The fine folks at Moen must have read about my faucet woes, because they sent me the beautiful 90 Degree Chrome two-handle low arc bathroom faucet to test out! I’ve always purchased cheap faucets, and I’ve always had terrible luck with them – so I couldn’t wait to see what the difference between the bottom […]

If I could have any computer in the world, it wouldn’t be the super-slim Macbook Air (although that would be lovely). It’d be this beautiful behomoth named the “Computational Engine” and built by an artist who calls himself Datamancer. Honestly, I could care less how much RAM it has or whether it runs Windows Vista. […]

Saw this on Unclutterer the other day and could not resist sharing…. it’s the perfect gift for your favorite obsessive-compulsive crafter! It’s called “The Original Scrapbox”, and is a seriously overblown version of an armoire-office. It even has a little pull-out work table. Ok, so the pricetag is a hefty $1,500… but think of all […]

Photo of Mark Twain’s study – found at: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/mark_twain_elmira_ny.htm  Yeah, I know – it’s freezing cold up here in New York and no one wants to take a walking tour in January. But this one is well documented online, so you can Victorian-house-peep from the comfort of your own home. One of our blog readers […]

Saw this somewhere in the blogosphere and had to share… an innovative company called Reestore out of the UK takes everyday items and gives them new life. The Max sofa is my favorite: Old clawfoots are sitting in yards and basements all across Upstate New York. Why not have a refinisher go crazy and alter […]

I’m all for modern design and unique architecture, but this? This seems like a resell nightmare… The toilet house was built by Sim Jae-duck, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association. Apparently he hopes his toilet house “will highlight the global need for better sanitation”. Hmmm…. […]

Our fall has, thus far, been one of the nicest in recent memory. We’ve had weeks of warmer-than-usual temperatures (tomorrow might hit 80!) and very little rain. It hardly feels like fall at all, except for the obvious reminders – pumpkins and potted mums on everyone’s front steps, leaves floating lazily to the ground with […]

When one stops mowing due to no-motivation-syndrome, marvelous things can happen. Your neighbors might despise you, but beautiful things will pop up all over your yard. Use this as an excuse to put off weed-whacking for a few more days: Whatever that thing is, it’s cool – and about 4 feet tall at the moment. […]

I’m always drooling over Anthropologie’s feminine-and-antiquey-cool array of goods, from shirts to sofas. I’m pretty sure every female my age has a crush on that store, whether or not it exists in their city/state/universe. The closest one to us is in NYC, a 5+ hour drive, but the online shop is always open for window […]

As I often note when I post pics of our stairwell, we’ve yet to put railings up. About a year ago we ripped out two false walls that had been constructed where the railings originally were, and despite my most optimistic hopes there were no beautiful Victorian railings hiding between said walls. We’ve been living […]