taiwan series: bookstore for beginners

i was facetiming with my mom the other day, and she asked (again) when i was going to go home for a visit. i love my annual visits, but have had an overwhelming sense of dread on the topic since Z was born. not that i don't want to take him home to meet his great-grandmother and introduce him to ding tai fung, but the thought of having to deal with baby jet lag makes me want to stay on EST for the next 10 years. from all accounts, it will ruin your trip. (i'm still recovering from our trip to L.A. last week, and that was only 3 hours' difference!) so while i ponder whether or not i have the courage to do such a thing, here are some photos of an adorable bookstore 「新手書店」 in taichung that we visited last may.   

i love the wood and black metal exterior. when i build our dream house, this is the look i'll be going for. 

the interior is a similar aesthetic, with stripped wood and lots of vintage taiwanese tchotchkes. 

hhh picked up a few photography books while we were there - he couldn't read the others. :) 

if you're in the neighborhood and want to visit, it's at: Táizhōng shì xīqū xiàngshàng běi lù 129 hào [台中市西區向上北路129號]. 

a bit of rearranging

we have a strange gap behind the sofa, which i filled in with a shelf and some brackets from ikea a while back.  it's nice having somewhere to set glasses, since we don't have a proper coffee table. 

of course i then piled on some books and tins and vases and then there was no more space for glasses. it looks pretty, though, doesn't it?

a stacked tin from song fang maison de thé in shanghai; framed matchbooks from chinatown restaurants; and coasters from goods of desire in hong kong. 

some design-y books and second-hand finds. all the buildings in new york is a great one with drawings by james gulliver hancock. see if you can find your building!