displaying old books

my mom is probably the biggest book nerd you will ever meet. when she was kid, she dreamed of being a librarian when she grew up. she also begged santa for a set of encyclopedia one christmas. oh, and I'm pretty sure she cried when she found out carolyn keene wasn't a real person. 

so yes, she absolutely loves books. she even saved a bunch of her old nancy drew books. but unfortunately, they were very well-loved & now look really old & beat up. not the prettiest thing to display on a bookshelf. so instead of putting them away, mom covered them with some glossy white paper. if you were born in the 80s like me, you might need to watch this youtube video on how to cover books (my mom couldn't believe that we never covered our school books). I think it looks so clean & modern when a bunch of them line a shelf. and not to mention, very simple & inexpensive to create.

lisbeth salander's IKEA shopping list

what books have been on your reading list this summer? I've been enjoying the millennium trilogy by stieg larsson. if you've read the second book in the series, the girl who played with fire, you will love this post that shows photos of lisbeth salander's ikea shopping list (the books are set in sweden). sadly, I knew some of the pieces just by the names listed in the book. but I love that someone took the time to give us a visual of her apartment. and if you aren't a reader, I also enjoyed the swedish film, the girl with the dragon tattoo (the american version will be out next year, directed by david fincher & starring daniel craig. nuff said!).

macarons the new cupcakes?

adorable pictures of macrons have been popping up all over the blogosphere. I heard this story on npr a few weeks ago about how popular these dainty treats are becoming, and it made me think… will the macron craze replace the cupcake craze?  regardless, cupcakes will always have my heart.

{thanks to my sweet sissy giving me this book!}

I judge books by their covers

let's be honest- aren't we all more inclined to pick up a book if it has an attractive spine? I know I am. my mom bought me these beautiful penguin classic books from anthropologie for christmas. I'm pretty sure I'll get around to reading them... maybe...someday. but in the meantime, they sure do look pretty darn cute on my bookshelf.

library kit

call me old fashioned, but I'm not up on giving kids giant plastic toys with batteries & scantily clad dolls as gifts. I feel like kids are growing up way too fast these days & it's so important to try to preserve their youth & innocence.

so instead of buying my seven-year-old niece a game for her ds or an app for her itouch, I bought her this adorable personal library kit. she opened it up on christmas morning & started adding sleeves to the books that I had bought her &  it made me really wish I had bought one for myself. such a fun gift for kids... & nerdy adults like myself.