{of birds & butterflies}

Completely charmed by Parisians Colette & Pierre's Ceiling Bird . . . After a visit to the Château d'O in Normandy, Colette fell in love with a flock of ceiling birds that appeared to be holding up the crystal chandeliers in the Château, and immediately set off to recreate a similar effect with the help of an artist friend who was commissioned to paint the elegant bird in their Paris dining room.

The effect is magical.

Reminds me also of the stunning silver-leafed ceiling adorned with silk butterflies from an earlier post . . .

{images: top - apartment therapy; bottom - photography by Leah at More Ways to Waste Time}

{perfectly carefree}

Apartment Therapy's 11 Tips for Slowing Down really struck a chord, as I sleep less and less and find myself buried under more projects, appointments, social engagements, and never-ending to-do lists, and while it's great to be busy, it's always wonderful to take a few moments out . . .

{tip #4:}
• This goes along with doing one thing at a time and is the hardest thing for us: don't open tabs in your browser. Only read one website at a time and don't open 16 more in tabs to read later. Just one at a time (and don't spend all night doing it either!).

Besides having a myriad of tabs and applications open, the lack of sleep, and constant e-mailing checking {BlackBerrys did make it to The City of Light, despite good intentions}, realize that the times that I feel most relaxed is when we drop everything and drive out of the city for a weekend get-away . . .

One of my favourite times where I felt completely and perfectly carefree was {>here}

{When was the last time you felt carefree and what do you do to unwind at the end of the day?}

{image credits: Model: Julia Stegner; Photographer: Solve Sundsbo; uploaded by ecstasy_lover via foto decadent}

{happy weekend + bar carts}

{Jacob Hertzell, stylist; via emmas designblogg}

Looking forward to a little down time this weekend, especially time outdoors on our recently refurnished patio . . .

Not certain if anyone still uses bar carts, but sitting and dreaming en plein air for a few moments somehow made me think a moveable place for water and lemons and fizzy drinks and wine would work out beautifully . . .

{via i suwannee}

{Hazelnut Lovejoy Vodka; label design by ID Branding; via Ruby Press and Design Crush}

{photography by Deborah Jaffe for domino}

{Watercreek Carafes from the American Summer collection at Ralph Lauren home}

{Hanover Bar Cart from Restoration Hardware; via Apartment Therapy Los Angeles}

{Lovejoy Vodka; label design by ID Branding; via Ruby Press and Design Crush}

{Marc Jacobs for Waterford Jean Footed Decanter}