World Traveler Coffee Table

I love to travel.  Do you? 

                                 I thought I would share my

                    world traveler coffee table with you today.  

I usually like to think about vacations to the beach in the summer months. I often like to express those thoughts by decorating my coffee table in my family room with shells, beach pictures and other beach-related items.  This year, I decided to try something a little different. I decided to use some things I have on hand to make what I'm calling a World Traveler Coffee Table.

I haven't painted my furniture, but I decided to lighten

 up the look of my coffee table by adding the linen

 table runner my grandmother made years ago. 

Here's a another view of the table runner.

  It adds a perfect lighter look to the coffee table.

Then I added to the table, this old globe that

 I can always remember being in our home.

  My mom said it is over fifty years old. 

I can remember that this dial on the top always fascinated

me when I was a little girl.  You could see where it was day

 and where is would be night just by the turn of your finger.

I found these vintage-style maps at a store recently.  I thought they might

look good on the table, too.  The magnifying glass came from

 the desk in my great-aunt's bedroom.  I don't know how

 old it is, but my aunt died in 2001 at the age of 100. 

The postcard is from a stack of vintage cards a friend gave

 me several years ago.  It is an old one of Panama City Beach, Florida.

Here are two vintage brochures from The Statue of Liberty

 and The Empire State Building.  I have visited both

 and was happy to find these at an estate sale several years ago. 

 The picture is my favorite one of my

daughter on the streets of New York City in 2011.

Now I have to show you this cute little table that I got for Mother's Day.

  I'd been looking for something like this and was delighted

when I found this on a shopping trip to Birmingham, Alabama. 

I love the distressed look and the yummy turquoise paint on the sides.

I was prowling around at my Mom's the other day, and we found

 this little book from Pompeii, Italy and several Italian coins. 

It brought back memories of a trip long ago that is still fondly remembered.

A piece of vintage sheet music completes the table top.

Here's a final look at my coffee table and the

 new look that I'm so enjoying this summer--Thank you, Blogland! 

What are you enjoying this summer? 

 The fresh fruit?  The sunny weather?  Photos from a recent trip?

I'd love to know what you are loving this summer!

Joining the party at:

Last Week, I Vacuumed a Typewriter

Blogging makes us want to try new things.  Like last week, I vacuumed a typewriter.
Yes, because of Blogland, I pulled this 1940 Underwood typewriter out of storage in our garage and I vacuumed it.

  I've seen a lot of typewriters in posts and I thought to myself.....

I have one of those in the garage. HUMMMM......

I decided to update the desk in our family room and

  used the typewriter as my starting point.

This is what my desk looked like before I started my project.

I took everything off the top of the desk and started over.

I borrowed this old wicker tray from my mom.  

It belonged to my great-grandmother.   

The other items are just things I already had in the house.

Here's a close-up of a picture that I already had on the desk. 

I decided it should stay because I haven't had it on the desk for very long.

I added the vintage bottle of ink that you can see on left corner below the picture frame.

Now the picture....this is a special picture. 

 It was made in 1962 of my great-aunt at the newspaper office in our town.

I think the picture looks great in the frame that looks like vintage newspaper type.

I can remember seeing type that looked like

 that in the newspaper office when I was a little girl.

Here's just the photo itself. 

If you look in the background to the right....do you see it?

YEP!  It's the desk!!!! 

The desk that is in my family room.

It used to be in the newspaper office years ago. 

 I can remember that it was dark and dirty

with ink when I was a girl.  But in the 70's (when I was a teen),
it was cleaned-up and refinished and it has been in

my home ever since.  And one  more thing

 about the desk....it used to belong to my great-uncle who

 was born in 1892 .  And, before that, the desk belonged to

HIS daddy and was in his law office...

so this desk is OLD!

Here's another shot of my changes.

I am enjoying the changes that I have made to the desk! 

And now I can say that I have vacuumed a typewriter!!

THANK you BLOGLAND!

Joining the party at:

Jam and Biscuits

My daughter and I made homemade blackberry jam last night.  For the last few days, I have been picking the wild blackberries in an area near our home.

Of course, there had to be some homemade biscuits to go along with that jam this morning.



Do you do any canning in the summer?  I'd love to hear your story!

Hoping that you each have a wonderful Friday.