Why the Newspaper Kiosks in Paris are so Important

Paris’ 150 year-old newspaper kiosk could be considered one of the most “charming” little features of its urban landscape. A nostalgic reminder of simpler and more romantic times, largely unchanged over the years since they first appeared in 1857 during Baron Haussmann’s renovation of Paris. Just like London’s iconic red telephone booth, the Parisian kiosk…

The Night They Closed the Waldorf-Astoria

Last Wednesday saw one of New York’s oldest and perhaps its grandest of hotels, close its doors for the last time. The Waldorf Astoria had been an icon of old Manhattan glamour since it opened in 1931 as the largest, most spectacular hotel in the world. As opulent as it was luxurious, the Waldorf Astoria…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCXXV)

1. The Abbey Road Recording Console used by Pink Floyd is For Sale An Abbey Road Studios EMI TG12345 MK IV recording console used between 1971-1983, housed in Studio 2, the console which Pink Floyd used to record their landmark album, The Dark Side of the Moon. Also used by many other artists including: Paul…

Show and Tell: My Vintage Swiss Family Robinson

Today I’d like to share with you one of my most prized acquisitions of late. I was recently frolicking around the English countryside when I stumbled upon a rare books shop in the antiques town of Stow-on-the-Wold. I saw it straight away, staring at me in the shop window and I knew it had to be…

What Would You Order for Your Last Meal?

The last meals of death row inmates might not exactly be lightest material I could have chosen for you today, but I did find this terribly fascinating. Self-taught photographer Henry Hargreaves is from New Zealand where state sponsored death “is just not even in the conversation. It is a remnant of an earlier era,” he says.…

Disney’s Bizarre Sports Resort is Actually an Instagram Dream

This is going to be a quick one because I don’t want to sound like I sit around all day thinking about what would make the perfect instagram (although you’re welcome to like any of my posts here, of course), but I just had to share with you a most unexpected discovery. I was getting my daily…

The Village Invaded by Flowers

The small Polish village of Zalipie might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but to me, it has the cobalt-blues of Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul, the charm of European gypsy folklore and the hopeful promise of Spring… After the atrocities of World War II, the Polish people were in need of hope. In the years that followed,…

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A Cozy Weekend Guide to the Cotswolds

On a whim, as weekends are best planned, we hopped over the English channel to conquer the Cotwolds (and as many pubs as we could possibly fit inside of 48 hours). All winter, I’ve been longing to revisit the English countryside, tuck into a Beef Wellington with a pint of ale beside the roaring fireplace of a…

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The Coziest Bus Stop in Britain, Made by a Mystery Guerrilla Homemaker

For the residents of a small village in Dartmoor, England, the universally-dreaded morning commute to work is now very much something to look forward to. Last summer, the village of Walkhampton woke up to find their grim and graffiti-covered bus stop had been transformed into a welcoming living room, complete with an armchair, pillows, framed pictures, potted…

Swimming with Ghosts at the Spectacular Sutro Baths

Water parks used to be a lot different before the days of chlorine pools, lifeguards, and road trips. Take, for example, San Francisco’s Sutro Baths… The Sutro Baths were built in Lands End in 1894 by wealthy San Franciscan Adolph Sutro, a German immigrant who had made a fortune by figuring out how to drain and…