Over the years, I have slowly made my way around o Over the years, I have slowly made my way around our house … decorating, renovating and reorganizing it into a soft place to land. The only part that I haven’t touched that much are our yards (except for a fire pit area that went in two years ago, thank you pandemic). I want our outside to be as much as a sanctuary as our inside is, so I plan to spend the next year digging in (no pun intended 😂). I don’t have a green thumb, so feel free to spam me with all your awesome, low maintenance ideas as we create a Japanese-style zen garden. 🤩 I also hate gardening, so there’s that, but am hoping that some #gardentherapy changes my mind as much as it changes the space.
✌🏻 ✌🏻
About last night … we spontaneously decided to m About last night … we spontaneously decided to make a @crumblcookies run at 8:30 and snagged a front seat to Mother Nature’s show. 😍
I took five books with me when we went on a little I took five books with me when we went on a little vacation in May, and got through two of them, one of which was The Magnolia Story. You are, no doubt, familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, but you might not know how they became so popular or how their business exploded. This book, told by both of them, shares their journey from their dating stages to just a few years ago. It’s quite amazing how their path unfolded, with the universe seemingly guiding them every single step of the way. Every time they hit a crossroads, they received clear signs to continue to point them in the right direction. It was interesting to learn more about their story, and a great reminder that you need to trust in yourself and follow your passions, and everything really does just fall into place. Chip has his own book out too, Capital Gaines, which I added to my list after I read this one. If you’re curious about their story or just need confirmation to continue to chase your dreams, read this one. ✨ #catesbookaweek 6/52
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the w “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl ✨
We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister an We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister and her family were away. She has settled into a new routine here (ours 😂), and now doesn’t get up until after 9 am, stays up until well past midnight, eats a very late dinner, knows that the kitchen is where the magic happens and sits for a treat after her morning backyard visit. We’ve broken her in nicely but she will be returning with her continued bad habit of suffering from #fomo, playing tag with the cats, and barking every time she hears a door open or sees someone go up the street. We did our best. 😇
The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Gar The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Garlic butter and bleu cheese butter from @njgarlic (the bleu on steak! 😍), empanadas from @catalina_empanadas_2017, half sour pickles from @pickleculture and the quiche and bread were from a vendor I forgot to get the name of. This was all from the @bernardsvillefarmersmarket. Today I hit the @denvillemarket and added full sour pickles from @pickle_licious and a roasted garlic and duck fat loaf and cheese biscuit from @bobolinkdairyandbakehouse. Basically give us all the bread, cheese, butter and pickles and we’re happy campers! Did you hit up a farmers market this weekend? What’d ya get?
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it is with the gnocchi from Trader Joe’s. Skip what their directions tell you and pan fry them in olive oil, add some of their 4-green bag of vegetables, salt, pepper, drizzles of pesto and a sprinkle of parm. So freaking good and dinner on the table faster than you can order take out. 🤤
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Project: Reading Room Map Wall

April 26, 2012 · Narrative

map wall
It really all started with that map painting right in the center of the wall.

I bought it from Target years ago, when we were in our old house, and Madeline had just been born.

When we moved back into this house, Jamie, our old babysitter, hung it in the center of this wall.  I’ve stared at it every day for nearly three years since.

It was plain on that wall all by itself.

And lonely.

And needed more.

I knew that.

It just took me a long time to get ‘er done.

I wanted to create an entire wall around that map.

The kids love going on adventures.  That’s a given.  Love seeing where things are on the map.  Where people we love, live.  How far away xyz is.

Why not play that up?

Big time.

And so the idea of a whole map wall was born.

Over the last few months, I went about collecting more maps to fill up the space.

Two were from Amazon.

One was from Target for $5.00.

My parents dug out two super old ones.

And the rest (the top quarter of the wall to the ceiling) were from AAA.

One of the perks to AAA membership is free maps.

Oh yes, please.

The kids love the wall.

I love it.

And it’s finally another thing to cross off the giant I’ll-be-working-on-it-’till-I-die list of things to do.  Or, more specifically, my March 2012 goal list.

The room needs an area rug.

And I have two more things I want to do for on top of/and near the bookcase (details as soon as I finish them up).

And I think a grown-up chair is in order.

Because the room can currently seat a bajillion little people.

But no grown-ups, except for that long bench across the length of the map wall.

Which is not really conducive to reading.

But other than that, the reading room is done.

And we kind of love it.  The kids hang out there and read.  Do their homework.  Watch the world go by.  Or the world down our street anyway.

reading room - garland
The pom-pom garland I made awhile ago (details here).  I chose those colors to complement the maps.

reading room - wall hanging
This print was picked up by a co-worker for me.  She texted me one night while standing in HomeGoods.  “Although I’ve never been in your house, I think you need this.”  She was, of course, right.  It hangs near the front door, opposite of the print shown in this post.

reading room - current stack
Favorite books.

reading room - pen cups
Tins of pens and pencils.  Tubs of crayons and chalk.

An awesome creative space.

Perfection.

PS – Actually the map wall looked like this up until this afternoon.  I had showed my mom the completed picture, and she remarked that the bottom left map’s colors were a contrast to all the other maps and thought it would look better if it was a little more complementary.  I had one world map left, so when I got home, I did some rearranging, pulling down the original one in the bottom left, adding the world map to the middle, and pulling the original middle one down to the bottom.  Then after work, Mystic comes over and remarks that now the bottom left map and the bottom right map are the same (although one is laminated, one is not).  Of course he’s right too.  So I’m going to sit with it for a day or two and likely switch the order around again.

Source info: the hanging globes and lanterns come from Amazon and Pier 1:
Globe
Mini Lanterns
The larger lanterns were on clearance (under $2 each!) at Pier 1

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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Amazon, decorating, globes, lanterns, map wall, Pier 1, reading rom, Target

Comments

  1. patsy says

    April 26, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    I LOVE that room! The map wall is really wonderful, and a great way for them to dream about future adventures, too!

    Reply
  2. Joanne says

    April 27, 2012 at 6:29 am

    I love the way this room has turned out! Such a change from the first time I saw it, and definitely for the better!

    Reply
  3. Kalyn says

    April 27, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    I love the reading room!

    Reply
  4. Sarah Caron says

    April 27, 2012 at 12:16 pm

    Your reading room came out beautifully! It has an adventurous serenity to it.

    Reply
  5. Meg says

    April 27, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    What a lovely, cozy space! I would definitely need my own reading chair in there — love it. I’m obsessed with maps, too, and hope to have a bunch up on my walls someday!

    Reply

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Over the years, I have slowly made my way around o Over the years, I have slowly made my way around our house … decorating, renovating and reorganizing it into a soft place to land. The only part that I haven’t touched that much are our yards (except for a fire pit area that went in two years ago, thank you pandemic). I want our outside to be as much as a sanctuary as our inside is, so I plan to spend the next year digging in (no pun intended 😂). I don’t have a green thumb, so feel free to spam me with all your awesome, low maintenance ideas as we create a Japanese-style zen garden. 🤩 I also hate gardening, so there’s that, but am hoping that some #gardentherapy changes my mind as much as it changes the space.
✌🏻 ✌🏻
About last night … we spontaneously decided to m About last night … we spontaneously decided to make a @crumblcookies run at 8:30 and snagged a front seat to Mother Nature’s show. 😍
I took five books with me when we went on a little I took five books with me when we went on a little vacation in May, and got through two of them, one of which was The Magnolia Story. You are, no doubt, familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, but you might not know how they became so popular or how their business exploded. This book, told by both of them, shares their journey from their dating stages to just a few years ago. It’s quite amazing how their path unfolded, with the universe seemingly guiding them every single step of the way. Every time they hit a crossroads, they received clear signs to continue to point them in the right direction. It was interesting to learn more about their story, and a great reminder that you need to trust in yourself and follow your passions, and everything really does just fall into place. Chip has his own book out too, Capital Gaines, which I added to my list after I read this one. If you’re curious about their story or just need confirmation to continue to chase your dreams, read this one. ✨ #catesbookaweek 6/52

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Over the years, I have slowly made my way around o Over the years, I have slowly made my way around our house … decorating, renovating and reorganizing it into a soft place to land. The only part that I haven’t touched that much are our yards (except for a fire pit area that went in two years ago, thank you pandemic). I want our outside to be as much as a sanctuary as our inside is, so I plan to spend the next year digging in (no pun intended 😂). I don’t have a green thumb, so feel free to spam me with all your awesome, low maintenance ideas as we create a Japanese-style zen garden. 🤩 I also hate gardening, so there’s that, but am hoping that some #gardentherapy changes my mind as much as it changes the space.
✌🏻 ✌🏻
About last night … we spontaneously decided to m About last night … we spontaneously decided to make a @crumblcookies run at 8:30 and snagged a front seat to Mother Nature’s show. 😍
I took five books with me when we went on a little I took five books with me when we went on a little vacation in May, and got through two of them, one of which was The Magnolia Story. You are, no doubt, familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, but you might not know how they became so popular or how their business exploded. This book, told by both of them, shares their journey from their dating stages to just a few years ago. It’s quite amazing how their path unfolded, with the universe seemingly guiding them every single step of the way. Every time they hit a crossroads, they received clear signs to continue to point them in the right direction. It was interesting to learn more about their story, and a great reminder that you need to trust in yourself and follow your passions, and everything really does just fall into place. Chip has his own book out too, Capital Gaines, which I added to my list after I read this one. If you’re curious about their story or just need confirmation to continue to chase your dreams, read this one. ✨ #catesbookaweek 6/52
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the w “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl ✨
We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister an We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister and her family were away. She has settled into a new routine here (ours 😂), and now doesn’t get up until after 9 am, stays up until well past midnight, eats a very late dinner, knows that the kitchen is where the magic happens and sits for a treat after her morning backyard visit. We’ve broken her in nicely but she will be returning with her continued bad habit of suffering from #fomo, playing tag with the cats, and barking every time she hears a door open or sees someone go up the street. We did our best. 😇
The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Gar The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Garlic butter and bleu cheese butter from @njgarlic (the bleu on steak! 😍), empanadas from @catalina_empanadas_2017, half sour pickles from @pickleculture and the quiche and bread were from a vendor I forgot to get the name of. This was all from the @bernardsvillefarmersmarket. Today I hit the @denvillemarket and added full sour pickles from @pickle_licious and a roasted garlic and duck fat loaf and cheese biscuit from @bobolinkdairyandbakehouse. Basically give us all the bread, cheese, butter and pickles and we’re happy campers! Did you hit up a farmers market this weekend? What’d ya get?
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it is with the gnocchi from Trader Joe’s. Skip what their directions tell you and pan fry them in olive oil, add some of their 4-green bag of vegetables, salt, pepper, drizzles of pesto and a sprinkle of parm. So freaking good and dinner on the table faster than you can order take out. 🤤

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