We’ve always been romantics, The Mister and I. We’re the kind of guys who’ve always rented vintage apartments with charm instead of modern homes with convenience. Dating back to our very first apartment, we’ve chosen character over comfort. Our first time cohabitating was in a two bedroom mid-century building not far from Wrigley Field. The Mister had left it up to me to choose our first apartment. He was working weekends a lot back then and, well, I was the more opinionated of the two of us when it came to housing. Or at least I thought I was.
If there are clear skies where you are this evening, look up at the supermoon. What’s that? you ask. A supermoon? Did someone put a cape on the moon? No, silly, a supermoon is just another term for the Perigee moon, meaning the moon is bigger and brighter than it has been in the past 20 years. And it’s all happening tonight!
House Research: What We Learned About Our American System Built-Home on A Trip to Avery Library
08/06/2014On our trip out East last month, The Mister and I made a pit stop at The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. We had learned that the Frank Lloyd Wright archives were moved from Taliesen West, where they had been gathered and preserved by Mrs. Wright upon her husband’s death in 1959, to the Avery Library. More importantly, we learned that there was a big file on Wright’s American System-Built homes. We made an appointment to peruse the stacks and crossed our fingers that we would unearth some new details about our house.
Four years ago, we had a magical experience at Lollapalooza that we’ll always think of fondly. We called it the gentleman’s Lollapalooza experience. With weekend passes we could come and go as we pleased so we rented a hotel room within walking distance of Grant Park. This allowed us to see the bands we wanted while also providing an escape for indoor restroom facilities and quick refresher naps. It was a splurge of a weekend that we still talk about, especially when Lollapalooza rolls around again every August.
Despite our proclamation to ignore the outside of the house while we concentrate on indoor projects during this first year of ownership, we’ve been making some serious headway on the landscaping. We jumped the gun cleaning up the yard in part because we’re impatient. But it’s also because it’s the part of the house that the whole town sees. And in my experience, we do indeed judge a book by its cover … and a house by its landscaping.
I was hoping to write a big, detailed post about the yard and the progress we’ve made but we need to spend the weekend cleaning up a few things first. Until then, enjoy the sneak peek above. Oh what a little mulch will do!
Image: This American House






