I am in love with our town. It’s a tiny little place surrounded by farmland. We live about two blocks away from the main village, which is full of historic houses and storefronts. They call it “Canal Town” because the Erie Canal was a big part of it’s history. The canal was opened in 1825. It runs 363 miles (from Buffalo to Albany) and served as a trade route for barges, until railroads and highways became the cheaper transport option.
This weekend, it was so beautiful out (well, beautiful for February in upstate NY) that I took the dogs out to explore the neighborhood with me. I’ve actually never walked around our neighborhood on foot, because we moved in November and my dogs despise letting their feet touch snow.
I got to see all the houses we’ve been stalking up close(!), and took some photos of my favorites. (Click on any of the photos for larger versions)
This house is what our house will look like some day, decades in the future…… it’s gorgeous. It’s historically perfect. The colors are awesome. They even have storm shutters that open and close. I slow down every single time I drive past this place, and will be walking the dogs past it all spring and summer in hopes of meeting it’s owners and getting a (dare I dream?) tour of the inside.
Keep reading to see some more of my favorites…
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For those lucky enough to be within driving distance of an Ikea, I happened upon some purdy wood countertop there – and it seems like a decent price.
They sell three different lengths, so you could mix/match or make a great butcherblock for yourself.
Check it out
…putting together plans for our wedding, in May. I remember saying “It’s just a big party, so what’s the big deal?”. That was before I realized how hard it was to plan a big party…. in a different state….with all of my most beloved friends and relatives in attendance…..while working full-time, freelancing, and fixing a house.
Teague has been working 12-hour days (winter is “busy season” where he works), and I’ve been assembling invites, making paper flowers, and trying to keep things moving forward. The good news is that everything is coming together beautifully, and I think everyone will have a great time. However, it’s definitely cutting into my “fixer-upper” time! Which is to say, sorry there are no new pictures to post or fixes to brag about, but we’ll get back to the house as soon as we can.
Last night, we started a registry at Home Depot. I think it’s GREAT that they do registries. I suppose it’s not quite traditional to wish for a 5-gallon drum of Killz or a heat-gun to melt paint off of our molding, but we’re practical people and we’re in love with our house, so those types of things will please us to no end. We plan to stay in our house for a very long time; the work we’re doing is not just for us, but for the family we hope to one day raise there. So it makes sense. The hard part is picking out what, exactly, we want and need for future projects. I spent so long in there the other day, two different people asked if I was ever going to leave!
These days, if we’re sitting on the couch we’re probably watching HGTV. We know half the shows by heart and will even sit through reruns to see a particular tile color or paint finish we really liked. Our coffee table is stacked with magazines… the days of Jane and Cosmo are over. They’ve been replaced by Architectural Digest and This Old House. So it should be no surprise that when I went to see a movie this past weekend, I paid far more attention to the set than the stars.
The movie was Hide and Seek – the creepy thriller with Dakota Fanning and Robert Deniro. Very talented actors, and the story was decent. But the house that the father and daugther live in…… a large place up in the woods of upstate New York… was so beautiful! And so central to the movie that it was a character as well, which pleased me to no end because that meant plenty of interior shots. Including a beautiful ocean-blue living room with a tile-surround fireplace, a quaint girls’ bedroom with quilted blankets and iron beds, and a bathtub that’s literally to die for.
Unfortunately, I scoured the internet and can’t find any good photos of the house… the official movie site uses nice flash animations but doesn’t offer up much about the house. I’ll keep searching, but if you’re into old homes, it’s worth the ticket price for a look at the dreamy decor ;)
These days, if we’re sitting on the couch we’re probably watching HGTV. We know half the shows by heart and will even sit through reruns to see a particular tile color or paint finish we really liked. Our coffee table is stacked with magazines… the days of Jane and Cosmo are over. They’ve been replaced by Architectural Digest and This Old House. So it should be no surprise that when I went to see a movie this past weekend, I paid far more attention to the set than the stars.
The movie was Hide and Seek – the creepy thriller with Dakota Fanning and Robert Deniro. Very talented actors, and the story was decent. But the house that the father and daugther live in…… a large place up in the woods of upstate New York… was so beautiful! And so central to the movie that it was a character as well, which pleased me to no end because that meant plenty of interior shots. Including a beautiful ocean-blue living room with a tile-surround fireplace, a quaint girls’ bedroom with quilted blankets and iron beds, and a bathtub that’s literally to die for.
Unfortunately, I scoured the internet and can’t find any good photos of the house… the official movie site uses nice flash animations but doesn’t offer up much about the house. I’ll keep searching, but if you’re into old homes, it’s worth the ticket price for a look at the dreamy decor ;)
These days, if we’re sitting on the couch we’re probably watching HGTV. We know half the shows by heart and will even sit through reruns to see a particular tile color or paint finish we really liked. Our coffee table is stacked with magazines… the days of Jane and Cosmo are over. They’ve been replaced by Architectural Digest and This Old House. So it should be no surprise that when I went to see a movie this past weekend, I paid far more attention to the set than the stars.
The movie was Hide and Seek – the creepy thriller with Dakota Fanning and Robert Deniro. Very talented actors, and the story was decent. But the house that the father and daugther live in…… a large place up in the woods of upstate New York… was so beautiful! And so central to the movie that it was a character as well, which pleased me to no end because that meant plenty of interior shots. Including a beautiful ocean-blue living room with a tile-surround fireplace, a quaint girls’ bedroom with quilted blankets and iron beds, and a bathtub that’s literally to die for.
Unfortunately, I scoured the internet and can’t find any good photos of the house… the official movie site uses nice flash animations but doesn’t offer up much about the house. I’ll keep searching, but if you’re into old homes, it’s worth the ticket price for a look at the dreamy decor ;)
We’ve had some radiator issues here and there, including hissing, knocking, and leaking (oh my!).
I received this article in my mailbox today and thought it might be useful to some of you: http://homerepair.about.com/od/hvac/ss/radiator_knocks.htm
I’m an obsessive do-it-yourselfer. When I needed a big tote bag for the gym, I made one out of canvas. Instead of picking out nice printed invites for our wedding, I designed them – then printed them, embossed them and cut them myself. I like to get my hands dirty. I feel accomplished when I see the finished product and can say “I did that”. Teague is the same way. He repairs our cars, mends his own pants, and draws beautiful pictures to hang on our walls.
I got to thinking – what makes us so interested in DIY? Partly, it’s the money we save. Partly, it’s curiousity – we both like knowing how and why things work. But mostly, I think it’s upbringing.
My father was always out in the garage coming up with creative solutions to everyday problems. Remote controls getting lost all over the house? A piece of leftover wood, velcro strips, and an old cabinet handle became a handy holder for all 5 remotes. No cupholder in your car? A tuna can and some double-sided tape will do the job. As a kid, I loved his workbench and all the coffee cans full of bits and pieces. As an adult, I’ve called upon his expertise hundreds of times. If he wasn’t out rv’ing in Florida, I’m sure I’d have him trapped down in our basement every weekend! Because of him, I am not afraid to get involved in the “manly” types of projects we’re encountering around the house. Thanks, Dad!
Teague’s father is also a creative genius when it comes to repairs. His solutions are McGyver-like in nature. I love watching him and Teague strategize before leaping into a project. They become so focused and single-minded that everything else around them becomes background noise.
Teague’s parents built a log cabin from the ground up, including cutting their own logs and pouring their own foundation. They resurrected a cottage that most people would have bulldozed, and made it seem cozy. So it’s pretty obvious where he gets it from.
I’m glad we’ve been blessed with the DIY spirit. Given the state of our house, it means we’ll never stop learning new skills!
We worked our BUTTS OFF this weekend, but we accomplished so much it’s hard to be bitter about it. On Saturday, we got up at 8am to get cracking on the wiring. Ahhh, the wiring. What fond memories I’ll have when that project is actually over and I don’t ever have to wrangle with another outlet box again. With Teague’s father’s help, we rewired the rest of the dining room, foyer, and office. That makes 4 rooms completed on the first floor, plus the whole basement. Yeehaw!
Here’s Don getting down and dirty with one of the outlets:
Amidst the wiring, we also managed to paint the interior of the front door a nice crisp white (since stripping woodwork seems further and further away every day), paint two wooden shelves I picked up for the kitchen, and fix a frozen water pipe in the kitchen.
The leaking radiator was a project we should have tackled MUCH sooner – it’s been dripping since we moved in, and has gotten progressively worse as the temperature drops. It had become a serious problem, since the floor was constantly getting wet. So we finally yanked the sucker off and put some pipe dope around the threads of the screw parts, fixed the angle that the radiotor met the steam pipe, and rescrewed everything together. 2 days later, and still no drips!
After a full day of house work, we were such lucky New Yorkers – we got to shovel snow! And not just a little snow, oh no…… we shoveled mounds and mounds of fluffy goodness for over an hour. What a way to wind down after a hard day, right?
Can’t wait to go to work so I can relax!
This link is for Teague, who dreams of using Terra-Cotta somewhere in the house:
See the whole collection
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