Boo.

Happy Halloween!

(The ladies of the house really shouldn't be left alone at night. They plot together. The man of the house will wonder what goes on as he's sleeping when he sees this later this morning.)

For a real treat, cruise over to Mrs. Limestone's blog to see what she's done with her newly renovated house her first year decorating for Halloween. Not bad, huh? (The decorating and the house!)

Maggie and I wish everyone a safe & happy Halloween.

Ahoy...We have a winner!

Thank you so much to all 46 of you who left comments on my house tour post! I had so much fun reading your price guesstimates. But, as you know, there can only be one person declared the winner. And that person is....

Drum roll...

Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen!

She guessed $1,333,000 which is quite incredible -- current asking price is $1,335,000! If this was the Price is Right, I think should would have won both Showcases for lobbing a guess that close to the actual retail price. She also added in her comment that, " I am never good with these things." Au, contraire!

I think that's not a terrible price for this house, but there's the ceiling tile issue and who knows what the electrical and plumbing situation may be. Still...a solarium? A studio? Room for attic expansion? I'll be playing the lotto tonight.

I want to share some link love with the remaining folks in the "Top 5 " -

Bo at Blinks ‘N Winks from Brown Eyes - $1,300,000
Bo (keeper of a fabulously named blog!) used a little power of deduction by guessing the two bedrooms would influence the price.

Jersey Girl in D.C. - $1,250,000
As her name suggests, our Jersey Girl knows the NJ market a bit. Be sure to check out her fabulous blog giveaway.

Linda at Lime in the Coconut - $1,249,000.99
Linda also figured that two bedrooms could be a problem. And love the use of .99, by the way. Good strategy!

Maya at Springtree Road - $1,200,000
Also hip to the 2 bedroom, and even added the 1-1/2 bath problem.

A special Honorable Mention to Kari and Kijsa – they went over, but only ever-so-slightly by guessing $1,400,000.

Thank you, everyone! If by chance I screwed up this top five, I'm blaming it on the fact I cracked my head against my desk at work today whilst looking for a crumb I dropped on the floor. Sometimes, my stupidity astounds even me.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I went on yet another fabulous house tour this Sunday in Hoboken, NJ. My favorite wasn't a "home" at all. It was a Yankee.

The Yankee was built 1907 and became a registered historic place after prior owner Jimmy Gallagher restored it.

Artists Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs are the current owners, and use it as their city pied-à-terre when they’re not enjoying and designing at their 65-acre former dairy farm overlooking Cayuga Lake in New York’s Finger Lakes region.

As soon as you hop aboard The Yankee, reminders of her time at sea greet you...

...as does Mister Brown. Who didn't greet, per se, but sure looked awfully content.

Their collection of old steamer trunks was in the same room. I wondered if the lack of closet space makes this collection a bit more practical in nature.

A little historical interlude:

The ship, originally named the Machigonne, was rare because it was luxurious for a day-trip ferry. Throughout its active life, the ferry was berthed in harbors up and down the northeast. In New York, it shuttled people to the Statue of Liberty and new immigrants from Ellis Island to Manhattan. Many immigrants were forced to stay below deck on their route to the New World and got their first sight of New York aboard the ferry, said Richard MacKenzie-Childs. In 1947, she was renamed the Yankee and transported vacationers from Providence to Block Island, before the ferry was retired in the 1980s and became a target of vandals. (The Downtown Express)

The main living space is found in the stern of the boat, where oodles of collections await. Here's their coffee table (To think I only use mine to rest my coffee on!).

Also in the living room, a bookshelf brimming with collectibles.

Even their small but efficient kitchen was brimming with eye candy. And could I love this stove more? (Answer: Nope.)

Their lovely loo, that I managed to get a small shot of...

I'm sorry I couldn't get a picture of their bedroom. It was tiny, but the highlight was the canopy of the bed -- an oil painting the exact size of their mattress (so, laying in bed you'd look up at a framed portrait looking back at you). Brilliant!

Upstairs takes you to the main deck, which we were told is available for private parties. (Note to self!) Look at how fun this space is...You probably can't tell, but there are swings hanging from the ceiling that we were encouraged to take a spin on:

This humongous shell wreath blocked the entry to the restrooms on that level:

And outside on the bow side of that level, is the postcard view of midtown Manhattan.

Not too shabby, huh?

In doing a little more research I found a great video of the place -- click over to Hoboken 411 to check it out. Apparently Victoria and Richard have done open houses where they sell pieces from their line, along with other antiques and collectibles. Sign me up! (Actually...I did sign up. And can't wait to go to one.)

The bloom is off the sunflower.

It is a miserable, rainy day today. I am soaked to my knickers (too much info, I know).

So to cheer me up I'm taking a little trip-down-recent memory lane. The sunflowers that I've talked about ad nauseam are officially gone, and I'd have to deem their (our) debut season a success. When I was hacking the last stalks down the other week, a couple of neighbors paused to pay tribute to my little sunflower patch that was (that's a slightly romanticized interpretation of actual events. But they really did pause to say nice things.).

Let's remember the good times together, shall we?

And here I am with the largest lady in the crop, "Big Bertha," on a seriously unseasonably warm day a couple of weeks ago (can it really be 40 degrees out today?!).

I was going to dry out the seeds for next year, and actually started to. Only to return to little worms and other "miracles of nature" (formerly embedded in the bloom heads) crawling about my counter. Ewww. So I decided to just leave them outside for the creatures to enjoy.

Apparently, I inadvertently opened an all you can eat buffet.

'Til next year, my dear sunflowers.

Back to School House Tour

As Julia says, "Who doesn't love a good house tour?" Well I certainly do, so I'm all in on the latest Hooked on House Tours party she's graciously hosting.

So let's get on with it!

I mentioned the Lambertville (NJ) house tour I went on this past weekend, and I was drawn like a moth to a flame to a schoolhouse built in 1878 that's now home to two sisters and their impressive collection of antiques and curiosities.

"The building is of brick construction with stucco overlay added later. On the exterior a marble sate stone commemorates the opening of the school in 1878. The building was originally topped with a square cupola with a cross gable roof and arched openings on all sides."

Let's step behind the gate, shall we?

The "school grounds" are now lovely gardens and courtyards:

They've created a festive fall arrangement on the steps that have seen the bottoms of many children's feet over the years. (It served as a school until 1961.)

"The school is essentially the same as it was 130 years ago, designed in the Tuscany revival style which Victorians found so fashionable in the mid- to late-19th century. Today as you come through the gate you feel you have entered another world - the courtyard of a European manor house, with old stone walls, brick paving and potted plants. In summer it is overflowing with geraniums and flowering vines."

The new(er) main entrance is just to the right, and when you enter you're greeted by, "the dramatic space." I'll say! It's not every day you look up to see 10 foot tall antique organ pipes and Greek Orthodox sanctuary doors in someone's home.

Here's a view from the landing just behind the pipes (looking down onto the front door)...

On the main floor (to the left and right of the bottom of those stairs) are two incredibly impressive spaces -- the main living room, and a studio space. You have to remember this was a school, and the rooms (formerly classrooms) have amazingly not been divided in any way. There are four classrooms total, measuring 36' by 18' with 12' high ceilings and huge windows. Here's the living room:

"The living room's size is at first astonishing. (Ed. note: Hello. That fireplace is the size of, like, my master bedroom.) The floors throughout the house are dark stained and highly polished, laid on the diagonal as was usual in schools of the period. Large stained glass windows act as curtains and dominate the room. You can just imagine this room transformed into an elegant ballroom with champagne at one end and chairs lining the walls."

The room opposite the living room is a mirror image, and used as a studio/restoration space (the sisters are retired antique dealers). Just outside the studio is a charming solarium that has "throw a party in here" written all over it. This photo is only about one-third of the space:

Head up that grand central staircase, and you'll wind up in the kitchen:

"The Principal's office on the next landing now serves as the dining room, open to the staircase with Palladian windows on three sides. The French Victorian armoire provides ample space for the China collection...One can only speculate what went on in this room but it makes for interesting dinner conversation."

The two upper classrooms are now bedrooms, each with a large (re: ginormous) seating area. Here's one of the bedrooms:

(To be honest, if it were my domain I'd have to pop out those tile ceilings post haste!)

The bedroom across the hall, "is dramatic. Wherever you look there are interesting collections to entertain the mind's eye." (Re: Eyes may pop out of your head. I think one of my companion's actually may have.) My photo doesn't do it justice, but throw in floor to ceiling bookshelves and knick-knacks-a-plenty and you get the picture:

The one full bath is half a flight up from the bedrooms, and is big enough to house a full chaise. The main floor's half bath (way big enough to pop in a tub) had this way cool window treatment -- a flat piece of wood given a bit of a trompe l'oeil treatment:

Not too shabby, huh? Well, here's the deal: This gem is on the market. And that's where the contest comes in...

What's the asking price?

Two large rooms on the main floor, two large bedrooms on the top. (All are 36' x 18'). Solarium, one-and-a-half baths, kitchen and dining room. An unfinished attic that I didn't see. And it's certainly a unique property, also zoned for commercial use.

Leave your best guess as to what the asking price is and the closest price without going over wins. In the event that there is more than one person with the same guess of the house's price, names will be entered in a hat (literally...'cause I've got a lot!) and a random winner will be drawn. The prize? This fabulous scarf from Elite Elishe's Etsy store.

Elite Elishe was a supporter of the Nie Nie Fund, so I was happy to support the cause and the store (by going back to shop for more!). But I only have one neck (phew!) and many scarves, so guess away and this brand new handmade scarf may be yours! I'll keep comments open until noon Eastern on October 29. Cheaters will be wished away to the cornfields. ;-)

Thanks for taking my tour! Head back over to Hooked on Houses for more great tours.

Trick and/or Treat(s)

I added to my little fall vignette this past weekend. This sweet little piece is by a Jersey Shore artist (whose "real" work is stunning -- and totally out of my price range, so I'm happy to have an opportunity to own even a little piece). It's a vintage trick or treat bag scanned, decoupaged, and glittered (it's hard to see in the photo, but there's black and orange glitter in there, too. It's fabulous!). It's also giving me some ideas...I think I feel a crafty project coming on.

I've had some other rather lovely treats in my little bloggy world recently...

I recently met the divine Jean Martha from Renovation Therapy for lunch. I was the winning bidder of this bag of goodness in her recent Nie Nie Benefit Auction and since we both work in Manhattan, we decided to meet for "Asian Fusion" lunch (long story short: she convinced The Fiance to try Indian food by telling him it was Asian Fusion, which sounded much more palatable to his discerning taste buds, apparently. Hysterical.). She is as funny as her blog is, so to meet her was a total treat (I mean...I felt like I practically knew her already!), and getting the big bag busting with auction prizes was the cherry on the cake (the curry on the dal?).

This Tuesday, I met Heidi from Faboolosity and Patricia from PVE Designs for lunch. These two ladies ooze talent; Heidi is a graphic designer who is, well, Faboo, and you've likely seen PVE's absolutely amazing illustrations pop up on other blogs. Patricia and I were winners of these funky (and faboo) lucite rings Mr. Faboolosity designed for a client. All we had to do was suggest a watch for Heidi to buy using her guidelines. I won! (I'm just so good at spending other people's money.) And, since we're all in New York, Heidi suggested a lunch ring exchange. Perfect!

Patricia even came bearing gifts: Lovely tea sachets that she hand decorated, and fancy lotion to get our hands in gear for our new rings.

What did I come with? Excel spreadsheets I was trying to edit on the subway. What an ingrate I am. (I'll bake cookies next time. I promise!)

I also went on a wicked good house tour in Lambertville, NJ, on Sunday. Tomorrow I'll unveil one special home for The Hooked on Houses' Fall House Tour. And while there's no way I'll be able to top my tent tour, I'm adding a contest component. So at least if you hate my tour you'll have the chance to walk away winner. My treat to you. :-)

Front Porch Drive-By

I hit one heck of a house tour on Sunday in Lambertville, NJ. Lambertville is a historic hamlet on the banks of the Delaware River, and when you hear the claim "George Washington slept here," chances are it's true in this town.

Fall is the perfect season for them to host their annual house tour. Autumn is the peak season in Lambertville, as the leaves start to work their magic and put on show for the tourists and day trippers (some of the best shopping I know of is in Lambertville, and in the adjacent town of New Hope, PA, which is a mere footbridge away). Seriously...if you're in this neck of the woods and looking for a day trip or overnighter, head to Lambertville and New Hope over the next few weeks while nature is still doing its thing.

Walking from house to house, I couldn't believe how decked out the porches were. Even the Federal-style homes with the smallest of porches decorated every inch of space:

But some homes with a little more frontage went all out. These folks created an homage to the Pirates of the Caribbean:

And just next door, I was in love with this ghoulish display on the front porch that extended all across the front yard:

But not HALF as amazed as I was when I returned at night to see it like this!

(Sorry for the blurry photos...the blacklights made it tough to shoot.)

Clearly, they love Halloween. Love.

I hope you enjoyed this little porch tour. I'm linking up with the lovely Melissa at The Inspired Room, who's hosting a little Fall Drive By. If you like stalking looking at other homes as much as I do, head over to Melissa's blog home for a look-see at the other houses on her bloggerific barnstorm.