tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8467115448180322552015-10-19T10:00:21.970-07:00Sepeda Montornoreply@blogger.comBlogger489125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-7460071684921455332015-01-11T04:53:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.338-07:00

       Remodelista:  A Bewitching Old Stone House                                                            Old House Dreams                                  In the Fields                                                                  Madeline StuartI was talking with someone about renovating an old house a few months ago and I came tothe conclusion that my goal isn't always "renovation" as

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-13200445962472690942015-01-01T06:56:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.376-07:00

I always think of my grandmother on New Year's Day.  She was a very superstitious woman even though I now suspect many of her beliefs were made up to keep my brother and me in line.  But she was clear about New Year's Day:  what you did on this day determined your fate for the next year.  Things such as cleaning the house or doing laundry would certainly doom you a year filled with endless

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-41631615016371052812014-12-23T18:14:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.391-07:00

I had big plans for the Christmas tree this year.  I ordered a Silvertip and had it shipped from California.  Itplanned it to arrive the first week of December and after my office move I was going full-on in to Christmas decorating.The office move went perfectly and the next day I came down with the flu.I am thankful that the flu waited until the move was done I was disappointed I just didn't

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-87680138264712224712014-11-30T15:50:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.408-07:00

As I was finishing up my Thanksgiving cranberries and enjoying a cup of chai, I thought the chai flavors would work realy well with thecranberries.  So I dunked a rooibos teabag in the bowl of hot cranberriesand left it in for about 10 minutes.  I was really pleased with the results.I thought I'd make another batch by making the chai first and usingit as part of the liquid in the cranberries.  

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-55724451386117678212014-11-27T04:49:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.422-07:00

I'm happy to have a few days' break to relax, to cook and sharetime with friends and to be thankful for everything I have.I might even get in another post.Happy Thanksgiving!(Flowers are from my friend Shelley at Bow Street Flowers.)

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-11346900590159744142014-11-02T15:20:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.437-07:00

I don't know how I ever found the time to blog so steadily for three years.It just doesn't seem to be happening lately.  My office is moving in about fiveweeks and designing the new office, planning the move, building a newcorporate identity and building a new website has really taken up a lot oftime the past several months.  But here it is November so I've beentrying to get the house and kitchen

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-70680710703128395812014-09-21T17:43:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.456-07:00

It's hard to believe that fall has arrived.  It seems like July 4th was just a few weeks ago.But I will say I really enjoyed summer.   My job is requiring a lot more of my time andattention and something really needed to give.  I took a vacation from the house even Ididn't  take a vacation away from home.  I appreciate all of you who left comments or sente-mails wondering where I was and how I am

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-43997362532770209692014-07-26T05:14:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.474-07:00

It seems like the world is on vacation.  Over the past three weeksas I e-mail things to clients (this is in my real life, not the blog life).I get the same thing:  Out of Office Reply.   While things have sloweddown a bit, I find myself unable to get any time off.  A website to build,an office blog to launch, a new office space to find and an employeeto hire. It could be much worse, I could be

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-15410088368782553552014-07-03T13:41:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.488-07:00

I've been doing a flag series on Instagram this week and I thought I'd share it with all of you.I love old flags and anything George and Martha Washington so it's fun to pull them outthis time of year and give them a place of prominence.Old parada flags decorate the kitchen light.The Langham Hotel in Boston decorated for the holiday.Boston City Hall today.  It's so humid you can see it in the

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-60215552146983245592014-06-29T05:19:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.503-07:00

Blanche Lazzell, Anemone IIA few years back I did a post about white-line woodblock prints.  It's a printing process that'suniquely American; in fact, it was invented in Provincetown so the prints are often referredto as Provincetown Prints.  Unlike traditional woodblock printing where each color requires a different block, this process uses just one block with a tiny groove cut between each

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-80897505133429987202014-06-25T09:16:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.521-07:00

So here we are again where we last left off.  Low tide on Provincetown Harbor.The water is quite shallow in much of the harbor so when the tide goes out, the sun heats the waterand sometime by the end of the day, the water is incredibly warm when the tide starts coming back in.Provincetown is filled with textures.  Weather worn clapboards, shingles and a sculpturein front of the museum are well

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-81196292728783353902014-06-22T05:52:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.538-07:00

       Photo:  Me                                                                         Painting:  Christina BakerI decided to take a day off work and escape to Cape Cod the other day.  I sat in bumper-to-bumpertraffic for an hour to hit the road to relaxation.  Funny how that works.  I had a great day inProvincetown seeing old friends and meeting new ones.  It's just a two-hour drive from

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-53920142249436659472014-06-12T08:29:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.553-07:00

For you locals, I wanted to give you a heads up about a new place tocheck out. I've talked about Darby Road a few times before--it's wheremy "store counter" kitchen cabinets from--but the former Darby Roadwarehouse has a new business called A2Z Vintage that carries vintage,antique and one-of-a-kind items.I thought I'd give you a tour of their 10,000 square foot warehouse to show just a little a

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-48695282181944625952014-06-02T10:55:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.569-07:00

I don't know why time seems to evaporate this time of year.  The daysare longer but now the weekly chores extend to the outside spaces andthe extra daylight hours easily get filled.   For the past few years, one of my springtime rituals has been takingdown my living room drapes and rods--I still have to do the latter--andlet the sun shine in.  I always enjoy this simpler look.  My living roomis

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-76238214436778313762014-05-08T08:20:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.586-07:00

Still to finish in the kitchen is this one upper cabinet next to the fridge.When I started planning the kitchen renovation, a few of the things high onmy list were hiding the microwave and adding a TV.  Having this little spacetucked next to the fridge seemed to provide the golden opportunity to get both.I think I mentioned earlier that I was painting the back of the cabineta dark color called

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-19421195041875111332014-05-01T11:47:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.603-07:00

Hey, long time, no see!I made it though my big project.  It was a lot of hard work but we really rocked it.It seems like so long ago, but I really enjoyed reading all of your commentsabout the in-the-ground garbage pails.  It seems to have brought back a lotof memories for people and it was fun reading about them.I've moved my dining room table into the kitchen and it fits perfectly!The chairs

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-83388971983479701802014-04-09T15:27:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.623-07:00

I'm knee deep in a huge project at work that involves somelate nights and weekends and keeps me on call 'round the clock.Fortunately I'm able to work remotely so I'm not stuck at the officefor so long but it's left me kind of floundering, not wanting to startany projects.  So I move around from a little unpacking, a littlecleaning up in the garden, and a little organizingI put three boxes of

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-28232971972526941162014-03-23T08:46:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.640-07:00

Let's take a tour of European Country Antiques in the Huron Villagearea on Cambridge's west side.The store is at 146 Huron Avenue near the corner of Concord Avenue.Huron Village is primarily a residential area but within a few blocks of thisintersection are some of Cambridge's finest independently owned shops.But once you step through the door, you're in a different place and time...a place that

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-64230522415394760232014-03-16T16:08:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.662-07:00

My armoire was delivered a few days ago so I've been busyunpacking more boxes and moving dishes from the dining roomthat served as my temporary kitchen during the renovation.If I widen the view, you can see the armoire sits in the corner of the kitchen between the dining room and the French doors to the porch.  This makes it convenient both to get dishes tothe dining room table and to put them

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-13397187600402812872014-03-09T17:36:00.000-07:002015-09-11T18:11:36.680-07:00

The grouting is done...and it's white.  I have no photos of the processbecause it was tough.  It's been several years since I last grouted anythingand I've never done such a large area.  I wasn't sure how long I would havethe time I started grouting until it set up so I moved quickly.  It was difficult.It was messy.  I broke out in a sweat.  And I might have cried a little bit.  Once I had about

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-6951349400838761122014-02-25T13:27:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.696-07:00

Last weekend, I conquered the tile cut around the outlets.This past weekend, I had the supports for the floating shelves to deal with.I wish I could say I planned it--(I'm just having good DIYkarma right now--but the support rods almost all fell perfectlyon the edges of tile so I could just cut around them.You'll notice the little stripes on the endsof the tile.  That's some kind of plastic or

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-81370730230112909002014-02-18T15:02:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.711-07:00

When I'm not shoveling snow, I like to kick back and install some tile.I had a three-day weekend so I thought it was the perfect opportunityto devote the whole weekend to getting the backsplash tiled. I can't stress enough the importance of planning.  You never wantto end up at the end of a row with a tiny sliver of tile.  If you don'ttrust your math, why not just lay them out along your counter?

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-92059535500531807682014-02-07T09:13:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.727-07:00

The tile I chose is made by Horus Art, the style is Tiffany in Biancho Crackle.It's a nice soft white...with a little dash of cream.  I thought it was perfect.But let's talk about your grout feedback.  It was really fun.via SA Decor                          According to your feedback about gray grout:                          Pro:  Wouldn't look dirty                          Con:  Looks dirty

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-49032502805484502692014-02-05T08:21:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.746-07:00

DominoToday's a very gray day with lots of white snow falling so let's talk gray and white....grout, that is.I've seen a lot of great kitchens using subway tile with gray grout lately.Alison Cayne's kitchen in the Domino Holiday issue is a recent favorite.On my "stove wall," I'm planning some floating shelves--I put up someblue painter's tape just to experiment with their placement--but

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846711544818032255.post-60640861348883888322014-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:002015-09-11T18:11:36.763-07:00

It was fun reading all of your comments and suggestions.  I tried not to replyto any comments that would sway you one way or the other. I don't thinkthere's any one right or wrong answer but I was surprised  to hear so manypeople suggest dark navy or black.  By the time I had done the post......I had already gotten a sample pot of Farrow & Ball Down Pipe.The color is meant to imitate lead and I

Sepeda Montorhttps://plus.google.com/116347144565931033659noreply@blogger.com0