Bella Roma

Roman letters dated from the 1800's for less than a euro......was it a dream?

Yes, I am back from my latest travels and heck no, I don't want to be....but I am busy looking at my hundreds of photos, putting the finishing touches on my travel journal, printing out the zines I made while traveling and looking at my beautiful flea market ephemera.
Want to come over and hang out with me?

My wonderful husband found flea markets in all three countries and I scored! I owe him big time, especially for all the time he spend going through boxes of paper looking for things I would like...

I enjoyed seeing all the mail boxes around town too. The ones in Rome are usually covered in graffiti.

When I wasn't looking in boxes of ephemera I was looking UP a lot. Those ceilings! I really want some angels and saints painted on my ceilings here at home.

Just looking at all the beauty in the small details was so inspiring. In Rome, beauty is everywhere you look.

It is so inspiring. I came home filled with ideas of things to make...

We had cake just about every afternoon. We needed it to keep our energy up, don't you think? When in Rome.....

There is also a daily stamp market in Rome (with prints and books as well). So civilized ...I wonder why we don't have things like this in the USA?

I've got lots of collage materials to keep me busy till my next trip...

And, aren't these little tin boxes perfect for storing stamps? Italian stamps I'd say.

I have LOTS more to show you of you are interested so let me know in the comments. There is still Berlin and Strasbourg and the travel journal and zines -- but I don't know if you want to see it if you don't tell me.
Now, I think I will go and play with paper.

Swan Boats & Lobsters & Postcards...Oh My!

I'm back home and I'm not that happy about it.
We sure packed a lot of fun into ten days. So much fun that the ephemera just mostly got stashed in the pages of my travel journal loosely....

But -- that's ok because I have already finished a lot of the glueing and pasting since getting home on Tuesday night. It is fun re-living my trip.

But, looking at everything is making me wish I could turn around and fly back...

Boston was really fun, even though it rained on me. Last time it snowed so rain is better...

I scored some vintage ephemera to stash inside my journal too. What would she think of all this?
I wonder.

I think Boston has some of the best postcards I've seen...I love the airmail envelope theme they've got going on...I wish all cities had such cool postcards.

In case you're wondering, the big newsstand in Harvard Square (Cambridge) had them all.

The Boston Tea Party?

Bring on the Tea Party stamps!

The rain stopped and we had a wonderful walk around the Boston Garden. I always say hello to George Washington when I am in town.
My husband refused to go on a swan boat ride with me though....

We spent the rainy day at the Gardner Museum -- a favorite. 

I recommend a visit if you visit Boston....it is near the Museum of Art so you can hit both of them on the same day. Especially if it's raining. Or, snowing. I've been there for both...

These are not San Francisco restaurants.
If you visit, I like Legal Seafoods and Atlantic Fish.

Lobster!!!!!!!
Enough said.

I wanted to cram everything in one post but it would be too long so stay tuned for for Richmond/Petersburg party of the trip next.
And, my travel journal is really rolling along so if you want to see that, raise a hand! Or, a lobster claw.

Real life. 
I prefer vacation.

What has everyone been doing while I've been gone?
SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

I'm Going Dotty

Hello everyone!
OK, someone on Instagram started doing this and then I started doing this.
Monkey See, monkey do.
But it really is cheap entertainment.

And FUN!!!!

So here's what you do......get out some Staz-On ink pads and some markers...

Go to the Dollar Tree if you live in the USA and get a whole bunch of little packets of DOTS.
Or, have your lovely and generous friend and a new mama to Cora, Jessica send you a bunch of them.....(thanks Jessica!)

Get out some rubber stamps.....
I know you're going to ask.....so these are from Casey's in NYC and yes they do mail order. And they only charge $4 to ship and no, Casey's isn't giving me anything but I wish they would...

I even like the out-takes.
The only tricky part (at least for me) was getting the paper surrounding the DOTS off the sheets. I found if I took one dot off I could easily peel off the sheets and then put the dot back on...if that makes sense...

So, besides making about a million DOTS I am packing my mail art  and collage kit up and taking it on the road.
I love that.

I've already put one page in the travel journal and yes, I most certainly do need a vacation.
And I need lobster.
Boston here I come. Just please please don't snow.

I am gathering up ephemera and sticking it inside my travel moleskin.....collaging will be happening...

I wonder if I will see Denise?

Moleskin and address book -- check! Maybe I should bring some DOTS.

A MYSTERY
I put this on Instagram and I've got a whole bunch of cool people trying to figure this out....and so far, no one has..
I found a secret message under a stamp on a very old postcard (not dated). I think the postmark is Vienna.
Was it a secret message during the war? Or a message between lovers?

This is very old German script and no longer used -- and it is TINY. It was under a stamp after all.
The IG crowd hasn't solved it -- how about you????
Can anybody read this?
Because I sure would like to know....

And, another mystery, does anyone know what happened to LIMNER? Her blog
Oh! Write Me has been taken down and she just disappeared. I am worried.

OK, so get going on those dots. And help me out with the mysteries. And have a GOOD MAIL DAY! And leave me a comment, please -- I miss you.
SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

Start and End with a Post Box

I've been editing my travel photos and adding them to my my travel journal so I thought you might like to come along with me......

Every day starts off with coffee.....I had an espresso and an Americano.....need a lot of energy to walk all day long..

The Flea Market in Lisbon -- artist selling hand painted postcards....

What a fun idea -- and she was doing a brisk business....

Coffee Break
I have never met a Pastis de Nata I haven't liked....(and check out that tile floor too).

When you're out and about in Lisbon be sure to look down -- the sidewalks are all amazing and made with beautiful tiles....

You never know what you might find around the corner....this street had a pop-up outdoor book sale...
And I found an amazing bookstore with beautiful old books and ephemera that deserves it's own post...

If I see a PO Box I will stop.

Touristy shopping is always fun...
you could buy sardines -- or you could buy chocolate sardines....

San Francisco has a lot of food trucks....but a cocktail truck? The alcohol flows very freely in Lisbon...

Gin & Tonic is a favorite there. I saw them at lunch spots and at dinner -- 4 euros.
I finally had to give in....

Love those big red PO Boxes....

Thanks for coming on a little Lisbon walk with me. Now, I think I will get back to working on finishing my travel journal up...