Things I am loving Friday and house updates!!

Good morning! First can I just say I HAVE THE ABSOLUTE BEST FOLLOWERS AND READERS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!

Your amazingly kind, funny, witty and generous comments kept me smiling all day long! This has been an exceptionally hectic week. Getting my son to and from Massachusetts for a short camp, having so much going on at the house, and on top of that  it seems the few commitments I reluctantly made for the summer all seem to be occurring within a 10 day period! August, I am praying will be calmer!  So literally every minute of every day and night has been chock full with little "down time". I am craving some desk duty to scour my favorite blogs and spend some quality time with all my blog friends. Calgon take me away! Wednesday night we went to a fundraiser and saw Carly Simon in concert. I must say she rocked the house, it was A LOT of fun. Her music is timeless and seamlessly appeals from the youngest generation to the seniors. Yesterday, we were off (a group of 15) for an all day wine tasting tour for one of my best and dearest friends. We hit 3 wonderful wineries on Long Island's south fork, had a wonderful light lunch outside on the patio of one of the vineyards it was so wonderful, and we were blessed with the most perfect weather, could not have custom ordered it to be any more perfect! It was a nice and much needed day off for me. So, its been a busy and successful albeit hectic week, and I am wishing you a wonderful day!
HOUSE UPDATES. The kitchen floor, oh I love it so, got its second coat of primer and got it ready for the delivery of the kitchen.They just started installing the main boxes, the boring part but exciting too! So far so good.....today they will possibly get to the upper cabinets then they start applying all the trim, doors,etc......the limestone on the porch is getting done and looking fabulous. The trim upstairs is nearly done and they are just about to begin downstairs. They have made great progress on the back hall with the paneling and its coming out really beautifully.  Millwork continues at a rapid pace and limestone for outdoor porch is nearing completion. So have a look.........(sorry for the repetition of a few photos, I get carried away)

Dining room crown moldings complete

The long awaited floors!

The following pictures are of stain samples against the stone for breakfast room paneling

Kitchen pictures below....

Install has officially begun!

Close up of lightly glazed finish

Back stair hall banisters getting put in

Stove and stone hood will eventually go between these cabinets

Sink wall

Family room getting secondary beams installed

Breakfast bay getting secondary beams installed

Back stair hall

Back stair hall

This will eventually have a window seat

The stair dome, picture doesn't do it justice but its a 9 foot beautiful plaster dome

These next few pictures are from inside the porch....

PRETTY WRAPPING PAPER. I got a lot of inquires about the "peacock paper" I used for my gift wrapping for my good friends birthday. I found it!I love wrapping gifts and get into trying creative things. I was asked by several as to my sources. Good ol Michaels for ribbon and when its 50% off which is often, I stock up. I keep organza in several colors on hand, as it adds such elegance to any gift. I always buy cheap fake flowers to embellish gifts with too, its a beautiful touch!  Back to the paper, bad news is it comes from Europe (figures).  However I do believe that the company Hartman stationers in NJ  carries this line so I included their website below and you can pursue it! (As I will be doing).  Also the link below is directly to the Museum source where the paper is made. So pretty!! And sure enough it IS originally from a wallpaper so for those of you who said you would love it for wallpaper, you were very observant as that is its original use, that was my first thought too...its so beautiful! Click here for Hartman and here is the direct link.

http://www.museumsgalleries.co.uk/card-ranges/gift-wrap/gift-wraps

DEALS ON COPPER POTS. I happened to have been  near a Williams Sonoma outlet in my travels and they had the Ruffioni gorgeous copper decorative cooking pots on sale! I invested in two stunners, one sauce pot and another large soup pot. They are gorgeous and were an extra 20% off the discounted price. Think this promotion is still on if you are interested.

A FUN ROAD TRIP. I love posting about travel but what I am really craving right now is a great road trip down South. I would start it exploring beautiful Virginia's horse country then work my way down to Richmond, Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah and end in Atlanta. I would love to take it all the way down to the grand dame of southern cities, New Orleans but I would need two weeks in that case. I hope somehow some way I can make this happen before summer ends (hint Mom, so if you are reading this start packing your bags, lol)  I imagine some of my highlights might look something like this. Do you enjoy road trips?

Ahhh....this is what I want to see!

Maybe stop in to one of Virginia's well known wineries?

I will hope to spy an open hunt scene

Picture perfect

I will so enjoy touring a few plantation homes

Of course a trolley ride is a must do!

Eating al fresco in Charleston

Exploring elegant and quintessentially Southern towns and neighborhoods 

 

And strolling through elegant lush open spaces like this one...

House drooling is part of the fun!

I look forward to taking in the splendor of tress that are hundreds of years old draped in moss

Of course dining in beautiful old world Southern establishments is a must do

This is so typically South!

Would love to visit this classic beauty in Atlanta

BEAUTIFUL HARDWARE. Well after going full circle, on what hardware and finish I am using, I have at last settled on oil rubbed bronze. It is in the end, the perfect choice for all the materials and finishes I am using. So I am finally "at peace" with my decision. Now the real work begins, what kind of knobs, pulls, etc....I use. This is going to be a trial and error process with me as I am very meticulous so I am going to be ordering a few different styles and "playing" with them on the cabinets once they are fully installed. Any tips from all you experienced pros out there?

A GREAT SUMMER WINE. Why not end it on a great glass of wine. For summer in particular, Domaines Ott is an all time favorite. We have become great friends! And the fact that its packaged in a gorgeous bottle doesn't hurt, a little pretty always gets extra points. This is a very light and crisp rose. Though I love my red wine, this is a little lighter for summer and I promise you if you try it you will LOVE it. 

So cheers! That's what I am loving this week. I always love to know if there is something special that caught your eye or that you are loving this week! Wishing you a wonderful and happy Friday!