July 22, 2026

A Chat with Patricia van Essche

July 22, 2026/ Meryl

Friends this month I am so happy and a bit tickled to welcome the loveliest human - my friend Patricia van Essche to the Chalet for a Chat! Patricia welcome welcome my dear! Please introduce yourself. Hello Meryl, Patricia here from PvE Design. I am an Artist and a Pilates instructor. I’ve always loved art, design and movement. Growing up one of seven, I was always amazed at the amount of encouragement that came from my parents and family. I’ve always felt very grateful for their support and enthusiasm.

Family is very important to me. My husband and I have three adult children, a daughter in law, a delightful grandson and Walter our dachshund. We love spending time together and laughing. I have lived in Westchester County, NY since 1996. We raised our children here and my husband commutes to Manhattan for work. I’ve been working from home, creating art and teaching Pilates privately for years. I certified twice in Pilates and am passionate about moving bodies, wellness and art.

Can you please speak on your work: My work has always been referred to as whimsical art and an economy of line. Micron pens and watercolor are my favorite things. I’m a huge fan of lifestyle design and my background began in Fashion Design.

My first job was with Darlington Fabrics, after that I worked for Ralph Lauren as a Project Manager in Women’s Sportswear that was great fun, then in the Design Department at Calvin Klein. The best part of working for these legendary designers was learning from each of them and getting the privilege of being part of the design team. I’ve also worked with J.McLaughlin and several other companies who contributed to Fashion Design in the 80’s and early 90’s.

Once our twins were born 1993 life lead us to our home in Westchester County, NY. We loved living in Manhattan but once we were looking for nursery schools, the cost and logistics seemed overwhelming and life in Westchester had an allure of being kinder and healthier.

**Note cards designed and sold through patricia’s on-line shop**

Patricia tell me what Motivates you? Motivation is the key to everything. Movement certainly helps along with a new art supply. Journals have always been a part of my life and writing or creating art in them has been motivating from a sort of time travel. Daily lists are always great for getting things done.

Patricia you’re an artist and a Pilates instructor - tell me more about Pilates. Yes, Pilates for myself and my clients is a mindful movement practice focused on strength, alignment, and ease. My sessions emphasize controlled movement, breath, and body awareness. I offer instructions for individuals and small groups. I began practicing in 2017 and that same year completed my certification. I teach at Centerwork Pilates Studio in Bronxville, NY.

Who or What has been the biggest influence on you? The biggest influence in my life has always been connections created around me. Honestly it’s very refreshing to meet people who have influenced me to do things that I never expected. Listen to people and learn from them. During my freshman year at the University of Cincinnati - College of Fashion Design I met such amazing people who inspired me to switch from Art Education to Fashion. Honestly, I loved it, learning to create patterns, learn about Fashion History from Jessica Lazarus and eventually move to Manhattan to land a career in fashion design was a dream come true.

What is your personal style? I’m very flattered that my daughter borrows many of my pieces from my wardrobe. My personal style is classic, timeless design and good quality. I have many items that have literally improved over time. Always invest in your own style.

Your Happy Place - Where is it? My happy place is sharing my love for art and Pilates. We love to entertain although it seems to be very different from years past. I love setting my table, fresh flowers, fresh fruit and polished silver. Setting up to teach requires a lot of thought and effort but it’s worth every minute.

Patricia created this card to advertise the Studio - her home away from home.

What is your home aesthetic? My home aesthetic is very welcoming and many people have told me that they love the calming nature of my house. Edit, edit, edit is the key to my life. That said, I think life is much less formal than it used to be so it is fun to dress up and entertain.

Tell us what type of space would you say you are most comfortable in? A fresh space that brings nature together. A museum that brings people together to explore and I’ve always loved art history and travel. Churches will always be alluring. I can’t imagine what life would be without them.

What is something you try and do everyday? That’s such an important step, every day things and manners that create routine and make a difference in life. All the chores and tasks that make a house a home, are part of the process and are part of the respect life deserves to elevate one’s own happiness. A beautiful linen embroidered hand towel, a straw hat and a scarf accessorize your life.

A handwritten note, a kind gesture, a call to an old friend. Everyday manners are important nowadays.

Tell us what’s your guilty pleasure? Clean water for my watercolors! No muddy water please! You can see that in my art! A fresh pad of Bristol paper!

Cucumbers, deviled eggs, olives, and dark chocolate!

Another discipline you teach is Art. Yes, I have art students. It’s fabulous to see how they relate to the techniques I share with them. And lovely to be around such unabashed exuberance!

Patricia thank you so much my dear for taking the time to chat with me! I am so thankful for your time and I appreciate all the ways you embrace your creativity through your art and your mind and body connection.

You can hear Patricia in this 2018 Plan Simple Podcast.

Please follow Patricia:

Instagram: @pvedesign
Website: PvE Design
Etsy Shop: pveshop

Thanks for being here friends til next time I’ll see you over on the Gram!

Images: Patricia van Essche

June 24, 2026

A Chat with Jessica Gordon Ryan

June 24, 2026/ Meryl

Hello Friends this month my featured “Chat” is with Jessica Gordon Ryan a tastemaker, photographer, lifestyle writer, and all around fun gal. Jessica the face behind the Instagram account Gimlet Style. She is creative director of The Entertaining House, a blog that has garnered attention from brands, designers and celebrities around the world. Jessica my dear I’m beyond thrilled and thankful for your time to have a chat! Can you introduce yourself to the readers?

Hi Meryl I’m happy to be here! My name is Jessica, and I am an empty nester, a mother of three, a photographer, writer, and former publicist. I grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, spent my summers in the South of France, lived in the UK for a couple of years before coming back to attend college in Boston. I have lived in various parts of Fairfield County, CT for over 30 years.

**Jessica with her mother Linda and grandmother Bettina**

In 2008 I launched The Entertaining House, a lifestyle blog with a once sizeable audience, to share my love of the arts, design and food, but as the world shifted over to social media, I followed suit. While I had (and still have) every intention of bringing it back to life, I haven’t quite found my mojo. Life is busy, you know, that and I’m verrrry good at making excuses, but maybe this will inspire me!

Ten years ago, and fairly newly divorced, I launched a boutique marketing firm,working with small local businesses in health, hospitality, lifestyle and design. It happened almost by accident. I was having coffee with a friend who owned a local restaurant and I casually mentioned that his restaurant’s social media was terrible, the way one would to a friend. I suggested some changes that would much better reflect the brand’s aesthetic. This was a stunning high-end, seafood focused restaurant located right on the Long Island Sound. It deserved to be the town’s Belle of the Ball.

I was given the honor of taking over the social as well as the PR efforts, and placed them in assorted publications throughout Connecticut and New England. I had been writing lifestyle pieces for assorted shelter, national and regional magazines for several years and was well positioned for this transition. Within a few months I would have a half dozen clients. I remain grateful for that first client.

Fast forward 10 years and the worlds of social media and PR have changed dramatically. Many local, specialty and shelter publications, and newspapers, have since folded. Social media has become the norm (though not always the preferred) means of small business promotion – much through influencers. Strategy and creativity turned into a game of “pay to play” and genuine authenticity and appreciation was slowly ceasing to exist. I was starting to get burned out.

A couple of years ago, shortly after I signed on a new client, my mother was diagnosed with AML, an aggressive form of Leukemia. Her prognosis was not good. Knowing that I would not be able to juggle the busy schedule of on-boarding a new business, while prioritizing my sick mother and my youngest who was getting ready to head off to college, I wrapped things up with all but one client. Two months later my mother passed away, and a couple of months after that, my youngest took off, leaving me with a very empty nest.

I had come to an unrecognizable crossroad in my life. Both parents were newly passed, and all of my kids were now on their own new journeys toward their future lives. I have no siblings and my mother had always been my sounding board, my North Star; I was charting new territory without a compass or map, and influenced by my mother’s resilience and to find the good in every situation, I did just that.

I had inherited a beautiful historic home in Newport, Rhode Island and I needed to figure out what to do with that first. For a very brief moment I contemplated putting the house on the market, but quickly came to my senses. What began as relatively straightforward paint job to freshen things up a bit, has turned into quite the lengthy renovation process, as often happens with older homes.

In the past two years I have:

Repainted the home’s interior.
Replaced the remaining 23 original windows (this excluded more recent additions which included the back of the kitchen, library and primary bedroom) upon approval of the Newport Historic District Commission.
Rewired the upstairs, living and dining and powder rooms that were still drawing power from an antiquated 1950s junction box to bring to current safety standards and modern day needs.
Replaced a hot water tank.
Replaced all kitchen appliances.
Added new custom cabinetry, replaced dated original cabinet doors with custom, replaced all kitchen hardware.
Replaced old cedar roof due to roof leak with new cedar roof (per requirement of the Newport Historic District).
Replaced ceiling and beams (from said leak) in the library.
Replaced ceiling in primary bedroom.
Replaced floor, sub-floor, support beams and joists in the office after discovering structural issues likely caused by water damage years ago that went undetected until we ripped out the rug damaged by said roof leak.
Remediated entire home due to existing and potential mold issues caused by said roof leak.
Replaced floor, sub-floor, support beams and joists in the office after discovering structural issues likely caused by water damage years ago that went undetected until we ripped out the rug damaged by said roof leak.
Remediated entire home due to existing and potential mold issues caused by said roof leak.

Jessica purchased the pink wooden candelabras from Dunes and Duchess and it sparked the quest for new paint and I think she’s hit on the perfect shade.

The painting above the sofa is of her grandmother Bettina with her dog Ballyhoo sitting in her wheelchair. Bettina contracted Polio at age 28 and was paralyzed and she owned several wheelchairs - one for travel, dress and casual. According to Jessica her chairs were very much her accessory. Bettina designed homes in Rochester, NY, Paris, Cannes, London and Great Haseley (Oxfordshire). Each home was photographed for various publications, including Maison et Jardin, Elle Decor, Interiors, House and Garden, Country Life to name but a few and Jessica has copies of every magazine and book the homes appeared in.

DININGROOM

Jessica loves color just look at the design of the kitchen - green walls (her favorite color) and look at the striped ceiling!

KITCHEN

**Jessica on her recent birthday celebrating in her bright green bedroom**

UPSTAIR BEDROOMS

Jessica I know you still have a To Do List at the house. Yes, I still need to replace the furnace which will take place this summer and repaint the primary bathroom and renovate the original upstairs bathrooms. We ran out of time before the start of the summer season and renovations will resume next fall. I can now focus on getting the primary bedroom and office back together after their “deconstruction” and continue with the things I enjoy – the decorating! And just in the last few weeks unfortunately the A/C broke! It’s been crazy. I’m in the process of getting it repaired.

Outside I have:

Trimmed, thinned and taken down sickly trees.
Replaced old shrubs with new ones.
Planted new hydrangea and laurel behind the house.
Planted a White Ash Oak in memory of my parents.
Planted boxwoods behind the pool to hide an old chain linked fence – While the pool doesn’t need to be totally fenced in the property does for insurance and liability purposes.
Relined the pool with new concrete and tile after discovering a slow leak last summer.
Replaced the old dated concrete decking around the pool with bluestone for an updated and elevated look
Created a walkway from the house to the pool with bluestone stepping stones
Replaced old worn pool furniture for a more elevated look

I still need to replace the old French drain system underground that pulls water from the ground near the house to the fields in back. After this, the “big stuff” should be done! I do want to add some more plantings outside this summer, especially out by the pool area.

Golly that’s quite a list but I know my dear you’ll get it accomplished beautifully as you have been doing so far! We haven’t even touched on the fact that up until your mothers passing you’d been living full-time in CT. You still have a condo, business acquaintances and many friends there. Yes I still go back and forth and I have no plans to live exclusively in Rhode Island - not yet… maybe not ever.

During the 2020 lockdown Jessica turned her attention from client work - because it was well - lockdown to her own photography. She sold works directly through her website and had a gallery show of her work once the world opened up. Jessica I really hope you’ll pursue this again because I want a piece of your work in the Chalet.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA

Two years have now passed, and while I have formally shut down my business, I keep busy with the odd photography assignment and oversee the social media initiatives for Rooms With A View, a spectacular charity-driven design event based in my hometown of Southport, Connecticut. This weekend of design has taken place every November since 1995, when it was founded by the late Albert Hadley. I like to say that I have two passion projects, this as well as my 99 year old Newport home.

So Jessica I’d love to know Who or What has been the biggest influence on you?My two biggest influences were unquestionably my grandmother and my mother. My grandmother was left paralyzed from polio, which nearly killed her when she was just 28. When she was finally released from the hospital, after struggling with getting around in her own home, she designed her own, wheelchair accessible, then hired an architect and a builder to bring it to life. The home, in Rochester NY, was recently listed for sale. It remains mostly unchanged and her style and aesthetic are still very much part of the house today. She went on to design and/or renovate and restore half a dozen more homes in the US and abroad, Paris, Cannes, Oxfordhsire and Umbria. She didn’t believe in the term “handicap.”

My own mother was extremely career-driven and headed up the public relations departments for The Museum of Modern Art as well as the Whitney Museum (back when it was at the Marcel Breuer on 75th and Madison.) I thought her job was so glamorous and I loved visiting her at work as a child. Back then, it was rather unusual for women to have careers.

So here are a few questions I like to pose - Where is your happy place? As a child it was Cannes. My grandmother had designed the most spectacular house in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean. I was fascinated with design long before I understood that a well-designed home was something special. Her house, which used the outdoors as its focal point, the pool area in particular, was magical, elegant and designed with entertaining in mind. Two sides of the main living and dining areas featured massive, long and thick glass doors that when fully opened disappeared magically inside the walls so it was as if you were outside all the time, even in inclement weather. For this reason storms terrified me as the lightning was brighter than anything I have seen since, and the booming thunder echoed and reverberated around the mountains.

Now, it’s Newport and the home I have inherited from my parents that I have been restoring for the past 2 years.

What is your personal style? Both in how I dress and how I decorate – is a mix of classic and traditional, with some whimsy tossed in. There’s a lot of European influence which stems from spending so much of my youth in overseas. I am definitely a “high-low” girl. I love my inherited antiques as well as those I pick up from antique shops and yard sales. I also a huge fan of places like Home Goods where you can often find really good “dupes” for less. I recently found some beautiful rattan accessories there as well as Walmart. Yes, Walmart! I also like to support my local design-forward shops both in Connecticut and Rhode Island. There is no reason why something beautiful and elegant from Tiffany’s, Baccarat and Sferra can’t live beautifully on your dining room table with something whimsical from Marhsall’s or Michael’s! (A girlfriend made the most stunning napkin rings using “faux” flowers from Michael’s for most magical tablescape!) I adore color – all color. I like my spaces to be filled, well lived in, and a reflection of my personal interests. I’m not a maximalist but I am also not a minimalist, by any stretch of the imagination! I’m a home body by nature so I like to surround myself with things that have meaning. I love a bargain, when someone compliments something I’m wearing or in my home and they learn that it’s not a luxury piece but something I picked up for practically nothing. I’m good at styling things to make them appear luxurious, and sometimes that does mean pairing them with something that’s more high end, but most often they don’t. It’s all about pattern and fit, both on me and in my home. When I was younger and just starting off on my own, my mother would give me tips to find things that looked “more expensive” a phrase she used all the time, decades before the younger Millennials and Gen Z kids started using this term on social media, and decades before they were born!

What is something you try and do every day? I make exercise a priority- it’s definitely something I try to do everyday.

Tell us what is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasures is a funny term because I have no guilt when I indulge. Life is short – You should indulge! I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. If I’ve eaten dinner at home I will settle down with a bowl of ice cream. I’m in my coffee espresso chip era! Just a scoop or two, now more. I used to have a nightly glass of wine to end my day. I’ve traded that in for this and frankly this is just so much better. It feels like a reward and we all deserve a reward!

Jessica has an (The world’s best) Eggnog Pound Cake recipe on her blog. I made it friends and it’s so rich and beyond yummy! Jessica thanks so much for sharing. Oh Meryl happy to!

Equipment:

Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer and large bowl)
12-cup Bundt pan or tube pan or two large loaf pans, 6 small loaf pans greased and floured

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
3 cups (525 g) granulated sugar
6 eggs
3 cups (339 g) cake flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (240 ml) eggnog (I always use light eggnog)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon golden rum or rum extract (But you could add more!!)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325° F/165° C.
Cut butter into chunks and cream. Gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at a time.
Stir together flour and nutmeg. Alternate flour and eggnog: one cup flour, 1/2 cup eggnog, one cup flour, the rest of the eggnog, and then the rest of the flour. Keep the mixer going slowly, scraping down the edges as necessary.
Stir in the vanilla and the rum (rum is optional)
Pour into prepared pan(s) and place on the cookie sheet in the preheated oven. Bake for 90 minutes (in bundt pan, 50-60 minutes, loaf pan, 30 minutes cake pan.)
Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve

Friends when I opened this interview I mentioned Jessica is one fun gal and I know from personal experience - after a few years of chatting through Instagram and one failed meet up - we finally met last fall at the Terrain Store in Westport, CT.

**Jessica and I at Terrain in Westport, CT - November 2025**

After a bit of shopping we ended up at Nomade for dinner and it was one of the best days ever! I am so lucky to have made and met amazing friends through the crazy world of Insta and I count Jessica as a dear one.

Again a million thanks Jessica for your time and sharing yourself with my readers my dear. Meryl it was fun and I loved your questions.

Please Follow Jessica:

Images: Jessica Gordon Ryan, Kristin Kuiken

May 20, 2026

A Chat with Carissa of House on the Ravine

May 20, 2026/ Meryl

Hi Friends this month my featured “Chat” is with Carissa a DIY powerhouse (along with her hubs) behind the Instagram account House on Ravine. She and Larry purchased their 1913 Arts and Crafts home in 2022 and since that time there hasn’t been a space they haven’t touched. The entry: paint, wallpaper and installing custom hand-built drawers in the closet. The livingroom: Fireplace and Carissa reupholstered a Facebook Marketplace loveseat herself. The diningroom: paint. The kitchen: paint, custom cafe curtains, new lighting. Powder room: paint and wallpaper. The family room: paint including stenciling the floor, fully rehabbing a Facebook Marketplace cabinet to house the electronics including new hardware. Heading to the second floor they added a custom built in closet in their bedroom and gutted the adjoining bath. Rehabbed the family bath through much paint and wallpaper. Their sons room: paint. Their daughters room: custom cabinetry, curtains and a custom headboard. I can’t wait to see what else this talented pair do next! Let’s get to it. Carissa thank you for carving out the time to pop by the Chalet for a chat - can you please introduce yourself.

Hi, I’m Carissa. I’m married to Larry and we have two kids, and we live on Chicago’s North Shore with our rescue dog, Lottie. Our home - what we call our “House on the Ravine”- is a 1913 house set on a beautiful ravine, and it’s been a labor of love since the day we moved in.

A couple of years into working on the house, I realized we had barely documented any of the progress – no real “before and after” moments to look back on. I started Instagram as a way to capture that journey, just for us and some of our family and friends at first. But it quickly became a creative outlet I genuinely enjoy. I began sharing more of our projects and the process behind them, and it naturally evolved into what it is now.

These days, I use the platform to document our home projects and the reality of tackling DIY as a team. It’s not always easy with kids and full time jobs, and we try to keep that part honest - showing both the wins and the challenges. It’s been fun to connect with others along the way and to build something creative out of what started as a simple way to keep track of our own progress.

What motivates you? I think it’s a combination of things. First, it’s creating a beautiful space for my family to enjoy - especially my kids. I hope that one day, when they’re older, they’ll look back and feel proud of how hard we worked to make a home for them. And that they remember it not just for how it looked, but for how it felt to grow up there. It’s also the process itself. I like a good challenge! Figuring things out, learning new skills, and seeing something slowly come together over time. There’s something very satisfying about taking on a project that feels a little out of reach and making it work.

Who or What has been the biggest influence on you? Probably my grandma. As a kid, my grandma taught me to sew, would help me rearrange my room or decorate it, and I remember when I was about 5 or 6 she built us a tree-house in our backyard! She’s a very determined German woman and never takes no for an answer, and I think I get my “where there is a will there is a way” from her. And then growing up my mom was very into antiques and old homes and I think that impacted me too!

**Carissa reupholstered this marketplace loveseat herself** .

Your Happy place – where is it? Hands down – home! I almost always prefer to be here with the fam. But France is a close second – I consider it home in a different way. I lived there during my 20s, which was such a formative time, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I think it also quietly shaped my personal design aesthetic in ways I see today.

The iteration of the Fireplace at the House on the Ravine - painted white when Carissa and Larry purchased the 1913 house, a temporary brick veneer they installed and lastly the custom tile surround they designed and installed. This incredible tile feels very fitting for their home. As Carissa said of the transformation: “This project was our chance to honor the Arts and Crafts roots of our 1913 home with a little elegance and a hint of nature pulled from the ravine outside”

When asked what space are you most comfortable? Carissa replied: I really love all of our spaces, but probably our living room because the fireplace is just so cozy!

**The totally redesigned Fireplace SURROUND**

What is your home aesthetic? I think it’s important to let the house lead and it’s a 1913 Arts and Crafts home with Colonial details. Our interiors definitely have a classic, traditional feel, but very layered. I like to mix vintage and antique pieces with newer elements, and I’m drawn to rich colors, pattern, and materials that feel like they have some history. I try to balance it all so it never feels overly formal or overly styled – just warm, collected, and intentional but feels livable.

**the kitchen - they recently replaced the ceiling can lights with sweet glass fixtures.**

What’s your personal style? I am typically dressed like Adam Sandler haha! But I find that I have a lot of pieces that are similar to our home and its wallpaper – I love a good floral pattern. Otherwise it’s really just pretty classic and simple. I want to feel put together but still comfortable – and I really like pieces that make a unique, subtle statement.

This project is an example of what Carissa accomplished without demo. The toilet needed to be replaced but, everything else is aesthetic. Carissa painstakingly hand-painted every tile and turned this bath into a sophisticated dreamy wallpapered space accented with a deep rich red.

What is something you try and do every day? Well, between kids, work, and projects I try to get a run or some kind of workout in for mental health’s sake!

What’s your guilty pleasure? Real Housewives, for sure. Salt Lake City is fantastic. I once had a French professor compare a Housewives moment to Descartes, so honestly… it’s basically intellectual if you think about it. Also Larry hates it so it’s the only time I truly get to myself haha!

Carissa thank you so much my dear for taking the time from your busy schedule to share yourself with my readers. I really appreciate it! I love all your wonderful projects at the House on the Ravine! You are a powerhouse of creativity and good taste!

Please Follow Carissa -