b l o g o r e l l i

Open House of the Week: So Pleasant

(I decided to put a positive spin on this whole house hunting process by chronicling my favorite place each week.)

14 Pleasant Street, Sharon MA

This lovely antique colonial (circa 1785) was rebuilt from the studs out in 2007 (by a "notable Vermont architect," as I overheard the realtor saying.) The house sits on a great street, but is definitely the smallest by square footage and lot size, a short walk from the commuter rail and downtown. Sharon is a town south of Boston known for its MassAudubon/conservation lands, lake, and excellent schools.  There's a Starbucks, too!

PROS:
- all cosmetic and "big tag items" done (updated roof, electrical, furnace, kitchen/bath, etc)
- great division of space within the house, lots of little nooks for storage
- great light, house just felt good to be in, I could see us there
- cute little yard with raised beds for planting, double garage to store the cars during those winter storms
- obviously a great street with nice neighbors (many of whom were at the open house)

CONS:
- only one bathroom, which had just a shower (no bathtub)
- small master bedroom (would likely be crowded with a king-sized bed, which we have)
- two very small bedrooms upstairs, with angled ceilings due to roof pitch
- not on the low side of our budget and yard would need to be fenced for The Boys=additional cost

Overall, The Prof and I both really liked this house, but are a little scared of no expansion possibilities. That being said, I do wonder if we're falling prey to a certain amount of Americanism in respect to ignoring quantity for quality.

Enough analysis, you know that you just want to see the photos!

Project 365: Day 151

Sometimes, I'm amazed at what one walks by every day but misses until really looking. In my case, it's this "urban" tree, whose base has literally grown in a square to fit against the sidewalk.

One more view (showing how the tree is growing out of its square base):

Project 365: Day 136

My new real estate "crush" on the commute home (along Waverly Avenue); this house is the realized vision of a place The Prof and I looked at three times in Dedham but that ultimately needed just too much work.

(here's a TINY photo from the listing site, now the property is off-market)

Project 365: Day 109

Ewe so crazy, Stoneham

Ee i ee i oh

According to TheKnot.com, which I signed up to for the checklists (oh, am I crazy for a thorough checklist,) The Prof and I should now be focusing on TheNest...or that's what the emails that I've been getting the past three weeks say. Only a financial miracle would allow us to actually buy a house prior to November 30 and cash in on the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, but a gal can dream...

"Traumatized by witnessing the events of 9/11 up close from his South Street Seaport apartment, the painter Sean Scherer sought refuge upstate with his partner, Marc Mayer. The pair bought this 1840s farmhouse in Walton, N.Y., and Mr. Scherer channeled his creative energies into renovation."

If only the Catskills were near, well, anything or anyone Mark or I knew.

(all photos:Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)

(note: having a bed nook is one of my life list goals)

(thx to Kate Hogan for the crush-worthy link!)     

Hearth

“A little House well fill'd, a little Field well till'd, and a little Wife well will'd, are great Riches”
– Benjamin Franklin

C O N G R AT S  to Jeffé and Claire Voyant on taking advantage of that 2009 tax credit and BUYING A HOUSE! I've been lucky enough to see the new manor and it is a very charming place indeed, with lots of nooks and crannies, quirky historical details, and a big yard with almost any kind of plant imaginable, including strawberries. YUM.

(Here is the nested couple with the letter "O" that Sarah won at the BoNE Show Opening. She said that the piece will hang in the office, like "O for Office.") 

I Suck

Just an excuse to show some more photos of the soulful Hank in his clever onesie...and to apologize for being so absent around here as of late. What can I say? Whether I was being showered with The Prof at our "Jack & Jill" party, giving myself a black eye by drinking too much at a picnic with the Irish cousin-in-laws-to-be and then passing out into a wall the next morning, unpacking, working, or trying to organize this "wedding thing," life has been too busy for typed recollections.

Look at this cutie and try to be mad at me for disappearing...

I thought not.

Since Summer "technically" started yesterday but it's been sideways raining in The Bean for the last week, my co-worker and I pretended to toast in the season at Marliave with one of the most sneakily easy-to-drink cocktails I've had in years. Of course, I can't remember the drink's exact name, but through the fog of two rounds, I recall that it was named after Marie Curie and contained a mix of gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit, prosecco, and maybe lime? Guess I'll have to return for another drinky and try to smuggle out the recipe.

Then last week, Half Pint sent me this article from ohdeedoh about how this Saturday, June 27, is the official Great Backyard Campout...while I simultaneously found this piece about an 11-by-11-foot, one room cottage bought (for $500!) and brought back to life on the shore of Wandawega Lake in Wisconsin. Coincidence? We have a backyard at the new apartment, and nothing says love like buying your new spouse something other than useless jewelry for her wedding present, hmmm?

HAPPY SUMMER -- I AM BACK!

Grow Local

Initiatives like "Rethink Your Green," proposed by  one CalArts design team to encourage Angelenos to plant native gardens in their front yards, are very inspiring and seem fairly simple to implement. Instead of the non-indigenous landscaping that is sucking up 60% of the city's water consumption, residents fill their yards with beautiful flowers like mariposas or California posey.

The initiative has three components:

Build Awareness: Educate the public on the LA water supply.

Present Alternatives: What people can use instead of “traditional lawns” in their yard, aka switch to a drought-resistant California lawn.

Provide Resources: Tell em how to do it.

I remember when Half Pint mentioned that she and Mr. Car might do a native garden in their front yard -- I was excited because the concept was new to me. Since that time, I've seen quite a few beautiful front yard gardens (most notably in Jamaica Plain) and would love to plant my own...some day.

(images via Yanko Design, thx to Mark for the link)

Serenbe and Bear It

Well, I'm ready to move down south, anyone joining?

"The settlement of Serenbe is found in the heart of Chattahoochee Hill Country. This 40,000 acres of rural Georgia is about the size of Napa Valley, and is one of the last undeveloped stretches of land in the Atlanta area. The founders of Serenbe realize that their largely untouched 900 acres presented a short window of opportunity for creating a community in a new and better way...

By protecting this land from the typical growth patterns of urban sprawl. By merging ecologically sound sustainability principles with the design philosophies of walking neighborhoods made up of both homes and shops. By building villages and hamlets for single people, families and empty nesters of a wide range of economic and cultural diversity.

And by creating real community, where people are drawn together over gardening, over cooking, over books, over art, over ideas, and yes, even over back fences.

They say that if you want to change the world, you should start in your own backyard. If that’s so, then Serenbe is quite a beginning. Or maybe a respectful nod to times gone by."

Too bad The Prof is very heat-sensitive...and maybe I feel a little like when something seems too good to be true, it just might be so.

Curb Appeal: Owner's Pride

Of course, once I write a little "adieu" to the Curb Appeal series, I find two things to post in that category. Harumph.

Even though we've mostly ceased looking at apartments and/or real estate, I always remember how a lot of properties claimed to "shine with owner's pride." One thing that I loved to do at my apartment in 'DaVille to show my "renter's pride" was fire escape gardening.

The other day, on a trip to Home Depot, I realized that I hadn't potted any plants for our porches yet this season, and to be honest, missing the chance produced a slight void in my Spring/Summer routine. I quickly remedied the situation by picking up a bunch of herbs to plant in a divided wooden crate that I bought at the thrift store (which I think originally housed wine bottles since "Napa Valley" was burnished into the side.)

The box (with holes that I drilled in the bottom for drainage):


With the herbs:


All done!

One thing I'd eventually love to have is a wall-mounted garden, like this one (complete with instructions) featured on Craftzine.com:

Or this delightful arrangement that I saw in Orvieto while visiting Italia in 2006:

Curb Appeal: Appliances Not Included

The final (for this season, most likely) house that The Prof and I saw earlier this week had great details from 1905 but lacked the space for things like a full-sized fridge. If we have this conundrum again, I'll look straight to vintage repro models, especially those with European proportions (a.k.a. slimmer width.) A definite contender for my complete suite of dreamy kitchen appliances? Fridges, dishwashers, and ranges from Big Chill in a variety of fun enamel colors.

(I feel obliged to mention that you can usually find actual quality vintage appliances for cheap with a mere quick search on your local craigslist.)