Sacramento Historic House Blog

Photo Copyright BBC Films

Blogged about the gorgeous romantic comedy Imagine Me & You over at Romantic Film Locations.

Perhaps something to do with a uniformed Damian Lewis? Photo copyright HBO.

One movie/mini-series that I cannot turn off if I happen across it on tv is Band of Brothers. I’ve seen it about 4 times now. My husband probably wonders why it is I can sit through hours upon hours of BoB and not even five minutes of his favorite war film of all time Where Eagles Dare.

I don’t know. They just got me. Them being Mssrs. Spielberg and Hanks. With their English actors doing awesome American accents and their American actors doing awesome American accents, their interviews with the real life members of Easy Company, their outstanding storytelling, their pull-no-punches Bastogne episode… oh I get so nerdy for Band of Brothers. { yep, got the soundtrack }

Since today is Father’s Day, the History channel has being doing a BoB marathon and I’ve been watching. Glued to the sofa instead of doing laundry or going to the grocery store or experiencing sunlight…

Hope you had a good day too!

I had planned to shock you all by updating the Sacramento Historic House website with a few more houses… including the Governor’s Mansion. However, I find that the site is seriously in need of a redesign and I’m not ready to work on that today. So here’s what I was going to put up:

The Governor’s Mansion was orginally the Gallatin mansion, named for the original owners Albert and Clemenza Gallatin who hired famed architect Nathaniel Goodell to build the house in 1877. Goodell was also responsible for the gorgeous Heilbron and Mesick houses. Albert Gallatin was one of the partners in Huntington & Hopkins & Company, a hardware store orginally located on K Street but torn down to make way for I5. The store was rebuilt in Old Sacramento in the 1970s as a replica.

The Governor’s Mansion has been home to many illustrious state Governors, including the Warrens and the Browns. It used to be that you could see the old fashioned tub where someone (supposedly Kathleen Brown) painted red toenails on the claw feet… not sure if you still can.

Copyright SAMCC

Copyright Hotel Raphael.

Right now I can think of nothing more glorious than a sunset glass of champagne on this terrace. Found via http://www.raphael-hotel.com/fr/galerie.htm and originally http://lepetitparistours.blogspot.com/.

Happy daydreaming!

Dear Rick,

When I was 10 years old (I know but keep reading), my slightly older cousin and next door neighbor and I went to see your concert. My Mom took us (she’s the best) and we were pretty damn excited as you might imagine young girls would be. Long story short, at one point during the concert, you had quieted the crowd to talk about the next song you were going to play and my cousin decided we should yell We Love You Rick! as loud as we could. So we did. And we were greeted by a few “Shut the hell up”s from the crowd around us (rightly so).

In our defense, we couldn’t hear what you were saying and pretty much couldn’t see you through the standing adults around us, but I did realize later that you may have quieted the crowd to talk about a family member that had passed away. So for some reason, and maybe this is just my natural tendancy towards drama and anxiety… I have felt bad about this event ever since.

Anyway, I apologize.

I better go now. Got letters to Simon Le Bon and Sting to pen. (Just kidding.)

Take good care,
~Tracy
p.s. No, this is not part of a 12 step program.

Awhile back, I mentioned the top 10 movie interiors that made me sit up and take notice. One of them is Meg Ryan’s apartment in You’ve Got Mail. There’s just something about that apartment. Maybe it’s because the movie makes you feel good and therefore seeing the heroine’s living space is merely an extension of those feelings. I don’t know. I just like it. I like the white and sunny yellows, the perky florals, the shelves crammed with books, the old piano, the light and let’s face it… the semi-virginal promise of youth. I mean come on – it really is a bit girly girl.

I’m including some screenshots to jog your memory. Hooked On Houses does a much better job at film interiors, but she hasn’t done this one yet (as far as I know). Enjoy!

I’m trying a new thing now where I watch a few minutes of comedy clips on YouTube each day. Sort of a yoga stretch for the mind in between design projects. Since laughter is the best medicine, I’m hoping it gives me a boost of energy at those times when I need it most.

Favorites: Eddie Izzard and Jim Gaffigan

This week I was lucky enough to spend time with relatives who live in Denmark and let me tell you, they are the healthiest looking people I’ve ever seen. My cousin especially looked tanned, relaxed and lovely… granted she is on vacation but I think she has some secrets that are still quite foreign to us American women. I paid attention.

1. She wore no makeup and her hair looked pretty natural color-wise, but she was rosy cheeked and her eyes bright. When I first saw her, she was laying out by the pool… in a classic, black halter bikini. Toned, gorgeous and confident! For dinner she threw on a bright cotton mini dress over her bikini and put her hair up in a messy chignon.

2. She did not eat lunch because she was full from a “large breakfast” – which was probably one of our normal sized breakfasts.

3. When she did snack, she had just a handful of dried blueberries.

4. In the late afternoon, I put out a fruit and fancy cheese plate. She unabashedly cut off small chunks of blue, triple cream and organic sharp cheddar cheese then ate them one at a time – savoring each bite with an accompanying comment about how good it was. Never a comment about how much fat or how many calories or how she “shouldn’t”.

5. She didn’t drink overly much but she didn’t turn down a second glass of wine.

6. She jumped up whenever there was a vague chance that my Mom needed help in the kitchen. When she wasn’t needed, she happily perched herself wherever in order to keep a good conversation going.

7. She was always calm and easy-going, despite there being some confusion about the plans for the rest of the evening and a lot of back-and-forth chatter about what to do.

8. She had dessert. Not a lot but more than a spoonful.

Now maybe she went out the next day and jogged for five miles or maybe she was high on Xanax… I don’t know… but I doubt it. Anyway, it was funny to see the difference between how she behaved and how I behaved (basically the opposite).

Images ©Fifi Flowers and used with permission.

How cute are these commissioned house portraits by Fifi Flowers? The charming colors and whimsical style would brighten up anyone’s office, livingroom, kitchen, etc. If you’ve got a historic house that you are especially proud of, wouldn’t it be fun to get a painting of your house made into a set of notecards?

Fifi is also inspired by a couple of things that I love. Movies and Paris. Check out her Etsy shop for more loveliness.

Also, while we are on the subject of art. I enjoyed perusing the Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture exhibit online over at the National Gallery (Washington). Especially Charlie Chaplin and that great image of Garbo. Unfortunately the show is now closed.

I’ve talked before about Mondo Beyondo lists (title courtesy of Superhero) and writing it down to make it happen but there’s something new to this process that I’m discovering. It seems when looking at my gloriously long things to do in life from 2006 that I had a lot more… what’s the word… energy back then. Here’s a sample from 2006:

Ride on a sailboat in the south of France
Work from home doing a job that’s creative
Have a book on the bestseller list
Travel to Paris with [husband]
Work in an art museum
Take long walks in the English countryside
Go dancing at the Press Club without feeling old
Research something old/historic
Be my own boss
Live where it isn’t so hot [briefly lived in Bay area]
Wear Hitchcock heroine inspired clothing
Learn how to light a paper napkin on fire so it floats in the air
Study archeology
Swing in a hammock
Win a prize
Listen live to a Calypso or Reggae band with steel drums

Okay you get the idea… and as you see, I’ve marked out the ones that I’ve done so far. However these days when I think about making a new list or even a more specific list, I can’t really generate the excitement to put pen to paper. I’ve realized that it’s not depression or stress that’s blocking me from coming up with ideas but rather the lack of those things that makes daydreaming less frequent.

When I worked 9-5, I would work out all kinds of eleborate scenarios for my life because, honestly, you need to have that Cinderella story running through your mind when you are sitting in your six month review with your boss.

I think now my list would still include the things mentioned above but also the approaching mid-life crisis items like:

Eat more vegetables
Floss every day
Exercise every day
Start Tai Chi class
{Basically “don’t die early” type of items}

Hey and if any of you can help me out with the items on my list from 2006, please do give me a shout at web {at} sachistorichouse {dot} com. Thanks in advance!