hang christmas lights!
between that and my disco light fixture in the kitchen we’re rather bonny. the kids went nuts. “is it almost christmas! is it almost christmas!” “no, your mother is just a freak son.”
these are my vintage “lighted ice” bulbs i picked up for 50 cents at a yard sale this summer. which means they look just as good off. see. the only problem is that i can’t afford for the bulbs to go out and i’m not going to want to turn them off. probably until easter.
i’m just going to steal this blog post and pretend it’s mine.
i think that’s pretty much everything i dream about right there. well, that and making bombs out of household cleaning supplies and that my husband is clint eastwood. …i try to get him to wear the hat but he won’t listen.
it’s how i know my husband loves me. he even bought me a bubble tea.
and i was so excited they included one of my favorite neighborhoods along the crescent. it got chopped off from the world by federal way and it is it’s own little island. you can’t even tell it’s there. i was giddy. i have always liked this first house. it’s so strange to finally go in them after stalking them all these years. and then only to find that it’s absolute nursing home ready. it was just begging for me to move in and *not* wallpaper the bathroom in department of the interior posters and evict the blue, beribboned geese from the kitchen. how could anyone be so cruel? (and just so you know, my next favorite thing to do on the homes tour besides covet or wonder why god ever gave people free will, is to parcel houses out to my family. natalie, i hope you have fun remodeling this dump. i swear it has potential.)
this next house was very cottagy. it’s violet’s. and it was very cozy and original throughout, except for the fancy, upgraded kitchen. i just don’t know about people and their freakin’ pets. the master bed was absolutely flanked by dog beds. people are insane. it did have a tiny blue bedroom tucked up in one of the eves. just big enough for a white metal bed frame, white lace curtains and white built-ins the full length of the room and accessed by it’s own stair. the other cool thing was what could easily be mistaken for martha’s potting shed in the back yard and a lovely paneled man office upstairs with it’s own balcony.
and then joy of all joys, we got to look in *my* house. where i would live if i could pick anywhere in boise. it’s the tip of the pizza island. one side is flanked by a cliff and the other by federal way. it’s in the middle of town and you have no idea it’s there from the road. unless, of course, you sneak up there with your stroller and pretend your lost and try to look in the windows… but this time i was legit. ha. the owner was saying how he didn’t really want to be on the tour since everyone would know where he was and want his house. i told him i had been onto him for years. (mine, all mine.)
i don’t know what is more disturbing, granny and grampy kicking it in a fine piece of real estate with their mismatched furniture, threadbare rugs and yellow tinted plastic ware, or people who have more money than they know what to do with. this house was done entirely by designers. it was kind of creepy and soul sucking. which is why i gave it to sarah. i’m sure between her and her spawn she could make the place feel right at home in a matter of days.
this was the nicest house on the tour as far as mavis compatibility. you walked into a round foyer with a wood spiral stair, vintage yellow wallpaper, period brass fixtures including a thistle motif chandelier. *love* then the spiral stair continued to the 70′s wood paneled basement. ? well, you can’t have everything. although these owners did rock a wonderful addition off the back. “goiters,” as my husband calls them, are hard to do well. they kept the same floor plan of the house and just extended the living and dining rooms and added a breakfast room off the kitchen. which made the longest dining room i have ever seen. you could whip out all eleven leaves and still have room to get around.
the back of the house was almost solid windows. so the dining and living rooms had lovely views of the back yard. (i gave this house to my mother even though i wanted to keep it for me. i guess i must trust you.)
and this house was definitely the swankest. i’ve been trying to eye it for years since it is gated. but now i know for sure. it’s sweet. you approach it from the back because they turned it to face the views.
and that’s a view. the crescent is basically a cliff and in this case it drops down into anne morrison park.
these owners also did very legit additions. both the right and left sides were added later. the left is the man library and the right is a new, craftsman style kitchen with slate counters, vaulted/beamed ceiling and a family room complete with fireplace. we gave this house to gayla since both my mother and i would want to paint all the wood. nature is supposed to stay outside.
this house had some lovely outdoor space. outdoor eating area, patio, some amazing views, fountains, rock landscaping (no concrete curbing here) and mature trees.
baby chicks.
and more fun. off of the basement was a little south facing greenhouse. the stairwell also had a little window that opened to a shelf for milk delivery. in the original house plans the basement showed a rec room, fireplace, laundry room, coal room, wood room and fruit room. basements used to be so industrious.
view of the bay window in kitchen. which was an addition. crazy. they did a wonderful job. and the little jog off the left is a little off-kitchen office. so the wife can facebook and cook at the same time. and what is really fun is that from the kitchen you can hear the fountains in the pool. which also happens to be the oldest pool in boise.
here is the little gatehouse where they stow the lawn mowers and an impressive shovel collection. the guest suite and garage were added later as well. they needed room for their ferraris. and i don’t know when they painted everything white, i’m not quite sure what i think about that. marc thinks it’s sacrilege but i kind of like white brick. maybe not so much on this style of architecture. so i guess it has to go. i should have left a note.
view from the back and the raised veggie garden.
this was the neighboring house. which is for sale. so you can see pictures of the interior here. and let me tell you, it is sick and wrong. it could be a really nice house but it needs some good cleaning up. like the whole back end tore off. i loved the original, narrow living room. and then they added a gigantic family room off the back and painted it vintage hospital blue with a hint of asbestos. next i would remove the attached garage. and then it would be just right for aunt meggie.
i think she could put the adirondack chairs to good use.
and last. this house is kind of misleading from the front. the place is huge. and belongs to a big family. the addition that landed on the roof is actually a huge master suite with a sitting room and granite bathroom. along the back is a full length second story deck. inside, you step down from the formal living room to a huge L-shaped family room with southern exposure and views of the pool. then you step back up to the breakfast nook or go down the stairs to a full basement. which wasn’t included in the tour because that is where they hide the children. becca, this house is for you. fill it up.
and there you go, my favorite holiday of the year. i remember waiting in line with marc to get our tickets. i took a deep breath and said, “oh, doesn’t it feel nice to be surrounded by my kind?” this is the epitome of tours for middle-aged women in their red plaid dresses with matching red plaid shoes and well disciplined purses. it was like being surrounded by hyacinths. see, i told you he loves me.
(oh yes, and reuben, if you were feeling left out we gave you the depot. i just forgot to take pictures. i knew you needed room for your full year food supply, child army, arsenal and a good place to mount your anti-aircraft. see, i’m always thinking. *m)
marc was not impressed. but it is kind of fun. and at night you can see it a mile away. we have our own little otto disco.
jael thinks it’s great. we want one in every room.
i like to think that it was “free” (what my husband terms woman logic) and enjoy it while it lasts. we’ll see how it vibes when i actually get around to finishing the kitchen. until then, we’re just going to party all winter long.
life’s been good at the otto household lately. if you’re not over the age of six anyways. we’ve had long nights of road grinding, a generator powered flood light parked in the front lawn for 3 nights in a row, steam rollers, back hoes, paving crews, little bustling bobcats (very cute) and chain smoking flaggers on constant rotation in the driveway.
actually, one time the flaggers were a little late and we zipped out straight into oncoming traffic. that will teach them.
the boys have had some late nights. we’ll set them out on the front porch with ice cream cones or a cookie and they think it’s christmas. sweet.
watching the paving crews up close has been kind of fun actually. you can tell they are all characters. marc has had the pleasure of working with some true blue reds himself. his nickname on the job has gradually evolved from “aardvark” to “skid-mark.” and he comes home with people’s random drinking tales and of girlfriends who have tattooed themselves with sticks of butter and chicken.
i’ve recently taken it upon myself to start shopping for work clothes for him. the rate of visible degeneration has been alarming. it’s kind of like a picture story of mankind without the benefit of womankind. you give them shovels or chainsaws and let them out after dark. it’s not healthy. fortunately, he will always have me. right by his side, reminding him to shave and to occasionally let me wash his pants. i know, it’s absolutely soul crushing but it has to be done.
this is actually the craigslist photo i took and someone carried it off today. yes, someone indeed wanted it. it was fun while it lasted. paint is just fun.
way too much fun.
