Spring Sprang Sprung

Is it true that Summer really starts Memorial Day? I know that's not the official calendar date, but I've always felt that way. Maybe since the movie Dirty Dancing taught me that summer ends on Labor Day. Anyway, spring was a difficult time here at the Steel City Tudor. We lost a very dear family member, we kicked off a super busy work season with the Dear Husband's business and I couldn't seem to get my footing for starting my next house project. I did however manage to take down the planter boxes from the front of the house and paint them to match our red screen door. Here are the before and after photos. 

I was fairly pleased with the results, but I wasn't 100% sure I loved the look. Mother Nature decided to dump some more snow on us, some freezing temperatures (evident by the lack of leaves on those trees) and so I decided to just let everything sit for a while...

Then, last week, my birthday came! 

And with the help of some very special family, we turned a car full of goodies
into THIS!

I couldn't be any happier with the results!! Both planter boxes have the same assortment of XL Zinnias and sweet potato vines. That adorable topiary is temporarily sitting in my red pot until I decide whether or not to plant it firmly in the ground. Does anyone know if you can leave an evergreen in a pot all winter? Or will the roots freeze...? The little school desk by the front door is a treasure from my Grandpa. He rescued it when he lived next door to the tiny mountain school of St. Mary's Glacier . It needs a little TLC, but for now it's holding some tiny daisies up to greet the mailman. Aside from sad address numbers and some really sad roses, I think the front is nearly complete for this year! Oh, and I've had lots of people ask about the white wreath on my door. It is a ceiling medallion that I've hung from the door knocker with burlap ribbon. Super easy and very inexpensive!  

Hope you all have a relaxing and safe Memorial Day weekend and please be sure to thank a Veteran for their service! 

Oasis Dreaming

Look at what popped up in the backyard this week. Under some very ugly rocks, and beneath a layer of "weed paper", (don't even get me started on that stuff) a little line of perfectly spaced crocus are making their appearance. 

This week we've had two beautiful evenings where the wind wasn't blowing and the temperature was above 50. We found ourselves in the backyard dreaming... Dreaming of the pergola we're going to build, dreaming of the hammock we're going to put in, the trees and flowers to plant and dreaming if all the possibilities awaiting us in our backyard. 

You see we are really lying to ourselves when we say we bought the Steel City Tudor for her charming indoor details. We really bought her for her backyard, or at least the vision of what we want for the backyard...  This is how the yard looked last May. Long, tree shaded, spotty grass, odd rocks, tree stumps... You can see all the potential, right?? Yeah, I'm having a hard time too..

From this

to maybe this...?

And from this

to maybe this...?

So for now, I'll just keep pinning and dreaming. 

Winter

This has been our first REAL winter in the Steel City in as long as I can remember. We've had snow and cold for a little over a week and the snow isn't melting off right away. I'm loving it! That being said, this is our first winter in our 90 year old Tudor and there has been a bit of a learning curve. Our furnace is brand spanking new and when it kicks on it's like a fighter jet roaring to life in the basement.

Keeping all that toasty warm air in house has been the real trick. First there was the vent to the crawl space under the living room. Once we plugged that puppy for the season, no more icy cold toes on the hardwood. Except the vent cover fell off and our kind neighbor came to warn us she saw some squirrels nosing around. Eeek! Sealed back up. 

Then there is this gap on the front door....

I'm thinking that the original hardware must have had a nice thick door plate at the lock. I'm not even sure how to fix that...  The Tudor is amazing though and we really are staying warm and toasty. ❤️

Getting into the car in the garage the other day I noticed something unusual. 

Can you see what that is? Those are the nails from the stucco wire coming through to the inside of the garage. They are all frosted over!!  

It's a tiny frosted world! I just love them. Stay warm friends! Happy Winter ❤️

Not. One. Single. Thing.

What do you mean I missed posting all of Christmas?!? Yep, that's how I roll. I was so completely engrossed in getting my decorations up, packing and planning for our week in Montana, and spending time with friends that I didn't post One. Single. Thing. My tree stand was amaze-balls. The DH made it from a tree stump left in the backyard from the previous owners. 

Isn't that cute! And, its on wheels so I can roll the stump over to the sofa and use it as an end table now that the tree is down. Brilliant! 

This is the dogs tree I had in the sunroom with all my felt ornaments and my favorite vintage Santas. 

I put my vintage (and some new) Christmas village in the corner cabinets in the dining room. It's a good start but I can't wait to add some snow and skating rinks to it for next year! And maybe some deer, and cars, and more trees and and and.... 

For Christmas, we had such a fun week in Emigrant, Montana at the Sun House. It's a quirky, artist designed home, but had plenty of room for the 13 of us and huge fireplace and a great bar. Really, what else do you need at the holidays? Check it out at here

The view from our room Christmas morning. 

Now that the decorations are all down and mostly packed away I have resumed the task of unpacking boxes again. Boxes of milk glass and table cloths and nick-nacs and books.... Heavens do I love art books. My January goal is to paint the upstairs guest room a lovely soft buttery yellow, and possibly get the new ceiling panels ordered for the basement guest room... It's the 20th... I better get moving... soon... any minute now... Look at this book! 

ThAnkful...

I'm playing a little catch up here today in hopes of getting the Holiday Tour up this week. I don't feel quite right posting photos of the Christmas tree when I still have Thanksgiving photos staring at me in my camera. Thanksgiving this year snuck up on me in a hurry. We had only been in our Tudor for 3 weeks and I wanted to host the feast. Yeah, you know, make it beautiful despite the boxes everywhere! Ha! 

I found a banner I had purchased at World Market and hung it up on our mantle right away. And can I tell you how hard I laughed when I got it put up...? Someone in charge of the "a"s in the factory must have taken a coffee break when my banner came down the line. Haha! Oh well, I'm still thAnkful anyway, and frankly it reminds me that I truly am a little less Martha than I want to admit. 

After having a few last minute furniture purchases delivered, like CHAIRS, we cleaned the Tudor top to bottom and cooked for two days. I must say it was my most successful Thanksgiving feast to date! The DH was an integral part of the success. He brines a fabulous turkey ladies! And knows just when I need a hug and when to stir the gravy. My new favorite dish was a tie between the Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole, and Mom's Secret Gravy recipe. Both are on my Pinterest page under Thanksgiving. 

So while I am thankful for the family in our little Tudor home, I have to point out how Thankful our pups are for the squirrels they have discovered in the back yard! Look at this sweet boy. So patient. 

I am Thankful for the home we are creating in our little two door Tudor. 

A whole new world...

Have you ever pulled up the blinds and been unable to see out the window? On about day four of living in our new home, we decided to pull open all the blinds. What we found underneath was frightening! I'm guessing the last time they saw soap and water was probably in the early 70's. I would have guessed even earlier that that, but the original owners still lived here then and I suspect they were decent house keepers. After a shocking price tag of over $500 to have the windows professionally cleaned, the DH opted to clean them himself. 

I can honestly tell you, clean windows make for a whole new world! 

Even our kids were enjoying the new view. 

One down and about 23 to go....... 

Welcome home...

In late summer of 2013, we put our home on the market. Now there wasn't anything wrong with our home. It was new construction with a large open floor plan. We had five bedrooms and three bathrooms on more than an acre and half. The views were spectacular. Rocky Mountains for 180* and the gorgeous plains for the other 180*. BUT, after living there for 11 years, our house lacked things. Sidewalks for example were never going to be a part of our rural neighborhood, nor were an abundance of trees. Our neighbors never waved, not to mention we only knew the names of three of them. It was quite, peaceful rural living, among tumbleweed invasions and a killer 20 minute commute into town. We had more rooms than we knew what to do with and after painting walls, laying tile, installing wainscoting, building fences and hundreds of other small projects, we were growing bored with our home. When it comes to new construction, you have to work really hard to build character and charm into your home.

We put our house up for sale on a hot August day. We had cleaned and purged, scrubbed and scoured and thought "Well, with a little luck, maybe in 6 months, someone might fall in love with our house". Fifteen days later, we were under contract for full price, with a family dying to get in as soon as possible. We had to find house, and quick!

Now here is where a little serendipity comes into play. Before listing our house, we had been cruising our favorite historic neighborhood, drooling over the Queen Annes, dazed by the Bungalows and swooning at the brick Cottages. This was magical place, with tree lined sidewalks, friendly people out walking their dogs. These weren't just houses dripping with charm, they were homes. It was in this enchanted neighborhood that we had fallen in love with a darling 1923 Tudor Cottage. She was for sale, for a great price, and she was oozing with charm. Coved ceilings, hardwood floors, door handles with skeleton keys, paned wooden windows and the most amazing feature of all, an over-sized TWO car garage. For my dear husband, the lover of all things wheeled, this in-and-of-itself was the piece de resistance. We drove by the sweet cottage, stalked her along the alley, and viewed her Zillow page more times than should be legal. But no one bought her. She sat, with her for sale sign for months, just taunting us. When we got the offer on our house, we looked at only 4 homes but nothing compared to Tudor cottage. Offers made, inspections passed and before we knew it, she was ours.... Welcome to our 1923 Tudor Cottage, or as I like to call her home.