Happy Bastille Day!

Joyeux quatorze juillet!

Happy Bastille Day!

Aux Champs Elysees

La Tour Eiffel!

Moving forward - new house, honed sensibilities

We are still unpacking boxes at our new house, and I already have paint swatches on several different walls. Truth be told, I started thinking about the decoration of this house months before we actually moved in. But going even farther back in time, I have to say this house is a continuation - a moving forward - of the design and lifestyle sensibilities I have been garnering and building upon since I was a little girl. And after 25 years together, it's like Jack and I are constantly honing our desires and needs for a perfect home, and getting ever closer to our absolute dream. For me/us the ultimate would be a house similar to this, but at least 100 years old, and in the south of France (or possibly Italy, for Jack), with the simple addition of a small vineyard...not too much to ask, huh? Frankly, this new house, while stateside, is pretty darn close!! (No vineyard, but...)

I've been thinking about what contributes to the quality of life I want in my home - that joie de vivre I adore. Well for starters it includes living in a pretty area and being surrounded by nice people. That may sound obvious, but, hey, we all know this combination does not exist everywhere. Brewster, our new hometown, is charming and laid back, close to the ocean, and seemingly populated with genuine, good people. Everyone we've met so far has been so friendly and helpful. There are certainly many artists and organic farmers around, so the deck is stacked in our favor!

Next, my home and garden should provide everything I need to live, work and relax, including home-grown food, just outside my door. My home is my comfort zone and should fulfill as many of my needs as possible. Also, I seriously consider interior and exterior decoration to be a necessity, as well as a pure joy. I have a need to think about it, create it, and constantly tweek my own decoration, practically 24/7. (Yes, I do dream about it!)

When Jack and I first saw this house online, we laughed since it was so unlike a typical Cape Cod house. It is, in fact, loaded with Mediterranean style inside an out. The previous owners' taste was dramatically different from ours, yet we could imagine our furnishings here so easily, once we actually saw it in person. Most importantly, the house just felt right. Thank heaven we sold our house in Hingham so quickly, as our lawyer and dear friend, Dan, hastened to tell us that we were going about things all wrong by falling in love with a new house even before putting our current house on the market.

I invite you to join me on my continuing journey, making a new house into a home that suits our style and our needs.

Since it's July, we've decided to start with the exterior of this house, which is so important! Well, okay, I admit that I have already bought paint for both the living room and Madeleine's room (I just couldn't wait!), but I am forcing myself to get the outside trim painted first, while it's sunny and warm. Whenever I arrive at my house, I want to feel welcomed by the colors and the landscaping. And we want our guests to feel the same way.

Here's the deal: neither of us ever considered that we'd live in a pink stucco house, but now that we are here and living in the house, we are growing to like it. It's really a pinkish version of taupe, and the paint is even named "Montego Tan" so I feel it's not really PINK. Mary and Robert (of Bloomy Rind) say it reminds them of houses in California, where they used to live. Other friends find it reminiscent of Spain, Italy or the Caribbean. The only thing we find off-putting about the exterior is the trim color - a deep brown, which seems heavy for the house, and certainly too dark for our joie de vivre style. So, we are repainting the exterior trim to a soft lichen-y green.

Choosing a paint color is always easy for me in my imagination and yet, involves so much persnickety choosiness to get just exactly the perfect hue. We knew we wanted a trim color that was soft, Cape Cod-y, friendly, and welcoming, not just because this is our home, but also since the front part of the building is Jack's art gallery, so we have to project the right kind of welcoming feel that will go with his paintings and colors, enticing passers by to stop in.

So many possibilities - only one perfect choice

Green seemed to be the perfect color, but we didn't want the house to look "pink and green" (read Lily Pulitzer). Even though I have been known to dress that way, I don't want my house to scream it! We ended up with a lovely greyish green, called "Garden Path" by Benjamin Moore. To me it says understated, but still cheerful...pretty in all four seasons, without being obnoxious.

The front doors here were the first thing to be changed. They were a bright violet, with dark brown outlines, just not at all what we are about. The color we ended up with for the doors is actually in a different green family from the Garden Path, but still works. As it turned out, the darker version of Garden Path contained too much grey and didn't have as much of a welcoming feel as the "Cedar Path" we ended up using. I did also try using the companion to Cedar Path for the trim, but even though the difference was minute, it still felt more Lily P than the Garden Path. (Tip: it saves a lot of money and aggravation to start with pint-size sample pots of paint, rather than leaping into a full gallon.)

A note about paints: As many of you know, I adore C2 paints. Their colors are rich and complex, and they cover in one coat, in many circumstances, besides being low in VOC's; ie, good for the earth. However, I couldn't find it near me, so I thought I'd try out the Benjamin Moore Aura paint, and I am very impressed! While I will be putting a second coat of paint on the doors and trim, the first coat has really covered well, something I would not normally expect from a light green over a dark brown. I have the feeling that paints have all improved dramatically in the past few years, due to consumer demand for superior quality and earth-friendliness.

Here's a peak at the new softer trim and door colors. I hope to get the rest of the trim painted by this weekend, so the house will look uniform and say "welcome" to passers-by.

* * * * * *

The other project I wanted to get done right away is planting some herbs for cooking. Next summer, we will have a full vegetable, herb and fruit garden, but it's too late to get that going this year, since the New England growing season is half over.

So here's what I planted in pots, just outside the kitchen door, for easy access:

Italian basil, French tarragon (from my mom's garden), lemon thyme, lemon basil

German thyme, silver sage, Italian oregano & dill

Red patio tomatoes, yellow grape tomatoes, lemon verbena,

applemint & chives

Normally, I wouldn't plant these so close together, but, as I said, I'm late getting a garden at all for this year, so I'm trying to squeeze all my favorites in for a few months. I got loads of rich, dark, organic potting soil at a local farm supply store. I never use chemicals with the plants I am going to eat!

Last night Jack made farm fresh ratatouille, heavily seasoned with some of the fresh thyme. It was out of this world with grilled chicken!

I can't wait to make lemon verbena ice cream with a recipe I got from Patricia Wells, when we cooked with her in Provence, years ago. This is the first time I've had my own lemon verbena to pick from. In the past, I've purchased the leaves dried from an organic purveyor, but this will be so much better. Stay tuned for recipe and photos...coming soon!

New cheese and gourmet shop

Our very dear friends, Robert and Mary Gonsalvez, have just opened Bloomy Rind - a much anticipated and universally welcome addition to Hingham Square. There are so many things I love about this shop - including its energetic and completely charming owners!

First of all, Robert is an excellent chef, who is an alumnus of the Culinary Institute of America, where our Drake goes to school. He creates salads, sandwiches, pates and other divine comestibles in the kitchen at the back of the store/restaurant.

Mary is a cheese curator extraordinaire, and between them, they have chosen an outstanding selection of cheeses - mostly focusing on American artisanal cheeses that are every bit as interesting as the imported cheeses they also carry. Many of their cheeses are award winners, quite a few of which are relatively local, coming from Massachusetts and our surrounding states ...and you KNOW how I love local foods!

Since Mary and Robert are special friends of ours, we and some other friends and family helped out getting the shop ready to open - so many hours of painting, laughter, moving furniture around, more laughter, sampling cheeses, more laughter.... you get the idea. "It takes a village," was the catch phrase for a few months.

C'est moi painting the new sandwich board.

I also painted words that describe cheeses at the top of one wall, and savory foods on the opposite wall. 
We had such fun coming up with all the descriptions!

Every cheese has a story...

Mary and Robert holding up a first, small version of their new sign, designed by Jack.
The logo (above) was also done by Jack - especially for this incredible duo.

 A few nights before the shop was due to open to the public, Robert, with Mary, prepared a delicious thank you meal for Lisa, Dan, Jack and me.

Lisa and I attempted making potato gnocchi, with much

assistance from the chef (and even more wine).

OPENING DAY coincided with the annual Taste of Hingham.

Madeleine and I labeled cheeses. 

Drake made paper cones to hold the cheese curds.

Jack manned the fried cheese curd station, 

along with Mary's relatives.

Mary's sisters and brothers were there pitching in and generally keeping everyone smiling.

A selection of their cheese offerings

One of my favorite cheeses they offer is Winnemere (right), 

handmade at Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont.

They offer imported olive oils, capers, jams, etc., as well as many American artisan-made products.

Bloomy Rind has now been open a couple of weeks, and already has a burgeoning fan club! Today, Jack and I treated ourselves to lunch there, with our friend, Marge.

The delectable selection of goodies pictured above, which Jack called his French picnic, included Aged Beemster Gouda (from Holland), Crottin de Champcol (French goat cheese), Bridgid's Abbey (raw cow's milk cheese from Connecticut), quince paste, dried cranberries, Marcona almonds (from Spain), three veggie sides created by Robert, Volpi salame (hand made in St. Louis), sourdough bread and Castleton artisan crackers (from Vermont).

The communal table is a terrific gathering place for friends as well as for meeting new people.
After the Hingham Farmers Market opened for it's Wednesday summer hours in Hingham Square yesterday, Robert was inspired by the locally grown strawberries he bought there, and created these lemon cupcakes with fresh strawberry buttercream frosting - out of this world!

Their coffee is hand-poured one cup at a time.

Le chef in his domain.

Rebecca making my grilled BLB - 

hand crafted smoky bacon, 

lettuce and brie sandwich

on dark pumpernickel, with 

peach butter.

The deli case features Robert's salads and pates, various imported olives, cured meats and much more. The selection changes daily.

Mary is constantly handing out cheese tastings and explaining what makes each cheese so special.... since every cheese has a story!

This shop is such a needed and welcome addition to Boston's South Shore. Visit Bloomy Rind to eat in or take away your goodies. I know you'll fall in love with the shop!

New horizons - Wonderful memories

Wow - I just cannot believe how time has flown since my last post. It's been almost seven months! I've been so busy - first working on our house to get it ready for sale (24 years worth of acquiring stuff!!), then having it on the market (well, OK, that part was only three days - phew!), and now packing to move. I have soooooo missed writing and feel the NEED to take a break from packing boxes of china, to post some news and memories.

After over 24 very happy years in our wonderful antique home, Tranquility Lodge, we are moving to new digs. If all goes according to plan, Jack and I will close on both our old and our new house on June 30th, becoming first-time art gallery owners on Cape Cod! I cannot wait to begin my exciting new project - setting up and decorating a new home for us, our family and our friends to enjoy.

That being said, leaving Hingham is bittersweet, as we have so many truly wonderful friends and acquaintances here. We will be back to visit our friends and the town, frequently (for one thing, we'll need to visit Bloomy Rind for the best cheeses and sandwiches around, and I'll still be getting my hair cut at Zona Salon, in Hingham Square). This is a charming and beautiful town, and we have been lucky to live in such an amazing house! It's just that, now that all three of our kids are grown and out of the house, it's time for us to explore new horizons. Change is good, even if it's also sometimes both sad and happy at the same time.

Someday, I plan to write a memoire of our time here at Tranquility Lodge, including the history of the house. For now, however, here are some highlights of our personal events here.

Jack and I fell in love on our first date, and began looking at houses after only seven months together. We also fell in love with the first house we saw (obviously, we're not ones to waste time), a beautiful antique colonial in Hingham, MA, which is a lovely town on the shore, just 1/2 hour South of Boston. We first saw the house in February, under a blanket of white snow, not even realizing how gorgeous the grounds were until we moved in in May.

We had officially become engaged the night before our move, and announced this to our families at the end of a long day of closing on two houses, then moving into the new one. We started our life in the house with champagne, and will always remember it as a place where our three children were raised, many special occasions were celebrated...and much champagne was consumed!

The house was painted battleship grey, which we later

softened to a gentle taupe grey.

(The tacky aluminum storm door got deep-sixed the very next day!)

...and announced our engagement.

Giles staked his claim on lawn-mowing duty by monograming the grass. That beautiful antique gazebo has seen many wonderful gatherings of family and friends since then.

We went to Portugal on our honeymoon and came back with 350 lbs. of hand-made tiles...

...which we then installed in our kitchen renovation.

Our first Christmas in the house.

A couple years later, Madeleine was born.

Then, Drake was born.

Lots of messes for me to clean up...

Over the years, so many Halloween costumes sewn by yours truly.

And Christmas memories...like looking for Santa Claus.

Easter egg hunts

...and decorating our egg tree.

Birthdays...

...and family gatherings

So many 4th of July parties!

The parade went right by our house. One year the parade was dedicated to the Desert Storm troops.

We will never forget all the incredibly FUN 

parade/barbeque gatherings here, 

with so many dear friends 

and family of all ages.

First Giles, then later Madeleine and Drake, all graduated from Hingham High School.

We've done lots of renovations on the house...

...and decorating

Over the past 24 years, Tranquility Lodge has been featured in numerous decorating books and national magazines, as well as on HGTV. It has also been on many tours, benefiting local charities, and annually on the Hingham Arts Walk.

(Photos by Nan & Monty Abbott)

Preparing to be on the Garden Club's "Secret Gardens of Hingham tour". Jack built stone stairways and walls. I designed and refurbished all the flower beds and borders.

Giles and Mia got engaged at our house at Christmas.

Madeleine turned 21 while at Lesley College...

...and we celebrated Drake's acceptance to the Culinary Institute of America.

We've had so many FUN times here with friends, family, neighbors!

Our first grandchild, Taylor!

Our second grandchild, Sophie!

Then & Now: Our Family!