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Friday, August 14, 2009

Hooked On A Sears Kit House, And a Foodie Sandwich!

Two blog parties today: Gollum's Foodie Friday, and Hooked On, at Julia's.
Join the fun; links are at the end of this post!

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Once upon a time, you could order pretty much anything from the Sears Roebuck catalog. Including your very house. Today, I am Hooked On my friend Barbara's 1930s-era Sears Kit house.

Come along with me, up the New York State Thruway:


to Barbara's house.


This Sears kit house was originally four rooms. One one side, a long living & dining room:


This is the living room end. The front entrance is at the far right in the shot, above.


I love a house with fresh flowers!
Especially when those flowers are fresh-picked from the garden.

Beyond this room is a good-sized kitchen.
On the other side of the house, two bedrooms and a full bath.

During her stewardship of the house, Barbara has re-done the kitchen.

Notice the switchplate on the left. It's a turtle!
The switchplates in this house are all unique and charming.

This color (below) is pretty accurate. The paint is a warm putty color:

Do you see the little cat head on the wall, to the left of the cabinet?

He's a clock! (And there's another unique switchplate.)

From the kitchen you look into the living room:



A wonderful great room was added across the back of the house:



It's got big square windows, loads of light, and chunky comfortable furniture.
And sweet dogs to pet, sidling up for some loving:


Transferware fans -- pay attention! Look at this wall:


Brown and white transferware,


Including a spectacular Aesthetic design platter.


This room is where Barbara set the table for lunch:


A beautiful tablescape!


Look at the gorgeous chunky legs on the table.


The scarred table top adds rustic good looks:


I took many more pictures, but I am afraid I didn't capture the essence of this wonderful home. Barbara's home is a reflection of herself and the things she loves, from her lovely dogs, to her books and her collections, to her quirky decorative touches. It all comes together, all the disparate parts, into a wonderful, beautiful, peaceful whole.

I'm just going to post a few more outdoor pictures, hopefully not repeating any from Outdoor Wednesday!

No captions needed . . . .





And now we say goodbye to Winnie, my personal passion among Barbara's 3 Cavaliers;
Winnie reminds me so much of our first Cavalier, in both looks and temperament:


And farewell to Frances Rose, a sweetheart if ever there was one:


And goodbye also to Sophie.
I never got a good picture of Sophie standing still, until I found her like this:

Hostessing is hard work.

Adieu! Into the minivan, we're heading back down the Thruway to the Garden State.
That's New Jersey, folks!


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But one more thing . . . what's Friday without food?

Last Foodie Friday, I shared the recipe for this corn salad, which Barbara served:


Our visit also gives me my recipe for today!
With the salad, Barbara shared the most delicious sandwiches:

Ummmm. . . ham, cheese, and honey mustard on croissants,
warmed in the oven till the cheese is just a bit gooey. Heaven. Pure heaven.
Try them. You will love them!

Now that may take the prize for briefest recipe on Foodie Friday!

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Just one more food picture story:

Friday is the premiere of a rock musical at the New York Fringe Festival, in Manhattan. Anne designed some of the costuming for this show and will be working wardrobe when she can. She says that opening night jitters among cast and crew are calmed by this homemade remedy:


Classic chocolate chip cookies.


This house smells good.
Anne wisely packed up the cookies for transporting on the bus, before she went up to bed.
Too bad.
But at least she washed the baking pans and mixing bowl!


Don't forget to visit Designs by Gollum for more Foodie Friday fun.
And buzz on over the Julia's Hooked On Houses blog, to see what everyone else is Hooked On! Just click on the highlighted blog party titles to be transported! -- Cass

25 comments:

  1. Your friend has indeed a very sweet and cosy house.I love the wall with the plates.They are so beautiful.
    The idea of the croissants with the ham, cheese and honey mustard sounds as a great idea. I make my croissants filled with sour cream, dill and some lemon and then a slice of smoked salmon and a few cucumber slices! I can assure you they are yummie.These you don't heat!

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  2. Thank you again for your comments. I have learned so much from reading all these blogs. I will try Tablescape Thursday - probably should start today! Where did you get the antiques are green logo and can anyone have it?

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  3. Cass-I enjoyed this post so much--the house, the garden, and the food! I recently inherited a long forgotten Sears catlalog from the "50's and have had much fun going through it. I wish Anne much luck!

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  4. What a lovely photo essay - thanks for sharing!
    I love old catalogues and one of the activities I do with my students is to visit a museum site that features old catalogues. We use the images to study life in the early 1900s.
    Evelyn in Montreal

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  5. What a great post! Is the house all on 1 floor? Ours is a 4 sq too, but it's 2 floors. The previous owners had the original catalog that it was ordered from, but unfortunately they never gave it to us:(

    The food and furry friends are all soo "sweet.

    Thanks for becoming a follower of The Old Parsonage. I hope that you'll be back to visit.

    Enjoy your weekend!
    Leann

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  6. The bones of the Sears house were good but she has done a great job of the decorating.

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  7. What an adorable house. I enjoyed my visit and tour. She has done a wonderful job decorating. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. I LOVE that you shared the story and these pictures of a Sears Kit House. Hubby's great grandparents lived in a Sears Kit Farmhouse. They were dead and gone long before I met hubby, but have been wondering and wondering about that house ever since.

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  9. Thanks for the tour of such a pretty home. Good luck to Anne.

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  10. Thanks for the peek into a charming Sears home. I found your blog earlier this week and I've found it quite enjoyable! Thanks for sharing your life and home!

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  11. So lovely. Although I call the desert my home, your photos remind my heart of from where I began...

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  12. What an interesting post. The house, the garden and the food are all wonderful. I hope you are having a great day.

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  13. That Sears house is wonderful. We've lived in two of them, though never owned one. I think it is the cleverest idea to be able to order a house from Sears and have them deliver all the pieces.

    Lovely photos.

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  14. What a wonderful house. The dogs are too adorable. The lunch looks yummy. Would love to have one of the cookies!

    Christi

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  15. Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice (and hilarious) comment! Your home is just gorgeous.
    Your friends home is so lovely and sweet - love the quirky touches. The yard is a dream.

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  16. Cass,

    Thank you for directions to the green button. Have spent all afternoon trying to make a tag cloud - not doing it so more research is in order. Also spent some time reading some of your other blogs. Neat! Thanks for sending company.
    Carol

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  17. I LOVE this post...just love it!!
    I would LOVE to have a cottage just like that..so so cute. Her yard is lovely, too.
    The meal looks so delicious..I gotta try those sandwiches. Ummm.
    Thanks for taking the time to put together such a lovely post.

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  18. Thanks for taking me along on your luncheon. Cute dogs and lucky cast members to eat the cookies. Now the corn salad is so colorful and reflects the summer season.
    Joyce

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  19. What a feast for our eyes...a beautiful home, yummy food, adorable pups and homemade cookies...I think that you covered all the bases well.

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  20. Thanks for sharing. We're sharing peanut butter ideas and Elvis stories at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. I hope you will come join us. Or, join us for Crock Pot Wednesdays. Mister Linky will be ready for that on Tuesday.

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  21. We lived in a cute as a button Sears kit bungalow in Kansas City. I adored that house.

    Fabulous transferware collection!

    I used to make those ham, cheese and mustard things all the time. I haven't thought of them in years. They look heavenly!!

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  22. I enjoyed my tour of Barbara's charming home. Thank you for sharing it. laurie

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  23. Great post!

    What blog template are you using?? I love the format and the big pictures!

    Blessings
    Robin

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  24. Loved this Cass! Her home is charming and the history is so cool. I love the food and pretty table as well. Cindy

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