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March 29, 2006
Ah, Memories
Harken back to a time ages ago.... Picture it: March 26th, 2006. A sunny Sunday afternoon. A time like no other.
We took a field trip to Big Red Sun and drooooled over their selection of native plants, planters, lawn art and furniture. We coveted their carport-y patio. We admired their neighbor's architecture.
Ah, those were the days. Alas, it is now March 29th, 2006. The rain seems to have departed for the time being, but who knows when it may again return. In the meantime, we have the pictures to remind us of the glory days.
Posted by Christiane at 11:29 PM | Comments (1)
Hakuna Matata Federal Credit Union
Our bank has managed to be consistently disconcerting. From getting the loan amount wrong on the paperwork at closing and then saying it didn't really matter, to the events of today.
On Thursday Ace told us he was requesting a draw. We had about a week of delays in the first draw, so we wanted to be on top of things this time. On Friday, he got the money.
Nice expediting, but wasn't I supposed to sign something? Wasn't I supposed to see something? Like, the amount? I called them today and low and behold, they did need my signature, and they didn't have it. They faxed a request for like $XX,XXX.XX (insert a respectable year's salary in there) for me to authorize.
Good thing the work was done and everything is cool.
Posted by David at 02:17 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2006
Eye Candy
Yesterday was a very full day. Kidless for the afternoon, we figured we would grab a late lunch and run some Erwin House-related errands.
We headed over to the Sustainable Shopper's Ball (the "Sustain-a-Ball") first with the hopes that we would be able to get more info on photo-voltaics (PV's, or solar panels) and rain barrells. The website wasn't really very clear on when the event would start or end, but it said they would have food. Unfortunately, we got there a tad too late. Everyone was clearing out.
David's tenacity helped us to corner the Armadillo Solar guy and get some answers. The good news is that we have plenty of space on our roof for the PV panels, and the roof is even angled in the proper direction to capture the most sunlight (that's what we had tried to plan for). Plus, the panels just plain look cool.
For those of you in Austin, there is another Ball next month on the 22nd at the Tony Burger Center.
Since we figured we were too far from the Habitat Re-Store to go look for a dining room window, we hit SoCo instead.
We hit the Travis Heights neighborhood where both David and I lived at different times years ago. Wow, that neighborhood is undergoing a change. Even though I don't like the tone of the "McMansion" debate, I do see the rapid development that has a lot of people on edge. We drove past the Preston-Garcia mansion; does anyone know what is planned for this property?
We also snapped a pic of the carport we want. Looks simple enough (except for the rockin' storage in back with the sliding door). I wonder what it would cost or how long it would take to build it?
We then drove through the Penn Field parking lot where I took pics of the landscaping since Architerra was closed. Can anyone name the vines or grasses here? This is mainly what I'm thinking about when I think of the wrap-around deck--vines up the posts and some kind of grass or maybe rosemary and lavendar around the walkway underneath.
By the time we got to Opal Divine's for lunch, we were no longer hungry. We'd had too much eye candy.
Posted by Christiane at 01:39 PM | Comments (10)
March 22, 2006
Kill Bill Homes
I've been a little sleep-deprived lately. And today, when I could not hold my head up at my desk, I stepped out for a quick walk. Across the street is a KB Homes Design Showroom. I had never had any reason to go there, but I popped in today.
What awful glee I had. There was not a single good thing in the showroom. Even the designers of the retail space seemed to despise the merchandise. Against the clean lines, bright colors, halogen lights and crisp aluminum windows, the merchandise looked like Mennonites crashing a disco.
First several kitchens. Yuk! In a hotel or apartment - fine, but not in my house!
Next bathrooms, with stern signs everywhere proclaiming, "White. Only available in white."
Now porch lights. Why, why, why do they all look like eighteenth century carriage lanterns? And why are they so big? That must have been one huge buggy.
And your choice of three, count them three, plastic door types. The plastic doors are supposed to look like wood, but they look like Disney wood, with over-exaggerated wood grains. Real wood doors are sanded, and you can't see the wood grain. I say, if you are going to use plastic, embrace your materials. Make it look like Legos or Tupperware or something.
Now carpet, tile, and paint. Beige! Beige! Beige! Eight hundred shades of beige! No wonder couples go after each other's throats when they're designing a house. "Honey, it's 'sweet cream' not 'corn silk'. Can't you tell the difference?" "No! And I don't care! I don't care about anything anymore!"
My God I love our house. It is going to be so cool.
Posted by David at 11:33 PM | Comments (3)
March 20, 2006
Fifties Forever
There was a plethora of yummy linkage to be found there, and I particularly loved reading about the ranch-house revival that seems to be sweeping the, ah, blogosphere. I grew up in a ranch home in Peoria, Illinois. I have a special place for them in my heart.
I also spent a little while at Flickr looking at ever more fifties nostalgia, and stumbled upon this awesome tilework. *DROOL*
What is it about sea foam and aqua? They, too, hold special places in my heart along with avocado and chrome.
Posted by Christiane at 07:47 PM | Comments (5)
March 12, 2006
Living the Good Life
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Ya'll know about my green building interests, so it should come as no surprise that I am finding Linda Cockburn's sorta-blog about her family's experience building a strawbale home very fascinating. Just wish I could subscribe to it (RSS feed, plz!).
Ever since I read about Linda's book on Loobylu's blog, I've been wondering about how to get my hands on a copy... It appears that our library doesn't carry it yet. I'm positive I could order it or pick it up at Book People, but it sure would be nice to pay homage to Linda's "lifestyle of less-is-more" by acquiring a freecycled copy, ya think?
Posted by Christiane at 07:44 PM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2006
Tokyo Blues
Speaking of tarps...
I met Nurri Kim last fall at Design Engaged 2005 in Berlin. Her presentatation was breathtaking. I was feeling ill and missed the original viewing, and I was told by many, many people to take her aside later and ask her to review it with me. They were right.
Nurri's photos of blue tarps being used in unintended (and artistic) ways all over Tokyo are stunning.
From Nurri's site:
"I'm interested in the everyday - in the things that we see too often, and then forget to see. I try to pay attention to this sort of detail wherever I go, in both public and private space. My work is an attempt to make these things visible."
I couldn't help but think about how the tarp covering our house will be there for only a few days, less than a blip on the radar of time. One day, the kids may not even remember the house before it was remodeled. They may have an emotional memory. Ellie won't have any memory of it at all. Chances are good that it will be complete before she is born (fingers-crossed).
* Nurri's photo reprinted without permission. I think she's in town for SXSW. Maybe I can ask her if I run into her before she skips town :)
Posted by Christiane at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2006
Saucy Dwellings
pulpattack sent me into convulsions at the end. Ya gotta read it. Lip liner, ha!
At one point, I created a sister group over at Flickr for anyone interested. The group never got terribly active. Livejournalers don't necessarily seem to want to give up their beloved Photobucket for sharing images. Ah, well. THere are still a few really cool images there.
Framing has been pushed to start Monday, which may be a good thing. We need to quickly re-evaluate our materials list and make sure that we still want the paint colors we picked out, the trim, the tile...
In a parallel universe, I am an interior designer. I'm probably famous. A lot of people think I am the queen of tacky, tacky, tacky. Or tastelessly bourgeois. But I rock the vintage sideboard with the aqua melamine fruit tray on top, baby.
Posted by Christiane at 11:32 AM | Comments (1)
March 01, 2006
Business Roll Call
On Valentine's Day, I found myself at Amy's on Burnet getting a bowl of Belgian chocolate to-go for my Valentine. As I was walking back to my car, I noticed a half-built bar on the other side of the building with two brand new shining taps. Boy, do I love living here.
So here is a short list of the businesses around here that make Crestview a great place to live, and here's hoping there will be a few more on the old Huntsman land.
Burnet Rd. (Burn-it! Dad burn it!)
Amy's. Yea!
Brentwood Tavern. The very first time we went there, they weren't open yet. But the second time, we decided we were regulars and we told them so. We thought the hay in the playground was brilliant, until six months of trampeling ground it into a fine dust. Both kids had asthma attacks.
The Breakfast Land Quad-fecta:
Austin Diner. We are regulars here. Our excuse? We are restaurant-training the kids.
Elsie's. Fastest breakfast tacos in town, even when they're packed!
The Omelettry. An Austin classic.
Curra's. Say "Wah-hawkin'" Coffee. This is the coffee we keep at home. They sell it by the pound at the bar.
Dog Almighty. We discovered Dog Almighty after the hay-dust incident. Hot dogs in an old City of Austin machine shop. They still have the engine lift in there.
El Mercado. Wednesday is enchilada night.
Lamar
What's up with Lamar? Are we missing something?
Ray's Garage. I took my old Bronco there for years. I like that it's local. And I like that it's owned by a woman.
Great Hall Games. Chess club on Wednesday nights. They just built out new rooms with quiet and not quiet areas.
Anderson Ln.
Genuine Joe's. We finally got a good local coffeehouse. Just a couple of things. 1) Sometimes the music is spectacularly bad. Like Kenny-G-does-the-theme-from-Titanic bad. 2) A full two thirds of that building is not coffee shop and all the windows are painted. What the heck is going on in there...?
Terra Toys. Because birthday parties happen.
Zinger Hardware. God bless them and all their cool stuff. What kind of guts does it take to open an independently-owned hardware store?
The Tile Guy. I got all the tile for the downstairs bathroom here. Kevin taught me how to say "cove base" and "mud cap" with confidence. The two new bathrooms are spec'ed out with Tile Guy tile.
ICI Paints. They have the best color-picking system, hands down. And the biggest paint chips.
Alamo Drafthouse Village. Thank Quentin Tarantino for that scene in Pulp Fiction. Now you can get a real beer in a glass in a movie theater.
Discount Electronics. Buy and sell cheap tech stuff. Every high-tech shopping trip starts here.
Crestview Triangle
Crestview Minimax. They have soy milk!
Little Deli. Turkey Mozzarella on a Kaiser, no tomato. (Christiane adds: Turkey on French, no onion, no cheese. Extra pickle, plz.)
Justin Ln.
La La's Little Nugget. We had to write off La La's for the sheer, choking volume of smoke, but I just realized the new smoking ordinance puts them back on our list. Or, at least, after the baby arrives.
Posted by David at 04:07 PM | Comments (3)