He has seashells by the seashore

I'm not much into theme decorating.
But if you're going to have a house in the Hamptons, I think it's okay to tip your hat a little bit to where you are. So the master bedroom has a tiny bit of that beach feeling, but (hopefully) not over the top. So I have seashells in a few areas in the room. I'm also an inveterate beachcomber so it allows me a place to put all my seashore finds.
On the two nightstands there's some shells, bits of driftwood, and a piece of coral.

In the open transom over the door I have a row of shells.

On the high wainscoting behind the bed's headboard yet more shells take a perch.

And a few more bits on a shelf in the bathroom.

All in all just a touch of the ocean...but not a tidal wave of 'beachy-beachy'.

Current obsession

I'm a big fan of English composer Ralph Vaugh Williams. So when I saw Steven Spielberg's movie "Warhorse" from a couple of years ago I fell in love with the score. Why? Because film composer John Williams borrowed heavily from the RVW canon (Williams does Williams!)
The British Williams was so able to capture the essence of the English, their stalwart culture, and the beautiful verdant countryside. And so the American Williams does for this film as well. Filmed in Dartmoor and taking place around the turn of the last century, it's the story of a boy and his horse who get separated because of the onset of WWI, but--you guessed it--get reunited by the last reel. It's a little derivative of other Hollywood films of that ilk ("National Velvet", "My Friend Flicka", "The Black Stallion"), but it's filmed so beautifully...and that score! It's the perfect music to listen to while having morning coffee...idyllic, peaceful, and soothing. Check it out.

The "War Horse" soundtrack by John Williams

Just desserts

The only way to finish off a lovely Thanksgiving meal is with a delicious piece of pie.
Now, I'm partial to pumpkin for this holiday's festivities but this year it's all about the Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pie. A video went spectacularly viral a couple of weeks ago when a guy taste tested and reviewed her line of eponymous pies from Walmart. It's a hilarious video that you can see  here.
I had to try one but they've sold out across the country! Happily you can make your own from her original cookbook recipe (find it here ); I did and it's very, very good. The flavors richen and become more layered by the next day. Now that's something to be thankful for!

I made my own Patti Pie and it's as good as it looks. YUM.

Thankful

Without getting into it, 2015 for me was, ahem, a challenging year to say the least.
But one thing I know for sure, I'm very thankful for family, friends...and my little place out at the end of Long Island. It brings me constant joy and peace.
Last Christmas I had a creative brainstorm. What if I created a scale model of the house to put underneath the Christmas tree? Sprinkle it with a little faux snow and it would be a lovely little tableaux...kind of like the tiny villages people put up around the holiday season, only mine would be more personal. When I put up the tree in a few days  I'll show what it looks like.
I loved the way the model turned out. A paper maché likeness that makes me smile every time I look at it. Yes, the dogwood 'tree' in the front is a real tree branch from the front yard, and the cedar shingles on the roof are popsicle sticks.

I thought I'd post some Autumn pics of the house on this Thanksgiving to remind myself how lucky I am for this cute place...and some identical shots of the model from the same angles, just for the heck of it. Enjoy. And I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

Whales of Sag Harbor #3

There's a little curio shoppe on Main Street that sells knickknacks and such, a little country-kitschy. This is a bench that sits in front of the picture window.

A Boat 'n Tote note

Seriously, one of the things I absolutely cannot do without when I make the trek to the house is my worn-in L.L.Bean canvas Boat 'n Tote bag. Actually, I have several of them in different sizes. My everyday go-to is the medium sized one. I favor the dark blue long handles so that I can throw it over my shoulder. I also order it with the zipper top so that if it's full or raining, nothing will fall out or get wet. I use it constantly, not just on weekends. You can see the handles are very worn. After a few years I just wear them out and have to get a new one, but because they're not that expensive it's okay.
I don't have a car right now (long story) so I also use it to walk into town to schlep my groceries. My grocery store did away with plastic bags reverting back to brown paper bags. That's great but you can't carry them six blocks back to your house! So my canvas bag to the rescue. It's easy to carry AND green at the same time.

A few years back I was lucky enough to have a shoot in Maine where the L.L.Bean headquarters is located. It's a HUGE store, several stories. If you ever have the opportunity to go don't pass up the chance. Not only did I get a classic pair of Bean duck boots but I found this too-cute-for-words keychain...a mini Boat 'n tote. It fits right in the side pocket of the big one. Now I never lose my keys, I know just where they are.

To the letter

When I was a kid watching "The Mary Tyler Moore" show every Saturday night, what I loved best was Mary's apartment. Even though on some level I knew it was just a set, I still adored the architectural details...the 'sunken' living room, the floor-to-ceiling Palladian window, the built-in bookshelves under the stepdown, the tiny kitchen with the pull-down Tiffany window. It was all so compact yet chic. And I wanted to live in someplace like that when I grew up. But the thing that caught my eye and that I loved the most? Mary's graphic "M" plaque on her wainscoted gallery wall.
There was something about that M that said this place was hers, it was a interior design statement that spoke to me even as a child.

Mary Richards and her "M" plaque

So it's no wonder that a million years later I'd recreate the same idea in my house. I've got my initials in two places, a "C" in the dining room, and an "RC" in the master bedroom. They are authentic old signage letters from who-knows-where, but they are vintage. I know that using letters like this has become very popular nowadays, some would even say passé, but I did it first so long ago and they harken back to such fond MTM memories that I'll never part with them.

The "C" in my dining room

My initials in the bedroom

Whales of Sag Harbor #2

This was a little sculpture spotted in one of the antique shops on Main Street.

Opening doors

When I bought the house all the doors were those not-so-great hollow core ones, very suburban. I decided i wanted new ones that looked more 'cottage-y'. I searched and searched but couldn't find anything that fit the concept I had in my head. I wanted the kind of doors I thought Lucy and Ricky Ricardo had when they moved to their country house in Westport, CT.
Look at this one from a production still:

The inspiration for my country doors, look behind Ricky

I decided to ask my carpenter, Zeb, if he could make the doors I wanted from scratch..."yeah, no problem" was the answer. I sketched one out and a few weeks later he had made up eight of them for all the rooms and closets. Here's the main hallway which has three positioned close together, the master bedroom (center), a smaller one for the linen closet (left), and the door leading down into the basement (right). They're made of sturdy ship lap and are held together on the back with a strong "Z" shaped bracket. I decided to forgo Lucy's large wrought iron hinges, a bit too country, but did decide to go with that look on the door handles and latches. I love their uniqueness. Now where is Ethel with all those baby chicks?

Master bedroom door, center

Linen closet door on left

Basement door

Dining room chairs: a horror story

A few years ago I decided I really needed some new dining room chairs, but what kind to get? They would need to work with my table, a mission style solid oak piece with a center pedestal.
I was searching and searching and one night on television I spotted just the ones I wanted on "American Horror Story, Season1", in the flashback to the stylish kitchen of the couple played by Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears. They were white in that set.

"American Horror Story, season 1": Zachary Quinto's dining chairs

I liked the bentwood cross back. I had seen this style before and after a little research found out it's a classic bistro chair by furniture designer Michael Thonet. The design has been copied many times and lots of manufacturers make them. I found a set in a medium brown whiskey color that had padded wicker seats to make them more comfortable to sit on. And as if I needed an extra sign that that was the style I needed, I was on a business trip soon thereafter in L.A. and I found myself at the restaurant "The Hungry Cat". There were the Thonet chairs in a gray pickled stain. I was sold.

The Hungry Cat in L.A.

They've turned out to be just right and I really like them. Thank you, Ryan Murphy.

A Sag Harbor walking tour

An old scenic Sag Harbor postcard

There's a ton of history packed into the buildings, homes, waterfront, and environs of little Sag Harbor. Here's a concise pictorial walking tour of some of the best highlights. Click here to begin a trip back in time.

Whales of Sag Harbor #1

This being an old historic whaling village, whales are everywhere you turn...on signs, storefronts, benches, bumper stickers, etc. I'm starting a mini series of photos of all the whales I spot in my travels around town.  The first was a wooden one sitting in a store window on Main street, not sure if it's an antique, it doesn't look it, but a good one to get the ball rolling.