2011 European Adventure- Köln recap

The first leg of our trip this Fall was in Germany. I hadn't been there since 1993 when my family lived in Stuttgart and I had never been to Cologne (or Köln) before so it was fun to go somewhere totally new. And I learned that Cologne is the home of Kölsch beer! The city is on the Rhine river and our hotel had a great location right across the river from the downtown area and the famous Dom (cathedral). On the bridge there were thousands of locks with couples' names on them. Apparently it's a tradition that couples get locks with their names and the year on it and attach it to the bridge. Our friends surprised us on our second day there with locks for each of us! We put them on the bridge together. I love the idea of going back to see our lock in 20 years (or more!).  The weather was kind of cool and a little drizzly throughout which was kind of great for walking around all of old cobblestone streets. Here are some highlights:

Greetings from Amsterdam!

We made it back from our trip safe and sound! Even though it was a quick trip, it really did feel like a second honeymoon. Here are some cute cups we picked up in Amsterdam as a memento.

Your House- Olafur Eliasson

your house by olafur eliasson

a commission by the library council of the museum of modern art...'your house' is a limited-edition artist's book with a laser-cut negative impression of his house in copenhagen. each of the 454 pages is individually cut and corresponds to 2.2 cm of the actual house. as readers leaf through the pages, they slowly make their way through the rooms of the house from front to back, thus constructing a mental and physical narrative.



via of paper and things

Heath Ceramics

I've been familiar with Heath Ceramics for quite awhile now, I would love to go to their factory and showroom in Sausalito someday. In the meantime, I was thrilled to get my first thing from Heath from Katie B. as a thank-you for helping throw her baby shower! Isn't it cute? Can't wait to go the farmer's market to buy a few buds to put in the vase.

The Makerie

The Makerie is a U.K. based paper design studio. I can't imagine how much time and patience it would take to make their creations. Check out more of their portfolio here.

New print!

We've been having a lot of fun arranging our new apartment. We finally started putting art on the walls which makes such a huge difference! I try to mix it up and not just have my own art on the walls which would be boring (for me) so we're incorporating a lot of artwork from our friends and local artists. I just bought a new print from Diana Sudyka, one of my faves. Her work is so whimsical and fun and I like how inspired she is by the natural world. I know birds (especially owls) are everywhere but I couldn't resist this guy:

School Supplies

Buying school supplies was my favorite part of going back to school. I don't get to buy fresh supplies each August like I used to but I still have a thing for notebooks, pens, folders, etc. I've seen a new company named Poppin on a few blogs recently and it looks pretty awesome. Modern, colorful, office supplies that aren't too expensive (at first glance).