Historic German House

Dancing in a lofty, inspiring historic building with a great floor and clean bathrooms (featuring an abundant paper product supply) always makes a dance weekend better. I recently spent Stompology weekend at The Historic German House in Rochester, NY, and it measured up. 

Shortly after arriving I heard a few ladies joyously squealing about the bathroom stalls actually having functional locks. If that ruckus combined the smell of newly varnished floor wasn't enough, I looked up and saw this multilayered textural hint that renovations were recently (beautifully) done.

Yes please to this tin tile ceiling and curly chandelier

Balcony seats and arch windows

Marble and hexagon

Complete with a sky blue tufted velvet bathroom settee!

Victorian Mansion

Last weekend I had the delight of staying in this Airbnb in Rochester, NY. I highly recommend! It is charming, clean, convenient, inspiring, and the hosts are superb communicators. Take a peek inside these historic walls.

 The décor was an eclectic vintage enthusiast's dream.

The black and white checkerboard bathroom and claw foot tub are stunning!

The kitchen was my favourite part--it was actually below the rest of the unit, via a winding servant staircase. I enjoyed that it was part of the unit but separate enough to be a space to retreat to when a couple of us were upstairs sleeping and the rest of us didn't want to disturb.

 Minty counter and more checkerboard tile!

I'm a fan of the fan light, and these tiny antique details.

A resident kitty made an appearance on the back deck.

 The kitchen windows were open a crack all weekend so the whole room smelled like lilacs and magnolias.

Such a grand porch so charmingly nestled in greenery!

A few of the architectural sites from a stroll around...

Staying in this lovely home made the weekend even more enjoyable!

The Secret Artist

A fluttering lens was barely noticed as it inconspicuously traipsed down mid-20th century streets. The moments were captured, the negatives were labelled and boxed up in a crowded attic, and the photographer modestly dissolved into the abyss of unrecognized creativity. Then, somewhere between shouts and slams of an auctioneer’s gavel, John Maloof, a filmmaker and historian, snagged several mysterious boxes at a Chicago auction house in 2007. His $380 purchase unveiled a jaw-dropping treasure. 30,000 negatives and prints made up the invaluable time capsule. Vivian Maier, an American street photographer, was finally discovered, and her fame erupted after her death in 2009. This is the kind of story that astounds me. It goes to show that people have undiscovered talents and potential--and talk about a fantastic auction find! You can check out this site for more information. I love that Vivian took photos of the ordinary and the incidental extraordinary, and I appreciate the ability to see some of those sights. Her self portraits, like the one from 1954 above, are especially unique. Here are some of my favourites of her photos.

1953 New York, NY.

1950s Canada.

1953 New York, NY.

1953 New York, NY.

1954 New York, NY.

1953 New York, NY.

1954 New York, NY.

1954 New York, NY.

1954 New York, NY.

1956 New York, NY.

1956.

1961 Chicago, IL.

1963 Chicago, IL.

 Audrey Hepburn at the Chicago premiere of My Fair Lady at the RKO Palace Theatre, October 23rd, 1964.

 August 1960 Chicago, IL.

Undated.

 August 1975.

Canada.



 July 27th, 1954, New York, NY.

 July 1957, suburb in Chicago, IL.

 June 1954, New York, NY.

 May 16th, 1957, Chigaco, IL.

 New York, NY.

September 18th, 1962.

November 8th, 1955.

 New York, NY.

January 1953, New York, NY.

 Self-Portrait 1955.

 September 13th, 1953, Empire State Building, New York, NY.

 Undated Color.



September 3rd, 1954, New York, NY.

Self-Portrait May 5th, 1955.