STYLE, SOPHISTICATION

Cards on the table, I have ALWAYS had the major hots for David Gandy!

Always. I have not seen many men that can wear what he can, even if it's a suit or tux, and make it look and feel comfortable and like it's effortless. Whether he's wearing an immaculate three piece suit, jeans and tee , a tiny speedo, or nothing...and his uncut weapon is lovely...it's clear that for the world's leading male model...he is just ridiculously good looking and oozes sex appeal. Gandy is that rare breed of talent who used his gifts to not only legitimized the idea of the "male model" but who also played a significant part in altering the way men in general view fashion and dressing up themselves to be more fashionable. He was the world's foremost male model at one time, may even be the world's first male supermodel, and is still said to be "one of the most handsome men on Earth" Sit on that George Clooney. I know I would. So I was beyond tickled to come across this home tour of his house in southwest London, where he now lives with his family. It's as sleek, moody, and handsome as he is. And after years of living as a bachelor, the house still keeps some elements of that. I mean when he opened those garage doors to reveal the vintage car? As it he is not already sexy enough and then the accent and then the car too? I think he and I need to hit the Amalfi Coast wearing nothing but a small pair of speedos.

But that is here nor there...the House...

Anyone else need a stiff one?

SIZE QUEEN

When I was little and later in grade school, I was a size queen. Everything had to be bigger and better. Especially when it came to two things, homes and man meat!!! I was always drawn to larger homes and mansions, and I thought, one day, I'm going to have a huge, larger home or mansion, or marry very well. Over the years, with many family members and friends, I have listened and learned to what they say and can at times see their true feelings on living in large homes. As I got older and grew up, my stance changed. Now currently I have no desire to own a home, let alone a larger one.  While on vacation several years ago in the Catskills, we visited a friend who had one of those small houses, and I saw first-hand for the first time what they looked like and was quite shocked by the style. I might reconsider owning a home now. Like other types of design and technology, the design and planning, the longer they are around, are getting fine-tuned and very smartly planned and filled with amenities. My friend loves his small house, the downing sizing of "stuff" and the feeling you can up and go much faster.  Some people decide to start living small once they find there are many advantages to downsizing. A smaller home means smaller bills and a smaller set of responsibilities. That's great for me. I refuse to be a slave for a home. I also feel as I got toward middle age, I am definitely becoming more of a minimalist.

Some people decide to start living small once they find that there are many advantages to downsizing. A smaller home means smaller bills and a smaller set of responsibilities. People buy larger homes for a number of reasons. They outgrow their smaller home, receive a promotion at work, are convinced by a realtor that they can afford it, or to simply show off and impress others. The mantra of the culture again comes calling, "buy as much and as big as possible." They believe the lie and choose to buy a large home only because that's what you are supposed to do these days. I 'll never understand it. Since being back at the ancestral home, we have two floors. Four bedrooms, two baths and a half, and a finished basement with a family room, mud room, laundry room, and a games room with pool table. Our place is by no means giant, but we still don't use half the house. And the dining room gets used if lucky, 8 times a year or less. Many people I know with huge homes or estates, or have seen in videos, admit to never using half the house. Then why waste the money??? Then, when they do have a huge house, a lot of it sits empty because then they can't afford to have the house styled properly. To me, especially since apartment living, I'd rather have a small, charming space, and decorate it the way I want, filled with things I love. So, if I ever were to own a home, I am seriously considering a small house. The one featured today, is SOOOO me. Especially that kitchen and bath.

 Some advantages to small home living. Smaller homes are easier to maintain, you spend less time decluttering, smaller homes are less expensive in taxes, heating and cooling.  Living small means, you go into less debt. It's mentally freeing. Smaller homes have a smaller environmental impact of the environment, and you just might be able to have a home in any location, where you might not be able to normally afford a larger home. You free up more time to do other things, with less house and less land. Smaller home also lessen the temptation to accumulate more. Smaller home are in a wider market to sell. By its very definition, a smaller more affordable house is affordable to a larger percentage of the population, then a more expensive one.

I have seriously thought of getting a small house and place it in the Pocono Mountains and use it as a summer house and get the feel of it, see how it goes and feels. If all goes well, then I could move in permanently. Or have the whole house relocated to a beach locale. Either way I love these smaller homes. Luckily for this size queen, my love for large cock never wavered though.

"THE KITCHEN"

After three emails asking how the kitchen remodel I did ended up, I had never got around to posting the pictures. I usually like to keep my worked related things off the blog for escape, but here they are. "The Kitchen" as it is called, was a free-lance project I did in the middle of the pandemic and one of the longest projects I ever did. From design time, consolations, personal time shopping, the install, to the final touches, took about 10 months. My friends who asked me to do the project asked me to do it since I wasn't working...and quite frankly I was tickled and honored they asked. I knew their style. but had no clue just how much they planned to spend, or how much time this would take. The house when they bought it had the kitchen already stripped down to bare walls, because the previous owners had planned to remodel, but then lost their jobs in the pandemic, and had to sell their home, so it did save some money for my friends from gutting the kitchen and gave me a clean slate. The cabinets all ended up being all custom made from a place I knew of in NJ from River Wood Craft, which saved much time in the pandemic since they were local. I also had my contractor to do the install and also had him for consultation on any structural issues. See, I can get very clueless sometimes like Joan Crawford..." Knock out that BITCH of a bearing wall, and put a window where a window OUGHT TO BE!" This was the biggest kitchen project I ever did and thought it turned out rather very nice...even though it tested my patience at times.

The floors went in first, followed by the lower cabinets and island.

The kitchen stove went in , a La Cornue, a small fortune you ask me. But Darrin is a HUGE cook, and a good stove was important to him. In the planning when they mentioned that was the stove they wanted, I knew then price would be no object.

The one small pantry got gutted and became a wet bar, and wine frig before entering the dinning room.

Most of the metro tile work and the few upper cabinets were installed. They have such lovely ceramics, pottery collections and dinnerware and such, we though it a same to hide it all in cabinets, and they didn't want a typical kitchen. The one stimulation for me was to try and eliminate upper cabinets. My contractor and I came up with long linear shelves with brackets to run the length of one wall where the window is and run them right past the windows and have them meet the one custom made curio cabinet. It also helped to save money for other things they wanted. Like the Sub Zero frig and the Viking range microwave. The island even had their dog bowls built in. 

Then the fun part of decorating and accessorizing with what they had and infuse with some new things.

There was also a closet for brooms, cleaning supplies and such, that I talked them into gutting out and turning the closest into a bookshelf for all of Darrin's cookbooks, eliminating the need for an actual bookshelf to add into the kitchen. And he has some serious cookbooks.

I was both sad and relived when the project was done, and won't mention the final price tag of the project, but I sure can't complain with my commission of it. It got all banked while I was on unemployment, and by then, by a month, started working for the Dame in his floral shop as his shop assistant. The boys were over the moon when they got home from a trip to the finished kitchen. Of course, the joke ended up on me. As they were so impressed, they asked me to do their dining room next! Soooo.... while I was working in Harrisburg during the week, I spent weekends at my place planning and working before moving from Bucks County on their dining room. It only took a little over a month. But what a difference! And talk about timing...I finished that project and timed my moved perfectly. 

 And friends wondered why I was always so tired.

MOOD BOARD

 

I swear, I see some things never change. Where do these weekends go so damn fast?!?! This weekend was a crisp one. One last outdoor clean up and winterizing of the roses followed by a trip to the market and some antiquing, and getting a few of the gifts, the very few, that I need to get. Sunday was spent working outdoors decorating with natural pines, and wreaths, on the three doors, and filling the pots and a few windows boxes with pine and winterberry branches, and pinecones. Turned out rather nice. I love nice natural elements to decorate with. Next week will be the inside. I'll be up and out early, and on my way to NYC for a two-day excursion before this post. Meeting some of the clan, and an ex-co-worker for my yearly trip to see some windows and take in the atmosphere of the city. Some of the trip is also work related, but I'm sure the clan has some fun lined up for me in the village. I'll return sometime mid-week kids!!!

MOOD BOARD

 

Can you believe that we have only 33 days left of this year??? Where does the time ago? It's back to work this week, after a nice three-day weekend. After all the family left late Friday, I had scheduled myself a day of pamper Saturday...started with a haircut, then went in for a full body massage, a body wrap, facial, a manicure and pedicure...the works girls!!! Heavens knows, since the pandemic, I haven't been into a day of pamper, since. I was beginning to look like Scarlet O Hara, who was working on the plantation, to keep Tara from foreclosing. Well, she is all gleaming again!!!! Nothing worse than when your men, notice you have the skin and hands of a fieldhand. I'm much far too relaxed going into work today. Wait. I hate Mondays, did I just say that. Enjoy the day kids. Have a coffee, and enjoy the day Later tonight we have the announcement of the winner of the Freaking Green Elf Shorts!!!