ABCs

While I so wish that I could have been back in good old Glen Ellyn with my mom a couple weeks ago to celebrate her 60th, we were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate early with her when my parents visited over Easter.

Thanks to Sommer, who made a book for my birthday last year using this concept, I copied her idea and, along with the help of my brother, we created the 'ABC's of my mom and put them on the clipboards as a fun greeting for her when she arrived.

Since Sean's birthday was in early May, our clipboards are now sporting his 'ABCs' :)

A little landscaping

Our front yard has really needed some love.

Here is the bad before shot....you can see the one random rose that was growing...

Last fall...since we had Paddy's Baptism and family party afterwards only a few weeks after moving in, we needed some quick improvisation...enter a few Boston ferns and mums to line the flower bed.

But check out the awesome plastic brick-looking edgers...

Those needed to go.  Last fall, Hallie was a huge help in aiding the throwing out of the plastic brick-looking things.  Good thing we live next to a creek with lots of rocks...can I also mention how much I LOVE living by this creek?  I wish we could sleep with the windows open year round because the sound of the creek is so soothing.

While my mom was recently here, she helped transform the front.  I didn't want to spend much money on it, so thankfully, we have a huge hosta garden on the side of the house.  My mom was hard at work dividing hosta and moving them to the front.  She trimmed the dying evergreen, planted impatiens, mulched, etc.  It was looking so much better!

Since mom left, I added two fuschia plants in the Hungarian baby bath, a Boston fern on the porch, and a flag.  The flag has been my favorite addition, but it has also been a comedy of errors.  First the flag pole holder broke.  Then, we got a new metal one - thanks to Sean for installing that.  Then, the flag pole lost a piece so only the top of the flag was attached and was flapping in the wind.  Finally, the new spotlight and timer turned into this possessed strobe light (sorry, April and Brandon!).  So, I guess I need a new set up.

Glory impatiently waiting for me to finish taking pictures in the rain...

we finished off both the left and right flower beds...

gotta love flowering shade plants!

Thanks so much, Mom.  None of this work would have happened without you.

Spring never disappoints...

Neither do free blooms from outside....

The lily of the valley and lilacs are so fragrant, they stop me in my tracks.  Thank you, Mother Nature!

I am really digging hosta and fiddle leaf fig leaves as greenery these days...

Happy Spring!  Now...if we could just get some sunshine here this week :)

Destination: Glenmere Mansion

During my parents recent visit, we took my mom to the most fabulous place, Glenmere Mansion, to celebrate her 60th birthday. 

via Hudson Valley Magazine

Sean had read about this place, I did some online research, and we had some friends that highly recommended it.  I knew it was an old historic mansion that has been revived and turned into a boutique hotel.  I thought it would be a place that my mom would enjoy.  Let me tell you, it is eye candy overload.  No pictures do this place justice (and I didn't have my own camera, so I had to borrow my mom's)

One of the owners, Alan, was nice enough to take some time to give us a tour, and it was fun to get some additional background information on some of the pieces, the history of the place, etc.  The designer is Scott Snyder.  I absolutely love his style.

Library...the designer found this chandelier at an estate sale.  He wanted it because it was all black, well, after cleaning it, there was all this crystal and brass...it came from a tobacco estate, so it was just covered in tobacco residue!  Isn't it a beauty?

Isn't this so quaint...what an inviting room that someone can just go in the corner and work on a puzzle!

The GORGEOUS living room.  

There was so much natural light and the mixture of old and new furnishings was perfection.

oh my, I'll take two...

the orchids, the doors, the windows, oh my.

The supper room - with custom painted silk screens with scenes from the Hudson Valley...

Outdoor Area - boxwood heaven.  Off to the left (not pictured), they have a 'reading area' - how wonderfully decadent.

the birthday girl!

Okay, and I think my favorite may have been the bathroom.  I couldn't resist snapping a bunch of pics with my iPhone. It looked like there were little diamonds covering the walls...so glam.  Love.

We ate in their Frog's End tavern - my veggie sandwich was excellent!

And check out the meringue on Sean's cake...so over the top...gorgeous!

They even have a China room, where you can host private parties, and they have over 35 sets of China that the owners have collected over the years, and you can pick and mix and match what China you would like the meal served on.  So fun!

We were there a little to early to get the full effect of all the amazing outdoor spaces that they have...check out this image of the courtyard during good weather...

via Hudson Valley Magazine

I can't wait to go back....ahhhh.  I could share so much more...their attention to detail is superb.   Their spa is supposed to open later this year...hmmm...worth saving for?  Probably!  If you can spend $500 - $3500 per night for a room, you should go stay here! 

Light Change

My dad helped hang a chandelier that I bought last summer in Highland Falls (of all places!) while he was here.  At first, when he got it connected, the new-to-me chandelier was not working.  He ended up taking it down, checking out all the wiring...which all looked great.  He then tried again...to no avail.  But...low and behold!  Somehow we had blown a fuse...so after flipping the circuit breaker a couple of times, we were in business.  The chandelier should be a little larger for the space...but I can't tell you how happy it makes me, regardless.

Next time, I hope to not have such a fear of this and tackle it myself!  Thanks, Dad :)

Before:

After - again, wish I was a good photographer...

Butter

I had never given a thought to making my own butter until I read Liz Stanley's post about it...

If you have some heavy cream and a stand mixer, you can be on your way.  I still haven't perfected it, but have now made a few batches of regular salted butter as well as some honey butter.

If you are looking for a fun project, you should give it a try.

Being that I am as impatient as I am, I skipped the shaking of the cream in the Ball jar.  I poured a large container of heavy cream into my mixer along with some salt (I am still trying to figure out the right amount of salt), started whipping it on high and just let it run.

Just whip it until it separates...you will have some chunks and some liquid.  The liquid is actually buttermilk.

Now, it gets a little messy...just reach in and start bringing all the solid bits of butter together, into a ball.  Squeeze out as much buttermilk as you can.  If buttermilk is left, the butter won't last as long.  Some sites recommend washing the butter under cold water until the water runs clear to ensure that the buttermilk is gone.

And, voila.  You have fresh butter.  Pop it in the fridge to let it firm up...and done!

Dinner on the Hudson

I have had this location scouted out for countless months, and have been obsessed with the idea of trying to channel some inner Jordan Ferney and pull off an intimate dinner in a unique outdoor location.  Of course there were details that I didn't get to....but, thanks to the help of my gourmet cook friend, Jean, we were able to pull it off.

Big thanks to West Point for providing such breathtaking scenery.  :)

We surprised Mark and Krissy with this dinner to celebrate the time we have had here together, their upcoming birthdays, and to look forward to future memories.  I can't believe that I didn't spill the beans over the last 9 months to Krissy as I have schemed all these 'pretend' parties in my mind! 

I had originally wanted to keep everyone out of the loop to make it a surprise for all, but it definitely wouldn't have happened without Jean.  I knew that if everything else went wrong, the food would still be out of this world.  And, it was.  Bravo to you, Jean!  As I have mentioned many times, I struggle with menu planning so much...and there was an added level of complexity since everything had to taste okay cold since we would prepare at home and then bring it all down to the river.

Here's what we landed on for the menu:

Appetizer:
Jalapenos stuffed with a cream cheese/honey/pecan mixture then wrapped in bacon and grilled.  (Sommer introduced us to these when she and her brother-in-law chef made them for Tim's welcome home party, and they have been our go-to appetizer ever since...thanks for sharing, Sommer!)

Meal - this was ALL Jean...
--Cold beef tenderloin with homemade horseradish sauce - a Mark/Krissy specialty and favorite.
--Zuchinni boats filled with mashed parsnips - YUM!  So gourmet :)
--Roasted tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar...and maybe a few other things I am forgetting.  I will never forget how delicious these were.  And, so beautiful!
--Rolls with the homemade honey butter than I attempted

Dessert:
--Decaf coffee, frothed, of course.
--Martha Stewart's Inside Out German Chocolate Cake (I made this years and years ago for Sean's bday - and I swear, it turned out okay that time.  This time around was disaster city.  The filling oozed everywhere, the cakes were overcooked...bascially a typical Meghan cake.)
--Chocolate covered strawberries (due to last minute panic that the cake may be terrible)

I must have some weird sickness as I had the best time making my list of everything that needed to be carted down to the river to pull this off.  I loved assembling the Rubbermaid containers full of glasses, plates, napkins, tablecloths, candles, etc. 

Jean and I obsessed over the weather all week, and ultimately, decided to go for it, even though it was going to be much colder than we had ever hoped for.  Mark and Krissy knew we were all having dinner that night, but that was all they knew.  That afternoon, I told them to dress warmly, and that they would be picked up at six.

And, I can't forget...special shout out to April for saving me at the last minute and letting me borrow her table since ours was MIA.  Also, huge thank you to my parents, who are my party wing-men.  They were a huge help assembling all the goods, delivering/setting up everything, and even brewing and delivering a steaming pot of decaf coffee!

I wish I would have captured more pictures of the evening, but here is what we got...

Look at those pretty silver bread plates...they belonged to Jean's grandmother.  Love it.

 the chef and master fire starter...

Guests of honor...I was getting teary eyed just thinking about them arriving. 

And, dinner is underway...

Scrumptious.  Jean hit this one out of the ballpark.

and...into the night :)

Thanks to all for such a memorable evening.  We will miss you, Brosnans.  Godspeed, Mark.

Accessorize...

If my accessories looked prettier in their drawers, would I use them more?  Nothing else I have tried makes me accessorize...could this work?

Before:

Drawer 1

Drawer 2

In an effort to become more organized and not spend money, I combed through drawers and found my random tea cup collection that hasn't gotten as much use as I would like.  I got this done just in the nick of time before Chantal arrived.  Phew. 

After: