Dream Homes in the King William District

Posted on July 14, 2015 by April

For my birthday this year, I was ever insistent on visiting our neighboring state, big brother to the east, Texas. I don’t know what it is about Texas, but it’s grabbed my heart and run away with it. Maybe it’s the sunshiny skies and the green green grass, the smiling faces, or maybe it’s because Texas is a whole other country. Those marketing campaigns really aren’t too far off the map. What other state in the lower 48 (other than Cali, but we won’t go there.) can you see the whole spectrum of sites, from mountains, plains, and shores? I don’t know what the allure of this great state is, but I can’t seem to get enough of it.

My favorite area of Texas is the Hill Country, particularly the areas around San Antonio and Austin. I’ve had the awesome opportunity to visit around these areas a few times, and each time, I come away with something new from my adventures.When I visited San An a few years ago, I got to take a look around the King William District. If you aren’t familiar, it’s an area of town just south of downtown and about a mile from the infamous Alamo, full of beautiful Victorian homes. It was around Christmas time when I visited, the houses looked oh so cheery in their festive reds and greens. It’s probably not normal to enjoy looking at other peoples homes as much as I do, but considering these houses are in a historic district, I’d say it’s acceptable.

I love a house with a good porch, but a house double porches? I might need a minute to compose myself.

Oh my…look at the porch on that one.

And here we are with only a one level porch, but isn’t it grand?

And the houses with the oh so fine arches.

Then the houses that have grand gardens with mazes.

And weird babies holding flowers. At least he’s wearing a loin cloth. Still, for some reason I find this disturbing.

And strange stone chairs and tables. I understand the concept, but what if you can’t reach the table and need to scoot the chair closer?? Or what if you’re too fluffy and need to scoot away? Maybe it’s just for pretties.

Then you’ve got the houses that look like they should be on the English country side somewhere. Oh so European.

Doesn’t this one look like Kate Winslet’s house from The Holiday? Behold…

Via HookedOnHouses.net

Psst…click the picture or the above link to find more information about the movie house.

Oh, and speaking of the King William District feeling a little like Europe, the San Antonio River flowed in a canal right behind of the gorgeous homes. Made me feel like I was visiting the canals in Venice. Actually, I’ve never been to Venice, but I like to pretend. And I thought this was a pretty sight.

The architectural elements are oh so delectable, on old homes. It’s a shame that houses aren’t built like this anymore.

It wasn’t all British accents and pretty homes though. Along the way, I picked up a tour guide. He wasn’t too forthcoming about histories on the homes we were touring, but he sure was cute.

He led me to my most favoritest house of all…

Someday, I will have a house with a wrap around porch, and another porch to grow on. Le sigh…

So, next time you find yourself in San Antonio, head down to the King William District.

For more information visit the King William Association website here.

Plans to take over the world

Posted on June 9, 2014 by April

Funny how we make plans, plans that include so many awesome things…but it’s so much easier to sit on the couch and pretend you never made those plans. I don’t really know where that thought was taking me, just that my plans don’t seem to be working out. No big plans, I don’t intend on taking over the world or anything (and then suddenly I had the urge to youtube the Pinky and Brain theme song. In all it’s awesome early 90’s glory. You’re welcome!)…like I was saying no plans to take over the world, just small things like, throw out the food that is proving Darwinism true, or any host of other household chores that may or may not be evolving into new life forms.

Making plans is the easy part, following through with those plans, now that’s when it gets tricky. Maybe I’ll just sit here on the couch a little longer and contemplate my plans some more…contemplating is the first step to follow through isn’t it?

No Place Like Home

Posted on September 24, 2013 by April

It’s been far too long since I last posted, my how I’ve missed you bloggie world. There’s no good reason to go this long without a post, just life happens. Work days are long, but evenings are short, there’s always a myriad of chores to do on the weekend, and now I’ve caught a killer cold. I fear my family and friends may think I’m dead as I haven’t been active on social media and really haven’t been bothered to pick up the phone in several days. Just so all of my loved ones know, I’m alive and sort of well, aside from a runny nose and a nagging cough that could easily clear the cold and flu aisle at any drug store. Yeah, and I’m a bit of drama queen. But that’s nothing new.

This post really doesn’t have a point, I’m not even going to attempt to get caught up on the goings on around my casa. There’s been some projects done, but photos haven’t really been taken, and others have just sort of been started but not completed, ya know, in true April fashion. I think I have DIY ADD, I start a project, then get bored with it and move on to the next one before completing the first. That breaks so many DIYer rules, because then you end up with a house that is always in some sort of dishevelment. Then again, I live with a husband who leaves his shoes and coordinating socks under the coffee table every night and two large very spoiled shedding dogs, so dishevelment is bound to happen no matter what I do. What’s the point in having a home, if we can’t really live in our homes right? Just plan on buying Swifters in bulk.

Anywho, Netflix is calling my name, and someone is patiently waiting for a cuddle as a reward for keeping the couch warm.

The Open Concept

Posted on August 16, 2013 by April

Nearly 3:30 AM New Mexico time, perfect time to write a post wouldn’t you say? Most people would say this would be the perfect time to be snug in ones bed dreaming of new paint choices for the spare room, but not my little brain. She thinks 3:30 in the morn is the time to babble on about nonsensical things, like…well…she can’t think of anything nonsensical enough to share at the moment. Maybe, it is too late for my little brain, or too early…there are people in the world who will be getting out of bed in a couple of hours for that morning run, I call those people crazy. They call me crazy for staying up past 10PM. But hey…someone has to YouTube silly cat videos.

Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot besides not getting enough sleep and youtubing silly cat videos. Over the 4th of July weekend (has it really been that long since I blogged about something other than dogs? Or blogged at all? Sad day…), Bubba left me home alone for a full 12 hours. And , I may have done something drastic with all that quiet time in an empty house….

I seem to have misplaced the memory card that held any before shots, but this is in my kitchen, the wall between the kitchen, utility room, and a small coat closet. Previously, there had been a cabinet in this space, hence the white outline of said cabinet. That’s really how this all started out, I wanted to move the cabinet that we dubbed the “buffet”, which is little more than a cheap free standing piece of cabinetry one finds at Home Depot, to the other side of the stove which currently had only one 3 ft section of counter space adjacent. This would be so much easier if I could illustrate with photos.

Anywho, after moving the cabinet, I began work on a simple wall patch and paint project. Or so I thought, the one little hole seemed a bit soft, so I pulled on the dry wall, and found mold. I was dismayed, and freaked…mold is never good, and is always disgusting. Especially, when you see it in a piece of cheese you’ve just bitten into, but even more so when it’s found in your wall. So, I pulled out a hammer and started to take out more drywall…and then more..and more…until I was left with this huge hole. Then I realized there was mold in the closet too.

This is what my living room looked like when I had to pull the contents out of the closet to remove nasty, green, and slightly frightening drywall…

Oy and vey!!

And since no post is complete without a dog photo, here’s Goldie helping me through the process of nasty drywall removal…

Good dog…

Apparently, there is an old washer hook up that still has water running to it, which I theorize caused the mold and the leak. So, a few days after my “simple patch job” and a good scrubbing with bleach and water, Bubba recapped them and everything seems to be staying pretty dry.

After having removed drywall from the kitchen side and the closet, I was left with the task of covering my newly formed “open concept” with new drywall.

Apparently, I can’t cut a straight piece of drywall. Good thing, I’ve got a day job. The crooked drywall stayed in my kitchen for a couple more weeks mocking me, and my inability to properly use a utility knife. Until Bubba came through, saved the day, and installed some nice even drywall.

Never mind the mess, nor the spare key on the wall. Bubba wanted to ensure the safety of our vehicle by placing the key in an inconspicuous spot.

So, here’s the straightened out drywall, I did the mudding (is that the proper terminology?). I’m quite proud of it, as you can tell I’ve babbled on about it for nearly 600 words. But darn, this one little project has kicked my butt. Maybe, it’s lack of time and patience on my part, but this project has taken entirely too long for my liking.

We still have to make it pretty, I would like to put some bead board on this wall, with some crown molding. Similar to this..

Via Clarendon Lane

In the mean time, I’ve been finding, shall we say less challenging projects to complete, in the hopes they will fortify my confidence levels.

I’ve now finished painting the front room, took me two weeks including procrastination time, but darn it, I finished something. The new color is the greeny-blue and the old color is that beigy-peach, so technical, Benjamin Moore should hire me to name all their paints! I’ll post photos of this room someday, maybe tomorrow. The room is back together again, so there is something pretty and complete to show you. And since I am currently enjoying annual leave, I’ll have time to take those shots while the sun is still up and pretty. *Insert Dance of Joy*

All this to say, I don’t think my husband will be leaving me home alone again for fear of what I might destroy next. He just doesn’t appreciate the open concept. Who needs walls, we’re all family here.

Sleepless and Weird

Posted on June 28, 2013 by April

So, it’s nearly 1AM… on a work night…. and I can’t sleep. I’ve tried the warm milk thing, I’ve tried to quietly read a book, but it’s just not gonna happen tonight. Ya know, that elusive thing that some people call sleep. So, I thought, if I can’t sleep why not share some random things I’ve found while oot and aboot. Or rather, a sleepless in thrifting post, but that would be lying because some of these things were found at non-thrifty type stores. Maybe, Sleepless in Shopping?? Anywho, all post titles aside, here’s some weirdness I’ve found odd enough to shoot, edit, and share here.

A cute trio of squirrels right?

Yeeeah…notsomuch…how about a giant ash tray? Nothing says class like Marlboro’s and squirrels. (no offense to those fans of Marlboro’s, or bushy tailed woodland creatures.)

Oh now, this gem would be perfect for storing that yearly dose of candy corn. Honestly, this Halloween kitty kind of creeped me out a little bit. Maybe it’s the head gazing straight up as if he has a crick in his neck. And now my neck hurts.

Finally the pièce de résistance (I totally didn’t copy and paste that from wiki)

Bubba wouldn’t let bring one of those awesome tiger heads home. Actually, I really wanted two of them to flank the front entry way. Ya know, to match my Mary of Guadalupe that I have displayed in a bathtub prominently in the front yard. (Again, no offense to those who enjoy a good Catholic saint displayed in the front yard. It can be done quite tastefully.)

Well, I think that’s all the weirdness I can handle for tonight. In the meantime, here’s a couple shots of those in casa de yellow not suffering from sleeplessness.

Honestly, I didn’t even get off the couch to take these, lazy much?

Let’s just say I’m a little jealous of my furry companions. But in the meantime, I have just discovered the 1AM rerun of Rehab Addict. *Enter sleepy happy dance*

Banana Pudding

Posted on May 23, 2013 by April

Words…I have so many words….it’s been so long since I got to share my words on here. Oh, and I can’t forget all the pictures, I’ve got two 8GB cards full of photos that are just waiting to be edited. But I don’t have the patience to go through them right now, you’ll see those later, hopefully sometime this year.

On Tuesday the nice people at WordPress kindly reminded me that I’ve been rattling on about randomness on this blog for 3 years now. Three years! Where did those three years go? And how should one celebrate such a milestone? Hmmm….maybe with some banana pudding perhaps?

It was yummy by the way…

And of course someone had to have a very unhygienic taste…

In the eloquent words of my brother-in-law…..YUCK…..

The pudding was nothing fancy, it was the lazy girl banana pudding recipe on the side of the Jell-o puddin’ box. Took a whole 5 minutes to prepare, but oh so worth those 5 minutes in my stuffy kitchen.

And the green glasses the pudding was served in came from Goodwill a couple years ago. According to the label that was attached ,they were hand blown in Italy. I don’t know how authentic they are or how old they are, but I liked the color of the green glass and the bubbles floating in them. You can’t see the glass bubbles in the photos, but the glasses are slightly seeded.

There are so many other things to talk about, but there isn’t enough room for all of that in one little post. So, let’s enjoy some gratuitous dogs photos shall we?

Goldie ponders deep doggie thoughts from her chair. And yes, again, the dog.has.a.chair. I never thought I’d be one of those people that would give up a perfectly good chair in the living room for a dog. But then again, I never thought I’d be one of those people that would have a blog, and then blog about her dogs. Guess I’ll just have to step back and enjoy my dog person weirdness.

I don’t think Annie minds though. She just wants more banana pudding.

Pretty in Pink

Posted on May 2, 2013 by April

Since apparently I have taken to posting once a week, and that once a week happens to fall on what I call Friday Eve which also happens to be Thrifting Thursday around these parts, I’ve decided to give Thrifting Thursday a break for a little while. It’s not going away forever, heck, you might even see it next week, but I want this blog to be more than just about thrifted goodness. Yeah, I could post more than once a week, and I always plan to, but then life and work come into the mix. Honestly, after staring at a computer all day at my 9-5 ,the last thing I want to do is look at another screen once I get home. Okay, I do look at the TV and that’s considered a screen, but you catch my drift.

So this week, let’s take a look at what’s going on in the backyard. Particularly, the magic that’s happening with my apricot tree.

Here she is mid-March, in all her pink blossom goodness.

A little over watering has caused some shoots at the very top, I’m thinking they should probably be trimmed at some point. But for now they make for a dramatic shot reaching towards the sky.

Here she is in early April, just about ready to show her summer green.

I haven’t gotten out there to take a picture of her this month, but she’s in her full summer greens now.

Which means the dogs can wrestle under the tree without worry of knocking off any pretty in pink blossoms.

Thrifting Thursday: Thrifting with the Royals

Posted on April 25, 2013 by April

Can everyone say Friday-Eve? Yeah, that’s what I call Thursday’s now, makes them that much more jovial dontcha think? Well, to celebrate the wonderfull-ness that is Friday Eve, I like to partake in what I call Thrifting Thursday. A time when I stop and reflect on all things gloriously thrifted. It’s been a very long time since I’ve gotten to celebrate my Friday Eve in such a manner, so I might be a little rusty. But here goes….

This week I’ll be showing you all the great and marvelous thrifty goodness I’ve spotted while out and about.

If only I could sew. I loved this Pfaff sewing machine. The chair went under the table and looked like a drawer when stowed away. It was adorable.

Apparently, this guy was purchased in June of 1962. I love it when these items come with a known story. Ya know, instead of making one up to fill in the gaps.

Then I found this giant. I loved the chunky wood and the sturdy-ness. Not so much the dark wood, but that can always be changed.

If you don’t believe me about the chunky-ness, here’s a shot of the lower door. That’s at least 3 inches thick.

And the little drawers were just as chunky. Let’s just say if this cabinet were a woman, she’d be wearing curvy fit jeans.

Speaking of curvy, I’m such a sucker for chests with curvy lines. Wait, that came out wrong. I think you know what I mean.

It was all I could do to leave this curvy beauty, but she was a bit wibbly wobbly (timey wimey, Doctor Who much?) and I didn’t have the time to rid of her of her wibble. So, she was left to be adopted by someone else who had the time for her, doesn’t every girl deserve that?

Oh, have I mentioned how much I love old electronics. I don’t necessarily want to bring them home, but I do enjoy a quick sniff around to see what they’re all about.

This one had me with all those cool knobs, well the two knobs. There aren’t many things you can buy these days that have knobs on them.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I liked the way this coffee grinder looked. Maybe it’s the history and the untold story that intrigued me.

And I found these awesome thrones! I have no idea what I would have done with them, but darn it they’re thrones and everyone knows a queen needs a throne for her castle.

Thrifting Thursday: Catching up with the Care Bears

Posted on April 18, 2013 by April

My records indicate I’ve missed a couple of Thrifting Thursdays, so one is due. But today, I really don’t feel like doing a thrift heavy post. There’s been so much randomness happening lately, I’ve been having trouble keeping my jumbled mind on one topic. So how about a random post mixing in just a little thrift for sweetness?

A couple Tuesday’s ago (April 2nd) I turned 20+12, for those of you without a calculator handy, that’s 32. That means, I have been alive for 280,506 hours, 11,687 days, 1,669 weeks, 384 months, and 32 years, give or take a few nanoseconds. That’s a lot of time to waste on Pinterest, blogging, photographing my beloved canines, and in general piddling around this little world of mine. And I wouldn’t give up any of my 1.01e+18 nanoseconds on this earth for another life.( Thank you Google for doing the math!)

So here’s what’s been happening in my little life as of late….

Painting walls, more on that later. That one red wall in my kitchen was driving me nuts, now I have one wall painted one of these two colors.

Reorganizing, our storage room or what others may call a spare room had to get cleaned out and fast for a special guest (Hi Mom!). Isn’t it crazy how much chaos occurs before the order can begin? And yes, that’s a twin mattress in my living room, blocking my TV. What better motivation to get things done than by blocking ones television.

Things haven’t been all chaos in the month since I last blogged. There’s been some time spent on the couch. Relaxing.

Eating some popcorn.

Hammin’ it up.

Enjoying the company of pancake man.

Having a drink because, everyone knows that puddle water tastes the best after leaping tall buildings.

I still can’t believe Easter has come and gone. Before we know it, we’ll be celebrating our mother’s and then our father’s, and then it’ll be time to pull out the red, white, and blue.

But in the meantime, there’s the memory of Easter and the enjoyment of the here and now. Which as it happens, it’s still spring time! Personally, my favorite season.

For Easter, I had the great pleasure of hosting my Mom for dinner. I pulled out all the pastel glassware I could find. Which happened to be the glasses, but the plates were white. That counts as pastel. Sorta..

She brought with her some beautiful tulips. My favorite flower.

A few days after Easter, I enjoyed my first glass of tea as a 32 year old from the most mature glass in the cupboard. Who says you have to stop drinking your favorite beverage from Care Bear glasses once your 30’s come along?

Not I, which is probably why I’m starting a little collection.

So, I’ve got Cheer Bear (my personal fave) Tenderheart and Grumpy Bear.

Originally offered by Pizza Hut in 1983 or ’84.

The entire set included six of the most popular Care Bears, the three that I’m missing, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear and Friend Bear. Plus, the three that I currently use whenever they are clean, Cheer Bear, Tenderheart, and Grumpy Bear.

These glasses bring back so many childhood memories….aww…yes…the glorious ’80’s. The decade of my childhood. It went by so fast.

Better remember not to blink now, or I’ll open my eyes and be in my 40’s!

And on that note, I bid you adieu!

Spring has Sprung

Posted on March 20, 2013 by April

Happy Spring everyone!! As most of you know, today is the first day of spring, and honestly I couldn’t be happier about it. I am certainly not a winter girl, the cold short days really take their toll on me. But now that the days are getting longer, warmer and the opportunities to get out and play in the sunshine are more abundant, I can shake those winter blues like Annie shakes off the dead winter grass from her back. It’s quite exhilarating, shaking the winter blues that is, not shaking grass off my back.

With spring upon us, I’ve been enjoying a few spring-y touches around the house.

Daffodils, they’re so sunny and bright, they almost smile.

They make me smile right back at them. I’ve also discovered glitter covered eggs from the dollar store.

They maybe a little tacky, but at least my table looks Easter-y.

Recently, I’ve been seeing my sweet momma a lot, and finally got to give her the Valentine’s gift I’d stitched up for her.

The scarf came out huge, apparently I have gauge issues.

But sweet momma tried it on, anyways. Under Goldie-dogs watchful gaze, of course.

Oh, and spring not only brings with it daffodils to my table and finally a grass free dog, but also new birds to my yard!

A male Northern Flicker Woodpecker.

Guess the bugs living in between the stepping stones didn’t stand a chance. I couldn’t get a shot of him flying, so I borrowed a shot taken by Laura Meyers, who obviously has a quicker shutter finger than I do.

Via

Doesn’t this guy have a gorgeous undercarriage? The one munching on bugs in my backyard had more of an orange-y undercarriage than the one pictured above. But he still took my breath away. It’s not too often we get birds other than pigeons and doves hanging out back there.

Now that spring has sprung and the sun is shining brightly, I’ll be taking my leave out of doors. (And maybe cut back on my BBC viewing.)

Happy Spring Everyone!

Semi-Seasonal

Tag Archives: Home

Dream Homes in the King William District

Plans to take over the world

No Place Like Home

The Open Concept

Sleepless and Weird

Banana Pudding

Pretty in Pink

Thrifting Thursday: Thrifting with the Royals

Thrifting Thursday: Catching up with the Care Bears

Spring has Sprung

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: