Back on the Market in Greenwich

A few months ago, before she recently resigned her latest gig at Fox to stay home with her kids, college classmate Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her husband Tim put their Greenwich, CT colonial (which they just bought three years ago) on the market.  It's listed for just under $5MM, if you're game.  Remember when I posted the crazy before pictures?  They did some redecorating, and as promised here are the afters...  My favorite room is definitely the dining (nice rug repurpose from the old city place btw).

 

No word on where they are relocating for their new (presumably simpler) life with their school aged kids. (Turns out the winner was Nashville)

The kids' big kid rooms

So this post is a little late since the kids moved to twin beds a year and a half ago.  Oh well... (fyi, their rooms never look like this in real life)

I used butterfly/flower/bird prints from an old Cavallini (flora and fauna) calendar and IKEA frames to create the montage over Mari's bed. We got her shams and bolster cover on our last trip to India two years ago (from Fabindia), which started the room in raspberry and marigold.  I then added a pink throw and pom pom pillow (far left) from last spring's Lilly Pulitzer for Target collection and my mom made another pillow cover (with a different animal on each side) from this amazing John Robshaw Mahout fabric (discovered here).  Her bed is the Astoria gold metal bed from Land of Nod (we are lucky to have their only outlet store nearby).  Rug is Garnet Hill and art is by my aunt, Michelle Montjoy.  She decided she's ready to try a high bed, so we're adding the box spring (which was too high when we bought it) back soon.

I found some cute bedding for him at Garnet Hill (which had a great pop-up store in Bridgehampton, NY this summer), including these Bainbridge shams and their coordinating car cases and navy dot flannel sheets that you can't see here.  The Ikat pillows (another on bench) are from the Jayson Home & Garden flea market.  The pair of oar pillows were impulse buys from Joanns.  Bed knobs from Anthropologie (similar ones now at Homegoods). His daybed is a Hemnes from IKEA.  His rug is from Dash & Albert and madras quilt from PBK, both carry overs from his nursery.  Mural map is from Nat Geo. Both of their bed covers are from Homegoods (M:Artisan De luxe and A: Cynthia Rowley). Some items not mentioned were noted here, here, here, and here.  I've been collecting more vintage wooden tennis racquets, so I'm ready for a larger installation when/if we ever move and he has more wall space.

Design Perfection

Some people are happy with new constructions on clear cut lots, but not this one.  Give me a 1960s Robert Parker Coffin design.  This one is about eight miles north of where we live now (in our target town/district/budget), and I really wanted to buy it, as in I went to see it twice (once w/DH), but someone beat us to it. Maybe next time it goes on the market...

I have a serious weakness for Cape Cod-style houses, and really any dormers in general, but alas we live in the Midwest where they aren't the norm.

 The floors in the LR were amazing...

And the family room was sized for indoor roller skating...

 Most of the window seats were in bathrooms, which was cool and odd, but these in the master dressing area were super cute.

  The huge backyard had a tree swing, climbing gym/swing set, and custom tree house (swoon).

 In full bloom...

 

It's been awhile...

And long enough that I've actually been back to work for a week.

When I left my full time job 4 1/2 year ago, I had no idea what the future held.  We'd lost our first baby and were getting ready to cycle again with our only two frozen embryos.  I'd finished my big project at work and was so done there. And then after my last day, my last grandfather passed away, I went to Vegas for a consulting project (and nearly missed the funeral due to delayed flights), got sick (you'd think it was all the partying, but more likely the flying, stress, and the desert.  It's always the desert, blah) and it was just days before I was pregnant again, this time with the twins.

I never planned to be a SAHM.  That and I didn't know it was possible.  I didn't marry the money, but we'd made decisions that had made it possible, but I didn't know if that's what I wanted and (being perfectly honest) I didn't know if it was/is the best use of my skills.  I still don't know.  I am an accidental homemaker.
 

But this week, I started a six week onsite consulting gig (at my 6-8 yrs ago former employer, holy deja vu, glad I don't work there FT anymore), the kids went to daycare and we all survived to tell the tale.

Mari decided to recycle her Anna costume dress from last year for their preschool party, and she strayed really far in choosing to be Elsa this year.  We are now moving on from Frozen.  Thank goodness.

Our Halloween weather was much better than last year, which was frigid, so the kids got a lot of good trick or treating in.  Up and down and around the block, which was plenty. (that's our elementary school you can see in the background, so yes we may never move).

DH turns the big 40 in two weeks and we'll be going up north for turkey weekend, which will include leaving the twins with my mom (and their cousins) overnight, so we can have our very first solo getaway since before they were born to balmy Minneapolis (my old HS stomping ground and somehow a corner of the world he's never been to).  Baby steps...

Enjoying our gorgeous fall day in the leaves

First Day of School 2015/Ninth Anni

The kids started at a new school last week, which they seem to like, but today was their first "full" day, since they did two hour/half days last week for their classmates who are new to school.  They are on year #3, so they are old pros.

 It's amazing how much personality (and attitude) can fit inside such little people...

Summer flew by too fast, as it always does.  And we packed in a lot of fun, but I'd be lying if I wasn't sort of wishing it away.  Grandma S goes home in three weeks and I get my house and husband back to myself. (call me terrible, I own it).  On a related note, we are celebrating our ninth wedding anniversary with a martini lunch tomorrow, so we can be home to watch the circus live, so that is exciting.  Here's on to double digits!

The Old Crew

One of the most fun things about scouring around the design world is finding new (to me) people and things, but maybe even more fun is coming across old to me people who you haven't run into in a very long time.

A friend of mine from my college rowing days is now an interior designer (after giving up a lucrative career in big law), and I happily came across her again recently (via Houzz and House & Home).  Breeze is super talented (obviously) and I was so happy to see her gorgeous interiors.  This project in DC, was one of my faves.  So yummy...

Transitional Living Room by Malibu Interior Designers & Decorators BGDB Interior Design

Transitional Dining Room by Malibu Interior Designers & Decorators BGDB Interior Design

And speaking of crew, I'm also finally reading the book, The Boys in the Boat, which is the story of the US men's crew team who beat the Nazi German team to win the gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  It's a great story and currently being made into a movie.  Can't wait to see it!

New Books and Updates

Some of you may remember my post last year about Deanna Fei and the blow up at AOL.  She did what writers do and has written a book about her experience and having a micro preemie, who is now a toddler.

Of course this week's (year's/decade's) biggest launch is Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman", which is also out tomorrow.  The first chapter has already been released, if you want to catch a peek. (I would advise against listening to Reese Witherspoon read the audio version, as it is pretty annoying). 

I'm taking my copy with me out of town later this week.  I'm headed out to NY to see my sister and friends in Brooklyn and then heading out to the Hamptons.  Sadly, I'm just missing the Hampton Designer Showhouse this year by a few days, as it was fun last time.  But I have lots of other fun on tap.

We are surviving the summer of the mother in law so far.  I am truly the most optimistic (or forgetful or delusional, take your pick) person, as I tried to spin the whole thing as a positive.  Now I find out that much of why she came now is that the communal living situation in India is not working out for her and my brother/sister in law.  I guess they and their daughter/my niece are moving out and getting their own place so the big flat that my later father in law spent so much time planning for all of them (and us) was a bit misguided.  Oh well.

The kids are three and a half now and huge (~3 1/2 ft/35 lbs.) and busy.  I'm buying size five clothes for them now, which makes me wonder where my little ones went and so quickly.  They are fighting potty training (yes, still) with all their inherited strong will, so I hope to not be sending them to kindergarten in pull-ups. 

I've also realized that I never shared their big kid rooms from last summer, so time to clean up and take some pics to share.

Hard to believe the summer is half over already, hope you are having a great one.