Encyclopedia Britannica

Many, many moons ago, the internet didn't exist.

And, because of that, there was no such thing as Google.

I know!

It's hard to remember, right?

For you youngsters out there, it probably sounds like the dark ages.

But, I promise it wasn't that scary.

If you needed to look up the meaning of a word, you used something called a dictionary.

I've discussed this before.

But, if you needed to look up something, like say... the history of France, you had to use something called an Encyclopedia.

en·cy·clo·pe·di·a

inˌsīkləˈpēdēə,enˌsīkləˈpēdēə/

noun

1. a book or set of books giving information on many subjects or on many aspects of one subject and typically arranged alphabetically.

The most well known, as far as I know, was the Encyclopedia Britannica.

I grew up with a set, as did many generations before me.

In fact, it's been around since the 1700s.

Sadly, the last set was printed in 2010.

In all, there were 15 editions.

I have wanted my own set for years, since the 1970s set I grew up with got tossed out with the invention of Google search.

I'm not saying who tossed it, but you know it wasn't me.

Anyway, there was a set of 1926, 13th Edition, Encyclopedia Britannica on Craiglist.

Not only was it a full set, but it also came with it's own cabinet.

Can you believe it?!

I was so excited I could barely contain myself!

The insides are still perfect.

But since the books have suede covers and they aren't in the best condition, we had to be pretty careful putting them in the cabinet.

And now it's living in my den and I'm in love :)

In other news...

I went digging again and I found my first two bottles!

Here's one:

 and here's the other one:

Fabulous, right?

As I find more, I'll add those too :)

Every time I look at it, I smile.

And it makes me happy :)

xo

rue

Guests and Fish

When I posted my kitchen, I promised I would share the guest room/den, but someone was actually staying over at my house at the time, so I couldn't. 

In fact, the last two weekends I've had guests here, and I've been busy catching up on chores since then, so it wasn't until today that I could finally take pictures for you.

Even though it's really tiny, it's nice to have a room that guests can sleep in while they're here or relax in while I'm cooking.

Well kind of. 

In reality, 

everyone just stands around in the kitchen, until I sort of (not really) politely say, "OUT!"

It's also a nice place for us to watch television.

It was just a second bedroom originally, but I don't like having a TV in my living room, so it pulls double duty.

Besides, I think it's cozy and on the plus side, I didn't really have to do anything to it. 

Yay!

The couch is actually a daybed from Ikea. I'm pretty sure it's the only thing in my house from that company and although it's not the best constructed item in the world, I couldn't find anything else that wasn't too expensive or didn't look too daybeddy (yes, I know it's not a word, but it is now). I also needed something that would fit in the room, because I couldn't fit a couch bed in there. It would hit the wall and there wouldn't be room for anything else.

My mom bought me this pillow for Christmas from Uncommon Goods.

I love that it looks like Bubba :)

Here's the other side:

My mom also needlepointed this pillow for me years ago:

And because, I'm funny (yes I am!) I bought this pillow:

What?! 

Well it's true.

You know it is.

Well anyway, it inspired the title to this post ;)

Moving on.....

I also stuck this little antique child's chair in there, just in case we have some little visitors, which we do occasionally.

An old antique trunk serves as a coffee table.

There's a Tic Tac Toe board for fun and people of all ages love to play with it, amazingly enough.

If they actually put down their phones.

Ahem.

And also some decorating books to browse through.

The view from the window is amazing, just like every room in the house.

The original owner did a beautiful job of making sure of that.

I'll tell her story soon :)

Eventually, I'll be getting a different TV for in this room and giving this one to my daughter when she moves out. I'd love a vintage one that has either been redone for cable or a new one that looks vintage. We'll see, but for now this works.

This is an antique washstand, that I use as a bar when I have parties.

You just lift up the top and wallah! 

Bar.

Another gift from mom....

I love my old big band records, but I also needed something to play my CDs and this works perfectly. I think she got it on QVC.

Across the room is the old closet.

But since no one actually lives in here, I turned it into a pantry and somewhere to hide the ugly microwave that I don't want, but my daughter insists upon. 

I've tried to explain to her that things taste better when you warm them up in the oven, but well...

Kids.

So there it is and there it will stay until she moves out with it.

I have another pantry downstairs that's much bigger, but I don't want to have to walk down there every time I need a bowl, so I use it for extra food and other items I don't use everyday.

Oh and paint.

And tools.

And Candles.

I'll show it to you sometime, but today isn't the day.

This is the room when the door to the kitchen is closed:

And that's pretty much it.

Probably not what you'd expect after seeing how colorful my kitchen was, but I love how calm and soothing it is in there.

I hope you enjoyed the tiny tour.

Until next time,

xo

rue