the home I love

It has been too long since I've updated.
Way too many changes and updates to track.
But I'm thinking of writing here again- about the house and also my health.
I read hundreds of blogs and am constantly inspired by decor and delicious recipes.
I want to be part of that.
So maybe I'll post here from time to time about a change in the house or a great recipe or a new milestone- if for no other reason than to motivate myself.

Someday I'll catch up on everything new but a few highlights: gorgeous hardwood floors, new decor (thanks to Mike's sweet Pottery Barn discount), new paint colors, yardsale/thrift treasures galore, backyard landscaping (half the yard anyway), a second greyhound Clari Giroux Dia Cruz, wonderful housemates (who happen to be my siblings), vegan living, quality time with friends and family, turning 30, becoming a runner, teaching... it is all so full and rich. This is the foundation I was hoping for; the home I love.

There is a lesson to be learned...2 years later

Home for the Holidays

It is beyond wonderful to have a home for the holidays. I work with so many people who find themselves homeless this season and though my house remains a serious work in progress, I'm so very glad to have one.

The to-do list for 119 is longer than you or I have time for, so I'll spare you a long list... just know I have a lot of hopes and dreams for this space.

Most recently we:

Updated light fixtures in the kitchen and dining room

Hung curtains in the dining room

Decorated for our first Christmas in our own house <3 

• Got a new washing machine (fabulous Christmas gift)
• Added a gorgeous tall table and chairs in the kitchen (thanks Gram!)
• Hung shelves and artwork in the bathroom 
• Painted the second floor hallway 
• Shuffled furniture around to create a more open space

Most of the decor (if not 98%) has come from thrift stores and yard sales (right Lauren?) and even though we desperately need new furniture to decorate around- the house is feeling pretty cozy. Plus, it held up just fine for our first annual  GCity Christmas party and filled with good people- it was hard to notice all the things still left on the to-do list.

There is nothing like cuddling up in the living room next to the "fireplace", christmas lights shining with the sound of old records playing.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays indeed <3

Inspired

Fall is my favorite season. I seriously can't get enough of it. I realize now that my decorating style is heavily influenced by this autumn obsession. An orange-red on the walls of the dining room, a newly painted bright red door, rich wood tones, gold and brass odds and ends...it just makes me happy and I'm okay with that.
I still struggle with my decorating style and the historic charm of the house  (aka: annoying dark trim, plaster walls etc)...but I'm trying to just let go and see where it all takes me.

The last few months have been full...major job changes, the loss of my beloved aunt paddy, the joyous weddings of friends, birthdays and a few weekends away. 119 remained pretty much the same- save for some minor storm damage from Hurricane Irene. As we settle into the new season and our weekends become a little less full we hope to see some serious progress on the home front.
I'm most excited about the front yard/porch and its already in progress makeover. We aren't quite finished but I wanted to give a sneak peek...

The front yard BEFORE

Sneak Peek 

I am so incredibly over excited about the new house numbers that I can't just give a sneak peek. I have been collecting these floating house numbers for months and was actually able to score a few at Goodwill. I envisioned them floating but wasn't quite sure on what. I thought it over until I was able to find all three numbers and decided I wanted to place them on a really cool, stained piece of wood. I happened to find this example on pinterest and I was completely sold. I chose a red mahogany stain from Sherwin Williams (30% off sale) and took a little trip down the block to the local hardware store for the wood and hardware.

The board didn't quite fit in the car so Mike walked it home (luckily it was just a block  or two)

We (and by we I mean Mike since he did this entire project) cut the wood into the appropriately sized pieces, stained it (important to cut first so that you can sand and stain all the newly exposed edges at once) and attached the two boards with brackets on the back. The numbers were a bit tricky but came with templates which we taped to the board and drilled through in order to get the numbers even and straight (we may have failed once or twice and re-stained the off centered mistake holes). We still have yet to attach it to the porch wall with a picture hanging kit but for now it looks awfully pretty just sitting in the window. I love the grain of the wood and the way the red of the stain compliments the new red door and the brick wall. I think the silver, modern, floating numbers play off the wood so well... giving off a danish mod vibe. I'm always looking for ways to modernize this historic house without compromising its innate beauty...and the porch is really getting there.
We still have yet to:

• Hang the new (antique) door knocker (which I am way too excited about...story to follow)
• Frame out the door and window
• Hang a glass storm door
• Paint the window sills a bright white
• Landscape 
• Update the old (10$) porch light 

I can't tell you how incredibly inspired the new bright red door, classy house numbers and the changing leaves have made me...<3

ps- thank you  incredible husband for using your fall break to spruce up our neglected front yard. you've made me very happy (and probably the neighbors too).

buying a house and getting a dog ...

Yesterday marked 3 years of marriage for Mike and I....amazing.
He surprised me with reservations at IndeBlu- a local Indian restaurant I've had my eye on for months.

A bottle of Pinot, live jazz music and amazing vegan friendly meals made for a perfect, wonderful celebration. Over dinner I asked Mike what the high point of this past year had been and without hesitation he said, "buying the house and getting a dog."  It has been a wild year with lots of ups and lots of downs but we accomplished two goals that we've had for as long as we've known each other- we have a place to call home and a dog to love. These things among so many others make us extremely blessed.

On my way home from work I stopped at Goodwill hoping to find a cheesy little gift but instead found the exact frame I had dreamed up (here) for the artwork in the kitchen.

It looked old but the tag on back from HomeGoods said otherwise. It is a bit worn but has the funky character I was looking for.

Instead of the HomeGoods $40 price tag I spent $15 and passed it off as an anniversary gift.
After removing a ton of staples I replaced the print and now I have this beauty...

It is going to be hung on the wall between the kitchen and the dining room- the deep red flowers match perfectly with the Saffron walls in the dining room and help connect the two rooms. I might paint the frame- but I'm not sure yet...the gold might just be perfect.

A little decorating, an amazing dinner and another year together=fabulous.

Too perfect for words...

This weekend has been so perfect I'm almost afraid to put it into words.

Yesterday I traveled to my college hometown on the beautiful Main Line and spent hours with my dearest friends Jess and Kait. It was so good to be back- to drink dreamy chai from the Gryphon, enjoy an almost too good to be true veggie burger from Christophers, browse the eclectic (pricey) boutiques and catch up with such amazing souls. I seriously forgot that it was my first unpaid furlough day from work (knowing that I landed my dream job and will be escaping at least part of the budget cut also helped a bit).

Mike suggested we go on a Saturday adventure- starting with brunch at Andy's Diner home of the  97.5 The Fanatic broadcast. The all you can eat breakfast buffet did not disappoint- sauteed onions in the homefries=amazing. Since we were new to the area we googled "thrift stores," hit up a local Goodwill and walked away with handmade turquoise earrings, a curtain rod, bandanna for the dog and a budgeting notebook all for about $6!

Groupon happened to send me a deal for a fabric store in Philadelphia so we headed back into Philly and searched Fabric Row for upholstery fabric for our master bedroom headboard project.

This particular store had a very particular odor and isles and isles of fabric that weren't so easy to navigate...

The amount and variety of fabric was amazing- and the eclectic owners were quite entertaining, however we couldn't find a fabric that stole our hearts more than this $50 a yard (ouch!) fabric from JoAnns:

It's neutral enough to be able to change with our style over the years but still so boho chic!  

We continued our adventure back over the bridge at our local Habitat Restore where we ran into some friends and where we purchased a fabulous mirror (for our future bathroom remodel) and a few frames. We were hoping to find a few items to do a quick porch update but couldn't find the light fixtures or mailbox we were looking for. Then I made Mike go to a rug store I had my eye on- it was filled to the brim with exotic Persian/Turkish/Iranian rugs that made me drool. The owner was amazing and explained all of the textures, patterns and designs to us and I quickly learned how expensive my taste is. The good news is I found my dream rug- the bad news...it costs $2,700.

We ended our adventure back at home where I spruced up the garden, harvested a few tomatoes

(Thanks Dad- some of these are from your garden too!)

and made the most delicious, homemade red wine tomato sauce...

It has been a seriously amazingly sweet weekend- and I hope you've had the same. <3

Graceful Grey

The living room is painted! I can't even believe it myself.
I'm not sure that I LOVE the color but it was cheap (Sherwin sale!) and I think it will look really good once the floors are re-done. Of course its in the grey family... didn't you know grey is the new beige(<--- my favorite saying).
After several test swatches on the walls I finally settled on "Graceful Grey" but it was a Home Depot color so I took it to Sherwin to be color matched. As I handed the paint mixing man my color swatch he immediately recognized me from my last paint fiasco and asked "hey how did that blue work out for you?" Embarrassing. It took quite a few tries and we couldn't quite crack the Home Depot paint code so the paint we ended up with was pretty different from "Graceful" but it worked.

Naya the "graceful grey" helping me paint.

Painting and enjoying a little Real Housewives of NY...

The section with the paint swatches on it pops out from the wall a bit- in the attached twin it is exposed brick. I'd love to open this up but we aren't quite brave enough so we are going to paint it a darker color and do something like this:

Or this great faux fireplace/bookshelf:

This house really messes with me- I have no idea how to decorate with such dark trim but I can't bring myself to paint it. Any suggestions on how to work with dark trim- please send them my way!!