Aged Beauty

It has been said...

"You can only perceive beauty in a person as they get older"

-Anouk Aimee

http://www.guardian.co.uk

I suppose the same could be true of old houses.

Soupbowl 

-aka my dear husband- 

(Soupbowl was a nickname given to my husband when he was in college.

It affectionately referred to his haircut-which was said to have been caused by his mother putting a soup bowl on his head and cutting his hair around it)

So Soupbowl and I have been working diligently and through all hours of the night to restore and enhance the beauty of unit #1.  Unit #1 is a small apartment located on the second floor of our 1900 Victorian.  It is the last of three such units that we have had to lovingly and painstakingly repair in the past four months.  All of which-I am happy to report-are now rented.  

This also explains my lack of blog posts from December to now ;-) 

I must be honest and say that there were times when the very last thing that I wanted to do was stumble out of our cozy bed on a Sunday morning, put on my "grungy" best, and gather and load the old gray truck with tools we had just brought in the night before.  I must also apologize to dear Soupbowl who was the recipient of my dislike toward having to get up and out on those groggy Saturday and Sunday mornings.  

Upon pulling into the urban alley behind our majestic old girl and managing to miss the stray whose head was buried so deeply in a misshaped aluminum trash can-that we saw only his hind legs and wagging tail...I digress.    

As I was saying-upon pulling into the urban alley a sense of peace washed over me.   I don't know if it is because of the comfort that comes from stepping into a building that has existed for more than 100 years-longer than most lifetimes-and knowing that even with all of that time behind it and all of those experiences of people moving in and out-its beauty and charm remains...and I would argue may be better now than it ever was-especially with four such dedicated and adoring hands giving it the attention it deserves.  

Getting out of bed doesn't seem so bad now.  

The above photograph is the original fireplace-in pristine ;-) condition.  I am amazed that it is all intact and in wonderful shape frankly because this unit has seen its share of youthful tenants, early morning keg parties and even survived a fire.  

Ah the fire-Soupbowl (who has owned the house since 1992 and who used to live in the main unit) was awakened one night by a frazzled young woman who had attempted to cook a waffle on the stovetop and managed to ignite a sufficient enough spark to have the fire department come and put it out.  

The kitchen in unit #1 is very small.  It appears to be much larger now because of Soupbowl's brilliant idea to knock out a wall and create the half wall that you see above.  But alas-there was an issue.  The issue is the small pole that you can see poking out of the top of the half wall and extending all the way to the ceiling.  Is it a water pipe? Is it a gas pipe?  We did not know either and -because of this- were very hesitant to get rid of it.  

After some long sessions on the internet and a few discussions with the Ace Hardware guy down the street (tip: if ever in doubt about what you tools you need or what something is in a old house-ask the neighborhood hardware guy-chances are if the store is in a historic neighborhood-he knows it, stocks it or knows who stocks it), we discovered that it is neither a water pipe or a gas pipe but was installed to be a support for the wood floors.  Imagine that!

The other side of the kitchen (above) is sporting a new coat (couple of coats actually) of white paint.  Such a nice contrast to the mahogany stained butcher block counter tops that Soupbowl created from an old microwave cart. 

I adore the butterfly hinges mounted to the outside of the cabinet doors.  Two of the hinges broke during demolition (if you can call unscrewing the doors so that they can be painted-demolition) Lucky for me that replacements were only one online purchase away.  Unlucky for me that they come in a variety of sizes :-(  Who knew?  The problem was averted when Soupbowl found a pair of hinges on one of the main unit's kitchen cabinets and was able to steal them without compromising it's style or charm.  

It wasn't just the butterfly hinges that I adore about this wonderful old house.  It is all of the details-from the heavy moldings to the ornate iron vent grids- from the mullioned windows to the amber glass doorknobs.  Even the radiators are beautiful.  I am astonished at the workmanship and attention to detail that went into it's creation.  And to think that those who built it did not have power tools or Ace Hardware guys-it is truly astonishing and awe inspiring.  It makes me want to create.  

Close up of the column of the original fireplace mantel.

Even the fireplace screen is decorated...
The Victorians truly have a place in my heart.
I too, would decorate every surface.

Which brings me back to where I started.  The reason for getting out of that cozy, warm bed every Sunday morning for four months....and for the great sense of peace that arose in arriving at 1139 Clarkson Street...

INSPIRATION 

to create an adoration for the beauty that can only come with age.  

http://www.madatoms.com

And to our old majestic girl....ROCK ON, Clarkson!

May inspiration, adoration and peace be with you...

wherever you are.

Cristine 

The Wonder of Winter

above image from www.fitnessservice.com

Dearest followers and friends,

I am sorry for the long pause between posts.

Things have been unusually busy

 in my little corner of the world.

above image from www.tfsr.org

Creative endeavors always seem to take a back burner

to making sure stockings are filled and presents are wrapped.

Especially when trying to fit it all in between the end of the workday 

and bedtime stories.  

above image by Bill Kopitke from boston.com

It would seem that nourishing the soul 

should take precedence.

After all...

it makes a lot of difference in how we perceive happiness.

above image from japanican.com

Although... waking up to exuberant, pajama-clad children 

-who are eager to learn if Santa came-

is also a good way to nourish the soul.

above image from media02.hongkiat.com

And getting the week off of work between

Christmas and New Year's Day 

does make me quite happy  :-)

I intend to use it well with a few large beautification

projects around my house.  

I will post my accomplishments.

above image from www.sierraclub.org

May this week before Christmas

nourish your soul and fill your life with happiness

-wherever you may be-

Evoking November

November is a very special month...

It is a time for being thankful.

It is the month in which I was born...

and my son was born.

November means crisp autumn nights and auburn morning skies...

time spent indoors curled up in a blanket or someone else's arms

It is a time for pumpkin spice lattes and new york times best sellers...

of classic movies and late night scrabble games by the fire.  

It evokes the true sense of home...warm and serene

and the true sense of family...comraderie and love.

May November be just as magical for you.

(I should give credit to all of the images above as not one of them are mine-but I have no idea from which blog or website that I took them.  I just thought that they were so beautiful together.  I will try to find the sources again and post them in a later post.  The third image is from the Ralph Lauren Home website.  Please forgive me producers of these photographs and thank you for allowing me to share them.)  

Posh Pumpkins

Since pumpkins are the premier vegetable...or is it the premier fruit...

for the early autumn season

(Google even expresses some question as to which it is-which thankfully makes me feel a little less stupid for not knowing)

-and-

because they are a wonderful ingredient for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

(go here for a scrumdiddlyumptious pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe)

-and-

because whether cinderella, jack-o-lantern or jack-be-littles...

all pumpkins make great decorative accessories

(go here to find out about all the different types of pumpkins-there are so many!)

-and-

are you still with me?

because I seemed to have acquired so many pictures of them..

I thought that this would be the perfect pumpkin post for this cool but lovely

October day.

I created my own version of the pumpkin display above

I will display some photos of my version later.

Please come again.

It's a Scary Subject

Halloween is drawing near...

...so is my desire to decorate for the season.

However-the season always seems to disappear 

before 

I have as much as a black wreath on the door or a skeleton in the window.  

I think that is why I adore 

gathering and glaring at photographs of other's Halloween decorations.

They make me feel as though I am there-

in the spooky spirit and haunted happiness 

of Halloween.

Simone Lagies

-the imaginative lady who evoked these eerie images-

certainly brings out the ghostly gawker in me ;-)

(All photos above except the skeleton hello and black crepe wreath 

were published in Better Homes and Gardens October 2007 issue. 

Skeleton hello is from a current catalog whose name I cannot remember because I tore it out without noting it..oops.

The black crepe paper wreath is from Family Circle magazine)

May you be enchanted too.

Nest Nostalgia

It seems that before I got married my house was just a little cleaner

 (who am I kidding it was a heck of a lot cleaner ;-)

and...a little more organized.

I miss that.

These photographs are from the house that I lived in pre-wedding vows.  

Seems like everything appears cleaner and more organized with a white canvas

hmm...I wonder if that would work in my sons' rooms ;-)

I thought these photos were appropriate for White Wednesday-so I am linking on up!

Inspiration via Organization

If a clean closet is a sign of a clear mind...

 then I am on my way to one crystal clear mind ;-)

I have been wanting to create a craft/office space in our basement closet 

for quite some time now.

Just recently...

 I decided to begin by clearing out the boxes and boxes 

of home decorating magazines

 that I have amassed through the years.

Every morning

I set the alarm 10 minutes earlier.

I shuffle to the kitchen to start the morning brew-

then I scuttle down the stairs to choose just the right magazine.

The next few minutes are bliss.

I sit at the kitchen island-

sipping my morning sustenance 

(usually a vanilla sustenance although fall puts me in the mood for something more like pumpkin spice)

and sift slowly through the pages.

While admiring all of the glorious photographs-

I choose some favorites and tear them out.

(storing pages is a lot less space consuming than boxes full of magazines). 

Not only is it a wonderful way to begin the day

-fully inspired-

and an efficient way to solve my storage issue-

It allows me to share my inspiration with you.

Now it is off to indulge in a little evening sustenance...

Good evening wherever you are.

Photographs courtesy of House Beautiful, Country Home and Traditional Home