New ‘Map Geek’ feature every Monday

I’m a map geek. There, I said it. I love ’em and can’t get enough of them, hence my new ‘Map Mondays’ feature. And it’s not just maps that get me going – globes, travel guides and landscape installations all have me whipping my camera out quicker than you can say ‘tourist information centre’. Yes, I have a whole list of map-related articles in store for you over the coming months and I’m kicking this new feature off with a fantastic £25 gift voucher giveaway for TooWrappedUp.com! I never really realised just how ‘into’ maps I have been until this year. I always thought it was my husband’s hobby and, as an ex-scout, he was really good at understanding maps, taking me off the beaten track with nothing more than an Ordinance Survey fold-out and a compass in his backpack. Over the years, I’ve bought him countless books, globes and even a shower-curtain printed with the underground map, thinking that he was a massive map geek. It turns out that I was being much more self-serving than I imagined, choosing map-related homewares that I too liked the look of and spending hours pouring over the travel guides myself. So, after much deliberation and soul-searching analysis, I have concluded that I am a secret map geek and was just hiding behind my husband’s obsession. And it all came to a head when we took our holiday over half term. We tricked ourselves into believing that we were just taking a leisurely trip from the West to East coast but here’s what we never admitted to each other: the main reason we’d travelled north was to visit a map exhibition in the Keswick – but I’ll tell you more about that next week. Today’s post is all about the travel guides that I found at TooWrappedUp.com last week. I was browsing the site to find a ‘new baby’ gift for my bestie when I stumbled into their travel guide section. There I found two interesting maps and immediately knew that I had to have them, and I told myself hubby will love this. We all know that means I wanted them for myself but I’ll compromise and share the maps with Mr. Fairy. The first map that I clicked on was the travel guide How To Find Old New York. Our combined dream is to take a honeymoon in New York ‘one day’, this map by Herb Lester shares the locations of essential places to see in ‘old’ New York. It includes information on all the classic diner hangouts and routes to find the best pizzeria in town. What really drew me to the map was the inclusion of the famous Zabars grocery store that features in so many of my favourite films and TV shows such as You’ve Got Mail, Friends and Sex and The City. Zabars is an essential location on my list of ‘places-to-visit-when-I-go-to-New-York’ so I think that the £4 price tag of this map was a good investment, if only to help me do some shopping at this famous deli.The second map that I chose was for a location a little closer to home: London. But rather than just another A-Z of the capital, this map does so much more than that – it’s a map of the best pubs to visit. Titled ‘Pub For All Reasons’, the map leads you to watering holes all around the city and explains why each is special. Whether you’re looking for a lovely view of the Thames or want to sip on your pint in historical surroundings, there’s a recommendation for everyone within this travel guide. It has made me excited for my next trip to the capital and I can’t wait to visit ‘the pub with the happy cat’!

Of course, the maps weren’t the only reason that I stopped by TooWrappedUp.com last week and while doing my gift shopping, I found a gorgeous new baby bib gift set and the perfect vintage striped wrapping paper and twine, just right to celebrate the birth of my best friends’ new baby. After picking out some gorgeous baby boy goodies for her, I found a great range of irresistible stationary, home wares and cards for every occasion too.  The stationary section was packed full of kraft paper envelopes, classy notelets and graph-paper journals so I really was in stationary heaven at this store! I particularly loved the pack of nostalgic notecards below, and if the Mad Hatter notebook hadn’t just sold out, I would have been snapping one up for hubby’s birthday there and then!While I wait for it to come back into stock, I’ve bought the matching Mad Hatter wrapping paper and checked out an alternative gift set: the GOOD stationary set. This adorable kit comes with notelets for every occasion, a Kraft covered note book, pencil, sharpener and stickers, plus every purchase means a child in The Gambia will receive a school stationery kit including two exercise books (paper is very expensive in The Gambia), a pencil with eraser and a pencil sharpener. How amazing is that? So if you fancy getting your hands on some lovely goodies from the gorgeous gift store TooWrappedUp.com, why not enter my giveaway to win a £25 to spend on their stunning website? The giveaway is open to all UK residents and one lucky winner will be chosen on Monday 6th April as the winner of a £25 credit to spend on anything they wish from TooWrappedUp.com – it doesn’t just have to be maps, there are plenty of homewares, gifts, wrapping paper, cards and candles to enjoy so check out the website for more fantastic product ranges!

You can gain lots of entries into the Rafflecopter giveaway so do the following options and tweet as often as you like to gain more entries between now and the 6th April – best of luck to you all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway