blog love: a cup of jo (and organized photography)

Coming home from vacation I am overwhelmed by all the wonderful things to catch up on in the blogosphere!  One of my all-time favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo, written by Joanna Goddard had quite a few new posts that I like so much I felt an urgent need to share them here.  First up, this one about Swiss artist Ursus Wehrli's new book, The Art of Clean Up.  It features everyday scenes organized into neat rows.  Obviously, I am obsessed.

How amazing are these images?! And how time consuming? Just look at all of those alphabet noodles.  This definitely speaks to my obsessive need to organize and make lists.  Also, at first I thought I was really smart and had picked up on a mistake in the picture of the bowl with the fruit.  The bowl in the first picture has polka dots, whereas the turned over one does not.  Then I realized, the dots are in a line too! Love it. Thanks, Joanna, for sharing!

copenhagen sights

Throughout our trip we were oddly blessed through bad weather.  I know that doesn't really make sense, but the weather was not great.  It rained every day except for the last two.  But somehow the rain seemed to let up most times we were outside.  Quite convenient.  I'm not sure what we did to please the travel weather gods, but they were certainly smiling down upon us.

The point of me sharing this with you is to explain why I didn't take pictures of all of the sites we saw.  Some days, when the weather looked especially threatening, I left my camera in the apartment.  However, here are a few shots of sites we saw when I did have my camera.

My favorite section of Stroget, the pedestrian shopping street, which was constantly packed with tourists.  This block featured the Royal Copenhagen, Georg Jensen and Illums Bolighus stores -- all spots made for interior decor dreams. 

Nyhavn.  This is the most famous and most photographed harbor in Copenhagen.  And for good reason! Isn't it gorgeous? Of course, with such beauty comes lots of crowds, but it was still fun to stroll along.  If only the weather had been better!

The elusive Little Mermaid, based on the H.C. Andersen tale.  In Copenhagen they almost never write out Hans Christian Andersen.  It's always H.C., even on his grave, which we also visited.  Last year, much to the chagrin of many tourists, she traveled the world.  Luckily for us, the timing was right and we got to see her on her home perch.  So did a lot of other people...

I think this shot confirms my fears that the Little Mermaid would be about as exciting as the Mona Lisa: a small piece of art that is really famous for some reason beyond my comprehension and constantly surrounded by a gazillion tourists with cameras.  The walk out there was quite nice and it was worth the experience anyway. 

A rare glimpse of blue skies at the Botanical Gardens.

A view from the ferris wheel in Tivoli Gardens - the in-city amusement park that is quite kitsch-y, but also really cute and fun.  There seemed to be tons of Danish people here for entertainment.  And it definitely felt like how you would imagine a European amusement park to feel - not like Six Flags or Disney.

Another view from the ferris wheel.  That swing ride looked exhilarating/terrifying.  Needless to say, we didn't give it a try. 

So there you have a few of the big sites of Copenhagen.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to snap pictures of the palaces or some of the museums we visited.  But I do have a few more photos in queue to share with you soon.

copenhagen living

It's no secret that I love Scandinavian design.  A large part of our trip revolved around me drooling over interior design both in stores and in the places we stayed.  We used the wonderful site airbnb.com to rent entire apartments for our stays in Copenhagen and Stockholm.  This afforded us much more space than a hotel at a fraction of the price! Plus it gave me a first-hand peek into real Scandinavian homes. Who needs room service anyway?

It seems that no windowsill in Sweden or Copenhagen is left bare.  I was constantly finding windows with treasured trinkets on display.  The apartment we rented in Copenhagen was no exception to this rule.

The bathroom light fixture and window.  Did I mention the tile floors in the bathroom were heated? Flossing would never be a chore if I lived here - any excuse to keep my feet on those warm tiles for just a bit longer!

Another Scandinavian love: gorgeous toys.  In America we seem to be overrun with plastic junk.  Scandinavian toys are gorgeous, functional, and generally made from wood.  Take that Polly Pocket.

Beautiful colors and sunlight.  The M & M on the back wall is for the couple who own the apartment.  Also, do you see the light fixture on the wall?  Superb.

Okay, perhaps I am being blinded by my love of Scandinavia, but even the simplest things seemed to be more gorgeous there.  Like these garlic cloves and hot peppers.  Love is blind? What does that even mean?  I'm after the concept of beer goggles, except minus that whole drunk bit.

A drawer filled with beautiful plates, bowls and wooden slabs.  I'm not sure what those are supposed to be used for - individual bread boards? Tiny cutting boards? (Just kidding...I think.)  I would use them at a party with breads and cheeses.  Maybe you could use it instead of an hors-d'oeuvres plate.  Regardless of how you're supposed to use them, I think they're versatile and gorgeously rustic and I wish I had some of my own.

My bedroom.  Well it isn't really mine. Obviously it belongs to M&M's kid.  But I loved borrowing it for a few days!  The bookshelf appears to float on the wall.  There was also an antique wooden crate that "floated" over my bed- the perfect alternative to a night stand. Although I must admit I was afraid that if I sat up quickly in the night, I would bonk my head on it. 

These photos are all from our apartment in Copenhagen.  If you're heading there and would like to rent it, I would be happy to show you how to find it online.

first of september: green goal

photo by Jean-Marc Wullschlege  via

Coming on the heels of a post about fall temperatures, this green goal is especially difficult for me to face. I need to start taking colder showers. Ugh, I cringe just thinking about it.  I happen to l-o-v-e taking absurdly (think near-scalding) hot showers.  But I know that it is neither good for my skin, nor the environment.

home and calypso st. barth

We're back!  The trip was great!  I haven't had the chance to upload photos yet.  But I promise I will soon.  In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite looks from the Calypso St. Barth September 2011 lookbook.

The temperatures have cooled down in Kansas City, which is making me feel very excited about all things autumnal.  I am actually chilly and wearing socks right now!  While unpacking, I am working on switching summer and winter clothing in my closet (a little anyway - I'm sure a few hot days are still waiting for us) and these looks were just what I needed for fall clothing inspiration!