Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Still settling...



Woof.

It's the dog days of August, but honestly we're finally getting some dreamy June weather! Humidity is nil, the sun is shining and there's a nice breeze almost every day.

The Rothvidsons are still gradually but happily settling into American life. There are some things we miss, fo sho. Here are a few:


1) English manners. Everyone here is a bit more, shall we say, brusque than most in the mother country. New Yawk baby. Fuhgeddaboutit.

2) Wagamama. Tebasaki Wings, Teppan Noodles, Chili squid...whether they were waiting at the door with our takeaway bags and a smile or ignoring the rice Hugo was chucking all over the restaurant, we sure miss the Wags.

First chopsticks - and chicken katsu!

3) Walking everywhere. Our collective booties are really missing that one. While I probably burned 200 calories a day just running up and down the 4 flights of stairs at 26 Northampton, Sweet Apple Farm is definitely more secluded even than our old house in Nyack was. Driving is a must for pretty much every outing.

4) London. New York City has no equal, but really neither does London. From the blinding white Rowhouses in Kensington to the multiple palaces to the cute pubs nestled in tiny one-way corridors, it's a special town.
Walking...in London

5) Saint Claire.  Not much more to say there, really.

 Just love.

6) The views from Josie's window over Bath all the way to Prior Park. Always made me linger a little while putting her to bed.

Room with a View

7) Farm shops. The concept: farm plus cool little market full of fresh eggs, chickens, vegetables, plus family-friendly cafe, animals to visit and sometimes even a little playground. Great place to spend a Sunday morning.

We told Josie she was getting a sibling at Neston Farm Shop. 
She was nonplussed.

8) Just walking around shopping and knowing Romans once built roads there, Georgian nobles lounged, bathed, and drank tea, Jane Austen hurried down a hidden walk and somewhere Johnny Depp owns a house.
And I never figured out where. Damnit!

9) Free health care. Not much more to say there either. When I got a $50 bill for one month of Synthroid at the pharmacy last week I nearly passed out.

 

10) Waitrose. Marks and Spencer. Joules. Great shopping. Thankfully, Monsoon is coming to the Palisades mall so I'll have at least one of my splurgeworthy stores back!

Of course, for everything we miss there's something great to have back -- great Asian food. Family close by. Barbecue. Netflix. Sirus XM radio.  Hot coffee. Cold beer.

We got to partake of all of the above up in the Berkshires with all the Rothmans last weekend. It was so lovely to watch Josie and Hugo play with their cousins, it made all the stuff we miss feel pretty minor (except for any wonderful friends reading this, of course -- so you just have to come visit!) 

 
Special iPad bonding time with Uncle Rog 

 Photo credit: Lew Rothman

This one too - check out that mani! 

The kids and I stopped in Spencertown on the way back to Nyack to visit Casa Sternal, and of course its lovely inhabitants, Spencertown Dad (thank god they moved out of DUMBO!) Blissful Mom and kids. The house has been a massive, multiyear endeavor, and while I forgot to photograph it, I was nonetheless both impressed and inspired by its architecture, decor, and general aura of love.

Decorating projects are coming along.  What I imagine will be the crowning glory of the house, the dining room, was completed last week, and I couldn't be happier.

  
Before

 
 After! Let there be light!

I'm doing my part to bring back wallpaper.  Look at those lovebirds! Paper is Farrow and Ball Renaissance and paint is F and B "Dimity."

Oooooooooh

After hours shopping for curtain bargains on Land of Nod, PB Kids, etc. for Josie's room, I found a crumpled Ziploc storage bag of what looked like muddy rags. I pulled them out, and only after looking at the tags realized they were the Shabby Chic curtains from our house on N. Midland!

Two Oxi Clean wash cycles later, and they were good as new and perfect for Miss Thing's lair. 


Cute butterfly curtain rods are from Target, and the shelves are from Lowe's.

 
 
Don't get me wrong -- I love Josie's color choices, but while I hate to criticize anything Martha Stewart does, her paint line by Glidden at Home Depot is godawful. When we pulled out Josie's dollhouse to put up the shelves, the roof had literally stuck to the wall, I guess due to humidity. When we yanked the roof away a line of paint came along with it.

 
Not cool, Martha. You shouldn't have gotten in bed with Home Despot.

Next up: painting the hallways and master bedroom, and wrapping up the design scheme for the Great Room / Elks Lodge. After hours of trudging around furniture stores and scouring Pinterest, I threw up my hands and enlisted an Ethan Allen consultant to help me with a floor plan and window treatments, rugs, etc. I'm already pretty excited about what we're cooking up.

 Test patches for Master Br: What I like to call "Farrothko and Ball"

Meanwhile, it's hard to believe but summer is winding down here in Nyack. Josie is finishing up camp, which she has loved partly for the art but even more for being reunited with her since-utero BFF B.




How's THAT for a Before and After? 

Next week we're off to Michigan for 2 weeks, so I'll hopefully be back soon after with lots of nostalgic Detroit shots (photos! photos!) and great memories. Lata!

Bagels are way better in America.

No comments: