It's really starting to look and feel like fall. The lack of humidity is great but I do not like to think about what's in store for us in the next few months! I do not do well in the dark and cold. We (I) have committed to being a part of the first Wilkinsburg Home and Garden Tour on September 28th. I said yes to help out our new neighbors. So we've been busting our butts trying to get unpacked and ready for the event. It feels like we have our house on the market again! The good side is that it is making us get things done and not putting things off until tomorrow!
Our backyard was probably untouched for at least 20 years. It was taken over by English ivy and poison ivy. Craig sprayed the whole yard with Round Up and after everything was dead we went out and started raking and pulling. You may not be aware, but poison ivy is still potent for years after it's dead. It seems that I'm not allergic to it, but unfortunately Craig is. This is how the yard is looking now. Craig is feeling much better too, after a round of Prednisone.
We've added some plants. I've contacted 5 different landscape contractors (4 from Angie's List) about sod/seed installation and only 2 have bothered to answer. Apparently landscaping is a lucrative business in the Pittsburgh area since they don't return inquiries.
We finally have some furniture for guests to sit on! We searched and searched for antique dining room furniture and could not find anything that we liked. We finally ended up with brand new furniture. We were trying to get something before the home tour. We found new stuff we liked and went to 3 different stores in the area. I have to say Today's Home on McKnight Road was by far the best price and they came through for us! If you're in the market for furniture definitely stop in and ask for Kristen.
You might notice that the dining room is a different color. We had painted it a cool cucumber (light green) before we moved in. It was just too blah. It's now a rich emerald green, technically Sliced Olive, and I think it looks so much better. Craig even admitted that he likes it too. We have a rug on order to break up all the wood colors and hopefully brighten it up a little.
The same day the dining room furniture arrived, the living room chairs FINALLY came. These are from Crate & Barrel.
The shades for the bedrooms also arrived and we think they look great. I found these at J.C. Penney for a great price. And I looked everywhere for something that wasn't a fortune but looked good.
On my to-do list is window seat cushions. That's the next project. I got one of the Roman shades done in the kitchen and it turned out great.
We also met with Carol Peterson, the Pittsburgh house historian. She's done numerous buildings in the area, been on WQED with Rick Seback and recently worked with Mr. Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers) to publish a book on his home. She told us the house was built in 1907 by George A. Todd. He was married to Mina Todd and they had 3 children. Sadly, Mina and her maid were killed by an explosion in the basement in 1915. Mina was preparing for a trip to California and they were cleaning clothes with a gasoline washer of some kind. They also had an instantaneous water heater in the basement. When another maid upstairs turned on the hot water it ignited the water heater. The water heater then ignited the gasoline fumes and the explosion burned Mina and her maid. They were both taken to the Columbia Hospital were they died a few hours later. Carol found no evidence that Evelyn Nesbitt resided here. We are the 11th owners of the house.
Happy Fall!
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