MCM Acquisition!

So the new property is slowly becoming habitable.  On the outside, a new playset has been erected for the girls.  Ivy that climbs 50+ feet on the trees has been cut.  The pool is cleared out and waiting to be rehabbed.  On the inside, a sweet new thermostat has been installed.  And the first new furniture acquisition has been made: an Arco replica lamp.  It has a marble base that weighs 150 lbs.  Moving it is a pain, but it is beautiful.  Here's a picture.

Walls are going to be painted and floors refinished next week.  Can't wait.

Musical Interlude

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Mid Century Modern

So the remodel continues apace.  Painting will start soon.  The pool has finally been cleaned out of debris.  Still pretty nasty looking.  I am starting to toss around ideas for furnishing the new house.  I've decided to sell essentially everything I own other than heirlooms, and start over.  As part of the process of restoring the house, I'm considering restoring a mid-century modern aesthetic to the furnishings.  I'm definitely no hipster, but I grew up with MCM furniture, and it has always appealed to me.

Things I'm considering:

A Saarinen dining table with matching tulip chairs.

A Nelson saucer pendant light for the dining space

For the living room space, I'm looking at a Bantam type sofa.

I definitely need one of these Arco floor lamps.

And a Barcelona knock-off - I can't afford a real one.

And a Noguchi coffee table...

Here are the kitchen and living/dining space

And the pool sans ton of leaves and various dead animals...

New Hobbies

Several months ago I purchased a foreclosed home in my neighborhood.  It had been on the market for almost two years, and it was in need of serious work.  It had been under contract twice...only to have the prospective buyers walk away.  It finally dropped in price to a point where I HAD to go for it.  Funnily enough, my offer came in along with seven others - all from investors.  As I was the only offer with an intent to live in the house, the bank accepted my offer.  So for the next year, I'm going to restore this old girl.  Rehab involves a new roof, mold remediation in the crawlspace, installing drainage around the house, rehabbing an old pool, and lots of minor and not so minor stuff on the inside.  I'll fill you in on the updates.

Here's the front of the house

The backyard - underneath all of that is a pool.

Here's the pool without the chicken wire covering

Once the covering was removed, we discovered not only goldfish, but frogs and snakes, too.

Geek Interlude

Sorry for the self-pity in the previous post.  Time for some geekiness.

When It Rains...

I have to say, there are annus horribilis and then there are annus horribilis. I'm not sure I can handle another year like the past one, and I can't wait for 2012 to disappear. On top of the family woes that led to me turning down my offers, I have had some health issues. Health issues that may mean the FSOWannabe becomes an FSONever. I won't go into it, other than to say I thought things were okay...until I found out they were not. But I'm tired... and dealing with mortality at my tender age is not pleasant.

I've also recently lost a new friend, someone that actually encouraged me to continue my FSO quest.  And I think the loss was my fault.

On top of that, my workplace has been butchered. Massive layoffs, paycuts and promises of more to come. I have survived for now, but I'm not sure what the future holds. I'm losing colleagues and friends.  There's only one way this year could get worse, and that is if something happens to my daughters. And they've been damaged enough this year. Shitty, shitty year.