Geography Bee

You know what? I never posted a picture of my bedroom with its mapped-out wallpaper. My landlord won't let me paint the walls, so a continuing mission of mine is to decorate the walls with various other ways of completely covering the surfaces without opening a can of paint. Thus, the maps.

I went to a cheapskate's paradise, Half-Priced Books, and found out that old maps cost 25 cents each. Eight dollars and I had enough maps to do two walls. I had lots of fun digging through the map bins looking at the various places I could buy a guide to. Most of the ones in prominent places are maps of some of my favorite global spots -- I've got Texas (home sweet home), Maine (my big adventure state), Italy (well, my love/hate/tragedy story with that place is well documented) and some regional ones too. I've got a map of Louisiana and Arkansas that reminds me of my family's roots. I've got the whole South to remind me to behave like a good Southern lady. One of my prettiest maps is a National Geographic guide to Ireland, colored a lovely Emerald Green. And in a favorite spot, I've got a driving map of Boston, which is funny because Boston is a terrible place to drive in. The best part of this map -- I can point out Fenway Park with my toe.
I picked some maps for their arty qualities, like the map of the Indian Ocean Seafloor. I never knew how beautiful the bottom of the ocean could be!
I used a big collection of shiny golden tacks to put up these maps. I love how they look. Come on over sometime and judge for yourself!