Introducing... RealSofa!

First, there was Mr. Atoz, my beloved Saturn sedan, named for a crazed librarian on an old-skool Star Trek episode! (He was totalled in a car accident when a spacey, lead-footed kid in an SUV slammed into me-- stupid spacey, lead-footed kid).

Then there was Tallulah House!

Tallulah was soon followed by RidiculousBed!

Next to arrive was Happy!

Then came Gwendolyn, my beautiful white sofa who presides over my sitting room (but that's a whole other post) with such grace and style.

This weekend saw the arrival of RealSofa!



Isn't she beautiful? *beam*

Her beauty is matched only by the fact that we practically STOLE her from her previous owners, muwahahahaha! It all began last week when one of my co-workers sent out an e-mail with an attachment of furniture she was selling due to an impending move. As soon as I saw the picture of this sofa and the price, which I honestly thought was a typo, I sent an e-mail to my co-worker saying that I was interested and called Chris. As soon as he saw the picture, he said go for it.

You see, we've been wanting a real sofa for a few years now. Not that Chris's beloved futon wasn't as comfortable as all get out (because it was), but it was just so... so.... graduate school. Ya know? It was time for us to move on, to actually put the living room-- the first room into which you step from outside-- together in a coherent way. I dare you to picture it: silk curtains... gorgeous silver compotes on a [reclaimed] teak table... snappy retro-style leather chair... carved wooden screen from India... haunting black and white photos of someone's beautiful wife in her thinner days (*preen*)... FUTON.

Yes. Exactly.

And so it became our mission to find and buy a sofa. The finding was so much easier than the buying. You know what I'm talking about: you need something so you save up for it, and save, and save... and save, and FINALLY when you have all the money you need, well, the air conditioner in your car blows up; or two of your four Animal Denizens have to go to the vet in the same month for conditions that, for all appearances, are life-threatening but turn out not to be so much so after you get the results from the series of Very Expensive Tests that you were too afraid to say "no" to; or -- nope, never mind. It's too depressing to go on, and I'm sure you get the picture.

In any event, the Junking Angels were truly looking out for us in regard to this sofa: its EXACTLY the colour we wanted, its from Restoration Hardware, is barely a year old, and we paid FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR IT! Can you believe it?? Seriously, I thought my co-worker was going to say that she meant to type $1500 :)

Our friends Stacy and Andrew helped us move it-- thank goodness for sensible people who buy trucks (Chris and Kimberley= dumb bunnies)-- and when we got it home and in place, Chris and I kept saying, "It's a real sofa! We have a REAL SOFA!", much in the same way Kevin Costner in his badly-accented role as Robin Hood kept saying, "I have a brother. I have a BROTHER!", except I'm quite sure that we didn't sound that stupid. Really. Apparently we repeated this phrase too many times, because Andrew said, "What? Is that its name?" And then we realized that it was :)

If you think the fact that we name and then become emotionally attached to inanimate objects is weird, well, remind me to never tell you about Little Vampire Kimberley!

As for the futon (which never had a name, oddly enough), it went home with Andrew and Stacy :) Andrew needed it for his Man Room, and we know it'll have a good home with them. Plus, Andrew's said that Chris can visit it any time.

Nope, we're not strange. Not a bit.

:)
Kimberley

P.S. I'll post pictures of our actual RealSofa and the living room eventually-- we're back to saving up for a couple of other pieces of furniture and it's not quite photo-worthy.

Recent finds

Hello, everybody!

I wanted to share some recent junking finds that have me all a-flutter ;)

When I was visiting my parents a few weeks ago, my mom and I visited one of our favourite thrift shops and I found lots of good things, this lotus bowl being one.



You must understand that I have longed for a lotus bowl like this for quite some time (I'm not quite sure why-- I can't explain, so don't ask me to!), but was always put off by the expense. Imagine how thrilled I was to come across this one, with absolutely no chips or cracks, for $1.00!
The gorgeous roses are from Trader Joes: one dozen for $3.99! You honestly can't beat TJ's on flowers.

My next junking excursion was with my friend Frances, to a large antiques market here in Atlanta. I had such mixed emotions when I found these next items: excited because they were perfect for the bedroom re-do I have planned, and saddened because they were cut out of old books.



As someone who loves books, I am truly distressed by their destruction; however, the deed was done and there they were... I know, I know: this is the same argument one could make for ivory and sweatshop clothing. I am by no means perfect, and am just as hypocritical as the next person (my inner Lisa Simpson is crying right now). In any event, I bought them, am thrilled with them, and will take very good care of them. Here are some closeups:



















I plan to mat these and then frame them in mahogany, to match the bed and dressing table, and hang them above the headboard. I think this grouping will be quite dramatic.

I've actually been working over the past year to assemble all of the ingredients for our Butterfly Boudoir (lol, what an awful name-- its so awful I've just got to go with it!), though I didn't realize at the beginning that that's what I was doing. I've always liked butterflies and really got into them about a year ago. A few months ago I found this lot of 12 Limoges dessert plates on E-bay-- ohhhhhh, E-bay, my beloved enemy, how I looooaaaatheeloooooveeeee you!!-- AND HAD TO HAVE THEM!









Aren't they beautiful? They make me purr :) I want to hang them in an arching pattern-- you know to make them look like they're flying. Ok, that sounds dumb, but it looks so pretty in my head.

On a trip to the warehouse district a couple of months ago, I found some beautiful butterfly fabric in the remnant room: gorgeous butterflies in shades of teal and yellow on a cream background. I'd show you a picture but I forgot to photograph it before I left it with my mom. We're going to make covers for the pillows I already have.

I'm hoping that Pottery Barn's reversible velvet silk cotton quilt (in cream) will go majorly on sale at the end of the season, as it is faaaarrr too expensive for me at the moment. Its the softest thing and would look just beautiful as a background for the pillows.

I have one more junking find to share. I found this on Saturday when Elizabeth and I were prowling the shops: a McCoy vase that will be perfect for the fall:







I hope that you've had good luck in your junking!
Kimberley

Tea with Elizabeth

Today my friend Elizabeth and I had afternoon tea at The Faded Rose Tea Garden and it was delightful :)

This is Elizabeth, looking lovely and oh, so Anne of Avonlea:



We were waited on by two of the nicest gentlemen, who were determined that our experience be as close to perfect as possible! We had a wonderful time, and made absolute pigs of ourselves with the tea as our new friends told us that we could try as many varieties as we wanted!

We had pots of:

• Irish Blend
• English Breakfast
• Dry Desert Lime
• African Autumn
• Shangri-La
• White Darjeeling

Survey the line of sacrificial teapots!

We were completely wired and ready to float away (as Elizabeth said) by the time we were done! Tea wasn't the only thing about which we were piggish: get a load of this decimated tower of goodies!

Everything was delicious, but I almost swooned over the cheese puffs-- I know that sounds bizarre, but you'd have had the same reaction! They were like fluffy, fancy, grilled cheese sandwiches and I MUST have them again. Hmmm, I wonder if Chef Jules has a recipe for cheese puffs-- do you, Julesy?? :)

In addition to the goodies, tea, and atmosphere, I adored the rock sugar blend, and was immediately inspired by the colours to begin planning an autumn tea party. Naturally I had to buy some to bring home for said party :)

Though the tea room is in a somewhat industrial area, they have a charming little garden, complete with a white picket fence, and the chef uses the herbs in the savouries. The garden provided a nice view from our table:

After we finished-- a mere THREE HOURS after we arrived!--, we stopped at a couple of antique shops in the area and it was a nice top-off to the day. Having tea out is one of my favourite indulgences, and I am so glad that Lizzy Lou (Elizabeth may kill me for calling her that in print, lol) and I were able to take time out for it before our work week begins.

So, did you do anything fun today?
Kimberley

Summertime...

and the living is sweaty! Ugh, disgusting, in fact. It was 100 degrees here today, with a heat index of well over that. I swear I can get sunburned just walking the few steps from my car to the building where I work, and watching all of the plants struggling to live is painful. Also, the hotter it is the worse the smog is, and we've had Code Reds for the air quality more days than not. *sigh*

In "celebration" of these awful temperatures (which might end by September, if we're lucky), I'd like to share a recipe for a Tallulah House favourite: green iced tea with sage. A friend of mine's husband shared it with me and it is right up there with cucumber water, lemonade, Happy's iced coffee, and Atlanta Brewing Company's Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter in my Most Loved Beverages list :) It is light and refreshing, and not too sweet unless you're heavy handed-- this is NOT the syrupy mess that you'll sometimes find masquerading as iced tea!


Ingredients

• Two teabags of green tea (if you have a favourite, use it! I like Celestial Seasonings decaffeinated green tea)
• Sugar to taste
• One bunch of fresh sage, bruised

Directions

• Set cold water to boil
• Put the sugar, bruised sage, and tea bags in the pitcher (Hint: Leave the teabags attached to each other to make it easier to remove them later. Easy removal is also why I suggest cutting a single bunch of sage, rather than individual leaves)
• Once your water has reached an enthusiastic boil, pour it into the pitcher and give the mixture a few stirs to encourage the sugar to melt. (Hint: I like to fill the pitcher only halfway with the boiling water; once the sugar's melted and the tea is as strong as you want it, add cold water so that you can drink it faster)
• Remove teabags and sage
• Fill a tall glass, add ice cubes, and enjoy!

(I must add that this glass is a piece of Depression glass in the Cubist pattern and that I am very fond of it! I have a set of twelve and they're our everyday glasses-- so incredibly sturdy).

I had a successful day of junking with Frances last Friday and I have some lovely treasures to show you-- found some perfect things for the planned spring re-do of our bedroom. I'll try to get those posted this week.

Here's a thought I'd like to leave you with (saw it on a card recently and thought it was perfect!) :

"Everything will be okay in the end.
If its not okay, its not the end."

If you're discouraged, I hope these words help. If you're hot and miserable, I hope you'll try the tea. If you're happy, cool, and comfortable, I hope that you're thankful for your blessings ;)

Thanks for stopping by,
Kimberley

Kitchen corners

Hi there, friends and neighbors!

One of my favourite parts of blogs are the pictures. I get so inspired by seeing what cool stuff other folks are doing in their homes (and being jealous over their vintage finds and family heirlooms!). Now I'm not saying that any of my pics will inspire you, but its great to join in the fun of sharing :)

Tallulah's kitchen has been one of the hardest rooms to decorate because:

• it's a galley kitchen, not my favourite style though it has grown on me
• hunter green countertops-- I didn't want hunter green *sniff*
• it ran the risk of feeling more like a hallway than a kitchen

In my war with the hunter green countertops, I painted the walls three times before I decided that the countertops were going to keep winning every time :) I surrendered and painted the walls white, which I really like, though you should have SEEN the number of paint chips at which I looked. I didn't want a cold, blue-white, and ended up with a warm, creamy white that I really like. I ultimately embraced the white and green, but added purple as an accent colour-- nothing crazy, just little touches of here and there. But enough chatter!

Here are a few corners of my kitchen:

The window, with a bit of the sink thrown in (who can identify the things on the sill?)




To the right of the window:




A closeup of the Treat Jar, revered by the canine denizens of Tallulah House. Its importance entitles it to a pedestal of Jadeite ;)




A painting I bought several years ago, entitled "Louisiana Irises"




Both my husband and are of Irish extraction, and we got a kick out of this plaque, a wedding present from one of my aunts:




The plaque and my aprons (at which some people snicker disbelievingly: "You wear APRONS??" "Yep," I reply, "after I ruined a couple of shirts with olive oil I got smart. Hmmm, I guess you don't do much cooking, eh?")




A view of a counter that holds my silver (such a horrible way to display it!), a stack of my favourite platters and sugar bowl, and an aloe plant:




A closeup of the sugar bowl and one of my favourite spoons:




The view out of the kitchen door:




I know that it's wrong to love an inanimate object... I know it's wrong, but I do anyway!! This is Happy, my Francis!Francis! espresso maker. Happy was a birthday present from Chris, for which I am still thanking him two years later :)



Hope you enjoyed having a look around the kitchen at Tallulah House!
Kimberley

Good morning! Giddy with the excitement of having the problem with the camera resolved, I'm posting more pics. These are of the yard project upon which Chris and I have been working for the last few months. I feel compelled to explain that there was a LOT of deferred maintenance on Tallulah that we had to catch up on and so the yard really suffered from indifference. Oh, the grass was always cut and there were flowers growing in the window boxes, but that was it.

When we first moved in there were azaleas growing everywhere. Well, Chris and I don't really like azaleas (I know, I know: its the South. We're all supposed to adore azaleas-- just call us aberrations!), so I did kind of a dumb thing. Are you ready for this?

I ripped them all out and gave them away.

Yep, without a coherent plan or any thought of how much HARD WORK preparing the beds would be I just dug up all of the azaleas, leaving a huge Pit of Doom in front of Tallulah. She must have been so ashamed! I gamely went to work out there, tilling the concrete-like soil (which I could only do for about 5 minutes at a time before I had to stop and rest), and amending the soil with Mr. Natural , and planting ALL THE WRONG THINGS.

*sigh*

Yes, because it was autumn by the time I got the beds ready most of the leaves had fallen and it looked really sunny there. So I chose all sun plants... and quickly had to make changes when the leaves grew back. Yes, I can be dumb that way :) A-hem. Well, enough about that. *squirms uncomfortably*

In any event, we finally got the time and resources to begin working on the yard. I convinced Chris that raised beds were the way to go, we ordered pallet-loads of stone and dumptruck loads of soil, and Chris got to work building them. My dear husband says that if we were super heroes we'd be known as Vision Woman and Detail Man because I always see exactly how things should be and he sees how to make it happen :) I call that teamwork, people!

Below are some pics of what we've accomplished over the last few months.

A shot of the yard from below. All of that dirt was necessary to build up the sloping yard.

A closer shot of the raised beds, which shows you how its constructed.




A view from the front porch




A closeup of one of the beds-- we still had bald spots that needed filling



A closeup of one of the window boxes




A closeup of one of the urns in front of the steps



A closer view of the rose garden-- Chris has since added a set of fence rails for Bob Marley, the big lump of a rose bush near the back




Closeup of Bob Marley. He grew from a cutting of one of my grandmother's rosebushes... and grew... and grew



Another view of the raised beds




We're planning to add a curved cobblestone path between the two raised beds, which will lead to my car. Our goal is to do that in September-- we actually suckered some of our friends into helping us, muwahahahaha! I'll post pics of it when its finished.

Have a great day,
Kimberley

Three cheers for Eddie!

Hooray, huzzay, woot for Eddie :) He's a tech genius at work who figured out what was going wrong with the recalcitrant camera, and retrieved the pictures. Thank you, Eddie!

So, now I can show you pictures of things I've mentioned before and also show you more of Tallulah House (TH is now preening-- she loves being shown off!)

I'll start with the Hardiplank project, because its the most major thing (visible thing anyway) we've done. Tallulah was built in 1949 as a wooden frame house. At a later date, asbestos siding was put over the original structure-- yes, asbestos: nasty stuff when it breaks, and this added a considerable cost to the whole project as we had to hire a company just to remove it and dispose of it properly. Even later on, someone put vinyl siding over the asbestos siding. This was done badly, as, apparently, so was the asbestos siding. The result of poor installation was that water made its way to the original frame structure and began rotting it.

Chris and I knew that there was rot, but we had NO IDEA how much rot was involved. When we finally found out the extent of it, we were absolutely horrified. The good news is that all of the rot was ripped out and new boards put in place, new flashing was put in place around the windows and new gutters were installed. Ain't no water gettin' in no way ;) Plus, Hardiplank comes with a 50-year guarantee, so if anything happens to it the company will fix it.

So, here are some pictures:

Tallulah House about a year after we bought her (the only changes we'd made at that point were adding the window boxes and putting in new bushes); we did the Hardiplank project during year three.




Examples of the rot:








A wall where they fixed the rot-- the lighter wood is the newest:




The moisture barrier that was put on after the rot was fixed:



Tallulah's new spacesuit (the insulation wrap):

<

The day when Tallulah looked like a crack house:




The whole front door frame was rotted out and had to be replaced. Here's a pic of somewhere in the middle of the process:

The last day of the project, after Tallulah was painted. I honestly tried to consider other colours, but Tallulah wanted to be yellow!

I hope you've enjoyed these photos :) I'm going to do a separate post about the front yard.

Kimberley