The Month in Books : November, December, & January

It's been a while, but I'm glad to be sharing again. Check out my reviews from the last three months on Book Wit.

The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery by Sharon Kay Penman

All Other Nights by Dara Horn

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Dissolution by C. J. Sansom

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Above: Max Fischer, via Awesome People Reading.

Clothes for the Cold: Hats & Scarves

Don't they look nice, all bundled up? It's supposed to snow/sleet/be generally disagreeable weather-wise this week, so I've been paying extra attention to the looks that seem like they could get me through the slush.

Row 1: Elle; Topshop Tumblr.

Row 2: Olive My Love; Style Clicker.

Row 3: The Sartorialist; Eat Sleep Wear.

Little Worlds

All by Jeff Specks.

Pendleton Cases

Awesome possum laptop and iPad cases by Timberline Treasures. Those colors look so good, I could eat them.

Little House in the Big Woods

Reading Laura Ingalls Wilder over and over clearly had an impact on me, no? These photographs are some of my favorites from Cabin Porn, which I believe has been making the blog rounds lately.

Discovered via Corbett, who has some excellent vacation ideas.

Animal Sounds

I can't think of a better way to end the week than vintage illustrations of animals.

Cris d'animaux, petit dictionnaire rimé et illustré par Véra Braun (1937).

Via maptitefabrique.

Marbled Paper

These marbled papers from the digital collections over at the University of Washington make me want to marble my whole apartment.

From the top: Antique straight pattern by Don Guyot (1978); Comb marbled paper by Don Guyot (1978); Fern patter by Cockerell and Sons (20th century); Icarus pattern by Don Guyot (1978); Peacock drag pattern by Don Guyot (1978); Comb pattern by Don Guyot (1978); French curl on wide comb pattern by Cpckerell and Sons (20th century); Turkish pattern by Cockerell and Sons (20th century); Whirl pattern by Cockerell and Sons (20th century).

All from the University of Washington's Decorated and Decorative Paper Collection.

Hair Rolls

Glamorous filamented sculpture (I wonder how much of it is actually hers). The face jewels don't hurt either.

Photographs by Jeff Tse, via Fashion Gone Rogue.

Historic Ship Stamps

I can not get enough of the work of Stefan Kanchev this week. The crisp patterning and brightness of these ship stamps is so appealing.

... These stamps are brand new, contemporary but without being modish. A stamp has to have the qualities of the plastic art which will guarantee that it will stand the changes in trends during the years without getting outdated. Any of these stamps can be enlarged to impressive size, can be reduced to miniature but the stamp will not loose its clearness or its plastic beauty.

Nenov, Ivan — Master of applied arts, magazine “Art”, issue 8/1961, pp 23–28

Above, selections from the Historic Ships series (1975-1986). All via Applied graphics by Stefan Kanchev.

Open Spaces

Landscapes in the fens by i n a r t i c u l a t e.

At The Bauhaus Dessau

Designs for wall hangings by Gunta Stölzl. I love the plotting behind textile design - the organization is so beautiful to me.

From the top: Design for a double-weave (1928); Design for a wall hanging (1928); Design for a wall hanging (1926); Textile design (1929); Design for carpet "Garden" (undated); Design for a double-weave (undated).

Images via Gunta Stölzl - Bauhaus Master.

Chilly Beans

Style cues from those who look moderately warm. Now, how to pull off their insouciance with my giant puffer coat?

Row 1: Hel Looks.

Row 2: Zara People!: December 2011.

Row 3: glamcanyon.