October 22, 2025

A Day Spent in Summit, NJ 10 - 9 - 25

October 22, 2025/ Meryl

Hi friends my second excursion with my bestie Kristin found us in Summit, NJ, We shopped, enjoyed a wonderful lunch and shopped again all before 2:30pm!

Our first stop was MK Linens and Home. Owner Mary Kull is a delight and her shop is filled with the most beautiful items. Kristin ordered linen sheets and I picked up a new pair of branch candles in navy blue.

Next we visited Great House. Bonny Neiman has an amazing selection of interesting decor including vintage pieces and beautiful furniture. I picked up a cute match book to add to my ever growing collection.

We savored a delicious lunch at Summit House.

Our final stop was The Summit Antiques Center. There are so many dealers you are sure to find a treasure or two! I never leave empty-handed and I came home with a vintage pitcher and a print of a Venice canal.

I spent $77.00 on my candles, green pitcher, matchbook and Venice print.

If you’re in the area of Summit, NJ or even if you’re not I highly recommend a visit to this lovely town. The shopping and fine dining make it a destination. Til next time be well and I’ll see you over on Instagram.

October 08, 2025

Country Mile Curation

October 08, 2025/ Meryl

Friends as many know I was working 2-3 days a week for an Interior Design firm from November 2024 until June 2025 and I loved it. This was in addition to my own Chaletmomma Designs clients. In June we had a family meeting looking a multiple factors most especially our son’s summer schedule for hockey goalie clinics and high school training and we knew I needed to be available to chauffeur him to these events. If you have young kiddos you may think life will be easier - and there’ll be less demanding of your time as they become independent but, actually friends the demands simply morph. Please don’t think I’m complaining I’m blessed to focus my attention on family, the Chalet and my business Chaletmomma Designs.

This is a long winded way of saying once a month I’ll be going on a excursion - a shopping trip and lunch with a bestie. Freeing our time on weekends to be family-centric.

Thursday September 18th we visited The Country Mile in Morristown’s Harding Township. Our first stop was Baby Crossing and The Depot Gift Shop located at 980 Mt. Kemble Road. Both stores have wonderful offerings!

Next was the Big Green Barn at 912 Mt. Kemble Road to see my longtime friend Susan Brierly-Bush. I always loving visiting her and seeing her latest finds. Kristin purchased a set of amazing bowls for her kitchen.

Next we visited The Candy Shop of Harding and The Ginger Jar both at 1007 Mt. Kemble Road. I came home with Dark Chocolate nonpareils from Steve and a beautiful chinoiserie dishtowel and paper napkins from Michelle.

Our last shopping stop was The Bargain Box located at 1117 Mt. Kemble Road.

Lastly we enjoyed a delicious lunch was Washington House located at 55 S. Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

If you’re anywhere close I highly recommended the Country Mile and all the wonderful retailers who make this spot such a must visit. Til next time be well and I’ll see you over on Instagram.

April 02, 2025

Dandy Dresses

April 02, 2025/ Meryl

Hi Friends here I am sharing a few more pieces I’ve added to my closet. What can I say. I’ve lost a total of 22lbs and I wanted some lovely new things. I’m also excited to pull out dresses I’ve had for years and see how they fit.

I had my eye on this Navy Pintuck Dress from J.Crew but resisted putting it in my shopping bag until I saw it on Hillary of Tello and Rose from Instagram. The skirt is wide and I do so wish the dress had pockets but, oh well. I know I’ll have it in my wardrobe for years to come. The dress is a stretch twill which has the nice finish of a combed cotton.

Short-sleeve pintuck midi dress in stretch twill

My son has a special event at Church in June and I wanted something fun and vibrant. A dress I won’t need to think about and I think this dress from Tuckernuck fits the bill perfectly. It’s cotton and I like the feel of the fabric. All I need to do is decide on earrings and shoes and I’m all set. I showed the dress to my son and husband and both overwhelmingly approved the choice.

Black & Airy Blue Floral Mimi Midi Dress

With my measurements I ordered a size M. When it arrived - it ran very tight through the underarm and across the chest. So I exchanged it for a Large. (the return and subsequent replacement all happened very quickly.) I may have the dress altered to take up a bit of the excess fabric on the sides. I certainly don’t wish to look larger than I am. But, I haven’t made up my mind yet.