The Painted Lady of Sandwich

In the last post, I mentioned I would tell you about the Painted Lady, one of three buildings that comprise the Belfry Inne property.

We stayed at the Painted Lady and we were not disappointed.  This was my room.

I woke up in a light filled gorgeous room to a glorious morning. I loved my little stained glass window. The Abbey was not the only building with wonderful stained glass windows.

I actually booked this room because of two features. One was a stained glass window, the second was because of the private patio.

The outside is so appealing if I were driving by I would have to make note of the place.

The flowers were colorful and plentiful. I could not stop taking photos of them.

Were the flowers carefully chosen to match the colors of  the Inne? Perhaps.

This is the path outside my patio. Charming, just charming. Made me want to just stay in my room and watch the bees and the flowers.

The bath towels were folded like fans. I took this photo for reference in case I want to try it at home.

I got to read my new book on the patio and I liked to spend my mornings out there too. The book is A Fine Romance by Susan Branch and we went to her book signing at the Sandwich Town Hall. I will tell you all about it in the next post.

Speaking of mornings, this was my breakfast on the second day. I think this looks like the Sydney Opera House don't you? We got to eat breakfast in the Abbey, the converted church. I would rate the food A+ and so was the service and the ambience.

Back to the Painted Lady, yes there really were bats in the Belfry Inne. This was painted on the walls of the tower. Such a cute sitting area.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual stay at the Belfry Inne. Next, I will take you to the Susan Branch book signing.

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