The Belfry Inne- Cape Cod

When I read about the Belfry Inne of Sandwich, Massachusetts in Yankee Magazine in 2012 I knew I just had to stay there at some point in my life. So it went on the secret bucket list.

This Summer, I found out that Susan Branch was doing a book signing at the Sandwich Town Hall this August. I immediately booked rooms at the Belfry for my sister and myself.

Here's what Yankee Magazine said about the Belfry Inne:

BEST NEO-VICTORIAN B&B
Belfry Inne & Bistro, Sandwich
A restored Victorian manse and a pleasingly formal Federal-era house are part of this bustling B&B complex, but the most dramatic rooms are found in “the Abbey,” a converted Catholic church on the edge of Sandwich village. A few even have stained-glass windows depicting archangels Michael and Gabriel, and most have church-pew beds. The bistro occupies the Abbey’s ground level. Rates: from $179, including full breakfast. 8 Jarves St. 800-844-4542, 508-888-8550; belfryinn.com

After reading that description you want to go now too, don't you? I must say it did not disappoint.

The patio outside the bistro was lovely and perfect for a relaxing lunch. We had breakfast each morning in the converted church. (It was included). We actually stayed in the Painted Lady as the Abbey rooms were more pricey.

Another view of the pretty patio. I snapped a few shots before they opened for the day.

The flowers were plentiful and huge! I noticed this all over the Town of Sandwich, flowers everywhere.

Tricia, the desk clerk and breakfast server, was kind enough to show us rooms in the Abbey. This is the Tuesday room, one of the most requested rooms in the Inne.

The bathrooms were modern and spa-like.   One of them actually had a spa in it!

Here's an overview of the bar and restaurant. The beams are still intact and spectacular.

I'm not sure if this was the choir loft or not. As you can see, the Inne is the perfect blend of old world charm and modern amenities.

All the rooms we saw had the most fantastic stained glass windows. I loved the colors used in each room as well.

How relaxing would a soak in this tub be? I could use this at the condo after a hard day at work.

The room decor was tasteful and lovingly furnished. I can attest that the beds were extremely comfortable.

Some rooms had balconies and patios. Fireplaces were in many of the rooms too. Wouldn't that be nice in the Fall?

Another shot of the many details from the original church which was built in 1901.

Here's the Painted Lady, this is where we stayed. Come back for my next post and I will have a little show and tell about it.

I need to apologize for my unintended blogging break. My computer crashed a few weeks ago so no blogging for me. I just got it fixed and I have lots to blog about so I hope you will come back to read about my end of Summer activities.

Breakfast with the koalas

I can cross one more item off my Summer Bucket list. Today I went with my sister for Breakfast with the Koalas at the Stone Zoo. The koalas are only in town for the Summer.

When I saw the event listed online I hesitated before signing up. I thought it was probably a kid's event. I am glad I took the chance.

We had a continental breakfast with bagels, muffins and donuts and fruit plus OJ, water and coffee.

Then we learned about the two koalas on loan from the San Diego Zoo, Meet Milo and Thackory, the traveling koalas. They get along with each other when they are enjoying the fresh air outside but they have to be separated when they are inside the Zoo. They might fight. So they each have their own space.

Nancy, an employee at Zoo New England, told us that koala bears sleep up to 20 hours a day and their diet consists of one thing, eucalyptus leaves.

My sister made a koala bear out of her breakfast. She is never off duty as an artist!

And I got crafty too. I joined the kids in making a koala mask. I have no idea why this photo has stripes. I assure you I did not put stripes on my koala.

We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast at the Zoo. And I overheard that there is going to be a reindeer breakfast later in the year!

My Royal Baby

Percy says that Prince George's got nothin' on me!

Coffee with Cafe Chatelaine

My morning routine is the same weekday or weekend. Wake up, feed the kitties, then breakfast at my coffee table in the living room.  When you live alone you can be a little unorthodox with where you eat, what time you eat and what you eat.

Yesterday's breakfast was lemon pound cake and a cup of black coffee. Every morning is different depending on plans for the day.

This is my latest obsession, the Starbucks Verismo. Bright, shiny and cinnamon in color. My sister calls it my new toy. I love having so many choices for coffee in the morning. It's fun to make lattes at home.

And I bought some syrups and mocha powder so I can get creative with my homebrewing.

Oh, another part of my morning routine is to take a photo of my coffee and post it on Instagram and Facebook. It has become my signature.

Of course, Percy photobombed this shot. He's such an attention hogger.

Different mugs and roasts of coffee are photographed and sent to my friends list. This mug has a lid that doubles as a coaster. It was a gift from my friend Jan, a former coworker.

And this extra large cup was a purchase at an after Christmas sale at Pottery Barn. It doubles as a soup bowl in wintertime.

Sometimes I look through magazines during breakfast or I watch the morning shows. This cool cup is from Pier One. And the scratches are courtesy of the kitties. They have done quite a number on the table. Luckily, it had a rustic, distressed look to begin with.

Flowers from the farmers market pretty up the table. The cup is another after Christmas purchase. This time from Starbucks. I do love my after Christmas shopping.

This morning's latte was made with Guatemalan Espresso. Delish!

 

Molly thinks she might like to try a sip. Sadly, she was not successful in any of her attempts.

Today's shot was a little more involved. Kashi blueberry cereal, milk in a cat pitcher and my favorite birdie mug. It is obvious I like lidded mugs.

Oscar wanted to get in on the black and white theme I had going. Do you like the bowl? It's from French Garden House. The birdie mug is from QVC.

Earlier in the week Molly was unsuccessful in getting a sip of coffee but today she took the aggressive approach.  She dove head first into the milk pitcher.

Percy also wanted at the milk but he settled for posing behind it. After all, the kitty on the pitcher is the spitting image of him.

If you want to be sure to see my coffee images each morning, you can follow me on Instagram or friend me on Facebook.

Yellow Chair Market

Last year my sister bought this table off Craigslist. The seller did not have a store so my sister picked the table up at the woman's home in Melrose. Since I went to the house with my sister I got to see all the cool stuff in the home.

The seller, Amy, has a business called Yellow Chair Market and she describes herself as a picker. She is an architect by day.  She repurposes and refinishes items and turns them into beautiful pieces of furniture and home décor.

I bought a coffee table from her that I absolutely love. It's a trunk that Amy painted in a harlequin pattern and she added small industrial wheels on the bottom. It is a great addition to my living room.

  We recently learned that Amy and her family are leaving New England and moving to North Carolina. This is sad news. I could always look at her website and just pick up the items in the next town from me.

Recently, my sister called Amy to put aside this cool crate turned table for her. A vintage crate atop sewing machine table legs. It is really unique.

Amy's husband and little daughter delivered it to my home since they were dropping off some benches to me. Percy appreciated Amy's talent.

Amy had a yard sale last weekend. Of course, I went to it but I was very late. So I missed most of the good stuff. She had more in the house so she let me see it. I spied two bench/bookcases on her porch and asked if she was selling them. They looked a bit like some benches I was eyeing in the Pottery Barn catalog. She agreed to sell them to me for $20. a bench.

They make a perfect windowseat in the dining room. Oscar took to it immediately.  I love the storage underneath.

 Amy included other things with the benches. Three wicker baskets, three boxes, a wire basket, and a pillow. These benches are so much nicer than Pottery Barn's and Pottery Barn benches are $349 a bench.

Percy had to try it out too. I put his blanket on the bench because he tends to scratch anything that is wood.

 

I think I'll put the second bench downstairs in my office. I can use some storage for my work supplies. Decorating my home office has been a project on the back burner for a year. It's time to stop procrastinating.

 

If you want to check out Yellow Chair Market click the link here

Money well spent

My friend Jeanne was having a garage/yard sale this weekend.  I was trying to gather some items to sell as well but I never got my act together. I set up a table at her sale but quickly realized I had just a few small items to sell and I would rather be shopping the sale then standing behind my table. I made $1.25.

This garage is on her investment property. It has a tin roof.  Jeanne's husband thinks it is a fire trap but Jeanne and I love it.

 

You have to admit, it is really cool. Jeanne and I have the same decorating style so I knew I would end up buying a lot at her sale.

 

 

When I spied this beauty in the garage I knew I wanted her. I wasn't thrilled with the hot pink velvet cushions or the black trim. It is dramatic but not my colors. The more I looked at her the more I began to talk myself out of it. I walked away. Then I came back and I sat on her. Very comfortable by the way. She also was the perfect size for my small rooms.

 

 

I looked at her from every angle. She was in good condition. I liked her contrasting fabric too.

 

 

Well, she was kind of lonely sitting at the front of the driveway and then Jeanne said she would give me the friend's discount. She said, "$30.00". I said, "Sold!".

Her son loaded her into the truck, drove her to my house and brought her in for me. Such service!

Now I'm thinking she may go in the office. Originally I was thinking the living room but now I think she would be better in the office. The office is a work in progress. It needs to be cleared out as it is currently a storage space in my basement. A heated, air conditioned storage space. What a waste of a room! I have procrastinated cleaning out the office for an entire year, shame on me!

I think the prospect of decorating the office has given me a reason to clean up the space. Stay tuned!

Wimbledon Breakfast- An annual affair

Every year I host a Wimbledon breakfast for my friends and family. We start at 10 AM and we have coffee and tea, crackers, cheese, and fruit, scones, frittata, and dessert. Occasionally, the menu varies.

I always have my favorite trophy filled with purple and green flowers. This serves as the centerpiece on the dining room table.  Pondview Florist did a great job with the flowers. I picked up the flowers the day before and placed it on the mantel so the kitties couldn't get at it. Percy of course, was able to jump up and take a nibble so I moved it to atop of the china cabinet. He gave up.

Here is a closer look at the centerpiece. I love it. It looks so elegant and I love the little tendrils of ivy.

We started with a fruit plate and lemonade with mint. When I went to the cheese shop in Winchester, a woman offered me a taste of stilton cheese with mango and ginger. It was so delicious I bought some for the party. We also had Wensleydale cranberry cheese and brie plus crackers and red grapes.

For tea, I went with a Lady Grey followed by Harney's Earl Grey Supreme loose tea. It was very nice. The Harrod's teapot always makes an appearance at the Wimbledon breakfast.

Here's an aerial view of the table. I took all of the photos with my phone. It's so much easier than lugging out the big camera.

My sister made a cold cucumber and dill soup. It was nice and refreshing for a hot and humid day. I got to use my pretty soup tureen.

Mary made plain scones. They were still warm from the oven, heavenly! I prefer plain scones so I can....

..do this to them. My sister made the mock Devonshire cream. I had the cream and strawberry preserves on one half and cream and lemon curd on the other half.  So good!

Mary also made a frittata of bacon and baked potatoes. It was surprisingly light. Mary bakes the potatoes first then shreds them before adding them to the frittata. Did you know my friend Mary is a TV star? She debuted on local cable in Wilmington around Easter time. She made her famous Easter bread on the big screen.

Now for the desserts, Debbi brought a cinnamon coffeecake from Kane's Donuts in Saugus.  It was too die for. I got the leftovers and believe me, it is decadent.

The cupcakes pictured above were from Cupcake City in Reading. They make the best cupcakes bar none and I am a connoisseur. I am partial to the signature chocolate but I also served the lemon curd and strawberry flavors. They are all spectacular.

Mini fruit tarts were also on the menu. They came from Roche Brothers because I like them the best.

I was prepared to make some tea sandwiches as well but we had so much food it wasn't necessary.

So there you have it, another Wimbledon breakfast put to rest. The tennis was great and the food and company was even better!