Lyrics from everyone…*

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*It’s been quite some time since I’ve rounded up my blog post title inspirations into a mix. This time I thought I’d try using Spotify for my mix instead of 8tracks (as I have in the past). I’m always using Spotify to discover new artists, and I don’t really use 8tracks, so, well, it seemed more authentic to me.

“What I did on my summer vacation” or, rather, what I’ve been doing for the past 7 months or so.

Anyway, from January through parts of July, here are some of the tunes that have been settling in my brain, dancing around in my ears, and accompanying my clicking, typing fingertips. Feel free to listen in any order you like, though I put them in chronological order (at least in the order in which I used them). Throughout these past months music has been a constant companion: whether visiting relatives on the west coast, day (or couple-of-day) tripping to NYC, hanging out with my elder niece, painting, sewing, staining, cooking, baking, crafting, yard-working, running, or prepping the house for sale, I always have a selection of tunes nearby to get me through it.

Click through to the link below, or find each individual song as listed in the original blog post. I love music and am grateful and happy that we get to share it so easily now. Thanks, internet.

sohappyhome spring/summer ’12 for the Spotify mix

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And we are far, far from home, but we’re so happy…*

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*Lyrics from From Finner by Of Monsters And Men off their album My Head is an Animal. I just heard this right before our trip on spotify, and thought, ‘how have I not heard them before?’ I’m loving the album, and think a purchase is in order. Spotify, you are so good to me.

Before the beach completely filled up, and as people were setting up their gear, I snapped a few pictures that felt like another time.

Ok, so, sorry for the radio silence, but we went on vacation. I had this whole idea that we’d have soooo much time on our hands that I could sneak in a blog post or two. I even drafted a few ideas before we left. Then we left and I forgot all about everything. I forgot about social media, blogging, TV and movies, the house (and stress from having it on the market), and pretty much anything that had to do with our regular life. It was most excellent indeed.

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You know you shouldn’t be there but it’s way past bed…*

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*Lyrics from Good Intent by Kimbra from her album Vows. I was doing as I was told, by spotify, and checking out the latest pop albums. Must do what told. Spotify rules me. Ok, and it’s a catchy album, good voice, interesting melodies and instrumentation. So, there.

House Tour: Master Suite

How many houses from the 1920s can boast a master suite? Ok, probably quite a few at this point, but we think it’s pretty special to have our own private bathroom off our bedroom. It’s almost like its own apartment.

AFTER: New bathroom, refreshed paint, upgraded lighting, and spruced up closets make this place restful, soothing and luxurious.

When we first bought the house, the bathroom adjacent was really the former maid’s bath. The sink was about 28″ off the floor (in other words, back-breakingly low), and the toilet was awkwardly placed next to the smallest shower on earth (I think it was 24″ square). Of course, I never took any before pictures of it (back then it didn’t occur to me to photograph ugly things!). Needless to say, we’ve renovated all of it: the bathroom is 100% new, including heated marble floors, recessed lighting, Starphire glass shower enclosure, and a custom trim package that matches the original 1920s woodwork.

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All this talk of love just turns to noise…*

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*Lyrics from Love Is Greed by Passion Pit from their newly released album Gossamer. I first heard Passion Pit in Boston, during my summer of art, and therefore I will always associate them with my darling roommate, the light and happy mood of summer vacations, and creativity and joy. Good on them for releasing another album in the summer, especially when I’m feeling particularly vacation-y and creative. It’s as if they planned it that way.

House Tour: Family Bath

To continue with the grand tour of the home, let’s take a rest in the restroom. At least, the main one on the second floor. This room has been the trickiest one to photograph since all of the corners are occupied with things like, oh, bathtubs, toilets and cabinetry. But it’s efficient, and feels luxurious even if it isn’t ginormous like modern bathrooms tend to be (I mean, how much room does one really need to get ‘er done?). It’s one of my favorite rooms in the entire house, partly because I put in so much sweat equity into it, and partly because we worked with what we had, and took it from blech to beautiful. read on…

I don’t wanna say goodbye, I just wanna give it one more try…*

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*Lyrics from You Won’t Let Me by Rachael Yamagata from her album Chesapeake. Every time I hear her voice, I ‘like’ her, or I click the little ‘thumbs up’ button on Pandora. The song is a little sad, and perhaps that’s how I feel about this process of letting our house go. But, make no mistake, we’re on the market and ready to entrust this lovely spot to another deserving family. Doesn’t make me love it less, or wish I could pick the whole house up and put it in my pocket. For now, more room tours to make you love it as much as we do…

House Tour: Offices

This room is really quite large - it's easily the second largest room upstairs, and I claimed it for my own. I'm greedy like that.

When we first started out looking for homes, fourscore and 7 years ago (I think that’s actually about accurate!), we thought we’d want at least three bedrooms: one for us, one for guests, and one for an office. Jeff has worked from home for almost the entire time I’ve known him – starting out as a freelancer and working his way to co-owning his own thriving business – so having a space that was dedicated to his work was essential in our home search. We ended up finding this 4 bedroom house, which worked out because at one time my brother lived with us (and at another time my mom lived with us), and we had guests for most major holidays and many a weekend in between, so we had plenty of room to share and spread out. After my brother (and mom) moved on (and out) to other situations, I ended up with the opportunity to get a dedicated office/craft/design studio of my own. And, even though my artistic career is in its infancy, having a whole room (with a fireplace!) to spread out and work on projects (like the desk, or the paintings, or the art), as well as work on design drawings for client projects, has been amazing.

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But something’s moving, in places I’d forgotten…*

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*Lyrics from Temporary Love by Missy Higgins off her newest album The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle. I just heard her for the first time this week – her album art totally drew me in – but I like her. Reminds me of Sia, whom I adore. Hey, it can’t all be waxed handlebar mustaches, right? … So, I thought I’d introduce some of the rooms that have had lesser status on the blog, and show you around some more of the spaces of the house that make us love it so much, and will hopefully make you love it, too.

House Tour: Guest Bedroom

Faux bois, meaning fake wood, adds a soft texture to an otherwise neutral palette.

Remember when I sewed curtains for the foyer and landing, even though I’d never even done it before? And remember how I alluded to the fact that I also made a lined pair for the guest room, and teased that I’d share with you the result someday? Well, today is someday. Not only did I have the fabric for those curtains for over two years (I honestly can’t remember if I got the fabric before or after the Great Renovation), but I also had a vision for that space since finding the fabric.

It was a woven faux bois, on sale, in what seemed to be a medium-weight, cottony material in cream and beige (I may have sewn the panels, but a fabric maven I am not). I thought it was perfect for the guest space that I’d been dreaming of: soft lilac walls (flattering to any skin tone), complimented with chocolate browns and beiges, lavenders, peaches and pinks as accents, and plenty of soft white to offset the natural wood tones and textures. I had a vision of a bed-and-breakfast style set-up – what with the sleeping porch just off the room – where weekend visitors could have fresh squeezed orange juice, tea or an individual french press of coffee on a bistro table just outside their bedroom door. The room faces north-east, so morning time activities were the inspiration, and I wanted a space that felt refreshing, peaceful, and welcoming for long slumbers, or early morning starts.

read on…

Petition for a life unknown…*

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*Lyrics from Petition by Tennis from their album Young & Old. I found them, on (you guessed it!) spotify when looking for similar artists to Hospitality. However, be forewarned, there are two bands called Tennis. This one is NOT the hip-hop one, but rather the indie pop one that’s interesting and St. Vincent-esque. They also have an interesting story behind their music. Have a listen or a read and let me know what you think.

Brushstrokes, colors, movement, line weight - all these things were experiments, and things I don't normally get to play around with when doing household painting chores.

Between all the chores we’ve been tackling to get the house ready to be on the market – finishing out the exterior with a freshened up side porch, replaced stairs off the porch, fresh paint and stain on just about everything, new storm doors and lighting – we’ve had barely any time to do anything fun. Just for pleasure. And my body seems permanently crunched into a semi-bent position, complete with crooked hand just waiting to hold a paint brush. Despite needing to complete yet more chores that involved painting (chiefly, interior trim and door painting), I snuck in a few moments here and there to finally complete my very first painting. You know, with paint. Colors. And canvas. Just for fun. Just for me. (Well, ok, for us.)

For the past few weeks we’ve been trying to finish up every lingering project around here so that we can actually relax and enjoy our home (until we sell it, of course). It’s summer, after all, and we need to have some hammock time. And badminton tournaments. Which are really just exercises in several-minute-long volleys, no points awarded, just laughing, and trying not to twist our ankles. But we realized that we should also complete some of the things we’ve been tinkering on that were just for beauty’s sake, and not for some practical consideration.

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The suffering, the struggling, I did it for you, I did it for me…*

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*Lyrics from Cubism Dream by Local Natives. It’s no secret that I love this group, even though Jeff warns me not to look at them if I ever see them live – apparently they’re hipsters with a capital H. Little does he know, I don’t care (bring on the waxed, handle-bar mustaches!). I love that album, and love it still every time I hear it. This song feels like love and sadness and nostalgia and tenderness mixed together, which is pretty much what touching love feels like. Which is pretty much what I feel for my little niece, touching love.

BEFORE: Color notwithstanding, I could see the cuteness in the piece. Plus, it was smaller than an adult sized desk, as many older pieces are. Perfect for my 9-year old niece.

Last year, driving innocently by a yard sale (that I swear I didn’t know was going to be there) I spotted a weird but cute vanity/desk in a gross shade of green. I kept driving, but thought about it for the rest of the afternoon. Later on, I convinced Jeff to drive by with me, just to see if it was still there. If it was, I told him, I’m buying it. He said, what for? I said, not for me, for [my niece]! She needs a desk! He said, okay. So I got it, for $20. Not bad, eh?

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It’s too late to change your mind, you let loss be your guide…*

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*Lyrics from High Road by Broken Bells. I’ve always liked them. I should listen to them more. So should you.

Front door. Lawn renovated in 2008, including new walkway, irrigation system and all new plants.

Big, BIG news, y’all: we’re selling our house! I’ve added a new section to the site – a house tour section – that has gobs of photos, and descriptions about all the sections of the house, and should force each and every one of you to pull out your checkbooks and start making offers. We also created a second site with large format photos (even more than are on this site) with a link to the MLS listing, and tons of information about the features of the home.

So, check out the new section, the new site, or the MLS listing for photos and information. Enjoy! xoxo

Keep your old and wasted words…*

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*Lyrics from Lights Out, Words Gone by Bombay Bicycle Club from their album A Different Kind of Fix. I searched for artists that were similar to Local Natives (my fave), and this was one of the recommendations. I think I like them. Gotta keep listening to make sure.

BEFORE: Soot and smokey residue had collected after years of having an improperly lined chimney, and the mantle just looked tired.

No matter how many times I say it, it’s still true: new paint makes all the difference. When we had the floors in the house redone (during the Great Renovation), we were forced to freshen every inch of trim in the entire first floor with new paint. The only spot that I avoided – for at that time I was afraid of making a mistake – was the fireplace mantle. It had some smokey residue (from before we had the chimney rebuilt), and the old paint was yellower than the brand new, fresh, just-painted trim of the rest of the first read on…