In anticipation ...

In anticipation, words that encourage and inspire excitement in ones mind, a suspense of looking forward to something. In my case completion of our kitchen update and my 60's girl/French inspired laundry room. Hopefully your interest is peaked in seeing the final reveals and you will find curiosity and enjoyment in my posts delivered in 3 parts. "In anticipation" begins with us about mid way through ... I do hope you find entertainment in my presentation and soon to be end of dirt, debris and dust in this old Philly Row-Home. I'm feeling a much needed stay-cation in John's and my immediate future, trust me it's been well earned.

"The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting."

~Andy Warhol~

Photo of a French chair I purchased for my French inspired Laundry room. But renovations are around the half way mark so the chair occupies precious floor space in our living room until its intended use of putting on and taking off our shoes. We park in back of our home and the garage is under our kitchen so we use the back door. Just in case you wonder about all this shoe putting on and taking off we live with a no shoes house policy. Because ... Our Simon >^..^< gets an eye virus/ulcer that gets tracked in on the bottom of shoes.

The grey silk velvet pillow is one I recently sewed, the Velvet has a faint and pretty hint of Lavender in its sheen. The chair has a weathered finish applied to the Oak that I added to and probably will distress more before it goes downstairs. It's in my design belief of combining the old with the new. Dwelling in a home that reflects beauty in the combination that keeps me with paint brush constantly in hand! The rustic French florist bucket is one of twelve I purchased years ago for a steal in a close out sale. We were hosting a Spring party at our home and we placed them scattered about in our house with Tulips. Since then I've given 3 of them to friends. 

Life is just a bowl of cherries...

Lately I honestly have been making myself dizzy with our latest adventures in remodeling. Cliché's pass through my parted lips, I wake from a sound sleep with additional ideas to add to the remodel. I'm exhausted in anticipation a desire for completion. I often feel like Alice falling down the Rabbit hole - as in unforeseen problems and delays in our renovation. 

I'm frazzled, but certainly excited as I fully realize we are fortunate to be able to indulge our whims into our renovation. 

I l-o-v-e cherries, as in the movie "Witches of Eastwick" like! I will eat an entire bowl full in one evening.  I limit myself to a small bowl a few times when they are in season... I have to - remember what happened in Eastwick! No other fresh fruit has as deep a allure to me.

Being that it is once again cherry time I enjoy them to the point of delirium. Twenty or more years ago walking around the Berlin flea market with John in New Jersey I spotted this cute vintage bowl. It's marked on the bottom Robinson Ransbottom - Roseville, Ohio - Sm Mixing bowl 6"/1 quart. I knew Roseville is very collectable American pottery and at the 8 dollars price tag I paid and I quickly ran away from the vendor. This bowl makes me happy, I adore it's blue stripes, for it's been my Cherry bowl for 20 years.

I recently purchased a vintage 1946 copy of "Alice's adventures in Wonderland and through the Looking glass" by Lewis Carroll. I guess I've returned to my Alice state of mind. Shorty after taking this photo I enjoyed a break and indulged in both taste palate's one of cherries and the other of a book in total mind escape. Alice in Wonderland has been read for 150 years, a novel written in 1865. 

eek a mouse!!!

A very enlarged photo of a tiny little house mouse I hand painted on our radiator cover in our kitchen. While repainting the two cast iron radiator covers (either side of the peninsula) I felt a silly desire to add the unexpected. Since after all I'm never one to take myself too seriously!  I enlarged it to a huge image so you see all my brush-stokes/errors, but she actually only measures 1.75 wide by 2.75 high. With tail she's a mere 4 inches wide. While painting her the name Leela keep popping into my thoughts and I knew it should to be her name. Meet Leela a petite house mouse with eyes wide open, after all there are two cats in residence here. 

I thought Leela might enjoy a teeny weeny wedge of cheese... The plate is a 4 inch appetizer plate, yes she's tiny.

"I'm not strange, weird, off, not crazy, my reality is just different from yours."

~Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and through the Looking Glass~

We treated ourselves to new counter bar stools from Design Within Reach. Named the Baba in bleached Oak, made in Italy. Designed by Sergio Mian in 1992 and sold exclusively through DWR. Our Soapstone has a 10 inch overhang, these bar counter stools are biomorphic in design to fit the contours of the human body and cozy up to the counter top in a scale that perfectly works in our small kitchen.

Vintage design style that's still in fashion.

The seat and back cradle the body.

On May 27th our long awaited 100+ year old barn beams arrived from Ohio. Here they wait in our not yet finished garage. Extremely heavy old beams, they appear to be Oak.

They will be wire brushed, lime waxed for a softened white/grey appearance followed by a top coat of matte Bri-Wax. I'm about to get busy working on them. If this weeks days of rain ends! Their debut will be in my kitchen update reveal, next post.

In our basement our old kitchen stainless steel refrigerator is now built in. Our glass front Sub-Zero is in operation in our updated kitchen. The basement stairs have been painted a warm stone grey and John installed non slip Charcoal stair treads to the steps. We are waiting on the matching mat for the landing that divides the 2 sets of stairs. The treads and mat in our old Philly Row-home are necessary. Both John and I have slipped up and down the steps up-teem times in our 36 years of living here. One fall left John needing over 2 dozen stitches in his right index finger (front and back), all because it was smashed under the weight of a glass 5 gallon Spring water bottle he was carrying up to the kitchen when he slipped bashing open his entire finger.  Yes, verticality may be a good exerciser but accidents do occur. Non slip is a good thing!

Last month I was lucky enough to win a giveaway of a Rewined candle from another blogger. Pat from over at Gypsy Heart and Soul Blog. Pat allowed me to pick any scent of candle from Rewined. A company in South Carolina who pours soy candles into recycled wine bottles. The fragrance I chose was Champagne. A light and refreshing scent with sweet notes of White Grape, honey, fresh baked bread and light citrus. Thank you Pat for the opportunity of winning a delightful candle, I am truly enjoying it. I'm not one who burns highly scented candles, I prefer lightly scented fresh natural soy or beeswax.

While re-reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I came to the line "Begin at the beginning" the King said very gravely "and go till you come to the end, then stop."

I laughed because it sums up a renovation and the wall you often hit emotionally when it's all dirt, dust and debris early on and the project just seems like it will never be done. We're a little more than half way completed and my poem I leave you with today truly tells it from my heart.

xx,

Vera

On a daily basis decorating magazines, movies, inspirational design blogs bombard us and spark our imagination ...

In anticipation you dream, you scheme, you desire an update in your interior, suddenly it becomes a mental sensation.

You visualize, you budget, you plan and schedule a projected time line agenda... but projects always cost more and take longer than you think.

Excitely in anticipation, ideas come to life, budgets are blown as the only sound that resonates is Cha-Cling in the second of time it takes to blink.

In anticipation your mind's eye is active in imagination and heartfelt wishes run wild full of desire and completion is a nightly dream relief.

Remembering the movie the "Money Pit" it's in anticipation you hope and believe work will actually be done in two weeks ... Oh good grief!

But midway through the dirt and debris you see a glimpse of beauty emerging from your long anticipated carefully planned design.

Suddenly a hopefulness fills your emotionally frayed nerves and in an instance you realize everything will soon turn out fine.

© Vera