knick knack fanatic.

i've always collected little trinkets, vintage paper ephemera, salt and pepper shakers, globes, interesting lamps, and knick knacks. they end up in some of the most unusual places, since i'm slowly but steadily running out of space. here's some of my favorites around the house:

a little lamb that lives in the guest room, right next to a typewriter. he's secretly my favorite.

a metal globe and some wooden tulips from our trip to amsterdam. this milk bottle held flowers at our wedding.

wooden toy blocks on a mirrored dresser tray. i need to find a shelf to place them on!

puppy salt 'n pepper shakers, hanging out with some books.

some prints in our kitchen; these come in a set of four, all different. i believe they were from a campaign in the mid 40's by dairy farmers to encourage people to drink milk. i don't (because it makes me queasy) but i do like looking at them.

this globe is in the living room, right next to the tv.

some dusty little lambs on the bookshelf.

i've also been collecting old bottles (early 20th century), chalkboards, ornate gold frames, and crazy lamps. do you collect anything?

quilted.

dress: vintage, estate sale.
tights: unknown
boots: anthropologie

after dropping my camera into a bowl of water, i was incredibly doubtful that it would work ever again. i took everything out of the body (battery, memory card, etc.) and placed it into a bowl of rice on the heater. a day went by and we tried turning it on; it took a couple pictures, and then died. i was about to buy a new camera body, and bryan suggested that we let it sit another day in the rice, just to see if it dried out a bit more. i agreed, and to our surprise, the camera is working again! we snapped these pictures today in our guest room (the same room with my barrister shoe closet). i have been collecting antique quilts for about nine months now, and the one on this bed is by far my favorite. the embroidery is a twist of light pink and white, and looks so pretty against the pillowcases. i find most of these embroidered pieces at flea markets and estate sales and make them into pillowcases using soft scrap fabric.

hope your weekend is going well - ours has been surprisingly busy. we've been making macarons (as i tweeted about all weekend!) and having meals with friends. my dad and sister are both back from europe, and stopping by for dinner tonight.

obsessed: part 1.

seychelles, courtesy of modcloth ● chloe ● steve madden ● jeffrey cambell

two lips ● loffler randall ● forever21 ● steve madden

kensie, courtesy of modcloth ● marc jacobs ● chloe ● emporio armani

it's no secret that i'm slightly in love with all sorts of footwear, particularly pretty heels and platforms. i thought i'd share my ever-growing collection with you. the cabinet is callet a barrister bookshelf; lawyers used them to store files and books and such. it comes apart in three sections and the doors on the front (which are up in the pictures) have glass inserts in the front. just pull out and push back and the shelf is open! it's in our guest room, and i made sure to place shoes in that were shades of gray and cream (and some brown because i ran out of room on my other bookcase, whoops!).

i started collecting antique books for our wedding to use as stands for flowers, but ended up changing my mind - after i had about 50-60 of them sitting in my basement. i went through them recently and saved only my favorites, like "dictionary of modern ballet" and "under the lilacs".

home sweet home: part 1.

i mentioned on twitter that i was thinking about posting some pictures from our little south philadelphia row home. our house has definitely been a work in progress. when i first moved in, the floors were bright red, covering up the gorgeous two-toned wood inlay. the windows were original with the house, and as much as i love authentic home features, it's not very warm in the winter. we replaced the 70's mustard yellow glass door, built radiator covers, painted, ripped up molding, and replaced the windows. we're currently in the middle of refinishing the staircase.

our hoosier cabinet, built in 1902. it's one of my favorite possessions. the flower decals on the doors are original, as is the bread box and flour sifter. cat, on the other hand, is a much more recent acquisition.

this is the view looking towards the front of the house. we just put up our christmas tree. it's a 1960's aluminum pom-pom tree, and we just hung pinecones on it. anyone with a cat knows the unfortunate ending that befalls ornaments when a christmas tree is put up. the table is my great-grandmother's kitchen table from the 1940's. my grandmother gave it to me as a housewarming gift, and had the chairs recovered in mint-green leather.

here's a picture of one of our antique maps. this one is from the 30's - my dad, a geography expert, dated it from the presence (or absence) of different countries. we have another antique map in our bedroom, which serves as a headboard.

some of the pictures that line our staircase; there's a good mix of vintage and modern (of which came from etsy). the silhouettes, dog embroideries, and morton salt girl are vintage.

our wedding cake toppers on our bookshelf.

christmas garland and pinecones! i love the way that they smell.

we write to-do lists, reminders, and checklists on this chalkboard. i picked it up at an auction and repainted it with chalkboard paint. the cabinet was reinvented from an old card catalog. the 1960's fiberglass lamp was a thrift store find, and the painting about of louis was a wedding present our friend. i absolutely love it!

this is the view from the one half of our living room; i'll post the other half in a bit. it's not that exciting right now, as we're waiting on a piece that will complete the room. fingers crossed that it goes through!