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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Skillz

Just when I thought that Joey's fellow doctors/residents could not get any more talented and skilled I come across this video that just shows how intelligent some of them really are.

This video is of a fellow classmate from Joey's medical school class at Northwestern.

UNREAL.

I would trust someone has that kind of dedication and memory to perform a surgery on me any day....

XOXO Katie

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A Little Pink Bubbly

My new girly love:
Lorina Sparkling Pink Lemonade.

I probably sound like a total crazy lady, but this tasty drink makes be feel fancy :)

The beautiful bottle not only looks pretty, but this light bubbly lemonade is so tasty and a perfect thirst quencher for a warm summer day. The lemonade flavor is really subtle. I am used to the Crystal Light pink lemonade that is pretty tart and really sugary. This is wayyyy lighter than that (unfortunately, not in the calorie department- just in flavor).

The bottle was a in a gift basket sent to my mom, so after a little web hunting I found that you can buy this tasty treat on Bevmo.com, Whole Foods,  or get a pack of 12 from none other than mega store Walmart. Its a little pricey at anywhere from ($5-$7 for a 24oz bottle) considering its just sparkling lemonade and not booze, but worth it for a special occasion.

This is a great addition to your bar too- its has a vintage feminine vibe so totally leave it right on the counter to display. It would also be a great mixer with champagne and a strawberry garnish for summer. The pink screams bridal shower beverage to me!

Once I started thinking about how pretty a bar set up with be with a little Lorina, my mind started to wander and the pinterest hunting began...

I'm thinking I might NEED a bar cart. So cute right???

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Funny thing is, I hardly ever drink- I just want to look at pretty things :)


**Only two days left to enter to get an origional Sarah M. Dorsey print- SEE GIVEAWAY DETAILS HERE!!**

XOXO Katie

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Dust Bunny Invasion

After almost a month of blogging, I am happy to finally introduce my two very adorable and fuzzy girls!



Lovin' some nap time :)

Now, I understand that not everyone is a "cat" person, but how could you not love these cutties?! Their names are Wess (aka Wessie Bear), and Taters (aka Tattie Belle), and they are twin sisters that we adopted just over a year ago. I love these nuggets and I am proud to say that I am a fully obsessed cat lady. I have been known to say, "I love them so much I feel like I birthed them!" which in turn totally freaks Joey out and he get embarrassed to be married to all o' this:)

All joking aside, these babies were about the only things that keep me sane through the crazy weeks of the hubs working nights, and a few (ok maybe "few" is a relative term- more like chronic) bouts of homesickness for the Chi.

Come on- baby kittens? Adrobs

With every pet there are some things you have to get used to, but overall these girls have been amazing. They don't scratch, bite, or attack our furniture. But there is one thing that does haunt me in my sleep and seems to be taking over our home...the elusive, and ever morphing DUST BUNNY.

 

These dust balls seem to multiply like lemmings and I can't seem to get a handle on it. Hidden in every corner and under every piece of furniture, the second I sweep them up more appear. I think the time has come to start saving up for my future best friend- Miss Roomba.

At $300+, this sucker not a buy on a whim kind of item. I am trying to find an alternative before I make that kind of investment, but so far the idea of breaking out the vacuum more than once a week is really not appealing.

This may be a Craigslist find- so I will be doing a little stalking for the next few weeks. Hopefully, I'll get lucky:)

Does anyone have a Roomba already? Do you like it, or is it something that you use once and then regret purchasing? Also, does it freak your pets out? My kitties are scared out of their whits by the vacuum, so I am afraid this would send them over the edge if it was moving around on its own.

XOXO Katie

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My Addiction...To Glam

I have a full on heavy-duty, may-need-therapy-due-to-separation-anxiety, obsession, crazy-addiction to my AMAZING gold leaf paint. Admitting that there is a problem is the first step to recovery right?

Actually, I don't want to recover from this addiction to glam...

I would say 99% of the time, if I don' t know where to go with a project I will slap some gold leaf paint on it and it takes on a new life.

My brand of choice is Sheffield Bronze Corporation Rich Gold Leaf Finishes

This stuff is amazing- the 2oz little bottle goes a long way and I use a regular paint brush to apply it. Not a furniture paint brush, but like a paint brush for painting on canvas- I'm sure there is a technical name for it but I'm feelin' a little too lazy to figure it out :)

The coverage is really smooth and it really looks like gold leaf, not just cheapy gold paint pretending to look like gold leaf.

I pick mine up at the True Value that is down my street, but I was able to find it on Amazon (don't mind Amazon's old school pic- that's the right stuff). A total value at just under $3.50 a bottle.

XOXO Katie

Just an FYI- as I was looking at the bottle to get info for this post I read that you are supposed to wear a mask while applying it, and not have prolonged exposure to its fumes. And that you should avoid using while pregnant. This is true for ALL gold leaf metallic paint, not just this brand. Good to know...good thing I am not preggos or I might have a 2 headed baby on the way! Looks like I need to invest in a mask :)

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How to have a Don Draper Birthday

Joey turned the big 2-9 yesterday, and when I asked him what he wanted he only had his standard response, "Good Kids". Keep in mind that we don't have any kids- so this makes it a little challenging. After a little poking, I finally got him to admit he actually wanted something. He said, "I want to be Don Draper."

Hmm...interesting.

So after a little thought, here is lust list that I think would make Don Draper drool:

I probably won't encourage the hubs to take up excessive smoking or sleeping with his secretary, but I do appreciate a good theme! And I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't LOVE to have a little quality time With Don Draper myself :)

Tomorrow, I will show you how to make a yummy birthday cake that was super simple and totally sinful!

XOXO Katie

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Dang it- I Feel Robbed!!

I don't know about you, but I was definitely a sucker and bought 4 lottery tickets with the hope of winning over HALF A BILLION $$$. "Why 4?" you ask. Well, I needed one for me, one for the hubs, and one for each of my kittens...yes- I'm that girl...

Honestly, I was totally convinced I would win- the power of positive thinking right? Sadly, you will not be seeing me on the news wearing a Mega Millions t-shirt standing behind a giant check and screaming my face off. Instead, I am pissed that I could have bought 3 large Mickey D's Diet Cokes with that $4. Such a waste...

Well here is a list of some of my lust buys that I would have loved to use my theoretical millions on. The best part is that this would not have even put a dent in the winnings , but hey its just what I want OK?

Old School Cranberry Land Rover

New Nikon SLR Camera

Insane Closet

English Cottage Home

Fountain DC Machine...don't judge...


 Even with all the winnings in the world I still could not have a happier or fuller life than I do with my family, but I won't lie-thinking about all these fun things is a good way to kill a few hours in the day!


XOXO Katie

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