Many wonderful surprises have been uncovered in our lovely New England Cape since we took ownership last week. The birds and deer love the creek that trickles down the north side of our property, the neighbors across the street are from Australia, we have a hidden china cabinet in the dining room, there's a walk up storage attic above the garage! Of course there have been other surprises as well: no cable has ever been run to the house for tv or dsl. The only room without hardwood had cork floors under teal carpet. A beehive as big as a soccer ball was hanging just outside Sofie's window, none of the rooms has ceiling lights. So we have a crew of eight or so contractors who have descended on the house and are spiffing it up before the moving truck arrives on Monday. Unpackers arrive Tuesday. I hope to be back to work on Wednesday!
My search for a new kitchen table ended at the workshop of an Irish carpenter, Patrick, in Norwalk who handcrafts furniture from reclaimed wood. I am in love with my kitchen table. Many of you remember our old beloved pine table (the first piece of furniture Barry and I bought when we got married) which will be moving to the screened-in porch. When Patrick delivered the table he and Barry immediately began measuring out where the pub table and bar will fit nicely in the great room (this was formally the formal living room which will be anything but formal in our house). I had to remind them, this is a "family" room not a man cave.
Since Siena arrived a week ago, the girls have toggled between beach days and city days. Friday they went into the city with Cindy and spent the night at the Millennium Hotel on Times Square. They went to see In The Heights and they all LOVED it! Sofie's friend, Lauren, was in town so she met up for some sightseeing with them, while Siena and Alexa went shopping--Cindy was busy with her daughter. I didn't think I would get to this point so soon: my girls navigating their way around New York City on their own. They had a great time even though it was a stiffling 98-degrees. They discovered Peanut Butter and Company (recommendation: the Fluffenutter shake) and you can't have too many shakes in one day so they hit Shake Shack too. Barry and I drove into the city and had dinner with Lauren's family and Cindy too. It was such a surreal feeling to be sitting in a NYC restaurant with Danville friends. I didn't want to leave and we shut the restaurant down at 11! So much fun! We have already made plans for their next trip: Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Barry and I were walking down memory lane and realized in 20 years of marriage this is our sixth move. We have never moved to a house that was older than we are and that was filled with so many "surprises." It's definitely adding to the adventure.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Week One in New England
Hard to believe a week ago I managed to say good bye to friends and family, board a plane with a cat foaming at the mouth, and settle into temporary housing in Darien, CT. "Settle" isn't the right choice of words as it seems everyday we are outa this apartment exploring our new surroundings. While the beach is a short five minute drive a way, we have learned there are good beach days and bad beach days. A bad beach day is when thunderstorms are predicted. This was the day the lifeguard asked us patiently to stay out of the water for fear of electrocution. (We were acting like foreign tourists and ignoring the "Water Closed" sign.) But no worries, we've had good beach days when the water is warm and calm and the beach is sandy and "Uncle's Snack Shack" serves up a decent burger. The beaches are a definite highlight here.
Another major highlight is our short 50 minute train ride or 40 minute car ride to New York City! Our forays into the city have not included a lot of sightseeing yet, however, as we have been on a mission to find what we need to make our home our home when we move in, in one week! The girls went hog wild in the PB Teen store and I was overwhelmed by the 10,000 rugs at the ABC Rug Store. Fortunately for us, Danville friend and designer Cindy is in NYC while her daughter Monica attends ABT (she's a serious ballerina and loves the city as much as her mom). Cindy helped me find the perfect rugs for our hardwood floors (the only rug we've ever owned is a bath mat and wall to wall carpet). Sorting through the 10,000 choices for me was not just like finding a needle in a haystack, more like poking me in the eye with the needle while I tried to roll in the haystack. I was that overwhelmed. Thank goodness for Cindy.
We have had some wonderful culinary adventures in NYC this week, as it's Restaurant Week where many of the city's fine restaurants offer up their specialties on Pris Fix menus at a reasonable rate. (Again, a tip from our savvy NYC guide Cindy.) Our girls are taking after their dad as culinary critics. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at David Burke's Townhouse, which included a cheesecake lollipop tree for dessert. The Jean George at Trump Towers didn't impress as much as the exotic smells and flavors we experienced at Spice Market (also a Jean George restaurant) located in the fun and trendy meat packing district. I keep reminding Barry, a girl needs sustenance when making important purchases. We plan to start a separate blog to log our restaurant reviews. Needless to say our brief jaunts into NYC so far have been a huge highlight and each time we say we can't wait to go back!
In sharp contrast to NYC, we retreat back to this quaint picturesque New England seaside town of Darien, CT (population around 20,000). It is lush and green, the archetecture is old and traditional, the people are friendly. The weather....well that's a whole other blog entry. Let's just say I'm still learning how to tame the frizzies in this thick humidity. Every day I'm shocked when I catch a glance of myself in the mirror and realize my hair is having a party without me. I've put the girls on frizz patrol and if they notice it's getting out of control they hand me a hair band and subtley suggest, "mom, would you like one?"
I do get why folks spend so much time talking about the weather here, because actually you do have to plan your life around it a bit. Case in point: my birthday excursion today was to include stand up paddle boarding. There's a place in the next town, Rowayton, that rents boards and kayaks and offers guided kayak-yoga excursions out to the islands in the sound. Well, I hear thunder rumbling in the distance and while it IS 80-degrees at 9 a.m.right now, paddling in the rain just doesn't sound like fun to me. We may just have to check out the acquarium in Norwalk and dinner tonight is seaside at the Rowayton Fish Market. I am so happy to have my family here to celebrate (Siena just got in last night!).
My birthday present to myself this morning was enjoying a nice cup of illy and giving myself time to start this blog. I hope to use it as a way to keep in touch with the many of you who have been so important to us in shaping our lives. We have shared many joys and survived many challenges together and I have no intention of ending that chapter just because I happened to move 3,000 miles away. I'm not one to typically tip toe down the path, so as I plunge ahead and dive off this cliff, I'm bringing you all with me. I could go nowhere without the moral support, sage advice and unyeilding friendship I've been blessed with. Thanks for everything and we'll see you soon!
Another major highlight is our short 50 minute train ride or 40 minute car ride to New York City! Our forays into the city have not included a lot of sightseeing yet, however, as we have been on a mission to find what we need to make our home our home when we move in, in one week! The girls went hog wild in the PB Teen store and I was overwhelmed by the 10,000 rugs at the ABC Rug Store. Fortunately for us, Danville friend and designer Cindy is in NYC while her daughter Monica attends ABT (she's a serious ballerina and loves the city as much as her mom). Cindy helped me find the perfect rugs for our hardwood floors (the only rug we've ever owned is a bath mat and wall to wall carpet). Sorting through the 10,000 choices for me was not just like finding a needle in a haystack, more like poking me in the eye with the needle while I tried to roll in the haystack. I was that overwhelmed. Thank goodness for Cindy.
We have had some wonderful culinary adventures in NYC this week, as it's Restaurant Week where many of the city's fine restaurants offer up their specialties on Pris Fix menus at a reasonable rate. (Again, a tip from our savvy NYC guide Cindy.) Our girls are taking after their dad as culinary critics. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at David Burke's Townhouse, which included a cheesecake lollipop tree for dessert. The Jean George at Trump Towers didn't impress as much as the exotic smells and flavors we experienced at Spice Market (also a Jean George restaurant) located in the fun and trendy meat packing district. I keep reminding Barry, a girl needs sustenance when making important purchases. We plan to start a separate blog to log our restaurant reviews. Needless to say our brief jaunts into NYC so far have been a huge highlight and each time we say we can't wait to go back!
In sharp contrast to NYC, we retreat back to this quaint picturesque New England seaside town of Darien, CT (population around 20,000). It is lush and green, the archetecture is old and traditional, the people are friendly. The weather....well that's a whole other blog entry. Let's just say I'm still learning how to tame the frizzies in this thick humidity. Every day I'm shocked when I catch a glance of myself in the mirror and realize my hair is having a party without me. I've put the girls on frizz patrol and if they notice it's getting out of control they hand me a hair band and subtley suggest, "mom, would you like one?"
I do get why folks spend so much time talking about the weather here, because actually you do have to plan your life around it a bit. Case in point: my birthday excursion today was to include stand up paddle boarding. There's a place in the next town, Rowayton, that rents boards and kayaks and offers guided kayak-yoga excursions out to the islands in the sound. Well, I hear thunder rumbling in the distance and while it IS 80-degrees at 9 a.m.right now, paddling in the rain just doesn't sound like fun to me. We may just have to check out the acquarium in Norwalk and dinner tonight is seaside at the Rowayton Fish Market. I am so happy to have my family here to celebrate (Siena just got in last night!).
My birthday present to myself this morning was enjoying a nice cup of illy and giving myself time to start this blog. I hope to use it as a way to keep in touch with the many of you who have been so important to us in shaping our lives. We have shared many joys and survived many challenges together and I have no intention of ending that chapter just because I happened to move 3,000 miles away. I'm not one to typically tip toe down the path, so as I plunge ahead and dive off this cliff, I'm bringing you all with me. I could go nowhere without the moral support, sage advice and unyeilding friendship I've been blessed with. Thanks for everything and we'll see you soon!
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