Chaletmomma

This is not the piece I planned to publish today but, I’m hitting the pause button - to share life here in the Chalet. Let me start by saying as a Cancerian - a July birthday gal the idea of being home - maybe even for weeks was not daunting to me. I’m a homebody. Let’s talk logistics - my husband already works from home with a dedicated office and as a work from home mom - my corner of the livingroom is where I work on client proposals and editing this blog. Our transition to the three of us being home all the time has been smooth.

Spring 2019 I can’t wait for everything to pop this year!

If you follow along on Instagram (and I’m sure you do) then you know the first project tackled was the dreaded pit of our basement. I want to make clear - we have nothing stored in our attic. Therefore, there is a lot of stuff crammed into this petite space. We have 2 sets of french doors that lead to the patio - it could and I hope one day it will be an amazing space with storage, a family room with sheet-rock walls and a bath! (we only have one in the Chalet). Anyway... daydreams aside. I started organizing all our shoes and kept working my way around. I am trying to be ruthless about purging; I will be donating and selling items.

Our school has been closed since Monday March 16th. Our teachers have done an amazing job coordinating worksheets and apps to assist the kiddos with their studies. Liam uses Seesaw and Splashlearn on a daily basis and with the additions of Readworks, StudyIsland, Timestable, Epic and Flipgrid everything is covered. I’m used to working on homework with him so moving into the role of full-time instructor has been fine.

This Martha Washington Sewing Stand has become our Chalet-school keeping all supplies close as hand. I know for many this time has been really tough on your kiddos. As the mother of a creative only child - I’m thrilled he is always able to entertain himself either by producing art, storybooks or with Legos. We have a brand new canvas if Liam wants to make a masterpiece! Of course we are heading outside whenever possible and playing lots of Uno and board games. Pay Day is a favorite!

I keep shelter magazines - some for years - rotating issues by month - it was good to weed through and purge some that no longer speak to me. I actually own every single issue of Domino ever published.

Once I feel the basement is in good shape I’ll move forward with the kitchen project which will include painting and sewing new curtains. I had already organized a bunch of closets prior to being home, another big project is Liam’s bedroom - so many books and toys to review, purge and donate.

We’ve been watching our regular programs Lego Masters, The Masked Singer, Shark Tank and the always entertaining Jim Gaffigan. After checking-in on Instagram I don’t usually watch much besides The Young and the Restless but, through Netflix I’ve watched Abstract: The Art of Design and two series by Monty Don about famous gardens in France and Italy - unfortunately Netflix removed the garden programs Bummer! I watch the CBS Sunday Morning You Tube channel - their pieces are always informative and entertaining.

I’ve been thinking about upcoming events on the calendar - My sister is a member of the Met Museum - our next visit was planned for April 6 - when Liam was to be on spring break. Our April pilgrimage to Jerusalem cancelled. I’m also thinking of dates with friends for meet-ups and dinners - dates with Instagram yet to meet In Real Life friends… I’m thinking about a designer show-house my sister and I never fail to attend - Mansion in May. I think about my son and spring hockey and little league baseball. Friends I know how blessed we are to hunker down in the Chalet and adjust to a new normal and I’m praying so hard this situation passes quickly for the entire world. I mean it has to end and when it does I know I’ll be walking up the grand staircase at the Met again but, when - that’s quite possibly the toughest part - that we have no end date - but friends we soldier on!

We use new hashtags: #shareacupwithimpeccablenest #wineandjunkfoodchallenge Use Zoom to have virtual meet ups, FaceTime more, Call crossing guards to check-in on them. Watch videos provided by museums: Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video) Celebrate Mass on-line, Play a lot of board games, Give ourselves pedicures, Try for more patience, Teach our kiddos how to carry the one of basic math and new words - like Mocktail!

I thought you might enjoy a few posts from the Archives - Click image for link.

Five Days

In The Pink

Presby Garden Visit

NYC

A Study in Scenic Walls

Beautiful Blooms

Terrific Titles

Film Favotires

Til next time.

Stay Safe & Sending Love!

Today marks the Anniversary of the day we took ownership of the Chalet! 16 years ago today … we signed the papers on this quirky little beauty. The Chalet was the first home built on property subdivided in 1924 from the Leaycraft Estate. Our street bears the name of that Estate.

Chalet: a wooden house or cottage with overhanging eaves typically found in the Swiss Alps.

While driving with a friend we stumbled upon a For Sale by Owner sign that soon turned into our destiny. A home for sale in my old neighborhood! My dream location full of quiet streets, unique architecture and close to the park. I knew the house - while growing up a few block away I trick or treated here and rode my bike by what we called “The Red Schoolhouse” because it was painted red and the center chimney looks like a bell tower. You can see it here in the 1968 watercolor by artist Nat Lewis. This painting was gifted to us by a former owners daughter. We are so very blessed to have this hanging on our wall.

We started calling it “The Chalet” soon after moving in. Built as a vacation home by Austrian craftsmen brought in specifically by Dr. Morgan the original owner. At roughly 1400 square feet it’s not overly large - it has three-bedroom and although we were originally moving to gain space we have forgiven the Chalet for only offering us one small bath. It has wonderful unique features such the hand cut railings and multiple sets of French doors throughout - there’s so much to love.

We’ve so fortunate to enjoy open-concept living in a home which is almost 100 years old. We’ve jokingly coined the phrase Step-Saver to describe our Kitchen because if you stand in the middle of the room you can reach out and touch everything without taking a step!

Adding to the homey feel, is the fireplace with it’s beautiful carvings in the center of the house.

One major change we’ve made to the Chalet was enclosing our porch. It was an open air galerie - you can read more about it here. Hands down the best thing we’ve done. Both the Master bedroom and our son’s bedroom are above this space. The Chalet is weather tight and quieter!

We love sleeping in the tree tops!

1952

2004

1976

I love these images - the middle is when we still had the humongous American Beech out front. We loved that tree but, it started loosing limbs. You can see it in the image that was published in a local history book in 1976.