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Friday, October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween & Farewell

We are well into Halloween and if you know anything about New Yorkers, you know they take Halloween seriously. The Rev. and I are cooking up a fun couples costumes, stay tuned…. 
In addition to trick or treating and running around town, we are hosting a Halloween Farewell supper. When you live in NYC there are MANY farewells to be had. People transfer jobs, return to home towns, you name it people move. Tonight is very special since we have a dear parishioner who is headed south and it wouldn't be proper to say goodbye without having supper one last time. 
Many table scaping is in the works. I was going for a soft autumn look that also paid a nod to Halloween. Here is what we have so far…..










Happy Halloween!!!



Mel



Tuesday, October 28, 2014

7 Year Old Camp Out

Sorry we have been a bit MIA on the blog. We have been busy preparing for Sophia's 7th birthday. This year she asked for a roof camp out. We did our best, but with a turn in very cold weather we decided to create a campout in our living room.  


We had so much fun! So much fun I wasn't overly busy taking too many pictures. A friend snapped plenty of pics, so when I have my hands on those, I will be sure to share. 
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Monday, October 20, 2014

Fall Dinner Party

Last week the Rev. and I hosted a supper for 24.  This time around I knew I would be cooking, so I planned ahead. My first step was to looking into my fabric closet and select some textiles that would work with our table scape. I found some vintage mauve velvet fabric. I knew this would be our centerpiece for color composition. So, selected a grouping of flowers in the pink familia.  



I then pulled out the napkins and china. I found everything I needed expect for uniform bowls. This is when I headed over to Fish Eddy's.  I found perfect bowls in the clearance section. I felt so lucky to find the perfect bowl at 2.00 a piece. I hit the jack pot!


Alll in all we had a wonderful time and I loved the way the colors all came together. 

Besos,

Mel


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Fall Birthday Ideas

Well, the time has arrived and Miss. S will be turning 7 next week. I am in total shock!!!!! Whether I am in or out of denial, a party is to be had.  Every summer I order Sophia's birthday invitations in August. We decide on the theme and go with it. This year, we will host a roof-top camp out. With warm weather in NYC these last few days I am hopeful that the party will go on. 


Here a few details……….




I also may have purchased a 20 person tee-pee tent from Walmart. 

To be revealed……..


Besos,

Mel


Monday, October 13, 2014

Fall Activities for Urban Families: NYC

I have been loving watching Fall via the lense of Instagram. Outside the city leaves are changing and apples are ripe. 
Every year the Rev. and I have every intention of taking the kids upstate to pick apples, buy pumpkins, and see the leaves change. As always, our trip is postponed until next year……..

You get the idea right?!

via Pinterest

With two weddings within a month and many other family obligations, we knew we wouldn't make it out of town with the Ninos in time for Halloween. 


What to do if you are an Urban family living in the city????????? 
We pulled out our wagon, and took to the streets of NYC looking for the best pumpkins, apple cider donuts, and hot chocolate. 
Here is what our Manhattan Family Fall trip looked like……

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Designing Jady's New Office

This summer has been one of bittersweet transition for us, as our beloved rector at church counted down to retirement and began to pass the baton to Jady.  As Robin and his wife, Mary, look forward to retirement, we're both excited about this amazing opportunity to serve in such a special church full of people we have come to love so much.

Just a few weeks ago, Robin and Mary celebrated their last Sunday, and he cleared out his office and officially passed it on to Jady-- so we're on our own now with BIG shoes to fill!

Not only is the rector's office symbolically significant for Jady to move into, it's the only space in the whole place with a shot at holding the man's absurd number of books!  His current office looks like a crazy book hoarder lives in there, and I even have a few boxes of them waiting at the house ready to be dropped off the moment the painters are finished.


I love Robin's office space, and to renovate we don't really have to do much to spruce it up.  The old can lighting was pretty low, so we're replacing those with more LED recessed lights overhead, dimmable for versatility.  We're also adding library lights to the tops of all of the built in bookshelves and tearing out the corner closet that was never used to make room for more book storage (it's never enough).  Then the painters will coat the trim in white, the walls in a pale green and the doors in a soft black.


Here's what we're thinking at the moment for decor.  Jady wants a soothing wall color, a mix of traditional and quirky elements, and some pops of more saturated color punctuating the space.  In addition to the seating area (we're using the current sofa, side tables and pair of black leather arm chairs), he'll have a reading corner with a wingback chair and standing lamp, so he can take advantage of all of those books.


I can't wait to show you the progress!
Stay tuned...

xo

Liza



Monday, October 6, 2014

Fall in New York

Since our return from AZ, our weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. Last week was full of fundraisers, birthday celebrations, and everything in between. Thankfully we made it through and are ready to tackle what is ahead. 





I know this season is busy, but boy do I love all that fall brings. Enjoy the crisp cool weather!

Mil Besos,

Mel

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Look for Less: Fancy Finials DIY

I always find little surprises in a room extra fun, like a pair of these powder coated brass finials atop a couple of lamps.  As much as I love these, at $40 a piece I'm thinking maybe a DIY project could come close for less of a chunk of change.



A quick search on Etsy and eBay turned up a couple of good knockoff options, like this pair of chinoiserie brass finials at $17 ($25 with shipping).


Or you could take it up another style notch with this gorgeous pair, selling on eBay for $36 including shipping.


You could go with either of those sets of finials (or find your own!), plus a couple of coats of mint spray paint (on sale for $4.19), and you've created the look for significantly less-- at 1/4 to 1/2 the price!



xo

Liza