Travel Tales: Air Security Frowns on Gifts From Strangers

Kuster & Wildhaber Photography

The Man From the Plane
The man in the middle seat desperately sucked in air, then forcefully exhaled. He rocked back and forth, ran his fingers over his eyes and gasped for another breath of air. The wheels of the plane were barely off the ground but it already seemed apparent the vomit bag would be needed.

"Not good," the man said and waived his hand around in a gesture I interpreted to mean "I suck at flying."

I agreed. Not good.

I typically assume the standard anti-social traveler position on planes--ear buds in, torso facing the window, eyes looking everywhere but at the person next to me. But stronger than my hatred of too-chatty seatmates is my dread of being stuck in a tin can with recirculating air that smells of vomit. 

So I started talking. I talked about why I was in Jordan (for fun) and where I was going (home via connections in Egypt then Amsterdam) in a language he didn't understand, and then he talked about his family and who the heck knows what else an English/Arabic mixture I didn't understand. The time passed, color returned to his face and the vomit bag stayed in the seat pocket.

When the wheels hit the ground, his face relaxed into a state of visible relief. While we said our goodbyes, the man grabbed his one carry-on bag--a red, cylindrical bag about two feet long--and then disappeared into the crush of people surging toward the door. 

The Acceptance of the Gift
The immigration and passport control area was madness. The immigration officials at the far end of the small room were hidden behind a hundred men pushing to get closer. The room was lined with booths from vendors and airport officials, one of which was my key to getting a visa into the country. While I stood there, being jostled by passing travelers while I contemplated which Arabic-language sign said visa, someone tapped me on the shoulder.  The man from the plane stood behind me with his cylindrical carry-on bag. With one end unzipped, I could see the top of a circular tin. 

"Egyptian sweets. For you. Thank you."

It was a thoughtful gesture, one that can't be refused even if middle-eastern sweets aren't a particular favorite. He melted back into the crowd, and I continued my quest to get a visa with a smile on my face and the tin in my hand.

Bitman

The Sleep-Deprived Travel Day
That night was one of many occasions in which I thought spending the night in the airport wasn't such a terrible idea, only to remember that it is in fact always a terrible idea. My flight from Jordan arrived in the evening, and I flew out on a different airline early the following morning. Instead of spending money on a hotel room, I plopped down on a bench in the check-in area and spent seven very long hours listening to the same 10 songs, wondering what my Egyptian companions had in their 10 suitcases and dreaming about the bottle of water I forgot to buy before all the stores closed.

Dawn eventually arrived, the airline employees checked in all of the hollow-eyed overnight squatters, I boarded my plane to Amsterdam and promptly fell asleep.
 
The Standard Airport Interrogation Goes Bad
In this post-9/11 world of travel, airline security is often as changeful as it is strict. On this particular day at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, officials had set up a second security checkpoint at the gate, which is where the problems started.

"Did you pack your own bags?" "Yes."
"Did you ever leave them out of your site?" "No."
"Have you accepted any packages from strangers?" "Nnooo...oh shit."

"Well you see..."

The airline official's brow furrowed as I explained.

"You see there was this guy on my flight and he seemed distressed so..."

"He seemed distressed? Was he agitated? What was he doing?"
"He just didn't seem to like flying. So I talked to him and he gave me the tin of sweets."

"What did you guys talk about?"
"Well I don't really know actually. We weren't exactly speaking the same language."

"And then he just gave you a tin of sweets?"
"Yes."

"Did you look in this tin at these supposed desserts?"
"Err...no."

"How did you know it was dessert?"
"Well, that's what he told me."

Sigh. "Where is this tin now?"
"I put it in my luggage. Which is checked."

Sigh.

He pulled grabbed another airport official and explained to her in rapid-fire Dutch that this American idiot had taken a potentially dangerous package from a potential terrorist, packed it in her luggage and was now going to be responsible for accidentally blowing everyone to bits over the Atlantic. Or I'm guessing that's what he said from the way she glared at me when he was done.

They then got on their walkie talkies and told everyone the story in rapid-fire Dutch. Everyone associated with the airline proceeded to turn and look at me.

The security line backed up. Fellow NY-bound passengers averted their eyes out of fear that my stupidity would be contagious.

"I don't even like these sweets!"

I stood there imagining the poor guy who was digging in the belly of airplane for the black bag that could potentially contain something dangerous. For 15 minutes I stood there blocking the line while they dug out my bag, ran it through an X-ray machine, dug out the offending tin and discovered: baklava.

The airport officials gave me a lecture about accepting packages from strangers, glared at me one last time and put me on the plane. I felt a smug sense of reward for my faith in the man from the plane but learned a big, big lesson:

Next time a stranger gives me a tin of sweets, host a bake sale at the airport to pay for a hotel room.

Faking Custom Framing With Custom Mats

The last picture I had custom framed was an abstract image of dancing African ladies I purchased from a beach vendor in Mozambique. The painting cost $15. Framing it was $185.

As lovely as custom framing can be, I have since made an effort to avoid it whenever possible. There are simply too many other things demanding my money. That's not always easy though. A lot of art is irregularly sized, and then sometimes you just want something a little special. My solution: custom mats.

Custom mats can take a standard piece of art and elevate it. See?

Okay...so the one on the right might need a little fixing.

I love my goofy art. I don't mean to imply that they're average or uninteresting. But imagine them in mat-less frames. Or frames with two inch mats. They would have far less presence. 

I had these mats cut so that the bottom is twice the height of the top. I really like the look, although I wish I had gone a little more dramatic.

There are so many different ways you could use custom mats.

• Keep costs down by sizing up and having a mat cut for irregular size art.
• Embrace colored mats. 
• Give images a high-end look by doubling up mats.
• Simply buy nicer mats than what comes with the frame (i.e. textured or larger.)
• Cut the mat unevenly to add drama (like these.)

These mats were about $20 each, which is much better than $185. I paired them with store-bought frames (in this case Ikea Ribbas.)

It's nice to have someone on that wall again. It's been naked ever since I moved my globes to the TV wall. And since my homemade lamps look so lovely in these pictures, I thought it was a good time for a shameless plug.

Anyone else ever use a custom cut mat to give a frame a different look? If so, what did you do?

New Name, New Facebook Page, Same Kim (Who Would Love a Like)

Finally joining the world of Facebook

 In the year since this blog came into existence, I've tried a lot of things, many of which have failed. Posting four days a week resulted in a lot of crap because I had to "get something up." (Sorry about that.) Friday Musings, an attempt to introduce some variety, ended up turning into a collection of things I'd read that week, which is really better suited for Twitter. All design all the time has given way to design some of the time, travel some of the time, and a bit of inspiration and personal development flowing through both. My apologies to those of you who are bored by the travel portions or the inspirational posts, but this is actually a far better mix of who I am.

So that I'm not cluttering up the internet with even more crap than already exists, I'm now focusing on fewer, but (hopefully) higher quality, posts. So far that means an average of one post per week, but now that my beloved Predators have ended their miserable season, that may pick up. Maybe.

With all of this in mind, I've made a few changes lately.

1. I've rebranded the blog Home Love & Wanderlust. It's a better reflection of what this blog is, and let's be honest, See Kim Decorate is pretty cheesy. The RSS feed won't change but the current URL is going to change. By popular vote, which would you prefer? Kimschutte.com or homelovewanderlust.com? Doing both is out of my technical league. Think anyone would remember the "c" if I did kimschutte.com?

And...

2. I finally have a Facebook page! I don't remember why I didn't start one last year, but I realized it was necessary when my Mom wasn't even reading my blog because she didn't have some kind of reminder. Now she does (hi Mom!), and you do to. I'll love you forever if you "like" the page! (You can find it here: www.facebook.com/homelovewanderlust or via the really nifty Like box I added to the sidebar. Try it before it breaks from bad coding.

As always, thanks for reading. I love it when I see you all pop up in the analytics, and I love it even more when I get comments (so feel free to post away!)

Traveling Alone: The Pros and Cons

Back in 2004 my best friend and I booked it to Italy to spend a summer wandering through ruins, speaking pidgin Italian and gaining weight. We coordinated our travel plans to Europe nicely, arriving in Paris within hours of each other. It wasn't until July that we realized that the Tuesday return flights we had booked...were on two different Tuesdays. Oops. As the holder of the later ticket, I was left with two options: pay $100 to change the ticket to fly home the same day as my friend or spend a week in Europe by myself.

I debated changing my flight. Despite all I'd learned that summer about navigating a country where I hardly knew the language, I was still somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect of spending a week in a foreign land by myself. Plus, what would I even do for a week? It was my third trip to Paris; there's only so much time you can spend looking at the Eiffel Tower.

Fortunately for me, I was too cheap to spend $100 on essentially nothing, so I booked a cheap hotel room and spent the week exploring Paris.

And you know what? I loved it. It was the first time I really understood why everyone is so enamored with the city. I spent hours strolling around the tombstones at Pere Lachaise Cemetary, read a book and people watched at Jardin du Luxembourg, saw a movie, discovered Bill Bryson at Shakespeare and Company (the most amazing bookstore I've ever visited) and talked to all kinds of people, sometimes even using my high school French.

More so than opening my eyes to the joys that can come from solo travel, that week eliminated my fear of solo travel. I've since taken other solo trips, some of which haven't been as amazing as that week in Paris, but none of which I regret. Like so many things, solo travel comes with pluses and minuses:

Taking awkward pictures by yourself- CON.

CONS

• Unless you are the biggest of loners, it is likely you will get lonely at some point. You'll meet all kinds of people (see Pros), but you won't have that loved one with you to cackle over your dumb tourist mistakes. 
• It's more expensive. When you travel by yourself you're not splitting the cost of the hotel room and the rental car, plus many packages charge a solo supplement. On the upside, you won't have to spend $50 on the Sound of Music tour your travel partner dragged you on. 
• All the navigating is on you. Solo travel is easy when you fly into a big city (like Paris), with a good transportation system (like Paris), and spend the whole vacation there. It's more challenging when you're in a less developed country with bad infrastructure and limited English education (yes--I know I'm spoiled as a native English speaker, but it definitely makes traveling easier.)

Why is safety not on this list? Because danger is often overstated by those who are afraid. That doesn't mean that there aren't dangerous places and that you don't have to be vigilant. It simply means you should do your research, try to talk to someone who has been there and act with that uncommon thing called common sense.

Making crazy new friends at surf camp- PRO.

PROS

• You can do whatever you want. The aforementioned Sound of Music Tour? I went on that because my travel partner desperately wanted to, and despite my complete lack of interest in the movie, I desperately wanted to keep the peace. Left to my own devices, I would have wandered around Salzburg, exploring new neighborhoods and people watching, and would probably feel a greater connection to the city now.
• You'll likely make some new friends. As a solo traveler, you're so much more approachable than when you're traveling in a group. On that trip to Paris, the hotel owner would invite me to have wine in the lobby with some of his friends. I got postcards for a year from someone I met in Sydney. I met a great group of ladies from across North America at a women's surf camp in Nicaragua. I'm still in touch with most of them (via Facebook) and have taken two additional trips with one of them. Whether you're trying or not, there's a strong likelihood new friendships will happen. 
• You're good travel company (or at least you won't bicker with yourself).

And the biggest pro of all: you don't have to put off things you want to do because you can't find anyone who wants to do them with you. No one I know wanted to go to surf camp so I went by myself and loved it. No one I know is willing to go to Cuba, so I'm contemplating going by myself (legally).

It's like that quote from H. Jackson Brown:

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

Solo travel may not be for you, and that's okay. But you won't know for sure until you try. So if there's something you want to do, don't let the fact that you don't have a travel partner stop you. Doing it on your own may open up a whole new world to you. 

Hanging Inspirational Quotes in the Bathroom

Remember that Ira Glass quote I posted awhile ago?

What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.

But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.

It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.

Via Twitter I was linked to a poster from Etsy featuring that quote and I bought it immediately. I find the quote to be highly inspiring. According to Ira, the fact that this blog sometimes sucks doesn't mean I'm not a good writer. It means I'm not a good writer yet. Or I'm not a talented decorator or photographer, yet. That one word makes a huge difference. It's the difference between being incapable of doing something and needing practice at something. The latter is a challenge, and I love a challenge.

I can think of no better place to hang something inspiring than in the bathroom, a place where I spend a hour every morning of my life showering, dressing and beautifying. Preparing for my day. While I'm using all the tools at my disposal to physically get ready for my day, seeing something I find to be so inspiring at the same time helps me get mentally prepared.

Low-light photography: in need of work.

Bathroom lighting: definitely in need of work

It's especially applicable today because today is the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of this blog! Huzzah! I have some work to do before this blog is, as Ira would word it, as good as my ambitions. But I'm still enjoying blogging and really appreciate you guys stopping by to read it. 

On that note, what quote inspires you (maybe I need it too...) and would you consider hanging it in your bathroom? Where's the most inspirational area of your home?

Living Clutter Free Is Not About Organization

Source: Spykster, flickr

I love the reaction I get when I tell people I live in 640 square feet. Their eyes get all big, their mouth drops open a bit and then they inevitably vocalize some variation of "Wow, that's small."

Living in a small space is not nearly as difficult as everyone makes it sound. You don't need to become a total minimalist or have fancy closet organizers installed in every storage space (I don't--yet!) Living small or downsizing simply requires a small change of mentality. 

Whether you're doing a spring cleaning binge or considering a new purchase, the question shouldn't be "Will I use this someday?" It should be "Do I love this?" Or "Will this provide some level of usefulness that nothing I currently own can provide?"

The problem with hanging on to things in case you need them in the future is that often that future never comes, or when it does come, that item you've been hanging on to seems inadequate. Say you have a cocktail dress in your closet that you keep even though you haven't been to a cocktail party in years. "Someday I may get invited to a fabulous party," you say. And some day you may. But when that day comes, is that dress going to be in style? Is it going to be in season? Is it still going to fit right? Are you still going to want to wear that dress when the party invitation arrives, or are you going to literally run to Anthropologie to get that gorgeous dress you were admiring on your last trip? It's a special occasion you know. May as well splurge.

The key to containing clutter is to not have the clutter to begin with. Getting rid of stuff, or not buying it at all. 

The beauty of living in a small space is it forces you to think about this. Every single time I buy something I have to consider whether I have room for it. Because space is so limited, I either have to love something more than some other item I already own, or it has to be really useful. Like banana slicer useful.

For the most part, this means I'm surrounded by things I love, which makes me supremely happy. Any direction I look, I see objects that remind me of a good time or items I simply find to be pretty or interesting.

That doesn't mean I don't also have to be diligent about the clutter creep. From where I'm writing this I can see five books on my bookshelf that I plan to read "someday." It's not that someday never came, it's that by the time it did come I had acquired five other books, books that better fit my reading interests at that time. So those five books sat and took up space.

Think about the things in your home? Do you have a suit that's too dressy for your current work environment but may come in handy if you ever get that promotion? Baby toys that your toddler has outgrown but you keep just in case you have another? Jeans that are two sizes too small right now but you are determined to fit into again? Unless you love them, or seriously foresee using them in the next YEAR, get rid of them. You'll be free from the burden of extra stuff, and someone else may actually put that item to use. And some day when you do get that promotion, have a second baby or lose that muffin top, you can find a version of that item that better suits who you are and what your style/interest is at that moment.

Those five books on my shelf may be wonderful books but the publishing industry will put out ever more wonderful books, which means they are destined for Goodwill. Perhaps I'll see you there.

Overcoming a Creative Block

I spent an hour today staring at a blank piece of paper. I had to write about 20 words of marketing copy and after 60 minutes I had exactly zero on the paper. This is a common state for me lately. I have eight blog posts in draft right now, all of which have a title. That's it. A title.

I'm not sure why sometimes creativity just comes, and yet other times it's like trying to shove my size 7.5 feet into a gorgeous pair of size-6 shoes.

I eventually gave up on my 20-word copy, but that's not a good solution to the overall creativity problem, not if I want to post on this blog again or finally finish decorating the condo...or actually complete just about anything.

So I'm here, writing this post, thinking about how I can beat this inertia in the future.

Rest the mind
We finally had a beautiful weekend and I took advantage of it by biking 32 miles. During those miles I composed 3 or 4 blog posts in my head. There's something about activities like biking, running or walking that allows the mind to wander, which stimulates creativity so much more than staring at a blank screen. If you're not into running/biking/walking or if it's winter and you're a complete wimp about cold (ahem...like me), try taking a shower or going for a ride. I would think either would have the same effect.

Be prepared for inspiration
You may be wondering why I'm struggling so much to write a post if I composed several Saturday. Because I am not coordinated enough to ride my bike and write blog posts at the same time. I'd actually like to meet someone who is because that sounds like an amazing skill to have and I'd like to start biking with that person. Instead, I stopped to add the titles of my new blog posts to my "Blog Ideas" note on my phone, but alas the full posts were lost not long after I caught my breath. Next time, it would probably be worth it for me to stop and type out the whole post. Or actually use that dictation app I downloaded.

Get a partner
There's a reason brainstorming is so popular. In the right environment (i.e. around people who don't make you feel like an idiot), brainstorming with at least one other person is so much more effective than doing so alone.

Find something popular but terrible
I got this one from my new favorite blog Fearful Adventurer. Her advice for writer's block is to find something ridiculously successful--that sucks. So think Fifty Shades of Grey. If you've read it, you know that the writing is terrible, and yet the book is the best selling book in Great Britain. Ever. It's hard not to look at something like that and think "I can do better than this." Beyond writing, there are a lot of highly praised homes floating around Pinterest or hyped pieces of art that simply aren't very good. Use it for inspiration. If they can do that, imagine what you could do if you try.

Just do something, anything
Which leads me to the key piece of any creative endeavor: starting. In my experience, editing is much, much easier than creating. So if you're struggling, just put anything down on that paper/ canvas/ blank screen. An old coworker used to call it word vomiting. Gross but effective. The first draft isn't the final draft.

What do you do when you're struggling to be creative?

Good Painting Advice is Hard to Find

Thanks for the advice on my chairs!  I have a much clearer idea of what I'm going to do now. More to come sometime in the likely distant future (given my slothful pace at decorating).

I did however finish up a piece of furniture this weekend, which led to a new found envy of people who have a trusted paint adviser they can consult on color conundrums or painting technique questions. I have sought out painting advice at (almost literally) every hardware store in the Nashville metro area but have yet to receive an answer that actually helped solve the problem I was having. I encountered a guy at Home Depot once who gave me some really good unsolicited advice, but sadly I haven't seen him since.

I bought this cabinet thing awhile back at the flea market. It's a cool piece that resembles an ice box in shape and has great hardware.

I originally thought about blue...

Problem is it has a really heavy wood grain that was showing through my test paint there. I had just read about Jenny Komenda having the same problem with her kitchen cabinets and was all set to try the product she used, Behlen Pore-O-Pac Grain Filler, but it sounded like a massive pain and was more expensive than the piece of furniture I was trying to fix. Before committing, I decided to see if Lowes had anything similar.

I was a little skeptical, but the guy in the paint department convinced me that I just needed a heavier primer than I typically used and all would be fine.

He was wrong. The primer helped, absolutely. But three coats of primer later there are still breaks in the wood that drive me crazy when the light hits it just right. Fortunately, this piece is going in the bathroom which has no natural light and next to no light period, so I'm done messing with it.

Aside from the breaks in the wood I think it turned out great. The black makes the cool brass hardware stand out.

Rocky was very helpful:

So there's my advice to you: if you have a heavy wood grain to be painted over, just buy the Pore-O-Pac. And if anyone has a good paint resource in Nashville, please please please let me know.


 

Must Chairs Match?

So I owe you guys an apology. I'm sorry I've been such a terrible blogger lately. Between the new job and the return of my beloved Nashville Predators, I'm having a hard time with this whole time management/balance thing. I promise I won't suck forever (especially since the Preds have also been sucking, so I should have my evenings back by mid-April.)

In what could be considered an audacious move given that I haven't blogged in about 10 days, I need your help. I'm still considering my Kim-wants-all-new-living-room-furniture plan but I'm stuck on how to address my chairs. I have two chairs that sit opposite my sofa like so:

A. Malson

Now my chairs aren't nearly as fabulous as the chairs above, which is why I plan to replace them. For budget reasons, I'd like to get vintage chairs, but it's proving to be quite difficult to find two matching vintage chairs at reasonable prices. I can't rearrange (one of the challenges of working with 640 sq ft), so would it look bad to have two mismatched chairs in the same arrangement? Would it disrupt the balance?

I've found precisely one image of that layout with two different chairs:

Emily Henderson

It works yeah? Maybe not as well as the matching chairs, but it's not awful. 

I have a couple flea market finds stored in my parent's basement, none of which match. I figure I have three options:

1. Go for my ideal upholstery: aubergine velvet on the more feminine one and a light gray/cream metallic linen on the mid-century one.

2. Stick with my mismatched chairs, but keep the upholstery colors closer, say the metallic linen with a cream velvet.

3. Scratch the whole recover vintage chairs thing and stick with the chairs I have now.

With my budget, buying two new chairs is not an option. My money is going toward the sofa. Which is fabulous:

The specific fabric is yet to be determined. It probably won't be that great teal velvet--unless I get inspired to invest in a lint roller factory in the next couple weeks. 

Now, one more thing to consider before you unleash your decorating wisdom on my living room. Whatever I get--whether recovered vintage finds now or new chairs later--I intend to keep them for awhile, so I need to think about not just today's furniture arrangement, but also next year's.

And ideally, I'll have something like this in the future (but without all the plants. One or two is all I can handle):

Also the fabulous Emily Henderson

Specifically, a lounge chair with an ottoman and a really bold accent chair.  Hence the appeal of the aubergine velvet.

Okay, NOW I implore you: save my living room! What do I do with these chairs?!?

(Oh and while you're contemplating that...Fab.com is selling back issues of Anthology Magazine if you're interested. Free shipping today and tomorrow.)

I Love the Junk on my Shelves

I'm reading Nate Berkus' The Things That Matter which is all about the stories behind the things in his home. The Condo is so small that I have to be choosy about what stays and what goes. As a result, most of the items in my home are quite personal to me, which is probably why it feels so like me.

I have one shelf that is full of things I feel especially fond toward. In lieu of any new and exciting projects going on around here (next on the list: re-caulking the shower! Woo!), I thought it might be fun to walk through some of my favs.

Of my many globes, I have two favorites. The one above was a Christmas gift from my brother. He knew I collected them so he stalked my Etsy favorites and this blog to find something in a color or style that I didn't already have. He's a pretty good gift giver huh? My other favorite is the globe below. I love the cast iron base, and it's the oldest of my globes. As best as I can tell, it's from sometime in the 30s. (Date your globes here.)
 

My uncle carved these names for all of the kids when I was pretty young. Impressive right? My mom moved it across state lines at least once, if not twice. She finally gave it to me last year and within literally a week I had broken it. Twice. Oops. Luckily it was nothing a little superglue and some spray paint couldn't fix. (Well, the spray paint may have just been decorative...)

 

This photo hanging above my shelf cracks me up. It's a postcard from 1913 and check out what's written on the back:

Ouch! This is why I love antiques. Don't you want to know if Ruth and Madalene ever rekindled their friendship? What happened between them that Madalene stopped writing to Ruth? Did she just get busy or did Ruth steal her boyfriend or something? The world may never know.

And on a somewhat random note, it's a shame people don't value good handwriting anymore. Look at how pretty Ruth's penmanship is. My writing's not terrible, but she makes me look like a doctor. 

Now these two have a little sentimental value. The ball jar, which is clearly collecting my millions, is from my sister's wedding. And the little white thing sticking out of the top is a drink stirrer from the Jack Daniel's distillery. It was one of my rewards for biking 120 miles to liquor and back. 

So there you go. The strange and random things that populate my shelves. Alright--your turn. What things matter around your home?