The other day I was working away in the office and Sherry breezed in and stole some paper from the printer. I didn’t think much of it… until a few minutes later when I walked into the kitchen to find this. Well, this and Sherry grinning at me and batting her eyelashes.
I soon learned that these large succulent photographs that she’d been eying for some time from West Elm had gone on sale (boo, but it looks like they’re back to full price now). It’s more than we typically spend on art, but they’re very large (almost 30″ wide and tall) and the price included the big glass frame – so Sherry took the 20% markdown as a sign from the succulent photography gods that two of these should come to live with us. I actually really liked them too, so I was easily convinced. We’ve been wanting to slowly amass more large-scale art over time (other than this yard sale painted canvas that Sherry DIYed and these bike prints I framed, we really don’t have much) so it’s nice to balance out some cheaper homemade stuff with some custom framed professional prints.
Fast forward a week or so, and that big empty wall in our kitchen is no longer empty.
Here’s a much less glare-y view from the other side of our two new additions.
That’s the abridged version of the story. The complete version starts with a reminder that this is what the wall looked like to start with. As in, it had that big awesome non-working intercom in the way.
Although I had sort of grown to love this ugly non-functioning hunk of faux wood grain & dials… it was time to say goodbye. Luckily it only took a few loosened screws to detach it from the wall.
We hoped that we’d just find a tiny patchable hole with a couple of wires sticking out, but instead, we found this. For a few good seconds I was pretty certain it was a bomb and I’d be in trouble if I let this bus slow down.
But since it was not actually explosive (and since I’m most definitely not Academy Award winning actress Sandra Bullock) it was pretty easy to defuse, er, detach. With the power off, I was able to unhook the two power cords (blue and white) and the mess of other connectors that I believe weave through our house to the other rooms with intercoms (again, none of which really work).
Seeing as this wall is on the demolition list down the line (for when we eventually open the kitchen up to the living room), we opted for a temporary solution for now. Translation: we didn’t call in an electrician just yet. The intercom only shares a breaker with the light in our wet bar, which we never use, so we opted to cap and tape the intercom power wires, flip off that breaker, and call it a day. The next time I’m at the hardware store I’m going to look for a big flat metal plate that I can screw in to cover things up. Obviously it’s not a permanent solution, but it’ll do for now.
But the radio wasn’t our only eyesore. We also had a phone jack nearby that wasn’t in use. I did lots of googling and found a range of theories/instructions on how to disconnect one of these. The general consensus was (1) you don’t have to worry about getting zapped by a phone wire unless the phone is actively ringing or in use and (2) you usually can just cut the wires and stuff them back into the wall.
I was a little wary of both, but I was able to disconnect the four pairs of wires from the jack with nary a shock. Rather than leave them totally lose and exposed, I capped them with wire nuts just to be thorough. I capped the matching colored wires together after looking behind another already-capped phone jack in our living room and seeing that someone before me had done the same thing on that one.
With those wires capped, I pushed them back into the box and tested the phone (still worked!). Then I stepped back to admire those two gaping holes. Gorgeous, no?
Well, they now look like this. Notice how I didn’t show any photos of drywall patching? It’s because we haven’t done any. Again, since this wall’s days are numbered we decided not to bother patching either hole (plus this leaves my temporary wiring fixes available for the electrician in the future if we want to get them handled by a pro). So for now, we just put a blank cover on the phone jack (and painted it to match the wall). And the big radio hole, well, it’s behind the green succulent. Sort of like hiding an old medicine cabinet hole behind a new mirror. But I’m hoping that big metal plate cover that I mentioned grabbing the next time we’re at Home Depot will make it a little more… temporarily legit?
I do have a bit of DIYer shame for not following through completely with those two holes, but at the same time I felt kind of silly paying for an electrician now (or carefully patching the drywall) just to tear it out later. So instead I’m just enjoying the new view.
Oh and from this shot you can see that we chose to center the art on the table and the chandelier, as opposed to centering it on the wall (we tried it both ways and it looked a little wonky when they didn’t line up with the table or the chandelier).
Can you guess which one is Clara’s favorite?
Yup, that purple one on the left.
We like that they add a little more color, but aren’t too crazy or busy (especially since we’re hoping to add some window treatments which might have more color and pattern). And since this wall won’t always be here, we’re certain they could work in a ton of other rooms in the future (like the dining room over a buffet, the office over a desk, etc).
I think I may have to send Sherry to a Succulents Anonymous meeting soon though. The photo below doesn’t even include the terrarium she just made.
Man that last picture makes me want to do something about those counters right this second (well, those and that trash compactor). We just want to make a bit more progress in the nursery before we give those Ardex concrete tutorials a shot. And those floors. We’re coming for you, floors. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Too bad we can’t just hide them behind a frame.
LOVE.
Oh I LOVE these! I have a huge empty wall in our kitchen and couldn’t figure out what to do so this gave me some great ideas!
Cool post, love these pretty prints. I’m with Clara on the purple one! Its such a nice accent to the other tones in the kitchen.
Yummy!! :D I love how bright and beautiful this room is becoming! Good call on the art splurge.
Thanks guys!
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It looks fresh and clean. What will you do with the prints when the wall gets removed?
We stuck a line in the post about that but it’s easy to miss. We think they’d work well in the dining room over a buffet or in the office over a desk, so we’re glad they’re nice and flexible for other spaces too.
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I wondered this too! Sorry I missed the explanation in the post.
Go to IKEA and get the countertops! They are around $95 for an 8′ piece. I’ve had mine for 5 years now and they look just as great today as the day they were installed. Anytime I get a stain, I mix some dish detergent with a drop of bleach, rub it over the spot, rinse and it’s gone!!!
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80107672/
It was in the budget for granite countertops but then found out I needed a new roof porch installed :( So bye bye granite, hello new roof and I LOVE MY KITCHEN!
Thanks for the tip Debra! We’ll be replacing the cabinets/floor/counters down the line, so we’re trying to work with what we have for this phase (concrete is only around $20-50 to add over an existing top, so we think we’re leaning that way for this stage).
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Did you get 2 or 4 prints? If 4, do you know what you are doing with the other two?
We just got these two!
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Gorgeous pics! I wouldn’t patch either especially since you’ll just be taking down the handiwork in the future. Lookin’ good guys!
Love the pictures! They are gorgeous. As far as covering holes in the wall, we recently did the same thing :) We had a light (which we assume was used for above a piano), in the middle of a wall, which we did not want anymore…soooo, we took down the light, and hung up a picture over the hole for now! Once we decide what we will be doing with that wall, we will come up with a permanent solution.
I have hidden many a spidery hole in the plaster with large paintings. I wouldn’t have bothered patching those holes either! The pictures look great.
Haha, thanks Starr!
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I think centering on the table/chandelier is best. Corners need a bit of space to ‘breathe’ so it looks balanced to me. You know, how you leave a bit more mat(te?) on the bottom when you frame things to visually balance things? Same theory here. Ha ha!!!
Love it!
Aw thanks Kristin!
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yah batting the eyelashes works well in this house also… among other things!!
can get dangerous. haha
Haha!
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Love those!
Hope that you guys are staying warm. It’s SO FLIPPING COLD here!!! Virginia has such moody weather.
Sarah
http://www.thesimplehomeblog.blogspot.com
Yes! How on earth was it 62 degrees yesterday and freezing with a snowstorm coming today?
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The colors remind me a bunch of a photo myhub took at Letchworth State Park in New York. His mom loved it so much that she had it enlarged and printed. It’s now the dining room’s main art piece and it looks incredibly beautiful.
Have you considered doing something similar with all of the beauty around you or is your focus toward non-J&s made art?
Ooh I love that! I think our focus is a nice mix. We like the idea of many pieces in the house being personal (photos we took, prints we made, etc) and other items being work by other artists that we admire (both small etsy vendors and bigger more well known photographers, like these prints).
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Looks great! Random question: in the last photo, what is that old radio/dishwasher looking thing along the bar/bottom cabinet?
Re-doing old homes means tearing out old equipment that doesnt work anymore. My parents’ house had a grill in the basement (inside) in a woodpaneled room when they moved in. Not a good idea! I’m glad my parents aren’t using it.
That’s a crazy trash compactor that has never been operable. Someday we’ll bid him a fond farewell…
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I just have to thank you for the Speed reference. I’m going to be thinking about that movie all day now…one of the few dvds I own. It will be a classic some day.
Heck yeah, I think it’s already a classic!
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We recently remodeled our entire kitchen (sent you pics a few weeks ago) and also had to deal with an old intercom box. We were also hoping for 1 small hole and ended up with a large square cut out like yours. Luckily, our new cabinets covered the entire area with the help from a little trim work. Out of sight, out of mind :)
Lucky!
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I’m so sad, I loved the intercom and was hoping you would use it!
The prints are gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Clara isn’t the only one in love with the purple one!
Aw thanks GreenInOC! We definitely still aren’t certain we’ll phase out the entire intercom system – we’d just have to move that home base one anyway since this wall will come down. But because all the other bedrooms (and even the sunroom and the front porch) are wired with other intercom units we still think it would be awesome to convert the system into some sort of iPod playing whole-house stereo or something someday!
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I agree I think an intercom system would be a great thing to have with two floors and two kids so you can call them without having to use your cell phone in the same house (which my mom had to resort to, because the other option is yelling through the house). But I also LOVE the idea of a music system to pipe songs through the house. That would be great for entertaining and pretty awesome for the rest of the time too. I wonder if there’s a system that works both as a surround-house speaker and an intercom?
That would be the best of both worlds! We hear there are systems that work like that, many are just really pricey and we’d need a lot of units (there are even some on the sunroom and front porch). Will have to see what we can find!
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The art looks fabulous! You guys always come up with the best stuff! I love it and you guys are wonderful too! Keep it coming, I love your blog.
Thanks so much Denise!
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I bought the purple succulent picture to go next to our hutch in our dining room. I love it! Clara has great taste! :)
So funny! Art twins.
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Love Love Love the Artichoke! My oldest cat is named Asparagus from “Cats” – Gus is the cat at the theater door…he name is Asparagus but that’s such a fuss to pronounce so we usually call him just Gus. 5years later, I named my next cat Artichoke after seeing a grocery store add for Asparagus and Artichokes!
She goes by Arti or Chokie. I am a sucker for any art of Artichokes and Asparagus!
Tell Burger, my Veggies say hi!
That’s so cute! Burger is waving hello to The Veggies!
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They look great! It’s great having a nice camera too, bc I’ve done similar in our house. I love changing out botanical shots seasonally to keep things lively and relevant with the season. Having a rockin camera lets me capture beautiful botanicals and seasonal things without having to pay a Fortune for the change! (Especially bc I’m never really “done”)
That’s such an awesome idea!
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i love a good succa too! love it!
No shame, John. The rest of us cover holes in our walls with no problem. (at least that’s what I tell myself) :)))
Pictures look fantastic! For using this room as often as you guys probably do, I bet it’s nice to have such a prettier kitchen to look at.
It’s so nice sitting at the table and facing them. I can’t see the counters or the floor from that angle. Haha!
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Hahah I was thinking the same thing… we have this ugly, ornate, faux-wood doorbell box that’s built into the wall (its probably a foot high), and right in my line of vision from my living room couch. So I put a canvas over it and problem solved :). I don’t plan on ever addressing it otherwise either haha
Love it!
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Faux-brick better be shakin’ in its boots. Its days are numbered! (Is it weird how excited I am to see it bite the dust? It’s always seemed like the least Petersik-tastic thing in your whole house.)
The funny thing is that our first house had the exact same flooring in the kitchen (we discovered it when we redid the floors in there and tore up the stuff on top of it). It’s a tradition, whether it’s a 50s house or a 70s house! That fake brick had staying power…
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I love these pictures. The color on them is amazing. They are so vibrant but not too much color. It is a lot for art for me as well but I think we all splurge on things we have to have. And hey a 20% off anything, especially something you have been eyeing is a for sure sign they are meant for you. I love the simplicity of the space you have created
Thanks Emily!
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I’ve never commented before, but the mention of doing something about your trash compactor ended my lurking – I’m so excited to see what you do! Hubby and I are living in and renovating my late grandfather’s house (that he built in the early 70s). We have a grimy trash compactor in our (dark wood filled) kitchen that is waiting for the boot, but I’m not sure what to put there (or even how to take it out!). Can’t wait to see the change!
A wine cooler?
That’s a fun idea!
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They make wine fridges that fit in place of trash compactors! But for now my step stool has a place to hide and looks much better than the trash compactor ;-)
Love that!
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Love them!!
Have you guys given any thought to how the waincotting treatment will work when you knock down the wall? Will you continue it into the adjacent room, or remove it from the kitchen? It’s such a nice feature but seems like it would be tricky to continue seamlessly.
It’s actually in the living room too (which is the room behind that wall) so we’re hoping it’ll all look nice and cohesive! We got so lucky with that!
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The Rustoleum countertop paint is a great medium term, inexpensive solution for the countertops until you are ready to replace them. I used it on mine five years ago, and it is only now that touchups are needed (and only in a few small spots).
Thanks for the tip, V!
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“For a few good seconds I was pretty certain it was a bomb and I’d be in trouble if I let this bus slow down” LOL!
Love all that you guys do, and love your humor even more!
I love the art! I am a succelent lover too. Our wedding was green and white so the wedding favors were: little pots of succulents for each guest!
But sadly at the moment, I only have a bamboo plant in my house, no succelents :( Gotta love low maintenance house plants!!
That’s such a cute favor idea!
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Do you have a color idea for the floor (light/dark)?
No idea yet! I think something dark like the slate in the foyer would be nice and then something light on the counters (soft gray like concrete)?
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Framed succulents (which are gorgeous, btw) are about the only ones assured to have “life” in my house. I’m worse than Dexter when it comes to killing plants.
As to drywall shame, if it helps, I bet you’ll get over it soon. I removed an ancient medicine cabinet from the downstairs bathroom and hung a huge mirror over the gaping hole. That wall’s days are number when the bones add up for a complete bathroom reno…so for now, the mantel is missing a mirror and I’ve completely forgotten about the bathroom hole. So take heart!
Haha, thanks Kat!
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I had one of those non-working, ancient intercom systems at my last house, but we knew where it actually plugged in to an outlet in the basement. So I spent a little time that first year pulling wires back through the basement ceiling after cutting them at each source (ranch living is awesome for that!). Either way, the patching wasn’t a big deal at all once I had a little system of blocks on the inside edge of each 2×4, cut a piece of scrap drywall about the size you need, mesh tape and spackle, sand, prime, paint. Don’t be daunted about the rest of the removals, it was really an easy one that made a HUGE difference.
Thanks MB! That’s nice to hear!
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Definitely good to see all the photos. Love almost anything from West Elm – go to the Nashville store every chance I get. I have one of those intercom systems – JUST LIKE YOURS! – in my kitchen. When I save enough dough to remodel my kitchen, it’s going along with the cheap wood paneling.
So funny!
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Is the glass UV protective? As bright as your room appears you may have a fading problem. Keep a close watch on them for changes. Sunlight and flourescent light are prints biggest enemy.
Thanks for the tip Drew! Will keep an eye out for that!
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Your so in style as Radiant Orchid is the colour for this year.
Haha! I don’t know how I feel about that color. It seems more pinky-purple to me. Anyone have opinions? I thought for sure this year’s color would be navy And I guessed emerald as last year’s color) so I was completely shocked!
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I’m totally bummed with radiant orchid too! It’s pretty but it’s just too girly pink for me to want to incorporate much of it anywhere :( I think it’ll have to hit my wardrobe instead of my decor.
Yes, I think it’s easier to wear than to decorate a bunch of rooms with!
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Not a fan of Radiant Orchid. At.All. I was thinking it would be a coral.
Yes, I could totally have seen coral or mint too!
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My aunt and uncle INSTALLED an intercom into their home when remodeling because they were sick of yelling up the stairs for the kids. None of us had ever seen an intercom in a house before. So funny to see it (even non-functioning) in yours!
p.s. They may secretly regret it, since their youngest loves scream-singing over it!
Haha!
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How do you decide what height to hang your art at? This is an ongoing battle in our house. I think it is supposed to be eye-level and my husband tends to want it hung much higher. And we’re almost the same height, so that isn’t the issue!
Eye level! We have a height difference so it’s usually halfway between my eye level and John’s. Seems to work for us!
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Heh… I was just thinking about what the couple buying my house will think when they find the hole for the old medicine cabinet behind the new, much larger mirror that I hung over it. Surprise! (Not a bad surprise, I think… No one would have wanted to keep that tiny medicine cabinet or replace it with something the same, tiny size.)
You should have hidden a time capsule in there! Or a box of Oreos… for emergencies. Haha!
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We hung a new, bigger mirror over an old medicine cabinet hole in our bathroom, too. We wrote a little note in the hole just in case someone ever takes the mirror down after we move out someday!
I like these a lot and I like the pair you chose. Also, I’m sort of the type to notice when things aren’t centered and be picky about how things are spaced on walls and I didn’t notice anything off at all with where you placed them. I think it looks right.
Best,
Jackie
Whew! Thanks Jackie!
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The kitchen just keeps looking better and better :) I love how bright and airy it is!
Thanks so much Brittany!
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This woman makes pretty cool felt succulents. Maybe you can find space for one in the new kitchen. :)
ps – I don’t know her but I did buy from her, she makes quality stuff.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFeltFlowerShop
Thanks for the tip Jennifer!
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Glad to see it’s that easy to deal with phone wires…there are multiple phone outlets in every room of our house! And we don’t even have a landline…ps I typed in yhl and accidentally hit image search on Google today…yikes…a questionable photo not related to your site comes up…lol
Eeks!
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Looks great! I love the purple and blue-ish colors, they go great with your other color scheme!
Thanks Melissa!
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Reminds me of Friends episode (The One with All the Rugby) when Monica cuts holes in the wall to find out where the wire on a non-working light switch goes. She covers up the holes with pieces of paper to fool Rachel. (Spoiler: she does not fool Rachel.)
Remember that? Or am I the only one who watches reruns every night?
Hahahahhaha! I LOVE that one. Ah, DIY adventures…
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I have a non-working light switch in my living room, and I think of that Friends episode ALL THE TIME. I am beyond tempted to cut holes in the wall, but less excited about the prospect of fixing them, so for now, it remains a mystery switch.
Resist. The. Urge!
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We have a mystery switch in our new house that drove me so insane when we moved that I had one of the neighbors call the previous owners to find out what in the world it was connected to. Unfortunately, they had no idea either. You win this round, mystery switch.
Hilarious!
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I actually just did something similar in my home. My husband and I live in a townhouse that does not have a basement. Because of that our breaker box is on the first floor leading into the dining room. It’s an eyesore for sure. I just found a large canvas piece of art hanging around used it to cover it up. Since it’s light I just used some 3M Velcro strips to secure it so we can still get to the box if we need to. Now I don’t have to look at that ugly breaker box!
Smart!
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Nice! I love botanical and wildlife prints and I agree with Clara, I like the purple one best, but then again, if it’s purple I will like it! I took a pic of my water lily in bloom and blew it up, framed it and hung it by my side of the bed in the master bedroom. It’s definitely not pro photographer quality, but the fact that is it one of my plants makes me smile every time. I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but in the very first shot, your real succulents look like a cute little army leaning towards the sun :)
So funny! They lean together like they’re all in a car on a racetrack. I spin it occasionally so they don’t grow super crooked. Clara likes on facing her when she eats though, so it gets spun back sometimes. Haha! And as for your water lily picture, that sounds awesome!
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LOL! That racetrack reference cracked me up. I can picture their little bristles being pushed back as little cars zoom by. But they look so healthy and happy, I predict some greening of a so-called previously black thumb ;)
I dunno, as soon as I posted that jovial “they’re all still alive two months later! and they love me!” post, one of them started looking a little finicky….
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1. Those prints are totally gorgeous. Like, for serious.
2. As I was reading, my brain processed “The photo below doesn’t even include the terrarium she just made” as: “The photo below doesn’t even include the TANTRUM she just made” [emphasis mine]. Thankfully I thought that was odd enough to go back and read it again, but let me tell you the truth – I was kind of looking forward to a picture of Sherry pitching a fit on the floor. :o)
Stay warm!
Haha! Oh I can pitch a fit like the best of them. I’m Italian…
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