Last House on the Right

Old & New

2012-10-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Since losing everything we owned last year in the fire, I've had to do a LOT of shopping for everything from clothing, hair accessories, appliances, furniture, cooking utensils, rugs, spices, baskets, coat hangers, to linens. You name it, I've probably shopped for it over the past 21 months and will continue to do so in the upcoming ones.

I tend to be a very sentimental person. There were several items in our old house that came from family/friends, or a place that meant something to us; they had a story. Sometimes they were real stories, like the glass crystals that came from my grandmother that were used to make a necklace and earrings I wore at my wedding. Or real "in my mind" like the wood and brass plant stand with carved out dragon heads that I thought my grandfather brought back home from overseas, Thailand, I think. (In reality, it was given to my mother by a neighbor of ours when we lived in Florida.) All loved, all lost. Gone within a matter of minutes.

Now that we are in the new house, needing to furnish and live in this new space I've found myself searching out new clean pieces as well as older pieces that I love. My husband and I have debated this, he wants and likes all new things because our house is brand new. I on the other hand, being sentimental have enjoyed the process of pulling new and old together. I honestly believe it's what will help make this new house feel like home.

So once a week I head over to the newest thrift store in our area, Savers. This place is bright and clean. Like many other thrift stores, it's hit and miss though. I happen to get lucky today. On my way into the store I saw two women coming out with a couple of great woven cane chairs and complimented them on their find. I was informed there were 2-4 more in the store, plus a table! I rushed right in and scooped them up. Unfortunately there were only two chairs left, but at just $10 a piece I think they are a great find. Let me know what you think!

I'm not sure quite where they'll all end up yet. For now they are hanging out in the basement, mingling with other pieces that will be properly arranged when the in-law is complete. But, I will need 1-2 chairs for my office/craft room. For $10 a pop, I wouldn't feel bad about spray painting them. But I do love the pattern of them, so I'm not ready to pull the ~~spray paint~~ trigger quite yet. As for the table, I was envisioning a dining room-like table in my office/craft room, but when I moved it into the basement where the game table will go, I really liked the clear round glass for that corner (better pictures to follow). The chairs shown around the table are from IKEA - new and very comfy. I originally purchased them for our dining room but when they weren't cutting it for my I replaced them with some others that just matched the casual vibe I'm going for. But that's another story for another day.

Since I'm shopping online, and in stores quite a bit, expect more posts on my finds, both new and old. What are your thoughts? Do you tend to enjoy all new items in your house? Do you like the eclectic mix of old and new styles?

xoxox
~Melanie

Here Ye! Here Ye!

2012-10-06T15:49:00.001-07:00

Did you hear the news?!?!?

The truly inspirational bloggers turned authors of Young House Love, also known as Sherry and John Petersik are coming to Boson November 7. They'll be at the West Elm in Brookline to meet & greet fans, and sign their new book! Hurry up and RSVP, as of this post time 526 people have already said they are attending.

It should be a boatload of fun as it will be the day after their book is officially released.

I don't know about you, but I'm so very excited to meet my home improvement ~~geeks~~ idols!

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Hope to see you there!
xoxox
~Melanie

January 6, 2011

2012-09-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

This day will forever be etched in my mind. It is the day that changed my life forever. Below is a recap of the first few hours.

Approx. 5:40am – Awoken from a sound sleep by the noise of shattered glass. Thinking it was one of the glass lamps I just bought for the guest bedroom, I took a peek. The last thing I expected to see were flames bursting through the windows. I screamed “FIRE!” before the smoke alarms even went off. While my husband jumped out of bed, I saw the silhouette of my 2.5 year old and scooped him up rushing downstairs and out the front door to my neighbor across the street.

Approx. 5:50am – Several 911 calls were made, a call was made to my mother. I watched as flames engulfed the side of my house, thinking we’d need to redo the entire kitchen. I watched as my husband wearing only shorts, in subfreezing temps, tried to battle the flames with a small fire extinguisher and bring over a hose, from the neighbors, which proved to be too short. Mason kept telling me “it will be ok Mama”. L

Approx. 5:57am – Finally the ladder truck arrived. When Dave asked where the hose was, the fireman responded, “Talk to the Mayor”. By this time I could see the flames inside of my house, and almost halfway across the first floor. My neighbor said to me “It’s gone”; although I couldn’t comprehend what that truly meant; I responded, “I know”. My car had started to singe and slowly became engulfed in flames as well.

Approx. 6:10am – We were evacuated from our neighbor’s house for fear of it catching on fire, despite being across the street. They had to leave their animals at the house, I felt so very guilty. I would learn later that the closest hydrant did not work. Braintree and Quincy fire departments were called in to assist. Hoses had to be attached to hydrants almost a quarter of a mile away to get proper pressure. We would learn later that the fire was so massive, it melted the side of the house next door to us, the side of the ladder truck, and the front of the house across the street.

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Approx. 6:20am – I witnessed my entire 2,000+ square foot home collapse. I watched this on the local news from the view of one of several helicopters above. It was horrific. Regardless of how hard the firemen worked, our house was not going to be saved. I learned later that fire doubles every 60 seconds. The firemen worked to ensure that our neighbors’ houses weren’t victims of the fire, as well as the surrounding woods.

Approx. 7:00am – We met with the fire chief to share what we knew of how the fire might have started. And learn what our next steps were, as we had nothing and didn’t know yet that absolutely nothing would be salvaged from the fire. We had no clothes, no identification, Dave could hardly see without his contacts; we had no method of transportation. But we did have our family who rushed to our sides, and our neighbors.

Approx. 8:00am – We were given socks, coats that were too big, shoes that were too small. But it didn’t matter, it was more than we had and just so very grateful for generosity. Discomfort was not one of the feelings we could even comprehend.

Approx. 9:00am – I left to take Mason to daycare; I wanted him to have some normalcy so that Dave and I could try to figure out what was next. As I walked to a family member’s car, a woman rushed out of her house with a coat, scarf and mittens to cover my pajamas up. I tried to decline, as I’ve never had to be on the receiving end of donations, but she insisted saying that I needed it more than she did. Thankfully Mason goes to a wonderful daycare, and they embrace him like family. I knew it was good for him.

Approx. 9:30am – My uncle came by with his truck for us to borrow and a hotel room booked for us to sleep for a couple of days. Thank goodness, because where we were going to lay our heads that night was not a thought that had yet crossed my mind. I went with my sister to Target. I needed to feel somewhat useful and take a step forward. We stopped in to my favorite breakfast place to get coffee and something to eat (which never left the bag). Although I now was telling the events of the morning for only the second time, it didn’t feel like my story. It was someone else’s. Other people lose their houses to fire, not me.

Approx. 10:30am – Shopping at Target was a complete out of body experience. Christmas had been just 12 days before. I’d spent time in there before and after buying things for our first Christmas in the house, and for the seasons ahead. It was a totally different and cloudy experience this time. Needing someone buy my son underwear, toothbrushes, socks, and just basic items would have been humiliating had it been anyone other than my sister.

Approx. 12:00pm – Dave, my father and I met with a major/total loss representative from our insurance company. He made us feel good about the process, gave us an advance. Although we felt comfort with our rep, little did we know what an uphill battle we would have with them over the next 9 months.

House listing photo ~ August or September 2009

Photo courtesy of The Patriot Ledger

What happened from that day forward is what this blog is about...

Survival, Rebuilding, Designing, Decorating, Organizing, Living

xoxox
~Melanie