Mini Office Space Reveal

home office

When I visited Garmisch a few months ago I went to one of my favorite antique shops called Merry Old England and found a secretary desk.  I'd been wanting one of these types of desks for a while.  I've also been wanting an office space of my own to do schoolwork, blogging, etc.  I toyed with the idea of using one of our extra rooms for my office space but I decided instead just to make a small space for myself with this vintage secretary desk.  They have auctions for their antiques as well but the auction for this desk was the day before we arrived.  I missed the auction but still got the desk at a decent price.

The desk wasn't in the best condition with some chipping and water damage here and there but I loved it. I used some Annie Sloan clear furniture wax to shine it up and I also needed to get rid of the dirty velvet cloth that was on the writing portion of the desk.  I replaced it with some faux black leather and I think it matches the black accents on the desk perfectly!  The desk has two compartments above and below. I also thought about painting the desk because it's not super old but maybe I'll enjoy the natural wood for now.

I needed to furnish my new desk with beautiful things so I took to finding them at antique stores, online, and some fun stores in Germany.  

home officehome office
home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
mini home office
secretary desk
secretary desk
 
Below is the product list of what I used to furnished my mini home office space
 
French Bulldog Coin Bank, White Ceramic Tray, Iron Letter Separater, Succulent and Vase, Gold Scissors, Gold Paper Clips, Turquoise and Gold Leaf Dish, Gold Pen Set, Floral Notebooks, Washi Tape, White Pencil Holder Vase, Kate Spade Gold Dot Notepad, faux black leather to reupholster the desk writing pad, Annie Sloan Clear Furniture Wax.
 
Winner of the GIVEAWAY

The winner of the giveaway for some of my favorite German treats is:

Diane @ Diane's Vintage Zest
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Monthly Inspiration: Spring Pastels

pastel fashion
I noticed my style has changed for the better even since 5 years ago.  5 years ago I probably would have never put on something that was pastel.  I still don't wear pink but at least now I don't mind using it in other ways like decorating.  Though Easter is over, pastels are beautiful to use all spring. I love the matte and soft look that they bring to the table.  I've compiled a list of 10 pastels that I'm craving this spring!
 
1) Pastel Blouse
To wear these tops, find yourself a good form fitting nude tank top.
 
2) Set in Gemstone Sandal
Though I love the look of heels, I am a flats girl all the way.  I love the look of the cutouts and sparkle for your feet.
 
3) Pastel Purse
A more mature way to do pastels.  This bag is perfect for spring.
 
4) Pastel Oversized Classic Sunglasses
These are great if not just for the vintage novelty factor.  At $6 they are a steal and come in several pastel colors. I may have ordered the white ones.
 
5) Essie Nailposih in Mint Candy Apple
I love the look of matte pastel colors for nails.
 
6) Macaron Box
These adorable macaron box containers would be great for storing little items or jewelry.  Only $10 each.
 
7) Fujifilm Instant Camera
I've been toying with the idea of getting one of these.  They are fun and there is something to be said about having images you don't stress over or delete before they are printed.  And how many of us actually print out our digital images?  Plus it's on sale for $65.
 
8) Carthusia Perfume in Mediterraneo
This is my absolute favorite perfume.  It's perfect for Spring and Summer.  I first purchased this when I went to Capri last September and they make this on the island.  It's a wonderful light blend of lemon and green tea.  It's so refreshing!
 
9) Ted Baker Rain Books
These whimsical rain boots are lovely in Spring, the rainiest season!  The pastel floral pattern looks like it was painted on in watercolors.
 
10) Candy Bracelets
Remember these?  These were a staple of my childhood and I'd still rock a candy bracelet.
 
Do you Wear Pastels? 
 
Don't forget about my GIVEAWAY for some of my favorite German treats! Enter here.
 
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New Design + Blogiversary + GIVEAWAY!


You may have noticed a few new things around here like my fab new blog design that I am so excited to talk about.  I feel like it's a more accurate reflection of who I am rather than my previous design.  It happens to be my blogs 1 year anniversary.  One year ago in April I decided to come up with The Rococo Roamer, which I hope is a catchy title, but what does it mean?  Well, my goals for the blog were to document my travels (Roamer) and living in Germany and even previous to that I loved the look of Rococo architecture and interiors (Rococo).  I thought it was the most extravagant/gaudy/grandiose thing I'd ever seen so I loved the idea of merging the two ideas together and voila, my blog baby was born. 

Now if you've been a long time reader or if you simply peruse the contents of my archive you will actually see that my blog is technically 2 years old.  My first post was posted in May of 2012.  But, I don't consider this the beginning of The Rococo Roamer.  Why?  Well, because it wasn't called that, it was just my name.  I had the most basic blogger template design.  I only posted once in a while and really just for my mom I think (And you should really go back and check out some of those travel posts on Prague, Amsterdam, Poland, Brussels, and Cologne!).  And lastly, I knew nothing about social media, so I'm pretty sure no one knew my blog existed and I didn't know there was a huge community of bloggers out there.  April of last year was when I decided to come up with a real blog name, pay for a custom header (the designer of the header, I actually found through Reddit), and actually customize the original template myself.

While the design that I created served it's purpose for a year, I felt it was time to actually pay someone who knew what they were doing.  Cue Rekita Nicole.  I'm pretty sure I'd been a follower of her blog HerandNicole.com since I began blogging and absolutely loved her designs.  She had such a fun, clean look in designing that I loved.  Plus you can tell that she genuinely loves designing and creating.  She has come up with tons of great blog designs and ready to buy templates.  So I decided to contact her about her design services and I can honestly say that she turned it out!  She took the ideas in my head and made them better. Also she was so patient with how picky I tend to be. I'd definitely recommend her blog designing services!

You may have also noticed that I revamped my About Me page and Contact page.  I also made the switch from www.therococoroamer.blogspot.com to www.therococoroamer.com.  I was worried about the switch, but I was able to figure out how to do it in 15 minutes so if you are thinking about getting a custom domain name (.com) and want someone else to do it for you, you can send me an email. 

I've been pondering if I should get Disqus for my commenting system but the verdict is still out on that. 
I'm thankful to all the readers I've had over the year that have been loyal commenters and followers.  And also thanks for all the new readers.  My vision for the blog is growing. I'll be graduating from my graduate program this summer so that will free up a lot more time to work on other projects.  Right now I'm pretty swamped with reading textbooks and writing papers, but I can't wait to see what other endeavors I may begin after I graduate.  Plus if you have any suggestions on what your favorite types of posts are that I write about let me know in the comments.  Are your favorite posts of mine when I write about travel, antiques, occasional DIY projects, or the very rare occasions when I reveal a bit about myself?

And now on to my little giveaway I have going on for my blogiversary. I decided that I'd give away some of my favorite German treats.  I am a chocoholic and German chocolate is on point.  You'll win everything in the picture so you can eat it all yourself or share it with a friend. (If we are getting technical here, some of them like the Chupa Chups and Forrero Rocher aren't actually German but they are delicious).
How to Enter
1) Follow The Rococo Roamer by bloglovin' or GFC
2) Leave a comment telling me which way you followed and what treat you are most excited about trying

Bonus Entry: You can also follow my new Instagram account, but leave a separate comment for that one too.

That's it!

*The giveaway ends on April 29 by 11:59 pm CET.   A winner will be chosen at random and announced the following day in a post and also contacted via email.  If you don't have a blog make sure you leave an email. You will have 72 hours to respond or the next winner will be chosen.  The contest is open internationally.  All entries will be verified.
Good Luck!
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Link Goodies #4


1) I just discovered this blog and I love all the destinations this travel blogger has been going to.  I've already been to Amsterdam and I've been wanting to go to Colmar and Czesky Crumlov so this confirms my wanderlust for those places.  Also, Greenland?  Never really gave it a thought, but I am going to Iceland this year.

2) Speaking of travel destinations, here is a compilation of the best castles to see in Germany. These are amazing. On the list I've been to Heidelburg Castle, Neuschwanstein and Hohenscwangau Castles but there are so many more on this list that I haven't even heard about.

3) Is Munich about to get a whole lot more naked?

4) I've traveled all over Europe and still haven't stayed in a hostel yet.  But these 35 cool hostels from around the world are making me want to reconsider.

5) Does your child ever complain that they don't have enough?  Show them this article of children's bedrooms from across the world.  It's amazing how some go with so little and are still essentially happy.

6) I'm excited to hear news about some of my favorite shows.  American Horror Story has revealed the theme of their season 4 that premiers October 4.  And here is a trailer for season 2 of Orange is the New Black which premiers on June 6!

7) Are you a basic bitch?

8) This coffee mug had me cracking up.  Although I don't think this would be appropriate for work.

9) Here's an adorable video of a bulldog rolling down a hill. He just can't get enough!

10) And last, I won a blog giveaway in December for a wooden sign created by Linen and Lace via Liz Marie Blog.  The sign turned out lovely and I asked her to create me a "Willkommen" sign that I have hung over my guestroom bed!  Check out Brittani's Etsy shop to see all of her work!


*As a side note, I'll be moving from therococoroamer.blogspot.com to therococoroamer.com in the next few days so hopefully you will get an automatic redirect, but if not then you know what happened and you can just save all of your feeds to the new link.  Thanks!
  
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10 Modern Accent Chairs You're Going to Love

For this installation of Furniture Fashion, I get to show off my love for chairs.  The article features 10 modern accent chairs and I can honestly say that I want every one of them.  My favorite was the one pictured below, but I also loved the peacock hanging chair, the Arper Leaf chair and the Amsterdam Bucket chair.  Check out the full article to see what I mean and tell us what your favorites are. Don't say I didn't warn you.


Roxy Chair
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Metz Wine and Gastronomy Exhibition

The last part of my trip to Metz, France took me to a Wine and Gatronomy Exhibition.  Flea market shopping and then my pick of French foods?  Yes, please.  It just so happened that the same day as the flea market, they were also having the food expo.  It was in the same building and entry is free.  This is a place where you can sample the finest French and worldly foods, such as beef, cheeses, beers, wines, macarons, quiches, and so on.  Everything was excellent and the people were very friendly.  Mostly everyone there spoke English.  Check out the foods below.

Metz Wine and Gastronomy Exhibition
Metz Wine and Gastronomy Exhibition
French Nougat

Even though I found a lot of cheap scores at the flea market, the food expo was crazy expensive.  You find yourself enjoying a sample of nougat, buying a slice, and then finding out it's 15 Euro! We did buy a quite a few items above.  Here's a list and prices:
  • French Macarons- 10 Euro
  • French Wine- 10 Euro
  • French Beer- I think 20 Euro?
  • French Nougat 15 Euro
  • Swiss Cheese- 17 Euro
  • Greek Olive Tapenade- 8 Euro
Though the food expo was expensive the food was top quality so you get what you pay for.  I'm just glad I could sample such tasty foods. If you'd like to go to the Wine and Gastronomy Exhibition, it's usually held once a year and if you time it right, it's on a Flea Market day.  You can check out the website here

There are also two other parts to this trip.
What would you like to try?

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Travel Tuesday


Metz Flea Market and Tips for a Successful Haul

Metz Flea Market

I explained in my previous post the the whole reason I went to Metz was to explore the Metz Flea Market which is a huge indoor flea market.  I heard things like Metz is an expensive flea market so you probably won't find many deals.  This simply isn't true and I'm about to tell you why.  The brunt of my antique shopping has been done in Germany and Belgium.  Compared to the US, the quality and price of antiques in Europe are usually way better.  I have no problem finding cheap scores on beautiful items at markets in Germany and Belgium.  I think most of the reason that French brocantes are more expensive (or appear to be more expensive) is because French antiques will always  be more sought after, in the world of serious collectors and home decorators alike.  French stuff sells. Period.

So I came to Metz thinking I would be shelling out more money, regardless if it wasn't Paris.  I noticed a few things at this French market.

1) You can haggle.  Just like at any other flea market.  Prices are a little higher than say Tongeren, Belgium, or Nurnberg, Germany, flea markets....but they are willing to come down significantly more on prices.  This is just my experience of one day in Metz, but I would see items that I was looking at and everytime I haggled the response was always "Oui."  Now, the price you are haggling shouldn't be significantly less. You aren't trying to insult the seller, you are trying to come together on a price that is fair.  While I had good luck haggling maybe, 5 Euro off of a 18 Euro item, my husband did not have as much luck asking almost 50% off of an expensive item.  Keep in mind, they are probably making a living off of this so while you want a deal, you don't want to insult them, and trust me, you will know when they are insulted when they just walk away mid convo.  By simply showing interest in an item,  a seller noticed and told me "best price" on one of his items was 50% off of the price tag.  In that instance, he is wanting to sell you the item quick, so take advantage of it if you want it and also, "best price" usually means best price so don't try to haggle in that case.

2) More quality antiques, less junk. When I travel to markets around Germany and Belgium there are a lot of treasures to be found.  But there is also a lot of junk you might have to sort through.  Some people love junk to do restoration projects.  Some people don't want to bother with the junk and are looking for quality antiques.  I think my style falls somewhere in the middle.  But at the Metz Flea I noticed more quality antiques and less junk and this was a refreshing change.  This is also why some of the prices might be a little higher.  My head was spinning with how many amazing things I was finding at this market.  I know in the past I said Tongeren was my Mecca of fleas but I was very impressed with this one.  Plus, since it was indoors, you can conceivable go anytime of year.  There is also a bar/restaurant so if your husband is less than thrilled about attending, you can drop him off there ;)

3) Communicate as best as you can. It is respectful to learn a bit of the language of the country you are visiting. I visit a lot of countries and there is no way I can be fluent in every language, but key words are helpful.  Though I don't know French, it's good to know the basics.  As I mentioned in my previous post, many people in Metz did not speak English, either because they didn't know how or because they just didn't want to and some of my readers have already pointed out that a lot of them don't want to or don't feel comfortable.  I didn't let that detract me from making deals.  Things that helped me communicate were, trying English first, trying German second (we are near the German border in Metz), trying Spanish (some words are similar to French and my Spanish actually did help a bit). And if all else fails, grab your cell phone and use the calculator to suggest prices or use your fingers.  I used every one of those ways to try to communicate.  Plus, one of the dealers even pulled out their phone for me to use.  Bottom line, they are going to be helpful if they want to make a sale.

Metz Expo
Metz Flea Market
Metz Flea
Metz Flea

There are two big rooms filled with French antiques at this market.  If you'd like to visit the Metz Flea (Les Puces de Metz) the flyer above shows you the next available dates.  They are on Saturdays. Entrance is free and parking in the parking lot in front is free. For more info you can check out this website.  The address is:

Metz Expo Evenements
Rue de la Grange aux Bois-BP 45059
57072 Metz Cedex 3-France

Now on to what I bought:

I didn't buy a ton of things, but I did buy almost everything I wanted.  The first item I purchased was this little rusted globe bank.  Anything with a globe is calling my name.  And the little titles are in French. 

French Globe Bank

The next item I bought was this French perfume bottle.  I'd been passing them up at a lot of other flea markets so I finally decided to purchase one. 

Blue French Perfume Bottle

This item I had been going back and forth on.  It was priced at 18 Euro for this Longwy dish.  I loved the gold crackled club design and the beautiful red background.  I decided I needed a new ring dish and asked if she'd take 13 Euro for it and she didn't even hesitate. 

Longwy French Red and Gold Dish

Though we finished the market and were about to head to the food expo, I still had the sense of unfinished business there.  I had long been wanting a French chair and there were many there,  but I was too afraid that the prices would be ridiculous.  I spotted a beautiful 50's French chair with presumable reupholstered dark blue material.  I just decided to see how much it was.  The dealer said 40 Euro.  I couldn't believe that price because I'd never seen a chair in such great condiction at such a low price.  I asked him if he'd take 30 Euro.  He didn't even hesitate and said yes, so I snatched this chair up for 30 Euro. 
Blue French Chair

 Like I said earlier, every price I offered was accepted so there are great deals to be found in Metz even if it appears to  be expensive at first. I would love to take another trip back to Metz at some point.  Absolutely. 

If you want to see what the town of Metz looks like you can check out my last post here.  Also stay tuned for my next post when I talk about the Food Expo.

So do you think you could use these tips at the Metz Flea?  Did you see anything you would buy?




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Travel Tuesday

Metz, France

Metz, France

Last week for my belated birthday, B took me to Metz, France.  Why Metz, France?  Well, there are several reasons I wanted to go, but mostly because of their huge indoor flea market.  Metz is close to the border of Germany so there are a lot of German influences such as the Neuf Temple above.  I was told that many of the French countries bordering Germany like Metz, Strasbourg, and Colmar were similar.  Although I haven't been to Colmar yet, I've been to Strasbourg, France and Metz couldn't be more different.  It has this almost eerie feel to it as you can see in the pictures.  The buildings were very old and it made for such a dramatic effect...Especially the cemetery.  Oh you must go to the cemetery if you ever go to Metz.  It's very haunting and all of the tombstones are very elaborate.  There is an older part to the cemetery that is no longer maintained and you can't even read some of the headstones anymore.

The St. Etienne Cathedral (Metz Cathedral) is in the center of the town.  It's a good place to start if you want to explore the city.  We were in town on a Saturday and there were tons of things going on.  There was a huge farmers market around the cathedral.  You can also meet at the cathedral if you want to do any tours.  There was a little train trolley that did tours for 6 euro in various languages.

The opera house, Opera Theatre de Metz Metropole is the oldest operating opera house in France and it is also one of the oldest opera houses in Europe.  I was intrigued by the German built Neo-Romanesque, Neuf Temple.  It was built by the Germans in 1904. You should see it from the front and from behind on the bridge.

The Anc Temple de Garnison is quite a tall landmark but if you think it looks like something is missing, that's because there is.  The temple suffered a bad fire and the surrounding temple had to be demolished. 

The last landmark we saw was the Centre Pompidou Metz.  It's a modern and contemporary art museum built by a Japanese architect.  We didn't go inside but it was right next to our hotel we stayed in, the Hotel Ibis Centre Metz Gare, where we enjoyed a reasonable stay.

For lunch. I was excited to get my fill of French food.  German food is great, but they don't have a lot of good cuts of beef and seafood. We had lunch at a restuarant near the Neuf Temple and it was delicious.  I will say, that not a whole lot of people speak English in Metz.  Either they can't or they won't.  I expected that since it was so close to the German border they would speak a bit of German so we also tried to communicate in German, but they only spoke French.  I liked Metz and it was visually different than any other place I've been to in Europe.  You can reasonably spend the whole day walking around downtown, shopping, and getting lost in the cobblestone streets.  We did.

Metz Cathedral
Metz Cathedral
Metz Cathedral
Metz Opera House
Opera Theatre de Metz Metropole
Neuf Temple
Neuf Temple
Neuf Temple
Nuef Temple
Neuf Temple
Neuf Temple
Anc Temple de Garnison
Anc Temple de Garnison
Metz Cemetery
Metz Cemetery
Metz Farmer's Market
Metz Farmer's Market
Centre Pompidou Metz
Centre Pompidou Metz

I rated Metz high in food, historical/museums, kid friendly, photo ops, safe for solo travel (IMO), shopping, and a unique destination.


I came to Metz to go to the Metz Flea Market so stay tuned for that later in the week.  Also, during the same day in the same building we were lucky enough to get to experience a Food Expo featuring fine cuisine from all over but mostly French.  I'll share that next week.

Would you visit Metz, France?


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