Hi all, I’m Chedva from Belly’s button, and I’m very excited to be here. So, first order of business- Thanks, Nicole, and have a great vacation!

Today I’m taking you on a trip to some of my favorite spots in central Tel Aviv. As you may know I live in Israel, and for me TLV is The City. There are many things I love about TLV, and this particular area – where my grandmother grew up – is one of them. It has a lot of new and old second-hand shops and many, many lovely coffee shops and fabric stores. You can say that this is Garment District, Meatpacking and a touch of Brooklyn wrapped together, AND you get to enjoy it without suffering the unbearable humid weather that’s going on here the last few days, how’s that?

My first stop was a new favorite of mine Laga’at Be’avar (Touching the Past) on King George street. I bought my bamboo étagère here, and they have a nice collection of mod lighting:

There are four of these chairs. Some paint and new fabric, and they’d be perfect for my kitch (too bad I don’t have room for them).

This glass table is only 40 bucks. I might get it for the living room.

On to the intersection of Alenbi, Sheinkin, Nahalat Binyamin and HaCarmel streets. On your right is Shuk HaCarmel- the best for food, vegetables and tchotckes. On our left is Nahalat Binyamin- a long street, the beginning of which is pedestrian-only and it’s the home of the biggest  arts & crafts fair in Israel every Tuesday and Friday. The fair is very colorful and tourist-y, but I prefer the place when it’s quieter.

There are a few finds to be found, especially in two furniture stores here, like this bench for the foot of a bed- how rad would it be with glossy navy paint and tilbury lapis for the cushion?

The quality isn’t something to write home about, but the pieces are so cheap it’s worth it.

But mainly, this street is dedicated to FABRIC. This is my favorite fabric store, where I just found a silk blend Chanel fabric roll end (the real thing) for 8$/meter:

And COFFEE, of course:

Back to Alenbi – I couldn’t not write about my favorite store in town. Mugrabi is more of a curated thrift store, with its first floor dedicated to home decor and books, and the second- mainly to second hand clothes. The first floor is actually a coffee shop where you can buy any furniture (including the cafe’s chairs and tables):

Lonny bar cart, anyone?

Aren’t these chairs to die for (channeling Emily Gilmore for a second. Now I’m back).

Somehow, I have no idea how and if it really happened, I bought the rug (for 30$!!!), these three Elle Decor issues from 1995-6:

And this little guy:

Which was when I realized it’s time to rush home before I either go bankrupt or melt in the heat…