“Foo That”

If, by chance, you have been keeping track of me on Facebook or Instagram, you would most likely have noticed my current obsession with Foo Dogs. Now, this isn’t such a new thing. For as long as I can remember I have been coveting a home where I might be able to set a pair of these iconic beasts.

“Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits”

Well, to make a long story short; Hal and I recently picked up a piece of furniture that had quite a heady space for for something tall. After staring at said space for a tad, I turned to Hal and said “Foo Dogs”. Now, as he is a gem of a human, his technical response was “Whatever”…. which in my head sounded like “You know, you are totally right. You should run out and find the perfect Foo Dogs.”

Of course, this is what I did.

Now, the tricky part of it all is after looking high and low back East, the perfect foos showed up in Southern California while stopping in at Ann Dennis Designs in Costa Mesa. I had originally fallen in love with a different pair Ann had procured, but upon turning a corner and seeing these incredible 21″ tall vintage guys, I knew they had to be mine. My previous experience had shown me that modern versions tended toward the the smaller, less artistic variety. Not really what I was looking for by any means! The sheer fact of their size meant I also found myself shipping them clear across the country one day:

“Now, you’re sure there is enough packing in them right? You put enough ‘fragile’ stickers on them? Right?”

Now, as alls well that ends well, the (recently dubbed) “Frick” and “Frack” are now ensconced in their new home guarding an illustrious library of large, heavy art books.

Mission; Accomplished.

White Not Quite Christmas.

Over the course of the past year or so, there have been very rare occasions when I have even remotely said anything resembling “whatever have we done”.

Rare, that is, until recently when we were set upon by the snow. Quite a bit of it to be sure.

Now, rest assured, it was not the snow itself that was my bain. Nay, dear readers, nay. What caused the most angst in my motion prone life was the fact that for TWO WHOLE DAYS I was unable to leave the house. Yes, that’s right; 48 hours locked inside the house was enough to drive me to cabin fever land.

So, rather than stare at the dogs sleeping for the umpteenth hour, I took myself on a walkabout. In the process, I discovered the beauty of winter all around.

Here We Go ….

Sometimes, magic happens.

A Year? Already?

As hard as it is to believe, it’s been one full year since I (and Hal) began the final stage of “Operation East Coast“!

It wasn’t until I saw the local news talking about the anniversary of Hurricane Irene that it hit me: ” One Year. I’ve been living in Connecticut for one whole year!”.

For those of you who may not see the major-ness of this period, allow me to break it down for you:

In the past 12 months, I have:

• Closed up and moved out of our South Orange County home.
• Driven 3500 miles across country with Hal. In 3 days.
• Moved into a short term rental near Stamford, CT.
• Closed up and moved out of our Palm Springs home.
• Opened the Manhattan office of The Cypress Group.
• Watched the Orange County office of The Cypress Group grow 30%! (perhaps I ought to have left sooner?)
• Moved out of my original CT residence and moved into another home to wait for Hal.
• Cried no less than 6,927,422 times out of fear and anxiety.
• Flown across the county 27 times.
• Cut my hair off. (Depending on whom you speak with, this may actually be the most defining thing I did in 2012.)

For those of you keeping track, that is 4 moves and an approximate 98,000 miles traveled in a 12 month period.

Of course, that is just some of it all and by no means is THE sum of it all. There is no need to mention leaving behind everything I had known for 42 years, or to bring up how rough and tumble my relationship with Hal was at times. That, as they say, is all in the past. We are settling in and enjoying this part of the adventure. When people ask me – and they always do – “Do you miss it?”, the answer is always “I don’t miss the State of California. I miss the people. I miss my friends and the warm comfort of walking into a room and knowing people.”

Hell, at times I even miss knowing where one can get good Mexican food at any point in time!

So, as the Summer of 2012 starts to near its end, I took a moment and thought back over what a year it has indeed been. This, of course (and with every intention of being cheesy) led to just a little bit of California Dreaming.

From Where I Stand… The Wonder of Terrain in #Westport !!

When: July 7th 2012.

Why: Checking out the newest area garden center and home goods shop: The ever so lovely – and recently opened - Terrain. Lots to see… if you don’t happen to live in these parts, you can shop on-line too!

Stuff I Like: A Garden in Spring.

One of the things I have discovered – rather REdiscovered – about my life is a basic admiration for gardening. (you may now stop giggling. Like Shrek, I am a multi-layered onion of a person!) Growing up as a child, the idea of gardening was rather tied in with tedious Saturday Chores, parental white glove inspections and seasonal allergies. Rather not a fond memory that.

However, adult me rather liked creating small gardens that sprung to life and provided fragrant, colorful spaces to sit and enjoy a morning coffee. As my daughters aged, life got in the way as if is prone to. Saturdays became full of activities that left little time for quite nothings. Lord knows our lives in Palm Springs were created to not have gardens to tend.

But to clarify, let me assure you, I am by no means in danger of becoming one of the very talented people who is capable of taking four acres and turning it into a seasonal paradise with themes floral displays. My gardening is really centered around creating smaller settings to throw colorful dinner parties in.

So watch your mail people.. it’s going to be a shame to let all that work go to waste!