beautifulism: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

"Mitt lille land
Et lite sted, en håndfull fred
slengt ut blant vidder og fjord

Mitt lille land
Der høye fjell står plantet
mellom hus og mennesker og ord
Og der stillhet og drømmer gror
Som et ekko i karrig jord

Mitt lille land
Der havet stryker mildt og mykt
som kjærtegn fra kyst til kyst

Mitt lille land
Der stjerner glir forbi
og blir et landskap når det blir lyst
mens natten står blek og tyst"

* * *

“My little country
A small place where a handful of peace
thrown out among the plains and the sea

My little country,
where the mountains are planted
between the houses and people and words.
And where silence and dreams grow
As an echo in the barren soil

My little country,
where the sea stroking gently and softly,
like a caress from coast to coast

My little country,
where the stars slip by
and become a landscape when it gets light.
while at night, is pale and silent”

Doll house

Thursday, July 28, 2011

IKEA 2012

A few photos from the upcoming IKEA catalogue. Not a lot of news, but still, it’s IKEA, one just can’t help digging in to it.

The Hemnes daybed is not new, but I’ve been wanting to take it home since it first came.

I’m not sure if this Leirvik bed is new, I haven’t seen it before. But it would fit perfectly in our guestroom!

How cute are these? Our kitchen window next.

The Tidafors sofa is new and the best one IKEA has delivered in a long time.

Pretty! And new.

New; Lillängen cabinet. Such a cute bathroom!

Oregon Painted Hills

The Painted Hills of Eastern Oregon tell the story of climates past. Fifty million years ago the region was lush and tropical. It is now a sublimely rugged landscape in a semi-arid climate.

The red and tan layers of the hills reflect the climatic cycling between warm/wet and cool/dry, which occurred between 34 and 28 million years ago. Clay type, moisture levels, and the amount of oxidized iron present in the soil determined the hills’ colour palette.

The hills’ ancient soils are mixed with past lakebeds and river deposits. Scattered about the hills are fossil leaves, remnants of the broad-leaf deciduous trees that once grew on the edge of those long-vanished lakes and streams.