Greetings On Day 26

Happy Wednesday friends I sincerely hope this finds you well. Yes today is day 26 of sheltering at home - my husband has done the marketing and with the exceptions of walks in our neighborhood I have been home since Friday March 13th. Here’s the link to my piece from March 25th Chaletbound if you missed our new normal. I’m blessed to say the King family is doing really well! Today I’m sharing some things from life around the Chalet along with some new treasures and inspiration.

I’ve been lighting more candles and everyone is really digging it. Click image for source.

I’ve shopped a bit (we are wiping everything down) in an effort to support small businesses and friends who run these enterprises during this crazy time. I ordered this Leopard Cotton Velvet Cover from Annabel Bleu. They have a ton of styles. Below are few more I’m really loving. (I sew covers but, I have not mastered zippers - I need to learn! )

The wonderfully talented Jill Rosenwald held a warehouse sale on 3/15 and this delightful center vessel Calypso Jilly is now mine!

Elena S. Boiardi is a tremendous artist and friend - I’m overjoyed to have two more pieces of her work here in the Chalet. The Tortoise Shagreen Egg and the Ziggy Heart Box.

We last went thrifting at the Black Rose Antiques Center in Philipsburg, NJ February 16th, my sister and brother in law met the three of us there - I bought a bunch of art books and after we shared a delicious sushi dinner! Oh those were the days! We’ve actually been thrifting less lately but, when Christina of The White Pepper Vintage put this remarkable enamel dish and brass egg box up for sale… I knew they were coming to the Chalet!

I will share that this time has been way more about homeschooling and doing my day-to-day Mom chores than about client work, my website or home projects. I sent a room schematic to a client last month and we’ll pick up again when we get to the other side of this. I had hoped to spend more time cleaning out the basement and I’ve made a bit of progress over the weekends but, focusing on Liam has been my top priority and honestly I can’t muster the energy with all the rainy days we’ve had to get down there. The other project is the kitchen. I didn’t buy paint, thinking I’d be able to go to Home Depot or this situation would not be stretching out before us - like it is. In the big scheme of things I know painting my kitchen is not a big deal - but man - it would be so great to do - to have a pretty project!

When I came across this image of Carlos Sánchez-García home on IG I was picking my jaw off the floor. I love the pattern and the infusion of color married with the warmth of his furnishings. LOVE LOVE LOVE! So this led me to start saving images of brightly patterned pillows. Like I said it’s all about simple and doable and we all know the easiest way to change the look of a room is with pillows! And for me the more the better! I’ve been pulling pillows from storage and swapping stuff and making wish-lists! ha!

Look at these fantastic pillows from Middle March Shop and then I popped over to Anthropologie - such unique pieces! The yarn details definitely started by wheels turning!

I have managed to do a few things: I did update the seat fabric of an old chair that was in the basement for months. So that’s off the To Do list. I finished the book Hillbilly Elegy. I tooled around here on my website - adding two new sections Blogs We Love and Floral Tips in the sidebar. I’ve swapping out some art by reusing frames I had on hand. I hung a new piece - I partnered with Mapiful on a personalized Zodiac Print. I’ve been looking through my huge stack of fiction and figuring out what I’ll read - I just started Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House. I’ve been looking through my art and design books - its been so pleasurable to sit with a stack and lazily peruse them.

Liam is on Spring Break this week so we’re concentrating on fun - art, games, Lego, movies, as much outdoor time as we can manage and of course museums - back in February my sister Noreen and I decided yesterday was going to be the day of spring break we’d ride the ferry into the City and visit The Met (our favorite museum) and she’s a member; but, instead we’re looking in books and on-line. A little Met is better than no Met! We’re also looking at other museums in NYC and around the world through You Tube and their websites.

Til next time - take good care - please stay home - please stay 6 feet away from everyone you do not live with - please wipe everything off before you bring it into your home.

Thanks as always for taking your precious time to be here! xoxo

Chaletbound

This is not the piece I planned to publish today but, I’m hitting the pause button - to share life here in the Chalet. Let me start by saying as a Cancerian - a July birthday gal the idea of being home - maybe even for weeks was not daunting to me. I’m a homebody. Let’s talk logistics - my husband already works from home with a dedicated office and as a work from home mom - my corner of the livingroom is where I work on client proposals and editing this blog. Our transition to the three of us being home all the time has been smooth.

Spring 2019 I can’t wait for everything to pop this year!

If you follow along on Instagram (and I’m sure you do) then you know the first project tackled was the dreaded pit of our basement. I want to make clear - we have nothing stored in our attic. Therefore, there is a lot of stuff crammed into this petite space. We have 2 sets of french doors that lead to the patio - it could and I hope one day it will be an amazing space with storage, a family room with sheet-rock walls and a bath! (we only have one in the Chalet). Anyway... daydreams aside. I started organizing all our shoes and kept working my way around. I am trying to be ruthless about purging; I will be donating and selling items.

Our school has been closed since Monday March 16th. Our teachers have done an amazing job coordinating worksheets and apps to assist the kiddos with their studies. Liam uses Seesaw and Splashlearn on a daily basis and with the additions of Readworks, StudyIsland, Timestable, Epic and Flipgrid everything is covered. I’m used to working on homework with him so moving into the role of full-time instructor has been fine.

Day 1 of homeschooling

This Martha Washington Sewing Stand has become our Chalet-school keeping all supplies close as hand. I know for many this time has been really tough on your kiddos. As the mother of a creative only child - I’m thrilled he is always able to entertain himself either by producing art, storybooks or with Legos. We have a brand new canvas if Liam wants to make a masterpiece! Of course we are heading outside whenever possible and playing lots of Uno and board games. Pay Day is a favorite!

I keep shelter magazines - some for years - rotating issues by month - it was good to weed through and purge some that no longer speak to me. I actually own every single issue of Domino ever published.

Once I feel the basement is in good shape I’ll move forward with the kitchen project which will include painting and sewing new curtains. I had already organized a bunch of closets prior to being home, another big project is Liam’s bedroom - so many books and toys to review, purge and donate.

We’ve been watching our regular programs Lego Masters, The Masked Singer, Shark Tank and the always entertaining Jim Gaffigan. After checking-in on Instagram I don’t usually watch much besides The Young and the Restless but, through Netflix I’ve watched Abstract: The Art of Design and two series by Monty Don about famous gardens in France and Italy - unfortunately Netflix removed the garden programs Bummer! I watch the CBS Sunday Morning You Tube channel - their pieces are always informative and entertaining.

I’ve been thinking about upcoming events on the calendar - My sister is a member of the Met Museum - our next visit was planned for April 6 - when Liam was to be on spring break. Our April pilgrimage to Jerusalem cancelled. I’m also thinking of dates with friends for meet-ups and dinners - dates with Instagram yet to meet In Real Life friends… I’m thinking about a designer show-house my sister and I never fail to attend - Mansion in May. I think about my son and spring hockey and little league baseball. Friends I know how blessed we are to hunker down in the Chalet and adjust to a new normal and I’m praying so hard this situation passes quickly for the entire world. I mean it has to end and when it does I know I’ll be walking up the grand staircase at the Met again but, when - that’s quite possibly the toughest part - that we have no end date - but friends we soldier on!

We use new hashtags: #shareacupwithimpeccablenest #wineandjunkfoodchallenge Use Zoom to have virtual meet ups, FaceTime more, Call crossing guards to check-in on them. Watch videos provided by museums: Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video) Celebrate Mass on-line, Play a lot of board games, Give ourselves pedicures, Try for more patience, Teach our kiddos how to carry the one of basic math and new words - like Mocktail!

I thought you might enjoy a few posts from the Archives - Click image for link.

Five Days

In The Pink

Presby Garden Visit

NYC

A Study in Scenic Walls

Beautiful Blooms

Terrific Titles

Film Favotires

Til next time.

Stay Safe & Sending Love!

Great Big Canvas helps Everyone "Say No To Empty Walls!"

Hey Friends I recently installed some new art in the Chalet and I’m super excited to share it with you. Thank you so much to Great Big Canvas for partnering with me and supporting me on Instagram and here on my blog. *All opinions are my own!

Current livingroom view

Everyone knows how much I love art and filling the walls of the Chalet with all different kinds. This is exactly why my hashtag is #saynotoemptywalls! Over a little more than a year the Livingroom has gone through a transformation - with a new couch, coffee table and rugs. Originally we had a large scale clock on the wall - I tried to find just the right piece of art for this spot; some of you may recall the cow I had for a bit and sure Bessie was fun but, she was not the design aesthetic I wanted to live with permanently.

So - I was beyond thrilled when Great Big Canvas reached out to me with an invitation to partner with them on some wonderful Artwork for the Chalet!

Immediately I started looking at art by Vincent van Gogh - above are a few of the amazing works I thought about.

ACACIA IN FLOWER

Ultimately, I settled on Acacia in Flower - I loved how the greens and blues of the canvas would interact with our vintage mid-century lamp and the rugs. Also, its not a work I was familiar with by Vincent van Gogh and I loved finding something different. My son a huge van Gogh fan chose The Starry Night and Self Portrait With Grey Felt Hat for his room.

The Starry Night

Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat

Both of these works are a 1.25” deep canvas print with a hard sealed finished back and came pre-installed with hanging hardware. It couldn’t have been easier to hang these up and Liam is overjoyed at having real art in his space.

In prepping to hang Acacia in Flower - I touched up the wall paint and reviewed the hanging instructions - the larger canvases are stretched over wood frames and are shipped with mounting hardware and a hanger system for drywall. I utilized the mounting hardware and added picture hanging wire to secure it onto our plaster walls.

It has never been easier to bring museum quality art into your space. These pieces are all Artist-Grade Canvas - Fade-Resistant Archival Inks Patented - Warp-Resistant Construction and Made in the USA.

Just in time to spruce up your home for the holidays or find a unique gift for that special someone. Great Big Canvas is offering my readers and followers a discount. Use the code CHALET to receive 50% off of all products site wide.

Til next time - Happy Shopping!