Print and Design – Lotta Jansdotter

Found the site and shop of lovely Lotta Jansdotter, a California-based Scandinavian designer. Check out some of the lovely natural textures and prints.

Her work in linens, stationary and ceramics is described as “largely revealing the four seasons of her childhood’s Åland, an island between Sweden and Finland. But equally present is the urban sleek, the shapes and colors from her many travels…”

Small House Movement

“It’s, like, a really cool, empowering thing.”

So says Dee Williams in a SeattlePI article here, a hazardous-waste inspector at the Department of Ecology in Olympia. She built a teensy home along with a group of like-minded individuals at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Compound, which is an extreme example of the “small-house movement,” which seeks to counter the McMansionization of America with an ethos of sustainability.

Check out model B-53 (which just happens to coincide with the name of the group that sang “Love Shack” – although this little baby bungalow looks more cozy New England than sexy rendezvous joint 🙂 )

Stark Bro’s Nursery

Oh of course. Of COURSE! Stark Bro’s has totally remodeled their already gorgeous website, just to maximize the tempatation….as though I needed more reason to want spring at this time… 😉

I can just speed forward a few months and see myself eating these…

Chester Thornless Blackberries

and these…

July Elberta Dwarf Peaches

and these!

Anne Yellow Raspberries

and these

North Star Cherries

and, well you get the idea  🙂

Meyeri Lemon Plant

Kadota Figs

Starking Delicious Plum

My Aunt turned me onto Stark Bro’s after I expressed interest in finding a good source for fruit and nut trees. They will ship all over the US, and was started way back in 1816! So I think they probably know a thing or two about gardens! In case you’re ready to give yourself up to more garden dreaming, go ahead and request that they ship you their free catalog here.

Happy continued January dreaming!

January garden dreaming…

In the interest of full-disclosure – I have not just been suffering delusions of grandeur in my future kitchen, I am also a hopeless garden dreamer.

Yesterday I organized all my veg and flower seeds in little baby food jars. No, I don’t have a baby. Yes, I ate all the baby food. It’s honestly not so bad 🙂

Along with visions of glorious tomaters and potaters, the local library has a great store of gardening books for a little extra eye candy, and my gardening dreams are officially afloat!

I do have to highly recommend two particular vegetable garden books that have been both instructive, as well as beautiful.

The Gourmet Gardener by Bob Flowerdew, and

Delia’s Kitchen Garden by Gay Search and Delia Smith

Blue Star Range

Doing a little kitchen-dreaming, and imagining that I, and the honey, have the gastronomic skills to warrant such a crazy great range.

Blue Star RCS Series

No doubt it’s a stretch – but for such a splurge – he assures me that should we outgrow our little fixer-upper, we could take it with us. This gives me somewhat of an excuse to lump this in under my other ‘investments”- going along with the whole admirable theory of buy less, buy quality – so that you’ll never have to buy another after! For those curious, this range tops out over $3,000 – check it out here.

I know, still a stretch, but God bless his optimism! With the frigid weather and my tiny apartment, the last thing I need is rain on this evening’s dream-parade  🙂

First Home, First Loan

Honey is making little steps towards the home-ownership goal. Friday was his HUD class, and I’m anxiously waiting to hear back from the lenders the next couple weeks to see what we can afford.

One of the great programs we found out about (mom’s a great and helpful real estate lady) was Summit County Ohio’s First Home, First Loan Program, a housing assistance program for low-to-moderate income first-time homebuyers. Essentially, for qualified individuals, the county offers a 3-to-1 dollar match on your down payment, up to $15,000! Since we’re looking for a budget-priced fixer-upper anyways, it seemed like a great thing to at least try for!

The Beginning

So today begins the journey of a couple buying their first home.  I’ve been instructed to introduce myself as the “honey”.  My current job is as a remodeler, specializing in bathrooms and kitchens.  This is our blog to chronicle the project of bringing a run-down house into a place that my honey can be proud of.