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Category Archives: Projects

Inspiration

03 Friday Mar 2017

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Some things from the last week:

*Antique Cast Iron Door Stop in our Etsy Shop.

*Liberty of London Fabric from Purl Soho.  We made covers with Liberty fabric for these inexpensive Ikea feather pillows.  The girls use them to lounge on when reading in bed.

*Detail of Vintage Wooden Sign in our Etsy Shop.

*Large Ironstone Urn in our Etsy Shop, perfect for holding umbrellas.

*View of Asbury Park from the Ocean Grove boardwalk.  We are thinking of those who lost their homes today in an early morning fire.  A heartbreaking loss for our little town.

*Cozy front porch in Ocean Grove.  We are feeling both sad for the loss of some of our town’s historic houses and thankful that no one was hurt today.

*Post Cards to the President.  I send these often, addressed to the White House.  I know he will likely never read them, but I use them as sort of therapy now.

*Lemon, Lemon, Lemon Cake for Josie’s Birthday.  I used a version of this lemon poppyseed cake and this lemon frosting, along with lemon curd from Trader Joe’s. Our backyard hellebores bloomed just in time to use for decoration.

*More Liberty of London.  I have a bit of an addiction.

Stay cozy and have a great weekend!

 

 

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Ocean Grove, NJ

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Brooklyn, Inspiration, Likes, Projects, Uncategorized

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HeckInsta

We have fallen in love with a magic little town on the coast of New Jersey.  Chris and I drove through Ocean Grove one day and were charmed by the tiny square mile of preserved Victorian homes perched close to the shore.  The houses were impossibly detailed and cared for and the town was beautiful, quiet and slow-paced.  The beach in Ocean Grove was voted one of the world’s 15 best by Fodor’s Travel.  A quick stroll on the boardwalk or over two footbridges brought us to newly revitalized Asbury Park.  We joked that we would have to retire there when our kids were grown.

When I learned about the town’s twice annual Giant Flea Market I marked my calendar.  The drive from Brooklyn took me less than 1 1/2 hours and the first time I went to the flea I was hooked.  Wandering around town felt like a dream and each time I visited I liked it even more.  When I returned to the flea this past May I called Chris to tell him I was going to talk to a realtor.  In the whirlwind that followed we ended up looking at 10 houses.  Our plan was to find a house that we could rent when we weren’t using it.  The house we fell for was built in the 1880s and was owned by one family for more than 70 years.   After talking to many incredibly friendly residents we decided Ocean Grove would be the perfect spot to spend time with our girls while they are still young.

The house at 6 1/2 Heck Avenue is calm bright and airy.  It stands fifth in from the beach and has beautiful ocean views.  Many of the home’s original antiques are in use throughout the house.  The town of Ocean Grove was founded by a group of religious leaders as an ocean side retreat in the 1860s.  Our home feels like stepping back into Ocean Grove’s early days when families would escape to the shore away from busy lives.  The home is simple compared to some of its brightly painted neighbors and we love that it retains its original details and quiet beach cottage feel.  Visit our Instagram feed  @oceangrovehouse for more photos.

We are honored to be able to care for the home at 6 1/2 Heck Avenue and excited to share it for 2016 rentals.  Details for the home can be found here.  For rental inquiries and questions please contact Alfredo Fresnedo at (732)-763-2961, alfresnedo@yahoo.com.  We still feel like we discovered a secret hideout every time we visit our home in Ocean Grove.  So many memories have been made in the short time we have owned the house.  We are so happy to share our home with visitors and hope 6 1/2 Heck will be a place for memories of your own.

Fall

20 Tuesday Oct 2015

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239McCoyClose245USAClose240McCoyClose292McCoySide

Good morning,

Two children are snuggled under comforters and one is off to school and I have a few quiet minutes to myself.  Fall is here, or at least it was yesterday.  We spent the weekend in Vermont and I was reminded of how dramatically the seasons roar in further up north.  Today will be back in the 70s in Brooklyn, but the memory of weekend snow and burning red leaves is making us feel like change is coming to us as well.

If you have a free weekend, jump in the car and take a lazy drive up to Vermont to see those leaves.  We stayed near Mount Snow, Southern Vermont for a wedding and had some time to wander through the little maple syrup stands and country stores nearby.  We visited the beautiful Honora Winery for the wedding.  The views at the top of the mountain are worth a four hour drive.  We have Vermonter train ride on our radar for next Vermont visit.

Back home I have fall colors on my mind and garden tasks on my list.  This weekend’s agenda includes tucking new tulip bulbs into the soil, adding layers of compost to a yawning garden and consolidating combs to snuggle bees in for the colder weather.  We will start moving geraniums inside, putting new cuttings into bright vintage pots, and planning which bulbs to force for Thanksgiving and Christmas blooms.  There are lots of vintage pots and finds from Vermont and Western New York in our Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/jeannerondeau

Happy Fall!

Spring Flowers

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Spring is my favorite time of year out in the garden. We are on year two of planning a cutting garden, and the bulbs are a thrill to see this time of year. It makes me really happy to run out back and snip some of our own flowers for the vases around the house. I am especially in love with these little checkered Fritillaria, which I think have gotten bigger flowers this year, and the pretty double Narcissus we planted the year before last.  Here is a list of some of the bulbs we planted.  I am a little unhappy with the colors of the Hyacinths we chose, so I have been cutting most of them and bringing their amazing scent indoors…maybe I need to plant more.  There are lots of buds on the Lilac we put in last year, and our tiny little cherry tree from the Arbor Day Foundation had exactly nine flowers last week.  Let’s hope the bees did their job and we will see some little cherries in the fall.  We are realizing that it takes years to choreograph a garden’s blooms.  I started a Martha-inspired garden journal last year…which I promptly forgot to fill in.  So Chris has started using his phone to record the dates and progress of blooming.  We can look back over the year and plan ahead to fill in any empty spaces.  Meanwhile, I am enjoying our little home-grown bouquets.  We have some newly-listed vintage flower pots and vases in the Etsy store if you need any spots for flowers in your space.

*White McCoy Flower Pot with Attached Saucer, So pretty with planted geraniums on a windowsill!

*Weller Jardiniere Vase, I love the matte green glaze.

*1940s Haeger Bowl, Perfect for cut hyacinth or hydrangea.

*Large Nelson McCoy Butterfly Pitcher, Great for long stems of tulips or sunflowers.

DIY Watercolor Wrapping Paper

25 Tuesday Feb 2014

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I ran upstairs to wrap presents for Josie the other day and realized that although we were well-stocked with holiday paper, we were fresh out of anything appropriate for a birthday.  Dare was napping, so I had a few minutes of quiet to get creative.  This splatter paper took me less than ten minutes to make and I was happy the results.  To make your own Watercolor Wrapping Paper you will need:

*Roll of Blank Paper (We used a roll from Ikea that is for the girls’ easel)

*Watercolor or Acrylic Paints

*Medium-sized Paint Brush

*Water

1. Unroll paper.

2. Mix paint and water until it is the desired color. (The more water you use, the fainter the color will be when dry).

3. Splatter the paint on to the paper with the brush.  Change water and wash brush between color changes to keep paint from looking muddy.

4. Allow paint to dry.

5. Wrap!  Seam binding is my favorite gift-wrapping ribbon.Splatter3Splatter4Splatter6

Oxalis and McCoy

20 Thursday Feb 2014

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Oxalis

The garden shops are starting to get Oxalis in their windows, which means spring is not too far away!  We picked up a new plant for the girls room at Sprout Home last weekend.  (Last year’s met a tragic end which involved a lot of vacuuming).  I love Oxalis for their pretty heart-shaped petals which open to meet the sun and then fold back up at night.  My favorite spots to put little houseplants are in vintage McCoy pots.  There are lots of pretty McCoy options here on Etsy.  We plant into the pots in the winter and then put a collection out on the windowsill in the spring.  A little bit of green in a bright vintage flower pot is always a perfect gift in my book.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

14 Friday Feb 2014

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Hearts Hearts1
The sun is out, the snow has stopped and it is Valentine’s Day! Ada was beyond excited this morning. She insisted I make her toast into a heart shape and paint her nails pink before she went out the door. Today is also her 100th day of kindergarten and the kids are having a double Valentine and 100 party at school.  I filled her snack container with some secret heart cutouts to surprise her at lunch time.  This sweet little glass container is by Wean Green.  (Thanks Aunt Laurel!) We are looking forward to a full moon, chocolate and a long weekend.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Winter Blooms

13 Thursday Feb 2014

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Amaryllis
Our amaryllis has just burst into bright red blooms.  The red is a nice contrast with the white snow falling outside and is just in time for tomorrow’s Valentine celebration.  These dramatic flowers never cease to impress around here.  Amaryllis start as a dried brown bulb and in a matter of weeks shoot up three-foot stalks and throw open huge flowers.  We dropped one off in Ada’s class this week and plan to have the kids make pencil and watercolor nature studies once their amaryllis is in bloom.  Ada did a similar project with paperwhites  last year.  White Flower Farm is a good source for a variety of forced bulbs.   Amaryllis2

DIY Knit Cashmere Hoodie

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by in Brooklyn, Likes, Projects, Shop

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Chris has been begging me to knit him a sweater for years now. I am sure I will get to his sweater one of these days, but there are so many sweet knitting patterns for children to get through while our kids are still small…This is one of my favorites:  The Lyalya Hoodie ABC Pattern.  The pattern comes with directions for ages six months-adult.  I knitted this one up in Brooklyn General Store’s cashmere.  I splurge on this amazing yarn once in a while and it is the softest, most beautiful yarn I have ever knit.  (Even the letter-pressesd label is gorgeous).  I made Ada a couple of hats made from the yarn and they still look beautiful after years of use.  Lyalya’s pattern knits up quickly and it is fun to watch the ribs build as you go.  The result is a snuggly hat that does not require tying on to a wiggly three-year-old.  The cashmere is so soft that scratchy-hat whining is completely avoided.

DIY Heart Stencil Valentine

29 Wednesday Jan 2014

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StencilHeartsOverlap StencilFlowers2 StencilHeartEnvelopes

These Heart Stencil Valentines are simple to make and require only simple supplies to complete.  To make your own you will need:

*Card Stock

*Scissors

*Crayons

*Envelopes (Optional)

1. Fold a piece of card stock in half.

2. Draw half a heart along the crease and cut out.

3. Unfold and you will have a symmetrical heart stencil.  Repeat steps 1-3 to make different size heart stencils.

4. Place stencil on top of blank card, hold firmly in place and rub crayon over the opening, completely filling in the heart shape.

5. Remove stencil and repeat.

6. We overlapped various size heart stencils and colored them in with different crayons to create a pretty pattern on the first card.  We drew stems and leaves under heart shapes to make a garden of flowers on the second card.

XOXO

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