sherilynpanchal-blog - Tumblr blog

[sherilynpanchal-blog]

Arrival

We arrived around 2:00pm, which was nice because we still had a good chunk of daylight to explore the house and the surrounding area. But it was also not so nice because it meant we left our apartment at 7:00am, and I am now very tired.

The early departure time was Maddie’s idea. I would have preferred to sleep in, but she insisted that arriving early was a crucial part of getting the most out of our vacation.

Of course it is now 6:00pm and she is asleep on the couch beside me, so, make of that what you will.

The house is old. According to the rental page, it was built back around 1900. While the exterior has remained relatively the same, the inside has been completely overhauled with modern but elegant furniture and warm tones painted on every wall.*

When you walk in the front door there’s a quaint little entryway with a simple, golden chandelier, burnt orange walls, and a narrow wooden staircase. To the left of the entry way is the dining room. An elegant wooden table runs the length of the room and a matching sideboard holds a full set of floral china and several wine glasses.

Around the staircase is a short hallway that leads to both the kitchen, spacious and well-equipped with all the latest versions of kitchen appliances, and beyond that, a living area with a large brick fireplace, two matching white couches, and a leather recliner.

The dining room, kitchen, and parlor, are all on the left side of the house. The entire right side is sealed off. See this is how two twenty-somethings were able to rent this amazing house without breaking the bank.

We found it on one of those Airbnb websites. Apparently, a pretty bad fire put it out of commission in the early 20’s. The listing said that during the 80’s some well-to-do family tried to fix it up as a vacation home, but they abandoned the project when faulty electrical wiring caused the building to catch fire again.

Now some other well-to-do has decided to fix it up, specifically to rent it out.

Although you wouldn’t know from the first photograph, the back/right section of the house is still in pretty bad shape. It’s been cleaned up some, and we’ve been assured that there are no environmental hazards lurking in those derelict rooms, but the new owner has yet to complete the renovations on that part.

Still, they were ready to start making some returns on their investment. Construction has been halted for the winter months anyways, so we were able to receive a very reasonable price, as long as we were willing to cope with a few unusable rooms.

Which, of course we were.

*I should note that the internet accessibility has not caught up to the interior design. We’re in the mountains, so of course cell reception and 4G access is nonexistent. There is an Ethernet plugin in the living room, which is how I’m still able to post, but it is excruciatingly slow. If I go silent for a bit, assume that the internet has crapped out on me, which it seems likely to do.

[sherilynpanchal-blog]

On the way.

[sherilynpanchal-blog]

In case you were curious what we looked like. That’s me on the left, Maddie on the right.

[sherilynpanchal-blog]

The Night Before

Hello hello! If you’re reading this post it’s likely because you found the link to this blog on my photography website. Although, I suppose it’s possible that you merely stumbled across little ol’ me during your internet browsing. Whatever the case, I’ll start off with a very brief introduction to make sure we’re all on the same page.

My name is Sherilyn Panchal (10 points for stating the obvious), I am 25 years old, I dislike - nay, despise - chocolate, and I am a photographer. I also work part time as the content editor for La Vie en Rose Boutique in Concord, but photography is my passion (0 points for extremely cliché statements).

In 2014 I graduated with a BFA in Photography from the University of California, and in a month’s time I will be launching my own photography business. Hooray! I am currently in the process of setting up my website, and it’s official launch date is February 10th.

I plan to add the final touches during my five-year anniversary vacation with my girlfriend Maddie. FIVE YEARS. That is insane. 

Maddie is a biochemist, a giant film nerd, and the kindest person I know. We met in a sophomore art history class in the fall of 2011. I claim it was love at first sight. She claims I avoided her for over a month. I remind you all that sometimes I get nervous, and those two things are not mutually exclusive.

We started dating the following January and have been together ever since.

We will be spending just under a week in the Cascade Mountains where we have rented the most GORGEOUS house for a criminally low price (more on how we swung that later). We’ll be heading out the door early, early tomorrow morning.

Expect lots of pictures and, hopefully, lots of amusing posts.

If you are waiting to recruit my services, I hope this blog serve as a nice way to pass the time, and I hope the pictures I post will give you a better idea of my skill and versatility. Thanks for your patience and...see you in the next post? I feel like there ought to be some sort of sign-off here but I don’t know what...