Destination: Glenmere Mansion

During my parents recent visit, we took my mom to the most fabulous place, Glenmere Mansion, to celebrate her 60th birthday. 

via Hudson Valley Magazine

Sean had read about this place, I did some online research, and we had some friends that highly recommended it.  I knew it was an old historic mansion that has been revived and turned into a boutique hotel.  I thought it would be a place that my mom would enjoy.  Let me tell you, it is eye candy overload.  No pictures do this place justice (and I didn't have my own camera, so I had to borrow my mom's)

One of the owners, Alan, was nice enough to take some time to give us a tour, and it was fun to get some additional background information on some of the pieces, the history of the place, etc.  The designer is Scott Snyder.  I absolutely love his style.

Library...the designer found this chandelier at an estate sale.  He wanted it because it was all black, well, after cleaning it, there was all this crystal and brass...it came from a tobacco estate, so it was just covered in tobacco residue!  Isn't it a beauty?
Isn't this so quaint...what an inviting room that someone can just go in the corner and work on a puzzle!

The GORGEOUS living room.  
There was so much natural light and the mixture of old and new furnishings was perfection.


oh my, I'll take two...

the orchids, the doors, the windows, oh my.

The supper room - with custom painted silk screens with scenes from the Hudson Valley...

Outdoor Area - boxwood heaven.  Off to the left (not pictured), they have a 'reading area' - how wonderfully decadent.
the birthday girl!

Okay, and I think my favorite may have been the bathroom.  I couldn't resist snapping a bunch of pics with my iPhone. It looked like there were little diamonds covering the walls...so glam.  Love.


We ate in their Frog's End tavern - my veggie sandwich was excellent!

And check out the meringue on Sean's cake...so over the top...gorgeous!

They even have a China room, where you can host private parties, and they have over 35 sets of China that the owners have collected over the years, and you can pick and mix and match what China you would like the meal served on.  So fun!

We were there a little to early to get the full effect of all the amazing outdoor spaces that they have...check out this image of the courtyard during good weather...

I can't wait to go back....ahhhh.  I could share so much more...their attention to detail is superb.   Their spa is supposed to open later this year...hmmm...worth saving for?  Probably!  If you can spend $500 - $3500 per night for a room, you should go stay here! 

Light Change


My dad helped hang a chandelier that I bought last summer in Highland Falls (of all places!) while he was here.  At first, when he got it connected, the new-to-me chandelier was not working.  He ended up taking it down, checking out all the wiring...which all looked great.  He then tried again...to no avail.  But...low and behold!  Somehow we had blown a fuse...so after flipping the circuit breaker a couple of times, we were in business.  The chandelier should be a little larger for the space...but I can't tell you how happy it makes me, regardless.

Next time, I hope to not have such a fear of this and tackle it myself!  Thanks, Dad :)

Before:

After - again, wish I was a good photographer...


Butter

I had never given a thought to making my own butter until I read Liz Stanley's post about it...

If you have some heavy cream and a stand mixer, you can be on your way.  I still haven't perfected it, but have now made a few batches of regular salted butter as well as some honey butter.

If you are looking for a fun project, you should give it a try.

Being that I am as impatient as I am, I skipped the shaking of the cream in the Ball jar.  I poured a large container of heavy cream into my mixer along with some salt (I am still trying to figure out the right amount of salt), started whipping it on high and just let it run.

Just whip it until it separates...you will have some chunks and some liquid.  The liquid is actually buttermilk.

Now, it gets a little messy...just reach in and start bringing all the solid bits of butter together, into a ball.  Squeeze out as much buttermilk as you can.  If buttermilk is left, the butter won't last as long.  Some sites recommend washing the butter under cold water until the water runs clear to ensure that the buttermilk is gone.

And, voila.  You have fresh butter.  Pop it in the fridge to let it firm up...and done!

Dinner on the Hudson

I have had this location scouted out for countless months, and have been obsessed with the idea of trying to channel some inner Jordan Ferney and pull off an intimate dinner in a unique outdoor location.  Of course there were details that I didn't get to....but, thanks to the help of my gourmet cook friend, Jean, we were able to pull it off.

Big thanks to West Point for providing such breathtaking scenery.  :)

We surprised Mark and Krissy with this dinner to celebrate the time we have had here together, their upcoming birthdays, and to look forward to future memories.  I can't believe that I didn't spill the beans over the last 9 months to Krissy as I have schemed all these 'pretend' parties in my mind! 

I had originally wanted to keep everyone out of the loop to make it a surprise for all, but it definitely wouldn't have happened without Jean.  I knew that if everything else went wrong, the food would still be out of this world.  And, it was.  Bravo to you, Jean!  As I have mentioned many times, I struggle with menu planning so much...and there was an added level of complexity since everything had to taste okay cold since we would prepare at home and then bring it all down to the river.

Here's what we landed on for the menu:

Appetizer:
Jalapenos stuffed with a cream cheese/honey/pecan mixture then wrapped in bacon and grilled.  (Sommer introduced us to these when she and her brother-in-law chef made them for Tim's welcome home party, and they have been our go-to appetizer ever since...thanks for sharing, Sommer!)

Meal - this was ALL Jean...
--Cold beef tenderloin with homemade horseradish sauce - a Mark/Krissy specialty and favorite.
--Zuchinni boats filled with mashed parsnips - YUM!  So gourmet :)
--Roasted tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar...and maybe a few other things I am forgetting.  I will never forget how delicious these were.  And, so beautiful!
--Rolls with the homemade honey butter than I attempted

Dessert:
--Decaf coffee, frothed, of course.
--Martha Stewart's Inside Out German Chocolate Cake (I made this years and years ago for Sean's bday - and I swear, it turned out okay that time.  This time around was disaster city.  The filling oozed everywhere, the cakes were overcooked...bascially a typical Meghan cake.)
--Chocolate covered strawberries (due to last minute panic that the cake may be terrible)

I must have some weird sickness as I had the best time making my list of everything that needed to be carted down to the river to pull this off.  I loved assembling the Rubbermaid containers full of glasses, plates, napkins, tablecloths, candles, etc. 

Jean and I obsessed over the weather all week, and ultimately, decided to go for it, even though it was going to be much colder than we had ever hoped for.  Mark and Krissy knew we were all having dinner that night, but that was all they knew.  That afternoon, I told them to dress warmly, and that they would be picked up at six.

And, I can't forget...special shout out to April for saving me at the last minute and letting me borrow her table since ours was MIA.  Also, huge thank you to my parents, who are my party wing-men.  They were a huge help assembling all the goods, delivering/setting up everything, and even brewing and delivering a steaming pot of decaf coffee!

I wish I would have captured more pictures of the evening, but here is what we got...
Look at those pretty silver bread plates...they belonged to Jean's grandmother.  Love it.

 the chef and master fire starter...
Guests of honor...I was getting teary eyed just thinking about them arriving. 
And, dinner is underway...
Scrumptious.  Jean hit this one out of the ballpark.
and...into the night :)

Thanks to all for such a memorable evening.  We will miss you, Brosnans.  Godspeed, Mark.

Accessorize...

If my accessories looked prettier in their drawers, would I use them more?  Nothing else I have tried makes me accessorize...could this work?

Before:
Drawer 1

Drawer 2

In an effort to become more organized and not spend money, I combed through drawers and found my random tea cup collection that hasn't gotten as much use as I would like.  I got this done just in the nick of time before Chantal arrived.  Phew. 

After:




Style me...what I learned.

So, Chantal...she was fabulous.  I was worried that she may recommend clothes that were too high fashion for me or stores to shop at that are completely out of my price range, but she was incredibly sensitive to my lifestyle, budget and likes/dislikes.


So...that afternoon, we went through my closet, piece by piece.  Some of my key take aways...

1.  All my life, I thought 'my colors' were yellow and red.  Those were the only two colors in my entire closet that she picked out and told me the complete opposite.  She was very sweet about it...and just said that they 'don't do anything for me'....who knew?

2.  I had several silk blouses back from the work days, and I thought they were going to be headed for the 'donate' pile, but she said definitely not!  She suggested pairing those tops with boyfriend jeans (which I do not own).  That seemed to be an overall theme of needing to pair something more dressy with something more casual...I still haven't implemented this one yet - kind of nervous :)

3. She helped me figure out how to incorporate more belts/accessories into my outfits.  I guess I should have asked how to accessorize yoga pants :)

One thing that she said to me was that she thinks that I have good intuition, but I just need to follow it more.  I don't feel like I have good intuition, but I do think that I buy a lot of things that
 a. don't fit me or my body style well (need to put a quick stop to this habit)
b.  are cheap, but not good pieces that will last, that I really like or again, that fit me well.

Case in point...as I have been still going through more old photo albums that have resurfaced, it seems that every picture that I see with me in it, I think to myself...why was I wearing that?  I never liked that...that didn't fit me...that didn't flatter my body shape/style....UGH! 

Hopefully my experience with Chantal will help me be more discerning in the pieces that I choose to spend money on and add to my closet.  I need to not buy crap, and instead buy pieces that I feel good in, that will last more than one season, and will work for my current role as a SAHM.

I had asked Chantal to help me figure out what pieces my wardrobe was lacking once we were finished with the cleanse.  These are a few of the things she suggested...
--boyfriend jeans
--two blazers - (i have NO clue where to start with these)
--good white button downs
--more long cardigans
--over the knee boots
--good black flats and maybe a pair in a fun color
--metallic sandals
--sperry top siders
--off white or more neutral pair of converse

Do you ever leave the hair stylist, when you really like how they did your hair, and you get home and think....how am I EVER going to make it look like this again?  That is exactly how I feel about my clothes.  I wish Chantal could be here with me every morning to pick out my outfit for me :).  (no wonder I loved my days in Kindergarten through 12th grade of wearing a uniform!)

The best part is that she is totally willing to check out pieces that I am thinking about buying and giving me her opinion.  She also said I could take a picture of me in an outfit and text it over to her and she will get back to me if she can.  So...she doesn't just leave you out there all by your lonesome.  She's great.  Thanks so much for the wonderful afternoon, Chantal!

Style me

For years now, I have been saying that I really need a stylist.

This became even more clear to me recently when a woman that I see from time to time here on post saw me and said, 'Wow...no yoga pants today?'  Yes.  I had actually worn jeans for a day, and yes, she went there :).  I started laughing, and I sheepishly said, 'Wow.  I guess you are right!'  She proceeded to say...'well, it's not like you have anywhere to go.'  She didn't mean any harm by it at all, but that definitely woke me up to my super boring mom wardrobe.  Yikes.

Thanks to thoughtfulness and coordination by my friend, Jennyjo, and for the willingness of my husband, my birthday gift was an afternoon with Chantal Hughes, a stylist from NYC.  She was giving a class to the cows (juniors) here at West Point, so after her class, she came over to our house to help me with a wardrobe cleanse.

The day before she came, I scrambled and at least tried to organize everything.  I have to admit, I was pretty anxious about having anyone look through my closet, let alone a person who can call herself a stylist.  Yikes.

Nonetheless, here was my closet before:

And here are the piles after the cleanse....

All the 'to go' clothes, just in more organized piles... (sorry for the night time pictures)



I would say that we got rid of at least half my closet.  We got rid of 22 sweaters, about 14 pairs of pants, most of my dresses, a big pile of maternity clothes, tops galore...on and on...

How did it feel?  Sort of scary...I feel like there isn't much left.  Then, when I think about it logically, not emotionally, I feel elated.  Those were clothes I rarely chose to wear.  Sure, I wore some pieces from time to time, but I don't need to be wearing things that don't flatter my body type, are out of date, etc.  It was very freeing.  I do feel daunted from time to time because I now really need lots of things to replenish/update my wardrobe, but I feel like I need to win the lottery to do so :)

Good thing we did this before this past weekend when we had the yard sale!  The clothes are no longer in the house.  Phew. Done.  No More.

More to come on how fabulous Chantal is, and what I learned...

Laundry Update

I made another large batch of detergent, this time I wanted to figure out the costs and how long it lasts me.  I mixed up '10' batches, and it took me no longer than 15 minutes as I used my food processor to grate the soap.
Finally, the jar looks more full :)

Soap - used 5 bars out of a package of 8
Borax - Used one box (approx. 10 cups in the box)
Washing Soda - Used 1.75 boxes (approx. 6 cups per box)

Soap Cost - $2.50
Borax - $2.39
Washing Soda - $3.59
Total - $8.48

I will update once I figure out how long, from April 7th, this will last!

Chair Update - Caned Chair

So, I guess I can sort of cross another chair off the list.  I decided that I would do the caned chair on my own to hopefully be a low cost project.  Maybe one day I will have it reupholstered, but the yellow will do for now....

Here is what I did to it...

1.  Took the seat off the chair which was much more difficult than expected...thanks to Krissy, Jean and Sean, it finally came off.
2.  Green Machined all the upholstery on the chair (should have done this AFTER the sanding, as I will now need to do it again!)
3.  Sanded all the wood
4.  Wiped the chair down
5.  Covered the upholstery on the back of the chair that I couldn't pop off using plastic, paper and masking tape
6.  Spray painted the chair glossy white (three coats)
7.  Reinforced the bottom of the chair with zip ties (those things fix EVERYTHING).

Here is the before of the $10 find:

Before:

After:



I still have yet to have Sean screw the seat back on as I feel like a few spots need some more paint.  I absolutely loved how the chair looked when I was spraying it outside, and now that I have it put back together, I am not quite as sold.

But, for the cost of a couple cans of spray paint and a few hours of work, I think it was worth it!  A less than $20 investment...

Transformation of a craigslist find...

Sommer was kind enough to share her amazing chair transformation with me.  She got these chairs for $12.50 each!  What a deal!!  She then sanded and painted them, and started to reupholster them herself, then decided to hire some of that work out (I would have too!).  The results are stunning!  She helped breathe so much fresh life into these chairs.  They have an upcoming move to sunny FL, and this fun geometric print will be perfect.  Thanks so much for sharing this inspiration, Sommer!

Before:

After:

Greek Key

Our master bedroom has been one of my least favorite rooms.  The rug didn't match and it threw me off every time I would walk in...just gave me a non-welcoming vibe. 

April and I hit up the Carpet Mill outlet after some yummy hibachi lunch.  I was hoping to find the perfect gray rug.  I would have loved to find a knock off Fallon rug - something that was in my price range.  Instead, the last rug that I flipped through was a navy Greek Key rug.  Hmmm....navy and gold is one of my favorite combos.  And for the price....well, let's just say I took it home.  Updates soon on the rug's new home....

Pom Poms

This was our favorite Mexico purchase...a hand woven blanket.  The pom poms sold me.  Not sure what I will do with it...I was thinking about potentially using it as a rug somewhere?  The nice man at the store told me about the woman who makes the blanket including how she uses the loom, how they use specific herbs to create the vibrant colors you see in the stripes...he didn't even need to keep telling me - I was already sold. :)  I wonder how long it is going to take for Paddy or Glory to decide it would be fun to rip the pom poms off.

UPDATE - One pom pom ripped off...several to go.

Stitch Witch

So, in Mexico, Ryan and Jamie's place didn't have much storage in the bathroom.  There was a large, wide open space underneath the sinks.  Ryan built some custom shelves to give them space they needed to store toiletries.  They had hoped to conceal the contents of the shelves, so I hoped to help while we were there.  I bought some fabric...hoping it would go with their new duvet from West Elm.  They didn't have a sewing machine, but they did already have the rod to hang the fabric from, so I purchased....

--fabric
--drapery rings with clips
--stitch witchery - heavy duty

I had thought I would make a panel or two, just create a hem around the four edges, and then hang it from the clips.  Unfortunately, the clips hung down too low, so you could see the contents of the top shelf.  Just didn't really serve the purpose we were hoping for.

After I botched the first attempt with 'Stitch Witch' (I will spare you the embarrassing details), I finally figured out how much I love that stuff.  I am sure it wouldn't be great for many jobs, but for this, it was perfect. 

In the end, I ditched the curtain rod clips, cut two panels, made a large hem on the top of the panels (to allow enough room to slide the rod through the top hem), and hemmed the other three sides.

Before:

After:

Chair Challenge - Update

So, I finally finished one part of the chair challenge!  Krissy was a huge help.  We have been trying to have 'project night' to work on some/many of our random projects.  I had hoped to finish the bamboo chairs before the Plebe Parent weekend open house, so Krissy helped me staple/pull/staple/fold corners/and staple some more.  Sean helped me screw the seats back on the morning of the party...and they were done!

Before:


After:

Perfect husband quote after these were done...."What did you change again?  Don't these look the same as they used to?"  No, no and no.  There is no longer sticky vinyl on them, and they have been glued/repaired/sanded/primed/painted/clear coated...NO.  They don't look the same :)

I finished all of the following tasks...

a.  Determine which chairs need something on them fixed (some of the backs are loose, some of the seat braces are coming unglued, etc.)
     b.  Determine if I can fix, or if I need someone to help me.  Likely will need help. (UPDATE:  I was able to find this very honest and helpful handyman on CL, and he fixed all six chairs for me - he checked every joint/loose spot, fixed them all, sanded, primed, painted, and put two clear coats on them!)

     c.  Learn more about reupholstering chairs.
          i.  Price/buy new foam for seats (UPDATE: Still undecided on this...my foam is 1 inch thick, and I would upgrade to 1.5 inch foam - not sure that the 1/2 inch is really worth the cost and effort)
          ii.  Research/decide on stain protection, if any. (Thankfully, I already have the fabric)
     d.  Wash/iron fabric
     e.  Stain protect fabric
     d.  Recover seats

Now onto the next chairs....

Open House

On Friday, March 12, we had an open house for the plebes that we sponsor and their families who were in town for Plebe Parent Weekend.  It was such a lovely group of people and we were so happy to have the opportunity to meet/see all of them.  One of our very favorite things about being here at West Point is sponsoring these cadets.

One of the dads mentioned to Sean how lucky we are to get to see their sons in an environment where they are able to just sit down and share their stories.  He was saying that they are always excited to have their son home, but that they usually get to see him when he first comes home, and then he is with friends, playing XBox, or whatever else kids do these days :).  It was a great reminder that it is a privilege to spend some nice quality time with these kids outside of the more regimented West Point life.

It was fun to get the open house together - thank goodness for our sweet babysitter, Kayla.  Sean wasn't there for the first hour and a half or so because he was wrapping up at his department's open house.  I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without Kayla.  To be honest, I am surprised I allowed anyone in the house with me before a gathering like that!  It seems that I am always scrambling until the first guest arrives (ok, maybe even sometimes AFTER they arrive ;)). 

I bought a few yards of fabric to use as a tablecloth...

The menu...
Apps:

--Southwestern Egg Rolls with Amy's Cilantro Cream Sauce (a new favorite of ours that Jamie introduced us to!)
--Potato Skins (does anyone have a good recipe?  I prepped these and froze the empty skins ahead of time...but I didn't think that they looked that great...would love to hear if anyone has a good recipe!)
--Taco Dip
--Caprese
--Pesto Breads
--Rosemary Cashews (Jean introduced us to these - they are addictive!)




Desserts:
Sour Cream Caramel Cakes
Chocolate covered strawberries
Lemon Bars

Couches

A while back, we scored some chesterfield sofas from CL.  We wanted more seating, and weren't ready to take the plunge to invest (Sean laughs at me when I say that couches are an investment) in 'new' couches, so I found some that would be new to us, didn't cost us much at all, and would achieve the objective of more seating.

The couches, because they are 'vintage' are lower to the ground - not the best for tall people, and are in need of some new foam - but they work for now!

I adore the style of them, but now feel like I need a lighter coffee table/end tables.  I still love our tables that Randy made and if I did find something, they would go perfectly in our basement.  I figure it doesn't hurt to keep an eye out for a good CL find.

Before:

After:

Hi pretty girl :)

Since these pictures, I have added a couple of Etsy pillows, Sean's blanket from USMA, and our wool blanket from Ireland. 

Ironing

Ironing is one of my least favorite chores around the house...but if this could be my view when I ironed, it may quickly become my favorite! 


We just got home from a relaxing trip to Mexico where we were able to visit Ryan & Jamie.  Their place is gorgeous...as you can see from the view :)  Notice the lighthouse, too!  Ahhh, I miss their view already.

Small bathroom - gallery wall

I recently created a small gallery wall in our half bathroom.  I had originally thought I would do a wall of mirrors but I didn't like the look of the few smaller mirrors that I tried to group on the wall and the quattrefoil mirror didn't quite fit either.  The mirrors seemed to compete too much with the one above the sink.

So, I got some small frames from Michael's while they were on sale.  When I usually do a gallery wall, I am the farthest thing from precise.  I just eyeball it.  Given that this was going to be a tighter grouping than I was used to, I wanted to use a more systematic way.

First, I took a large piece of kraft paper that was about the size of the wall space that I wanted to use for the frames.  Then, I arranged the frames.

Once I had an arrangement I was happy with, I traced the outline of the frames onto the paper as well as I put a small mark where the nail would have to go.


Then, I hung the paper up in the bathroom with masking tape.  I took the nails I wanted to use and I started each nail hole so that there were small holes for me to follow on the wall once I took the paper down.

After taking the paper down, I finished hammering in all the nails, and then hung the frames.  They don't sit against the wall very well b/c of the stands on the back of the frames, so I may need to remove those?  Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do about that? 

I have yet to fill the top left frame - one more reason why I try to avoid frames - I am so horrible about filling them/keeping them up to date!