Our first real weekend (read: break from working) was both enjoyable and successful. We discovered the City Market on Saturday morning which has a fabulous farmers market. We scored lots of great produce, fresh flowers and some new houseplants.

We needed new plants because the moving company wouldn’t move any of ours and we only had room for one: mama plant. Apparently pothos are about the only plant that I can manage to not regularly kill and we had been given such a plant many years ago. Like maybe 20 years or so. We know it was a housewarming gift but we cannot recall if it was for our first house that we bought in Madison in 1992 or for our house in VA which we bought in 1997. Either way, this is a really old plant. And it has spawned many other plants – at least six that we left behind and every housewarming plant we have ever given to any of our friends. So mama plant had to come and rode along in the car with us on our journey and is happily ensconced in the alcove at the top of the stairs. But she is lonely. So we bought some new plants to keep her company. The stall at the farmer’s market was attended by a lovely man who, while sad to hear that I regularly kill plants, was heartened to hear that I do earnestly try to be a good gardener. So he recommended several plants that can be treated like pothos – low light, can stand drying out between waterings, etc.

In the afternoon, we wandered off to West Bottoms to go antiquing. Apparently “First Fridays” are a big deal in KC and the weekend associated with said Friday also have special things going on and playing in this area of town is one of them. While it would have been unbelievable overwhelming to just wander aimlessly through the maze of shops, we had a quest to keep us focused: a coat rack. Not any coat rack but one that was the right color and had big antler-like tines for hanging hats. The closets in oor wee hoose have been redone to allow for the maximum amount of stuff to be hung but what that means is that there are usually two bars for hanging short items instead of a single bar across the top which accommodates items of all sizes. So no where for long coats in the hall closet. We don’t have many of these (2) but we do have to accommodate the ones we have. A coat rack seemed the perfect answer – and it is!

Throughout the weekend, we spent time unwrapping and hanging the pictures and paintings that had been in the old house. It now looks familiar and feels like it’s our space and not just space with our furniture. There is an air of permanence now that shedding boxes wasn’t enough to accomplish alone. Once those empty boxes are hauled away today, it will be time for the big reveal. Stay tuned!