The Lure Of Far Off Lands

Given the opportunity, there is no country on earth I would not visit. I dearly love to travel, and while I have been fortunate enough to go to a few countries, I am not done. Probably because of this, I have always been fascinated with things that come from far off, exotic locales. For some reason things from other countries seem so much more interesting. Even mundane things like t-shirts and jeans are better from abroad. I wonder if people in those countries feel that way about what we take for granted in the US?

Yesterday however, I only traveled as far as Denver. I still came away with several little treasures that flew from worlds away to find their way into my shopping bags...or gave the illusion they did.

I found a lovely English floral tea towel appliqued with birds and trimmed with green pom poms, to use as a new tank cover in my powder room. Now I am sure you might be confused by that, so let me explain. I have never cared for those rug like tank covers. Somewhere along the line I used two vintage tea towels. I drape one down the front vertically, and fold another to put across the top of the tank horizontally. I am proud to say I have inspired several of my friends to do the same.

Next I found a french necklace that was long, had a vintage skeleton key, a small octagonal chandelier crystal and a bejeweled ball charm. I also found a delicate hairband imported from India that looks quite Edwardian, and a plaid scarf.

I got some utterly heavenly solid perfume in little pot from a company called Tokyo Milk. The scent is Lotus Sake, and it has a white grapefruit base, (I always gravitate towards grapefruit based perfumes) combined with lotus, basil, mango, orange blossom, and sycamore fruit. It's a very light, delicate scent and it's so wonderful that I can't stop sniffing my wrist just so I can drink it in. It came in a darling box that had the most adorable miniature note cards. It's very Japanese in nature...they love to give you that little something extra with every purchase. The thing is, it's not really from Japan. In fact it's from a Denver artist who specializes in art and soap. It doesn't matter though, because it elicits memories of my trip to Tokyo. I just wish that particular scent came in a spray. She has others that do, but sadly not that one.

I got some cute Christmas ornaments from Crate & Barrel, some exquisite green velvet ribbon to use on bears, and a present for R. (I can't tell you what that was just in case he decides to read my blog, which he rarely does...still though, I would rather not take the chance so he will be surprised!)

But the best treasure I came home with yesterday was a Danish magazine called Jeanne d' Arc Living. The pictures are so lush that I sat and looked through it twice in my comfy chair with my quilt this morning. There are decorating ideas and recipes. The "Snappy Onion Pie" recipe caught my attention in particular. While the decorating style could be considered spartan compared to what many Americans have, the aesthetic was amazing and I could happily move right into several of the living spaces featured. I think I need one more peek before I go back to bed!

Topping it all off like a cherry, was having fun and lots of chatter with my friend Carol. We had lunch and looked at all the beautiful things the stores had to offer. It was a great day out, and I needed a little get away, even if I only traveled an hour away.