My House Obsession History

Did you know I am house obsessed?
I have been for as long as I can remember.
My Mom had this friend - Jenny Doan (who is now pretty famous I might add)
who had this house....sigh.
This house was amazing.  Like dream-a-little-dream amazing.
It wasn't in the perfect shape, it was out all by it's self on a lonely old highway, and it had a leaky upstairs claw foot bathtub that made water marks on the kitchen ceiling down below it.
But.....
I fell in love with that house.
I can still recall every nook and cranny.  Every secret little room hidden inside every closet.
I remember the built in white cabinets that held the china and was also a look through to the dining room.
My favorite was the servants ramp that went up from the kitchen to the second floor.  It was a ramp, like add a flattened cardboard box and you can slide down it kinda ramp.  Uh, yeah, we did that....a lot.
It had a very large grand mahogany staircase too.  But that wasn't near as fun.
I think it had seven bedrooms and only one bathroom on the second floor.  That's how they did it back then.
This dreamy house also had a very large laundry shoot that maybe, possibly, some children slid down instead of laundry.  Not me of course!  I would never do that.  (my three brothers may have though)

I would babysit kids while my Mom and Jenny went and played.  I think I had just as much fun playing as the Mom's did.  Talk about the best hide-and-go-seek house ever!
I remember it had huge eucalyptus trees that surrounded the property.  Every time I smell eucalyptus it brings me back to that house.  

Jenny's house was a cross between these two houses below.  

Dreamy huh?

I think the obsession was fueled by where I grew up.  

I mean I did have this house two blocks from my house, 

walking by it everyday on my way to school:

 John Steinbeck House

And the house in a town filled with houses just like it was not far away:

The Seven Gables Inn

Oh and my favorite place...ever:

 Carmel-By-The-Sea Ca

It seems I was destined to be a house lover. My Mom was and I have taught my girls to be. We love to drive around different neighborhoods to look at the houses and pretty landscaping.  It's a little harder here in Arizona.  We live in the land of cookie cutter homes and desert plants galore but sometimes, I find a gem here and there.  It makes my day!

Here are a few sites I like to look at when I need a little house obsession fix.
Enjoy!

Dwelling Gawker
Hooked on Houses
My new favorite - Tales from Carmel - up close and personal tours of houses in Carmel Ca.
My favorite little neighborhood that I can't get enough of - Agritopia
I even like this little blog - Tiny House Blog - because you never know when you may need to build a tiny house somewhere.  And man!  Can they fit a lot into a teeny tiny space.
The Lettered Cottage - has great ideas on adding charm to your house.

TBT - Planting a Memory Tree

A few years ago my Uncle wanted to plant a new orange tree in his yard.  

He thought it would be fun for the grand-kids/grand-nieces &grand-nephews 

to plant it in honor of my Grandma and my Mother.  

Plus, any excuse to get together is a good one.

So we all met at his house, my cousins and brothers, my Aunt and Uncle and all our kids.  

Aren't they a good looking bunch?  The girls outnumber the boys in this group.

Sara Jane

 Garrett and Abby - two peas in a pod

 Uncle Pete dug a hole then we shared memories of Grandma Betty and Aunt Barbara (my Mom)

Everyone brough something to put in the hole.

Little notes, rose petals from a special rose bush, little girl trinkets and i guess a sugar cookie went in there!  (I don't remember that.) Good thing we have pictures to spark a memory.

The tree being planted.  All the kids got to help.  

This is a fun idea to do every time you plant a tree.

It makes that tree have memories from the very start of it's life.

Every time we go to my Aunt & Uncles house we smile and know that tree is filled with love and sugar. (literally)

 

I brought a Dr. Pepper because we all know that was my mom's favorite. 

 We all toasted and drank Dr. Pepper at her funeral.

It was only fitting to add a bottle to the tree.

Plus, plants like caffeine and high fructose corn syrup....don't they?

Thank You Uncle Pete for thinking of this fun memory making activity.

And good luck little tree!  

We love you already.

TBT = Throw Back Thursday 

Pictures and Memories from Feb. 2010

Memory Monday

September to me always was:
*new fall clothes
*warm indian summer weather (Sept. in Salinas was the best weather all year)
*the sun set a little lower in the sky.
*scarfs
*fall colors everywhere
*warm soup and homemade bread

Now that I am in the desert September is a little different.
It's more like:
*getting in as much swimming as we can before the pool gets too cold.
*wishing for sweaters and scarfs but still wearing shorts and t-shirts.
*being able to go play outside in the evening now that the weather is cooling off to tepid temperature of 87
*making soup and homemade bread but it not tasting quite as good as when it's chilly outside
*seeing the sun set a little lower in the sky but still not being able to open the doors and windows for some crisp fresh air.


When I was growing up I was always sad to go back to school the day after Labor day. That's when the weather was so warm and just calling me to the beach! I had all these new school clothes, sweaters in fall colors, scarfs, new jeans and shoes. Being the only girl in the family did have it's benefits. Ü I loved the smell of the air, the leaves changing colors, football games, new school supplies. I didn't like school much but everything that goes with it was fun. Yes I was in school purely for the social aspect. My grades reflected as such too! I loved riding around in Kimmurs red VW bug convertible with the top down and her feet barely reaching the pedals. So fun! Those were fun times. Wouldn't ever want to do them over but so fun to look back on!

Memory Lane Monday

I got this idea off of Brooke's Blog. It sounded so cute and when I read the comments people left for her I just had to play so..........

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.