House Colors: Gray, White, Green or Black

Posted on | July 28, 2010 | 12 Comments

Greg and I gathering references to get our roof redone. In the meantime I’m snapping photos around town of potential roof colors. This morning I realized I’ve never shown photos of my potential house colors which to me totally relates to the roof color.

My two favorite houses in town are a shade of gray with dark shutters and white trim. The house above is gray/brown with dark green shutters. How cute is the whale over the front door? The cobblestone driveway is pretty awesome too! The second just a block away from my house is dark gray, white trim, with black shutters. See a photo of inside this house here (my fav wallpaper). Both color combos are traditional but feel a little dressier with contrasting dark shutters.

Tomorrow I’ll share potential roof colors and gutter options.

Category: house renovation, marblehead, paint colors

Recipe: Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

Posted on | July 27, 2010 | 12 Comments

It’s zucchini season in New England. I picked up a bunch of zucchini blossoms from my local farmer’s market over the weekend. I’ve never actually stuffed my own but I have spotted recipes a hundred times in magazines and online. Then, last week I was watching a Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie where this amazing Italian women was frying up a few—I’ve been dreaming about them ever since.

The process is pretty simple. Cut off the stems from each of the blossoms, make a small slice down the side of the blossom, remove the stamen, and give the flowers a cold water rinse. After reading a few different recipes I came up with my own adaption of the cheese stuffing. Ricotta is usually the base and other cheeses and herbs are added. Stuff each blossom with your cheese mixture, taking care to fold the petal over the hole for a nice seal. Dredge in an egg/flour mixture. Heat skillet with a substantial amount of olive oil for frying—about an inch. Fry three or four blossoms at a time. They are delicate so try not to overcrowd them. Remove from oil and top with fresh grated Parmesan. Enjoy!

Cheese Mixture
1 cup of fresh ricotta (I used Narragansett Creamery’s Renaissance Ricotta, amazing!)
1/2 cup feta
2 handfuls of flat leaf parsley
1 handful of basil
S&P

Marblehead Farmers Market
Marblehead Veterans Middle School
217 Pleasant Street
Saturdays 9-12

Category: recipes

Day 3: Brick Chimney Build

Posted on | July 26, 2010 | 19 Comments

On day three the chimney went up. It took them about five hours with three guys working on the roof and mixing mortar down on the ground. I can’t believe it went up so quick. We are really happy with the results. Below two guys building the chimney, mortar being mixed and put into buckets, and inside the chimney showing the four flues.

The only thing I wasn’t happy with was the brick detail trim two rows down from the top. ~~I had no idea they were going to add this. I would have preferred it to be plain all the way up.~~ (update: after a walk around town I realized everyone in the historic district has a very similar stepped styled detail.) ~~But there is nothing I can really do about it after the mortar was dry.~~ Lesson learned. Even though I don’t want to be a control freak homeowner I do need to have more detailed discussions with contractors. Always ask, ask, ask don’t assume.

Next on our list is getting estimates for individual chimney liners and a cap. Then, it’s a new roof.

If your looking for a mason on the North Shore of Boston we used Chris Powers. Super nice guy, quick, and took care not to destroy my garden.

Chris Power
(781) 631-1929
Marblehead, Ma

Category: house renovation

Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

Posted on | July 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

The old chimney is gone! Well the top part at least. The old bricks came down pretty quick. Our mason started at 8 am by 10 it was completely gone. It was quite amusing to be making coffee in the kitchen with bricks falling like rain outside the window. Our second floor den and fireplace are filled with dust and small bricks. By noontime the bricks were loaded onto his truck and taken away.

While all this was going on Greg was out sailing for the day. After spending the last two years doing all the renovation work ourselves it was amazing to be able to pay someone else to do the work. So luxurious…

After lunch the mason came back with a truck full of dirt which he separated out into buckets. All the new bricks were brought up onto the roof. Tomorrow he starts the rebuild. Below photos and a short video of the demolition.

DSC 3394 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3407 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3416 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3420 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3423 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3425 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3422 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

DSC 3421 Day 2: Removing Brick From Old Chimney

Category: house renovation

Tufted Inspiration From Cisco Brothers

Posted on | July 22, 2010 | 10 Comments

Wynette Sofa by Cisco Brothers

CreateGirl posted the above sofa two weeks ago on her blog. So great, right? Love the high tufted back. I went to ABC last week in New York to check it out. I couldn’t find her sofa anywhere on the floor but I found the Diana Loveseat (below) by Cisco Brothers. Similar but too small.

After some e-mails back and forth with Cisco Brothers and ABC I found out the identity to Julieann’s find: Wynette Sofa by Cisco Brothers (not on website). So lovely. The sofa is around $5,200 depending on upholstery. Yikes! I showed Greg the sofa last night and he loved it. He honestly said to me, 5k doesn’t seem unreasonable. Have I totally warped his perception? We both love the tufting and the high back. It would be so great for my second floor den.

More pieces I spotted from Cisco Brothers on the fifth floor at ABC below. I really liked the oval shaped ottomans compared to usual rectangular shape. John Derian does a line for Cisco Brothers too. Everything was pretty gorgeous and irresistible. The wing chairs were petite and perfect proportions for my old house. I loved the little swoop on the arm of the butterfly wing chair. For more info on Cisco Brothers–they have retailers nationwide including Boston, click here.