I like old fashioned paper maps....
The big, fold-out sort of maps...
The ones that take up the whole front seat of the car kind of maps.
The "How do I re-fold this map?" and " Why won't it close up?" kind of
map....
Being able to pour over a map and study the forests and lakes...
to touch the paper...
that's the good stuff...
Paper maps show details a Global Positioning System on a 4 inch screen really can't....
I love technology too...don't get me wrong...
Old fashioned paper maps show the relationship between places
in a way that smaller electronic maps have trouble depicting.
I want to see where everything is...
...everything.
Paper maps do that...they let me see the big picture.
I want to see places that I hadn't heard of before,
...mountain ranges, rivers and towns that my GPS wouldn't even know existed...
....or might not catch...
I do love my GPS and my Google maps for driving....
but it
doesn't always show me the bigger picture.
It only shows me how to get
from here to there; it's a point “A” to point “B” kind of map.
Perfect for driving to the dentist, not so perfect for a traveler or an explorer.
Aren't you ever curious about all the other places on the map?
What's out
there?
What lies just beyond the little screen...
....as the computer ticks away the miles of
roadway...
I am.
I am always curious....
Curious about the details, the great places
I might be missing...
unwittingly...passing by....
All the amazing shops, eateries, parks and
monuments that aren't listed in my "smart" phone...
There are a million,
--literally a million--
different ways to get to any destination....
...especially if time isn't a consideration...
That's the allure of the paper maps for me,
I want to know where I'm going and
at the same time
I want to see everything that's out there...
What's on
the way?
I'm guilty of taking our family vacations off track ...
Really.
Way off
track....
I love traveling to out-of-the-way hamlets along our vacation routes.
I always try
to squeeze in an extra place or two to visit....
Give me a map with lots of detail and look out! ...I'm surely going to find
somewhere we NEED to stop and explore...
...Just one stop more...."Ooh, Let's stop there!"
That's how we ended up in Texarkana last summer....
We were so close anyway,
So, why not explore just a little further?
Already in Arkansas (top photo)
and searching for diamonds...
(We didn't strike it rich, but had loads of fun mining/trying)
...So we explored a little further south...I mean really,
....Who doesn't want to go to Texas in July??
How hot could it be??
(P.S. Could someone tell that lady in the top photo,
"there's no need to wear lip gloss in Arkansas, --in July."
...the 100 degree weather and 99% humidity
will melt it off.
...besides, you're mining for diamonds
in a vast field of rocks and dried up dirt...
...lip gloss is not required)
And our reward?
We enjoyed some of the best Tex-Mex cuisine ever; hands-down, the best-ever.
...and we had the
most decadent, delicious mac and cheese dish
--ever in the history of the whole
world....
It was that kind of great...
Definitely, a little bit of a drive from our
house to get there, but worth it
...the journey was so worth it. (Ironwood
Grill, Texarkana, TX).
In case you're in the neighborhood sometime...Visit the Ironwood Grill
So this whole map thing brings me to today.
It's January 9.... And today is my one year blogging anniversary....
A quiet,
but meaningful milestone on my blogging adventure.
Looking back over the last 12 months makes me happy and content with what I
have accomplished....
I have learned quite a bit...mostly gaining the knowledge that I have so much more to learn....(ha)
I never knew how much I didn't know...
Blue Ribbon Kitchen has been and is the perfect outlet
for my creative endeavors;
a way for me to share some of the bits and pieces of
our life...
...a way to document and share some of my favorite things as I travel
through life...
Through celebrations, through making our house a home, and
through creating
....through all that really good stuff that fills up our days
and nights...
I started blogging with no map...
...and believe me, if there was a beginner's blogging
map available...
I would have had that map folded all the way out...
Scouring every inch of it...
Searching for the most exciting posts to write and
seeking out the
best routes along the way...
But, like life...
There is no map.
You get to make it up as you go....
It's only later, when you reflect
back on your journey that all of the terrain you covered, the relationships, the adventures
--they suddenly come into focus.
All of the getting from point “A” to point “B”
has a deeper meaning and you can see how your experiences, choices, and
decisions...
built a life...
I'm grateful for the life I'm building with my family;
that it is full of pit
stops, and out of the way places and people.
It makes life considerably
more interesting...
Taking the road less traveled is often a good thing.
Our family travel map was a project I just recently put together. Mapping out
our family adventures in a grand visual sort of way, tells the story of
"us" as explorers--all the great places we've been together and all the amazing
places still out there...just waiting for us to discover them.
I had the map dry-mounted onto foam board. The foam board is the perfect backing to allow for pins to be placed as destination markers.
The frame, the very large frame with glass and hardware....set me
back a whole five dollars.
Yes. You read that right... Less than a combo meal...anywhere.
Score!
Thrift stores, they are the very best places to find "stuff",
sometimes really, really good stuff.
That is where I find some of the best projects just waiting to
be created...
Thrift stores are where "it's" at...
People throw
out some of the best stuff....
Really, they do.
Be the one to think outside the box
and re-purpose amazing thrift shop finds!
The old fashioned USA map came from a darling shop
in Columbus, Ohio, On Paper.
The owner was gracious enough to let me snap a few photos of their store
during the holidays...
I fell in love with a window display of vintage envelopes made
into a wreath...
I mean, how cute is this....?
And how great would this letter
wreath be in a study or over a desk??
On Paper, offers online shopping,
so if you would like to make your own travel map...they have more!
...they offer a variety of other gorgeous maps too....
...not to mention a fabulous selection of paper
goods, pens,
handmade cards and fine stationery. Really --a fabulous shop.
Please visit: On Paper
The stars are brads from Hobby Lobby, found in the scrap booking department.
I trimmed them down with wire cutters so they were more like small push pins.
The kids liked pinning all our vacation stops on the map.
Use a toothpick or a pin to "pre-punch" the holes.
It just helps the brads to go in a little easier.
If you are curious about how I will add to our travel map... I asked the framer who cut out the matte to leave the back open...no paper.
It's not fancy...but no one sees the back and then I can easily gain access to the map to add our future pins!
Thanks for reading along....I'm always so happy to have visitors and blog
followers....always. I'm grateful for your feedback and comments...and
patience....as you've read....I'm new at this....or at least I still feel
new....
Am I still new? Can I still say I'm a newbie blogger??
Either way, I don't have a map of where I'm going....so look out.... Who
knows where we will go and where we might end up?
As this New Year gets underway I hope 2015 is everything you hope it will be
and more. I wish you safe travels on your own adventures wherever they
may lead you.... and try to remember that life is all about the journey....not
so much about the destination.
