Kate Spade said playing dress up begins at age five and never truly ends. True, right?! I love pretty clothes...especially those with a tribal flair. Let this little girl dress up in colorful kaftans, cholis and kimonos. 

This wasn't a typical trip for us. No hostels. No street markets. No chai wallahs. Don't worry, gypsies! Tradition wasn't totally thrown out the window. We managed to keep excessive booze, food and dancing in the mix. 
Vegas in your future? Here are 7 suggestions on where to savor your vices:

In my past life I was a flagrant minimalist. I'm sure of it.
And now, I'm somehow atoning for the past by hoarding every shiny bobble that crosses my path.

If you read my blog, you know my design mantra as of late is a mix of severe editing + unique displays of my travel tchotchke collection. It's no easy feat! 

But I'm loving how these fellow collectors have managed to incorporate two of my favorite things— Antique Furniture and Vintage Textiles— into stunning displays.  Let's break it down:

1. Armoires

I have a few quilts and weavings from my travels and, unfortunately, they're all hidden away in storage.  One day I'll get those bad boys on display in my house. Personally, armoires are my favorite way to display vintage textiles. Vintage Textiles = Delicate. With an armoire, you can throw open the doors and showcase your stash...without worrying about damaging the fibers via sunlight or messy fingers.

2. Walls

1. Purchase or create (like I attempted to do in our old condo!) a display frame or splurge on custom framing.
2. Hang your piece from a curtain rod (or just a bamboo stick) via foam-padded clips.

3. Chairs

Yes, I know I sound batty— but chairs are perfect display pieces! Of course, I don't know how realistic they are in this capacity if you have any of the following:

1. A small house
2. Children
3. A husband who complains about non-functional pieces of furniture that are purely artistic.

However, if you are lucky enough to live alone or have perfect children or a husband who doesn't question your design choices.... then I wouldn't be hesitant in the least to incorporate an unusual or antique chair for displaying sequined saris, kantha quilts or your favorite Andean weaving.

Hope you enjoyed the roundup! I'm always on the prowl for new/interesting/fun ways to display my finds...check out my Boho Living board on Pinterest for more ideas!

How do you display your precious vintage pieces? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

I'm a budget traveler by necessity, not by choice. However much I'd love to send home containers full of textiles and antiques, we seem to return with a single pocket of treasures: matchbooks, coins, bus tickets, bar coasters and hand-written receipts.

It's certainly sweet....but our home is quickly resembling a den of thieves.



One tchotchke that could use some editing is my overflowing coin collection. Inspired by this tutorial by whatiwore, I've been scheming up a charm bracelet DIY. But since I don't have access to a drill press, I decided to get creative with my more affordable (and apartment-friendly) rotary tool.

#1 - Clean and Buff Your Coins
First, clean those coins! I researched a slew of different ways to clean coins. In the end, I followed this awesome little tutorial. You’ll notice that my coins lack the mirror-like finish found in this tute’s video-- I simply subbed Brasso for Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish.


#2 - Get Drilling


 You'll need:

• Safety Goggles
• Rotary Tool (like a Dremel, or in my case, a look-a-like from Harbor Freight)
• Spring Clamp
• Scrap Wood
• Drill Bits (I used the skinny bits which were packaged with my rotary tool)
• Glass of Water (to cool off the coins)

So to begin, I pretty much just clamped the coin to a piece of scrap wood, popped on my goggles and dove in.

The key for me was to apply gentle, but firm pressure to the coin while drilling. Since the drill bit was so thin, I had to be patient or else jeopardize breaking the bit. Each coin took me about 10 minutes of on-off again drilling.

Caution!! Your rotary tool will make the coin very hot-- be careful! Stop drilling every 20-30 seconds to cool off the metal with water and ensure you’re not melting the plastic spring clamp. Trust me on this one.


#3 - Assemble Your Bracelet


You'll need:

• Jump Rings (I used 10mm )
• Needle Nose Pliers
• Chain bracelet (I bought mine from Forever21-keeping this DIY under $5 total!)

For anyone who isn't used to opening jump rings, let me warn you, you need two pliers: one to stabilize/hold the ring, the other to open the ring. And remember-- since I used a tiny drill bit, I selected my jump rings based on the final size of my hole.

And voila!


I think I'll add three or four more coins to the bracelet-- it's still a little sparse for my tastes. But overall I'm pretty happy with the results! And the best part? These travel tchotchkes move off the cluttered shelf and become a daily reminder of our favorite treks.

Believe it or not, he bought the lamps sans shades and discovered the fringed, red velvet ones on a separate shopping trip. Yep, I married a shopper. Pros: Just drop him off at the combo TJ Maxx/Home Goods and he’s entertained for hours. Cons: Actually....no cons whatsoever.

For years, lamp and shade worked perfectly together--- but lately everything in my apartment seems so red/orange/brown. 

Yuck! Looks awful.
Honestly, this console hasn't changed since we moved in.
It's a catchall for random objects and iced tea glasses.

So I went shopping...
And had the darndest time finding new shades to do this pair justice.
A modern, Target drum shade wasn’t doing the trick.
So when I ran across a pair of cream, plain vintage shades for only $.99 at the thrift store, I figured it’s now or never.

Ta da!!



The lampshades were originally a horrible cream color. And since I wanted to drastically brighten up the room, I decided to paint black and white circus stripes.

Here's how I did it.




The shade's interior gave off quite a yellow hue-- which felt dark and dirty. 
Priority #1 was getting a bright glow. 
So I lightly watered down some Behr primer before brushing about 6 coats on the interior and exterior.

After all was dry, I measured and taped off the stripes.
Ok, let's be honest, I didn't spend that much time measuring.

I suppose if you wanted to get the job done right, you would measure the circumference and divide it by pi or something. But I'm an impatient crafter, so it seems.



Then I added some fringe. Originally I was going to do black ball fringe, but it really made my guys look straight out of crazy town. So I used a simple black braided trim (and some chip clips!) which worked fine.
I’m really happy how these turned out!
The colors tie our random furniture together and keep the room from looking so heavy.



Will I keep these shades forever? Nah.
But they’ll tie me over until I get lucky at HomeGoods.

2012 was the cocoon. 2013 is the butterfly.

Hola gypsies! Hope your 2012 was fabulous. 

I must admit, my break from the social networking world was worthwhile. Although to be honest, I snuck in more Pinterest than I care to admit. Pinning aside, not only was I oblivious to the internet (opa gangman, wha-what?),  we also returned to real-life in the States, moved cross-country from NYC to Denver/Boulder-area and made some major career moves. 

Since my husband works in downtown Denver, and I work in Boulder, we live in between the two cities. And although my commute bites, the view is incredible. Every day = Snow Capped Mountains. Did you know that Denver has 300 days of sun a year (that’s more sun than San Diego!)? Plus Boulder is a super cute college town. Great restaurants, awesome community + lots of free yoga.

3. Silver + Gold: Friends, Family and Community.
A year of living out of a suitcase has taught me much. Most important? Being home equals time with my husband…. And we like our home best when filled with friends.  

So one of my 2012 goals was to reconnect with friends here in the Denver area. Although I’m not from Colorado, it seems like a slew of peeps have moved out here. It’s made the transition from NYC incredibly worthwhile. Honestly, it’s tough to give up the adventure of Soho and The West Village. But I’d rather be rekindling friendship at a suburban Starbucks than alone at the Gansevoort pool lounge. Jah feel?

4. Pilgrimage + The Art of Travel: Lose the Travel-Snob Mentality Already!
My favorite sound in the world is that of a customs official’s stamp slapping my passport. I love international travel and -- yes -- I have completely failed to curb my travel snob inclinations.

But here’s what 2012 taught me: The art of travel begins with your own pilgrimage. Travel begins (and ends) internally. There's necessary time involved to prep for any journey…and to process it. So this year has been one of reflection and appreciation. Reflecting my past trips and appreciating my current pilgrimage.

And we didn’t get to travel internationally in 2012. No big deal.

Instead, we spent our time exploring Colorado --- We climbed Pikes Peak, drank fresh mineral water in Manitou Springs, hiked Estes Park, tromped through Aspen and can now spot the difference between a deer and an elk. I even made a quick trip down to Santa Fe, NM (such a gorgeous little town!).  So…I might never get the same excitement over a trip to Wyoming as I would Rome; but I’m slowly learning to appreciate both journeys equally.
 

2012 was the cocoon-- change, adjustment and overall adapting.
2013 is the butterfly-- get my butt moving again. Join life.


xoxojess