House of Frickenstein Giveaway Hosted by The Framed Lady!

We’ve partnered up with The Framed Lady in a knob giveaway! Want your shot at free Frickenstein knobs? Click below for your chance to win a set of four vintage knobs in your choice of color!



Don’t want to wait? Use the coupon code 12FRAMED10 for an instant 10% discount off your total purchase at House of Frickenstein
Enter now until Tuesday, September 4th!!! Good luck!

Loving The “Love Wall”

A few months back The Husband and I thought it might be a good time to beautify our home. We started with what has since been dubbed “The Love Wall.”

The main hallway in our home, before decor, could best be described as shoebox-esque. No windows. Four doors which remain closed for the most part and one open doorway leading in from a dimly lit corner of the living room. Let’s just say it was D-A-R-K, dark. Fast forward past a week or so of planning, a solid two days of picture hanging, numerous shopping trips to find the perfect rug, a full day and several nails lost to installing crystal door knobs and a frustrating morning of light fixture installing and she’s almost done.
Finding and sticking with a new paint color is proving to be more difficult than I ever anticipated. It’s been three years. Three. I’m awaiting that glorious moment when the clouds part, the ceiling opens overhead and The Big Man hands me a swatch of the perfect shade of pale greige with pinkish undertones. Away to the hardware store I’ll run, but not before doubting the placement of every photo, the shade of IKEA white light fixture and the texture of my currently beloved rug. But for now I can live with the yellowed white walls and the temporary (torn, soon to be repaired) thrifted oil painting oddly set in the corner. Afterall, what’s a home with nothing left to work on?

Office Overhaul Part I

So, here at “Maison Frickenstein” we have a guest suite (completed this past winter), our bedroom (to be addressed at a later time) and a miscellaneous room. At one time we thought it would make a good walk-in closet/dressing room for the both of us, then another guest room. Currently I’m thinking duel office/craft room. There’s already a built in desk and shelves on one side of the room.

The drawer and cabinets are randomly colored cream and harvest gold. I’m thinking this whole unit, excluding the dark wood laminate desktop, shall be pale pink drawers with white surrounds. The dark wood desk against the opposite wall, grey. The ugly brown carpet, gone. A fresh coat of paint on the walls and trim (color to be determined) and a new light fixture are definitely necessary. Along with some decluttering and a solution to a husband’s closet (it’s much more functional without doors but hideous all the same), maybe with handmade curtains in a saturated hue to compliment the tbd paint? Either way, this room will be my focus for the next few weekends. I can’t wait to get elbow deep in home.

“Dare Ka Eigo-o Hanaseru Hito Wa Imasu Ka?” (Does Anyone Speak English?)

Did you know? Japan is effing freezing this time of year! Perfect weather for a business trip, right? Yeah, nuh-uh.
At least it’s a beautiful country. Here’s proof:

They landscape the office buildings. Bet it’s lovely when it’s not in hibernation.

Everyone bikes. There are bike parking lots like this one everywhere. Everywhere. And all the bikes are always perfectly aligned. Always. Even in a bicycle graveyard I saw once from the train. rows upon rows of rusted bikes. I long for the day that Americans take this much pride in their own country.

All food items look as lovely as they taste.

And wherever you look there is something to see (but the explanation will probably be in Japanese so don’t ask me what, who or why cuz I promise I probably won’t know).

Afterall, this was mostly my view in Japan: dinner. Beer purchased from a vending machine (yes, beer for yen is automated) sushi from either 7-11 or some small shop whose name I’d never be able to pronounce and some little sweet to cure my homesick heart, like this chocolate pudding walnut brownie mochi thing I still have dirty dreams about.
Japan, I’ll miss your mystery foods, your plentiful alcohol, your too-pretty-to-eat everything, your people who are so polite and kind, but I will not miss your snow, ice slicked sidewalks or your train delay announcements which are only in Japanese. Domo arigatou gozaimasu for the experience. <3

Dang, Spring Is How Many Weeks Away?!

Yo, spring! Hurry up already!

The Husband and I took advantage of my being home sick this week to spruce up the nest a little. Changed the livingroom drapes from cozy cool toned fall/winterness to the cheerful spring/summer version. I know it’s a little early but what with being in snowy Japan for most of this month on business, the thought of a so cal spring has me salivating and chomping at the bit. My to-do list is growing and I can’t wait to get started! “Spring, I’ll be waiting with open arms.”

Douglas Phinnius Fricke

This is Douglas. Doug or Dougie to his friends. His favorite pastimes include chewing plastic, eating, bird watching and terrorizing his big sister, Magenta Vampira. Doug left his furry family and came to live with us a couple of summers ago. We love him. Everyone loves Doug. He cuddles, talks all the time and plays fetch. Definitely a people’s cat. He loathes being outdoors and at 16.5 lbs is possibly outgrowing our little home. If it does come down to it, we’ll get rid of the furniture and sit, sleep, and find comfort in nuzzling in Dougie’s furry pink belly.

Hefty & Handsome

My family comes from Cherokee, NC. Whenever Sean and I visit, our vacation always seems to include a big family dinner at the local Bob’s Big Boy. It was during one of these dinners that Sean fell in love with “my family and with banana pudding.” His words. Each time I see our souvenir big boy bank I contemplate making a thank-you-for-loving-my-family banana pudding for my hungry hungry husband. His birthday is in a couple weeks, plans are yet to be set…