Phish... and a restoration???

Well, here we are in the new year!  Hi!  Are you loving 2012?

I had the nicest Christmas/New Years break with Jimmy.  (yea, I know... I talk about Jimmy all the time.  What are you gonna do?  I'm going to show you guys a house, so I get to talk about Jimmy as much as I want.  A deal's a deal! -- see the results.)

We started out our visit in North Carolina where his mom's family lives.  We went to his aunt's house for lunch.  You may remember her from the kitchen she designed in Jimmy's grandma's house.  She has a great eye for design, and I was really looking forward to seeing her house.  Her home used to belong to Jimmy's grandmother's sister (great aunt?).  She lovingly restored/renovated it and did an amazing job!  There were so many unique things about the house I had to take pictures so I could share them with you.  I found out later my camera was actually on the brink of death, so forgive me if these pictures are not my best.  One more side note...  Jimmy's aunt had an awesome lunch for us.  It was so great that I got distracted and forgot to take a picture of the kitchen.  #totalfail  Don't blame me though, I was on vacation and didn't have my head totally in the game.  Ha.

This is the foyer, which I love.  Why?  I love a glass front door.  It's nice to be able to open the wood door and see out to the front yard.  I also like the wood floors.  The man in the picture is Jimmy's grandfather.  Unfortunately he died before I got to meet him, but everyone in the family raves about how kind he was.

This is the other side of the foyer.  I was really drawn to the bronze wallpaper.  I tried to get a close up of it...

Aren't those pretty imperfections?

This is the formal living room.  I love those bay windows.  They looked like iron to be, but I am not positive.  You may notice Jimmy's sisters in this photo :)

This is the fireplace in the living room.  I loved the carvings on the mantel!

I really like the dining room a lot!  The China Cabinets probably had the most space of any I have ever seen.

See?

Here is the solarium.  Loving the oversized windows and brick floors.  You guys know I am a sucker for brick floors.  Duh.

His aunt told me that she chose these Christmas decorations to echo the bronze in the foyer.  How clever is that?  I would never have thought of it and really admire the fact that she did.  The decorations look amazing.  Let's walk outside.

This is the other side of the window we were just looking through...

and here is the back patio.  Is that flagstone?  Or maybe bluestone?  It looks great.  I love the size of the stone.

Here is a view of the home from the pond in the back yard.  They put in a lot of landscaping that all looks so natural and lush (even in December!).

More landscape and the pond :)

Lets head back in show I can show you my favorite room!

We are heading up the stairs.  I put in this picture of the window seat because that's Jimmy's favorite place in the house.  He said he would hang out there a lot when he was a little boy.... awww.

We end in my favorite room.  She vaulted this ceiling and added the beams, which really opened up the space.  The recessed lighting is such a nice touch because it really lightens up the room.  We had such a nice time sitting and talking in this room, and before we left we even got to have a fire in that great fireplace!  Jimmy's sisters hung out on that bench seat in the corner.  I love it now, but wouldn't that have been such a cool nook as a kid?  Jimmy's family has been visiting this house for their whole lives and were kind enough to share all their childhood memories with me.  I can imagine this would have been quite the place to explore as a child.

Here is a closer look at the craftsmanship on the ceiling.  They even had a stained glass window made and put up in the corner.  If my camera had not been failing every other shot I would have had a picture of it for you.  Sorry!  Just believe me that it was beautiful.

Here is the other side of the room, which had great buil-ins!  If I were in high school/college I would have done all my studying here... it just makes me feel studious.

A close up of the fireplace where we had the fire...

This is the coolest balcony off the room.  It was warm enough to open the doors and go out there for a little while, which was so pleasant!

Finally we have Jimmy just doing a little hanging out in the room.  Can't you imagine him there as a child?  No?  Let me see if I can help you out a little...

How's that?  I KNOW, RIGHT!!!  CUTEST BABY EVER!  Thanks for letting me use that picture :)  And thank you to Jimmy's aunt for having us over for a wonderful holiday lunch!  I love your house!

Moving along...  What did we do the rest of the break?

Phish MSG night 1...

Phish MSG night 2...

Phish MSG night 3...

Phish NYE and MSG...

And my new years dress!!!  Success! And see how I am trying to make my arm look skinny?  Success.

Did I have fun?  Yes.  Am I glad it's over?  No.  What was my favorite song they played?  46 days.  What song got stuck in my head the most?  Quinn the Eskimo.  What was my favorite set?  NYE set 3.  "How were you able to make it through four nights?  Didn't you get tired?"  Yes...  but it was totally worth it!   Am I glad Jimmy took me?  Absolutely.  Thank you so much honey.  I had a wonderful time.

HAPPY 2012 everybody!!!

Let's sell some houses this year!

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Keith Summerour, the perfect glass of wine, my NYE dress...

For those of you who have been reading this blog a while, you know I am slightly obsessed with Keith Summerour.

If you are looking for a laugh you can read this post I write about him 2 years ago titles "Keith Summerour: What makes it a Summerour?"  I think it was maybe my 3rd blog post ever.  Cute Blayne.

I somehow got the nerves to interview him a year later about this house.  It was a wildly popular post.  Read it if you like.

People like Keith's houses because it is modern without being too modern.  It's clean and European and just a tad bit equestrian.  I adore his work, and that is true for Glennis Beacham's new listing at 5549 Long Island Drive. It's lovely and everything a Summerour should be.

The home is beautiful from the approach.  I love the arches (back right), which are so characteristically Summerour.

The heavy wooden doors are very wide (like barn doors), which provides a nice entrance to the home.

This foyer is open and welcoming.

Love this dining room with the wood windows and cathedral ceiling.

The best part about the living room is the curved/trey ceiling.  Oh yea, that fireplace is pretty amazing as well.  Oh heck... I love the floors and the arched hallways as well, so it's all great!

What a great kitchen!  There is so much prep space with the center island, and then you can have people eating at the island closest to us in these pictures.  The wood beams on the ceiling tie the kitchen to the rest of the house and echo the floors nicely.

This is the family room right off the kitchen.  You can see how the wood beams are continued in here, and the oversized windows let you look out to the back (we will see that later).

This hallway leads to the master suite, and is so reflective of Summerour's style with the arched doorways, beamed ceilings and wood doors opening to the front porch.

I like the trey ceiling in the master, and all the windows allow for tons of natural light.  That's also a really cool fan that I am just noticing for the first time!

Look at the archway leading to the master bath!  It's interesting how it's open from the bedroom into the bath, but the shower is off to the side, so it's still private.

Let's head outside!

Not to shabby, eh?

Oh yea, this is the approach to the house.  Amazing, right?  It's like something out of a childhood fantasy.  Once again Keith Summerour=Perfection....  duh.

To see the rest of this dream home, click here.

In other news....  (I'll make this quick... I know you only came for the houses!  ha ha.)

1.

My NYE dress came in, and I couldn't be happier!!  If you don't ignore my horribly messy closet behind me I'll die.  I cropped it as tight as I could.   Now I get to wear this $70 dress that looks much more expensive for the Christmas party and New Years!  Shhh.  Don't tell anyone.  Also, sorry for the confusion in the dress post.  I am FOR SURE going to NYC to see Phish at MSG for NYE (wow!).  I have THE BEST boyfriend ever.  He got us 4 nights FREE at the Four Seasons New York and got us tickets to all four nights of Phish.  He is amazing...  I am a very lucky girl with a REALLY cool dress.

2. 

We finally took our Christmas card picture.  This is usually painful because Ben bitches and mom and I always think we look bad.  This year was a breeze!  My uncle, Rod Collins, took the picture.  He's very talented, especially when it comes to people.  Let me know if you would like him to take a picture for you!

3.

I discovered the perfect glass of wine.  Jimmy and I went to Roswell on Saturday and ate at Salt Factory Pub, which Jimmy claims was the best place he's eaten in Georgia... so there.  This glass of wine is called "Knights Valley" by Beringer.  I went to Beringer when I was in Napa a few years ago and and was really impressed.  I have tried a lot of their wine, but this was the best glass I've had by them.... maybe by anyone.  Do yourself a favor and order a case.  Since I don't know how to talk about wine, I am stealing this from The Wine Enthusiast, "an appealing wine showing likable softness and flashy flavors. The palate brings cassis, mocha, licorice, sweet tobacco, sage, Asian spice and smoky oak; finished long and rich. Notable for its superb structure."  See?  Told ya.

Don't say I never gave you anything! Happy Holidays Kid-Os

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