Party Time

Happy New Year Everyone!

Kate Spade

2010 has been quite a year. Lots happened: I retired and restarted my blog, I switched jobs from working in a showroom to working for an architect, my business has grown, I discovered yoga after I hurt my knees, and I got engaged!

Homes and Gardens

Being the positive person that I love to be, I have lots to look forward to in 2011. I don't LOVE New Years resolutions but I do love goals and thinking about the future. My main goals are to work on expanding my business, planning our wedding, and working on fixing my knees (I heart yoga).

Eddie Ross

2011 will be a wonderful year full of amazing design. Honeysuckle Pink is the Pantone color for this year and it's fun, festive, and pretty. These two pink tablescapes make me think of fun and celebration...like tonight!


Have an amazing night celebrating the year that is now over and looking forward to the fabulous year that we have ahead of us! BTW, does anybody want to buy me those shoes from above? Thanks! Be safe and drink champagne.

Alicia B.

Year in Review

As we rapidly near the end of 2010, it only seems fitting to look back on what we've accomplished over the last 12 months.  A summary of sorts.  It has been a wild ride since we bought our little casa in February, so I thought it would be fun to take a peak at all that has happened since. 

Here are some of the projects from 2010:

Half-Bath Makeover

(click here for more information on that project)

Kitchen Makeover

(this was by far the biggest transformation....for more

on the process, check here, here, here, here and here too!)

Dining Room Makeover

(click here for more information on that project)

Exterior Makeover

(click here, here, here, here and here for more information)

Hallway Makeover

(click here for more information on this project)

Deck Installation

(click here and here for more information on this project)

Living Room Makeover

I think that's it for the big projects of the year.  We definitely did a lot of other little projects here and there, but these were definitely the most time-consuming.  I can't tell you how happy I am to check these off of my to-do list for the year.

But just as we close out the 2010 list, it's time to put together a new one for 2011......

Here are some preliminary thoughts (I will do another post next week after I reflect a bit more on the coming year)

2011 House Projects

Re-paint office and guest bedroom

Remodel full bath upstairs

Finish basement (w/ half bath??)

Install new windows (DIY or hire?)

Paint garage doors black

Repair cracks in exterior trim pieces (re-paint)

Re-seed lawn, plant, mulch, landscape front & backyard

Finish molding and painting trim around side storm door

Clean and organize remaining boxes/items in garage/basement

Create built-in bookshelves/bench for living room

New roof for garage

Clean and repair gutters

Stain or paint deck

Find cheap patio furniture and refinish

2011 Craft/Art/Design Projects

Print maps of places lived/visited to create frame wall

Print photos for black frames in hallway

Refinish (2) craigslist side tables

Refinish (2) thrift store/hand-me-down dressers

Create vintage-looking signs for guest bedroom or future nursery

Make another coffee filter wreath for sister-in-law

Create or repurpose letters for kitchen (maybe "EAT")

Sew curtains for guest bedroom and office

Find/buy/make/distress coffee table (This is starting to inch up the priority list....I HATE our current one)

Ok, I'll stop now before I start to have a panic attack.  All of those projects are exciting and I'm looking forward to it, but its also a little overwhelming.  Many of them will not happen immediately, if at all, but at least we have something to keep us focused (and motivated since I just told you all I was going to do it) throughout the year.  Our priorities will definitely be the windows and the roof, since those are necessary for both safety and energy efficiency, but the rest can probably wait until the spring or summer.  I will definitely keep you all posted on our progress and let you know if we have added anything more to the list as the year goes on. 

For now, we are just going to enjoy the end of 2010 and get ready for another exciting new year in our home.  And although this post has gotten me thinking about all sorts of other resolutions and lists (both personal and professional), I will save those musings for another day since I have bored you enough already with this unending diatribe.  Have a happy new year and I will see you all in 2011!!!!

Oh, and before I part with you today, I just wanted to point out two new additions to the list of "Blogs I love" on my sidebar.  Please check out Roasted Beat for a witty repartee on life, great food and reality tv.  My friend RB is charming, honest, witty and a great writer to boot.  Also on the new list of faves is my friend Molly (and B's cousin's wife) who shares her passion for great food on a dime in her blog Cheap Beets!  (Kind of funny that they both use beets (or "beats") as their muse....small world)!!  But seriously, go check them both out.  They are wonderful people but also really great writers with a lot to share!

Design Ideas - Special Fireplace

I ran across this sculpture installation that really caught my eye.  A really simple fireplace wall composition with one spectacular piece of art.  The glass wheat sculpture is designed by Canlis Glass out of Seattle, Washington.  Check it out.

Simple composition of the fireplace wall.  A contemporary fire box and open display niche sit side by side.  Wheat sculpture centered above.

Lighting is important here as it really emphasizes the overall texture of the glass.

The stems of glass are set into the base of the sculpture; which in this case also serves as the fireplace mantel.

I don't want to know how much this costs.

I would imagine that this unique glass sculpture is cost prohibitive.  But the idea of the fireplace wall can be borrowed.  Keep the composition very simple.  No need for a fancy fireplace surround with expensive stone and and an ornate mantel.  Instead just place one interesting piece of art above.  Beautiful idea.

My Wish For You

Funny here in animal house. The Lab is sleeping and wagging her tail vigorously against the floor, thump, thump, thump.  The Cat is running from the bedroom, under the dining room table and into the kitchen.  Then back again and back again. Very loud for such a small cat, pound, pound, pound. We, however, are both minding our own business, GG reading a book and me reading and blogging.  Guess tonight is New Year's Eve in the animal kingdom.

We've planned a quiet night at home this year.  Tomorrow night we'll cook Marie's Swedish meatballs and serve them with a pile of GG's sinful mashed potatoes.  I don't watch her make them but I can taste the copious amounts of butter and cream.  What you don't see doesn't count, right?

A friend or two, maybe four, will come by to eat and attempt to and steal GG's Scrabble crown away from her.  I assure you I will be playing for blood and the crown.

And then, oh happy day, I hear it will be in the high 50's maybe low 60's and sunny on the 1st.  This means we can get outside and do some yard work.

Happy New Year to all of you.   Here's hoping in 2011 we all get a chance to get a little closer to living the life we want.  Wishing you all serenity, courage and wisdom.  And a delicious meal.

xo Jane

The Dream Catchers

The Legend of the Dream Catcher "A spider was quietly spinning his web in his own space.  It was beside the sleeping space of Nokomis, the grandmother. Each day, Nokomis watched the spider at work, quietly spinning away.  One day as she was watching him, her grandson came in.  "Nokomis-iya!" he shouted, glancing at the spider. He stomped over to the spider,  picked up a shoe and went to hit it. "No-keegwa," the old lady whispered, "don't hurt him." "Nokomis, why do you protect the spider?" asked the little boy.   The old lady smiled, but did not answer. When the boy left, the spider went to the old woman and thanked her  for saving his life.  He said to her,  "For many days you have watched me spin and weave my web.  You have admired my work.  In return for saving my life, I will give you a gift." He smiled his special spider smile and moved away, spinning as he went.  Soon the moon glistened on a magical silvery web moving gently in the window.   "See how I spin?" he said.  "See and learn, for each web will snare bad dreams.  Only good dreams will go through the small hole.  This is my gift to you.  Use it so that only good dreams will be remembered.  The bad dreams will become hopelessly entangled in the web."  Beyond - A lullaby Sleep well sweet child Don't worry your head Your Dream Catcher is humming Above your bed Listen so softly I know you can hear The tone of beyond Close to your ear Love is alive And living in you Beyond all your troubles Where good dreams are true Dreamcatchers:  are an authentic American  Indian tradition,  from the Ojibay(Chippewa) tribe. The people would tie  sinew strands  in a web around a small round or tear-shaped  frame - in a somewhat similar pattern to how they  tied webbing for Ojibway snowshoes--and  hang this "dream-catcher" as a charm to protect  sleeping children from nightmares. The legend is that  the bad dreams will get caught in the web. The Dreamcatcher allegedly helps us remember  our dreams. It is regarded by some as a serious tool  that is much more than a decorative ornament.  The opening in the center determines the volume that you are asking to receive and parallels the changes  that will occur in your life. Hang the dreamcatcher near the place where you sleep,  on the wall, or perhaps from a lampshade or bedpost.  During my recent trip to the US, I came across   the Dream Catcher, and my son told me the  story behind the Dream Catcher, and I was really fascinated by it, and I bought one. I also read  about it in the internet, and  I also found some  interesting videos about the philosophy of the  native  American, and found, that it is no different  from our own philosophy: it reinforces the universal belief that we are all one. Although we all know about the Native Americans, still it feels good to go back and refresh ourselves with their history, their struggles, and their determination to keep their identity intact. It shows us we may lose everything, but nobody can take our spirit. Happy New Year !!

2010 Year in Review (as told by feet)

The key of a story is not all in the tale itself, but also in how it is told. I thought I'd add a little whimsy to the year that was 2010 by having my feet narrate for me -- well, at least provide visuals.

Just over a year ago a little accident cut into the two little toes of my left foot, sending me to the ER for stitches. I realized how much I had a bit of a foot fetish - or at least how much I enjoyed taking pictures of and making art with my feet. They gladly obliged my renewed obsession while I work toward putting together a new art & writing book* dedicated to the love of feet - and the places they've been.

*So I invite all readers and friends to email me pictures of their feet to include in a collage for the ongoing book project.

Once the toes healed, I pampered my feet with a pedicure in late January. February-May brought a series of events hosted at my loft the Pollination Pavilion, so my feet didn't need to move far for fun. I'll be discussing the value and art of hosting home events in upcoming blogs.

Valentine weekend brought the performance and art party "Love & P's" -- while in part an event to highlight Federico Hewson's Valentine Peace Project (more on that in another blog soon), guests could also make puppets thanks to King Daniel's lab and got to enjoy a variety of live performances. You can see a video of the festivities at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_mqtOEj1lk

My feet got loose to the rhythms of Alo & the Narcissist when he held his CD release event here on the first day of Spring. My feet were fancy free during the celebration of Gay May Day, which included a fun & fantastical fully staged production of Jack Smith's "Rehearsal for the Destruction of Atlantis" directed by Ian MacKinnon. My feet were happy to have been present in many of the monthly Queer Monday's events held at Highways Performance Space that Ian hosts.

My feet were really thrilled they got to dance in a several lovely performances with Nathalie Broizat including one of the coolest productions I've ever been in called "Encore L'Amour." This excellent show scored by the amazing music of Jean-Paul Monsché is currently seeking major funding so we can take it to the Festival d'Avignon in France come summer 2011 (again, more on that soon)! But watch the video edit of it here: http://nathaliebroizat.com/

My feet did leave home though, for several travel experiences early on in the year - part work, part art making, part adventure. Trips to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, NYC, Denver to see Sting, and Death Valley come to mind as particularly pleasurable to the feet.

In summer, my feet had to slow down a bit as I prepared myself for surgery. Thanks to a research study I participated in that took an MRI of my brain, I discovered I had a little tumor growing in my neck that needed to be removed. Fortunately it was benign and I recovered rather quickly - my feet got impatient waiting around.

During the summer my feet were able to help several friend renovate their home, including longtime art collaborator Sky. We did a major creative make-over of the original Harvard Hive space so she could take over the hosting of three more performance and art parties (and yes much more blogging about this to come). See video edits of that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyY1luJIO7c

The fall brought several more travels, most notably back to Iowa to officiate my sister's wedding (see blog Nov 26). The road trip there and back gave several more experiences for my feet to express their love for being out and about in the mountains of New Mexico and Utah.

The year came to a seemingly quick close after that. I started up this blog (thanks to web consultant Lee Wind for his guidance - see his site: http://www.zenofblogging.com). I finished putting together my first book: a collection of song lyrics and artwork (again, more on that soon). Recent trips to Seattle and NYC were travel highlights for me; anywhere I could walk, walk, walk! Look back at past blogs and you'll see how my feet love to get attention...and seem to rule my thinking. I'm more than happy to oblige them. Many more journeys are afoot for 2011!

I hope you had happy feet in 2010. Best wishes to you for a fantastic 2011.
Send me pictures of your feet!
BLESSINGS & BLISSINGS!

Jason

White House: China Room

The China room on the ground floor is now also referred to as the Dining Room. Architects McKim, Meade & White had designated the room a cloak room in the 1902 renovation, but in 1917, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson requisitioned the room to display the growing collection of presidential china. The room has a red color scheme based on the elegant 1924 portrait of Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Grace. The shelves that display the china are red velvet, the curtains are red silk taffeta and the room is finished off with an early 20th-century Indo-Ispahan rug. The room has more of the salvaged wood paneling, which was again, painted under the Boudin redecoration. I love the regency style chandelier!

Before paneling, the room had smaller built-in cupboards which you can see below in 1948. I guess thats fitting as there was less china at the time! The cupboards were created more shallow however, after the paneling, and a few of the larger items could not be included. I call that a major oops!

This image below shows the Boudin Kennedy-era redecoration. The paneling was glazed grey with white details.

As the collection continues to grow, parts of it are housed in the corridor in pieces of furniture.

I loved the china of President Harrison, with the edge band of navy blue with raised gilt stalks of corn!

Included in the same case was President's Harrison elegant cut crystal.