Things I am loving Thursdays and House update!

Happy Thursday, my day to share what I am loving this week! It runs the gamut from a highly enjoyable book and a sublime bath product line all the way to exquisite garden statuary. I am also sharing some updated house pictures...things are moving along though there are days that I go and feel like its going at a snails pace, when in reality things really are moving fast and furiously ahead. So first, I share some updated pictures of the house, we are 99% sheet rocked so trim started yesterday and then that's when we really turn a corner and things start to rev up! You will notice today I am a little heavier on more personal things than "house things"....its important for us to take time out to take care of ourselves, and there is nothing like beautiful products, a toasty throw and great bedding to ease our daily stresses.  Now then, onto some things I am loving this week.....let me know if there is something you have discovered or something you are loving that you want to share!
HOUSE UPDATES. Definitely my absolute favorite item of the week:) I cannot overstate this enough, as much stress fun as the building process brings....its been a  long, sometimes, stressful, arduous process. We cannot move soon enough. So here we go with the updates.......

Back of the family room wall, limestone complete

Future kitchen!

Breakfast room!

Mantle from original house...we are determined to use it somewhere!

Family room

Downstairs hall/gallery

Limestone in the back..mission accomplished!

They did an exquisite job!

The reason the brick is darker is that they just finished those spots today

One bathroom in progress....

Even Teddy is getting tired of waiting....he has had it with the building process

Sons #1 bathroom almost done

Dining room

Living room

Guest room bath almost done, still wet so thats why it appears gray but its actually white Thassos

Upstairs hallway

Hubby's bathroom tile sample

Our future sitting room staring into master

Upstairs looking down... a little scary but with the 2nd floor stair soon to be in...it will be fine

OLD WORLD LOOKING STATUARY. I have always been drawn to old world, old fashioned, lush not overly landscaped gardens. I prefer a more natural and older look, and nothing tops off a beautiful garden or landscape quite like a beautiful piece of statuary. There is something so romantic and nostalgic, almost other worldly about it, makes you feel like you have gone back to another era. So here are a few inspirational pictures I have had in my little dream file and some gorgeous reproduction pieces from a company that I have bought from before, Orlandi Statuary...do their things not look like they were just plucked from the garden of a English countryside manor?  They do this finish which you see in most of their pieces called "White Moss" and they look so old,  LOVE the cherubs. Visit Orlandi here.

A GREAT BOOK. I love to read, have been "binge reading" if such a thing exists...where I will read non stop, sometimes even 2 or 3 books at a time (strange I agree), then nothing at all  and then go right back to a frantic pace once again. Go figure, no explanation! Have read some good books, one of which I just finished and one I really enjoyed enough to tell you about. "Dead end gene pool", I highly recommend it. Very entertaining and an easy read unlike Edgar Sawtelle which I forced myself to finish, after buying it over a year ago only to put it down after 50 pages. It was staring at me on my nightstand willing me to finish it, challenging me to understand it so I did and overall cannot say I would totally recommend it though there were parts that were captivated and had my attention. Dead End gene pool, on the other hand was one I can fully recommend however. It is a memoir written by the great great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt and suffice to say it is interesting, funny, heartbreaking and entertaining.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY ABOUT INTERESTING SUBJECTS. Speaking of the famed Gold Coast and era...a subject, that is fascinating beyond words and a time our country will never repeat. Maybe its after seeing The Great Gatsby, that I became fascinated by it, anyway the house that inspired the films house,  Lands End is the subject at hand. Sadly many of the fabled "summer cottages" of the rich and famous during that era have fallen under dire disrepair, many to the point of no return and many have been taken down only to be rebuilt with new subdivisions or mcmansions. Lands End, which is in an ongoing battle between the town in which it sits and the owner who wants to take it down,  is now schedule to be razed. Jen Ross, a renowned and talented photographer captured this house in its current state in a chilling, hauntingly beautiful photography session. You can see how even now how the decrepit interiors were once very grand and beautiful. Click below to see it...its really powerful. Click on the first thumbnail to your right and it will start the slide show.

http://www.jenrossphoto.com/#Portfolio/Spaces/East%20Egg/6

ANTIQUE PILLOWS AND TEXTILES. Love pillows and gorgeous textiles/fabrics, they add instant warmth, texture, color,elegance and comfort to a room. I like to use them well...just about everywhere. There are a few lines whose pillows I am already a big fan of and then its always fun to discover new ones too. These antique beauties are exquisite! Check out these gorgeous treasures from Debra, yes that lovely blogger from Acquired Objects blog, and the owner of Oreillers, her company that specializes in 16th-19th century European textiles and pillows...aren't they just fabulous? Click here to go to her site.  (And her blogs great too- all about her incredible 18th century carriage barn being restored in New Hampshire- its worth a look!) She has exquisite taste.

This 17th century Flemish tapestry is amazing....love the colors.

LUXURIOUS ALPACA BY ALICIA ADAMS.  I came across this company a few years ago and bought the most delicious shawl/cape that I have ever owned plus a sweater which I loved so much that I went back and ordered not one but two of the throws for the home, one for me and one for my very deserving mother who loves these kinds of things as much as I do! What makes them even sweeter is that this small boutique company, is run by Alicia Adams and her family on their upstate NY farm. They hail from Germany and bought the working farm where they grow and raise Suri aplacas, one of the rarest breeds. The product is nothing less than pure luxury, think cashmere but thicker and as soft and luruxious! You should visit her wonderful site and discover some of her gorgeous offerings...here is a little sampling. Visit them here

MONOGRAMMED BEDDING WELL MONOGRAMMED ANYTHING. Its no secret that amongst the many beautiful things I love, monograms is one of them. I think the Southern in me has revealed itself in many ways, beautiful traditional old world interiors, lover of good food and lots of it, monograms, etc........in any case one company that does beautiful work is Leontine linens. Here are some samples of what they do. Gorgeous, huh? If you want to visit them, click here.

INDULGENT BATH PRODUCTS. You know I love my products and consider myself a product connoisseur! Another line I discovered a few years ago is Shelly Kyle. I was first drawn to their uber elegant packaging that is very European/French inspired...then I smelled them and was doubly excited. Beautiful soft romantic fragrances....if you are a product junkie like me you should check them out, click here. My favorite products (of what I have tried so far) are the body lotion, candle, parfum, which I used as room spray for my powder room and the foaming bath gel. I love the Tiramani and Annabelle scents. Beautiful line of products.

Well, that's about it for now....tomorrow is a whole new day. Did anything excite you? Love to know and of course if there anything you are loving this week that you want to share..... Hope you have an enchanting day!