Monday, November 9, marks the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To commemorate the event, Flickr has created the group “Experience History: Berlin 1961-1989.” Anyone with photographs of the city, taken during those 28 years when the Wall rose along the border between the east and west sectors of Berlin, is invited to upload them to Flickr’s “virtual history book.” Even if you don’t have any pics, it’s still an amazing experience to look through this collection. This city and its incredible history will never cease to fascinate me.

{Image by LimitedExpress}

Remember Jenna & Christopher’s wedding from a few months ago? They had the brilliant idea of setting up a do-it-yourself photo booth. I love those! Jenna bought a three-yard length of fabric at IKEA, hung it from a big frame, attached her point and shoot digital camera to a tripod, set it on the 5-second self-timer mode, and voila – she now has a super fun set of pictures of her friends and family acting cute, funny, silly, and crazy. Doesn’t it look like they’re having a blast?

A Victorian Gentleman Mask

Want to be a “Victorian Gentleman” for Halloween? Stop by Futopia’s stall at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene tomorrow, Saturday, October 31 to pick up a reproduction vintage paper mask.

Gosh, has it really been two weeks since I last posted? It has hasn’t it. There I go again disappearing without a trace. Well I’m awfully sorry for the big gap in posts, and I really appreciate that you’re still here. To thank you for staying around, I thought I’d share a few photos of our new apartment in Berkeley, California. The one above is of Ram’s piano.

Here’s his work area. We got the desk and chair at a fantastic place called Urban Ore. We didn’t have a car then, and had to roll them along the sidewalk for about a mile.

This the kitchen, featuring a fabulous mid-century Danish dining room table we found on Craig’s List, and a credenza we picked up for 30 bucks at the Salvation Army in Minneapolis.

The bathroom got super cute when I added that $3 area rug from IKEA. But still… no bathtub.

And finally, my favorite room in the house, our lovely bedroom. This room incorporates elements of our old design style from New York and Berlin. A little more French farmhouse and less California modern, which you can see aspects of in the rest of the apartment. That big mirror, which Ram’s grandmother left outside to weather for a few years, thankfully survived the cross country road trip. It’s one of our most prized possessions. And that smaller one above my bureau I call my “mini Paris fleamarket” because it kind of resembles the big ones Ram’s mother got at the actual Paris Fleamarket. It’s surrounded by my collection of miniature landscapes and Madonna and Child images.

Hope you enjoyed this peek into our new home!

I’m in New York City and it’s wonderful! The air is cool and crisp and smells like fall!

The Coronation of Napoleon

I wasn’t feeling very well last week and I couldn’t bring myself to open up my computer. So I decided to spend my time on a jigsaw puzzle. I was so happy to find one of the “Coronation of Napoleon,” an 1807 painting by Napoleon’s official painter Jacques-Louis David. I became infatuated with all things Napoleon and Josephine after reading Sandra Gulland’s historical fiction trilogy that begins with The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. So good. I just finished David McCullough’s 1776, a fascinating look at one monumental year in American history. Did you know that the Revolutionary War actually dragged on until 1783? So today I went to the library to find something new but it was closed for Indigenous People’s Day (formerly known as Columbus Day). I didn’t have anything in mind, was just going to browse the shelves, but perhaps you have something you could recommend?

The Cocker Hotel, Buenos Aires

Surrounded by garden terraces, this gorgeous townhouse hotel is exquisitely stylish. It’s situated in the lively San Telmo district of Buenos Aires, and with suites starting at just $80, this dream might one day be a reality.

The Cocker
458 Juan de Garay
Buenos Aires, Argentina
http://www.thecocker.com/

{Go to Dream Trip #12: Kayumanis Ubud, Bali}

San Francisco Map/Gift Wrap

My mom is an enterprising lady. Recently, she opened a shop on Etsy where you can buy sheets of gift wrap depicting intriguing images. Some of them feature reproduction vintage maps of cities like Paris and New York, while others depict natural history charts of butterflies, selections of fine cheeses, and assortments of “Sweet Treats.”

She gave us this map of San Francisco when we moved out to the Bay area in August. It dates from 1909, just three years after the devastating earthquake of 1906

See her collection at Futopiaco on Etsy.com. They can be easily framed and look great dry mounted!

I’m about to head over to the opening of the inaugural exhibition of a brand new digital arts space in San Francisco called GAFFTA. The exhibition is appropriately titled “Open,” and features the works of C.E.B. Reas (pictured), Camille Utterback and Stamen Design. If you’re in the area, you should go too.

This afternoon I took a detour to the grocery store in the hopes that I would discover some more of my neighborhood’s many secrets, when I was struck by the sight of a beautiful bride. How delighted I was to find the studio of photographer Julie Mikos not far from where I live in Berkeley, California. Her gorgeous wedding portfolios tell an enchanting story of a very special day. See more breathtaking weddings on her website and blog.

{Image courtesy of juliemikos.com}

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