Over the past year or so I’ve been making a conscious effort to buy less stuff (I’m also trying to get rid of stuff I no longer use but that’s proving to be a slow process). The one time I don’t stick to my rule of not buying stuff is on holiday because, well, what could be better than having reminders of foreign trips, and the associated happy memories, filling my home and wardrobe?
The picture above shows my (holiday) haul from my recent trip to Iceland. It includes: 1) A bunch of menus and cards from restaurants and hotels I visited on my trip 2) A bottle of Icelandic vodka I picked up in Duty Free 3) A bar of chocolate that I bought because I liked the packaging but also because it was called Dirty Blonde and, well, I just couldn’t not 4) A pair of chunky knitted socks that will keep my toes toasty this winter 5) A bottle of hair and body cleanser (aka shower gel). Another Duty Free purchase, when I spotted the brand that was in the bathrooms at Ion (one of the hotels I stayed at) I couldn’t resist a purchase. It contains wild Icelandic birch and all manner of uplifting essential oils and, whenever I use it, I’m instantly transported back to my Icelandic adventure. 6) A copy of a local magazine. So, erm, yeah, I didn’t do too badly!
I love that when I look around my home I’m reminded of past holidays. The paintings I bought in Costa Rica that sit on the mantelpiece in my spare room (one day to be my office) make me think of endless sun-drenched days practicing yoga, learning to surf and lazing on the beach. The plaid shirt that I’m wearing as I type takes me back to a frenetic 48 hours in Tokyo, a city I hope I return to one day. And the colourful bag hanging on the back of my door that I haggled for (fairly unsuccessfully) at the night market puts me in mind of temples and tasty food in Laos.
Of course holiday purchases don’t always work out. One that really didn’t was the bright blue hammock I bought in Mexico many years ago. At the time I lived in a shared flat without a garden and my room was the teeniest double you ever saw. There was room for a bed and a clothes rail. I have no idea where I thought I was going to put a hammock…
Over to you. What treasures have you found on your travels? And any travel tat to admit to? Do share in the comments selection below!
I love having reminders of trips around the house! In the last year I have been to New York and California. The trip to New York was with my Little Sister and the best thing I have to remember that trip is my beloved Michael Kors Selma handbag and two underwear drawers bursting with items from Victoria Secrets!
The trip to California was my three week honeymoon and we collected less superficial items along the way! In Laguna Beach we bought some beautiful side plates with a bird print on them from a charity shop and a ceramic goats skull that we somehow managed to get back! We also collected loads of signs, post cards and posters from loads of the places we visited. My favourites are a Beware of Bears poster from Yosemite and a metal sign from Alcatraz which says ‘you are required to work at whatever you are told to do’. That’s in the kitchen! I also have a Pinterest board of photos from our trip because we gathered loads of inspiration for how we want to decorate our new home whilst in California.
I’ve also got lovely leather satchels and intricate lanterns hung all lover the house from markets in Marrakech and Istanbul which remind me of trips with my favourite girls.
Writing this has made me all nostalgic – lovely post!
Aw, thank you Jennifer! It sounds as if you have more travel treasures in your house in than I do. I need to go to Marrakech again, I found shopping there overwhelming and came home empty handed!
Travel shopping is my absolutely favourite. I also love to have the reminders of our fab trips all around the house. I’ve started trying to always buy christmas decorations if I can so that every year when I get them out I’ll be reminded of our travels. In Sydney last year on our honeymoon we bought some cool bells to hang on our staircase. They drove us mad for the rest of the trip as they jingled incessantly however, when we got them home they were perfect and a great way to remember what an amazing time we had. I also picked up some super cool decs in Copenhagen in the summer, my god, Danish products are just to die for. I could have filled my suitcase 3 times over with all the amazing stuff in their shops!
I love that you pick up Christmas decorations on your travels Krysia. Haha, I can imagine the incessant jingling would have been extremely annoying after a while! Totally with you on Danish design.
Miranda – my husband and I do exactly the same thing whenever we go on holiday. We always bring back a little momento to put in the house to remind us of the particular place visited.
When we were in the Lake District in May we brought back a couple of paintings by local Cumbrian artists and most recently in Africa earlier this Autumn on our honeymoon we brought back a wooden fish carving from a curio shop in Mozambique. They are subtle nods to the good times and amazing memories and I think it is something that everyone should do!
Totally agree Emma, I love owning things with stories and memories attached!
My husband and I actually make a point of trying to find the tackiest possible fridge magnet whenever we go away, we have about 30 of them now and it’s a tradition I intend to maintain. I love the fact at the Lake Tahoe magnet shaped like a speed boat or the neon pink Dubrovnik castle magnet can catch my eye and give me a smile in the morning when I’m getting the milk out!
Bryony that is a brilliant tradition. The Lake Tahoe and Dubrovnik magnets sound AMAZING!
Ha we do magnets to – it’s a great way to encourage our kids to ask questions about what we did pre them!
We have two wooden bedside lamps from a floating market in Thailand that I refused to leave behind and a set of bowls and chop sticks from Cambodia both of which I have NO idea how they made it home!
I brought a beautiful set of chopsticks back from Vietnam Gemma, but sadly they didn’t survive a fall from a shelf on to the kitchen floor. I’ll have to look for another set next time I’m away!
What a lovely post! My favourite holiday purchases are a beautiful picture called “A Heart in the Clouds” which we got in Cornwall 2 days after we got engaged, and my engagement ring which we picked up in Tiffany on 5th Avenue!
Thank you Marianne – what wonderful memories you have attached to your travel treasures!
I’m in the same boat as you. I have trying to use stuff up and clear things out over the last year or two, very unsuccessfully, but I can’t help buy stuff on holidays. My two Calvin Klein handbags from my 30th in New York have been an amazing investment and I love them. Last month in Wales I bought a heart shaped, slate, hanging picture frame which is the kitchen – I need to print off a photo from the holiday but there are too many beautiful scene to choose from. I have a small, hand painted jug from Spain on the living room window sill which reminds me of a lovely day out in Valencia, I would have bought half the market if I thought I could have got it home in one piece! I still have the wine bottles from the wine my husband and I brought back from Paris on our first holiday together – we use them as candle holders on special occasions. It is a shame to hide away things that hold such happy memories so I bought a Welsh dresser on Monday and once I have painted it over the weekend I am looking forward to displaying some of my treasures and photos properly on it
What a lovely collection of treasures you’ve gathered on your travels Claire. Fab idea to keep the wine bottles you brought back from your first holiday with your husband and to repurpose them as candle holders!
MATCHING MICKEY MOUSE JUMPERS!!! Ohhhh… no, maybe I’m not quite right for this discussion! I’ll just read enviously of all this culture and coolness and stay quiet about my trip to the disney store on Davy Crockets Ranch.
But Miranda – chocolate? As a keepsake? How will you do that?? It is the best chocolate bar wrapper I’ve ever seen but the inside would shout at me for a whole hour of being in my possession and then it would be in my tummy. The socks look so cosy and the pics on your instagram are stunning. What a beautiful place!
Matching Mickey Mouse jumpers? Brilliant!!! Don’t worry, the chocolate will get eaten! Aw, thank you, I couldn’t stop taking pictures whilst I was there!
We are also collectors of tacky fridge magnets. My husband travels a lot for work (though he doesn’t get to see much while there – he’s a tour manager for a musician and mainly sees the inside of venues) and the best things he’s brought back lately are Canadian maple syrup and a snowglobe from NYC as I wanted one and believe it or not had never ever owned one. My favourite keepsake from anywhere (naff as it may sound) is a cuddly sea turtle he bought me on our honeymoon in Hawaii, plus we have a bunch of other stuff that needs to go in a scrapbook. My hubby also knows to bring back magazines from anywhere english speaking!