A Favorite Thing: Moroccan Wedding Blankets

You know how we all have those lists in our heads of things we would LOVE to have or do, but for whatever reason probably never will? For me that includes spending a Christmas in the Swiss Alps, owning a dalmation, being a nanny for a Hollywood celebrity (my aunt tried to convince me this could be a real possibility), having a wedding á la Rachel Getting Married, actually loving wine and, finally, having a Moroccan wedding blanket across my bed.

Moroccan wedding blankets are something I've been loving for a while now, and every time I see one pop up in a photo of a beautiful serene bedroom I fall into a daydream about owning one myself (even though I don't think my obsession with vintage chenille bedspreads will ever die). It spells adventure in faraway lands and centuries-old stories of romance... plus they're really, really pretty.

Here's a little schooling for ya... According to Apartment Therapy, "The creamy, sequined blankets, or handira, are a window onto traditional Berber culture. Known as Moroccan wedding blankets, handira are woven out of sheep's wool, cotton and linen by Berber women in the Middle Atlas mountains of Northern Morocco. [...] Berber wedding blankets are woven in anticipation of, you guessed it, a wedding, by the bride's female relatives. It can take many hours — even weeks — of work to attach those hundreds of mirrored sequins once the weaving is complete; it is thought that during this collaborative task, the bride's relatives teach her all about the birds and the bees, among other marital duties and expectations. After the wedding ceremony, the bride wears the blanket tied around her neck as a kind of cape. It might be associated with her trip to her new marital home, which could be a chilly ride."

Pretty cool, right? Behold....

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Gorgeous, right? What things do you have on your "list?"

A Favorite Thing: Open Kitchen Shelving and Cabinets

No matter how hard I try to go for lamps, artwork, chairs, or vases - when I get to the checkout line I always end up with a mixing bowl in one arm, a cast iron skillet in one hand and a fluted cake pan in the other. I just can't get enough of kitchen stuff!

Most kitchen things (especially if you make a point of collecting them) are worthy of display, but so many kitchens don't have enough counter space to have items sitting out and prepare a meal. That's why I love open shelving and cabinets so much; stored items look great and everything remains out of the way. Unfortunately the new apartment I'm moving into (next month!) has standard cabinets with doors, but I wonder if a little do-it-yourself kitchen enhancement would be worth the consequences.

But until I have some open cabinets of my own, I'll just be crushing on the photos below...

via Pinterest

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via Courtney Lane

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via My Paradissi

via Etsy

And a few of these kitchens have another feature I lust after: apron sinks. But that will have to wait until another post...

Are you kitchen crazy like me? What things do you tend to gravitate toward?

I like old things

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I'm a little bit crazy for old things (antique, retro, that dusty stuff in your grandparents' garage) and like decorating my apartment with the eclectic "treasures" I've snagged at flea markets and antique fairs. I am unable to go home next month for my favorite thing in the whole entire world because of work commitments, so I convinced my mom to make a trip out to Oregon (two weeks ago) for the next best thing: the Coburg Antique Fair. The shopkeeper at one of my favorite Portland antique shops, Madison Park, insisted that we sign up for the early bird opening to scavenge for steals with the big dogs before the fair officially started. But this would have involved leaving the house at 3 am and wearing headlights to sort through piles of stuff in the dark so my mom and I decided to leave that amount of hardcorocity to the pros.

We did, however, drive two hours from Portland to Coburg and then walked for seven straight hours from antique booth to antique booth looking at everything from old Civil War rifles to Victorian hat pins to Roseville pottery. Twice we called it a day and went back to the car, started driving away and then decided to pull over and shop a little more. The apple does not fall far from the tree. In the end, I came away with a pretty set of silver plated serving utensils, an antique card table, some colorful vintage table cloths and a 1950s baby pink Sunbeam mixer.

Overall it was an incredible day and I'm so glad my mom was there to enjoy it as well. The pictures below were taken at a variety of booths at the fair, and although I've enjoyed fawning over them every night since I took them like a schoolgirl in love, I totally understand how to some people it just looks like old junk. I get it, I get it and I don't judge - it just means more for me! The last picture, however,  is the Sunbeam mixer I came home with and I think everyone can agree it's pretty dang cute.

Thanks for checking out my photos! 
What interests do you share with your mom or close family member?

a favorite thing: kilim rugs

To some I am a very peculiar girl when it comes to my "must-haves" while looking for a new apartment. No dishwasher? I can live with that, I find washing dishes therapeutic, and besides, the steam's so good for your face! The apartment turns into a sweatbox on warm sunny days? Perfect, I won't have to leave home to do hot yoga!* It's less than 200 square feet? Oh yippee, an excuse to stay in bed all day since it will be my only piece of furniture! It has carpet throughout? Oh. Ummm. Yeaaah. Sorry... I really want hardwood floors. *Insider info: I've never done hot yoga, I'm not that cool. See, I do puns. And I'm convinced I would throw up if I tried it.

Of course, the whole vision of my ideal apartment includes rugs on top of these wonderful hardwood floors, but I'm not quite there yet. Because of their richly colored patterns, allusions to faraway lands and warmth under one's feet, kilims in particular are perpetually on my wish list (because the ones I want are just so dadgum expensive!). One day I hope to have a unique collection of them spread around my house, but as of now I just have one. That I love with all of my heart. So here I am... daydreaming about kilims in my future... enjoy!

I love the layered look, for some reason it reminds me of a hippie commune in the best kind of way. photo source

omg those colors! photo source

I think the orangey rug paired with the blue walls really hits the spot. photo source

Not only is this entire room stunning, but they have two kilims! photo source

Pairing with a flokati seems to be really "in." photo source

Okay there is a great chance that this is not a kilim, because it looks somewhat plush like an Oriental (or pile) rug, rather than the flatweave style that kilims are known for. I'm not sure, but I lust after this little rug, so I wanted to include it regardless! photo source

Wouldn't you agree that the rug pulls this entire room together? photo source

How amazing are those daybeds? Oops, back to the point, I love the stripes in this kilim. 

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Regal, no? I think the kilim rug brings it back down to earth, where it looks best. photo source

Such a fun room made 10x better by that colorful rug. Love. photo source

Can you relate to my need for hardwood floors? What's on your "must-have" list when looking for a new home?

Favorite Kitchens Friday

Woohoo we've made it to Friday! Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back.

I thought I'd celebrate the weekend by sharing some of my favorite kitchens ever, because isn't a kitchen the happiest place in a home? I mean, it's where the food is, so....

Hope you have a fantastic, fun-filled weekend!!

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Which kitchen is your favorite?