A Gorgeous Fall Day

I am not sure how we got so lucky this week, but this weather has been anything but typical. This morning as Bryce and I did our Saturday cleaning the sunlight poured into the house and because of the all the golden leaves surrounding the light cast a golden hue. I love this time of year, but at the same time hate it because I know our days are numbered. I know there will only be a few more days to open the balcony doors and listen to the rustling of leaves and feel the breeze of warmth stream through. This is a day to savor and I will store away for when they are no more. Enjoy the day!

Let There Be Light

"They never said it would be easy, but they promised it would be worth it." Tonight feels like a moment where you say worth it. After Bryce & Warren, my youngest brother's good friend since kindergarten, finish up the landscape lights we get to enjoy some truly positive light shining on 747. This house has had it's share of dark days, but today is not one of them and going forward I hope that this house shines forth hard work, friendship, love, understanding, faith, patience, persistence and most of all hope.

I had to include an instragram photo. My favorite free iphone app!

Thanks Warren!

Thanks Bryce!

and last by not least in this posting thanks to our friends, Nan & Steele from Landscape Love. Photo from their facebook page.

What Next?

Landscaping! Now that the stucco is all complete we are working on outside layers. Here are a few shots of the backyard before and after.New steel wall.
Peregrine Falcon hanging out the steel for the wall before it is installed.
A backyard that was full of garbage and Buckthorn. All removed!

Nineteen Months

Nineteen months and we are still trying to finish up 747. Every step of this house has been a learning experience and it doesn't seem stop. Mother nature was anything but cooperative in trying to do the stucco. There were two times in the stucco process where the guys had just finished up and a half hour later a huge rain storm came in and down goes the stucco. If we weren't waiting for a window to work we were hoping the rain would hold off so the stucco could dry.

The stucco part is the one thing where people passing by are starting to see the transformation. We have received so many positive comments from our neighbors in the last month. Even neighbors from our old Mill District have stopped by. One neighbor said, "Thank you so much for bringing this house back to life and not tearing it down. Many of the houses in this neighborhood are crumbling and need work and if you don't give it to them they just keep crumbling." She is so right. This house was long overdue with work and Bryce and I sure have talked about how much it easier it would have been to tear it down, however there is joy in knowing that we saved it!New Stucco completed!
Brown coating the front of the house.
Original stucco. Cracking and needing a lot of love!

Taking Shape

After 18 months of interior jobs the exterior is finally taking shape. A few before and afters of what is happening when mother nature is cooperating.Brown coat going on up on the second section of stucco.
Before the new stucco.
Final finish on the first side of the house.
Before stucco.

Trends that are beautiful forever

THESE DAYS I would dissuade people from following trends per se. What I would rather do is encourage people to do 2 things - understand their own personal style and find joy in simple things. If you ensure that every investment you make, from a humble domestic item such as a broom, to a larger piece of furniture, conforms with your own personal style then who needs trends? If an object is truly beautiful today it should be beautiful forever. Paul Hecker

I love this statement that I discovered in an Australian shelter pub, BELLE, this weekend while sitting under a tree at the Walker Sculpture Park. I read it and it sings to me like great lyrics in a song. It is so true. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by furniture, artwork and all the other little entities that Bryce and I have gathered along our journey together. We have had so many ups and downs with 747, but right now I feel like I am in the honeymoon stage with our home. More and more things are coming together on the interior & exterior.

A few snap shots of what is currently occupying our free time on the interior. Finishing touches in the kitchen..... We finally installed the stone backsplash after it sat in the garage for over a year and the revised island/table arrived. Along with finishing touches the simple things I am enjoying are an open door in the kitchen that lets in the fresh air with a scent of Lily of the Valley and a long table for friends to gather around while drinking wine and singing 80's music.

Artwork by Lori Henson from the Casket Arts Building in NE Minneapolis. I like to think of it as Frida in my kitchen. The smaller piece, the Red C, by Dede Magnuson from the Northrup King Building in NE Minneapolis
Our kitchen island or should I say long & lean Parson's got delivered this weekend from R&B after a needed middle leg on the first Parsons.
The line up of Emeco stools.
The door finally open on a sunny day/sunny moment.

It's all about the layers

On a gloomy Sunday afternoon what better to do then add in layers and layers of accessories. I always say this is what makes a space look like a home and gives it warmth.Adding in a few more pillows on the bed. Building off of a neutral base the texture of the sheepskin and a handcrafted Kuba cloth pillow make the bed feel complete.
Ok, not a lot has changed in the master bath, but I love my weekend find from Unique Thrift and I had to take a picture of it in it's new home. The oval shaped wood bowl on the counter is perfect for small things and it was only $2.42!
In the guest bedroom we finally added in artwork. These two pieces were from a show of mine a couple years ago and I was bummed that they did not sell, however they look like they were meant to be for this space.
Last but definitely not least is the sunroom. We have added many layers into the cherry wood media piece. Thanks Wisconsin friends! It was fun to dig into the closets and pull out ceramic pieces from old MPA colleagues, thrift store finds from many years ago and hang a bold graphic trolley sign from R&B Edina to top it all off.