January 31, 2013

Thoughts on Thursday




Father/Son Bonding....If y'all even knew what they were looking at on the phone.  Flatulence videos.  Oh my gosh, I am so outnumbered, boys will be boys!

See the new curtains in the background...used my Pottery Barn gift card wisely.  The 63" panels are still on sale, check them out here: Elene Palampore Linen Sheers.

Winds were so bad here last night that we lost power and I woke up just as I was supposed to be getting into work.  That kinda sleeping in is not restful....

So excited for Friday.  We are going to our favorite Bar & Grille The Crabs Claw who is opening up for the first time since Hurricane Sandy.  It's going to be awesome and probably standing room only.  Holla!

I'm getting tons of hits on my Food & Recipe Pinterest Board and this blog post... Crack Bread.  I'm not even sure yet what I'm bringing to the Superbowl party we are attending.  It won't be that!  Too addictive...

I've been rolling along with my NY Resolutions.  Down 7 pounds, being kinder, not sweating the small stuff and organizing my house room by room and closet by closet.  I'm hoping I can knock my February goals outta the park!

Thanks for visiting ~ Have a fabulous weekend!


January 30, 2013

Homes I Love...

Spring Lake, NJ
Circa 2009










It's been awhile since I've done one of my real estate posts.  This house is just well-done. I am loving the splashes of orange in the family room and the elegant wallpaper in the dining room.  This can all be yours for $3,299,000.00.

From the Realtor:

Spectacular British Colonial inspired beach retreat, impeccably & thoughtfully renovated in 2009. Ideally situated on a rare 53x250 property this chic & sophisticated 5BR, 3.5 + bath seashore residence boasts the very best in quality, craftsmanship & design. Special appointments include rich hdwd floors, exquisite millwork, Ann Sacks hand painted tiles, Waterworks fixtures, LaCornue range, Pella Architectural Series windows & a beautiful inground pool. Bring your most discriminating buyers.

January 28, 2013

Lately...{Photo Dump}




Friends out for a {rare} night on the town.  Notice my husband in pink...I love him in that color, not sure he did.  Love my Lilly Elsa in Starboard Stripe...major score during the post-Christmas sale.  Chinese Laundry boots were a 75% find at Macy's. 


Our boys made the local section of the Asbury Park Press.  My little local celebs...Restore the Shore!


Snow Patrol


The extent of my Valentine decorating.  I LOVE decorating for holidays, but for some reason have very little V-day decos.  These are handmade and free printable~d off the net. Better than nothing...onto Easter.




My snowbaby


Went into HomeGoods after a long sabbatical (It was a tough habit to break).  Scored the gray chair for our home office (of which hasn't even been cleaned out or painted yet...so who knows...)


And a cute one for my Moms living room.


Dreary Monday morning photo of Lake Fishigan a stones throw from my office.

Have a wonderful week ~ Thanks for visiting!

January 17, 2013

We went back {Seaside Heights}

Took the trek over to the barrier island over the weekend.  There are a few places opening up, two of which are on the boardwalk...when the boardwalk was there.  


This is the view from the Beachcomber Bar & Grill. Across the way is the Beach Bar.  From this point north the boardwalk is gone.  It's actually amazing that the Beach Bar is still there.  All of the places in Seaside were crowded, for a January day anyhow.  It was mild out, but most people were there to see what's become of everything.

We'd had a fabulous lunch at Klee's Bar & Grill before going up to the boards.  Klee's was packed, an hour wait at 1pm.  It was nice to see.  Let's give these businesses some $ back. I must say they served me the BEST grilled shrimp caesar salad I have ever had.  
Smiling, but not really...

Comfort station that used to be attached to the boardwalk.


Couldn't get near enough to the infamous Roller Coaster to take a pic.  State Troopers are stationed along every beach entrance. The police presence is thick, no one is allowed onto the beach. Although I am hearing that restriction will be lifted soon.

Last stop for photos

Kids playing on the stage.  At the bar. Don't judge.

Lucky Leo's.  Boys are so happy the arcades are back open.  While there, an Asbury Park Press photographer took the boys pictures playing skeeball and said they would be published in a series called "Voices of Sandy".  So far, not published yet.

3 Points!

It is still going to take time to restore our beloved shore.  We came in from a few miles north, over the Mantoloking Bridge and headed south to Seaside.  Let me tell you, pictures don't even begin to tell the story at that impact point.  Grand, old shore homes, some 3 stories, tipped on their sides.  Destroyed.  Walls ripped away.  I could still see a womans fully stocked closet complete with handbags and dresses blowing in the wind.

Amazing, truly amazing.

Thanks for visiting and have a lovely weekend!

January 16, 2013

Transitions {Not Wordless Wednesday}

The littler one transitioned into a big boy bed this past week.  Unbeknownst to us, the crib conversion kit went from toddler bed to full bed.  Original Nursery can he found here: http://coastalpines.blogspot.com/2010/07/brennans-room.html 

So, all that twin bedding I was planning on....yeah.  So after getting a new mattress & boxspring, we realized that the conversion kit headboard won't work either. So no headboard and no bedding. Maybe...

Hubby started the whole..."Let him pick out his own stuff.." Ummmmm No.  They have a playroom, family room and a fridge to decorate.  His room is my job, he's the baby, my baby. Besides, he's growing too fast, I wasn't ready for this big boy bed thing.

The room isn't even scaled well for a full bed, so needless to say in a little while, littler one, will be moving into the bigger ones massive bedroom with bunk beds (and decorated to the nines with wall-E's, transformers, tonkas, surfboards and various sports teams).

So, to my husbands dismay, it's going to be feminine stripes & cabbage roses for awhile.



Because I am the only girl in the house and this bedding set was from my bachelorette pad and I've missed it while it was stored away.

Does it match? No. But we already have it and free is for me. (Wrinkled bed skirts are not for me either, I'll get to that later)



They don't seem to mind...


January 14, 2013

The Bright Side...

of being displaced.  This is one of the rooms in my in-laws temporary "Sandy" rental.  This wrought iron light fixture is to die for. I can not even imagine what it must weigh.  This exotic, warm, rich room is a sitting room in a house full of similarly decorated rooms.  I don't want to invade the landlord or the tenants privacy, but I had to share this one room.  It's fabulous.



awful iPhone pics




Thanks for visiting!

January 10, 2013

Have you tried...

ColorSnap by Sherwin Williams? Its an iPhone App that lets you snap an inspiration picture and match colors to it. I also tried ColorCapture by Benjamin Moore, but I didn't love it as much.  I think it is going to be integral in our home office project. Here's a peek at my curtain fabric (linen curtains by Pine Cone Hill in flax) and the rug I've decided on (Eastern Colors available at Overstock or Horchow).


I'm leaning toward the Gray.  It would be more of a neutral if I should change up the accessories in the future and kinda outside of my comfort zone, as I tend to gravitate toward warmer colors.




This project will begin once we've completed our January clean up & out. That could still be happening in March...

Thanks for visiting xo

January 9, 2013

Rebuild & Restore


Rebuild & Restore.

My last post was so nonchalant, sarcastic even.  I mean Irene was bad enough for us in the way of trees down, shingles lifted and lost, a ripped pool liner, eh.  

Hurricanes or "super storms" aren't supposed to take random left turns into the east coast. Well, they do. What I witnessed over the past 2+ months is something I hope to never see again.  

We are ok.  We had less physical damage this time around than during Irene, the previous year.  We lost power for 2+ weeks (ironic that my half-yearly Trader Joe's stock-up was the week before...in the trash) and our furnace burnt out when the power was restored (much thanks to Alabama power for getting us back on, we needed a new heating system anyway).  I didn’t see my police officer husband for weeks, as they were literally working around the clock. We were LUCKY.

Our friends and family and community did not fare as well. 

My in-laws have been displaced, as they wait for their home to be rebuilt.  The structure withstood the storm, but the storm surge made water damage an inevitability.  Then there was the Hyundai in a sinkhole in their driveway and someone’s custom upholstered sofa and living room wedged under the lower back deck.  Thanks to the quick-thinking of my father-in-law who knew the situation was dire, they found alternate housing quickly.  They hope to be back in in February.

My stepsons mother, stepfather and siblings are also displaced.  The storm surge ruined the first floor of their newly built home.  Collins school, on the barrier island just reopened yesterday.  A Greek Orthodox Church, 7 miles inland, took in his entire elementary school K-8 for the weeks after Sandy. He received care packages from other children from across the country…backpacks, books, supplies during his tenure at the church. Heartwarming.

We have friends & acquaintances that cannot afford to rebuild, that’s even if the beach communities will even let them.  That’s still being debated.  Ortley Beach, NJ was wiped off the face of the earth in sections. The Army Corps of Engineers may not allow people to rebuild.

Observations:

The rollercoaster is still in the ocean.

The out-of-state power companies saved our asses (Roll Tide)

Displaced people moving anywhere they could…campgrounds, friends basements, young families in retirement communities.

The local Holiday Inn Parking lot swarmed with Salvation Army Disaster Recovery Teams.

The vile pop-up stand selling “I survived Sandy” tee shirts, as people whose memories were lost, drove by there daily.

My husbands shifts at the base of the barrier island bridge, trying to keep out looters and gawkers, while attempting to stay warm from fires built in barrels.

There is so much debris, and homes and cars, in the Barnegat Bay, that the channels will have to be remarked before boaters can re-enter. Not to mention all of the sand & debris making the water rise so much now that a normal high tide will cause flooding in areas that never did before.

The volunteer fire company (Silverton Strong) that worked around the clock to rescue others as a huge percentage of their own members lost Everything.

8-inches of heavy, wet snow that fell a week after the storm to a population without heat, without homes.

The fundraising.  Dinners, breakfasts, donations of everything, clothing, Santa visits to displaced children, etc.  The Facebook pages to reunite people with their stuff that washed away from homes…a wedding or family photo washed up in a marsh 1 ½ miles away. An ear to listen, talking about your plight took the edge off.  Restore the shore.

I still have not crossed over to the barrier island.  I’m not ready.  It’s the longest period, possibly in my life, that I have not seen the Atlantic Ocean.

Thanksgiving and Christmas this year were not the same.  There was sadness; and when there was joy, there was guilt.  I just didn’t “feel” it.  We are trying to return to some sense of normalcy, but the reminders are still there.  Missouri logging trucks still clog our main highway, but the Holiday Inn parking lot is not as cramped.

So, as I return to my blog, I felt the need to purge myself of the past couple of months and start fresh.  I do have some tricks up my sleeve for the coming year and hope to share them with you.  The purpose of this blog is still home, cooking and garden and I need desperately to get back to it.  Thanks for listening xoxo