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

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

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

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

to Barbara's house.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From the kitchen you look into the living room:

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

It's got big square windows, loads of light, and chunky comfortable furniture.

And sweet dogs to pet, sidling up for some loving:

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

Brown and white transferware,

Including a spectacular Aesthetic design platter.

This room is where Barbara set the table for lunch:

A beautiful tablescape!

Look at the gorgeous chunky legs on the table.

The scarred table top adds rustic good looks:

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

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

No captions needed . . . .

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

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

And goodbye also to Sophie.

I never got a good picture of Sophie standing still, until I found her like this:

Hostessing is hard work.

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

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

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

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

Ummmm. . . ham, cheese, and honey mustard on croissants,

warmed in the oven till the cheese is just a bit gooey. Heaven. Pure heaven.
Try them. You will love them!

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

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Just one more food picture story:

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

Classic chocolate chip cookies.

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


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