Tuesday, July 19, 2011

If You Wait For It To Be Perfect, It Might Never Happen (and vintage, enamel fireplaces)

I dream of this fireplace in our back yard.
Sitting around it in comfy chairs, warm from the light and heat of the fire.
It would be perfect.


But sometimes waiting for perfect is a long time coming.
Especially when a fire place like that is upwards of $800. (or much more)
And we just don't have that kind of cash lying around.
Besides, the rest of our back yard is not yet fit for a beauty like that.
It's, shall we say, a work in progress.


But does that mean we don't make the most of what we have?
Does it mean we wait, unhappy, until things are just right?
Nope.
We make do.
We enjoy.
We surprise our wives with this when she comes home from an evening grocery run.



Using a bucket of sand from our trip to the beach earlier that day, some old bricks, wood he'd been saving for just such an occasion and some lights strung up kind of ramshackly (like that word?) my husband turned our driveway into something pretty nice.
Pretty romantic.
Pretty perfect.


The kids were all asleep.  We sipped coffee under the lights, warmed our toes by the fire, listened to Nat King Cole and enjoyed what we have.
And we made plans for the future.
Whether we get that beautiful mid century fire place or not.
We'll still be happy.




And the next night we built a fire for the kids and we all roasted marshmallows.
Guess what?
They thought it was perfect too.


What are you waiting for?
Get out there and live life--perfect or not--just enjoy it.
Love from,
Greta


Just to tempt you, or treat you, here are some more vintage enamel fireplaces.
Enjoy. Here, here, here, and here.  I love them all!
Read this post to see a very cool Eichler house and the fireplace in its natural setting.
Enjoy.

7 comments:

Debbie said...

Perfect!

mandi said...

yes, yes, yes!!! i love the message of this post! for me it was living on a farm. so i turned my front yard into a garden and the back yard holds our animals. it's a micro farm. and i love it!

Betsi* said...

Tres romantique!!

Jennifer said...

nice work aaron! :) yes. enjoy what you have. i am FULLY understanding this concept as we go day in and day out in this ramshackle house of construction. it is an everyday journey, but we are thankful and happy. each new step forward feels HUGE and makes us truly thankful for each new piece of our home. we have been living for a month without a sink. just two days ago, we got a sink in. hardware permanent. sink temporary. but a sink nonetheless. aaaaahhhhhh, simple pleasures! xoxox

Anonymous said...

Greta...saw a lime green bar-b-que that screamed your name...it was so modern...the shape of it was like a V on the bottom with a V on top of it...tried to find the magazine I saw it in and have had no luck...if I find it I will clip it out for you.
Chris Moore

Caroline said...

Love what your husband did, so sweet. But if you decide you must have that fireplace, I just saw a red one on craigslist down here in San Diego for a mere $500...
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/fuo/2502610253.html

Kristine said...

Love what your sweet husband did. Ever so romantic. Looks like a party in the making though. We can bring the graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. Even some skewers. Want some company? ;)