Cookie Cup designed by Venezuelan designer Enrique Luis Sardi together with Italian coffee company Lavazza

First you drink the coffee, then you eat the cup! The Cookie Cup is designed by Venezuelan designer Enrique Luis Sardi together with Italian coffee company Lavazza. The cup is made of pastry covered with a special icing sugar, which works as an insulator, and makes the cup waterproof hence allowing you to use the cup and then appreciate its taste.

“I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

It's not the steps that matter, but the path ... And the path will take care of itself, when you keep focused on your destination ...

The Unreal is more powerful than the Real ... (picture Sceaux, France)

The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create ~ Chuck Palahniuk

Like Leaves in the Wind

http://www.lanciatrendvisions.com/en/605/like-leaves-in-the-wind

Peter Gentenaar is a demanding print maker. The paper mills weren’t able to provide him with the paper he wanted, so he created it himself, with a customized machine with which he designs ethereal paper sculptures. Behind this venture there’s the help of the Royal Dutch Paper Factory, but the intuition and artistry is all Peter’s. After having built his paper factory, the Dutch print maker designed beaters that are able to process and mill the pulp of the paper fibers that sustain his sculptures, which were on view until March 12th at the exhibition "Papierobjects" in Doesburg. Last Summer, to commemorate the 25th edition of the festival of classical music in St. Riquier, you could admire more than 100 of his sculptures hovering between the Gothic arches of the homonymous French abbey, built in 638. The process of pulling water from the pulp manages to shrink it by as much as 40%. Reinforced with a rigid bamboo framework the sculptures thus takes the form of vaporous Autumn leaves twirling in the wind.

EARTH = HEART

Tranquil Modern with Comfort of Spanish Style ... Architecture by Andersson-Wise

 "This house represents a modern transformation of the environmentally responsive Spanish style. Sited on a cliff, with terraces that descend a steep hill, the buildings simple materials celebrate the site and climate not by drawing attention to them, but by blending in." I found it quite interesting that the front of the home is rather conservative. It is only when one wanders to the side and back of the home that its full scale can be appreciated.

There are so many elements to appreciate about this home. The way in which the exterior of the home has been designed—bold, yet not ostentatious, sprawling, yet not boastful, beautiful, yet not overpowering. As one wanders inside, the wonderfully textured walls in combination with a focus on specific details is quite significant. The look is light, calm and refreshing, with points of interest and elegance. As for the single window encompassed by stone—it is wonderful and quite a unique feature. And the back... surrounded by landscaping and views so breathtaking... What are your impressions?

http://www.sarahklassen.com/2011/10/architecture-andersson-wise.html#

Luxury Spa AIRE Ancient Baths Opens in Tribeca

As the newest luxury spa to open in the trendy Tribeca neighborhood, AIRE Ancient Baths offers a unique environment to experience the joys of water therapy. New York City is known for its amazing collection of spas but the city was lacking a hammams or upscale bath for communal soaks. A subterranean grotto of marble with room to roam and space to breathe; sixteen thousand square-feet to escape everyday stresses. Transform, recuperate and immerse into healing and cleansing waters.

Bathe like a King or Queen! Three-floors of stunning marble, stone and unending candles to illuminate the space. The style and serene aura are all reminiscent of the three bathhouses in Southern Spain that have been created from revived Roman ruins. New York is the first chain outside of Spain, housed in a building dating back to 1883. Described as, “an oasis of calm that borrows from the past to show us how ancient civilizations made public baths an art for the senses”.

AIRE boasts six communal baths, a hot steam and stone sauna, massage facility and relaxation areas. The baths are hot (102 degrees), warm (97 degrees), cold (61
degrees), ice (40 degrees), saltwater and the “Propeller-Jet Bath”. Hydrotherapy has amazingly calming and healing properties – pain relief, hangover ease, energy booster, weight loss and the ability to aid the body in detoxing which aids with allergies, fatigue and chronic health problems.

Guests can purchase two-hour thermal circuit session, plunges into each of the baths, with a complimentary organic juice beverage for $75. To ensure semi-privacy and create an environment conducive to complete relaxation, each session is limited to 20 people only. Your bath experienced can be from luxurious to haute by adding a massage from fifteen to sixty-minutes, starting at $20. Private rooms are available for olive oil and champagne bath rituals.

http://www.hauteliving.com/2012/04/luxury-spa-aire-ancient-baths-opens-in-tribeca/

Only hang around people that are positive and make you feel good. Anybody who doesn’t make you feel good, kick them to the curb, and the earlier you start in your life the better. The minute anybody makes you feel weird and non-included or not supported, you know, either beat it or tell them to beat it ~ Amy Poehler

Exposed Brick House by AABE in Dusseldorf warehouse.

This exposed brick house by German architecture firm AABE is a lesson in contrasting styles, materials and aesthetics. Architect Bruno Erpicum took the helm of this Dusseldorf warehouse conversion, transforming “ruins” into something truly spectacular. From the outside, the brick exterior home is enclosed in a glass wall, a creative treatment that hints at the curiosities you’ll find inside. Building on much the same palette of materials, the architect combines industrial-chic elements like concrete and brick, with ultra-modern pieces like the glossy-white built-in storage and closets (which also serve as dividers for the open-concept home). Furnishings – which are as intriguing as the home itself! – are few and far between, allowing the focus to remain on the loft and its innate architectural features. Outside, a modern outdoor living room is an extension of the style and space found inside.

Spring

In spring we should ask about the direction we are giving our lives, our values, our jobs, our families. We cannot lose focus on what really matters … Here are some simple and fun ideas for the celebration. And don’t forget to be playful.  Doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment or in a mansion.