exquisite. Note to the reader: Buying random sheets of paper and stickers from Hobby Lobby do not make this kind of scrap book. Do the work/embellishments/glitter yourself so that it still looks cool in 20-40-60 years.

Every Belle needs a great convertible…

…& pretty under-things.

Red lips, red nails, sparkly bow (Essentials.)

Old Southern summer homes are the best!

Things of great importance:
-outdoor fireplace
-screened in porch to keep out those pesky bugs
-outdoor patio with comfy furniture in case you decide to say, ‘To hell with the bugs, I’m sitting outside this morning!’
-big trees (honeysuckle wrapping around the trunk doesn’t hurt either!)

The comfy bedroom in said Southern Summer home is of equal importance.

Things of note:
-old, worn in floral sheets
-numerous quilts on a white iron bed
-colors and curtains from another era
-grandpa’s old washstand would make a great nightstand
-a rocker… these are innumerable throughout the Southern Summer home
-plenty of tchotchkes scattered about (in the South these are called ‘trinkets’)

Every princess needs a crown that is quintessentially them. Get one.

In the South we know how to party! I just love this parade and, I have to tell you, it is giving me all sorts of ideas for our next big party! Never underestimate the power of a New Orleans-style band, hats and sparklers!

Here’s wishing you a great Fat Tuesday!
xo~ Hannah B.

Friday’s Random Links

Article Posted on Friday, February 11th, 2011 at 5:07 pm

This week I have been super distracted from Blogland thanks in part to work, in part to late nights with Husband and friends & in part to this little one. But, I’m hoping I will get back to my blogging groove this weekend; in the meantime, here are today’s Friday’s Random Links… and be warned– there are only a few and they are *really* random!

1.) When Husband & I cook dinner there is always a record of some sort playing in the background. So this week, when I got an unexpected hour or 2 off, I decided to hit this amazing vintage store in Bearden that has a really great records section. (For locals, click here.) Anyway, I confess I bought this album solely based on the awesome/weird/uncomfortable lady covered in whipped cream holding a rose. I will hang this somewhere eventually I am sure! And hey, they records pretty awesome background music so I made it into a Grooveshark playlist for you, just click here.

2.) And while we’re on the subject of music, last night Husband, a bunch of our friends and I spent the evening at Barley’s listening to the Two Man Gentleman Band. They are in town tonight as well (at a yoga studio downtown of all places) so we’re going to pack up some beverages of choice and head down that way. They’re so much fun and, as my mother put it, “very into the double entendres,” which my sarcastic self happens to enjoy a lot!

3.) I have been so good about not letting my *love* for dinosaurs overwhelm my wardrobe lately and not geeking out on the blog too much, but I so totally need this lovely painting by Shyama Golden. I’d also recommend watching the timelapse video below to see how it came together–fascinating!

Home Sweet Brachiosaurus Timelapse from Shyama Golden on Vimeo.
{1st seen here.}