PARTY PLANNING: A TRAVEL-THEMED BIRTHDAY

For most of the summer I have been eagerly planning a birthday bash for my beloved Mom, who turns the big 6-0 in September. It's been cool to brainstorm together and think of various means to make the party feel as special and fun as she is. Needing a theme, we decided to reference her worldly ways and make it a travel-focused party complete with tons of vintage maps and globes (my favorite!). After the party I will be excited to share all the fabulous projects I put together, but in the meantime I thought I would feature some of my inspiration.

Here are a few parties and products that have been jump off points for my planning process:



A bright, cheery teacher appreciation party. How awesome is that pull down map? I may have bought one of my own . . . 














































This classy globe-focused wedding. I love the idea of vintage globe centerpieces!


This cake topper is too cute, perfect for that first birthday party!

The moment we decided to go with the travel theme, I thought of this print by Lisa Congdon as inspiration for the invite. Aren't they great? 






















































































So here are some of the pretty things I am thinking of incorporating into the party. Clearly we are going with a light blue, turquoise and yellow color scheme (conveniently similar to my Dad's party last year) with pops of other bright color here and there. Overall we want to capture the vivacious, fun-loving, adventuresome character of my dear Mom and, with these sweet ideas, I think we can do it! Any other travel-themed things you can think of that I missed? Suggestions are welcome!

one  pull down vintage school map, $59.99 | two ocean light string from bright lab, $29.95 | three metal globe bank, $18 | four fun yellow and white bouquet | five stripey straws, 25 for $6.85 | six chocolate earth balls, one pound for $8.99 | seven yellow streamers DIY



BRIMFIELD RECAP

Every year my Mom and I go to a huge antiques/vintage goods show in Massachusetts called Brimfield. Usually we go as buyers, but this year we decided to mix things up a bit and act as sellers! And guess what: it was exhausting but so fun! Here are some shots of my favorite things we had on offer . . . 






















Tiny plastic doll food!













































Baby ironing boards, toy irons and tea sets!













































And how about this 1960s-era Pillsbury Dough Boy? Perfect condition!
















































We had lots of great vintage board games and kids toys, including my Mom's personal favorite—a Howdy Doody hand puppet.















































We also had a big rack of vintage clothes, lots of old magazines, and random decorations.


































My favorite, by far though, was dishes of silver, pretty cordial glass sets and funky late 60s-era gold coffee pots.













































And how great is this little barware set we put together? That huge mixing glass with cocktail recipes, that green ice bucket!




















And fondue forks! Nothing more vintage than fondue forks!






















It was a great weekend! A lot of hard work, some wonderful quality time with my Mom, and a tidy little profit to boot. Not bad, all things considered.






















And you know what? I did manage to steal a couple minutes to do some shopping on my own, picking up some great things for my own collections, like this mini metal globes. How awesome are they?


Like hearing about Brimfield? Check out previous posts here.


PUT A PIN IN IT






















Keeping this post short and sweet: how fabulous is this cork globe? A perfect palette to display my map pin obsession and a worthy addition to my map/globe/cartographic collection . . .

Pick up your own here for $200.




MINTY FRESH

MINTY FRESH


I read somewhere that apparently the newest trend in fashion is pastels. As you likely know from reading this blog, I prefer a big, bold color to any light and dainty hue, but I can make an exception for mint. Something about it just seems cool, unfussy and sophisticated.


So I thought a little round up all of things 'mint' was in order. Hopefully it will help you start your weekend feeling fresh and clean! Enjoy!




1 ~ monochromatic outfit
2 ~ little geometry pillow 
3 ~ swiss alps cushion cover
4 ~ kimono fat wizard watch
5 ~ satchel photo
6 ~ pineapple mint agua fresca
7 ~ essie nail polish
8 ~ anthropologie ad for swimsuit
9 ~ dwr table globe
10 ~ baggu pouch



AS THE WORLD HANGS?

GLOBE CHANDELIER
GLOBE CHANDELIERGLOBE CHANDELIER


I spotted this incredible chandelier made out of vintage globes made by Benoit Vieubled on Black*Eiffel yesterday and I swooned. It's so awesome I can't stand it! It reminds me of the illuminated globe I bought last year and totally suits my ongoing obsession with all things cartographic (see here and here).

See the Black*Eiffel post here and the Vieubled website here.


SAVINGS AND LOANS

BALFOUR BAG
CHALKBOARD GLOBE TALITHA RUG


Lately I have found myself falling in love with things that are FAR beyond my budget. Like the $19,500 diamond ring my friend convinced me to try on at Fred Leighton (a jewelry store so intimidatingly high-end I had previously never set foot in it). Sigh. So I thought I would start a new series on the blog called 'Savings and Loans'. Here I will share some of the expensive but exquisite things I find here and there, a.k.a. those that require "savings" and "loans".


My first edition is as follows:

Talitha Rug, Jonathan Rug, $1500 (for 6' x 9' rug, $2200 for 8'x 10')



AROUND THE WORLD





First things first:  many many apologies for being MIA recently.  This past week has been a whirlwind of activity (thanks to all those folks who came to visit me at Newton Open Studios despite the gorgeous weather!  It was a success!) and I am happy to say that I am now back in action.  To get back in the swing of things I thought I would highlight items with my favorite subject matter: MAPS!

Here are just a couple of examples I found in my perusing of Etsy (it almost hurts me to tell other people about them since I want them all for myself!), from top to bottom:

  1. Rand McNally Portrait Globe, whiteelephantvintage
  2. Crossing Paths, amandajean
  3. Atlas Envelopes, Bombus
Need to get your map fix in person?  I recently discovered two major map-related sites in Boston: A) the Globe Corner Bookstore in Cambridge which only sells maps, travel guides and travel related literature and B) the Mapparium in the Christian Science Center, a 3-story  stained glass globe.  Perhaps one day you will find yourself there . . .