#Home Zen

[moodboardmix]

Zen Villa, Japan,

Mohammad Hossein Rabbani Zade

[terracemuse]

[keepingitneutral]

"Small House," Kawasaki, Tokyo, Japan,

Courtesy: Plan 21

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Spectacular 1968 home perched on a rocky cliff in Big Sur, California. "Taktsang Big Sur" was originally inspired by a monastery high in the Himalayas of Bhutan, and later extensively remodeled by Big Sur architect Mickey Muennig. 2bds, 2ba, $25M.

Really, for $25M, I would rather have something like this than some fussy estate.

Very comfy and cozy with beautiful views inside and out.

Dining area with a view, plus a door to the patio.

Beautiful large kitchen with a fireplace and a view. Look at the unique ceiling.

On the 2nd level there's a great ceiling and family areas, plus a view of the main floor from the mezzanine.

The view is even better on the upper floor.

The open primary bedroom on the mezzanine.

There's a cave-like entrance to this bedroom with a fireplace. It looks like a covered outdoor patio.

Bath with a view.

Isn't this wonderful. Almost feels like you're on the deck of a ferry boat.

The 1.50 acre property has fabulous gardens and outdoor spaces.

Love these lighted stairs.

They lead to this sitting area above the sea.

So pretty, isn't it?

What a cool house.

[rittzbuilds]

Wart Jr.'s bonsai garden~

[livesunique]

Okayama Castle, Okayama, Japan

[bemp0]

Ensayos sobre la empatía

[saphmiu]

/tomokotoamu

[natureselements]

✨Statement mineral crystals currently looking for their forever homes✨ shop here

[moodboardmix]

The Rasidence, Singapore,

Courtesy: Right Angle Studio

[peachycrossingx]

relaxing japanese retreat 🍃✨

[mayorwhisper]

I looooove how this came out!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Thanks to Curieosly for finding this very Zen 1988 home in Mendota Heights, MN. 5bds, 4.5ba, $1.975M.

Interesting entrance with a little nook and a tile feature wall. I like the light wood beams.

Overhead features and walk-thru's are always a fun feature.

Love the round window and vaulted ceiling.

The recessed far wall has a sideboard running the whole length of it.

The floorplan is open and airy with superb architectural features.

Besides the living room, there's a smaller, less formal sitting room.

By the dining area there's an angled fireplace, which is different. It's made of attractive tiles, and I think that the back of it is the wall in the entrance hall.

The kitchen is lovely. The color is a very soft griege. From one angle it looks very light dove gray, yet from another angle and light, it looks more creamy.

In the corner of the dining area there are tall built-in cabinets and a desk.

The primary bedroom features floor-to-ceiling windows.

Large en-suite with a very Zen soaker tub.

Big family room by the stairs.

Very nice library. Lots of natural light.

The bath has lovely tile. Seems like the baths in this home are all large.

One of the secondary bedrooms. Quite roomy and the window seat must also have storage.

Bath #3 is a big shower room.

The deck is huge.

This is some nice desk. Look at the elevated screen house.

What a great place to sit comfortably away from bugs.

Beautiful pond.

As we've learned, it's much better to have plants rather than lawn.

The landscaper and owners really get it. They're helping the bees.

I like this look.

There's just a small patch of lawn surrounded by trees and bushes on 4.53 acre lot.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1698-Dodd-Rd_Mendota-Heights_MN_55118_M78899-30706

[ofliterarynature]

APRIL 2024 WRAP UP

[loved liked ok nope dnf (reread) bookclub*]

Death in the Spires • Heartstopper Vol 4 • Heartstopper Vol 3 • To Marry an English Lord • The True Queen • (Heartstopper Vol 2) • Fun Home* • (Arabella of Mars) • I’m Glad My Mom Died • (Sorcerer to the Crown) • And Then There Were None • Vassa in the Night • Queen of the Night • The Other Significant Others • Most Ardently • The Reformatory • The Book of Love

Read: 14 (10 audio, 4 print, 3 DNF)

The Other Significant Others (5 stars)- I've been anticipating this one ever since I first heard about it and it didn't disappoint! Not only does it tell the stories of people in close, non-traditional relationships, it also talks about marriage, raising kids, and aging, and it was all incredible. I've recommended this in the tags of so many posts and I need y'all to read it.

Queen of the Night (3 stars) - I've heard this glowingly recommended. I liked the author's story in the Sword, Stone, Table anthology. The events in the book are incredible! I should have been fascinated! But I was so bored! Part of it was that the mystery/thriller element in the description - someone has written an opera based on the main character's scandalous secret past, who could it be? - was extremely oversold, most of the book is recounting said past events, and we don't really dive into the present mystery until the very end. I've read similarly slow books so I don't know why I didn't like this, but I wish I'd dnf'd it. I'd recommend you try The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland instead.

Vassa in the Night (4 stars) - this one surprised me! It's YA, I've heard pretty mixed reviews, and it's been sitting on my shelf for a while - starting it, the VERy in-your-face YAness almost threw me off but I'm very glad I stuck through it. I live for magic and fairy tales being dumped into modern times, and the really smart thing about this book is that it keeps a very tight focus (no space for the larger worldbuilding to fall apart lol). We've got a morally-grey magical doll companion who's a kleptomaniac and will eat you out of house and home, Baba-Yaga and her 24-hour convenience store on chicken feet, her disembodied hand assistants, weird guy on a motorcycle, and oh yeah, if they catch you stealing they'll put your head on display (and they're not above framing you to do it). Yes this is perfectly normal, why do you ask? I'm not saying it's perfect, but I had such a good time!

And Then There Were None (4 stars) - my first real attempt at Christie! I did enjoy listening to this, enough that I think I'll try some other Christie, but it wasn't entirely to my taste. I prefer having a detective figure in the story to follow, and the "reveal" after was disappointing.

Sorcerer to the Crown (3.5 stars) - this was a reread, and I definitely liked it a lot less for some reason this time? Maybe it was changing formats, but I love a historical fantasy romp and this should have been right up my alley! The True Queen (4 stars) was much more enjoyable, so maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the rereading itself. I think this might be my sign to call it quits with Zen Cho.

I'm Glad My Mom Died (4 stars) - this isn't really one I think I'd have ever picked for myself even though it got popular, except that my book-club friend recommended it. I'm finding that I'm not really one for memoirs, but despite the heartbreaking contents this was very easy to read - largely chronological with short chapters, and the author is clearly aware that things were bad even when her younger self did not. I accidentally started this when I was also reading Fun Home, so that was a lot of bad-parent-memoir at the same time, oops.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (4 stars) - I've been eying this one for a while and am glad to have gotten it on the list for book club! Deeply fascinating, if not always an easy read - the subject on one hand, but the density of the pages, the differences between the comic panels and the narration outside them, and the jumping through time that memoirs do sometimes made events hard to follow. I admit my favorite parts were seeing the different queer books Bechdel slipped into her illustrations (one that I'm reading right now even!).

Arabella of Mars (4.5 stars) - Y'all, we are sleeping on this book, I had so much fun! Here's to girls dressing as boys, sailing ships, steampunk space travel, and vibes straight from early sci-fi adventure novels. I can't believe I forgot about this and am just glad I picked up a copy at the library sale to make myself reread it. I do apologize for thinking this was YA (which it isn't), but further thoughts on that and the rest of the series will have to wait for next month.

Heartstopper Vol 2-4 (5/5/4 stars) - finally! I read part of the comic online ages ago, and read Vol 1 for book club the other month, but I finally got started on the rest of the series. I had definitely read through Vol 2 previously, but everything else was new to me. I had a good time, but Vol 4 was a bit of a(n expected!) downer, and the time jump in the middle ruined the flow a bit for me. I do have Vol 5 in my hands currently, and if I didn't have so many other things to do I'd be tempted to do a big Alice Oseman re/read.

To Marry an English Lord (4 stars) - I encountered this at not one, but TWO unrelated book sales before I caved and bought it. I enjoyed it! It's mostly a sort of overview/reference covering the period around the Gilded Age - the New York upper crust, the European Aristocracy, and the various societal events that lead to a pattern of marital exchange. Did I skim the bits where it just listed name after name after name? Yes, but! Highly recommend to anyone reading romances or general fiction set in the period, I really wish I'd read this before trying The Age of Innocence! (its also very funny how occasionally it makes references that make it very obvious it was written in the 80's lol). Pairs incredibly well with another book I bought at the same sale, The Divorce Colony by April White.

Death in the Spires (3.5 stars) - I love KJ Charles, but I've often felt that her plots and romances can sometimes be at odds - so I was very excited when she said she'd written a mystery! But I'm lukewarm about it at best. The campus novel portions were fascinating, and I'd have loved more of them. But Jem as our narrator just wasn't engaging for most of the book. I wouldn't say it's his fault necessarily, but he's not really a good detective, there are either no clues or they're just going in circles, and the promised attempts on his life just aren't happening. Once we hit the 2/3 mark, where we're on campus, have more characters together, and they're talking - that's when things got good! Maybe this will be be better on a reread, but for now my hopes are for some good fanfic. Would recommend more to the dark academia people rather than mystery fans.

DNF

Most Ardently (20%) - the vibes were very much, "here's my blorbos, I'm putting them in a Pride and Prejudice AU." Which is great, if that's what you want! It was not what I wanted alas. Biggest cons, the de-ageing of the characters and the generally modern YA/queerness. Pros, they did keep all of the other Bennet sisters! I was so tempted to keep reading just to see how Oliver and Darcy got together, but I knew I wasn't going to enjoy myself. Would have loved to see this presented as an original work rather than an adaptation, or as something hewing closer to the original tone and period of the novel.

The Reformatory (43%) - this was good, really! It's just that I'm only so-so on horror on my best days, and both story lines were sad and dark and depressing. I could have probably handled one or the other, but I wasn't really having a good time (that's not the right phrasing exactly, but you know what I mean). I had other things I wanted to read and it was a long book.

The Book of Love (6%) - I've heard multiple people sing the praises of Kelly Link, so while I wasn't really drawn by the description, I thought I'd give it a shot! I did, and it still didn't draw me in. Maybe I'll give it a try again someday, but I think I'll try her short fiction first.

[rittzbuilds]

Purrl's kotatsu den~

[terracemuse]