(Out)back to Nyack!

We're back, baby.

Though our reunion with Nyack was delayed briefly by sticky floors that refused to dry during a week of purported daily deluges (if you want fun, shack up in a long-stay hotel with two children under six, one at your feet and one H-style between you and your spouse or loved one), we rolled in at about 7:30 a.m. two Sundays ago (jet lag).

And thar she was. Sweet Apple Farm.

As you are likely aware, or else why the heck are you reading this, we just left the loverly city of Bath in the United Kingdom, where most houses are named. Ours was not -- plain old 26 Northampton Street it was -- but many were. Abbey View, Church View, Hawksmoor, Mile House, Milford House, you get the drift. So Josie asked if, when we moved back to the States, we could live in a house with a name.

We said fo sho, little lady, and whatever you would like to name it.

Without hesitation, our starry-eyed dreamer blurted, "Sweet Apple Farm!"

It's actually not a crazy name.  Our development was actually once a farm, later split into 8 plots and called, for real estate purposes, "The Farm at Nyack."  The Sweet Apple bit? "Bye Bye Birdie," of course. You may recall that heroine Kim MacAfee is none other than the president of the Sweet Apple, OH chapter of the Conrad Birdie Fan Club.

(If you're getting déjà vu, then you're probably also aware that I got Hugo's name from Hugo Fink/Peabody, Kim's high school boyfriend played by Bobby Rydell. I should just dye my hair red, sing into a telephone and squeeze into a hot pink number already, although I'm probably older than Maureen Stapelton was at the time she filmed the movie).

Sweet Apple - crazy, baby

That early Sunday morn we were all exhausted. The extraction from Bath was bittersweet and not a little painful, the departure harried (though made eminently sweeter by a gift basket of wine, cheese and meats left in our hotel room by Kiwi Mom-- bless you, Kiwi Mom) and the flight -- well, I'd say long to... quite long. Hugo had refused to sleep until we had landed and started deplaning -- the kid always has great timing -- and strongly disliked awakening in a black Range Rover parked outside a White Plains corporate housing facility.

But a greasetastic UNO's pizza, four hours of sleep, a 20-minute ride in our new Subaru Outback, and a Main St.-Frappucino later, we were home.

SAF is a replica farmhouse, built in 2000, so lots of rustic charm blended with modern amenities (read: I finally get a real walk-in closet and Jeff gets a man-cave with en-suite bathroom!). It's also in terrific shape, though as many of you have discovered, giving even a relatively new house your own personal style is a huge undertaking. Thankfully, Nom and Pee-pa helicoptered in from MI to get the party started.

Let's take Josie's room as an example. Its previous occupant was a tres sportif (we're talking life-sized David Beckham decal on the wall) 15-year-old boy. Not a decorating style that translates well to a five-year-old, unabashed girly-girl.  So here's the "before" along with the 3 pinks she chose and tested.

Josie's room - Before

Even after just some spackle and one coat of fresh paint, the transformation was well underway.

Now that's what I call pink

Add one Pottery Barn Kids rug, a Young America bed, and a mEtsychistic decal, and we're on the way to finished Monkey-Moodle Lair.

Restful glamour

Hugo's cute li'l room (he got the biggest upgrade, coming from a glorified nook in Bath) was a pretty blank slate... boy did he love getting a Big Boy Bed (as any of you who chatted with him about the upcoming move to America well know).

He now has the largest bed in North America (tip: pay attention to those measurements, and don't assume beds from the same company will be the same scale!), but plenty more Cath Kidston Cowboy decor to come.

Keep those dogies rollin'

The biggest decorating challenge is posed by the Great Room. It needs to be All Things -- living room, entertaining room, family room, some-TV room -- and right now it's a bit hunting-lodge for our otherwise fairly cottage-style taste. We've discussed everything from painting the ceiling and bookshelves off-white to just the bookshelves and walls to just the walls and living with it for awhile.

When you look closely the bookshelves are a bit stained and dinged-up, so it's not a crazy idea to paint them. But we're going to save this room for last.

All it needs is a big moose head over the fireplace

The breakfast room is a color that everyone actually loves, so it's staying yellow for awhile, although we've already added a bit of flair.

Breakfast room: Before

Breakfast room: Let's call it "during"

The dining room was decorated in this very baroque style, so our plan is to lighten and brighten with a little help from Messrs. Farrow and Ball.

Dark

Too dark

Ooooohhhhhhh

We've had another addition to the family -- well, actually this guy's been part of the Davidson family for generations -- but we're beyond psyched to give him a new home.  Thank you Gramma Harriet for giving this to me, and Pee-pa for dismantling it, storing it for 4 years, carting it here and then... remantling it. It runs... well, like clockwork, and looks amazing in what will be a bright, beautiful and welcoming dining room in a few weeks and more Benjamins than I care to think about (Josie won't need braces, right?).

Bong

Our office is already in decent shape -- I'm sitting in it, banging all this out, aren't I?  Down the road we're thinking built-in bookshelves and a piano, but in the near future we'll just hang some art.

No office politics here

Of course one of the best parts about moving back out to the 'burbs is the outdoor space. We've gone from a lovely but tiny "English garden" to a kick-ass BBQ'in, s'more-broilin', paddling-poolin', football-throwin', live-action-Bambi-castin' YARD.

Whachoo drinkin', Nom?

Corn dog

The other big news is that for all the pre-move angst and anxiety, the kids are settling in great. They will just play together in that basement for, like, minutes -- we'll work up to half-hours or maybe even hours -- run around outside, scooter in the driveway....and Jeff and I can shower and brush our teeth in relative solitude. 

Josie also toured her new school -- and she's pretty excited for September.

Her chief anxiety, actually was that she wouldn't remember where everything was, in comparison to our old house, so she made some very helpful signage.

Jeff's brother and sister-in-law, Lewisburg Parents, visited with our nephs, and that was pretty awesome.

We're all pretty psyched for our first 4th of July in Nyack. Plans include swimming, sweating, and BBQing with Jeff's sister and niece. Plenty of room, the rest of y'all, so hurry up and visit.

In the meantime, stay tuned for decorating drama and other special sauce.