Amazing Local Door Sighting

Partner-In-Crime snagged this photo today and sent it to me. Amazing right! I didn't think anyone around here had starburst escutcheons... let alone two. Add in the windows and double it ~ this is one swoon-worthy front door.

While I Am Sitting Here....

It ended up being a small ordeal to get full-frontal photos of the house in order to email them to Mel. I wanted to use a camera that was better than mine (supposedly) but the photos came out terrible! We won't even discuss the bare spots where I had pulled out the old landscaping last summer, the 50 mph winds and generally dark day, not to mention the fact that I couldn't back up any further to get a full panorama of the house or I ran the risk of falling down a steep hill and into oncoming traffic.

Regardless, I got what I could, here are some outtakes:

YES my bullet planters are full of fakedy-plant goodness. It looks fine from a distance, only the fed-ex guy comes to the front door so I'm not too worried about anyone thinking I'm tacky. Once spring and summer arrive, I will try my hand at real plants and see what happens.

So... I think we all have those kind of days where you read other people's blogs or sites and their homes look 1000x better than yours. Last week I was bumming out over the fact that my front door isn't orange, I don't have built-in planters anywhere, my kitchen sucks, my couches are all wrong, yellow siding is ugly, I wish I knew how to install pinch-pleat drapes, I will never be as DIY savvy as the girl who owns The Brick House, and holy-crap- I-need-3-matching-sconces-and-where-the-heck-am-I-going-to-find-THREE-matching-sconces....! etc etc etc. There were definately some home-insecurities running rampant around here!

But then I had to take these photos and they reminded me how much I love this house and how we came to own it. How I get butterflies in my stomach like a silly crush every time I drive up the hill towards home and see the the roof pointing out of the trees just a little bit. How there's nothing like the familiar prints of my barkcloth curtains when I walk in after a long day. How it's funny that when I googled about some Hall-Mack pieces, photos of my bathroom were close to the top of the search... how it will soon be summertime and I have a huge set of patio furniture to sandblast and repaint for the ultimate in swanky poolside furnishings... and how I have all these amazing ideas of things to do around here to just make it extra-groovy and how lucky I am to have a literal partner-in-crime who is down for any kind of project or purchase.

& I stopped feeling so inadequate. :)

Things I Collect Pt. 2

L to R: Vintage NOS Napkins, Franciscan Starburst, Syracuse China

I want to pose the question: is one item considered a collection? I have only found one of these Syracuse China plates in "Fanfare". But I want more. I want to collect them, alas I only have the one right now.  They don't come up on ebay very often (or if they do, it's hard to find - not too many people know the pattern name). There were some sets up last night, but I didn't bid... I'd prefer to hunt them down around here & get them as I find them. The Starburst collection isn't a serious one, they're mostly for show in the breakfront.

Also, does anyone else collect other people's photos? I will rummage through boxes of photos and pick them out based on color tint, subject, clothing, or home design. It's kind of creepy but I like to just look at them and imagine the stories of the day they were taken.

This and the photo underneath are from the same roll. 

 

 

 

clearly this person had A+ taste in furnishings. I like to think this roll of photos is from a new house. Everyone is happy and showing off.

So! If anyone comes across any Syracuse Fanfare, keep me in mind! :)

Guide To Creative Home Decorating circa 1954

This book isn't exactly the guide I need, however it's been a great source of joy for me to flip through every now and again. Particularly the guide to styles page where the difference between "classic" modern and "organic" [danish] modern comes into play.

Apologies for the photos, they are actual photos as I can't figure out how to work our scanner yet. The glares are terrible, I know.