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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Nailed It.

I have officially determined that I don't paper myself enough. I have really restricted my shopping habit, I only get my hair cut 2-3 times per year (bad, I know!), I don't buy pricey makeup, and I have not gotten a massage since my honeymoon. #firstworldproblems

And with this being my birthday month, I am making a personal resolution to take a little time and really do something just for me. I am going to try to get my nails done (or do them myself) at least once a month.

I have been lusting over some colors lately, and even though my all time fave color is a simple and classic Essie Ballet Slippers, I think its time to go outside of the box (or bottle!)

These are a few that inspired me to take the plunge...

via decoresaltoalto

via fateandimpossibleodds

via intothegloss

via weddingchicks.com

via justagirl05

XOXO Katie

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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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Tuesday Night Stuffed Peppers

After a long weekend out of town and one too many dinners out, I wanted to cook something relatively healthy and quick. I decided to use the veggies in my fridge and some good old fashioned brown rice to make this easy dish...

Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

1 bag brown rice

2 bell peppers

1 red onion (diced)

3 diced chicken sausages (mine were spinach and feta flavor)

1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup feta cheese

3 Tbs. basil pesto

salt, pepper & red pepper flakes

First, I cut the bell peppers in half and popped them in a 400 degree oven to soften a little. While that was going, I put the 10 minute rice in a pot of boiling water and started to saute the diced onions and sausage.

Once the sausage was heated through (its precooked so it just needs to warm up) and the onions were soft I put in a a dash of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. By this time the rice had cooked and I strained it, then added it to the pan with the onions and sausage. Add the pesto and tomatoes and you are almost there!

I took out the bell peppers from the oven and stuffed them with the rice mixture. Next, I just sprinkled on the feta cheese and popped the peppers back in the oven for about 10 minutes.

There was a lot of left over stuffing so I just put that in the bottom of the bowl and topped it with the peppers straight from the oven.

Yum Yum!

XOXO Katie

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