our apartment: nautical things.

Recently, a friend requested I share some of the nautical-esque things in our home as a post. When she asked, I tried to visualize such items in our apartment, wondering "how many things like that do we have?" As it turns out, the answer is quite a bit and I feel I ought to explain why, in case you might be curious....

The sea holds a dear place in both of our hearts & it has been a part of our relationship and story. Finn worked on sail boats & a yacht in our dating years. Many of the books we read in synchronicity while apart were sea-adventures. I remember our shared love for water being the topic of some of our earliest conversations (along with the distinguished topic of Ninja Turtles).

For me personally, the appreciation lies in the sensory experience: the visual beauty, the feeling of freedom swimming beneath the waves, the smells that whip through the salty wind. I love it all. Many of my best childhood memories took place at the beach. For Finn, the sea stands for adventure, romanticism, and old-time masculinity, all ideals important in his living. He was a scuba-diving instructor and has a love for sailing. This man has even studied celestial navigation as a hobby (he's my ultra-crush). On top of all of this ocean-love, whales happen to be my favorite in all of the animal kingdom (humpback to be specific). I could go into great length about my appreciation for them, which is why I'll save my inevitable essay-length explanation for another day. From an emotionally unattached, design standpoint, I think nautical items are typically a nice balance of masculinity and beauty, a balance we aim to have in our home. Hopefully all that sheds light on our apparent purchasing patterns. Here's another little peek into our apartment:

1. Whale Print: An original watercolor and recent birthday gift from one of my best friends. I have wanted this very print for some time. 

2. Salt & Pepper Shakers: Jonathan Adler-designed, gifted to us at our wedding by our extremely design-savvy friend Cody Pate. They're the only ones I use! 

3. Little Ship Print: came free in an Etsy order.

4. Votives: I made these for our wedding. The papers are from old books that belonged to my grandfather. 

5. Pillow: Ikea find. 

6 & 7. Fisherman's Friend Tin: I bought this old thing at a flea market in Barcelona. I keep treasures inside like sea glass, rings, pendants, and foreign coins. 

8. Tom Crean Poster: Tom Crean, a famously modest & pipe-smoking explorer/sailor from the early 1900s. Finn admires him very much. This was a birthday gift to him last year.

9. Topography Napkins: From Anthropologie a few seasons back. I'm so glad to have a set. I like using cloth napkins - they waste less & are pretty too.

10. Tall Ship: Already shared in this post, but I just had to include it again. 

11. Leather Compass: After walking by it every day on the way to & from class, I finally bought this at the end of my semester in Italy from Cuoieria Fiorentina.  It hangs in our bathroom.

12. Shark Tattoos: I love these booklets of temporary tattoos. My best friends and I always had some on hand in college. I already found a toy store in SF that has them. The shark ones might be my favorite yet.

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