I had a ball at the antique mall

I was looking for something fun to do on Saturday while Marc was working. I was looking for the kind of place that you can just wander around and look at things, preferably of the non-generic variety. Google can be your friend in times like these. After just one search, I had my destination. And it was just a little more than a mile away.

The Cambridge Antique Market is five floors of ... stuff. As in, every single floor of the building pictured above is filled with oldness. Some was old and gross. Some was old and awesome. It was a standard New England antique mall, and it was exactly what I needed to pass the hours on a cold February day.

I love walking around and looking at things. It's fun to imagine what people will do -- or once did -- with all of the stuff, and it also makes for some truly great people watching. I got this picture from the Cambridge Antique Market's Facebook page. It's kind of blurry, but it shows the volume of objects in the store.

I did end up taking home a few treasures. Like this bronze horse

and these shiny green and white lacquered dishes from Austria.

The undersides of these dishes are shiny red. I love them! I think they'll be great to hold paperclips and other small desktop items.

I also got this scarf for $1. I'm thinking I'll eventually frame it, because I've had a thing for framed textiles lately.

And here's my big ticket item. I saw it within 2 minutes of entering the store, and I really think we were meant to be together.

You see, I have his cousin waiting at home:

I got the first block print at an antique print store on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Thomas Jefferson has never looked so good in all his graphic, antique glory. I love the yellow border on the black and white print, and the way the gold frame I ended up choosing echoes the yellow rectangle in the print.

I love the way the two prints are so very different, yet share many of the same elements. Sure, they are from different eras. The dealer at CAM told me Johann was made by mid-century artist Mervin Jules. The print of Thomas is from a book from the 1800s. And in real life, the two men actually only overlapped for 7 years -- Jefferson was born in 1743, and Bach died in 1750.

But I don't care. I look at the two prints together, and I love the way they complement one another. The Bach picture on its own has the potential to be very poppy (as in pop art, not the flower), which is a look I'm not crazy about. So I know I need to choose the frame and the room it hangs in carefully. Good thing I have plenty of time! I see more tips to the Cambridge Antique Market in my future ...

Connecticut farmhouse, Round 2

Marc and I spent the long weekend in Connecticut and NYC. On our way back to Boston, we drove through Newtown, which is something I've been wanting to do since I discovered this farmhouse during my Trulia searches.

For as long as I can remember, I've had a thing for old houses. I grew up in Colorado, so "old" to me was 1940. I thought I was looking at a typo the first time I saw a house listed with a date from the 1700s ... how can something so old still be standing? And people living in it? Amazing. Lucky for me, New England is filled with old homes.

So, back to Newtown. We entered the address of the original farmhouse into our GPS, which gave us the opportunity to see a neighborhood with houses in our range (size and price). This type of exercise is mostly fantasy. We have no idea where we'll actually move to when Marc's residency is done. But it's fun to dream, especially when the setting is this beautiful.

When we were back in Boston, I continued my Newtown house tour online. This is my new current favorite: 1 Jeremiah Road.

The house is filled with things that make my heart flutter, like the vaulted ceilings in the kitchen

with wooden beams, of course.

The wooden door is amazing. I wonder if it's a main entrance?

I think the house would lend itself very well to a Tom Scheerer type of decor. Everything is so cozy and small-proportioned. Except for the fireplaces - nothing small about those.

But really ... I could see a room like the one above, and like the dining room below,

filled with comfortable furniture like this Tom Scheerer living room.

One of the things I like about Tom Scheerer is that he doesn't fill old houses with old things. In the next picture, for example, the coffee table and side table keep the room from feeling like a museum. And those lamps!

The real estate websites only show one of the four bedrooms in the house

and two of the four fireplaces.

It's an eyesore now, but I love to stare at every detail and imagine how I would change it.

If you're still with me, things are about to get more fun. That's because this house has a party barn!!

The barn is a "rare find," featuring a stone fireplace and plenty of space.

I imagine it being used as a three-season gathering spot, with a long rustic table and mismatched chairs that can fit more people than the small proportioned house probably can. The fireplace looks big enough to keep the barn warm even on a crisp fall night. Mmm, when my daydreams take a turn like this, I never want to wake up.

Vacation destination: The Porches Inn

It's always fun to travel (OK, more so when you're on vacation and not on a work trip) and it's a bonus when your lodging is as inspiring as the destination itself. On Monday, I posted about one of my favorite places to go, and today I'm posting about a place I've never been.

One of my coworkers told me about The Porches Inn in North Adams, Mass. It's in the Berkshires, so is a great destination for any season. Frolic through foliage by day, and relax by the fire at night. This fireplace is in one of the guest suites.

The inn is a revamp of six Victorian row houses, located right across the street from the MASS MoCA art museum. Imagine the surroundings during peak foliage season! And it's not too shabby if it's blanketed by snow, either.

Some of the rooms are two-story, spiral-staircase lofts.

And here's a cute mini kitchen in one of the extended stay suites:

There are no polyester coverlets under these roofs. This bedroom is something I wouldn't mind waking up in everyday:

Oooh, look at the slate floors and wooden chairs in the white bathroom!

In a May 2, 2008, New York Times article, the owners refer to the decor as "retro-industrial-granny-chic." The bathroom is a perfect example of that. If Porches Inn were a store, it would be Anthropologie with a dash of Brimfield.

I think this picture is of one of the communal spaces:

The yellow walls remind me of the Montana real estate listing I blogged about in November. Here's a picture of that house, to refresh your memory:

Here's another communal space - the dining room:

I wish there was a way to get a closer look at the plates on the ledge. I love how it is decorated in a very New England-y style, yet updated.

There's plenty to see on the outside grounds, too. Like this gazebo:

So, what do you think? Are you as inspired as I am by the rooms at Porches Inn?

Architect: Ann McCallum of Burr and McCallum, Williamstown, Massachusetts

Interior Design: Nancy Fitzpatrick and Ann McCallum

All photos from Porches' website