Two weeks ago I shared a walking tour of Aurora, Illinois’ westside historic district. Today is round two of touring this amazing residential area with amazing historic homes. First up on today’s tour is this lovely clapboad Victorian home painted green with creamy trim and accents of red. Note the unique treatment on the windows…
Winter in Illinois can get a bit crazy and can change on a dime at any given time. For example, last week we received about ten inches of fluffy white snow. This week it’s much warmer and that fresh dusting of snow is already melting. Before all of the cottony drifts of the white stuff…
Last weekend was my grandson’s first birthday! My daughter decided on a lumberjack party theme and rented a little log cabin in Riverside, Illinois. It was such a cute party and I took lots of pictures which I’ll share in a future post. After the party, hubby and I toured the tree-lined streets and of…
A couple weeks ago I took you on a walk with me along the tree-lined streets of Sycamore, Illinois. Today we’re taking another walk through the beautiful historic district of this charming little town. I’m such a huge fan of quaint architecture and if you follow my blog, I’m guessing you enjoy it as much…
Older homes with wrap around porches and architectural detail have a charm all their own. Normally when I post walking tours of neighborhoods I choose to share the historic homes. But today, hubby and I ventured to Mill Creek subdivision in Geneva, Illinois to bring you a sampling of newer “village homes” that have quaint appeal….
Last week I took you on part of my walk through one of the historic neighborhoods in St. Charles, Illinois. This week I’m sharing the rest of that walk with you. You’ll see mostly bungalow style homes on this part of the tour, but I’ve added a couple others too. St. Charles is right next…
As the suburbs of Chicago continue to grow and spread, it seems there’s always new homes popping up around our area. Most of this new construction consists of well-planned subdivisions with tract housing, providing new home buyers with the most square footage they can afford. This of course means that architectural amenities like ornate trim, custom…
If you’ve seen the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray, you might think it was filmed in Punxsatawney, PA. But truth be told, the movie was filmed just a few towns north of where I live in Woodstock, Illinois. I’ve heard that the movie makers passed through Woodstock on the way to film the Blue…
One of my favorite weekend trips is a visit to historic Galena, Illinois. Even Midwest Living magazine has featured it on many occasions. Home of Ulysses S. Grant, Galena’s main street is a shopping mecca of boutiques, antique stores, and many restaurants. But what I love most about Galena is its rolling hills and historic…
This past weekend my daughter and I ran the Fox Valley Half Marathon, which means I’ve been a little too tired to think about decorating and taking photos. So I poked around my folders and found a slew of old house pictures that I never posted! How did that happen? So without further adieu, here…
A little over a week ago my hubby and I took a little jaunt over to Sycamore to take a walk in the historic district. I took too many pictures to share in one post, so this is part two of some beautiful homes in the Land of Lincoln. (You can view the first post…
Summer is a great time to think about sprucing up your front door. I love cruising around local neighborhoods for inspiration. What’s not to love about this little porch with its pink flowers and bright green mailbox? Little blue birds highlight the yellow, iron archway framing the entrance. I love a blue door with an…
Savannah, Georgia has some of the most amazing residential architecture in the United States, so beautiful that General Sherman didn’t have the heart to burn it down during the Civil War. Travel quite a bit north to a cozy, Yankee town just 60 miles west of the heart of Chicago, whose gracious homes remind me…
If you can’t tell by now, I love old homes! I grew up in a typical, suburban 1950’s quad level (a twist on the tri-level) and when I grew up, I knew I wanted something different. My first house as an adult was a bungalow-type Sears catalog home built in the early 1900s. As soon as…
Do you have a flirtatious front door? Does it entice passers-by to “come hither” for a visit? Or, is it more like mine and gives a cold shoulder? This will be changing soon when we paint our home’s exterior this summer, but for now, have a look at some flirtatious front doors in the ‘hood. Love the…
Since my teens I’ve had a passionate love affair with old houses. Doesn’t matter if they’re large or small … I love ’em all. When I was first married my mom and I would go for walks in historic districts, looking at the homes and sharing ideas on how we’d transform them if we lived…
