Over the course of living in Belgium for the last two and a half years, I've posted on this lovely blog about what I've been up to, where I've traveled to and the various things I've collected along the way. Once in a while, I'll actually get an email from a random reader that asks "What do you do with all your travel trophies?". Well, they end up in my office. I think I've mentioned that on a variety of posts that my office seems to be the travel vortex since everything almost always ends up in there.
So, I figured I'd show you peeps what my office looks like since some people think it's some sort of fictional thing like Themyscira or Crystal Castle (let's see if you know what those are!):
Looks pretty simple till you start looking along the top of my desk. THEN you get the stories behind everything rather than them being random knick knacks.
Let's seeeeeee...I'll start from the right and pan to the left: There's a leather and wood carved goblet I picked up from Orford Castle in Orford, England. Next to that is my typewriter teapot I got from a tiny town called Debenham, England. Behind those is a puzzle globe I assembled that has Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" on it...nothing special about it other than I did it when we first PCS'd here, lol. On top of the globe is my University of Georgia (UGA) visor that Eric bought for me not too long after we started dating. Almost five years, I still have it! Go me! Next is a bottle of " Spitfire Ale" that I got from the Duxford Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum in Duxford, England. You might not be able to make it out unless you zoom on the picture once you click on it, but in front of that is a pewter piggy bank (yes, with wings) which I picked up in Dusseldorf, Germany. It's wearing a pretty mask I picked up from Venice, Italy. Then you'll see my rather flashy leopard print teapot purse that my Dad bought for me from the same shop I got my typewriter teapot. Behind that is my Magellan Scentsy warmer (I liked it because it looks like an old travel globe) that's holding up a leather and tarred stein I got from Framlingham Castle in Framlingham, England. Inside of the stein are woodcarved tulips I found in Lisse, Netherlands. In the front, you'll see the white and blue mini clogs I got from Amsterdam, Netherlands..and behind those is a jar of "wishes" that Eric filled out after we got married and it has an UGA garter on it.
Next to the jar of wishes is a little hand carved and painted wood doll I picked up in Boleslawiec, Poland. Then there's my little pirate skull which is actually a magic eight ball a friend gave to me in addition to the "Hoops & Yoyo" nodding thing-a-majiggy. It says " I've found my happy place", lol. Behind those you'll see part of a ceramic bulldog..I actually made that for Eric for our first Valentines together; I had a custom UGA jersey made in addition to a leather collar and name tag for it and I did all the painting myself. It's in my office since it had suffered some damage during the course of our move here, so I gotta find some sort of ceramic "paste" to fix his little jowl which currently has a chunk missing. To the left of that is a hard carved wood stein I also picked up while checking out Boleslawiec, Poland.
Lesse...the wine goblet next to the wood stein is one of my favorite pieces of "stemware" I've picked up. It's all stained glass and pieced together to make it look like an old school cathedral design..got that from..errrr...I believe Framlingham, England. Behind that is two bottles of Heineken I got from the Heineken factory in Amsterdam, Netherlands in which one bottle has my name on it while the other has Eric's. To the left of that you'll see a black jug that says "Nuts" on it, which is in reference to the Battle of the Bulge. I picked that up over in Bastogne, Belgium where there's a massive memorial for the American soldiers (wounded or killed) that were involved with that war...it's the Mardasson Memorial. In the very front is another mask I picked up while in Venice, Italy...and in front of that is a bracelet a friend got for me that says "Peace". To the left is a pink sapphire necklace my Mom had bought for me as a 21st birthday present, a mug I got from Poland and a tin from Bastogne.
On my desk top itself, I have a Scentsy charity warmer that's for breast cancer awareness, and two Snoopy things my Dad gave me as a gift. He got the Snoopy picture cause it said it was rather fitting for me (thanks? lol) and the Snoopy calendar was because I like to write a lot. Then there's my Winged Victory of Samothrace, which is my absolute FAVORITE statue, that Eric bought me when we were at the Louvre in Paris, France.
The moon mask is from Venice, Italy (YES, I bought a lot of masks!), then there's a metal "poster" from the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon, England. If you have any interest in aviation history, I highly suggest you check out any of the RAF Museums..mainly the one in Duxford. VERY VERY educational. I made the star bucket (yes, really) and all it holds is Eric's handy dandy back scratcher since he always comes in to ask me where it is..so, I leave it in the bucket so he knows where to find it, LOL.
The masks, again, are from Venice, Italy. The hanging tiles are as well, but I bought them from a Bazaar in Spangdahlem, Germany. When we were in Venice, I actually saw a place that was selling the painted tiles, but those things weigh SO much..so I'm glad I bought them without having to deal with the airline weigh limits :) Yes, the organizer to the right has a lot of Scentsy waxes in it...don't judge me.
Indeed, that's a weenie dog peeing on a hydrant. My Dad got the lil guy for me as a going away gift when we were leaving California to come here. Although, he gave it to me AFTER the movers already picked up our housing goods, so I had to ship this lil guy on his own to meet us here since I didn't wanna risk him getting smashed up in our luggage. Besides, I could've only imagined what the airport security people would've said if they saw these shapes show up in their xray screeners, LOL
Indeed. I have pumpkins in my office. Why? Fall is my favorite season. Hey, it's better than Christmas lights all year long! Oh, I don't have a mini fridge in my office..that's a deep freezer. It's here because there isn't a plug for it out in the garage, lol. Ghettooooo!
Now, if you're even considering snagging any of my beloved trinkets....BE WARNED. I have Spartans guarding my stuff. They may look small, but they're total bad asses. If they can deal with Covenant forces from Mombasa, you'll be a total cakewalk. See? One of my Spartans is guarding my mini Mardasson Memorial..so if you sit down at my desk, he'll take you out.
Perfect sniping point:
If they need to bring in the big guns, they have the support available. BIG guns! Word on the street is that this particular Spartan has an itchy trigger finger...really, you don't wanna risk messing with him.
If, by chance, you make it past those fellas...they also have ground support.
Ferocious beasts! Don't underestimate them.The big one is "The Rhino"..he'll take your legs out with his ramming capabilities while the tweeky one is like a velociraptor...very smart with lethal bites. There's a third decimator, but she's patrolling the perimeter to make sure there aren't any unwanted visitors.
So, there you have it. That's my office. I've traveled throughout Belgium, The Netherlands, France, England, Germany, Poland,and Italy. As I'm looking at my list, I realized I left off Bavaria, but those trinkets are in the kitchen. Hopefully before we leave Belgium, we'll check out Switzerland, Greece, Spain and other parts of Italy.
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