Peeping Tom

Leaf peeping season has begun here in New England. I have a great respect for this time of year when the leaves start to turn. Being from Chicago, I have never seen anything like it, and I really try to take it in for all its natural beauty.

 

I mean can you believe these colors?!

 

all images via google

 

 

Makes you want to snuggle up in a comfy sweater and sip warm apple cider.

 

The best part is that the colors will only get better and better from now until the end of October. So amazing to watch mother nature at work :)

XOXO Katie

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Birfffday Weekend!!

This will be a photo dump post for sure- so get ready! I am just recovering from my busy birthday weekend so I only have about 2 minutes of energy before I crash :)

This last Saturday I turned 28. OMG only 2 years away from 30- yikes!

The hubs had the weekend off so we started it off with a dinner and drinks with friends Friday night (of course I forgot to take pics...lame) and then the weekend just kept getting better!

Here is a little peek...

Delicious home made breakfast on Saturday morning :)

JP Licks oatmeal cookie frozen yogurt ice cream cake- redonk...

5lb bag of gummy worms sent from my sister- That girl knows me too well :)

Joey chartered a sail boat on Sunday. We launched out of Ogunquit, ME. It's an adorable little beach town about and hour and a half north of Boston.

Captain Jack

Crusin'

 The hubs and I lounging on the deck.

Joey asking, "So, do I look like a Kennedy yet?"

Haha. Of course you do sweetheart...

Gorgie day.

Soakin' up some rays.

After the 2 hour cruise, we made a pit stop for some tasty lobster rolls.

Then we tried to walk it off along the footpaths that trail along the cliffs between the town and the beach.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend and it was all put together by my wonderful husband. I have a feeling 28 is going to be a great year!

XOXO Katie

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House Hunting

We headed up to Ipswich yesterday for a little day trip and some house hunting. We love our place but we think we may want just a little more room to spread out, and we have been dying for some outdoor space. So the first place on our list was this....

Haha, Not! I wish, but I'm guessing that this 59 room mansion might be a little out of our budget. This home was designed for the Crane family from Chicago (shout out to Chicago natives!) and was built by David Adler between 1924 and 1928. He was an architect that also built a few homes in the town we grew up in so the style was a nice taste of home.

The story is that Richard T. Crane wanted to build a home that his wife would love... you were a smart man, Richard. Although he had originally built another more Italian inspired mansion that was equally as huge, but his wife wasn't feelin' it. So he tore it down and commissioned this stunner. I'm guessing she may have been a little...particular.

But still...Joey, take notes :)

This place was BEAUTIFUL!! The grounds were impeccably maintained and the view of the ocean was to die for.

This was the view from the back terrace. Gorgie!

I'm thinking we need to get married again, because an event here would be jaw dropping. There was a private function going on inside so we just took our time wandering the grounds.

The Grand Allee was half mile long and opened right out to the ocean. I can only imagine how fun this would be in the winter with these sledding hills!

To the left of the home were the formal gardens with two hexagon tea houses on either side.

No joke, I was speaking in an English accent by now and pretending I was at Downton Abbey. Joey was too embarrassed to admit he was with me at this point.

THIS WAS THE GARAGE!! Whaaaaat?! Ummm, I would have no problem sleeping next to the gas can if my room looked like this.

The details were amazing. Every walkway was flanked with stone statues and urns. It was like we were completely transported in time.

I do have to say that it was 95 degrees and humid, so I am glad that it was not still 1928.  I was sweating my tuckus off in shorts and a tank, so a long corseted dress may have killed me.

All in all the property was nice, but Joey said he was looking for a few more fireplaces ( because 20+ were just not sufficent), and he also just didn't know where he could put in an above ground hot tub. That boy is all class...

Guess we need to go back to the drawing board!

XOXO Katie

BTW we are not really looking for a new place, but a girl can dream :)

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Goodwill Goodies

You had a little peek of one of my finds yesterday in the reveal of my map art, but I hit the jackpot at my local Goodwill this weekend with some great home accessories.

Tip to everyone- try heading to your local thrift store around the 15th of the month. People are either getting ready to move and clearing out, or have just moved and done a donation run when they realize items don't work in their new place. That's just about when their goodies make it to the shelves at the thrift store since they take a few days to sort and price.

One man's trash is another man's treasure, right?!

Here are a few of my fave finds so far:

Vase $2.99

Starburst candle holder $3.99

Lamp $9.99

Clay Dish $5.00

Gold Rimmed Tumblers $.50 each

Brass Box $2.00

I am loving my summer finds so far and I can't wait to see what other things I come across. Goodwill and other thrift stores are totally the place to find small home decor and accessories. The fact that I spent less than $30 for ALL of the above items is insane.

All I can say is that the hours my mom and I spent garage sale hunting has trained me well :)

XOXO Katie

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Local Review: My Adventures with Upholstery at the Eliot School in JP

I was itching to take some kind of art/design class this winter since I knew I would have TONS of free time with the hubs working a crazy rotation. I came across The Eliot School for Fine and Applied Arts, and was pleased to discover it is located literally at the end of my street.

The class options are AMAZING. They offer everything from photography to woodworking- all taught by seasoned professionals who usually work in their field during the day and teach classes in the evenings. There are programs offered to both adults and kids so it is very family friendly.

The building has been used as a school for the arts since the colonial era, and as soon as I walked it I felt at home. The walls are lined with woodworking tools, hammers, saws, paint, galore! Heaven...

I opted for taking an upholstery class since I have been dying to give it a try and I was too scared to tackle it without any help. Let me tell you- it was NO JOKE! That was probably the best work out I have had in years. It was an 8 week course (1 class per week) and I left every session pooped, but loved every minute!

With help and instruction from my teacher, Paul, I took a $25 Craigslist chair and gave it a serious face lift.

Before

After

I would love to give you a step-by-step tutorial, but honestly I don't know if I could remember even a 1/4 of all the things I did along the way. It was an eye opening experience into the upholstery world, and now I completely understand why it cost $500+ to recover a chair. This takes some real skill that very few of us have.

Who knew that this is what your chair looks like when its stripped apart??

My only gripe about the Eliot School was that it cost a pretty penny to take the class- $300 for the class + about $75 for materials + $25 for my chair. I know you are probably saying, "For $400, why didn't you just buy a new chair?!". Honestly, it was not about the actual chair, it was about the experience and it was 100% worth those 400 smackers :)

You can check out this class and tons of other programs they have to offer at http://www.eliotschool.org/

XOXO Katie

Just an FIY- the fabric that I used on my chair was called Home Décor Love Twill Sandlewood Ivory by Amy Butler and I found it on Fabric.com. Love that site!

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