Meeting for coffee…

On March 30, 2013March 26, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS2 Comments

Meet my new friend and fellow blogger, Kate Mura. Kate has an interesting daily photo blog (it’s not easy to post something daily!), VISUAL ST. PAUL, check it out if you get a moment!

What a nice lady! We met at Cafe Medley on Sullivan’s Island. What a cool place! Hint, hint… GREAT coffee! They had some good looking food, bottles of wine, all kinds of delicious treats! I see a future post for sure! Fred and I will have to go back in the name of research ;)

Kate is cool. She is so interesting and full of wise words. I hope that I’ll be like that one day! It was nice to meet you Kate! I look forward to meeting you again next time you’re in Charleston!!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Introducing House Plan Thursday! Cottage of the Year (SL 593) by Moser Design Group for Southern Living!

On March 28, 2013January 19, 2025 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, THOUGHTS4 Comments

CoastalLvngHousePLans-593 — **Cottage of the Year (SL593) | Moser Design Group**

House Plans. Fred and I have looked at house plans since we first met. Matter-of-fact one of our first dates was a home tour… we’ve always loved design, furniture, and great homes… Fred has safely tucked away so many wonderful house plans that it boggles the mind. Our affinity for house plans is the reason I’ve decided to make a weekly post dedicated to house plans… I might as well pass along the oh-so-great-ones to you, right?

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Enamel garden sign at South Windermere Antiques…

On March 26, 2013March 21, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME1 Comment

Look at the cool little garden sign we picked up a while back at the antique store in South Windermere (Charleston, SC)… (Matthew’s booth for those of you who are locals). An enamel sign sure looks much nicer than anything else you could possibly hang there to remind people to close the gate! Inexpensive and I think it’ll be around for a long, long time!

Gee, who painted the gate so nicely? Hmmmm, what a hard worker, hee hee… Note to self: next gate will have no scrolley things to paint… yikes! A project I thought would take 30 minutes took a good bit of the day, mostly in positions similar to the game TWISTER, anyone remember that? Fun when you’re young… I tend to get stuck now, hee hee…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston backyard photo… Palm Sunday…

On March 24, 2013December 21, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME4 Comments

Today is Palm Sunday, I thought it only fitting to snap a photo of this palm growing wild in the backyard. I love these plants. They pop up on their own, are hardy and tropical, what’s not to love?

Have a great Sunday everyone! I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

X FACTOR AUDITIONS TODAY- Charleston, SC – Do you have what it takes?

On March 19, 2013January 8, 2014 By Barbara StroudIn HOMELeave a comment

Do you have the “X FACTOR“? You know, the overall package of confidence, singing ability, performance skills, love for a camera and a great story? Well my friends, today is the day… auditions for X FACTOR are happening at the North Charleston Coliseum… I can’t imagine how many people will be overflowing that place!

It’s always exciting when one of our own ends up on one of these reality shows… pretty cool! I wonder who the judges will be for the 2013 season? Rumor has it (why is it that I can’t say or even write those three words without the Adele song popping into my head and likely staying there all day?) that Simon Cowell has wanted Lady Gaga for some time, but she’s a busy gal… oh wait… she tore something in her hip, and has just had hip surgery with a four month recovery time… hmmm, wonder if she’ll take Simon up on his offer? If anyone can spot the “X Factor” you would think it would be someone who has it in spades! I also read that L.A. Reid and Brittany Spears will no longer be judges (which is OK with me!), so, hmmm… just who the judges will be remains a secret, at least for now!

UPDATE: X Factor tells News 2 the auditions in May will be in front of cameras rolling for next season, the episode with Charleston’s auditions will air in September.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

(Image from X FACTOR website)

Tiptoe through the tulips…

On March 16, 2013December 9, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS6 Comments

Ok, is anyone old enough to remember Tiny Tim singing Tiptoe Through the Tulips (youtube link if you’re curious)? I happen to LOVE tulips… and it certainly can’t be because of Tiny Tim, ha ha…

Anyway, I think it’s going to shape up to be another beautiful day here in Charleston! Get out and enjoy it!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Yesterday the preview… today the GOLOGIC 1,000 sq ft awesome floor plan, photos included…

On March 7, 2013January 12, 2025 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, Maine, THOUGHTS10 Comments

GOLOGIC.US house plan, one story house plan, porch with front door on left side, three windows together in the center, cedar look siding, trees

Are you looking for a gorgeous, well built home that has a passive home design? This is a home that has the ability to make your heating bills = zero. Net zero. Can you imagine? Exciting information below with links to more info!

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GOLOGIC 1,000 sq ft plan, too cute!

On March 6, 2013August 6, 2021 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, THOUGHTS8 Comments

This post is from GOLOGIC Homes blog (click HERE)… what great design vision and thought for the environment. These plans are amazing! So sharp!

Build Like This: A Simple Approach to Building a Super-efficient House

by GOLOGIC HOMES
Mar 5, 2013

This month GO Logic is featured on the cover of Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s special winter issue focusing on Energy Smart Homes.

GO Logic’s 1,000-square foot, one-bedroom, two-bath residence, House on a Knoll, in Bath, Maine – completed back in 2011 – was among the homes featured in the publication.

The article discusses six key elements to building a super-efficient home: insulation, ventilation, windows, air-sealing, thermal bridging, and thermal mass.

The highlighted pre-designed home demonstrates how this approach toward high performance works hand-in-hand with comfort, flexibility and aesthetics at a low cost.

To read the entire article, check out Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s Winter special issue on Energy-Smart Homes, or get a preview of the article here.

Photos courtesy of Brian Vanden Brink.

This post was from the GOLOGIC Homes blog (click HERE)…

Won’t be long now… and beauty will be everywhere!

On February 24, 2013December 9, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

We’ve had a crazy winter… mostly warm, not that I’m complaining… a few zaps of cold, but warmer than I can remember since I’ve lived here (1989)! I don’t remember pollen in January… or mosquitos… or gnats… but we’ve got it now, and have had it since January!

It won’t be long now and the hydrangeas will be blooming, woohoo! Ours bloomed all spring and summer last year, big beautiful blooms. I love cutting a few and bringing them in the house, they last forever and add so much!

Azaleas ARE blooming now and soon they will be magnificent! We saw a pine full of pollen pods, and a dogwood with blooms the other day… one of the later flowering trees… I’m just hoping that spring will be SPRING, we certainly don’t want to rush summer ;) Maybe we can have spring with no pollen? Wouldn’t that be crazy?!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

You again? Ugh…!

On February 23, 2013February 20, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS6 Comments

Sweet beast. Charlie is our Jack Russell terrier… he’s got the BIGGEST personality!

I always thought it was so cool how our last JRT, Reggie, was always happy to see us. No. Matter. What.

Charlie… a different story, he has a way with his eyes. You don’t have to wonder how he’s feeling! See this photo… “Is it YOU? AGAIN? With that damned camera? UGH!” Can you see it too? Ha ha…

“Maybe if I ignore her, she’ll just go away?” OK Charlie… gotcha, jeez!

By the way… I just love all that UTILITY Canvas… the pillow, the throw, and something else that we cover the seats with so they’re quick in the washer! Good stuff!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

The unveiling… the pathway of pavers has been completed… woohoo!

On February 17, 2013February 17, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME8 Comments

The “Before”, which was perfectly fine until the pavers started getting pushed up from the roots making it quite the challenge to walk on the path… not good. So, Fred dug up these pavers and MOVED them away from the tree (making it much better for the tree). He managed to do the bulk of this in a few days… then we spent a weekend moving plants, changing beds a little bit, and now… we’re waiting for the grass to crawl over the dirt that you see pictured below close to the pavers. The grass has already started creeping! (Better photos soon… this was right before it started raining)!

Gorgeous! Fred moved some monkey grass that we had behind the pool and planted at each end of the walkway to lead your eye to the path, and not the straightaway to the garage! It worked beautifully!

Fabulous job! THANK YOU FRED! YOU’RE AWESOME! Catch you back here tomorrow!

The new walkway… pavers have been moved… in progress!

On February 16, 2013December 21, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME8 Comments

I know! Isn’t he the most gorgeous man? Sweet too! Lucky me! This was hour 500 of pulling up/digging out old pavers, and creating a new pathway to not upset our live oak tree’s sensitive roots… We want that tree to thrive, so this is what “we” must do! I showed you where we started last week in THIS POST. Look at him… smile on his face. How wonderful is that?

I had already raked some leaves into the old pathway just to keep the beast’s feet clean (Charlie/Jack Russell) but you can see where Fred started pulling out old pavers that were put down over ten years ago… To recap: the reason we’re moving this walkway is because the large roots are uprooting the pavers in many areas close to the tree. Upon further investigation I read that it was a bad idea to cut the tree’s roots (or even put down pavers so close to a tree), so we re-routed…

Tomorrow… the unveiling, you won’t believe your eyes! Catch you back here then!

Time to move the pavers… Gotta save the oak tree!

On February 10, 2013February 4, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME7 Comments

We had pavers that have been down for years. They’re beautiful, but… they’re close to a live oak tree… the roots are getting big and uprooting the pavers. It’s become a challenge to walk across them. I Googled to be sure it was OK to cut the roots. Whoa, am I ever glad I did! No, it’s not ok to cut the roots… it can weaken the tree and if you have a big wind it can topple the tree. AHHHH! So, Fred has begun the process of digging up the pavers and MOVING THEM. The man has energy like I’ve never seen.

Here it is in progress… will post another once it’s completed! The yard is low right here and tends to flood during big rains, so we’re going to build it up a wee bit. We will have a happy tree and a beautiful walkway soon! Stay tuned!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

In search of the perfect wall light…

On February 5, 2013December 9, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn HOME4 Comments

Industrial Sconce by Urban Outfitters

We’ve been searching high and low for the perfect little wall light for our sunroom. The walls are exposed brick, so hardwiring isn’t the best option, we are looking for a plug in wall light. I’ve found several pretty cool ones, all price ranges. The sconce above is an affordable $49 from Urban Outfitters. I like the cool look of the cord. It comes in white and what looks like stainless… I’m thinking about the white right now…

Modern Swing Arm Wall Sconce from the Rhine Collection – Image: LightingDirect.com

The Modern Swing Arm Wall Sconce offers a contemporary twist to a typical reading light… very chic for only $103!

Swing Arm Wall Lamp by Circa Lighting – Image: CircaLighting.com

You can never go wrong with the lighting at Circa. They have the most gorgeous options! We’re fortunate to live near a Circa Lighting in Charleston, SC, but if you don’t then you’ll be happy to know that they ship… for FREE! The Swing Arm Wall Lamp by Circa Lighting is a classic style with a contemporary edge to it. I like that it has a dimmer so you can leave it on for ambient lighting… and turn it up for task lighting, so you can see what you’re reading!

COUNTERPOISE SWING-ARM WALL SCONCE BRONZE – Image – Restoration Hardware

The Counterpoise Swing-Arm Wall Sconce is another classy option from Restoration Hardware. Classy lighting at this place, and this is no exception. My concern for where I want to put it is that I will hit my head on it when I get up? Hmmm, a consideration!

Tolomeo Micro Wall Lamp by Artemide – Image: Lumens.com

Fred and I have long admired the Tolomeo lighting collection, especially the micro wall lamp. Very cool on either side of a bed, but hmmmm, might be neat in the sunroom as well?!

Robert Abbey Bruno Collection Scissor Arm Pharmacy Plug In Wall Light – LampsPlus.com

And finally… the Robert Abbey Bruno Collection Scissor Arm Pharmacy Plug-In Wall Light so very cool!

So many options and we’ve just begun to search! Having Google makes finding just exactly what you want so much easier!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Lake Flato Porch Houses… Efficient, architecturally appealing and downright JAW DROPPING!

On January 31, 2013October 6, 2021 By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, THOUGHTS2 Comments

I KNOW! GORGEOUS! CONTEMPORARY! ECLECTIC! Whoa, awesome design coupled with energy efficient these architects have come up with a masterpiece! It would be really neat to have the main part of the home with a master bedroom/bathroom, living area, kitchen and powder room and have a separate area for guests or a studio! Imagine this situated where you can watch a sunrise/sunset?! Heaven. On. Earth!

Continue reading “Lake Flato Porch Houses… Efficient, architecturally appealing and downright JAW DROPPING!” →