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hi, i'm ash!
Creator of the New Travel & Design Series, 'OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES.'
Travel writer & host, cultural explorer, and architecture & interiors freak.
Meet ash >
I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β
I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT β
The Newsletter
Every week, we're exploring global culture through the lens of the home. From floorplans to fixtures, we examine how houses are built, designed, and decorated around the world (with a side of sass, of course!)
The Podcast
The only podcast where we pass on the pyramids and poke around in the plumbing. Iβm Ash, and I'm, exploring the strange, smart, and wonderful ways houses are built, designed, and decorated around the world.
The Books
A new series of OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES books designed to help you try on a new life in different places around the worldβby getting to "go behind closed doors" inside local homes to discover what it's really like to live there.
I love your commitment to not staying stuck in an old version of yourself almost as much as I love buttery homeade popcorn drenched in salt. Truly. I bind myself into thinking “MUST STICK WITH WHATEVER I’VE STUCK TOO, FOREVER MORE, BECAUSE I CHOSE THIS”. <- Worst way to live. π So.Thank you for always inspiring me to live the best version of myself, even if that means moving to a cabin in the woods, or changing my mind, or breaking outside of the box or coloring outside the lines. LIFE IS TOO FABULOUS TO STAY STUCK IN A RUT. πππ
I LOVE CHANGING MY MIND!!!! Yessssss!!!!!!!!! But probably not as much as I love homemade popcorn drenched in salt. My god, could I go for that right now! Growing up we had a sweet, sweet popcorn maker, and I’m pretty sure that is now one of those other “permanent objects” I now must buy. π Thank you for leaving me this note and saying hi, Megan!!!!!!
YES!!! Go buy that permanent object!!!πΏ And YESSSSS to changing our minds and living our best life in the process!!! π
You don’t need a popcorn maker. You just need a stove and a pot with a lid…
Heat the pot and then coat the bottom with a bit of olive oil.
Throw your kernels in, put the lid on and wait for the kernels to pop.
Take it off the stove before it burns.
Transfer the popcorn to a bowl and cover in salt.
Melt some butter and honey together in a mug in the microwave.
Pour it over the popcorn.
Thank me later.
This sounds fab! Minus the honey, because honey makes me stabby. Isn’t that weird?!
Not 100% sure what you mean by βstabbyβ, but it doesnβt sound good. Just butter for you then. π
Love this Ash – I moved back to my old fixer-upper in rural Saskatchewan 2 years ago and agree with everything you said. There is validity in the everyday and feeling part of the fabric of a place for no reason other than that you are here.
“Fabric of a Place” needs to be a thing! So well-stated!!!! (Also, I need to visit Saskatchewan someday. Do you know I have never even been to Canada yet?! Shame on me!!!!)
Whenever you decide to head to Saskybush – or Canada for that matter – let me know – I pretty much know this country from one end to the other – be happy to give you a guided tour π
Ash, I love the tales you tell of your town. (And yes the town refurb could be a Netflix series.) Raising hand for a writer/art retreat at your rural estate. And yes, since Covid I have become a backyard birder with a flock of quail that I watch everyday. Almost as much fun as surfing, my other passion.
YES! I definitely own townflippers.com π€£. Maybe I need to keep going with that project! And, did you say….quail?!?!!? π± That is wild! Just came across a family of turkeys, with their babies in tow, and thought THAT was exotic! Ha!
I love this and can’t wait for my new semi-suburban life in Colorado. I have missed “community” so much – being involved in something that’s more than just what I do. And my lawn care (before I’m there) is costing A LOT – so you have inspired me to perhaps buy a lawn mower? I remember it was a great workout… what do you recommend?
Yessss!!!!! I don’t have too much lawn to mow – maybe a half acre – so this Ryobi self-propelling push mower (it moves itself!! I have to practically run behind it!!) is SO GOOD. It’s also part of their “whisperless” series, so it’s almost silent!
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-40V-HP-Brushless-Whisper-Series-21-in-Walk-Behind-Self-Propelled-All-Wheel-Drive-Mower-2-6-0-Ah-Batteries-Charger-RY401210/317845502?cm_mmc=ecc-_-BODFS_DELIVERY_DONE-_-V1_M1_CA-_-Product_URL&ecc_ord=WM67194333&em_id=a8d6b9d3ec37a7c0bb3ed904689b8e9f516ae0244b0f482fa1b7c33814c15df8
There are DEF cheaper versions, though, that aren’t whisperless or are for smaller yards!
I have 1/3 acre, max, so something a little smaller than this will be a dream! Can’t believe we’re discussing/ comparing lawns and lawn mowers!
WHO ARE WE, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE WITH US????? The smaller one would be totally, totally fine! Seriously, I love this thing. (I’m kind of obsessed with the whole line – they’re all reasonably priced, operate on battery, and require no gas. I’m building my collection, lol! I’ve got the saws all, chain saw, circular saw, tile saw, planer saw, drill, impact gun, weed wacker, and even a pressure washer. They have such good deals on buy one kit, get more….so I keep getting more! WHAT IS HAPPENING.)
OH! And there are also badass riding mowers from Ryobi, too, but they are way more expensive.
In all my seven years of living in my town – maybe I chat with the barista every once in a while, and nothing beyond, “good, and how are you?” Eek – I need to spread my wings a bit don’t I?! Love your stories as always – they’re my little inspo nuggets to be more bold!! π
Oooo! Where are you based?!
I’m in Chappaqua NY – and I did give Bill Clinton a nod once in the bookstore – does that count?! (People only know of Chap since the Clintons live here!)
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lol!!!
HOW DID YOU KNOW I AM WEARING SWEATPANTS RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE?!?!?!!? Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I legit laughed reading this comment. Fortunately my lawn mower is battery operated so I just push a button, LOL, but don’t think I wouldn’t rope you into helping me hang a painting!!!!!!
(And, omg, wait until I get this guest cottage going. It’s the cutest miniature version of my house – it matches exactly, but small and like a cabin. Just got all new light fixtures put in there this week! And some sweet ceiling fans for the bedrooms, which apparently required crawling up in to the attic to drill. I felt so bad for the electrician! Thinking about starting an account documenting the transformation. Mostly just so I can talk shit about my own house.)
I cannot figure out which one would be the salt and which would be the pepper!!
It was a surprise for me, too! BUT I SHALL REVEAL ALL THE SECRETS. The cocaine is the salt (one hole), and the heroin is the pepper (three holes). As I got up to go look, though, I realized that salt is white, and so is cocaine? So maybe heroin was brown? GOOGLED IT, I WAS RIGHT, HOLY SMOKES. https://ophelia.com/blog/how-to-identify-heroin
My current theory is that to be truly satisfied in our current and upcoming future, simplicity is going to be key. We are going to be better pleased by a simple life doing ‘ordinary’ things. Possibly that will be all we can afford anyway. It’s the people that can live on the basics with ease that will be content. Good thing I’ve lost interest in most of the fancy things!
I am very late to this thread, but I soooo agree that baby blue is for pervs. Unfortunately, the main bedroom in my new semi-rural home is that exact color (it also features a textured ceiling π). No wonder I havenβt been sleeping well! Headinβ over to Sherwin Williams now.