Possible New Place

So, unexpectedly, we may be purchasing a condo. It's a long story, which I'll share if it all works out. But for the moment, I'm just going to decorate it in my mind. I'm thinking black and white tiles for the kitchen, just like this:



And maybe the bathroom floors as well. And Marais stools in the kitchen:



And I'll paint the whole darn place white.

Good Mojo

As I mentioned earlier, BB & I are considering a move. Well, we finally saw an apartment online that looks just about perfect. It has a second room, it's well maintained, in a good location, has character. (I spent last night arranging our furniture in it in my mind . I can really see us there, starting a family.) The difficulty is that the realtor can't show it to us until tomorrow. And, in Boston, apartments have a way of slipping through your fingers. So I'm going ask all of you out there to send some good apartment mojo our way. I would really appreciate it.

The other difficulty is that, regardless of when we move, we're going to have to break our lease. I don't think that we'll have a hard time renting our current apartment becaue the location is great, it's gigantic and the rent is very reasonable. Also we keep it clean and cute, if I do say so myself. But the idea of taking on a new apartment before we've found renters for the old one makes me feel a little ill. (Ok, a lot ill. I'm a worrier.) Does anyone have any advice about breaking a lease? I could certainly use it.

Not Great

Last night I tried making Ina Garten's Zucchini Pancakes from her Barefoot Contessa At Home book.


They weren't great. They were pretty bland actually. Which surprised me, as her recipes are generally so reliable. I think that, if I make these in the future, I'll add some garlic or maybe some red pepper flakes. I suppose that you could make larger pancakes and then roll them around a mixture of ricotta, feta and mint. Anyway, the lesson is, be prepared to dress this recipe up.

Highsmith

I've spent the past two weeks devouring Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels. BB has been trying to persuade me for years that I would like them and I resisted. And, true to form, I was wrong to delay and then felt compelled to catch up on a wildly unrealistic time frame.

I've enjoyed them so much that the next book on my agenda is Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith.



I need to know more about the woman who created Ripley. (I'm a bit alarmed by how much I enjoy him and his morally bereft wife, Heloise. Their sociopathic tendencies don't bother me a bit.)

Maintaining

I'm back, cherubs! Sorry for the mini-break. BB & I are looking for a new apartment and I've been really overwhelmed by the whole process. 1) Because all of the apartments available right now are basically student housing and are, consequently, really awful. 2) Because the very thought of moving has made me realize how much crap we have. And I don't want to move it into another apartment. So the apartment and our wardrobes have been undergoing what I refer to as The Purge. Just like on "Lost".

The upside of The Purge is now that I've finally thrown away my tattered and coats and shoes, I get to buy new ones. Hooray! Here's the Club Monaco Nori Trench that is replacing my collection of every spring coat I've had since I was 22:

Believe the Hype, Part 2

So I picked up the Malin + Goetz Peppermint Shampoo and I have to say that it's worth it's weight in gold.


Between this and the Cilantro Conditioner, my hair is stronger and healthier than I ever believed possible. We're talking Rapunzel strong. And it happened in just matter of days.

When I bought the shampoo, the salesgirl and I chatted a bit about the shocking difference in results between the Malin + Goetz hair products and other schmancier products. (I've used Kerastace for years.) And what she basically told me was that when you use Kerastace, you're paying for the name. It was a solid reminder that price point and brand recognition do not necessarily equal quality.

Fabric Stamping Admiration

I've spent this morning admiring the heck out of HomeSweet's beautiful hand stamped products.


Her results are truly inspiring. My screen printing has come a long way, but my fabric stamping skills are dreadful. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in her studio and pick up some tips!

Staycation

Much though I wish I didn't have to use the word "staycation", that's exactly what I had over the past few days. And what I learned is that I'm not so bad at cleaning, chores, etc as I thought I was. I'm actually pretty great at it when I have the time. Unfortunately, I have to take days off to have the time.

So I did the big Spring clean, purged a ton of stuff that we don't use and cooked and crafted my little heart out. For example, I finished making this little mouse:



And found a home foe this Shaker tray:


And finished little Julian's socks:

I even baked muffins and refrigerator pickles (documentation to follow). Sigh. I need more days off.

Feeling Better

Apologies for the lack of posts. I've had a rotten cold/bug for the last few days and was down for the count. But I'm feeling much better today and am really appreciating the unexpected sunshine Boston is getting.

Sweet BB brought me a peony and some ranunculus (my favorites) on Wednesday to cheer me up.

And during an ill advised bout of cabin fever, I lined the new blanket chest. Probably not the best thing to do when sick, but at least it's done.

Soaking Beans

So, this may sound a bit silly, but I've never cooked dried beans before. I've had a bag of great northern beans kicking around for a bit, so last night I measured out a cup of them to soak overnight, as an experiment. Except that I forgot about them this morning and skipped off to work without giving them a thought. Here they are last night:

I shudder to think what they'll look like when I get home. Apparently, they're losing their texture and structural integrity due to over soaking. Oh good.

On a brighter note, check out this apple shaped fireware that I picked up this weekend. I'm using it to store my garlic!

Blanket Chest

As promised, here's a shot of the new blanket chest. I'm still not sure that I like it at the foot of the bed.



Although it doesn't actually lock, it has a little key for a little, non-functional keyhole. I don't care that it's strictly decorative. I just love it.


And here's the little drawer on the bottom. If we keep it in the bedroom, I'll store pillowcases in here. If we ship it off to the dining room, I'll use it for napkin storage.

Pub Crawl Resulting in Antique Purchases

BB and I survived the James Cameron Pub Crawl on Friday (barely). BB was the Titanic and I went as the Unforgiving Sea. Needless to say, we had a s-l-o-w rest of the weekend. We ate more La Tur, watched the Nova/Syracuse game and strolled around Beacon Hill. We actually wound up picking up an early American blanket chest and litho of Harvard at Upstairs Downstairs Antiques on Charles St. It's a great place, with good product, good prices and a really helpful staff.

I'll post pictures of the blanket chest in its new home tomorrow. I'm trying to decide of it makes the bedroom look too crowded.