I'm just mad about: maps

Maps seem to be everywhere in the design world right now, and I'm getting in on the trend! Carmen from Life Blessons made this adorable map that I found on Pinterest. I made my own map just like it, and my husband and I had so much fun filling out the little papers to represent some of our adventures together:)

My dear friend Claire gave me this California map print recently. Isn't it adorable? Speaking of Claire, she got ENGAGED this weekend!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!

This is another fun Pinterest find that I haven't gotten around to copying yet. All you need is a piece of paper with a heart cut out of the middle, and a small map of a destination you love:)

And now for the part where you get free stuff! I was at the local library last week, rummaging through a big box of books they were giving away, and I found something pretty cool: a vintage textbook full of beautiful old maps! I scanned a whole bunch of them into my computer and I'm sharing them with you guys:) If you have trouble clicking, downloading or printing them, let me know and I can email you the files! 

This is the one I have on the shelf by the matador print. The three below go with it as a set of four.

I just love the colors in these two Canada ones.

 

Happy Mapping!

I'm making a colorful-rug-blanket-caster-wood-ottoman-coffee-monster

This coffee table cost us about 28 dollars. We bought it on Craigslist and spray painted it a nice aqua-ish color, and it's lasted about a year or so. But now it's time for this little table to be on it's way, and I have very big plans for it's replacement!

My idea for it is all in my head, and a bit hard to explain, but it's going to be a bit like this ottoman from Little Green Notebook...

a bit like this chair from Anthroplogie ...

a bit like this cushion platform from Urban Outfitters ...

And a lot like something out of Flea Market Style, an amazing coffee table book that my bestie Jilly gave me last year for my birthday:)

Stay tuned to see how (or if) it all comes together:) And check back soon because I have a lot more home projects going on that I'll be posting about soon!

a vintage printable Christmas

By now you've probably noticed that I'm a big fan of vintage printable. And just for the record, they don't pay me to sing their praises, though that would be awesome;) I wanted to do a post about some of the fun Christmas and winter prints they have over there, but then I got carried away. It all started when I was clicking around in their portrait section.

With a little help from Picnik, I turned this...

into this:

And this ...

into this!

And then, when I ran across the vintage illustrations from A Christmas Carol, I started adding my own text, turning Tiny Tim from a sweet little boy into kind of a jerk.

before...

after:

And took this illustration, which reads "Scrooge sat down before the fire to take his gruel"

And reinterpreted it into text message/tweet form:

But onto the real stuff ... the stuff you might actually want to display in your home! Here are a few of my favorites, taken from their holiday/winter section:

Happy Printing!

I've just returned from an amazing vacation in Scottsdale, AZ, and I didn't come home empty handed! How adorable is this trench coat from H&M? I've been wanting a short, casual trench for awhile, and this is exactly what I had in mind.

Possibly my favorite thing about it is the plaid-lined hood. I think it makes the coat look extra fun and youthful.

What are those navy blue and white ruffles peeking out from under the trench coat, you ask? Why, it's this party dress, also from H&M! It's so fun and girly, I knew I had to snatch it up as soon as I spotted it. Now all I need is a place to wear it, so if you're in the greater San Diego area and you're throwing a bash anytime soon, give me a call! I'm told I'm a lot of fun at a party! LOL;) 

 I also came home with these gorgeous vintage books, a gift from my little sister Lizzie and her friend Anna. There's so much inspiration for patterns, color schemes, and decor ideas to be found on the beautiful covers! I especially love the olive green, gold, black, orange and cream color scheme of the one with the feather-looking design. Those would be great colors for a study or formal living room.

Here they are at home, next to my rather sad-looking English ivy plant:)

And that's not all! This sweet little zinc "F" letter has been on my wishlist forever, and my brother John and his girlfriend Kelli-Anne happened to spot it in Anthropologie and got it for me! I'm so excited, I just love the industrial look of it, like it was plucked off an old abandoned sign for a hardware store or something.

I think it makes a great addition to my collection of odds and ends above the sofa.

As for what I was doing in Scottsdale, that's a whole other post! Stay tuned;)

This cute little vintage book was in the "free" bin at one of the local libraries. Yay! I love the illustration of the hand holding the phone.

The advice and information inside is outdated and ridiculous by today's standards, so it's a pretty funny read!

Behold, Jack Schwartz! America's Greatest Telephone Salesman. You go, Jack! Love the glasses!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I don't want to get too serious, but I do want to say that there is no time like today, on 9/11, to focus on what is important. Life can end so quickly, and if there's one thing I think I've been learning in the past few months, it's that life is too short to waste it on negativity. God bless, and go give someone a hug:)

this and that and thank-you's

First of all, thanks to my sweet hubby for updating my blog banner with a picture of our new sofa:) Looks great, honey!

And thanks to my sweet Jilly for sending me this precious little white bird that you see in front of the turquoise lantern. Isn't he adorable?

And if you're super-observant, you might have noticed in this extremely glamorous picture from this post that I'm holding the book I've been dying to get ... A Place in the Sun by Slim Aarons. It's every bit as fabulous as I'd imagined, and I've looked at every page about a billion times. It was a housewarming gift from my Aunt Becky, and I just love it!

Also, I'm wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions for removing a dust jacket that has been glued on. I bought this from the library for one dollar, and though the dust jacket is atrocious ...

... the hardcover underneath is adorable.

When I tried to peel it off, this happened:( Any ideas?

flea market style

My sweet bestie Jillian gave me this book that I've been wanting for ages ... the Flea Market Style coffee table book. Oh my goodness, that book is absolutely beautiful! I've been dying to take a minute to hunt down some images from the book that I could share with you, and I hope it leaves you feeling as inspired as it made me feel!

You might remember this last image from a post I wrote a few months ago. This is the one that sent me into a fever looking for old vintage portraits! The hunt for them continues and if you ever see one on Etsy or somewhere, please inform me!

Thanks again, Jilly for my sweet birthday gift! I can't get enough of it:)

{PS check out her blog for some adorable cupcake-ness}