I Guess I'll Start With Lust

Who will go to this with me?
I MUST have something from the Dominick Dunne estate. I'm totally fine if it's a letter opener, or like a half box of kleenex. I have an irrational level of love for Sir DD. Can't explain it.

Big News: I'm Becoming A Weekender

Big news y'all,
I'm going back to a full time gig in the city. I know! Exciting, right?
That's why I've been MIA lately.
I've been scrambling to find a little apartment to live in Monday through Friday (until now we just had a sublet for when Joe worked). Let me tell you, the NYC apartment search is every bit as soul crushing as I remembered it. But enough about the neg. The exciting part is that I'll be editing The Nest.com.

I've been writing for the site and mag for several years now - and I love both the brand (the Knot/Nest/Bump/Wedding Channel etc.) and the people - so I couldn't be more psyched. Sure, I'll miss full time Hudson - but I'll still be up here on the weekends. Plus, after all that's happened in the past year, I'm SO ready to be able to provide the husband with a little stability and health coverage.

What's more, Joe starts work on Design Star in about a week - so we'll both be in NYC for the next few months (and no, I will not share details about DS, Joe signs an iron clad nondisclosure before every reality show - so sorry design addicts - you'll have to wait and see just like everyone else).

Anyway, the Nest offices are in Soho (love!) and I'm so looking forward to wearing cute dresses to work again (as I type this, it's nearly noon, I'm still in a bathrobe - face unwashed -hair a-frizz).

Don't worry, we'll still blog house progress, there just won't be much till May.
I'll post pictures when we finally settle on a postage stamp size apartment. I'm checking Door 16 regularly for inspiration - as she and her hubby recently got a downstate pied a tere.
xxx
H.

People With Front Loaders: Talk To Me

Ok forgive the tiny image - I'm not motivated to search for a great one this morning. Here's the deal. Joe and I bought our first ever brand new washer/dryer set on Black Friday this year. It was/is awesome. We are still psyched, except for one detail that continues to plague us.


As usual, we were browsing at or near bottom-of-the-line. We can't afford the super awesome LG steam situation - so we decided to opt for the super basic until we can.
We ended up going with an Amana set that the salesman explained had the "old technology" meaning - it won't vibrate across the room or flip over on it's side like some of the latest models (a problem due to super high spin cycles).
Anyway - before we left the showroom, the salesman told us repeatedly not to use dryer sheets in front load dryers. He said that the repairman was always telling him that dryer sheets coat the inside of the dryer and block both the sensor and the lint filter and cause the machine to burn out quickly.
I wasn't psyched to hear that - because dryer sheets are the only thing that has ever successfully removed Bernie hair from our clothing. But I thought, I'll just figure something else out.
But guess what? I haven't figured something else out - because it turns out nothing else works to get the hair off. Several times now, I have washed something "dirty" e.i. covered in pug hair, only to have it come out just as dirty.
For the uninitiated - pugs shed year round. so the hair thing is no joke.
I have visited message boards where people with top of the line front loaders were discussing this very same thing - some women said that they scrubbed out their lint filter with a toothbrush regularly and that this solved the issue (I guess dryer sheets clog the holes of the filter so that it looks OK but actually can't function). Others said they cleaned both the lint filter AND the sensor - which as far as I know, I can't actually access in my machine. Anyone have any experience with this? It's so annoying.

Say It With (Hand Made) Flowers

I can think of two or three people I'd like to give this to, right off the top of my head.
This and other cuteness here.

Sometimes I'm Slow

How did I not know about Saipua before tonight?
This has to be the drop dead, prettiest floral design I've seen in forever.

I would love to take one of their flower arranging classes. They also make soap, if you're keeping score. Love those industrious Brooklyn gals.

Alas - that is not where my next $250 will go. But I do love to spend these frigid, wintry days dreaming of how I will while away my time - when I finally become a woman of leisure.

For Next Year...

OK, so it's too late for this year but you guys have to see these. My friend Gretchen Kelly (a daily painter here in Hudson, see link on right), is selling holiday cards that are prints of some of her house portraits with little glittery accents sprinkled here and there. So fantastic!


Can you imagine commissioning a house portrait and then having few hundred cards of it printed up? I can't think of anything more chic.
As soon as the front of my house is an ounce or two less fugly, I'm doing it. I'd send that Christmas card out year after year.
These are just doors, she's great at little peaks into worlds like this - but her formal house portraits are more complete.

Just wanted to share the pretty.

Oh Christmukkah Tree

For some reason I got really into decorating this Christmas. Maybe because last year it was way too homesteader around here. We were just focused on basic shidt like not freezing to death, not burning down the house etc. You know, the really festive stuff:)

Along with piles and piles of holiday-specific crappola, we found two vintage fake trees in the attic when we bought the house. After trying to donate them and getting the ole, thanks-but-no-thanks, I decided to decorate the nicer of the two. I'm so glad I did - cause it looks awesome!
Fake trees are surprisingly great to work with - you can bend the branches however you want to accommodate decorations. Who knew?
I hung real boughs all over the place to get that real, yummy pine smell though. I'll post pics of those next.

I prowled eBay and bought a bunch of antique Shiny Brite (and other vintage) ornaments. Aren't they gorgeous? Lots of them are scratched and dull - but it makes them look more like mercury glass, and I love how they look.

Then a made a bunch of ornaments out of all of these antique chandelier crystals I've been stockpiling.
I also went nuts on these vintage blown-glass bird ornaments. I can not take how pretty they are! this one is a weird parrot-rooster hybrid.


Even though it looks like a lot, I probably spent less than $30 total because I focused on buying lots rather than singles.

This is the piece de resistance as far as I'm concerned. It's such a cool combination of clown costume and Christmas tree topper. So 50's! Hand blown glass btw.

I have so many festive decorate-y pics to post, that I'll have to dole them out slowly so I don't have the most boring monster-posts ever.
Thanks for indulging me.
Happy Hanukkah to those who are celebrating!

Curtain Saga

What's wrong with this picture?
I'll tell ya.
As soon as I hemmed and hung these babies (thanks Donald Trump! - Joe scored tons of drapes for me off this season of The Apprentice - which he works on every year) I realized it wasn't working. For one thing, they totally cover the moldings (casings?) that surround the windows, which zapped the room of any architectural interest and made it look new-ish and prefab.
Ick.
This is partially because I used too narrow of rods, they should be so wide that the drapes reveal the entire window when open. But then they'd cover tons of wall, which I also do not want. I want to add some cool panel molding later and I don't want the room to be wall to wall drapery.
Does that make sense?
So about a week later, I went up to Albany to an awesome salvage place, where I scored a bunch of interior shutters. They will give us the privacy we need but still let in a lot of light and the pretty views we get in the evening.
As you can see they are beat to crap and really dirty. I'll have to paint them. But come on, I got 8 of them for $100 and the size is perfect.
In this shot they look too short because they're tipped, but they cover the bottom window exactly.
I'll just use the drapes in one of the zillion other rooms that need window coverings. Even the navel-height windows upstairs could use these.
Here's my artsy shot of the view from the front window.
It looks like a light-brite or paint by numbers - no?

What do you guys think? It's not set in stone.

Check Out What I Scored

OK, here's the a shot I took of one of the handles on the antique stove I bought a few weeks ago. It's shrink wrapped and covered with moving blankets at the moment - so it wasn't super easy to photograph. Then there was the matter of a certain little fat man that kept getting in the way.
Anyway - in this shot you can see that there's a thin, metallic stripe down the center.
Hey, is this helpful - what I'm doing? Cause I can like stand here, or like get closer to the camera lens... whichever you prefer lady.
The handles have little ridges.
so the other day I was looking at vintage pulls and handles on Ebay -and I ended up winning these bakelite puppies for like 10 bucks total. I think I got 16 of them. They all need cleaning - they have a little paint and you know - your basic vintage crusties. But seriously - could they be a better match?

They have the little metal stripe, the ridges and the color is identical. There's a chance I might not use them - because it could end up looking too matchy matchy and precious. I don't want to be one of those girls with a kitchy kitchen. I'm just not that darling if you must know. But wouldn't these look cool with gray cabinets?
but that's the beauty of buying vintage - if you change your mind, you can always resell and get every last cent back.

Oh PS: I also got this pendant (the large nickel one). It was on massive sale and I had a left over gift certificate from way back (thanks aunt Betsy!) so it only cost me $50. I've wanted one of these forever - so I was psyched. This will go in the center of the kitchen. I don't know yet if we are going to have an island or not - but the adjustability will make it work either way.

Next up - I'll post a little kitchen inspiration so you can see where I'm coming from dream-wise.

Stuff I Would Buy This Week If Any Of My Freelance Gigs Paid On Time And I Wasn't Totally Broke

Ok - so my consumerism probably needs curbing anyway right?
But I thought I'd post a few finds that I'm coveting for the Hudson house just in case you want to scoop them up yourselves. Why let my savvy shopping skills go to waste eh?

First: this awesome blue stripe rug from Pottery Barn - great sale price check it out from 19.99-39.99 right now!

Second: this bed skirt in ticking blue. This is about as un-precious as you can get with a bedskirt (which in case you are curious is a GOOD thing in Hallie's book of upstate decorating). A Queen is going for 39.99 - final sale yo.
They have a few other great sale items right now but you're all perfectly capable of a good browse without my supervision. My work here is done.

Fireplace Project

So finally - a fun decorate-y project! This week, one of the things I get to do is work on the fireplace. My Dad is coming up (over?) from Montana to help me and together we are gonna work our asses off. Here's my plan for what I'd like to do to the fireplace. (yes that is a snow shovel that I was using for a dustpan - thank you for noting my ingenuity).

First a few facts about the fireplace that I call "creative bricklaying gone bad." It may surprise you to learn that this fireplace is not some wacky addition thrown up in the sixties. Because I am a crafty little detective I discovered that this baby is either very early 1900's or actually 1800's! First of all every Hudsonite who has seen the hearth has said that the square hand made tiles (not pictured in my photo but they look exactly like the ones pictured below) are pre 1900's. But that's not enough to get me excited or anything.

Here's what did it for me....

I was in a church in Hudson (do not ask me why darling) when I saw this... My fireplace's very own ugly twin! Ok I'll admit that mine is much uglier. But still! Of course I made a total spectacle of myself snapping these photos without explanation, but whatevs. I was on a mission.

Here's the aformentioned hearth. not nearly as ugly as the fireplace surround but nothing too darling either. But regardless, mine will probably stay (thought possibly painted - inspiration pictures to come soo).

So here's where I gleaned some info. this fireplace was gifted to the church in honor of Mary Leeds Punderson 1818-1916 for her 98 (for real y'all) years of service to the Senior Sewing Society. So this was after her death. Sometime not to far after 1916 I'm thinkin.

So I'm also thinking that these were probably made by some local designer. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more like them in the area. NONE of this info however, is enough to make me want to keep mine intact. I'm just not that deep. Much as I'm into historic restoration I'm just not feelin it.

So here's the plan. Frst of all - keep in mind this fireplace was coal and does not work. I'd love to get an insert someday so that I can turn it into something functional but that's not gonna happen anytime soon I don't think - due to finance alone. I'd like to cover the brick surround portion with the plaster treatment shown below (from Apartment Therapy). Follow the link to see how to do it. It leaves a sort of softened cloudy surface to the brick. I think I might be able to obscure the weirder brick shapes and sort of re-draw more normal-ish shapes in the plaster with my fingers. We shall see.

How to create BDDW walls

Then, I'd like to whitewash the exposed brick from the chimney portion (which we just exposed - yay!) so that the bricks still show through but aren't so dark. ie the gorgeous photo below (Apartment Therapy). Follow the link for directions on how to do it.

How to whitewash brick walls

Then, I'd like to use an old barn beam or something similar for the mantle. That's the sort of thing I love love love shopping for. So that'll be a welcome break - whenever I get to go hunt for that.

All for now. I'll let you know how it all shakes out. Getting the dining room dialed in is going to feel awesome!

The Bargains Of Last Weekend

Hi all! As my freelance gig continues to kick my arse - my postings are getting less and less frequent (but hey more pithy!). I offer as evidence - these awesome photos of my winnings from garage sale-ing my way up the 9 towards Hudson last weekend. Ordinarily I would have posted them immediately, but I've been too pooped. Anyway, In my continuing campaign to create a cozy campsite for Joe and I so we can start sleeping over at our construction site/house, I have been piecing together bedroom stuff from here and there. We aren't going to spring for the big move till like June-ish. So none of the NYC furniture is up there yet (unless it fit into the back of a Camry).

Anyway here are my winnings - I hit a garage sale in Redhook that turned out to be a woman clearing out her antique shop because her landlord was selling the building.

I got this Victorian crib/daybed for $30 including the mattress. The stripey fabric its covered with was mine. nice no sew styling huh? It's really comfortable because its so springy-bouncy.


I hung some temporary curtains while I was at it.

These awesome antique-textile pillows were...... two for ten bucks. I know!

That rag rug cost me $20. I swear its a little less darling in person - more primary colors and less pastel.

I got each of these lamps at Goodwill in Hudson for $14 Then I bought the shades at Big Lots, next door for $10. I have some antique French crystals that I'll replace the drops with. The current ones are a little too clean for me.
Yep - they have marble bases... I know!

Oh - ps: that's my attempt to make a blow up bed look cozy. I can't wait till theres a real bed up there. I know that the room is looking dangerously Shabby Chic - which is so not my goal. So I'll have to balance things out with a Metallica poster or something.