Lone Girl at the Beach

I love this picture. Isn't she brave? Here I am at the beach, I'm the only girl in sight, and I'm going to stand up where everyone can see me, and have my picture taken. Maybe she is one of those girls who is totally comfortable with her body and it was no big deal. I am more of a board short and rash guard shirt girl myself, so when I see pictures of girls at the beach in their bikini's, I am often impressed by how brave they were to get their pictures taken. Captured on film FOREVER in their swimsuit! What if you were all bloated that day? It could haunt you forever. Alright, enough about my insecurities and back to our picture. She does seem to be the only girl in sight. I like to think that maybe her boyfriend wanted a picture of her to take off to college or war or something equally romantic and tragic. Or maybe she just lost 85 pounds and her friend took the picture to celebrate the skinny! Either way she looks fantastic, and I have totally seen that style of swim suit on people recently. Some styles just keep coming back. Sadly, some never go away. Just like the guy with the speedo in the background on the right. Seriously guys, unless you're an Olympic swimmer, please don't do the speedo thing. Please.

Happy New Year

The front of this postcard actually translates as Welcome New Year. At first glance I thought this was a such a cute little card, nice little cherub out in the snow wishing us a happy new year. Then I noticed our little anatomically correct friend is seriously lacking in the clothes department and it's freezing outside! The artist wants to make sure we know exactly how cold it is by showing us the frozen water in the pipe, and for the slower thinkers, even gave us a thermometer showing the frigid temperatures. Nice. I'm seeing some little wings so I am convincing myself that angelic naked kids can't actually feel the cold. Still, I think the artist has some explaining to do. I'm sure there are thematic elements I am totally missing. I hope. As you can see, our post card is from 1936 and mailed right in the nick of time, December 30th. The handwriting is beautiful and the lines are almost too straight to believe. The writing is so thin, I have to believe it was done with something other than your average pen.

Two of Hearts

A fairly decent sized book mark. 7 inches tall by almost 4 inches wide, this baby is not getting lost in a book. And with these bright colors, you will never lose your place. The funny thing about this book mark is that it looks like someone took a marker and painted in the red hearts and then stitched with brown thread around them. I was expecting the red heart to be a part of the fabric itself. I guess plain old orange was not going to do it. I must say, I do like hearts, they give our pumpkin color cloth a bit of character. I'm so glad people used book marks. I never find folded down corners in my Book Decor books. That must be a more recent trend. I am guilty of it myself. Only in books that are actually mine, not borrowed. And never hard cover, only paperback. Wow, I didn't realize I had rules about when I bend my pages.

Elderflower Drink

An Elderflower drink recipe! I had no idea this drink even existed, and there are apparently several variations. You can have an Elderflower Cordial, Elderflower Soda, Elderflower Liqueur, and even an Elderflower Cocktail. Mixed, shaken, or stirred. This drink can please anyone and everyone. It sounds like a bit of work to make this drink, it has to simmer for days. I'm more of an instant gratification kind of a person myself. Luckily, you can purchase this drink already made. I'm officially on the look out. If anyone knows of a good place in San Diego for me to get a really good Elderflower drink, let me know!

The Salt Sea Baths

This beautiful place is located in Sweden on the coast of the Baltic Sea. And this postcard seems to be quite old. If I am reading our stamps correctly, it looks like 1921. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked up some images of this city now and it looks amazing. Very beautiful. Back to the post card, can't make heads or tails of the writing, of course, but I do love the stamps. The man on the stamp is Gustaf V, the king of Sweden from 1907 to 1950. He holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden and the second-longest reigning. Who knew! Well, I guess Swedish people knew. My grandfather was Swedish, wouldn't he be happy to know I'm learning something about the place he came from.

Feeling Lucky?

A four leaf clover! As you can see, this is very fragile. Good luck often is, I think. I'm not sure I have ever actually seen a four leaf clover. I've looked for them, as a child, but every time I thought I had found one, it turned out to be a three leaf clover that had a torn leaf. Maybe they are actually fairly common and I am a poor seeker. Someone thought it was rare enough of a find to keep and place inside of a book, and I a grateful. Now I can say I have actually seen one. And perhaps, it will bring me a bit of luck.

Drinks in Hamburg

What you are looking at is the front and back of a very old picture. It's interesting, it looks as though who ever owned this picture wanted to erase the name of who was in it or eliminate something to do with the photo. Or, perhaps it was mislabeled in the first place. I like the idea that they tried to erase it better. It makes it seem a bit more mysterious that way. A secret meeting, or a jilted lover! Oh, that would be exciting. If that is our date on the front corner, 1929, then this is a decently old photo. It almost looks staged except that our table has far too many glasses on it. I like the platters, they look silver, not your basic china. Some sort of swanky restaurant I would guess. The meal is finished, they have had their brandy and are now enjoying good conversation and cigars. Yes, right after they had a secret meeting with an old lover! Alright, I read too many books or watch too many movies. But it's still better my way.