Hi there! Hope your weekend is going well. Ours has been a busy one, busier truth be told than I would have liked. I had visions of me staying in my pjs all weekend long, just chilling. So did not happen. We had people working all over the place yesterday, then we went into the city for a birthday party last night and today my darling husband has invited our friends over, whose house we go to every single year for the Superbowl. Now I totally understand his not wanting to leave our house, having just moved, I feel the same way but having to suddenly prepare a Superbowl spread kind of caught me off guard as I have been so busy all week so engrossed in unpacking and settling in.
He also invited two of our other friends over (brothers) so we will be a total of nine. I decided I am doing an appetizer party, who needs dinner when you can have a bevy of wonderful, delectable tapas type foods? Anyone else with me on this? So I am preparing some things and buying others, my three favorites are my pesto/feta dip served with warmed crostinis, my empenadas and my baked brie, then I am buying sliders, pigs in a blanket, a Parmesan artichoke dip, am doing a big tray of Italian cheeses and sausages with breads, and another dish with guacamole, humus and salsa and tortillas. Then finally I am picking up a tray of sushi from a nearby Japanese restaurant that is excellent. With luck, there will be some leftovers for Monday! The idea being if I serve enough it is sure to yield a nice arrangement of leftovers.
One of my best friends stopped over the other day and gave me the most beautiful miniature (about 2 feet tall) white azalea plant and knowing me well, had it planted in a gorgeous blue and white container. It looks amazing no matter where I put it! It looks so pretty on the console in my family room, proof that blue and white really does work anywhere! She also generously gave me a beautiful coffee table book,Versailles, which has so many incredible images, recommended for anyone in love with France like I am. I had to share a few pictures. So what about you? Are you excited about the Superbowl or are you like me, and its all about the food? Would love to hear what you are up to!
If you are thinking at this point "gee how many pictures is she going to take of the same thing" I got it out of my system, not to worry...when I love something I get a little carried away!
And another one of my oldest and dearest friends stopped by with this beautiful little Wedgewood bud vase. So delicate and sweet. Can't wait to add a pretty rose to it.
And finally we uncovered just the tower part of the floors (after being so sick of seeing them covered for the last 6 months)!! So nice to see the floors again!
Here's the newest iron chandelier for breakfast room, we are putting it up hopefully tomorrow or Tues. Fingers crossed it looks great!
Remember the vanity I was unsure about for powder room, well we found a new home for it..and I love it here.
Looks a little bare, but wtih lighting, sconces and accessories, its perfect.
Well, I am off to the market to beat the pre Superbowl frenzy fighting for food like its the Apocalypse or something. Wishing you a fun day whatever you might be doing! Go Giants! (I had to say it)
Haha! Have fun shopping for food! It's all about the food for me, too! We are headed over to my BIL for the Super Bowl and I have to start telling myself now to not over-do it! I love food!! That sushi your mentioned sounds soooo good!!!! Yummm!
ReplyDeleteGO PATS! I live in New England what can I say? Your friend who brought you the azalea is so gorgeous and has wonderful taste. I wish I had a friend who brought me Wedgwood too both are beautiful treasures. Your party sounds like fun and for once I escaped having the party at our home we’re going to friends but still need to take food. It’ll be a fun evening…..GO PATS! I had to say it again!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Sunday!
XX
Debra~
Love the chandelier!
ReplyDeleteHi Tina
ReplyDeletethis is easy from my FB today post, ha
YOUR home is EXQUISITE & moving is horrible but so worth it!
Fb heetee........
~"YAY ~Super BOWL Sunday~have my LIST.......
Pay Bills
FINISH cleaning my bedroom
Pack my son's 3rd box to Boulder
Get on the damn elliptical
Watch "Twin Peaks" series (at least start) Love that show!
Back to ~SUPERBOWL~I had no idea which teams were playing. A friend told me as he was jetting off.
I asked, "Terry, who do you want to win?" Terry said " Carla (tis what he has called me, for 28 yrs. Terry is Greek) I dont care, Im w/ my BOYS". Carlin, "oh just pick one". Terry, " ok New England". Carlin, " ~*GO*~Patriots~" :)!~"
THE END (giggle)
That is so funny, Carlin..I can always count on you to make me smile (and laugh)
DeleteSounds like life may be slowing down to a passing lane speed for you! Looks like everything is coming together nicely too. I love seeing your progression photos - how fun!
ReplyDeleteFor me, today is all about the commercials! Food (of course) is a pleasure because I love finger grazing... but those commercials! I love to judge. Enjoy your Sunday!
All of your updates are gorgeous, Tina! Enjoy your Superbowl party!
ReplyDeleteOh, Tina! Your home is looking beautiful and that plant is just perfect! It looks like you have been settled for years...the true inner spirit of "home" is already present. LOVE IT....you have a wonderful, warm style that I love.
ReplyDeleteYour floors are gorgeous and I love that it is finally uncovered. Loving the light fixture, too. Hope it is all you hoped it would be once you get it in place. Happy Sunday to you, sweet lady.
Who ARE the Giants-bwhahaahahah..xo Diana
Well my friend it sounds as if you have everything under control! The house is looking more and more beautiful with every week that passes Love the vanity and the chandelier!
ReplyDeleteQuestion? Do you have wooden switch plate covers and duplex outlet covers ordered for the family room or are you going to have those faux finished? Just the type A coming out in this designer... Have a great party today and I agree..... Go Giants! and this is coming from a Dallas Girl! Cheers
Tina, How sweet of your friends to bring you such wonderful gifts. The house is coming along and the chandelier is going to look great! Football is not my thing, but the food is! Its always about the food.
DeleteHi Pam, we are having them fauxed, its on a looong laundry list of things to do but it will get done:)
DeleteSounds like your "darling husband" is doing his own kind of decorating - the Ralph Waldo Emerson kind, and I quote "the ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it" :)
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you on the appetizer party, and Super Bowl fits the bill. I have time so I'm making two types of wings...Alton Brown's Buffalo Chicken wings, and Tyler Florence's Crispy Wings w Chili-Lime butter. My own guacamole, salsa & chips, BBQ baby-back ribs etc. I splurge and serve Chimay blue-label beer, and for me...MARGARITA'S! I'm happy. GO GIANTS!!
I love that Donna, I will have to make sure he reads your eomment. Love your wings...they sound sooo good. Its a great day to indulge in all the goodies, and LOVE margaritas!
DeleteYour home is looking great! GO GIANTS!! Just had to say that! I love that azalea in that perfect bowl. What a wonderful friend with great taste she must be. GO GIANTS!! Just had to say that. No superbowl party for us. Just a quiet evening at home watching the SUPERBOWL! GO GIANTS!!! I am a Giants fan. I use to live in NJ and got to go to some of their games. Oh what fun that was!! Have a great party and did I forget "GO GIANTS"!!!
ReplyDeleteTina oh yes all about the food, friends and half-time show!!
ReplyDeleteYou have very special friends my dear!! Love, so lovely.
I am so thrilled every time you unveil another part of your home!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Oh my, your family room, foyer is to die for!!!!!!!!!! Love the gifts you received, that beautiful chest and mirror and the light fixture. Your taste is totally incredible. I assume you are a designer? I LOVE seeing pictures of your home and your taste.
ReplyDeleteWe are Patriots fan, sorry, both from New England though we now live in Philly. We are having my husbands partners over with their famliies, about 30 people total so I am going to be busy, but most of it we are catering. Like you Tina, its all about the food and very little to do with football though I would be stoked to see the Patriots win.
Should be a fun game, hope the settling in is slowing down for you, and happy you are getting a day to have fun with friends. Enjoy your party and please keep those pictures coming!
Yes but didn't finish design school but was lucky to have a steady stream of work in my brief stint prior to starting the building of our home. Plan on going full throttle again when we are settled here as I just love it! Enjoy your party!!
DeleteAll your food sounds yummy, that is my kind of party! We are invited to a friends house whose husband is a cook so we are always in for a major treat, he goes all out being a big Giants fan (originally from NY) so it should be fun. I love empenadas, if you ever care to share your recipe, would love it!
ReplyDeleteTina, the house is looking more increidble than ever, if thats even possible. Your family room as huge as it is is so warm and inviting, and love the little vignette with the tree on it. Such nice friends you have. The floors are amazing, like something right out of France.
I can tell you are feeling a little less stressed/overwhelmed and so happy for you, moving really stinks but worth the effort in the end. Hope you enjoy yourself today and give yourself the "day off". Go Giants-
Heading to a cooks house...sounds like fun. Hope you are going hungry!! Yes feeling much less stressed than this time last week, thankfully!
DeleteTina, you have transformed the new bare family room into a warm and welcoming space for your family and friends to enjoy. The game will be a great way for you to host your first party, should be easy so you can enjoy it too. I love the peeks into your amazing kitchen. Love the vanity and mirror at the end of the hall, looks fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are enjoying waking up in your dream home! Enjoy the game……..
~Emily
The French Hutch
It looks just fabulous
ReplyDeleteand I KNOW your guests
are going to feel so
special coming here for
the Superbowl, with your
warmth, wonderful food
and great spaces.
ENJOY!!!
xx Suzanne
Pretty Azalea! They are common here in WA state and I have several in my garden. The plant can take the lack of sun, and look pretty even when not flowering. The blue and white container is the perfect home for this pretty plant and I love where you put it! The lamps look fabulous - so French! The vanity looks perfect at the end of your hall and I love the mirror. My daughter cheers for the Seattle Seahawks, so I cheer them on (not as much the players Lol!) - otherwise not a big football fan. We will go to a party today so I'm off the hook - just bringing an appetizer. Had to laugh at the comment re/ your hubby wanting to have folks over. My husband is always the one wanting to entertain at home! I love it but lots of work.. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeletexx
leslie
Go Pats!! had to answer the call to the Giants~yes I am doing a bunch of things myself, stuffed peppers, sausages with peppers and onions on subrolls, guacamole and chips, dips, wings etc..Mikes Hard Lemonade and harpoon IPA to wash it down~I love the braided trunk of the pretty azalea standard~and planted in that pretty blue and white~so YOU!!
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy Amy!! Hope you enjoy the game, may the best team win:)
DeleteTina=
ReplyDeleteThe images are beautiful. You really have been through it, but look at your beautiful home.
The azalea is amazing. Will have to find one for myself, and the Wedgewood vase is so pretty.
Ok...the floors are outrageously fabulous! As a matter of fact, everything is, and I do love the vanity there. Perfect with the mirror.
No Superbowl for me until after Downton Abbey at which point I will visit friends. I am sure that your spread will be delicious.
Have a good evening.
Teresa
xoxo
Thanks Teresa!! Downton Abbey I must make more of a point to watch, couldn't get into it in just one episode but for tonight I think every TV in this house will be blasting the Superbowl:)
DeleteI love The family room and especialy The ceiling and woodwork and floors .... But i have a question... What light fixture do you have in The entrance foyer and Why did you decide to put chandellier in the hallway near the foyer? I like the chandellier ... Is it brass? Thank you. Z
ReplyDeleteIts part of an overall lighting plan just so happens we have that one light fixture already so it got hung up, thats a small vestibule with a chandelier and the rest of the hallway is going to be lanterns. The chandelier for breakfast room is iron with an antique patina. In the tower we are using an antique crystal chandelier which hopefully will be hung in the next week or so.
DeleteOh Tina, this is splendid. I am just so happy to see that your hard work is paying off in BIG WAYS here and that you are enjoying IT ALL! I do hope you are well and that you are getting your rest!!! LOVE IT! Anita
ReplyDeleteTaking a break right now Anita, have been prepping all morning and finally feel like things are under control FOR NOW:)
DeleteTina, it sounds as if you will be a busy lady today,but all for fun stuff. Nothing better than getting together with friend and family. Have fun and remember, "Enjoy the Process!" sorry, I could not resist, it just seems to fit, xo Kathysue
ReplyDeleteIt IS so fitting...love it, I think one day we will see people with t shirts saying "enjoy the process" and we will have you to thank!
DeleteLove, love, Love your blog and look forward to it every day! I have a teeny tiny suggestion to change the sofa table in your family room. You have exquisite taste and the items on it are to Die for, but the table needs to be longer to be more in scale with the sofa and the rest of the items in that room. Also, when you look back from that room through the kitchen door, the lamps need to flank each side of the door and they would if they were on a longer table.
ReplyDeletePlease don't be offended - I'm in awe of your ability to style and really enjoy seeing what you're doing with Everything!
Thanks so much. Absolutly not offense taken....thats part of the fun of blogging and interacting, giving feedback and ideas! That said, this is all furniture from our old house, thankfully it fit in as well as it did but this is not a permaenent setup, we have ordered a much longer console sofa table that almost runs the width of the sofa....and agree it looks ideal to have the lamps further set apart and have a longer table, but for now no complaints:) Thanks for your kind words.
DeleteAll that food sounds so tasty! I am not not at my house for the game and have to crash my sisters party, but I LOVE the superbowl only because of the food and WINGS are my favorite! I absolutley adore your blog and your house is looking fantastic, I would consider myself lucky if one day I had HALF your style! Have a great game day!
ReplyDeleteOf course it is all about the food! (I am not a sports fan whatsoever. Unless it is soccer and hockey with Swedes involved!). We will be trotting over to some neighbors. You will find me close to the buffet.
ReplyDeleteWonderful gifts! I have said it before - you attract goodness my friend.
Happy Sunday!
ox, Mon
PS I swear it took me a full week to recover from my trip. I am getting old and slow, Tina!!!
Tina, Love how the family room has turned out. Would love to see a close up of the round creme table to the left back facing view of the sofa.I like the choice of where you put the vanity. Enjoy your evening and hope Teddy does too. My hubby and boys are going to a friends house to watch the game on a huge screen. Me, I relaxing with taped HGTV shows and some chai tea. I'm Russian Orthodox and our priest's new daughter was baptized today with a beautiful and filling get together after, so glad no super bowl munchies here. Thank you as always for sharing your home.
ReplyDeleteTina- everything looks incredible. We will be going to a Superbowl party but I promise you will not be watching the game in a room that looks like THAT! Lucky guests. Enjoy, dont' work too hard and your tapas menu sounds fantastic. Just the way I love to eat.
ReplyDeleteLove your family room, the peek into the beautiful kitchen and the floors. That iron fixture is a stunner too. Such fun isn't it seeing it all come together!
always look forward for all the progress, it looks absolutely fabulous already.
ReplyDeleteAnnie v.
Tina, i love everything! No surprise :) But I ESPECIALLY love the new chandelier!! It looks like a Tara Shaw one I've been eying for a long time. Can't wait to see it up! Have a great party my friend!!
ReplyDeleteStacy
Hi Tina, Have fun at your party. This room is beautiful and I love the plant and the pretty container. Hugs, Sherry
ReplyDeleteTina, without a doubt you have IMPECCABLE style!
ReplyDeleteYour home is gorgeous and you are so sweet and giving. Having said that, GO PATS!!!
LOL,
Denise
The room looks *so* fabulous Tina, wow! The best part of the post for me is seeing where the vanity ended up, I don't know why it is so appealing to me, it just is. You must be thrilled with the floors, that black and white is such an elegant look.
ReplyDeleteThe menu sounds very tasty! But I have to share that if my Spousal Unit invited guests over for the game after the preceding two months (not to mention the preceding two years!), he would be banned, barred and shunned. (Heh, heh.)
Sending you a smile,
tp
ok tina, the floor reveal did it, took my breath away that is! and what lovely friends you have, the azalea topiary is charming
ReplyDeletehave fun tonight!
debra
Tina, you are a stitch! I love, love your style. I swear I feel like we are talking on the phone. Your home is looking more and more beautiful! What progress you have made. I love the Azalea plant in its blue and white container. Our friends just arrived for the big SB so must run!
ReplyDeleteWell, you can tell I am not a football fan (sacrilege) because I am reading blogs instead of watching the game. Your house is looking fabulous. I love, love, love the floors and the vanity looks perfect with the mirror at the end of the hall. I look forward to watching the process unfold. Enjoy your party...and the leftovers.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Victoria
tina, the vanity is fabulous. i am so in agreement about an appetizer party. in fact, when i am really lazy i just ask everyone to bring their favorite and only have to make a few things. i want your brie. like now.
ReplyDeletemichele
I just love drooling over your home! You must feel you have died and gone to heaven living here!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you have no idea how important getting lost in blogs has been living here in this part of Christchurch! We could have before and after shots of the chemical loos!!!
I even watched the Superbowl and yelled at the TV - not bad for a rugby nut!!
Your decorating skills are to die for. Thank you so much for sharing - keep the photos coming Girl!
What a great friend! Beautiful and your house is looking gorgeous. Can't wait till you get everything done and furnished so we can see the pictures! So glad the Giants won. I'm a Cowboys fan so I had to cheer for the NFC! Great game!
ReplyDeleteHad the family over tonight for the Super Bowl and it was definitely about the food for Sister and Mom and me. The guys enjoyed the game. Love your new treasures. You have very nice friends. Have a great week. XO, Mona
ReplyDeleteThe vanity in its new home? Perfect, as is everything else. Thank you, as always, for our personal glimpses into your private life. You are, indeed, very generous and I see that returned to you in spades by your friends. I hope your day had a sense of respite after a big week.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Chris
Yay! Giants!!!
It's all about the food for me.....
ReplyDelete~Bliss~
How did I miss this? Tina, I hope you are feeling better and that your knee is nnot giving you too much trouble. What happened? Just too much moving?
ReplyDeleteI love the new chandeleir, although I loved the old one too. Everthing looks fabulous!
Your party sounds delicious, my kind of night, lots of little bites to eat.
Have a great week! I am sure that you are celebrating tonight!
Elizabeth
Sweet friend,
ReplyDeleteI just went over to visit our dear Elizabeth and saw that you had mentioned that you fell...I wish you a day of total healing! Oh, that Teddy, leaving his bones around; he is most definitely settling into the new digs!!!! PEACE AND HEALING DEAR! Anita
It's such a HOME! And, I completely get it with the picture taking!
ReplyDeleteYour home is looking so beautiful! I mean, it was before, but now it really looks amazing! I bed you are LOVING finally being in it!
ReplyDeleteThe house looks so incredible. I had to pinch myself for you! How amazing it must be to finally be living there Tina!
ReplyDeleteYour home is absolutely stunning! I love your entryway!
ReplyDeleteThe house is looking very warm and inviting and magnificent, Tina, and the blue-and-white pieces balance the gorgeous brown wood panelling. Amazing windows - I always notice those, love the natural light.
ReplyDeleteThe house is looking devine. So beautiful and elegant and warm. I know its a very very big home but you are managing to make it feel "homey". I love what you have done so far. Keep it up, you are on quite a roll.
ReplyDeleteI could really see that hallway coming together.
ReplyDelete