Grandpa's Dollhouse

My mom's dad was a career carpenter for years, and he used those skills to create beautiful pieces of art later in life. One of my favorite things that I own is a trunk he made for my American Girl Doll for my 9th birthday; Grandpa made and painted the trunk and pull out bed and Grandma sewed a whole line of Kirsten-appropriate clothing. It's really an incredible keepsake from both of them, and I love that I have it. When my grandfather died in January, I became even more thankful for the gift of that trunk that I'll be able to cherish while also sharing him with my children someday. He was the first grandparent we've lost, which made it that much more special and personal.

When I heard in May about an opportunity to acquire one of his beautiful dollhouses, I obviously jumped at the chance immediately. How could I not? Almost four months and one road trip to upstate New York with my mom later, the dollhouse is safely in its new home in Berryville.

I'll keep my words brief here and focus on just sharing the pictures since the craftsmanship and beauty speak for themselves, but I will say that it was so cool to go through each piece of this dollhouse with my grandmother and hear the stories of each detail. I know which pieces of furniture my Grandpa made from scratch and which ones they put together (piece of wood by piece of wood) by kits. I know where each piece of cloth came from that Grandma sewed and turned into curtains, rugs, and bedspreads. I know that the candles in the hallway were made by my cousin Eli and that the pink bear in the cradle came from my sister Courtney. All the pictures in the rooms are family members (mostly cousins but the teenage version of my mom is above the couch). It was such a cool experience going through it all with her, and I feel like I am a much better steward of this family heirloom because it.

(Sorry the picture of the window is slightly blurry.) Grandpa did all of the detail and woodworking himself from scratch. Meaning: the siding is made from individual pieces of wood, the shingles are individually cut from strips of wood, the shutters were assembled from individual strips of wood, and that chimney is wood that he routered and painted to look like stone. He was pretty great at the details.

 Here's the backside/inside of the house. The entire house sits on a large board that serves as the yard and fence/front porch, and then that board sits on a lazy Susan that allows you to turn it completely around. Here's the room by room breakdown.

Bedroom

Upstairs hallway

Master bedroom

Kitchen/dining room

Downstairs hallway/entryway

Living room

Incredible, right? The attention to detail just kills me. There's a mouse in the fireplace. There's a Bible on the table. The kitchen table has a full set of tiny dishes, which was not the most fun to reassemble. There's a toolbox, complete with tools, in the kitchen (which I love because it feels like a silent tribute to Grandpa). They wallpapered the walls with colonial Virginia paper. Can we take a moment to think about how terrible it would be to wallpaper a dollhouse? There's a grandfather clock in the living room that has a full weight system on the inside. Even though it's shut and you can't see it, they included that detail. Honestly, it's incredible.

I also want to point out that my grandparents did this - and several other dollhouses and similar projects - together. Wallpapering a life-size room is tedious and frustrating and has caused more than one married couple to consider murder; J.T. and I have fought (more than once, I'm embarrassed to say) over the right way to paint a room. To work together in such a frustratingly tiny workspace on such frustratingly tiny items would be enough to break many couples. But they did it, and they must have done a pretty great job because they chose to do it many more times. What an incredible picture of their relationship and the subtlest of tributes to what a lifelong marriage should be.

There's teenage Susie (mom) on the left

I can't even express how honored and blessed I feel to have this. It was truly a right place at the right time situation, and I know it could have been any of my other cousins who beat me to it. I promise I will take great care of it and treat it with the care and respect it deserves, and I'm truly excited to be able to share my grandparents' art and skill with my children someday.

Forge: a brief review

When I went on a trip with my mom to visit my grandmother in upstate New York for a few days, I packed four of my own books to make sure I had plenty to read. I had just finished Prom the day before we left, so it was kind of perfect timing. I read the first few pages of Kristin Chenoweth's autobiography the first night we were there, but when I saw Forge, the sequel to Chains, on my grandmother's bookshelf and she asked me if I wanted to read it while I was there...how could I turn that down? Turns out it's harder to get a lot of reading in during even the laziest of vacations/trips, and so the pressure was kind of on at that point to get the book read in the next couple of days. I read the last pages the night before we left to come back home, but I did finish it.

I read Laurie Halse Anderson's first book in this series, Chains, several years ago. I liked it a lot and loved the sweet characters, but did find a lot of the narrative to be pretty slow. The historical details are on point and the emotional ties between reader and character is strong from the beginning, but somehow most of the descriptions and "play-by-play" of the story itself just seems to drag at a slower pace than necessary. I can say the exact same thing about Forge, which is a bummer, but certainly didn't stop me from finishing it and won't stop me from reading the third book when it comes out. I've said before how much I love Laurie Halse Anderson's books, and I really respect the legwork she did (see book jacket's "About the Author" section) to live and feel what the characters would experience as well as her attention to historical detail, but this series is just a little bit different style for her.

Chains is the story of Isabel, a pre-teen girl who is a slave in New York City at the beginning of the American Revolution. When her young sister is sold to a slave owner in South Carolina, Isabel becomes determined to escape and find her. Her chance finally comes at the conclusion of the book, when both she and her friend Curzon - who has a different master - are able to escape. Forge begins where Chains leaves off (which was a little confusing for me at first since it's been years since I've read the first book) but very quickly you realize the narrator has switched from Isabel in Chains to Curzon in Forge, and that the two characters have split up. Isabel's singlemindedness for finding her sister didn't seem like the best use of time to Curzon, so they go their separate ways. Forge follows Curzon as he tries to run; he spends some time serving as a soldier in the American military and stumbles across all kinds of surprises over the next year, some much worse than others.

Something that initially drew me to Chains was the unique approach Anderson took in tackling these books: slavery during the American Revolution is rarely discussed. When we write books and make movies about racism and slavery, we focus so much on either the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement and forget the hundred years before 1861 in which slavery was just as horrible and just as widespread. I love that a light gets shined on that in this series (and there's even mention of George Washington's slaves). This book was slow at times, but it also surprised me, angered me, and excited me. I really did (do) love the characters and I was genuinely interested in what happened to them. I'm definitely looking forward to Ashes, the third book in the series. 

Prom: a brief review

The topic of this book wouldn't normally draw me in (I, like the main character of the book, was a prom hater in high school) but the fact that it's written by Laurie Halse Anderson was all I needed. Speak and Wintergirls are both literary greatness, and Anderson's style of tackling truly difficult topics is something I admire. I was curious - and skeptical - about this one. How could a book about prom have the grit and depth of Speak? Turns out, it probably can't. The book was entertaining and a super quick read at only 215 pages, but it differs a great deal from Anderson's classics.

Narrator Ashley is a senior in high school, struggling to maintain her "normal" grade point average and lack of interest in the rest of her classes until the end of the year. She's the older sister of three hyperactive brothers and the daughter of her loud but loving - and extremely pregnant - parents. The highest priority for most of Ashley's classmates, and best friend Nat, is the prom. When everyone finds out that the young and spunky math teacher/prom chairman has stolen all the money intended for prom, however, Ashley surprises everyone by stepping up and helping Nat spearhead a cheaper homegrown version of prom.

Prom is lighthearted and fun, with just enough urban attitude to make the characters more tolerable than your typical suburban prom story would be. It wasn't until I was almost done with the book that I saw on the back that its described as a Cinderella story, and the revelation made me chuckle. I'll admit I hadn't seen any parallels before then but it's really at the end that they all show up anyway, and once I had it in my head the connections were amusing. The characters are lovable and the dialogue is clever and endearing. It may not be as deep and heartbreaking as Speak or Wintergirls, but that's okay with me.

The Kite Runner: a brief review

I've technically been reading this next book, The Kite Runner, since I wrote the last book related blog post, but I also decided to paint the majority of my house during that time too, so I didn't get much reading done. That, coupled with the fact that this [long] book is not quite cheery slowed down my momentum quite a bit. Despite those facts, though, I absolutely loved this book.

Khaled Hosseini's debut novel about an adult man who grew up in Afghanistan but now resides in California with his wife and years of secret guilt has been a beloved story since it first hit the stores in 2003. Narrator Amir begins his story as a young boy in Afghanistan, growing up with his widower father and their servant family: a kind and gentle man and his son Hassan. Just like Hassan and Amir's fathers grew up together as close friends, the young boys spend all their time together. Life for the four of them is comfortable and free of physical want, and all that's missing for Amir is assurance of his father's love. There comes a day, though, when Amir's character is tested and he must choose whether to defend the friend who has shown him unwavering loyalty or run in fear. Nothing is the same after that day, and as Amir continues to tell the reader the story of the rest of his life, the underlying pain and guilt never leaves. An opportunity for redemption doesn't come for many years, but when it does Amir finally sees how he can "make it right."

It's no secret that I enjoy depressing story lines. Picking out a movie is usually a chore for my husband and I, not because I insist on girly chick flicks but because my favorites are dark, slow, (I would say touching) dramas. And he's not such a fan. This book honestly fits all those qualifications. It's sad, deeply emotional, and incredibly touching. I saw one part of the ending coming from a hundred pages away, but I don't know that Hosseini necessarily tried to mask it all that hard. Figuring out one part of the conclusion certainly didn't make that part any less beautiful. This book was just great. The writing seemed slow at times, but I blame my inconsistent reading more than I blame Hosseini. The story itself was wonderful. I loved the beautiful portrait of how one choice can rob us of years of peace, but also how another choice can redeem that impossibly painful past. If you have also made it this long without reading The Kite Runner, I highly recommend it.

I Cheated

There was a yard sale. I couldn't help it.

I did in fact break my own rule yesterday and bought a new book - one that I hadn't previously read - even though I haven't come close to finishing my goal of reading all those books I already own. But it was a yard sale, and I was promised lots of great things and when I got there all they had was baby clothes and books. And it was 50 cents. So I'm confessing, I'm adding it to the list, and I'll read it.

It's Angela's Ashes, written by Frank McCourt. I'm not only excited about reading it someday soon, I'm also excited about finally being able to follow the conversation they have about it in that one episode of The Office.

(I should note that I am in fact reading a book, even though it's taking me forever to get through it. I'm in the very middle of The Kite Runner, and even though it's a sad and somewhat long book the real reason why it's taking me forever is because I decided to paint all the rooms in our house this week. So I've been busy.)

Two Recipes for the End of Summer

It's been a long time since I've blogged about a recipe, but when I was putting together a dinner for some friends earlier this week I knew I wanted to share it. Even though I'll share two recipes in this post and I did eat them together, they're perfectly fine as individual meals/side dishes as well.

Quinoa and Corn

Quinoa has become really popular recently, and it's a really great substitute for rice or pasta if you're looking for a protein-packed, healthy side dish. The only problem is that it's pretty bland on its own. I've eaten it that way lots of times, but I've always wanted a little something to make it more interesting. This recipe is a pretty easy way to do that. I made it this particular time to eat with and in the chicken chili - recipe below - but it would be great as a side dish to any other meal.

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn, shucked
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups uncooked quinoa
4 scallions, chopped

Directions:
Place the corn in a large pot and fill it with enough water to cover the corn. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat and let the pot stand, covered, for about 5 minutes.

Remove the corn from the water and let it cool on a cutting board. After it's cool, use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob.

To make the dressing, mix the lemon juice, melted butter, honey, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. (Cooking quinoa follows the same rules as rice and takes about the same amount of time.)

Once the quinoa is cooked, mix it with the dressing, chopped scallions, and corn kernels until the dressing has evenly coated everything, and then it's ready to serve!

Chicken Chili  

I have a classic chili recipe with ground turkey and tomatoes and peppers and beans and it's fantastic, but I just can't think of it as anything but a fall/winter chili. I don't know that I really have a reason why, but that's the way it is. When I was trying to come up with something to make for some friends for dinner earlier this week, I wanted something I could put in the crock pot and that would be easy, and I remembered this recipe I'd seen on Pinterest. It took me a little while to get over the fact that it was the end of July and it's a chili recipe, but it's super fantastic and I was willing to let it go.

Ingredients:
2 uncooked chicken breasts, cut into 1-2" cubes
2 15 oz. cans of white beans (I used Great Northern)
1 15 oz. can of white corn
1 sweet onion/Vidalia chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 package taco seasoning
1 7 oz. can of chopped green chilies
1 can cream of chicken soup
14 oz. of chicken broth

Directions:
Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the beans, corn, and onion. Mix the garlic, taco seasoning, green chilies, cream of chicken soup and chicken broth together in a separate bowl, and then pour on top in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

When the chili is done but before serving, use a potato masher to break up the chicken and beans. (There's not much of a science to this, I just did it until the consistency of the whole chili went from thin like chicken broth to a much thicker, creamier consistency.)

Possible Toppings:
Sour cream
Shredded cheese
Chopped scallions (I had a lot left over from making the quinoa dish)
Tortilla chips
Quinoa and corn recipe from above (I ended up just spooning the quinoa right into the chili and eating it all together, and it was fantastic.)

Home Sweet Home: Inside Edition

The time has come! I'm finally posting pictures of the inside of our house! I know I promised them "soon" a long time ago, but "soon" is a relative term, I guess. We're going to start painting some more walls soon and I'm feeling SUPER crafty, so I guess my thinking was that I better start posting those "before" pics so I have something exciting to take pictures of "after." And it might be lame that I think that way. But regardless...pictures.

I think my favorite part of our entryway is the exposed brick of the chimney. It's such a cool part of the character of the house.

Here's the dining room and kitchen. I have to admit this was probably one of the main reasons I fell in love with this house. We had a perfectly fine kitchen at our old house...but we had very little counter space, not much storage, and it was a little outdated. Not the kitchen you'd want to grow old with, but perfectly fine nonetheless. But this beauty...it great. So much storage (there's empty space in some of those cabinets, guys) and so much counter space. And it's all new! And beautiful! Yay for people who flip houses for a living!

Also, the pantry is an entire room. And I love it.

Here's the living room, and fireplace #1. I love the French doors, I love the stone, and I love the view of the mountains out that window.

I love the kitchen, yes, but this is my favorite room of the house. We put those bookshelves in ourselves (so thankful for the cheap bookcases of Ikea), and I love them. Fireplace #2 is also awesome - I love that the brick of the outside of the house is carried into the inside as well. I'll be honest, we don't use this room super often right now, but I see lots of games, puzzles, reading, and Christmas mornings happening here. And I'm super excited.

Down this hallway are the four bedrooms and full bath. I'm sparing you pictures of the empty rooms for now, and I'll just update you when we fill them someday with kids. (I'm lying. They're not empty. One is full of dog-related things and one has everything I haven't bothered to find a home for yet.)

Our room has a little hallway within it, which is kind of nice because it adds a little bit more privacy. It's also a nice place to hang some art from our wedding. 

Our bathroom is fairly standard (has a toilet, has a sink, has a closet, has a shower) but it is really nice and updated. Score another one for flipped houses. 

Looking at our room in these pictures makes me SO extremely excited for the paint color we've picked out. And so glad we will be painting starting next week. Because that beige does not picture well. I'm also excited to get some stuff on the walls in here. Geez. It looks so boring.

Main bathroom. Super exciting. (It actually is exciting, thanks to those smashing sunflowers.)

Guest room slash office. Which I'm just realizing is still in need of some things to be on the walls. Pretty cool though: the guest room used to be the master bedroom in a previous life, so there's a half bath inside.

And lastly, here's the mudroom/dog bowl land/laundry room. Those stairs you see lead down the huge unfinished basement (it's big, just believe me. It's not that exciting to look at right now), and there's a door to the garage in here that I didn't get in a picture. It's not the most exciting part of the house, but it is also going to get some paint and hopefully perk up a little bit. Plus, my new washer and dryer are so pretty, along with the countertop installed by my husband and my father. And at the end of the day, this laundry room is a thousand times better, even without paint on the walls, than the unfinished basement my laundry used to be in.

I'm so thankful for our new house, and all four of us love it. We've got lots of ideas for things to tackle and add and change over the next several years, and I can't wait to see how we continue to make it our own. Since the day we looked at it, though, we knew that this was where we needed to be. And we couldn't be more blessed to have gotten it.

It's more fun in person though so come visit us! :)