sleepytime.

We get to move into our new house today! It's been so nice having a temporary place to live the last few weeks, but I desperately miss my stuff (which is still stored in a garage). In honor of the coziness that I just can't wait to create, here are a few of my favorite bedrooms.

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vintage on main.

My one-stoplight hometown of Amherst, Virginia boasts little more than an outdated Food Lion, a dusty hardware store, and a library. It also now has one of the best little vintage stores I've run across— maybe because the prices are so good. If you're ever headed up 29 in Virginia, be sure to make a stop.

I bought '50s table linens, earrings, sparkly clothes, and more. I also bought a dress form, and I decided to branch out with my own vintage shop focused more on 1940s-60s, feminine pieces and housewares. I can't wait to show you my treasures!

nicotine christmas.

 Want to have some fun? Google "vintage Christmas ads." Oh, and Merry Christmas.

these songs sound like home.

in bruges.

Dang it, now I have a serious case of wanderlust. We started planning our next big trip during our six-hour drive to Virginia today. It probably won't be until July, but I'm already so excited. I think we've settled on Amsterdam, Belgium (Bruges and Brussels) and France, somewhere. Let the obsessive planning and penny-pinching begin.

marienplatz.

My junior year of college, I made my first excursion to Europe. I went to Munich, Germany to visit a boy who's now ancient history, but the memories of Bavaria at Christmastime are some of my favorite. There was snow, of course, bitter cold, and the enchanting Christkindlmarkt — a glittering market full of nutcrackers, glüwine (warm spiced red wine), and pastries. While I can't wait to go home this Christmas, I sometimes wish I could spend it somewhere a little more magical.

 I also went to Neuschwanstein. I like to imagine my ancestors lived in those hills. They've been referred to as "black Dutch" but no one can tell me what that actually means, just that it was somewhere in Germany.

kittens heart puppies.

purple and pink and blue rain.

Discovered Pinterest today. And this lovely painting.

bookbook.

I need this Macbook cover. Best of all, it's locally made.

 I'll also take one of these.

industrial scars.

 

These images are beautiful, aren't they? Even more so when you realize they're barely-edited aerial photographs of the earth. Less so when you realize they depict severe environmental degradation. I interviewed photographer J. Henry Fair in this week's paper. Check it out.

foodie love.

I do believe I've found my food blogger soul mate. I discovered Framed Cooks today and started bookmarking just about every recipe.

{fig jam and cheese bites}

{devil's food butterfinger cake}

{cottage pie, which I'm making tonight}

I miss my kitchen, my pots, my cookbooks, my spices, and my cabinets full of random ingredients like capers and tomato paste. We lost most of those things in the fire, though luckily the pots survived with just a few soot stains. 

We're moving into our new place at the end of the month, and though the kitchen is small, I'm beyond thrilled to be able to restock and feel like a real cook again.