rambling...

Things have finally been happening around our house after a long pause. We've mostly been cleaning up the yard and planting some perennials around the house. At this very moment, we're having our upstairs hallway painted! I can't tell you how happy I am to not have to do this myself. I loathe painting. I promise to post some photos as soon as it's done - I'm not doing it so you know it will actually get finished! I can't wait to see it and to finally hang up the light fixture we bought for it many months ago.
New flowers in the window boxes:

New flowers in the hanging baskets:

My peony has buds on it this year. The roses are budding as well. The ferns are taking over everything in the front. Daffodils and tulips came and went - I planted huge white double tulips and they looked amazing. I'll have to remember to take photos next year!

I planted a few different varieties of allium last year: Globemaster, Gladiator, Drumstick and another that I've already forgotten the name of. I haven't seen the Globemaster or Drumsticks yet but I'm pretty sure that these are the Gladiator in front:

Oh and this crazy allium:

All of the bulbs came from my favorite nursery: Martin Viette.

Did I mention that we used to have a dirt patch directly in front of our house? Ever since the giant yew was dug up we've been wondering if we should plant some grass in front. I was against a lawn because I don't like all of the maintenance it entails - weeding, watering, mowing, etc. I finally gave in and allowed Fernando to put some seed down. This grass promises to use less water than the average lawn. It took a few weeks but we actually have a nice shaggy start:

So there's some dandelions and clover too. I hate the idea of poisoning the dirt with chemicals so when we can really start walking on it I plan to pull those out by hand. I do like the new grass (Fernando was right) - I wouldn't mind plopping down on it for a picnic.

Some more pretties from Martin Viette waiting to be potted:

We've also decided to replace some of the wood on our front steps. Last weekend, we sourced some boards that would be a good replacement and hopefully we'll get working on that with my Dad in the near future. I'm excited to have freshly painted stairs and not the multicolored mess we currently have. We just need to decide on house colors.
Another doorknocker:

The other one I had posted about just wouldn't fit. I can't wait to paint the door and hang this guy up... if he fits. It reminds me of the one at 10 Downing Street (spotted over at Katy Elliott):

How nice is that glossy black door? I like the idea of black and near black for trim on a brick house. Just like this one:

Anna over at doorsixteen posted this interior by Stephen Roberts a while back and it reminded me of how much I wish I could stack up logs like this in my living and dining room fireplaces:

I'm afraid that will never happen (without some crazy chopping, hammering and glueing) because our fireplaces are way too shallow. So I'm settling for some logs in the fire ring outside:

Winston chopped those for us from a tree in our backyard. What of the bamboo you ask? I've resorted to stomping on it as new shoots pop up out of the ground. We will never be rid of the root system. I'm hoping to keep it from receiving needed sunlight and that maybe it will eventually die off underground. I'll just have to keep that up for the next 150 years.

chop 'em while they're down

We had a few big snow storms that damaged the evil bamboo in our yard. It wasn't exactly chopped down, but it was on the ground from the weight of the snow and very easy to chop. Since we couldn't get around the back, Fernando decided to hack at the fallen pieces. After the snow cleared and the recent rain storms, we were left with this disaster:

Where's Jamie Durie when you need him?


Did I ever mention the bird's nest of a mess that was growing on our arbor? I couldn't wait to clear this off - it was mostly dead growth and matted leaves weighing down heavily on the lattice.

We hired Winston to clean it all up this week. I'm not sure how he handled this job by himself, but as you can see the results are incredible:

We now have a blank slate. I'm thinking Clematis for the arbor.

He also chopped down the remainder of the bamboo!

It ended up here on the curb:

I wonder if this will have any effect on the ridiculous amount of mosquitoes we get in the summer? He's going to try to get the roots up next. I'm still skeptical that this can even be done. Good luck Winston.

The first signs of Spring:

I can't wait to start planting some more flowers and a few veggies again. And grass. We REALLY need grass.

who are the kitties in your neighborhood?

snow day: outside and inside

Morning shoveling:

Backyard:

Bamboo bending:

The only time chain link fencing looks ok:

Curtis High School is quiet:

Ferocious Toby:

Snuggly Toby:

Surprised Oscar:

Mellow Oscar:

Introducing Merit + Worth Collection

Have I ever mentioned that Fernando is a vintage dealer?

Well, he has decided to set up a blog storefront over here: merit + worth. He'll be updating the blogshop weekly with all of his latest finds. Stop by and take a look to find unique vintage items.

lights! photos! but not much action.

I will be a very happy person when I don't have to look at primer covered walls anymore. As you can probably guess, our dining room is still not painted. The reason: the plaster crown molding still needs to be repaired. I think I've found a place that can replicate it, now I just have to trace it and order it and have it made and have it installed - one of these years. In the meantime we've hung some things on the walls and just most recently installed the ceiling medallion and new vintage light fixtures (so much nicer than bare bulbs.)

Cracked molding:

Hey, it's a little better than this:

"New" 1970's Barbini fixture and medallion:

Here's the newly refinished dining table (we still need to find chairs we like, so we're making do with these:)

A close up of the "new" fused glass sconces:

I would love to hear your color suggestions for the upstairs hallway - what's your favorite light to medium grey?

I'm taking color suggestions for the dining room too. At first I wanted a mossy, olive green - but it's a big commitment and I want to be sure. There are three landscape paintings hanging in there as well - all with gold and olive green tones. The adjacent living room is painted Benjamin Moore's Iced Cube Silver , so something that doesn't clash with that would be great. Or maybe it should just be the same color as the living room?
Iced Cube Silver:

And finally: if you're an admirer of vintage design you may want to check out Fernando's new blog storefront. It will feature a mix of furniture, art and decorative objects and it will (hopefully) be updated more regularly than Get To Fixin'. We'll be introducing it on Monday... so keep an eye out!

Happy Holidays!

The new Artemide Nesso ceiling fixture in the living room, just in time for Christmas:

You may be used to seeing this classic design in the tabletop version. We purchased it as a special order from Artemide and we were told there were only 20 of them made... we bought two!
The tree has been up for a while and we hung a nice big wreath on the pier mirror (I don't have a photo.) Here's a detail of the tree - funny, it felt a lot taller in our old apartment. Maybe we'll get a taller one next year?

We were late this year in sending out our holiday cards. Fernando had a great last minute idea. He used an image from an old original Andy Warhol card we found a few years back that has since been sold. All we had to work with was the poor quality photo on the left. With a little color added and some Photoshop magic, I think it turned out pretty nice:

Happy Holidays to you!

St. George for sale.

No, I haven't given up on our house just yet. Still, I can't help hunting around to see what's for sale in the hood.

When we were house hunting here, nothing we liked seemed to be for sale in St. George. When we were apartment hunting, this carriage house beauty was available:

Fernando just didn't want to commit to a house. It was understandable - he was still in school. The people that did buy the house did a really nice job in sprucing it up on the outside. I've always wanted to see inside (we never looked at it) and just found a virtual tour online (click next.)

Another gem for sale in St. George is this beauty:

Ok so it needs a little curb appeal but let me assure you this one is amazing inside. I've seen it. It needs a lot of work but would be so worth it in the end. There's a butler's pantry, a huge kitchen, huge bedrooms, a beautiful staircase and when Fernando saw the sunroom on the back of the house he wanted to sell our house immediately. Ah, Fernando: don't you remember all of the work we did to our house?!

I don't recall seeing this one around in person but it looks to be in fine shape from the listing:

At the high end of the market (two blocks from our house on our street) you'll find one of my favorite houses in the neighborhood:

There are still some fixer uppers to be had as well for cheap prices... like poor next door:

That's really not the most flattering representation of next door. Unfortunately, she's seen better days and her current owner has forsaken her. Useless fact: she was once part of the J.C. Green estate along with our house and now stands where the stables used to be:

This one is around the corner and so cute - I love the round porch. I can imagine that it might need some work considering the super low price:

Another deal nearby:

On the edge of St. George, you can find this cozy house:

The photos show a central air conditioning unit and a great deck. At less than the price of a co-op that's a steal. I love the portico - can't you just see it with grey weathered clapboards, little window boxes and a black sperm whale above the door all New England style?