#all his concept photos made me want to eat a brick

[ambivartence]

seared_into_my_brain.jpg

[meals-on-wheels-tales]

Behind the Scenes of La Qchara’s Brick and Mortar and Mobile Food Truck

What was originally a simple coffee shop in Melrose, Massachusetts is now both brick and mortar and an on the go food truck. Owners Lorenzo and Emily Tenreiro of La Qchara explain their journey through restaurant hospitality.

Emily Tenreiro (left) and her husband Lorenzo Tenreiro (right) at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Ma featuring their sister store Tahpas 529.

This couple had a shared love for bonding with others through food. They had started out with a tight budget and decided to open a small cafe in Melrose, Massachusetts called Coffee Tea and Me.

“A couple years in, we had an opportunity to open up a second location, which was where the La Qchara concept came from. In Spanish La Qchara means ‘A large spoon, used for eating.’ We wanted to offer the general public some of the food that we cook in our own house, hence using a large spoon,” said owner Emily Tenreiro. “We wanted to capture going back to my husband's roots from Venezuela. We offer a lot of his mothers recipes, and items that are traditional from Venezuela and South America in general.”

The signature logo of La Qchara resembles the love for food and eating healthy, hearty meals. Each location has its signature spoon wall (bottom) which captures the values held within.

Stack of beautiful menus filled with amazing homemade meals cooked with all fresh ingredients and made with love.

In 2020, La Qchara’s mobility began to be in route. The Covid-19 pandemic was surprisingly a great opportunity for the couple.

“There was a school during the pandemic that opened up a unit to feed people out of the mobile unit because they decided they were going to renovate their cafeteria due to no student use,” Tenreiro said. “After they were done with the mobile unit, we inquired about it, it was for sale, and we bought it. We are now serving our awesome tacos, burritos, arepas, and rice bowls on the go.”

Photo of the food truck during an event, which shows the food table and unique color combinations that embrace the cuisines being served.

La Qchara famous venezuelan eggs benedict which substitutes the traditional english muffin with a homemade corn arepa and chorizo.

This amazing opportunity has brought La Qchara huge success out of a depressing time period in everyone's lives. This couple was able to bring long lasting memories and joy on the go to their strong customer base. The food truck serves large events, parties, graduations, food festivals, taco tuesday at a local dispensary, and MIT open space in Cambridge, Ma.

La Qchara restaurant opens its door with welcoming arms. This brick and mortar restaurant encapsules Central and South American cuisine. They offer gluten free and vegetarian options of coffee, smoothies, puddings, tacos, arepas, burritos, and many more.

La Qchara’s dining room inside of the Beverly, Massachusetts location on Cabot street.

Emily and Lorenzo share great pride around their employees. “They are passionate, energetic, and knowledgeable about the menu and the culture we share. They are there to break down the menu to customers and teach them about each item” said the couple.

Two beautifully welcoming employees ready to answer any questions. These bars offer a long range of drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. This restaurant also offers partnerships with Endicott College as a chance for students to use their off campus flex dollars to enjoy their delicious cuisines.

The majority of the hospitality business is positive, but there are downsides to owning a food truck. Tenreiro discusses the logistical challenges that running a truck has.

“The downfalls are things that people don’t always understand, " she said. “Our truck has a propane tank, it has to be refilled. There is a generator if the place you're at doesn’t have electricity, you rely on your generator. If your generator goes, you have to know what to do to fix it.”

When asked about what her advice would be to someone who is interested in starting their own food truck journey, she simply stated, “The best thing to do is find a niche, in which you can separate yourself from the other food trucks.” She goes on to emphasize the importance of trial and error with the truck surrounding the customization of the equipment, location of everything in the truck, and building your brand based on your own values. Tenreiro sighed, “We initially had a fryer on our truck and we quickly realized that was a terrible idea. Driving with the hot oil is a recipe for disaster.”

She takes a lot of consideration into the practicality of the truck, the safety of herself and her employees, and disposing of the resources used.

Resourcing La Qchara’s food truck is easier than most. The advantage of having a brick and mortar location comes in help as Tenreiro and her team prep and heat the food for events in the kitchen of their stores. She said, “Our truck is only a holding and serving unit.” The truck has its own steam table which its only purpose is to hold and keep food warm until served.

The food truck has grasped all of the strong values the couple wanted the public to perceive them as. “Food trucks generally have a very happy vibe, because where you end up going is usually a celebration” she said. La Qchara’s website shares some of their core values, “We believe that healthy, hearty food is the key to a happier life and from the first bite, you’ll understand why.” Providing healthy, hearty food on wheels has empowered the couple in many ways.

Homemade coffee and chia seed pudding for breakfast (top) and for lunch or dinner, homemade tacos (bottom).

[bestiesenpai]

Inamorata - Sukuna

You have no idea how much I like this idea lol ya know the meme ‘i got a boyfriend, yeah he kills people he’s crazy’ this is exactly what went through my head with this. Femme reader, I went for a...Sukuna is his own person and not attached to Itadori kind of thing? Like just a stand-alone demon. I had probably way too much fun writing this and would be down to write more for this concept

Content warnings: killing/murder/homicide choose your preferred noun, a little yandere?, size difference and Sukuna is in his four armed form, uhmm there’s a knife(main use to cut open readers palm in the beginning) and also licking blood from said wound, violence/gore at the end

Apparently there was a demon on the loose. From what you’d read on online forums and heard through the whispers of older people on the train, there was a foreboding presence terrorizing the city, preying on the weak and helpless and hoping to take over the world.

There were blurry photos and horrible sketches of what the creature supposedly looked like and the form it took, but none of them seemed to match up. The tattoos on the face and body were always off, the amount of muscle and the stature of the creature were all different depending on who you went to.

Which is why you decided, against all better judgement, to go looking for him. All the stories you’d heard about the demon, the kind of creature it was centuries ago in its prime, had intrigued you. With the mystique and terror surrounding this demon, you’d be a fool not to try and get a peek for yourself.

At first you’d tried a summoning circle, clearing a large space in your bedroom and drawing intricate patterns on the floor in hopes of his arrival. That method quickly turned futile as no demon ever came - but now you probably had a few ghosts watching you sleep at night.

The second method was to try and make a pact with the devil himself, slicing open your palm and dripping blood onto the pages of old scriptures. Attempting to sell your soul had worked even less than the first method and all you had to show for it was a bandage around your hand for two weeks.

“I’ll definitely see him now.” You mumbled to yourself, walking straight to where the demon was seen most: the red light district. Walking past bright neon signs and nearly naked women in shop windows, you took a peek into every alleyway you came across.

“Hey pretty lady, what’re you looking for?” A rough, scratchy voice sounded behind you as you walked past the umpteenth alleyway of the night.

“What do you think?” Not looking over your shoulder, you kept walking. The voice, while sounding absolutely disgusting, didn’t belong to a demon and therefore not worth your time.

“I think you’re looking for trouble.” Curling his fingers around your arm, the man you were trying to ignore snatched you back, making you stumble and fall into his chest. The nasty scent of body odor and cigarettes was wafting off the man, making you worry that his stench would cling to you for days.

“Not the kind you’re talking about.” Pushing away from him, you furiously wiped off your clothes. Looking this man in the face irritated you, he was wasting his time and you knew exactly what his intentions were.

“Don’t play so hard to get!” Forcing a less than charming smile on his face, the man made the move to grab you again.

“Don’t touch me!” Slapping his hands away, you took generous steps back from him. “You’re getting in the way of my search.”

“Search?” Quirking a brow at you, the man took a moment to think before his brows rose in surprise. “You’re looking for Sukuna, aren’t you?”

“That’s his name?” You’d never heard his name before, only seeing some people refer to him as a four armed creature from hell.

“Yup, and I’ve seen him a couple times.” Crossing his arms over his chest, the man smirked triumphantly. “You could say he and I have a kind of friendly relationship.”

“Do you now?” Your eyes trailed up from the man to the dark alleyway behind him where two glowing red eyes emerged.

“Oh yeah, Sukuna’s a great guy! Even offered to give me a position in his little army.” The more he spoke the brighter the eyes got and the fuzzy outline of a gigantic body was starting to take shape.

“His little army?” Slowly taking steps back as the figure came forward, you barely had time to react before the man was snatched up by two giant hands and yanked backwards. Lifting him into the air, it wasn’t long before a mouth with gleaming sharp teeth opened up and swallowed him whole.

As the eyes drew their attention back to you, a nervous laugh left your chest that you couldn’t force to stop. Every step you took back was now accompanied by a step forward from the creature until it fully left the alleyway and you saw exactly what you were dealing with.

Right in front of you, in full form and glory, was the demon you’d been searching for. The scrawling black tattoos along his entire body, the four arms, pink hair, second set of eyes and his impossibly muscular physique - all of it was exactly like you’d been hoping for.

“Hello, pretty little thing.” His voice boomed despite being relatively quiet, a slight echo to the deep timbre. It was almost melodic in a way, somehow soothing your racing heart just slightly.

“S-sukuna?” You squeaked out, back meeting the brick wall of a building.

“That would be me.” Chuckling as he stopped a few feet from you, Sukuna crossed his secondary arms and looked down upon you. The sheer height and width of his body easily dwarfed yours, your head only barely reaching his ribcage.

Your eyes couldn’t stay in one place as you looked at Sukuna. There was too much to take in and you could feel yourself quickly becoming overwhelmed trying to commit every detail to memory.

“You’re…” Licking your lips nervously, you could only meet his eyes for a moment before settling on the mark on his forehead. “You’re wearing womens clothes.” Tied around his waist and hanging off his legs was indeed a womens kimono, a surprising pristine white shade.

“That’s what you decide to say at our first meeting?” An echoing laugh bellowed from him and Sukuna shook his head, running one hand through his hair.

“I-I’m sorry it’s just...they never mentioned it online.” It felt a little silly to be explaining yourself to him when at any moment Sukuna could eat you like he did that man and you would have no way of stopping him.

“Little thing, I have a question for you.” Fixing you with a suddenly sharp stare, Sukuna lowered his brow and bent down, placing two arms above your head and two at your side, trapping you in against the wall with no possible outs.

“Yes?” Pinching your eyes closed, you held your breath as you waited for the inevitable bite of his teeth around.

“Are you scared?” Sukuna whispered, his breath fanning out over the top of your head.

“Yes.” It would be a lie to say no and you had nothing to lose by telling the truth. Sukuna’s eyes bore into you, the weight of his stare physically making your back bow.

“What did you think of me eating that man just now? Was that terrifying for you?”

“No.” Sukuna took a pause at your answer and although you couldn’t see it, his brow furrowed for a fraction of a second.

“What did you feel then? Surely you must have thought it was horrible.”

“N-not really.” Slowly cracking one eye open, you looked up at Sukuna, almost breaking your neck from having to stare directly above you. “I was actually quite happy you did that. He was getting on my nerves.”

The barking laugh that left Sukuna’s mouth made you flinch and throw your hands in the air. It was so loud it seemed to vibrate your entire body and a few windows on the building behind you shook from the force.

“You’re telling me you liked me killing that guy?” Grabbing you by the collar of your shirt, Sukuna held you up in the air, eye level to him. You nodded, pitifully kicking your legs out to try and get back to solid ground. “Aren’t you a messed up little thing?” Still laughing, Sukuna took a proper once over of your body. “Pretty, but messed up.”

“P-please let me go!” You whimpered, hands desperately clutching Sukuna’s to try and not fall out of your clothes and onto the ground.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like how I hold you?” Shaking you for good effect, Sukuna smirked wildly at your scared little squeaks. “Tell me your name.”

“It’s (Y/N)!” Shouting into the air, you felt relief flood into you as Sukuna finally lowered you back to the ground and his hands released you.

“(Y/N)?” Sounding it out on his tongue, Sukuna shrugged to himself. “I like ‘little thing’ better.”

“I’m only little compared to you.” Fixing your clothes, you tried to regain your breath and stop your body from shaking so violently.

“So, what’s a creature like you doing out so late at night here? It’s not safe for a human like you to roam around these parts.”

“I was looking for you.”

“Me? You were looking for me?” Sukuna snorted, waving his hand dismissively at you. “A human like you looking for me? I’ve really seen it all.”

“It’s true!” Pulling out your phone, you quickly showed him all the data you’d compiled on him. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Sukuna! I did a summoning circle, I’ve looked in hundreds of online forums - I even tried to make a deal with the devil!” Showing him the mark that was still healing on your palm, the fear that was in your body was slowly trickling out and being replaced with- hope? Excitement? It was hard to say, but as Sukuna grasped your hand between two fingers and looked at your palm, it would be wrong to say it was a negative emotion you felt.

“You really did all that for me?” His voice was much softer now but it still sounded like he was mocking you. Smoothing the pad of one finger across your palm, he felt the ridges of your palm and the wound.

“I did. I find you really fascinating and I- I just wanted to learn more about you.” You faltered when he looked at you, a fierce heat overtaking your cheeks at admitting out loud that you’d been looking for a demon because you found him interesting.

“Are you perhaps interested in me?” A smirk tugged one side of Sukuna’s lip up and he chuckled when your expression only grew more flustered. “Oh little thing, you’re more messed up than I thought.”

“Will you tell me more about yourself? Please?” The words tumbled out of your mouth desperately as you let Sukuna stretch out your arm and grasp your hand more firmly. He didn’t answer you or even acknowledge that you’d spoken, instead grazing the tip of one long sharp nail along the line of the cut.

“I find myself liking you more and more, why is that?” Sukuna’s tone sounded like he was addressing himself as he spoke aloud, turning your hand every which way as he kept scraping his nail against your palm. “Were you my lover in the past, back when I reigned as the ruler of this whole land?”

Racking your brain to try and remember any information on Sukuna potentially having a lover, you were ripped back to reality when Sukuna dug his nail into your skin, reopening the cut and making blood flow freely.

“Ow!” You couldn’t yank your arm out of his grasp and you watched in mild horror as Sukuna lowered himself to your hand, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth and drag across your skin. His tongue quickly became coated in dark red blood, his saliva starting to mingle with your blood.

“You taste so familiar, you must have been mine.” Lapping up your blood now, Sukuna didn’t stop until he could tell you were starting to get weak from blood loss. The lower half of his face was now covered in red, smeared across his skin like paint.

“Sukuna, that’s gross.” The mumble slipped from your delirious mind, making him laugh as he waved a hand over the cut and made it go away. Slipping your hand from his grasp it was like there had never been a mark there in the first place.

“A human telling me what’s gross?” Licking his face clean, Sukuna grinned down at you. The longer he looked at you the longer memories of a past you returned to his mind. The irresistible draw he felt to come to you tonight had been the same one that called to him centuries ago, making you the center of his otherwise cruel and empty world.

Placing two hands on the wall behind you, Sukuna leaned over you once more, this time grasping your chin and turning your face up to him. The saliva that had mixed with your blood had also given you new memories of the past as well, and as you looked at Sukuna you remembered all the things the two of you had done together.

“So, my pet, what shall we do first?”

Sukuna ended up carrying you home, having you tucked inside his kimono as he leaped on rooftops across the city. Opening your bedroom window, Sukuna shoved his body through, having to make himself slightly smaller to fit inside the house.

“Are you uh, hungry?” Standing awkwardly in the middle of your bedroom as Sukuna sat on your bed, you weren’t quite sure what to do now.

“I could eat.” Laying fully back on your bed, it creaked and groaned as Sukuna rested his weight on it. The thought of offering to take him to the kitchen came and went quickly in your head; just getting him into your room was a hard enough task.

Fixing him and yourself a quick meal, as soon as you were done eating Sukuna picked you up and rested you on his abdomen. Even after shrinking himself down your legs were still stretched as wide as possible in hopes of wrapping around his waist.

“As the memories of you return, I realize how much I’ve missed you, my pretty little thing.” Petting down your back, Sukuna looked at you fondly. Propped up on two of his arms, he could stare directly at your tiny body sitting atop him.

“What kind of memories do you have?” So far, the only thing you could seem to recall were memories of a more sexual nature. One’s of you and Sukuna wrapped up in each other's arms, both of his cocks stuffed inside you as you begged to cum.

“I remember giving you the world, whatever you wanted was yours for the taking.” The look in Sukunas eyes was surprisingly soft and you could feel the love coming out from him.

“Whatever I wanted?” Repeating the words, your mouth hung open slightly at all the possible things you could get.

“The world may exist to serve me, but I exist to serve you.” Fully sitting up, Sukuna held you against him as he leaned down, lips grazing your forehead. “What do you want, (Y/N)? I can get you anything in the world, I can do anything in the world.”

“Kill for me.” The whisper that left your lips was almost too quiet for even yourself to hear. But Sukuna nodded, having heard you perfectly. Your words made his body thrum with excitement and his nerves were on edge.

“Kill for you?” He repeated, kissing you on the forehead. The fingers that held you closely dug into your sides and if Sukuna wasn’t careful he could crush you completely.

“You love me, don’t you?” There was just the slightest hint of worry in your voice. What if you were overestimating your power over Sukuna? He could say no or even kill you himself.

“You have no idea what the things my love for you will do.”

Although it pained him to do so, Sukuna left you once the sun began to rise. He had other things to attend to, temples that worshipped him as a god to visit. Promising to see you once dusk began to settle over the sky, Sukuna leapt from your window and into the horizon.

“You came back.” Even though he swore up and down he’d come back, it still shocked you to see him back on your bed once it hit a certain time of night.

“Of course I did.” Sukuna almost seemed hurt you would question him. Holding out a hand, as soon as you grasped one of his fingers he pulled you to him and nestled your body into his side. “Did you do what I asked?”

“The list is in my pocket.” Before leaving, Sukuna had told you to make a list of all the people you wanted him to kill for you. The list had started out short, just a few people that had hurt you that you couldn’t let go of, and then it grew to others, politicians and corrupt people in the media.

“Quite impressive, little thing.” Reading over the list, Sukuna stood up. “Shall we go then?”

“Go whe-” As Sukuna threw open your bedroom window you were met with a strong gust of wind. “Sukuna, where are we going?” You asked him over the wind in your ears. Putting his upper arms into the sleeves of his kimono, he made sure you were nestled safely inside.

“We’re going to take care of the first person on your list.” Wrapping an arm around you, Sukuna jumped out of the window. Though this wasn’t your first time in this position, you hadn’t been fully cognizant when Sukuna took you home last night. Now, with a head clear and no lack of blood to distract you, you could see the lights of the city clearly as they whipped past you.

“It’s beautiful.” Carefully leaning forward, you gazed at the downtown area with all the flashing lights and swerving cars.

“If you say so.” Patting your hip, Sukuna pulled you back, resting your weight fully on his arm and clothes. He wouldn’t admit it, and despite knowing he would catch you in a millisecond, Sukuna didn’t want you to fall out and fall to the ground.

Coming upon the first persons house, he settled you on the ground outside. You were in a tightly knit residential area standing directly under a streetlight, with rows of houses that all looked similar. In a flash, Sukuna had broken into the house and grabbed the person you were after.

“This them?” With a tight grip on their ankle, Sukuna shook them side to side.

“Mhmm.” You didn’t need to look to know he’d gotten the right person, just the feeling you had around them was enough to confirm it.

“W-what’s going on here?!” They screamed, blood pooling in their head the longer they hung upside down.

“Don’t speak.” Sukuna barked, shaking them once again. “You don’t speak to her, or at all.” The person screamed again, a high pitched sound that quickly got shut off as Sukuna swung their body and smacked them against the ground. “I thought I told you to be quiet.”

For a moment you thought they’d died from how hard Sukuna hit them against the ground, but a small whimper and breathless gasps sounded from where their face was crushed against the pavement.

“Do you know why I’m here?” You whispered, standing over their motionless body. Rolling over onto their back, they shook their head and started to stammer. “If you can’t answer my question I don’t want you to make a sound.” Pressing your foot onto their throat, you flinched when their hands came up to try and claw you away.

“Don’t touch her.” Instantly pinning their arms down, Sukuna glowered. “How would you like me to do it?”

“Let me think.” Staring down into their glassy eyes, a million options went through your mind. Sukuna’s power was limitless, there was nothing he couldn’t do. If you asked him to throw their body into outer space, he would do it in a heartbeat. “Rip them limb from limb. You can eat them if you’d like.”

“As you wish.” A sick grin curled Sukuna’s lip and he drug their body across the ground until they were directly underneath him.

“(Y/N) wait! W-wait please!” Their shrill cries fell on deaf ears, and the sound of the first limb being torn off their body was something you could get used to. “Oh- oh my god, my leg!”

“God I wish you’d shut up.” You kept your eyes on the person's face, refusing to look at where blood squirted generously from their now missing extremity.

“Allow me.” With the swipe of one claw Sukuna gouged out their throat. Hot, bright red blood spilled out onto the pavement, pooling and almost making it to where you stood. Throwing one leg into his mouth, Sukuna used a non-bloody hand to lift you up and place you onto a brick wall.

“Thank you.” Giving him a gentle smile, you now had a front row seat to Sukuna ripping apart this person's body and slowly devouring them. There was a mess of blood coating Sukuna’s skin, far more blood than when he had drunk yours.

As you watched Sukuna eat this person, a sense of satisfaction washed over you. It felt good to get justice in your own way for how this person wronged you. After being told to let it go, try and move and let time heal the wound, you could finally get closure the way you wanted.

“All done?” You asked once the last piece of their body was consumed. Standing up to his full height, Sukuna still looked down at you. The blood on his skin began to sizzle off, evaporating into the air and leaving the pungent smile of iron behind.

“Have I made you happy?” He responded, cupping your face and lightly squishing your cheeks. Smiling proudly, a warm flush washed over your face the longer you and Sukuna looked at each other.

“Yes, very.” Nuzzling into his palm and kissing it, you let out a breathless laugh as Sukuna did the same.

“I’m happy to please you.” Kissing you on the top of the head, Sukuna pulled out the list and crossed out the first name. “Shall we go to the others now?”

[wild-aloof-rebel]

Some Favorite Fics from 2020

Like last year, I want to end 2020 by highlighting some fics that have become favorites over the last twelve months. Before I dive into it though, I just want to take a minute to send some love to all of the authors writing in this fandom.

As of the end of 2019, there were about 8.8 million words of fic on AO3 for this fandom. This year, more than 450 authors have added another 15 million more. That’s so incredibly impressive, especially in a year this difficult. Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who contributed to that, whether you wrote one fic or a hundred, a drabble or a novel. Thank you for giving this fandom the gift of your creativity and voice. Your work is so, so appreciated, and you’ve helped to create joy in a year where it was often in short supply. 💗💗💗

*

Okay, on to the fics. I’ve limited myself to no more than one work for any individual author to spread the love around as much as possible, and I’ve bumped up the number to 25 this time around because there was just too much fic this year for me to cut it down any further. 

So here we go. These are 25 fics I loved this year, and what I love about them...

Your heart is keeping time with me by yourbuttervoicedbeau • rated E • 33k+ confession before i start: i’ve never actually seen 50 first dates. but i thought this AU based on it was delightful. patrick’s love for david is so big, right from the start, and i love seeing david lean into trusting himself (and patrick) over and over again

will this ever get old? by startswithhope • rated T • <1k i just like seeing them domestic and soft and happy, okay? and while most of dee’s fics are like that, this particular one is a fave because of them thinking about their future and how they’ll change over the years but love each other right on through

Just to Hold the Hands I Love by DesignatedGrape • rated T • 20k+ it’s like a warm christmas hug, full of musical trolling, gentle pining, domestic nights in, and careful attention to fashion details, which are all absolutely the kinds of things i appreciate

A Case of You by DoubleL27 • rated T • 6k+ patrick is an absolute menace in exactly the way you would expect every valentine’s day. it’s funny and sweet and ends with them in exactly the kind of future we all want for them

Dulce by another_Hero • rated T • 1k+ original characters can be hard to do right. they have to be compelling enough to fit in with these characters we already know so well, and dulce is the kind of character who grabs you from the start. the whole series is lovely, but this first interaction with ronnie is my favorite of them

Tea-Kettle Love by ArabellaStrange • rated G • 5k+ even though this coda to “the pitch” isn’t technically canon compliant now, it still feels a lot like it is. it’s about the sacrifices we are and aren’t willing to make for the people we love, taking the new york discussion into more depth than we get in the show and still arriving in largely the same place

Vanquished by Codswallop • rated G • 3k+ if you’re looking for soft, fluffy sickfic, this is not it, lol. patrick is sick here but won’t let anyone take care of him. he’s stubborn and basically minor chaos ensues. it’s funny and sweet but not schmaltzy. the characterization is 👌, and it feels like the kind of thing that fits perfectly into the world of the show

To Come Out the Other Side by unfolded73 • rated T • 4k+ • warning for major character death i don’t want to read sad things about david and patrick very often, but sometimes the mood strikes. this one is definitely sad right from the start, but there’s hope and resilience through grief, and i think this year especially, there’s something to be said for stories that can make you feel like there is still good to be found after the bad

Hold Me Like You’ll Never Let Me Go by moodlighting • rated T • 21k+ i never would have thought that a fic would make me WANT to be trapped in an airport, but it’s 2020 and anything is possible, lol. this is what meet cute dreams are made of

Your mother keeps a spreadsheet by upbeat • rated G • 3k+ obviously i love a good spreadsheet, so this one was up my alley from the start, lol. but really it’s moira and patrick bonding through the cataloguing of her wigs (and all the stories that go with them) that makes this one an easy favorite

keep me in the pulses, keep me in the sound by dinnfameron • rated G • 2k+ this sweet little slice of a summer vacation made me ache to be with friends. plus, sometimes you just need some overwhelmingly happy david rose. he deserves it, and so do we

eggs and the flour, no higher power by withkissesfour • rated T • 1k+ i’m pretty sure this fic is the definition of sweet, in more ways than one. it’s a short piece, but the writing is lush and indulgent in all the right places, just like the cakes being described

sustineo by rockinhamburger • rated E • 10k+ before i was even done reading this fic, i wanted another 50k words set in this universe. the conversation between david and patrick is sharp in all the right ways, and because this david has such a hard shell to crack after being hurt in such a horrible and heartbreaking way, it’s that much more satisfying watching patrick break through it

All-Natural Care, Locally Sourced by Siria • rated T • 2k+ siria’s fics are always funny, with banter that’s so perfectly on point, and that’s certainly true here. but there are also care packages and photos and just so much love. it’s a perfect balance, just like the show

hold on to me as you go by helvetica_upstart • rated T • 3k+ i love a good look at just how long patrick has been head over heels in love with david and how much he was in this for life all along. this fic does just that through the framework of times that they saw their new house before they bought it, and it’s everything that you would want that concept to be and more

Exposed Brick by swat117 • rated M • 9k+ this is such a lovely look at david and patrick a few years into their marriage, steady in all the right ways, even when old fears try to rise up between them. it gives david a chance to be the solid and supportive one in the relationship, something i never get tired of reading

We Could Turn the World to Gold by middyblue • rated T • 27k+ as someone who also did c25k at one point, i def empathize with david’s plight in this fic, lol. as much fun as that part of the story is, it’s really the house and everything related to that part of the story that makes this a favorite in my book. this was posted very early in s6, so it’s not the house from canon, but it’s beautiful either way to see them so excited about building their future together there

Waiting on the Day by High-Seas-Swan • rated E • 22k+ this is another fic that makes me absolutely ache for things i couldn’t have this year, namely my favorite local brewery and all the nights spent there with friends. beyond that, it’s just a very sweet AU, and the scene with their first kiss and the rest of that night live in my head rent free

Pot o’ Gold by ahurston • rated E • 22k+ where is the leprechaun/love of my life who’s gonna take me out to eat all of the best foods that my city has to offer? this one is a slow burn but their relationship is so much fun to read right from the start that you definitely don’t mind taking your time getting there. also, the palm reading scene. good grief.

there is no design by the_hodag • rated T • 12k+ this fic gives us a look at some of david’s art, and all the loneliness and love that inspires it. it’s poignant and painful and hopeful and sweet in turn, and i think it does a marvelous job of capturing so many of the facets of david’s past that have made him who he is

A Little Broken, A Little New by nameless_bliss • rated G • 3k+ i’ve read this fic several times now, and david and johnny having a conversation about their own relationship through the guise of talking about patrick and his parents never fails to make me cry

Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie by cromarty • rated T • 23k+ just the concept of this one alone would have sold me on it—like, hello? michelin reviewer and chef? sign me the fuck up—but it’s written with the kind of attention to detail i always expect from claire’s writing, and the fact that it practically starts with a first kiss but then pulls back makes for a delicious dynamic as they build a friendship over that foundational attraction, both tempering and intensifying the wait for them to find their way back into each others’ arms

happy golden days of yore by blueink3 • rated E • 17k+ i literally stopped in the middle of this fic, sat down on my kitchen floor, and had a good cry. i hate thinking about them ending up divorced in the first place, but even as exes, they’re so careful and gentle with one another and so, so clearly still in a forever kind of love. that makes it bearable to see them apart because even if it weren’t tagged for a happy ending, there’s such a feeling of inevitability to it, you know exactly how it’s going to end and just get to enjoy the devastating ride it takes to get there

Fifteen Hundred Miles by MoreHuman • rated M • 30k+ this is one of those fics where everything comes together just right and achieves a perfect balance of introspection and action, courage and fear, despair and hope, forthright honesty and cautious reservation... MoreHuman makes it all look easy, which says so much about all the care that had to have gone into the planning and writing. this fic does everything well, and it’s an absolute pleasure to read from start to end

840 Havenwood Road E by Distractivate • rated E • 10k+ we barely see david and patrick’s new house in the show, so it shouldn’t be possible for me to be as emotional about it as this fic makes me, every single time i read it. but it’s the home they chose, the place they decided to build a life together, and getting to see flashes of that life through the years and how much love they clearly had for each other within those four walls just makes me cry again and again

[vemuabhi]

Movie Date!

Hello @silenceofthecookies san! This is my first entry for the event. I hope you like it!

Pairing : Portgas D Ace X Reader

Prompts :

I knew you'd love it

Twist

"Wake up you sleepy head!", you frown as you wake up your freckled boyfriend because he fell asleep eating his breakfast.

"Ah!", he opened his eyes and woke up. "Did I again fall asleep?! Oh no. Sorry Y/N dear", Ace apologized to you and continued devouring the remaining food.

Your frown disappeared as you look at him. "You are so Lucky that you are Cute.", you said with a pout.

"Awww my baby, you look so adorable even when you are angry", the raven haired man said as he leaned in towards you and gave you a surprise kiss on your lips, which made you to turn 10X shades of red because it was sudden.

To hide your embarrassment you said, "So... so don't fall asleep when I talk. It feels like I bored you".

He gave you a weird look and spoke, "Who told you that you are boring? I'd love to teach them a lesson. Just say the name."

"Just eat your food. You said you... you wanted to take me out on a date today", you said with a slight blush on your cheeks. It has been a while since you and Ace went out on a date so you were very much excited about it. You wore your best outfit and even used the expensive cologne.

Ace smiled and said, "Of course lets go now". He got up from his chair and went to your shared bedroom. You followed him into the room and saw him wearing a lavender coloured shirt with a rose red scarf around his neck. He looked so handsome and you were mesmerised by his charm. He combed his wavy hair. He grinned as he looked into the mirror where he saw your reflection and said, "Don't eat me up okay".

'That damn tease', you blushed and walked towards him and hugged him from behind.

He smiled and continued to set his hair but no matter what he did, it stayed wavy.

"I love it though. You don't have to style your hair anymore. Lets go", you say as you burry your face into your boyfriend's back.

'Oh how much strong his muscles are', you thought before you let him go and take his hand in yours then kissed it.

Now it was the time when he he blushed at your sudden kiss. He smiled and placed the comb on the table and head out of the room with you.

Your hands were linked together as you both walked on the streets. You could see people staring at his handsome features. So you hugged his hand and walked. He just thought that you were being cuddly and adorable, poor baby never noticed the other people looking at him.

You both went to a park and strolled around there for a bit and took photos. Oh how much you loved to see all the people get jealous of you because you had the hottest boyfriend. But him being the airhead, never knew these thoughts of yours. After some time you both ate some food and headed towards your next destination.

At last you both reached the movie theatre. You went to buy the tickets and he got the popcorn. You two made your way to the seats and sat there.

"I love this concept! I can't wait to watch the complete movie!", you excitedly say to your man. He smiles at you and said, "I knew you'd love it".

You both were watching the movie intensely. Ace didn't fall asleep this time because the movie was actually interesting. Then the climax hit you both like a brick. It was horrible, completely deviating from the original concept of the movie.

You both come out of the movie theatre with confused, annoyed, irritated looks on your faces. He broke the silence first, "What was wrong with that?! It was an interesting movie but the twist and climax ruined it"

"I KNOW", you agree with him and you both ramble about how the ending could've been in good ways possible.

"I am sorry babe, i didn't knew the movie would be like that", Ace apologised as he sighed.

"No love, don't apologise, it wasn't your fault." You try to cheer him up but you knew be was feeling guilty.

Then you got the best idea. You practically dragged your partner to a dog cafe which was recently opened in the area. You both went inside and as you glanced at the raven, his eyes were lit up. He was so happy looking at the dogs. He was absolutely thrilled. You both played with the dogs for some time and left the place.

Now Ace was in a happy mood. He was now smiling and you loved that. It wasn't one hell of a date but... you still loved it. You loved how his eyes lit up when he saw the puppies, how he stayed up and watched the movie with you, how he was so innocent and never noticed other people staring at him. You loved him more. You both linked your arms together and smiled at each other.

He didn't fail to notice how you tried to cheer him up, so he leaned down to you and pecked your lips, making you turn into a blushing mess. He smiled widely and thanked you for cheering him up. You then cuddled his arm and continued to walk towards your apartment together.

The End

I hope you liked it! Writing for Ace was so much fun. He is precious and adorable! I love him more now!

[obae-me]

Beneath Still Waters- CH2

CH 1

Home Sweet Home

Word Count: 3418

Summary: With the help of two residents, Beel and Belphie take you to Simeon’s home, the place you’ll be staying for a while. You manage to get a quick glance around Old Midev before finally make it to the house. Eventually you end up falling asleep and have a strange dream. 

Tags: (Mostly) Human AU, second person view, gender neutral reader

Warning: Mentions of drowning and asphyxiation 

With every bump over the unpaved road, your heart pounded a little harder. You hugged your own torso as you sat in the backseat of the truck, watching trees whirl past. After a little while through the grove, the flora cleared up a touch, giving you a clear view of a large lake, sparkling a gorgeous blue in the sunlight. Mountains and tall trees surrounded the lake, the green a striking contrast against the surface of the water. It was such an alluring sight...you couldn’t help but stare. It called to you in that mystical way nature had the tendency to do. There was something about it...If you did anything while you were out here, you’d have to take a trip down there. 

“Devil’s Lake,” Belphie spoke up from the front seat, his head resting against the window. He’d pulled out a neck pillow from the glove box, one with a cow print pattern, and was resting against that to keep his head from smacking against the glass. You had sworn he had fallen asleep, seeing as his eyes had been closed the entire ride so far, and yet he hadn’t even needed to look at you to know what you were staring at. 

The name caused you to tilt your head. “Devil’s lake? Seems an awful foreboding name for something so peaceful,” you stated. The two brothers went silent, and not just a thoughtful pause, the kind of quiet that settled heavy over the air like a suffocating blanket, like you’d crossed a line you didn’t know was placed just before you. But then Belphie just shrugged, his words caught in his throat, barely managing to speak. 

“I’m not the one who named it.” You caught onto the hint, the lungs in your chest shallow. The subject of the lake was dropped, but now a persistent curiosity settled into your mind. 

The road slowly shifted from rocky to smooth payment as buildings cropped into view. The path was positioned up on a hill, so you could easily look down and over the town you were about to settle into. Slow traffic, old buildings, brick sidewalks, the sort of thing you’d typically expect from places like these. It had it’s charm for sure, it’s aura of history. No wonder Simeon seemed to miss it so, it...was quaint, the type of hometown that stored countless memories in every wall, ancient stories in every foundation. 

“Welcome to Old Midev, MC,” Beel grinned. He pointed out landmarks of his favorite places. The Lily House served the best food--according to him--whether you wanted breakfast, lunch, or dinner. “My favorite’s the pancakes,” he told you, very enthusiastic about his preferences. “If you go there, get the blueberry ones, put a little bit of honey between each layer, and then use their special maple syrup. Trust me.” A look flashed over his face like now that he had mentioned it, he wanted nothing more than to eat those pancakes now. Then he shook his head, snapping out of his daydream, continuing to pick out places of interest. “The building over there to your right.” 

You glanced around, squinting a little. “The one with the green roof?” 

“Yeah, that’s the library.” 

Belphie scoffed a little, muttering. “The librarian’s a weirdo…” 

Beel looked around warily, like he was worried someone would hear him. “I watched him yell at a kid in the grocery store the other day, just because he was making too much noise.” You quickly made a mental note to not tick off the librarian, whoever he was. “Ah, speaking of which, there’s Grace’s.” He gestured to a large store that did give off a more modern vibe than the buildings around it. “It’s newer than a lot of other places around here, but it’s got pretty much anything you need!” This seemed to be the heart of the town, where all the hustle and bustle should be, although it was a bit...lacking in both the hustling and subsequent bustling. You’d passed probably ten cars so far, and you had yet to spot anyone walking around. Beel drove past, the buildings getting further and further in between till he turned onto another dirt road, barely big enough for one car to fit between the overgrown bushes. He drove up a little hill till again the trees cleared up and the pathway widened, leading up to a white house with a wraparound porch and a brick chimney. The car slowed till it stopped. “This is it!” 

Beel quickly exited the truck right after he parked, stepping out and opening the door for you. You hopped out of the vehicle, taking a few steps towards the house, and then turned to look at the view. On the hill, looking past the tops of trees a bit below you, you had a perfect shot of the lake. The smell of moisture hit you from here, and the breeze was chill against your skin. It was...delightful. Every morning, Simeon had a view like this...and he gave it to you. Temporarily, you reminded yourself. This is short-term. 

“Do you think it looks the same?” Belphie asked his twin as Beel pulled your luggage from the bed of the truck, settling it against the floor and already taking a few steps towards the house. 

“Guess we’ll have to see,” was all he replied with. He turned his head over his shoulder, catching on that you hadn’t moved yet. “Coming?” 

You quickly turned to catch up with them, going ahead of them to take a few steps up to the porch. Dusty, obviously abandoned and left to the elements, the porch was worn, leaves and stray twigs coated most of the floor. You noticed something hanging by the screen door. A little wooden plaque with the engraving ‘He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.’ Without thinking too much of it, you figured that this was the object that housed his key. You took it off the nail it was hanging from, and sure enough the key was dangling from a little hook screwed into the back. How no one had broken into Simeon’s house yet, you didn’t know, it was almost as obvious as leaving a key hidden under the welcome mat. Grasping the handle, you pulled back the screen door first, listening to the hinges squeak harshly against your ears. Then you pushed the key into the doorknob, twisting it till it clicked, and you could open the heavy wooden door. 

Stepping into the house, you took in the immediate layout. There was a set of stairs immediately in front of you against the right wall, heading up to the second floor, the railing matching the same dark polished wood the floorboards were. The left wall had an open concept, allowing you access to the living room. The walls themselves were painted a muted teal color with grey undertones, just enough to give the rooms some vibrancy. Settled in the corner, right by the doorway was a little dresser. The top was decorated with pictures and a little glass bowl that held loose change. Plucking up one of the small picture frames, you cleaned off a thin layer of dust with your thumb, getting a better look at the image. Two men were in the picture, shoulder to shoulder. You recognized Simeon immediately, a beaming smile on his face as he wrapped one of his arms around the other person’s back. The other figure, despite his apparent best attempts to, found it a bit hard to smile naturally. The curl was there, but his brows were a bit furled, like this was a newer experience for him. He had shadowy black hair and piercing dark eyes. While Simeon had on a bright white sweater, this man had a long raven-hued trench coat. They were nearly polar opposites, and yet they looked happy to be in each other’s presence. You placed the photo down, a small bit of guilt coursing through your veins, feeling like you’d just seen something you shouldn’t have. 

The two brothers came in behind you, the screen door slamming shut with a startling noise. You jumped, and Belphie almost chuckled. “Oh yeah, it does do that, I’d almost forgotten.” You let the prickling of your skin die down before you sighed. 

Shifting in place a little, you allowed some of the nervousness you’d harbored on your journey to be released now that you were finally at your destination. Strangers...were iffy, but you felt as if these people could be trusted. They’d shown you so much kindness already. “Thank you for bringing me here, it was very kind of you,” you told them. 

“No problem!” Beel assured you, grasping the handle to your luggage. “I’ll go ahead and bring this up to the bedroom for you.” He didn’t hesitate to lift the suitcase upstairs, sprinting up the steps with high knees, not faltering once despite you packing that thing to the brim. 

The more...indifferent twin groaned a little bit, like helping you was such an effort...but one he was willing to make. “I have a feeling the kitchen is mostly empty.” He brushed past you, heading down the hall past the living room. You followed him, swiveling your head to try to take in the details of this place. He opened a door at the end of the path, leaving it open for you to come in after. The kitchen was cute, a small island in the middle, the sink under the window to your front. The fridge was tucked between the counter and the wall, and the oven was to your right. There was another door close to the sink. Belphie threw the fridge doors wide to find it empty. He then padded over with a monotone hum to the other door, swinging it open to reveal a little pantry. It had a few boxes in there as well as some rice, flour, oil, and some pasta. Belphie blinked for a second. “I was right...you’ll have to go shopping. I think Simeon had an old bike in the garage, but...if you’d like we can take you to the store later.” 

It felt almost strange having him offer something nice to you, especially with how half-hearted he seemed to treat everything, but you internally scolded yourself. You didn’t even really know him. Shaking your head, you rubbed your forefinger against the thumb covered with dust, brushing the remnants off of your skin. “You two have already done enough, thank you though.” 

Beel thudded back down the steps, taking a second to figure out where you guys had moved to. “Everything still looks the same,” he announced, some awe in his voice. You wondered how often they had been in here before, what their connection to Simeon was. He turned his head towards you. “Is there anything else we can do?” 

“I’m g-” 

“We need to take them shopping later,” Belphie answered for you, gesturing towards the completely empty fridge. Beel looked more distressed than he should’ve been. 

“I actually said I’m fine,” you told Beel. 

Belphie rolled his eyes once more as you bit the inside of your cheek to keep your thoughts to yourself. “I can already tell you’re one of those types that won’t accept help until it’s already too late.” He shrugged, shutting the fridge abruptly as something within you tightened. “I can’t stand people who are too prideful for their own good.” 

“Belphie…” Beel warned. 

“Simeon told us to keep an eye on you, so the least we can do is make sure you don’t starve.” It was rather abrasive...but it was laced with kind intentions. At least, that’s what you hoped. He briskly left the kitchen, hands shoved in his jean pockets. “Later.” Then he stepped out of the house, the screen door slamming against the doorframe harshly again. Once more you jumped, and then you pressed a hand to your forehead. Was it the noise or Belphie that was giving you a headache? 

“That’s the most thoughtful he’s been towards someone in a long time,” Beel pronounced proudly, but with a tinge of some buried sorrow. That’s him being thoughtful? You questioned in your mind. He quickly changed the subject. “Hold on, follow me for a second.” He held the front door open, waving you out onto the front porch. You did as he asked, pointing in the opposite direction from where you drove up, just a little ways further down the road past some stray trees where a smaller home was settled, broken cut logs settled in piles against the outer walls. “That’s where we live. If you need anything, we’re right over there.” 

“Ah, that’s good to know.” In a friendly gesture, you outstretched your hand. “Thank you again.” 

He took it happily, and in the handshake you were able to feel just how strong his grip was, the tips of his fingers and the skin of his palms covered in rough calluses. “No problem! Oh! If you’re hungry tonight, I know this delicious Chinese place that delivers or we have a--” He cut himself off for a moment. “Oh...do you have...er uh…” 

“Money?” Beel’s face turned a bit red, knowing it was pretty rude to ask something like that to someone he just met. “Simeon was kind enough to give me a little money up front.” When that fact left your lips, you realized how it sounded. Not only were you staying in this house that wasn’t yours, you’d even been paid for it. You could scrub this place from top to bottom, repaint every surface and you still felt like it wouldn’t be enough. “Oh! Let me pay you for the ride, I--” 

“No, no, please,” Beel denied. “It wasn’t a problem. When Simeon asks for a favor, we see it through. Don’t pay us.” 

You nearly felt like crying. Typically you’d only seen this type of generosity in articles or stories. Who knew it would happen to you? Pressing a hand against your forehead, you took a deep calming breath. “I owe...I owe Simeon a lot. I promise I won’t be here too long.” 

“We all owe Simeon…” Beel reminisced on something before lifting his spirits again. “Don’t worry about it too much,” he assured you. “And I--” The horn sounded from the trunk, Belphie hitting the wheel two times. Forgetting or simply deciding to move on from what he was about to say, Beel gave a little farewell wave. “Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it, okay? Any friend of Simeon is a friend of ours.” He jumped off the porch and onto the ground, completely bypassing the three steps. “We’ll come over later to do some shopping!” 

Words escaped you as he waved once more and climbed back into his vehicle. Instead of heading towards their home, Beel turned around and headed back down the hill. Then they were gone. Exhaustion overcame you quickly. Anxiety, traveling, relying on strangers, it had left you all drained. You closed the front door and locked it, turning the deadbolt. Beel had said the bedroom was upstairs, so you took slow steps, gliding your hand across the railing, more dust sticking to your palms. You pulled a sour face. Guess if I get bored, there’s always cleaning to do. There was a small hallway that ran horizontal to the house. One doorway stood at each end, and a third one settled closer to the middle, just slightly off center from the stairway. Approaching the room closest to you opened you up to the bathroom. You ‘oo’ed a little, making you feel a bit silly, but you couldn’t help it. It was a little vintage bathroom. The walls were pretty sky blue, faded paintings of white lilies spotted here and there. The mirror above the sink was held in a white frame, a large golden filigree design attached to the top. The sink itself was a small little ivory counter with light blue painted cupboards. In the far left corner was a shower surrounded by a glass door and walls. Then, to your right, there was a large vintage bathtub, the basin deep enough to nearly engulf you whole. It was the kind that stood alone on golden legs. A little rectangular window was positioned high on the wall to let in some natural light. A fancy bathroom if you ever saw one. Although, to be fair Simeon never did seem like the simple minimalist type. 

You left the bathroom, trying another door. This was the bedroom apparently. It was a nice size. The bed was queen sized, pushed against the wall in front of you, settled in between two nightstands with matching lamps on either ends. The headboard was simple, just more lustrous wood, arching up a little in the middle to give it a bit more design. The same went for the footboard. The top blanket was a quilt--homemade if you had to guess--fabrics of gold, blue, white, and grey patched together to form a star in the middle. The sheets and pillowcases were a soft light grey cotton. A wide dresser drawer lined the wall beside you, the top of it littered with stacked books, old pieces of mail, random knick-knacks and the like. Two heavy indigo drawback curtains kept the light from the window to your left from streaming in. You pulled some of the fabric back to look out. It would take you a while to adjust to seeing so much...wilderness. Would you be here long enough to get used to it? The tiredness seeped back into your bones. You headed over to the suitcase Beel had had the courtesy to place atop the mattress. With a little grunt you tugged at it and had it settled back on the floor. Before you noticed the action, you’d taken your shoes off already, shrugging off your jacket you’d had on before ruffling your hair. 

Flopping onto the bed, you let out a long exhale. You grabbed one of the pillows, fluffing it a bit before settling your head on it. Unfamiliar scents flooded your nostrils, once again reminding you that you were very far from home...not that you truly had one at this point anyway...Stopping the waterworks was impossible at this point. You turned your head into the foreign pillow and sobbed, a mix of woe and gratitude spurring your tears to flow further. 

It was the last bit of energy you had left. Without meaning to, your eyes grew heavy and your body and mind shut down to recharge as you fell into a deep rest. 

That was when you had the dream. 

Swirling, flailing, you were suspended in dark liquid, no way of knowing which way was up or down. Currents pushed you along, like you were simply a leaf in the raging winds. Nothing but bubbles from your own escaping oxygen was present in your vision. Everything about you was burning, your lungs, your panic, your body. The swirling suddenly stopped, the waters calm. You were still drowning however, your hands grasping at your throat. The shadows beneath you shifted. A long, wriggling shape underneath you moved, unwinding, taking the shape of something alive and monstrous. It was huge. Swimming up, the thing curled around your body, its scales shimmering back and forth between black and blue. Soon, the head of the sea serpent looked at you, skull as large as a semi, eyes glowing a brilliant tangerine. You couldn’t help but try to scream. Water flushed into your lungs as the last bit of oxygen escaped out of you. The creature bared its teeth, a demonic growl reverberating through the water. All you felt was fear, but even that started to fade away as your body started sinking, your vision slowly going black. The jaws to the serpent shut, turning it’s massive head to get a better look at you. The end of its face moved forward, touching your body, nudging you just before you lost consciousness. The universe seemed to spin, tugging you in all directions till suddenly you were standing on a shore, waves from the moving lake brushing up against your ankles. You watched, mesmerized as the body of something receded down into the depths. A hushed, pleading voice echoed in your head. 

“Come to the water. Help me.”

[artsychowroamer]

Pick of the Month: Fortify Kitchen & Bar

Author: ArtsyChowRoamer

Pick of the Month

FORTIFY KITCHEN & BAR IN CLAYTON, GEORGIA

One of the main reasons we decided on a road trip to Clayton, Georgia recently was all the noise we had been hearing about the Fortify boys. The friends from days at Lake Rabun together that led them to open their own place down the road a piece. This post will give you all the info on why they are my pick of the month.

Owners Jack Nolan and Chef Jamie Allred have put together a stellar farm to table concept which these days seems to be the mantra of every restaurant. But they really mean it; putting together a video on their website and naming over 20 different local farms they are sourcing from to prove it.

This kind of resources allows Chef Jamie to change up his offerings seasonally. Having just released the fall menu you might think the usual suspects would be on there but there are more than a few surprises and his own take on some oldies but goodies.

RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED

It was suggested to us before that reservations were a good idea even before Covid restrictions limited seating to get the social distancing right. Even though we were visiting mid week 6:30 was the earliest available the week before.

I sent a message that we would like to get in earlier if they had a cancellation at opening time of 5. Don’t roll your eyes at that. We just have found that getting in at opening time insures the least number of people, the speediest service for shorter stays and the best sanitized situation for the evening.

Happy was I to receive a call that day around 2 that they would be able to take us at the earlier time as requested. We left our hotel up the street and walked the few blocks where crowds were already gathering at the door; some with reservations and some without hoping the earlier time would net them a sneak in.

CASUAL COZY ATMOSPHERE

The host and hostess were wearing masks along with our server I was glad to see. The bartender was also masked up and busy with social distanced diners being seated at the bar. This reassured me feeling like they were putting safety front and center for their customers.

The restaurant had a nice casual atmosphere with a coziness from metal details, old brick and traditional light fixtures with a modern twist. I noticed a sign with an arrow that said Local Art and realized that everything on view was most likely for sale by artists living in the community.

I took the opportunity to snap a few photos for this post to give you an idea of what to expect and some of the art the restaurant sports on it’s walls. The waiter dropped by to give us our menus and tell us about the specials for the day while we decided what kind of wine to order.

They have a very nice selection so I tried the William Hill Estate cabernet while my husband decided on a German white Riesling. Both selections were excellent and were terrific with the different breads offered in our bucket along with flavored butters.

FIRST COURSE

Since fall was in the air I decided that a good soup was going to be my first course and went with the Butternut Squash with pumpkin seed pesto, fried sage and a maple drizzle. My husband went for the Short Rib soup on the specials list.

Soups, salads and snacks ranged in price from $6-13. Choices included usual suspects like a Spinach or Caesar salad and fried green tomatoes but Chef’s take and local sourcing added ingredients like pickled red onion, candied bacon, roasted sweet potatoes, poached apples, goat cheese and house made dressings.

Not the usual suspects would be coca cola braised pork cheeks, fried gouda fritters or clams done in a Mexican style. Let me just say those fritters are addictive. One arrived in the middle of my husbands short rib soup and it was heaven in of itself.

The meat was fork tender and tasty like eating barbecue with this crispy melty thingy going on! Hard to describe but most definitely delicious. My soup was luscious, thick and rich with cream. The pesto and sage provided background flavors and texture with added sweetness from the maple drizzle; a perfect cold night Southern dish that will please throughout the fall season.

HARD TO CHOOSE AN ENTREE

We looked over the menu again to pick an entree and it wasn’t easy. He went with the duck breast in a roasted red pepper sauce and I wanted to try seafood and waffled back and forth between the trout and fried shrimp platter ending up with the shrimp. Pricing ranged from $18-35.

Both dishes arrived in a timely fashion as I snapped my pics with nicely composed plates. The only criticism I would offer in this area would be wiped plate rims to meet a more perfect expectation of this level of dining.

I tried the duck first. We were asked if we wanted it medium rare or more. We ordered it medium rare which is the way I think duck breast should be cooked giving you a crispy skin hopefully with a texture on the meat similar to a medium rare steak.

A word about duck expectations. My husband is from Eastern Europe where the duck is most often offered with the bone thereby allowing them to render that duck into fall of the bone capacity. My husband is always expecting that even when it isn’t possible!

I reminded him you can’t do that with no bones-it will only dry it out and make it tough. I loved the dish both texturally and taste wise with a polenta cake and crispy relish of shallots, mushrooms and grapes. Having said that if there were anything to wonder about it was the red pepper sauce.

Lovely in conception but not quite sweet enough for duck I think but I could be wrong. My husband loved the sauce. My dish felt like a homegoing homage to the South with the fried shrimp set off with collard greens, coleslaw and hushpuppies.

Chef’s version of cocktail sauce was a miss for me without the horseradish zing you want. I asked for the Remoulade which was much better and seemed to work well with the other flavors overall. Something called comeback sauce was offered as well.

I’m thinking my next trip will include the trout with lemon scented rice pilaf, pecan roasted brown butter and fresh dill. You probably would be happy with the beef, chicken or pork dishes on offer as well. Sides like fried rice, Napa slaw, beer battered onion rings and buttermilk mashed potatoes all speak to seasonal freshness with a wink to Southern preparation.

DESSERT AND SPECIALTY COCKTAILS

While we were too full to try dessert the choices were tempting and several included chocolate. The photo below will give you a good idea what to expect if you have a sweet tooth.

Besides having nice wine selections Fortify is pretty proud of their signature specialty drinks. There are 8 on the menu for $10 that range from a sour, to an old fashioned along with a Pink Panther and a Smoking Jacket. There is a pleaser for any taste here. The video below will give you a better idea.

A WORD ABOUT PI

Fortify became such an instant hit that they decided to branch out and add the location next door known as Fortify Pi and it’s all about the pizza. You can have one of their designs with the latest and freshest ingredients or you can make your own with different price levels of choices.

They are making some good pie in that restaurant. Sitting at the bar, outside or at a socially distanced table this more casual atmosphere makes for a lively entertaining lunch or dinner choice especially if you can’t get in to the other location. They were crowded as we were leaving from dinner.

CONCLUSION

All in all we enjoyed our road trip to this little gem of an artsy community. You don’t normally find this level of dining and commitment to ingredients in the North Georgia mountains. I can highly recommend you visit the area and don’t miss either of their locations. You won’t be disappointed.

If you enjoyed what you read you might also like other posts under Edible Fare and on Clayton, GA too. Hey, don’t be a stranger! If you visit, let me know what you ate and what you thought. Look for more upcoming posts on this area soon. Until next time…

Cheers!

ArtsyChowRoamer

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[purplesurveys]

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Do you have a taste in your mouth right now? What of? Just the faint taste of coffee since I have a cup at the moment but haven’t drunk from it in the last few minutes. Which is your least favourite day of the week? I’ve lost the concept of the days of the week for a few months now, man. Back when we used to do things, though, I hated Sundays as I felt loneliest on that day. It was always an automatic thing too so I had little control over it. If told to clean the house, would you be more inclined to clean one room really well or clean all of the rooms with hardly any effort? Clean all rooms with maximum effort. I’d be really bugged if I didn’t strive to be perfect with the whole place lol. Do you put glue on the object you're sticking down or on the paper? Object, so that the amount of glue I’m putting would be accurate. What was your last dream about? I don’t remember the details anymore but at the very least, I know it was very vivid since I remembered it throughout the morning. I’ve been having very detailed dreams lately – it’s the depression for sure. 

What is your favourite part of the last movie you watched? Haven’t seen a movie in a while but the last thing I watched in full was The Crown; Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret really shone through in the last episode I saw. Have you stuck any stickers to the computer you're using? I put all my stickers onto my laptop case but not the laptop itself. I haven’t had the case on for a while now though, since I’m always just at home now. Do you ever write or talk to yourself in your head when you're bored? Yes or when I’m feeling upset, as long as I’m alone. I’ve found that talking to myself is a healthy way to address and deal with my emotions. What interests you the most about other people? What I find interesting always varies. I have friends who I find interesting for their music tastes; some others for their knowledge of random trivia; some for their jobs, etc. It’s always different. Do you ever take random pictures out of boredom? What of? Not really. If I take photos it’s because I want to remember a moment or because I find something cute or funny. Basically anything that elicits a strong emotion out of me, I’m bound to take a picture of. Do you prefer listening to things through headphones or speakers? Headphones. How many siblings do you have? Do you get on with them? I have two siblings. I only get along with my sister; I have not talked to my brother since last year and have no desire to again. Would you rather live in a log cabin or a brick house? Mmm I’d take the brick house. Log cabin would be nice for a quick getaway, but I wouldn’t want it to be my permanent home. There’s a psychological factor in there and I just think that staying in a log cabin would make me feel suffocated eventually, haha. Do you have a calendar up for this year? I have a ‘Job Applications’ calendar that I’m currently monitoring, and it tracks the applications I’ve sent out to different companies and how long I’ve been waiting for a response from each of them. Really needing some positive vibes and energy since I actually just got my first rejection notice today. Other than that this year has been pretty fucking boring and there’s been little need to keep an active calendar. What was the very first CD you bought? The first CD I remember asking my parents to buy for me was like the High School Musical official soundtrack. I was big on Disney as a kid and wasn’t a big fan of any solo acts or bands up until I was around 10. Do you keep things like old train tickets, etc? Yessssssss. Do you like your smile? Why (not)? I like it; I find my smile friendly and warm. I just hate smiling with my teeth at the present since one of my front teeth protrudes. Can’t wait to get braces again. Would you rather be able to sing or dance? Why? Dance. Dancers are super hot, lmao. What was your favourite colour when you were a kid? Do you still like it? It was purple/violet and it was mostly influenced by my great-grandma who lovedddd the color and had it everywhere in her home. When she passed away, my love for the color slowly faded away and I don’t think too much of it now. Have you ever said 'lol' in real life? Haha yeah sometimes. I pronounce it as ‘lohl’ and never ‘el oh el’ though. Do you like your friend's parents? I like most of their parents, though I’m aware that some have abusive tendencies. Most of the parents are super nice, though. JM’s mom cooked a big lunch for us once and his dad buys like four party-sized boxes of pizza every time we come over, Angela’s parents treat me like their own kid, Gab’s mom constantly tells me she loves me...it’s in the little things. How many times have you moved? I can remember just the two times, but I know that we moved several times more when I was an infant. Have you ever refused to try a certain food? Which? Most stuff with fruits, hah. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, like when a sushi roll has mango or if I’m having banoffee pie, but I almost always refuse a meal with some kind of fruit in it. What's your favourite type of soup? Not really big on soup. I just like miso. Very occasionally I’ll have mushroom soup too. What is your favourite candle scent? I don’t buy candles nor do I know people who regularly get them, so I’m not very familiar with the different scents. Does the sight of blood make you feel ill? In real life, it would. I always have to look away whenever Gabie gets a nosebleed ha. But I have no problem watching bloody wrestling matches and I actually enjoy the bloodier ones. Super weird quirk of mine. What do you call it when you're sick anyways? (Sick, ill, not well, etc) If I’m referring to a fever I call it sick/ill/not feeling well. If I feel like throwing up I say I’m getting dizzy/need to vomit. I’ve never referred to puking as ‘getting sick,’ and it took me a very long time to realize that it was a common American saying, haha. Did you ever really believe in the tooth fairy? I did, and I felt super betrayed when I put my tooth under my pillow only to see it again the next morning. If you had to appear in a movie, which genre would you choose? Coming of age. What do you do with unwanted gifts? I keep them, since I still appreciate the effort of the gift-giver. Are there any clothes you haven't worn in ages, that you've suddenly started wearing again? HAHA yes. There will be rare instances where I get to go out and I always take the time to look stylish as all fuck, even though I’m only running an errand and wearing flashier pieces would be so unnecessary. I just miss dressing up and looking cute, man. Do any keys on your keyboard stick? Like, if they’re sticky? No. Would you rather own a laptop or a computer? Laptop. Love it when things are portable. Do you think you'll look at old photos of yourself and be embarrassed? My teenage years are definitely bad especially with regard to my fashion choices lol, but so are everyone else’s so I’m not super embarrassed. I cringe at the photos but I wouldn’t mind if my friends poked fun at them because chances are I’d join in too. What was the worst hairstyle you ever had? I always hated it whenever my mom took me to the salon to have my hair rebonded. That kind of look has never worked with my face shape and so I usually did everything for my hair to start curling up quicker and go back to its original form. Do you like t-shirts with sayings on them? Why (not)? Not really. It’s just not a personal preference. I like plain or slightly printed pieces. Do you click on the adverts at the side of the screen? No. Have you ever coughed and sneezed at the same time? I’m sure it’s happened before. Are you embarrassed to show people your ID photo? Nah. Whatever dude. Have / would you ever become a cheerleader? I haven’t, but I would have loved to. We don’t have a cheerleading club or varsity in my old school though so I was never able to hone my skills, if ever. What's the longest you've gone without eating? Maybe a little more than 24 hours. What is one of your biggest irrational fears? Commercials airing at night. I find jingles and graphic effects unsettling by a certain hour lol. What comes up when you press Ctrl + V? “I reeeeally miss seeing you and your purple things and seeing you give glares to people who deserve it. what a lodi <333” omg aw. It’s Jane’s birthday today and I copied that bit of my greeting to move it to another paragraph so that my message would flow better. Out of the bands you listen to, were most of them around before or after you were born? After. When did you last jump out of fright? I don’t remember. Are you currently waiting on something? What? For a company to take me in. Does time pass slowly or quickly when you're on the internet? Usually it’s quickly, but now that I feel more and more useless around the house, time’s been more slow and for the first time the distractions of the internet haven’t been working. What about when you're at school / work? Depended on the amount of stuff I had to do and whether I’m enthusiastic about them or not. Does the thought of being pregnant gross you out? The thought of giving birth does, but not pregnancy. What was the last thing you made with your hands? I mean I made myself a cup of coffee tonight, but the coffee mix itself was already pre-packaged. I just mixed it with hot water. Are you good at making shadow puppets? I’d say no. Are you more hungry or thirsty right now? Neither. I’ve been so anxious and depressed these days I’m actually skipping every single meal except dinner, and even then I eat very little. I don’t even do it on purpose; my anxiety has simply stopped me from feeling hungry. No idea what the weighing scale’s gonna tell me the next time I check, sigh. Someone hire me plz. God it really sucks being a fresh grad in this current state of the world. Are you prone to headaches? No. They only come out during hectic schedules and stressful weeks. Do you forget things easily? The little and everyday things, like forgetting my school ID at home or where I placed my keys. But I don’t forget things that are more bigger-picture, like birthdays or faces or memories. Do you enjoy going out to dinner? I enjoy it and I terribly miss being able to do it. Would you ever go on a cruise ship holiday? I would and I have. Lots of fun. Would do again and again. What's your favourite sea animal? Dolphins and whales. Do you get coughs or colds more? Coughs.

[yasbxxgie]

Birding Is Booming. So Where Are the Black Birders? Raising the profile of Black birders could help foster a healthy connection between Black communities and the natural world.

Tiffany Adams grew up in the Chelsea-Elliott Houses, a sprawling, low-income housing project on the west side of Manhattan. There, cookie-cutter brick buildings are separated by modest courtyards with benches and tables. Trees and grassy yards enclosed by black, wrought-iron fences dot the fringes of the project. The scant open spaces could seem confining, except to young girls with dreams of growing up to become zoologists or to tired, hungry birds navigating the Atlantic Flyway.

During her youth, Adams escaped to the natural world by watching National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. Five years ago—on a lark, so to speak—she attended a bird walk in Central Park. Looking up in the sky, she saw a world that she could not unsee, even upon returning to her housing complex. There, right outside her door, she saw an unexpected number of avian species—northern parulas, black-throated blue warblers, black-throated green warblers. She hasn’t stopped looking.

“Not too many people saw the value of birding in the projects,” Adams says. “But when they’re migrating, birds don’t say, ‘Oh no, those are the projects, I’m going to go to Central Park. I got to eat, I got to rest, and I got to find a mate. So whatever habitat is suitable to doing those things, I got to find it.’ Ecosystems don’t stop according to neighborhoods.”

A lot of people don’t get Tiffany Adams mostly because she’s Black, and, well, everyone knows Black folks don’t watch birds. Though the outdoor activity is booming in this country, birding is as White—93 percent, according to the most recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey—as the feathers of a whooping crane. The field markings of the typical American birder would be: White, female, 53 years old.

African Americans make up 13.4 percent of the U.S. population, but according to Fish and Wildlife, only 8 percent of all African Americans admit to intentionally viewing feathered creatures, making the Black birder as rare a bird as exists.

One of the uncommon species, Adams now is a self-trained ornithologist who last year completed a master’s degree in urban environmental education at Antioch University in Seattle. She also has the special ability to create various species of birds out of pipe cleaners. Even so, many people refuse to take her ornithological pursuits seriously. Her bona fides still are questioned when she posts about birds on social media.

Or friends misunderstand her passion: One messaged her with a question about a sick cat.

“My friends think either I’m a veterinarian or I’m doing this as a hobby, or that I’m a hippie—and I’ve actually been told that,” Adams says. “For a while, I really felt insecure. Ultimately, I could not stop watching birds. I’ve learned to embrace my nerdiness.”

John Robinson, a Southern Californian who has birded and advocated for Black birding for decades, has a theory about that. He calls it the “Don’t Loop.” It’s simple: African Americans don’t bird because people don’t engage in activities in which they don’t see people like themselves. For Black people and bird-watching, it’s a self-perpetuating scarcity. Bird-watching is not ingrained in the culture the way it is for a lot of White families and doesn’t get a generational handoff.

Robinson surmises that he joined this rare flock because he was comfortable growing up as the only Black kid in a Jewish neighborhood. So it wasn’t a big leap for him when White friends took him out hiking and birding in college. Still, he hid his passion from Black friends who wouldn’t understand and White people who might be suspicious.

It was 1979 when Robinson, then in his 20s, picked up his first pair of binoculars. “I knew I was different,” says Robinson, whose book Birding for Everyone: Encouraging People of Color to Become Birdwatchers was published in 2008. “I felt like I didn’t fit in. I felt like I needed permission.” In public, he hid his binoculars inside his coat.

Few recognize this double dose of isolation better than Dudley Edmondson. He wrote and photographed a book, Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places, published in 2006, about 20 African Americans with deep connections to the natural world. One of the stories is his own.

Nature, for Edmondson, provided refuge from what he calls “the trauma from my dad’s alcohol-fueled rages.” He also had a strong sense of being, as he put it, “an odd duck” while growing up in a Black, mostly blue-collar neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The kids teased Edmondson, calling him Euell Gibbons, after the celebrated outdoorsman best known for a 1974 national television commercial for Grape Nuts cereal, which he opened by asking, “Ever eat a pine tree?”

Edmondson hadn’t, and he wasn’t a 63-year-old White guy, either. His tormenters simply worked with the material that was available—and that was Whiteness. Edmondson now lives in Duluth, Minnesota, where he frequently comes across strangers who know him because he’s the area’s “Black guy who recreates.” It gives him the sensation of constantly being watched or monitored.

Not long ago, Edmondson was working on a book about Minnesota wildflowers. He was taking images of some invasive species in his own neighborhood, when a White woman challenged his motives.

“You don’t look like any nature photographer I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Edmondson replied, “I’m your neighbor.”

“I’m calling the police,” she said.

It was the first time ­Edmondson recognized the phenomenon “birding while Black,” the close cousin to driving, barbecuing, or sitting in Starbucks while Black.

Edmondson’s friend J. Drew Lanham has had a lifelong obsession with birds and describes himself as a “band geek” who played the bassoon. “I’ve always taken pride in being different,” he says. In exchange, he earned the mantle of the Black birder. His hilarious riff on the stigmatized experience of the African American bird-watcher, “9 Rules of the Black Birdwatcher,” first appeared in Orion magazine and later went viral as a video produced by BirdNote, a public radio series about birds.

A professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University, Lanham, like Robinson, did not meet another Black birder until he was well into his 40s. He grew up on farmland in South Carolina, frequently encountering birds while passing between his parents’ and his grandmother’s houses. He liked to lie on the ground and gaze up at circling hawks. His grandmother told him they’d peck his eyes out, so when they came within 50 or so yards, he jumped up. “I liked my eyes,” he says. He grew up wanting to fly, tried often, and just as often hurt himself during the attempts.

J. Drew Lanham, left, a professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University, watches a bald eagle with others at Seattle’s Seward Park. Lanham says he did not meet another Black birder until he was well into his 40s. Photo by Glenn Nelson.

“Birds made me feel good,” says ­Lanham, who in 2016 authored the book The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature. “They were going places that I couldn’t go. They were going places I wanted to go. I lived vicariously through them.”

These days, when he’s not flushing bobwhite quail, Lanham likes to talk about range maps for humans, linking the concept of showing geographic distribution of birds to the realities of race in the U.S.—where people of color like him can and cannot be. Not long ago, he added Seattle to his personal range map. That’s where he met Joey Manson in Seward Park, at an event for BirdNote, on whose board Lanham sits. While driving in, Lanham noticed Manson waiting to greet him, but it didn’t register that Manson, a Black man, was the director at the park’s Audubon Center. It was an emotional meeting for both. “This is a place that is willing to be different,” Lanham says.

Seward Park is in one of the most racially diverse areas of Seattle. Manson is the only African American director of any of the 41 Audubon Centers nationally. He grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, one of the most affluent African American neighborhoods in the country.

Manson studied glass design at the University of Maryland and ended up in the Puget Sound region, where he got a job running the Audubon store at Seward Park. During his job interview, he stressed that he knew little about birds. Four years later, he’d absorbed enough to be hired as the center’s director, positioning him to break Robinson’s “Don’t Loop” by introducing birds and nature, meaningfully and intentionally, in a highly diverse area of one of the country’s most White—and affluent—major cities.

“[Birds] were going places that I couldn’t go. They were going places I wanted to go.” Manson had two epiphanies along the way. On a ride into work one day, he was wowed by a bald eagle snatching a fish out of Lake Washington. Later, he introduced a kid from his apartment building to the outdoors. Nati, who is from Eritrea, told Manson, “Birds are boring.” That attitude changed when, during an Audubon summer camp to which Manson transported him, Nati saw a pileated woodpecker for the first time. The Woody lookalike supplied an avian turning point for Nati, just as the eagle had for Manson.

Last summer, Manson led a bird walk through Seward Park for the ­Seattle chapter of Outdoor Afro, a national organization seeking to connect African Americans to nature. As part of the prewalk orientation, Manson screened the Lanham video, “Rules of the Black Birdwatcher.” Later, when Manson waxed poetic about hummingbirds and the J-diving mating maneuver of the males, Obra Smith, a teacher originally from Memphis, Tennessee, beamed at every word. Her enthusiasm never waned. “That was amazing,” she said while debriefing with other group members after the outing.

Earlier in the day, during the first bird-related outing in her 49 years of life, Smith had peered into a spotting scope, noted the iridescent throat of an Anna’s hummingbird, and pronounced it a male. She didn’t make such a declaration with utter conviction, but with a hint of doubting intonation. She would delight in being told that she was right as rain—well, it was Seattle, after all.

Two weeks later, Smith returned to Seward Park with Tsion Kahssai of Ethiopia, whom she met at the Outdoor Afro walk. Their second time out, the two Black women sampled the forest’s winged delights on their own.

Photographs:

Tiffany Adams prefers urban birding, often at Seattle’s Hing Hay Park near her home. She is a self-trained ornithologist with a master’s in urban environmental education. She’s also an artist who creates various species of birds out of pipe cleaners.

J. Drew Lanham, left, a professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University, watches a bald eagle with others at Seattle’s Seward Park

Joey Manson, the director of the Seward Park Audubon Center in Seattle, is the only Black director in the country of an Audubon Center

[artdjgblog]

Innerview: David Hudnall / The Pitch

August 2011​

Photo:​ NA / Posters: DJG Design

Note: Featured news article.

Danny Gibson’s Quiet Contributions

Forty hours of Danny Gibson’s week are occupied by a data-entry job, but when he’s not at work, he’s often putting together an art project of some kind in the basement of his house, which sits south of 39th Street in the shadow of the old Loretto Academy building. Gibson is a collector of things — gloves, old toys, obsolete technology, office paper, corn husks, helicopter leaves — and he stores his prized finds in this colorful subterranean lair. That he is an artist who uses much of what he collects in his work cushions him from the label of the collector’s less endearing alter ego: the hoarder. But a case could be made. Gibson is best known for DJG Design, the name under which he has been designing poster art for local and national bands for the past decade. Starting September 2, he’s displaying somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 original pieces of work in an exhibition, Quietly Contributing, at 1819 Central Gallery. None of them are for sale. After the show concludes at the end of the month, he’ll haul them all back to his cave. “I’ve only sold a few originals,” Gibson says, sorting through a dusty stack of notes, sketches and old prints. “A lot of this stuff I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of. They mean too much to me.” Nosing around Gibson’s basement is like flipping through an old yearbook of the Kansas City and Lawrence music scenes. Anvil Chorus, In the Pines, the Stella Link, Namelessnumberheadman, Doris Henson, the Afterparty, and about a hundred other local bands’ names — many defunct and mostly forgotten — are inventively fashioned onto show posters. In this way, the 1819 Central show isn’t just a celebration of Gibson’s work. It also serves as a kind of retrospective of the past 10 years in our local music scene. “There’s a sort of timeline or history involved with these posters,” he says. “Lots of stories, lots of other people’s bands. Promoters, venues. Posters have such a short life span, and then they’re kind of forgotten. So it’ll be neat to line it all up.” This winter, Gibson made the decision to retire DJG Design in order to focus more fully on visual art, which also makes the show a bit of a memorial. “I had been wrestling with the design thing for several years. I’ve always been more into visual art than design,” Gibson says. “And I’ve been kind of moving out of the music scene in some ways. A lot of my friends in bands have grown up and moved away. I don’t get out as much as I used to. I woke up one morning in February and was like, ‘I’m done.’ It felt good.” Gibson grew up on a farm in north-central Missouri — barnyard imagery is a recurring theme in his work — then studied art and design at Missouri State University in Springfield. After four years, he dropped out and relocated to Kansas City, where he moved into a house (“a rathole by where Costco is now”) with some Elevator Division band members, whom he knew from Springfield. The house became a sort of revolving door for local musicians, and Gibson converted the basement, used by a previous tenant as a photography studio, into his own art studio. He started making posters for Elevator Division shows, which led to work with other bands. “A lot of people knew Elevator Division, so people would see my stuff and come to me and be like, ‘Hey, will you make us a poster?’ ” he says. “I got paid a lot of times in cheeseburgers. There’s no real money in making poster art for your friends’ bands. But it was exactly what I wanted to do. Make art, mix it with music. I had a really great time with it.” Working for design and advertising firms was never appealing to Gibson, partially because of his aversion to computers. (He has a very old-looking desktop in his basement that contains a version of Photoshop’s 1999 5.5 version, which he uses sparingly.) For many of his DJG years, Gibson was employed as a janitor at the Kansas City Board of Trade, an occupation that allowed both his collector’s instincts and his artist’s instincts to run wild. He once intercepted 15,000 sheets of office paper headed for the Dumpster and took them home. Plant clippings he discovered in a trash can were repurposed as the font for a Billions poster. “I’m big on process, and being a janitor allowed me to work out a lot of my daily thoughts and ideas,” Gibson says. “I’d end up writing and sketching things on paper towels. Sometimes I’d put the paper towels, or whatever I was writing on, into the final posters. I love midcentury Polish poster art and folk art. The hands-on, cut-and-paste approach. I like including my notes or even my e-mails on posters. It gives it a more human element that I think is missing in a lot of computer design stuff these days.” Gibson’s imaginative worldview makes it easy for him to artfully convert cat hair into lettering, but self-promotion comes less naturally. I spoke to a number of people who consider Gibson one of the most talented artists in the city. But Gibson largely lacks ties to the local art establishment. “I like to sort of exist in my own little world, I guess,” he says. “In some ways I don’t think I really understand the adult world. I can survive in it. But I prefer to be down here in the basement, working on my stuff.” Lately, though, some friends who believe strongly in Gibson’s work have emerged to assist him in getting his name and work further out into the public sphere. Some of them, not surprisingly, are musicians. Coinciding with Quietly Contributing is DJG Was Here, a 35-song compilation album (downloadable for free at noisetrade.com/djgwashere) featuring music from many of the musicians for whom Gibson has designed posters over the years: Darling at Sea, Max Justus, Sam Billen, the ACBs, Thom Hoskins, David Seume. “Danny puts sweat into everything he makes,” says Bryan Lamanno, whose band, the Tambourine Club, appears on the compilation. “He’s not just sitting at a computer. I always just let him do whatever he wants when he designs stuff because he always comes up with something fun and interesting and intricate.” Though Gibson is a collector, he also likes to share and is eager for others to see what he’s put together for Quietly Contributing. “There’s some great moments that I’m excited for people to see,” Gibson says. “Sometimes I look at these posters and I’m like, ‘What was I doing? How did that happen?’ There’s something much bigger to it all that I can’t really explain.”

We asked Gibson to pick a few of his favorite posters and talk about the process and ideas behind them.

001) Darling at Sea, Anvil Chorus (New Year’s Eve at the Brick) New Year’s Eve being such a big night, I wanted to shoot for an epic poster. I had an idea of the post-party: the contents of an insane partygoer’s stomach or the contents on the floor the morning of January 1. So, I set a rule for myself and just grabbed whatever I could at arm’s length around me at my studio desk. I threw it all on the scanner and created a sea of strange things swimming. The posters were printed in black on Wall Street Journals I saved from my day job, and I hit them up with a red heart rubber stamp. I’m pleased with the typography on these, especially for a computer font, which I’ve used very sparingly over the years. 002) Violet Burning, the Billions, Gabriel Yard I was working as a janitor, wondering to myself about a unique, springlike concept for a poster for this show. I had been away from my cart cleaning something and came back to it and found plant clippings and prunings anonymously placed in it. I instantly saw this poster. I pushed my cart down to my little dungeon desk, decided to go on break, and started making the typography. 003) Onward Crispin Glover, the People, Elevator Division At the time I made this image (2002), I was more aggressive about incorporating political-social messages into my work. It was my early 20s, and I guess it was the post-art-school political-poster-making in me talking? I think the news at the time had some major headlines about American importing and exporting. So, I have a backwards American monster eating a ship. The image was made in ink, and the boat was cut from a very old book. I ran this through an old fax machine to get the dirty look and then printed it on old green-and-white-striped computer paper. Notice this show was at the Pub, which is now the Brick. I always forget that. It’s interesting to see a bit of history in something as short-lived as a concert poster. 004) Flattery Leads to Ruins, James Dean Trio, Roosevelt I had a ton of fun with this one in a pop-art kind of way, I guess. I also enjoy a chance to throw celebrities or notable people into art. I was literal with playing off the band names James Dean Trio and Roosevelt. But the other, Flattery Leads to Ruins, came out of the headlines at the time. Martha Stewart was on trial, and I would watch CNN every day while cleaning a lunch area at my day job. This is a great example of taking visual liberty with a batch of bands on a concert bill. With the printing I made black-and-white photocopies and then ran them back through an oversized printer to get the color. 005) Atom and His Package, Brazil, Pixel Panda, Mail Order Midgets This is one of my personal favorites. I love a good visual pun, and I like to spin ideas off of band names. Here we have a guy named Atom carrying a package of Mail Order Midgets and a Pixel Panda (the panda is based from my childhood drawings of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). The original art will be on display at my poster exhibition, and it’s fairly big compared to the small print the final poster ended up as. I’d love to revisit these characters; there’s a good road-trip story there. I’ve always had visions of being cursed or challenged to journey cross-country carrying specific heavy things in my arms along the way. I think about that with this poster. Poor Atom.  

[littleandroidwrites]

a lydia ball paragraph of the self

sometimes you ask your littlefamily to send you memes and then you ignore the memes they send you and you write about something irrelevant instead and that? is the least valid thing you can do. thank you

Lydia liked dating Zeke, because Zeke did whatever he wanted and sometimes whatever someone else wanted too, like the first night Lydia had met his band and someone had ended up suggesting they steal all of the stop signs on the block and he had said, I’m down.

They hadn’t ended up doing that. Their manager had come out of his room and briefly had the chance to open his mouth before they were all booing him.

It wasn’t the concept of causing mayhem in traffic that got Lydia going, not at all, but the idea of being adventurous? Lydia used to think that she was adventurous. But it turned out that “adventurous” to the type of person who’d ended up engaged to the guy she started dating in middle school was actually more like rotating one of five activities that were pre-existing in a very safe, very sheltered routine. Every once in a while she’d wake up early on a Sunday morning and say, let’s go feed the ducks in a way that made her feel very wistful and spontaneous. And Dmitri had always said yes and looked at her like she was very wistful and spontaneous.

The thing was though that he was a fucking theatre major and he ended their relationship in a letter after over a decade together, probably because she had never been adventurous a day in her life. Or because she didn’t know how to cook or because she didn’t have a real job or because she refused to clean the shower or the oven but never actually admitted it because she just always swept up and did the dishes first so that it seemed like it was Dmitri who wasn’t pulling his weight. It really could have been lots of things. None of which Lydia would have thought about before the letter, of course, but these sorts of events tended to make you reflect.

They also tended to mean that you couldn’t afford your exposed brick loft apartment anymore because you’re only a painter and your fiancé had been covering most of the costs for the last few years if you were being honest with yourself. 

Her parents had tried to insist she move back in. Lydia knew it wasn’t out of obligation – even though her parents were definitely good people who did good things entirely out of obligation – but because they adored her and loved her and missed her when she was away for more than three days. And it was very tempting to go from being babied by Dmitri back to being babied by her parents and continue this never-ending being babied cycle, but it was occurring to Lydia truly for the first time that at some point someone was going to drop the baby ball and she was just going to be a hopeless adult in her mid-twenties incapable of taking care of herself. 

So she’d gone room hunting. Surrounded by boxes sitting on her very new very millennial futon (which she’d told everyone was a millennial decision but was actually the outcome of trying to move the old bed base for ten whole minutes before crying because she couldn’t lift it by herself and Dmitri had picked it out anyway and she didn’t even have the number of a moving truck and how was she supposed to know how much that would cost did people haggle she’d probably pay more than the moving guy asked for just because she’d want him to like her even if he never saw her again was that pathological she hadn’t been to a counsellor in a couple months her parents would pay but there was nothing more narcissistic than paying someone to hear you talk about wanting to be liked but she didn’t want to put that on her friends you know in case they stopped liking her god was she a narcissist), she had very maturely sorted price lowest to highest. Her favourite result was one crafted in a missed connections style.

f4whatever i have a room. you need one you don’t like having loud parties late at night. i have lots of wine to share when i’m stressed i cook. you eat it and tell me it’s good you can be a liar as long as it’s the nice kind. 2 bed 1 bath. you will not mind that i have fifteen bottles of lotion i don’t use i will pretend to be your scorned girlfriend if you have someone over you don’t like i’m desperate and you must be too

So she lived with a girl called Eve now. Eve hadn’t mentioned in her ad that if Lydia didn’t leave her bed for three days she'd bring her pastries at the end of the day, but she did it anyway and that was the kind of discretionary effort Lydia imagined everyone would want in a roommate. Eve did mention once that her sister was a psychologist once though, which she had followed with so she legally has to listen to me complain. It reminded Lydia of when you’d go out with a friend who couldn’t afford to eat anything so you’d pretend to be full halfway through your fries and say something like it did not occur to me until this moment but these will go to waste if you do not eat them right now!

One afternoon when Eve had texted to say that she’d be home late (which was nice, having someone who made you privy to their schedule, that was maybe one of the things Lydia missed the most, when she’d pretend to be put upon at 8pm at a paint and sip and say to her friends oh I have to let Dmitri know I’ll be home late and she’d roll her eyes like she didn’t do it just to get the 8pm-9pm me misses 8pm-9pm you text back), Lydia had decided it might be nice to cook for Eve for a change. She’d started off with a pinterest search for good dinners easy but had quickly been overwhelmed by the sheer number also there were all these advertisements in between the dishes for active wear and exercise programmes which felt exploitative. So she’d decided to open up her grandma’s special recipes box. 

Lydia really could not stress how little interest she had in cooking. But the first time she’d ever seen this little tin box with cursive recipe cards organised in alphabetical order, she had wanted it. Her grandmother died when she was only three, so she didn’t actually have any memories or her or her cooking or cooking with her or even her wrinkly old face outside of photos she’d seen but she treated this box very much like it held sentimental value. There was something sentimental about its lack of sentimentality.  

Anyway at random she’d picked a casserole and spent way too much on ingredients and when she got halfway through the recipe she realised it took four hours in total which was really a lot of time for one dish but it was too late and she was hungry and she wanted to impress Eve. So after she put the dish in the oven she cleaned the kitchen, which she had made a mess of, and actually the casserole was ready five minutes after Eve walked through the door which was perfect. 

Except that it was not perfect because the casserole was bad. 

“Grandma would be so disappointed,” Lydia lamented, balancing a cucumber on her fork and inspecting it, forlorn. The whole thing tasted overwhelmingly of too-tangy tomato paste and had taken on the sad watery quality of the cucumber. She felt this must be a metaphor for something. Four hours of her life plus however many hours of preparation and anticipation just to be left with a disappointing show of two fruits that really should have been vegetables. 

“Or,” Eve had said, her phone pressed to her ear, “Maybe this is exactly what she used to make, and she just didn’t have taste buds. No shame in — Hi, can I please place an order?”

-

It had taken a little to get to like Eraserhead’s music. At the first gig she went to she was surprised to find they sounded like that, but she figured if she was dating the bassist of a band she should really like his band. So Lydia had started by listening to chaos-adjacent music that she did like, like Friday I’m In Love by The Cure, and then she’d listened to a little more of The Cure, and really from there it was just a modest sidestep to learn to like music from people like The Clash and after a few more hops and jumps you basically fell into Eraserhead’s music. When Zeke had asked her at the next gig what she’d thought, Lydia had said I like that it’s music you kind of have to work for? It’s like real art, and after a second Zeke had nodded like he agreed but privately Lydia kind of thought he didn’t agree. 

That was the thing that she enjoyed about a relationship that was just a little over twelve days old instead of a little over twelve years old, though. Nobody really expected her to dig deeper and ask Zeke if he was just agreeing with her because he didn’t agree and that was a harder conversation. Nobody really expected either of them to owe each other anything and so all she’d done was finish her drink and kiss him.

[samuelmmarcus]

Beautiful Homes of Instagram

  Hello, my wonderful friends! I am very happy to be back with a new post after a needed short break and it’s an honor to be featuring Erica Rigdon of Style and Grace Interiors (@style.and.grace.interiors) on our “Beautiful Homes of Instagram” series. I think you will feel very inspired by her home and will learn a thing or two with her decor skills!

  Hello and welcome! I am Erica Rigdon! Owner/Designer of Style and Grace Interiors! I am so excited to be a part of Home Bunch and its “Beautiful Homes of Instagram” series!

Our home has been a labor of love from the start! We moved in March of 2005. The minute I saw it, I knew I had to have it! It had good bones, good character and an all around good feeling about it!

Now, that being said, there was PLENTY of things that we wanted to change right off the bat, but we knew that the end result would be worth it! So off we went! With the plan in motion to make this the home of our dreams!

  Read on!

  Beautiful Homes of Instagram

So let me set the scene! Who are we? We are Kerry and Erica Rigdon and we have been married for 20 years! We have two beautiful girls! Olivia who is 17 and Paige who is 15. I own and operate my Interior Design business and my husband who I lovingly refer to as, The Handy Hubs, actually has a real job. When he isn’t helping turn all my crazy design ideas into a reality, he runs his own full service window cleaning business as well as running his commercial cleaning business! The perk? I always have clean windows, so that is a win for me! Truth? The guy is seriously busy but still makes time to meet me on my own job sites and help out when needed! He even recently climbed the trees in our backyard to hang chandeliers in my trees! Yes, chandeliers!

Well, that’s enough bragging on my hubby, he’s great and I couldn’t do any of this without him!

Front Door

When you walk up the path to our home, my goal is that you feel warm, that you feel welcomed! Hopefully the layers on the front porch pull you in and leave you wanting to stay a while!

Front door paint color is Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black.

House Color is Sherwin Williams Fencepost White.

House Trim is Sherwin Williams Coconut Grove.

Hello Doormat is from Target.

Leaf Doormat is from Target.

White Stools are World Market.

Candle Holders are from Target.

Chandelier is from Lowes – similar here.

Sconce Lights are from Home Depot.

The faux Magnolia 24″ wreath are from Pier One.

Black Planters: Here.

Foyer

We recently replaced the tile in our entryway with this amazing brick inspired tile! We had it installed and laid on a herringbone pattern and I couldn’t be happier!

Round Stone Table is a vintage bird bath with glass top.

Similar Console Table: Here, Here, Here & Here.

White Urn is from Home Goods (Similar 1) (Similar 2) (Similar 3)

Light over White Urn is vintage (Similar)

Mirror is Vintage (Similar).

Stair Runner

Stair railing and post are painted in Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black and the herringbone carpet on the stairs is from Langhorne Carpet.

Paint Color

Wall color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Door Paint color is Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black.

The brick-inspired tile on the floor is from Northcraft Tile and Flooring – similar here.

Home Office

Right off the entry, is my office! I love having an at home office where I can invite my clients in to dream up their own BIG PLANS for their future homes! The hope is that when they are here, walking around our home, they feel inspired. That they feel like you can live in a home that is styled but also feels comfortable and lived in!

Wall Paint is Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Desk is from Nebraska Furniture Mart – Beautiful Desks: here, here, here & here.

Rug is from Target.

Pillows are from Home Goods (Similar 1) (Similar 2) (Similar 3).

Chairs are from Target – similar here, here & here.

Floral Art is from Home Goods – similar here, here & here.

Similar lamps can be found here, here & here.

Chandelier is from Wayfair.

Dining Room

What a beautiful dining room. Notice the trim millwork! Trim and wainscotting are painted in Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Dining room chairs are from World Market.

Dining Table is from Nell Hills – Beautiful Dining Tables: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Bench on opposite side of table is vintage (Similar).

Plates on the wall are vintage.

Black Hutch is Vintage – Beautiful Cabinets: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Rug is Home Goods – Beautiful Rugs: Here, Here, Here & Here.

Similar lighting can be found here.

Wall Paint Color

Wall color is Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

Silver Stand fruit is in is from Pottery Barn. Stand next to that is also from Pottery Barn.

Lamp is an old Coffee Pot from an Estate Sale.

Similar Gold Mirror: Here.

Kitchen

The kitchen. This was a big renovation for us. In 2017, we made the decision to update our kitchen. I had mentioned to my husband that I really wanted floating shelves which would mean we would have to remove a large portion of our existing upper cabinets! Let’s be honest, he didn’t love the idea. It’s not for everyone…. but boy, we do not regret the decision for one second! It instantly opened up our kitchen, leaving it feeling stylish and fresh! Best design decision thus far!

Wood shiplap is called Weathered Gray from Home Depot.

Countertops are Quartz.

Backsplash & Shelves

Backsplash is white subway tile from Home Depot.

Similar Shelves: Here – Brackets: Here.

Kitchen Paint Color

Cabinet color is Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray.

Island paint color is Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.

Chandelier is from Wayfair.

Similar Arm Sconces (above shelves) can be found here.

Layout

The kitchen opens to a gorgeous dining area.

Breakfast Room

Our eat in kitchen is the perfect gathering place! When we have friends over, this is where everyone goes. This is the heart of our home! Wall paint color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Ceiling treatment is tongue in groove painted Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Dining Room Chairs are World Market.

Similar dining table: here.

Cabinet is vintage.

Chandelier: Wayfair.

Dining Rug is from Overstock.

Fireplace Mantel Decor

Lanterns are from Pottery Barn and similar cutting boards can be found here.

Living Room

This is one of my favorite rooms in this home! Built-in Cabinets are Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore.

Coffered Ceiling is SW Dover White.

Similar Ottoman: Here, Here, Here, Here & Here.

Coral Pillows on Couch are Pottery Barn.

Other Pillows are from World Market.

Paint Color & Flooring

Paint color is Benjamin Moore HC-172 Revere Pewter.

Hardwood Flooring: Hickory hardwood floors – 6-inch planks – similar here.

Upstairs Landing

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter; which is the best neutral paint color by Benjamin Moore in my opinion, brings a sense of calmness to this space. I also love the decor! That bench by the window seems to be the perfect place to read a book.

Guest Bedroom

Our guest room doesn’t get much attention since we are lucky enough to have all of our family living so close to us, but we are ready for guests anytime! “Be our Guest” is our motto. Stay a while, make yourself at home. Everyone is always welcome!

Black Interior Black Door Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black

Paint Color

Wall Color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Headboard and lamps are vintage.

Beautiful White Nightstands: Here.

Master Bedroom

Our master bedroom/bathroom is another space that we recently remodeled. Shiplap was the plan and it really helped to warm up the space! This bathroom needed some character and these linear boards did the trick! The separate vanities were a must! Having your own space in an area like this is key to a happy marriage! Haha! All kidding aside, we really love the way this room turned out! If you look closely, the long piece with the butcher block top was actually our old double vanity!! I convinced my husband to take the top off and make us a custom wood top to give this little old vanity a warmer feel. This way we still could have storage and fill the space with a nice looking piece!

Similar Two gold Tables: Here.

Bed is from Thomasville.

Paint Color

Master Bedroom Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Master Bathroom

The master bathroom features shiplap and engineered hardwood. Stunning!

Dressing Table is vintage.

Shiplap

Custom Shiplap walls are painted Sherwin Williams Antique White.

Bathroom Vanities

The grey vanities are from Home Depot (on sale now!).

Mirrors are Pottery Barn (no longer available) – similar here.

Rug is from World Market.

Similar Barn Light Sconce: Here.

Similar Shower Tile: Here & Here.

Affordable Black Faucets: Here.

{Photo by homeowner}

Basement

This place is perfect for entertaining. Wall color is Sherwin Williams Neutral Ground.

Backsplash is brick – similar here.

Flooring is Luxury Vinyl Tile – similar here.

Lights above Shelves can be found here.

Rug is World Market.

Similar Metal Stools: Here.

Island: Here – similar here.

Charcoal Paint Color

Beadboard and cabinets are painted in Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze.

Similar Plaid Pillows: Joss & Main.

Similar Striped Pillows: Joss & Main.

Mudroom

This was a coat closet that we took the door off of to make this open concept closet.

Pillows and Sign are from Home Goods – See cute pom pom pillows here.

Similar Baskets: Here, Here, Here & Here.

Wall Sign: Home Goods –  Inspiring Wall Signs: here.

Backyard

The new outdoor space. What can I say? I AM IN LOVE. End of story. We had been wondering what to do with this space that is right off the back of our garage. A few months before my daughter’s graduation party, we took the leap. We decided to add on a fully functioning outdoor living space. Complete with sofas and a 70” tv for those movie nights that we absolutely love to have outdoors. We even hosted a wedding here this summer. A real wedding complete with 150 guests. It was the perfect night to have the perfect wedding. Chandeliers and all. It was the start of a happily ever after for some dear friends of ours and we were happy to host this special day for them! If you head over to my Instagram you can see footage in my story files of this magical day!

Back Porch Inspiration

Floor is 2×4 Pine Decking – similar here.

Gray Stools are World Market.

TV

Imagine having a tv in your back porch. Who needs go on a vacation with a back porch like this, right?

Sofas

Similar Couches, Chairs and Coffee Tables: Here.

Blue Pillows On Couches: Here.

Pink Pillows on Chairs are from World Market.

Rug on Covered Porch is also from World Market.

Paint Color

Structure is painted Sherwin Williams Alabaster.

Drapes on Covered Porch are World Market.

Striped Throw is Pottery Barn.

Chandelier is Wayfair.

Nighttime

This house helped me found my design style that essentially launched my professional life into a completely different direction than I ever dreamed of! I am thankful for our home and the people that live in it and I hope that all of you have the same feeling inside your own homes!

  Make sure to follow Erica Rigdon of Style and Grace Interiors on Instagram to see more of her beautiful home.

Photography: Jill DiMartino.

    Summer Best Deals!

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

Wayfair: Up to 70% OFF – Huge Sales on Decor, Furniture & Rugs!!

Joss & Main: Once-a-Year Celebration! Up to 80% Off!!!

Pottery Barn: New Arrivals!!! Up to 70% Off!

Serena & Lily: 20% OFF EVERYTHING! Use code: 4TH

West Elm: Mega Sale – 70% Off sales!

Caitlin Wilson: Beautiful Rugs & Pillows. 15% OFF Sitewide. Use Code: FREEDOM15

Anthropologie: Extra 40% Off Sale Plus 20% Off Furniture + Decor.

Urban Outfitters: Hip & Affordable Home Decor – Big Summer Sales!!!

Horchow: Flash Sale: Up to 55% Off!!!

One Kings Lane: Save Up to 70% OFF! Free Standard Shipping on Orders over $99!

Williams & Sonoma: Spring Clearance: Up to 75% OFF!.

Nordstrom: Up to 40% OFF!

Neiman Marcus: Designer Sale: Up to 40% OFF.

Pier 1: Summer Sale: Up to 50% Off!

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“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

Interior Design Services within Your Budget

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[hmniay]

Tokyo Trip Report (Part 4)

This is the last of the Japan report! Lots of photos this time. Thank you for sticking with me.

Feel free to blacklist the tag “japan 2016″ if you don’t want to see these posts! The images may look squished if you read this outside dashboard due to my blog theme. Everything is under the cut.

←Previous

Day 10: Tokyo Comic City

The main reason why we picked mid June to go to Japan, other than that Jen has summer school and to avoid the crowdy July-August break, was because I wanted to meet some JP mutuals tabling at the con >///<  (thank you Jen for agreeing to this)

I especially wanted to meet Rui-san, whose art I looked up to a lot (and buy her books while I’m at it), but she had work last minute and couldn’t come... Maybe next time ;__;

The event is 11pm~3pm. We planned to go at 12 to avoid the crowd, but we woke up late and got there at 1pm😂😂  It was located at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, and this place is like an airport!! It’s huge and even has conveyor belts, and people were carrying luggages around (to store the merch they bought??)

(No photographing allowed inside)

1/3 of the tables already packed up and left... Apparently in Japanese events, people list out exactly what they’re going to buy and go straight for it the moment the doors open. We didn’t plan to buy anything, but it looked like going in late wasn’t a good idea. Something to keep in mind in the future.

I saw a Miyoshi/Maki mini print and thought “hmm I’ll come back after we check everything out” and then it was sold out ;;;;;;

Free postcards at the door promoting upcoming only-events.

From what I understand, onlys are smaller, fandom-specific events inside a general bigger event? There are games and stuff but we didn’t understand it XD I noticed that tables of the same fandoms were grouped together, sorted by ships. Convenient for the shoppers, but I wonder what happens to multi-fandom artists? And there’s the whole concept of “circles”... It’s certainly very different from what I heard about Western cons, which I’ve not been to.

Also!! Most artists give out free prints! ...At least that’s what I 98% sure they are, but I didn’t have the guts to take them, especially when I’m not buying anything💦💦  I should’ve done some research first.

We met up with Ran-san (again) and Nori-san, who gave me some oisuga poster and postcards. It was a prize for a game on twitter and the poster was supposed to be first-come-first-served, but she saved one for me ahhhh;;;;; As promised I sticked it to my face.

And the poster is now on my wall ////

I suddenly forgot all my Japanese so there was a very long awkward pause before I said I would like to buy a charm from her www (After we got home I was able to talk to her on twitter fluently again what the heck)

Ran-san then took us to meet Kurot. She kept laughing at Kurot for being “crazy” from the lack of sleep. Kurot called me “Kiyo-san” at first, then questioned herself why she’s speaking Japanese when we can speak English😂😂  Please have a good rest after this!!!

I tweeted a photo of my shirt for mutuals not tabling to find me so I can give them Canadian omiyage (maple sugar lmao) and Saki actually managed to find me!! She gave me a iwaoi bag she made (bottom left in the above photo) with lots of candies inside. Thank you ////

Then we met up with Uma and walked around the con. The con was ending and we were about to leave when I saw copic markers on sale on the side. 10 markers for 1000 yen!!!! I never tried it before so I only bought 10, but I now regret not getting more.

I forgot to go back to say goodbye to Ran-san and Nori-san before leaving...

Uma, Jen and I decided to go to Ikebukuro for some afternoon snack. Yamate Line had an accident (someone fell off the platform??) so we had to take another line. Then it became clear how the accident probably happened. THIS WAS THE MOST CROWDED TRAIN WE EXPERIENCED ON THIS TRIP. I could barely take this photo. I was leaning on someone’s (sweaty) back with my feet half off the ground, and when the train arrived at a station, it becomes like a strong river where you literally get pushed around and have no control of where to go.

We finally found a place to sit down and eat.

We exchanged our sketchbooks and had a doodling session until we got politely kicked out an hour later XD

We window-shopped for a bit at Sunshine City before parting ways. Our host family offered us to make BBQ on the rooftop, but it was too late so we just got ourselves some konbini dinner.

Family Mart’s fried chicken is so good!! I finished it before we even got home.

Thank you so much for an amazing day!!! I hope we can meet again.

Day 11: Yokohama

Today is the last day of our trip and we decided to spend it in Yokohama.

Animate Yokohama was really close by so we dropped by quickly for last minute weeb shopping. Jen went to look for CCS and Digimon merch while I went to play the Joker Game Q&A (each week you can get prizes - a print I think - for answering a question related to the week’s episode).

Q: What was the pill left on the floor in Maki’s room? A: Aspirin.

But they ran out of the prize so I only got a stamp...

Heading to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise! This is where we will spend most of the day.

Kalbi onigiri. Yum. In Taiwan I prefer 7-11 much over Family Mart, but here Family Mart is my best friend.

The station is really cute.

We’re here!

It’s a giant amusement park on an artificial island. The right half is the “ground” rides, but we’re only interested in the “sea” side today. 

There’s not a lot of people.

Ahhhh they look like spiders and why are they so big!!! Jen: Are they edible

OMG so I happen to witness this guy eat... It pressed the fish in between the glass and itself, and wiggled until the fish got to its mouth... then swallowed it whole.

Our tickets also included fish-your-own-fish. 

I’m so sorry ;;;;

Jen is vegetarian so I got 2 for myself. It was really good and I wished I got more...

More animals on the other side of the park!

Hydrangeas near the entrance/exit.

We wanted to end the day with Yokohama’s famous night view at Landmark Tower, so we rushed back (it takes about an hour).

The Red Brick Warehouse!

We didn’t remember we wanted to go to the Cup Noodles Museum until we walked passed it lmao (it was closed already)

We finally got to Landmark Tower. Had a quick dinner at a Oyako don place.

We didn’t know we were making a big mistake. THEY STOP LETTING PEOPLE ONTO THE OBSERVATION DECK AT 8:30. We finished our dinner and got there at exactly 8:30. The directions weren’t really clear so we walked back and forth for a while, before realizing that the man we saw putting up a sign at a door was the deck staff closing the door. If I realized it a minute earlier I would’ve begged him to let us in ;____;

It would be frustrating to come all the way here and not be able to see the view, so we headed back to the port beside the warehouse and ended our Yokohama adventure there.

Someone on the train was reading Jump!!

We returned home to see this on the bed ahhhh... Inside the bag was 2 big boxes of shrimp cookies that homestay dad bought on his business trip. This host family was much less experienced (we are their first), but they were so sweet😭😭😭

Day 12: Departure

I leave Japan today and go to Taiwan next. Jen was staying for another day because she booked her tickets wrong hahahaha

Homestay mom helped us book the direct bus to Haneda Airport; we didn’t want to go through the pain of pulling luggages through the subway system again.

We got off at Terminal 1... BUT JOKE’S ON ME IT’S ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE TERMINAL I FOR “INTERNATIONAL” WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!! So we had to quickly take the airport shuttle to the correct terminal to check in.

The airport was decorated in Edo? style.

I decided to have Mos Burger for my last meal in Japan. I grew up eating their rice burger in Taiwan so I wanted to try the real one in Japan. They only had regular burgers here though!!

Our last doodle together.

It was hard to say goodbye to Jen. We’ve been together since elementary school and who knows when we will see each other in person again...😢 We dragged on until last minute and I almost missed my plane lmao

Bye bye Japan! Thank you for a wonderful time and I hope I can come again soon!!

Is Laputa in there

The flight was only about 3 hours so by the time I woke up from a nap we were already landing. But then...

WhaT

IS

HAPPENING

I WAS LEGIT TERRIFIED OMG I hate flying and I would think that if the plane needs to make FIVE GODDAMN CIRCLES above the airport, something might’ve happened down there. 

After what felt like forever, we finally started descending. Everything looked fine?  

Then it became obvious why we couldn’t land. It was like a typhoon down there and the plane was shaking so much while landing. There were no actual typhoon though. Just your regular crazy Taiwanese summer afternoon-storm.

Yep I’m definitely back in Taiwan

The moment I stepped out of the plane I could feel the intense hot humid air, like usual... The storm was crazy big and part of the subway was experiencing outage, so I had a rough time getting home. Good to be back though.

Souvenir for my grandma! She loves matcha stuff. These are matcha-white chocolate cookies, bought at Haneda airport.

My loot from Japan. I managed to control myself hahahaha

Corn flavoured stuff is the best!!!!!!!

And this concludes my Japan trip report!! It is almost 8 months since the trip I can’t believe I took so long to organize this😂😂  I might write a little bit here and there about the Taiwan trip later. Thank you for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed reading!!

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Could you write a fic where Tony and Bucky have been through so much in getting and staying together (maybe after CW?) that they just know they're each other's one and only and forever after. So when everyone (Avengers/civilians/media) doubts them and ridicules their relationship or when 'incriminating' photos or other proof of cheating or betrayal is brought up by well-meaning friends or malicious a-holes to break them up, they shrug and say 'I trust him, he would never-', pretty please?

Sampoured himself a glass of juice and took it into the wide commonarea. He really had to stop letting Steve goad him into doing shitthat was about four levels over his actual capabilities. All hewanted now was to flop on the big couch and whine about how much hiscalves hurt.

Barneswas already there, watching some celebrity gossip show, of allthings. Sam blinked in confusion, then remembered that Stark had goneoff to Tokyo on a business trip yesterday, and Barnes hadn’t beenable to go along, because his legal status in Tokyo was still inquestion. Bucky-boo was probably hoping for a clip about his guy.

Theshow didn’t disappoint – not long after Sam collapsed onto thecouch with a grunt of greeting, it flipped to a segment on Tony’sarrival in Tokyo. The host chattered inanely over a video montage.There was Stark being greeted as he got off the plane, signingautographs in the airport, a cute shot of him posing with a kid in anIron Man costume.

Barnessighed soulfully and Sam glanced back at the TV to see Stark walkingalong a red carpet toward some event, looking even sharper thanusual. Next to Stark was a Japanese business mogul at his side with apretty girl on his arm. Damn, why did rich old guys get all thepretty ones? Barnes, of course, only had eyes for Stark.

“Youknow if you told him how much you liked it, he’d probably wear thetux for you at home,” Sam pointed out.

“It’sspecial ‘cause I don’t get to see it much,” Barnes said, whichwas a fair point.

Samwished the show host would shut up; her voice was grating. Oh, thepretty girl was the business guy’s daughter. That was a bit easierto swallow. Sam wondered if Stark was going into business with theguy, whether he could hook Sam up with an introduction. Sam closedhis eyes and stretched his aching calves again and visualized Rogersrunning into a brick wall or something else nearly as hard as hishead.

He’dprobably just go right through it. Parachutes and doors were conceptshe was still working on, apparently.

Barnes’breath hitched and Sam cracked one eye. Then he sat up, fast, becausethe TV was showing Stark dancing with the daughter. Closely. Theywere definitely not leaving any room for Jesus in there, holy shit.The girl said something, and Stark threw his head back and laughed.

Barnesmade another soft, indeterminate noise. Shit shit shit.

(Mobile readers, ‘ware the readmore!)

“Barnes,hey,” Sam tried. “It’s, I’m sure it’s not anything.” Hewasn’t sure of any such thing, actually, but Sam wasn’t gonna beable to restrain the Winter Soldier by himself, so he was stalling.“You okay, man?”

Barnesput his hands over his mouth. “Maybe.” He sounded a littleshaken. “It’s just, he’s…”

“Hey,I know, man, it’s not cool. But it doesn’t necessarily meananything.You know his rep.”

Barneswasn’t listening. “Those’re the steps we were practicingtogether, for the charity thing next month,” he murmured.

Samwinced. Jesus, Stark…

Barnessniffled, and Sam groaned inwardly. How the hell was he the onegetting stuck taking care of a heartbroken assassin? “C’mon,don’t jump to conclusions, you’ll work it out,” Sam tried.

Butthen Barnes dropped his hands, and he was… smiling?

Teary.But smiling.

“Thehell,” Sam wondered.

Barnesflashed him a grin. “He’s sayin’ hi,” he told Sam. “KnewI’d be watching, wanted me to know he was thinkin’ of me.”

Samglanced back at the TV. “Buck, I hate to say it, but are you sure?”

“SureI’m sure,” Bucky said. “You know how much we went through toget where we are? No way is he throwin’ me over for a fling.” Theshow switched to someone else and Bucky flicked it off, then fishedhis phone out of a pocket and dialed. “Hey, baby, I’m notinterrupting anything, am I? …Nah, I just saw the segment onStarshineandcouldn’t resist. That was the sweetest– Oh yeah? Hang on, lemmejust go somewhere a little more private.” Barnes winked at Sam andstrode for the elevator, still talking.

“Mornin’,gorgeous,” said Tony. Bucky looked up from his tablet and tippedhis head back so that Tony could lean in for a kiss on the way to thecoffee. “Good run?”

Buckysnorted and went back to scrolling through the news. “No suchthing,” he said, like he always did. “I only go ‘cause it’smarginally less awful than enduring Steve’s sad puppy face.”

Tonygrinned as he sat down and stole the toast from Bucky’s plate, justlike he did every morning. Bucky only bothered with a token defenseand protest. (Bucky actually made the toast, took one bite out of it,and then left the rest for Tony every morning just so Tony would eatsomething.Tony probably knew that, but as long as they didn’t mention it,then it still worked.) “I’d think you’d be immune to Steve’sface by now.”

“Thereis no immunity to that,” Bucky said reasonably. “Anyway, it nevergets old watching him challenge Sam to contests that Sam knows damnwellhecan’t win.”

Tonysnickered and brushed crumbs off his fingers. “What was it thistime?”

“Hurdles,”Bucky said. He scrolled a little further, to reveal a lurid headline.“Oh, look, you’re cheating on me again.”

“What?”Tony leaned into Bucky’s side, reading. “Oh dear, I’ve beenfound out.”

“Indeedyou have, you hussy.” Bucky delivered it deadpan and off-rhythm,like a second-grader delivering memorized lines in a school play.

“Butmy love for– Wait, who is it? I forgot to check.” Tony scrolleddown to check the article. “Oh, right. My love for Natasha cannotbe denied. An ocean to our pond.”

“Don’tworry,” Natasha told Bucky with a smirk as she came into thekitchen. “You can have him back now; I was only in it for themoney.”

Buckyfelt the smile tugging at his lips. “You betrayer,” he toldNatasha.

“That’sSultanVile Betrayertoyou,” Natasha said. “Any coffee left?”

“Mr.Stark! Mr. Stark!”

Tonyglanced up and rolled his eyes. Honestly, reporters.It was eight in the morning and the Avengers had just come off asix-hour-long battle with a pod of honest-to-god giant squids off thecoast. They were all exhausted, bruised and bloody, and covered inslime, seaweed, and other things better not considered too closely.Godforbidtheybe allowed to go back to the Tower and take showers before having toput on their public relations hats.

Still,maintaining the goodwill of the press was part of the job, so Tonyplastered on his public face and directed a well-practiced smirk intothe camera behind the woman’s shoulder. “Yes, hi, hello. There’llbe the usual post-incident news conference at the Tower; you’llwant to contact our PR office for–”

“Yessir, Mr. Stark, and our usual correspondent is already on it, but inthe meantime, since you were so valiantly defending us when themorning editions rolled out, I wanted to get your reaction to this.”She held up a newspaper – Jesus, they still madethose?– with a photo covering most of the top half.

Tonystared at the photo for several long seconds, then swiveled his headto look over at his boyfriend. “Tell me this is doctored,” hedemanded.

Buckyglanced at the paper, then looked away guiltily. “Baby–”

“Don’tyou ‘baby’ me!” Tony snapped. “How could you?”

“Comeon, Tony, it’s not that big a deal,” Bucky pleaded.

“Notthat big a deal? Dammit, you promised Icouldbe the one to let the paps catch me kissing Clint!”

Buckysighed and put his hands on Tony’s shoulders, pulling him away fromthe reporter. He glared at the camera and said quietly, “Look, theopportunity was there, and I jumped. I’m sorry. What if I let yoube the one to imply it’s a three-way, instead?”

Tonypouted at him. “Can I do it in today’s press conference?”

Bucky’sshoulders slumped. “I guess, since I didjumpthe gun on you already. Just make sure you let Clint know we’reupping the timetable.”

Tonybeamed. This was going to be epic.“You’re the best.”

“Whend’you reckon they’ll stop trying to make us have jealous fits andbreak up?”

“It’sthe press,” Tony said. “So approximately never. But most of thesemi-respectable gossip rags are starting to figure out that we’retrolling them, so pretty soon we’ll be down to just the bottomfeeders, and those are really just funny. I’m holding out for oneof having a secret affair with Bat Boy.”

“God,I love you.”

“Iknow.” Tony leaned in for a kiss, heedless of the slime.

~ @everyworldneedslove

[woodworkinghere1]

Weekend Happenings + Her Large Aim + Coaching Logs! | The Hungry Runner Lady

Celebrity News Today -

Good morning! It nonetheless feels bizarre to me to not have a weblog put up going up on Sundays however I ensure to take photos all weekend as a result of heaven forbid I don’t fill you in on a day of our life;).  I ponder what my nice grandkids will assume sometime once they learn my on-line journal ha…

Saturday morning I did Eight miles @ 9:08 common.  Throughout being pregnant I swear I get up a lot extra grumpy than I usually accomplish that it’s more durable than ever to get out the door.  I reminded myself that some work outdoors for so long as my physique desires to go will give me 15 hours of feeling good.  I got here house feeling so significantly better and I’m positive my household could be very grateful for my working behavior.

After my run we went to the splash pad.  The women have gotten actually good at holding their distance from others in public areas.

In a while within the day we picked up an incredible bag of peaches that we’ve already made a giant dent in.

The opposite spotlight of our Saturday was going with Andrew to a spot known as Brick Oven (one other restaurant I used to work at).  My supervisor would at all times inform us after I labored there, ‘When you’ve got time to lean, you might have time to scrub’ ha and that phrase has caught with me 12 years later.

PS all eating places right here embody social distancing procedures and we put on masks and so on till we’re at our tables.

That is the image that Brooke bought of Andrew and me after I requested her to take an image.

The beneath image is why I wished to go to this restaurant so so badly.  Salad with the entire dressings and a giant bowl of pasta with garlic bread.  It was simply what I wanted.

On Sunday morning we wakened and went on a hike.

Brooke has set a purpose for herself that could be a fairly large one.  She desires to hike Mt. Timpanogos.  The total hike is about 14.5 miles however I’m not snug along with her going above the saddle as a result of it’s too steep so we are going to go nearer to 12 miles!   We went to the Timp path yesterday for a coaching hike to see what we have to do to organize for the total hike.  I’ve run to the highest of Timp earlier than however haven’t hiked it with youngsters so we wished to get a greater concept of what we would wish.

The waterfalls had been positively the spotlight for Brooke.

Skye was pleased to be in her service pack the entire time outdoors of the waterfall stops.

We went 5 miles complete and climbed about 1,300 ft and Brooke liked it (she requested if we might do it on her birthday too).

We discovered we have to convey four occasions as a lot water as we did yesterday, we have to convey Gatorade and we have to begin at 5 or 6 within the morning (we began at 10 yesterday and it was already 85 levels).

We additionally discovered that contemporary peaches style very superb alongside the best way.

Brooke stated on the finish that essentially the most drained a part of her physique had been her eyeballs and I completely know what she means… After I’m climbing or path working I’m always trying to find issues to not journey over which makes my eyes very drained by the tip.  Hopefully the subsequent time we go we are going to  see some bighorn sheep alongside the best way as a result of that might make Brooke’s life.

Soiled legs/sneakers are an indication of a very good day.

Random story of the day:

The opposite evening Skye was screaming like loopy in her crib at 11 pm which by no means occurs.  We went in to her room to consolation her and nothing was working till we realized she was saying ‘sound’ over and over.  We went to her sound machine and it was on the setting ‘rain’ when she normally sleeps to the ‘ocean’ setting.  I switched it to ‘ocean’ and he or she advised us thanks and went proper again to mattress.  My very explicit bedtime wants have rubbed off on her.

—————————————————————————————————

The St. George Marathon continues to be planning on taking place which makes me very pleased.  Andrew’s buddy gained a VIP spot for the race which suggests he can take Andrew with him for that so they will get particular therapy on the race.  He bought in 2 runs and a hike carrying a 2.5 12 months outdated;)

*5 miles on trails @ 10:19 common tempo and 720 ft ascent.

*He meant to do his pace exercise one evening after I fell asleep however he by chance fell asleep after I did too… he labored extra time this final week and his physique wanted sleep greater than a wave tempo.  It’s so essential to recollect this after we are coaching, typically sleep > a exercise.

*14 miles @ 8:50 common along with his coaching accomplice.

Right here is how my week appeared!  I didn’t really feel like doing any pace or any path working however the flat miles at a straightforward tempo felt actually good.

—————————————————————————————————

I noticed this on Fb the opposite day and needed to know from you….  What have you ever seen each episode of?

-For me: The Workplace, Pals, Parenthood and Gilmore Women.

Do you might have any white noise on when you sleep?  Something that wakes you up when you find yourself sleeping whether it is totally different than regular?

Do you might have any targets that you’re hoping to perform in the remainder of this 12 months?  I’m excited to see Brooke hit hers!

Query from Andrew:  For those who might pack up and go on a street journey as we speak… the place would you go?

The post Weekend Happenings + Her Large Aim + Coaching Logs! | The Hungry Runner Lady appeared first on Celebrity News Today.

source https://daily247.net/weekend-happenings-her-big-goal-training-logs-the-hungry-runner-girl/

[dawnjeman]

Beautiful Homes of Instagram

  Hello, my wonderful friends! I am very happy to be back with a new post after a needed short break and it’s an honor to be featuring Erica Rigdon of Style and Grace Interiors (@style.and.grace.interiors) on our “Beautiful Homes of Instagram” series. I think you will feel very inspired by her home and will learn a thing or two with her decor skills!

  Hello and welcome! I am Erica Rigdon! Owner/Designer of Style and Grace Interiors! I am so excited to be a part of Home Bunch and its “Beautiful Homes of Instagram” series!

Our home has been a labor of love from the start! We moved in March of 2005. The minute I saw it, I knew I had to have it! It had good bones, good character and an all around good feeling about it!

Now, that being said, there was PLENTY of things that we wanted to change right off the bat, but we knew that the end result would be worth it! So off we went! With the plan in motion to make this the home of our dreams!

  Read on!

  Beautiful Homes of Instagram

So let me set the scene! Who are we? We are Kerry and Erica Rigdon and we have been married for 20 years! We have two beautiful girls! Olivia who is 17 and Paige who is 15. I own and operate my Interior Design business and my husband who I lovingly refer to as, The Handy Hubs, actually has a real job. When he isn’t helping turn all my crazy design ideas into a reality, he runs his own full service window cleaning business as well as running his commercial cleaning business! The perk? I always have clean windows, so that is a win for me! Truth? The guy is seriously busy but still makes time to meet me on my own job sites and help out when needed! He even recently climbed the trees in our backyard to hang chandeliers in my trees! Yes, chandeliers!

Well, that’s enough bragging on my hubby, he’s great and I couldn’t do any of this without him!

Front Door

When you walk up the path to our home, my goal is that you feel warm, that you feel welcomed! Hopefully the layers on the front porch pull you in and leave you wanting to stay a while!

Front door paint color is Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black.

House Color is Sherwin Williams Fencepost White.

House Trim is Sherwin Williams Coconut Grove.

Hello Doormat is from Target.

Leaf Doormat is from Target.

White Stools are World Market.

Candle Holders are from Target.

Chandelier is from Lowes – similar here.

Sconce Lights are from Home Depot.

The faux Magnolia 24″ wreath are from Pier One.

Black Planters: Here.

Foyer

We recently replaced the tile in our entryway with this amazing brick inspired tile! We had it installed and laid on a herringbone pattern and I couldn’t be happier!

Round Stone Table is a vintage bird bath with glass top.

Similar Console Table: Here, Here, Here & Here.

White Urn is from Home Goods (Similar 1) (Similar 2) (Similar 3)

Light over White Urn is vintage (Similar)

Mirror is Vintage (Similar).

Stair Runner

Stair railing and post are painted in Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black and the herringbone carpet on the stairs is from Langhorne Carpet.

Paint Color

Wall color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Door Paint color is Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black.

The brick-inspired tile on the floor is from Northcraft Tile and Flooring – similar here.

Home Office

Right off the entry, is my office! I love having an at home office where I can invite my clients in to dream up their own BIG PLANS for their future homes! The hope is that when they are here, walking around our home, they feel inspired. That they feel like you can live in a home that is styled but also feels comfortable and lived in!

Wall Paint is Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Desk is from Nebraska Furniture Mart – Beautiful Desks: here, here, here & here.

Rug is from Target.

Pillows are from Home Goods (Similar 1) (Similar 2) (Similar 3).

Chairs are from Target – similar here, here & here.

Floral Art is from Home Goods – similar here, here & here.

Similar lamps can be found here, here & here.

Chandelier is from Wayfair.

Dining Room

What a beautiful dining room. Notice the trim millwork! Trim and wainscotting are painted in Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Dining room chairs are from World Market.

Dining Table is from Nell Hills – Beautiful Dining Tables: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Bench on opposite side of table is vintage (Similar).

Plates on the wall are vintage.

Black Hutch is Vintage – Beautiful Cabinets: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Rug is Home Goods – Beautiful Rugs: Here, Here, Here & Here.

Similar lighting can be found here.

Wall Paint Color

Wall color is Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

Silver Stand fruit is in is from Pottery Barn. Stand next to that is also from Pottery Barn.

Lamp is an old Coffee Pot from an Estate Sale.

Similar Gold Mirror: Here.

Kitchen

The kitchen. This was a big renovation for us. In 2017, we made the decision to update our kitchen. I had mentioned to my husband that I really wanted floating shelves which would mean we would have to remove a large portion of our existing upper cabinets! Let’s be honest, he didn’t love the idea. It’s not for everyone…. but boy, we do not regret the decision for one second! It instantly opened up our kitchen, leaving it feeling stylish and fresh! Best design decision thus far!

Wood shiplap is called Weathered Gray from Home Depot.

Countertops are Quartz.

Backsplash & Shelves

Backsplash is white subway tile from Home Depot.

Similar Shelves: Here – Brackets: Here.

Kitchen Paint Color

Cabinet color is Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray.

Island paint color is Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.

Chandelier is from Wayfair.

Similar Arm Sconces (above shelves) can be found here.

Layout

The kitchen opens to a gorgeous dining area.

Breakfast Room

Our eat in kitchen is the perfect gathering place! When we have friends over, this is where everyone goes. This is the heart of our home! Wall paint color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Ceiling treatment is tongue in groove painted Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Dining Room Chairs are World Market.

Similar dining table: here.

Cabinet is vintage.

Chandelier: Wayfair.

Dining Rug is from Overstock.

Fireplace Mantel Decor

Lanterns are from Pottery Barn and similar cutting boards can be found here.

Living Room

This is one of my favorite rooms in this home! Built-in Cabinets are Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore.

Coffered Ceiling is SW Dover White.

Similar Ottoman: Here, Here, Here, Here & Here.

Coral Pillows on Couch are Pottery Barn.

Other Pillows are from World Market.

Paint Color & Flooring

Paint color is Benjamin Moore HC-172 Revere Pewter.

Hardwood Flooring: Hickory hardwood floors – 6-inch planks – similar here.

Upstairs Landing

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter; which is the best neutral paint color by Benjamin Moore in my opinion, brings a sense of calmness to this space. I also love the decor! That bench by the window seems to be the perfect place to read a book.

Guest Bedroom

Our guest room doesn’t get much attention since we are lucky enough to have all of our family living so close to us, but we are ready for guests anytime! “Be our Guest” is our motto. Stay a while, make yourself at home. Everyone is always welcome!

Black Interior Black Door Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black

Paint Color

Wall Color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Headboard and lamps are vintage.

Beautiful White Nightstands: Here.

Master Bedroom

Our master bedroom/bathroom is another space that we recently remodeled. Shiplap was the plan and it really helped to warm up the space! This bathroom needed some character and these linear boards did the trick! The separate vanities were a must! Having your own space in an area like this is key to a happy marriage! Haha! All kidding aside, we really love the way this room turned out! If you look closely, the long piece with the butcher block top was actually our old double vanity!! I convinced my husband to take the top off and make us a custom wood top to give this little old vanity a warmer feel. This way we still could have storage and fill the space with a nice looking piece!

Similar Two gold Tables: Here.

Bed is from Thomasville.

Paint Color

Master Bedroom Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter.

Master Bathroom

The master bathroom features shiplap and engineered hardwood. Stunning!

Dressing Table is vintage.

Shiplap

Custom Shiplap walls are painted Sherwin Williams Antique White.

Bathroom Vanities

The grey vanities are from Home Depot (on sale now!).

Mirrors are Pottery Barn (no longer available) – similar here.

Rug is from World Market.

Similar Barn Light Sconce: Here.

Similar Shower Tile: Here & Here.

Affordable Black Faucets: Here.

{Photo by homeowner}

Basement

This place is perfect for entertaining. Wall color is Sherwin Williams Neutral Ground.

Backsplash is brick – similar here.

Flooring is Luxury Vinyl Tile – similar here.

Lights above Shelves can be found here.

Rug is World Market.

Similar Metal Stools: Here.

Island: Here – similar here.

Charcoal Paint Color

Beadboard and cabinets are painted in Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze.

Similar Plaid Pillows: Joss & Main.

Similar Striped Pillows: Joss & Main.

Mudroom

This was a coat closet that we took the door off of to make this open concept closet.

Pillows and Sign are from Home Goods – See cute pom pom pillows here.

Similar Baskets: Here, Here, Here & Here.

Wall Sign: Home Goods –  Inspiring Wall Signs: here.

Backyard

The new outdoor space. What can I say? I AM IN LOVE. End of story. We had been wondering what to do with this space that is right off the back of our garage. A few months before my daughter’s graduation party, we took the leap. We decided to add on a fully functioning outdoor living space. Complete with sofas and a 70” tv for those movie nights that we absolutely love to have outdoors. We even hosted a wedding here this summer. A real wedding complete with 150 guests. It was the perfect night to have the perfect wedding. Chandeliers and all. It was the start of a happily ever after for some dear friends of ours and we were happy to host this special day for them! If you head over to my Instagram you can see footage in my story files of this magical day!

Back Porch Inspiration

Floor is 2×4 Pine Decking – similar here.

Gray Stools are World Market.

TV

Imagine having a tv in your back porch. Who needs go on a vacation with a back porch like this, right?

Sofas

Similar Couches, Chairs and Coffee Tables: Here.

Blue Pillows On Couches: Here.

Pink Pillows on Chairs are from World Market.

Rug on Covered Porch is also from World Market.

Paint Color

Structure is painted Sherwin Williams Alabaster.

Drapes on Covered Porch are World Market.

Striped Throw is Pottery Barn.

Chandelier is Wayfair.

Nighttime

This house helped me found my design style that essentially launched my professional life into a completely different direction than I ever dreamed of! I am thankful for our home and the people that live in it and I hope that all of you have the same feeling inside your own homes!

  Make sure to follow Erica Rigdon of Style and Grace Interiors on Instagram to see more of her beautiful home.

Photography: Jill DiMartino.

    Summer Best Deals!

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

Wayfair: Up to 70% OFF – Huge Sales on Decor, Furniture & Rugs!!

Joss & Main: Once-a-Year Celebration! Up to 80% Off!!!

Pottery Barn: New Arrivals!!! Up to 70% Off!

Serena & Lily: 20% OFF EVERYTHING! Use code: 4TH

West Elm: Mega Sale – 70% Off sales!

Caitlin Wilson: Beautiful Rugs & Pillows. 15% OFF Sitewide. Use Code: FREEDOM15

Anthropologie: Extra 40% Off Sale Plus 20% Off Furniture + Decor.

Urban Outfitters: Hip & Affordable Home Decor – Big Summer Sales!!!

Horchow: Flash Sale: Up to 55% Off!!!

One Kings Lane: Save Up to 70% OFF! Free Standard Shipping on Orders over $99!

Williams & Sonoma: Spring Clearance: Up to 75% OFF!.

Nordstrom: Up to 40% OFF!

Neiman Marcus: Designer Sale: Up to 40% OFF.

Pier 1: Summer Sale: Up to 50% Off!

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“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

Interior Design Services within Your Budget

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