Travels around the world

I LOVE to visit new places.
Living in Denmark the last 3 1/2 years has afforded me the opportunity to see so many cities that, before I moved, I had only read about. 
Even more than the actual traveling, I LOVE to look around my home and see all of the things we have brought back from the wonderful places we have visited. 

Mads and I are not big souvenir collectors, but we do have evidence of our travels throughout our house because we believe that those memories add a little something to our everyday lives each time we look at the things we have collected from around the world.


One thing we are particularly proud of is our B&W photo wall (which needs to be expanded because we have 4 more pics to add, but no room right now!) These are unique shots that the two of us have taken around the world.... it is always a cool thing when someone comes over and tries to figure out where each of the pics is from... 

One of the most fun things we do as we travel is to search for that perfect thing to bring home... the thing that we can add to our home decor that will add something that was missing before... And I think we have found some pretty great additions over the last three years. 

Like this hand-painted bowl from Istanbul that holds my earrings on the bathroom counter.....

              .....and this handmade Czech glass vase that we bought in Prague... there were 3 in the shop and each of them was unique so I know we have a one of a kind...

One of my favorite treasures is my cast-iron teapot that we bought in San Francisco's China Town (the biggest Chinatown outside of China!) Even though it was HEAVY to bring home, it was worth using the extra pounds (and bringing back less JIF that time!) I love serving tea to my guests in it! 

And what trip to London would be complete without SOMETHING from Harrods... I searched for a long time to find a tea box that I really liked and then on one of our trips to London, this one found me!   

               We have two prints from Amsterdam hanging in our home---both from the Van Gogh museum. There is just something HAPPY about both of them...

Our trip to Malaga was incredible because of the day we spent walking through Picasso's birthplace.... there was something really special about knowing that we were walking the same hallways and stairs as he did. And then I spent a LONG time going through all the prints that you could buy, trying to find the perfect one for our home... And then there was the day we drove to what appeared to be the middle of nowhere (at the top of a very steep, very narrow mountain) but in the end, we discovered the most quaint, most perfect family vineyard where the owner himself took us around sampling his wines. We are saving this bottle for a special occasion.... 





And then there is our recent trip to Savannah, Georgia. These treasures may seem silly to some, but I would MUCH rather thumb through my own Paula Deen cookbook than google recipes on The Food Network... I love that my cookbook has my own "marks" on it... clumps of dried flour, stains of vanilla, and some markings that mean something ONLY to me. And I am sure that I could use my oven timer as most normal folks do when I am baking, but again, there is just something special about baking desserts as my chicken timer from the "Lady and Sons Restaurant" counts down the minutes. 


I leave for Valencia, Spain next weekend and am already wondering what wonderful things I will discover that I can bring home to our house and well as things that I can buy for my family... this is my way of bringing a bit of the world home.