Changing homes

Dear readers, after seven great years on Blogger, I've decided to give Wordpress a try.  Check me out over there.

Chicago Saturday

Our Saturday in Chicago was simple:  

We started with brunch at the Cherry Circle Room with Vanessa and Steven.  The restaurant was in a building that had formerly been an old-school gentlemen's athletic club (think dark wood paneling, leather chesterfield sofas, and cigars--not Gold's Gym).

apparently gentlemen like dueling
bunnies on their plates

Brunch was delicious and not photographed, and it was fun to catch up with Vanessa and Steven and their adorable two-year-old. When we had finished, they took us to see the rooftop lounge overlooking Millennium Park. It was lovely but freezing cold!

Amanda and I whiled away the afternoon, first with a conversation on a bench in the Chicago Art Institute's entrance hall, and then by chasing down a handful of artsy-hipster shops that all sold versions of roughly the same set of succulents, whimsical jewelry, cute (but probably useless) hand-thrown ceramics, and designer clothing items that were presented more as curated "pieces" than a stack of jeans.

Then we took a nap.  Because that's what happens when you go to sleep at 4am and then have to get up for brunch at the crack of dawn.  (Here "crack of dawn" means 11am.)

After napping, we headed out for dinner at Sunda, a lively pan-Asian restaurant with delicious potstickers and sushi rolls before landing at the watertower for the main event: theatre!





It was a new play called Mr & Mrs Pennyworth.  The basic concept was a pair of married storytellers who go in search of a giant monster who killed the Big Bad Wolf (of fairy tale fame).  The story was told delightfully with only the two actors and lots of gorgeous shadow animation and puppetry.  The simple tale wove together themes of storytelling, love, and what it means to be real.  I loved it. 



Fortunately there was a great late-night dessert cafe just down the street.  So we settled in with a slice of caramel pie and a glass of milk to discuss the play (and everything else) until bedtime.

Getting to Chicago

Because Chicago is such a wonderful mid-winter destination, Amanda and I planned a quick theatre weekend. As if the universe knew we'd need good blog fodder, travel drama ensued:

(I'm the blue bubbles, Amanda's the grey)

Fortunately, it all worked out in the end.  I got to the hotel around midnight and went out to get some deep dish Chicago pizza, which was ready just in time for Amanda to arrive around 2am (much better than spending the night in the St. Louis airport!).  With any luck, we'll be snug in bed (though surely not asleep) by 3am.

Fortunately brunch isn't until 11am...  

House Tour

What better reason to interrupt a long blogging hiatus than to talk about how my house became more famous than I am?

It all started at my housewarming party in 2015.  I got a ton of compliments on how I'd put the house together, and one guy suggested submitting it to be featured on the Apartment Therapy website.  I sat on that idea for a while and finally this year, during the week between Christmas and New Years, I got around to taking some photos and sending them in.

And they liked it!  The feature ran last Friday, and I thought it turned out really nice.  You can check it out here.

Since they only showed five photos, I thought you might be interested in seeing a few more photos of the rest of the house.

LIVING ROOM

Raleigh sofa, Noguchi coffee table, Eames lounge custom-upholstered in navy leather.
I found the side-table at the Chelsea Flea Market in NY and refinished it myself.
The vases are from Spin Ceramics in Shanghai. The pillows are carpet remnants from Istanbul.
The rug is Afghan.  Wall color:  Vancouver Day by C2.

KITCHEN

Mapp table in walnut and marble. Eames plastic molded chairs in Sparrow.
The runner is an indigo print from Beijing.  The dish over the stove is from Fez, Morocco.
Wall color: Vault by C2.

We missed our ferry from Tangiers to Gibraltar
because the customs guy insisted on inspecting
this plate.

I negotiated the price for this runner with the old woman in the market
 by writing my bids on her hand with a ballpoint pen

The view out the back is very "Pacific Northwest"
Hummingbirds play in the little fountain.

The backyard in summer.

SECOND FLOOR LANDING

Bookshelves from Boconcept
Artwork from Belgium and France
Wedding blanket from Morocco
Wall color: Vancouver Day by C2

UPSTAIRS LIVING

I found the Cashmiri rug in New Delhi.
The side table is a garage sale find that I refinished.
Artwork of Angkor Wat from a local photographer in Siem Reap.

The bookcase is from a Seattle antique store, probably originally
English with Art Nouveau detailing.
The blue ceramics are from Morocco and Vietnam,
except for the rabbit, which was a gift from a little old lady who
wanted me to save for my mission when I was in Kindergarten.

GUEST BED

Custom bed from a shop in Seattle.  The rug is from Morocco.
Artwork from Japan.  Wall color is Portland by C2.

I created the sconces by mixing a wooden base from West Elm, the cords from
The Color Cord Company, and garlands by Tord Boontje.
The drawings are from Belgium.  I got the side-tables to the right height by
cutting off their legs with a hacksaw.

The dresser is vintage from a Seattle antique store.  I designed and made the wooden music
stand in my 8th grade wood shop class.  The brass figurines are from my childhood:
a squirrel from Uncle Brad, a camel from Dad's trip to Niger, Aunt Sheri's fox.

LANDING 2

The sideboard is from a Seattle antique shop.
The photo is by a local photographer in Portland.

MASTER BED

Bertoia diamond chair. Blanket and pillows from Morocco. Rug from Turkey.
The photographs are mine (hard to see, but it's the Alhambra on the left,
and the view from the summit of Mt Fuji on the right).
Wall color is Espionage by C2 paints.

No fear of the Evil Eye with all the sequins!

I took the photograph at the Alhambra in Spain.
The plant is from a cutting I got during my summer
working at the Screen Actors Guild during law school.
The lamp is from Schoolhouse Electric and is made of
school science lab equipment.

The masks are from Guatemala
The drawing was a gift from Amanda upon graduation from law school -- it depicts the
(probably apocryphal) tale of the man who introduced starlings to North America by releasing
them in Central Park so that Americans could have all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's
plays. 

MASTER BATH

Yes, that's a wall of frosted glass window.  It's lovely.
Rug is from Morocco.  Wall color is Seraph by C2.

Artwork from Turkey

TOP OF STAIRS

The Oregon Trail sign was left-over from my
Eagle Scout project.  The cactus was purchased from
hipsters in Portland.  The orchids are from cuttings
from a friend and have never bloomed...

ROOFTOP GARDEN

Japanese maple with water garden

Little Gem Magnolia with lavender and rosemary

The view of downtown and Mount Rainier.