May 19, 2011 - Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

Ann, Betty-Jo, Carol, Kate, Mary, and Pam had a great day in Beacon Hill. We were pleasantly surprised that we did not need our umbrellas! The weather was perfect for walking around the city. Our day started off on a high note when a man at the next parking meter when he realized we were short a few quarters, proceeded to fill our meter for us! Kate was the perfect guide, managing to find short lines all day. We finished with a great lunch at the Hoosic. Favorite idea: a tie between Club Moss and Plant Paintings, both pictured here. Club Moss, a relative of princess pine, was used in many gardens, window boxes, and at the base of planters. Favorite idea: "paintings" made with growing plants that were spectacular. Here's a link to Pam's photos.

Friday, April 30 - Teacups and Tiaras

Well, the Royal Wedding was almost as entertaining as Pam's guests' outfits! The tea and scones, and silver tea service were perfect accompaniments to viewing this momentous occasion. Guests wore various ensembles including formal wear, hats, a fascinator, tiaras, and of course a wedding veil! Favorite idea: fascinator. Click here to see all the photos from the party.

April 20-21 - Stowe, VT - HGTV Dream Home

This was a fabulous trip! Louise, Betty-Jo, and Carol were the travelers, and Pam was our tour guide and chauffeur, giving us plenty of shopping stops along the way. The Stowe Mountain lodge is just a beautiful resort, great surroundings, wonderful food, lovely decor, and really good service. Due to the amount of luggage we brought I think they thought we were staying more than one night (19 bags for 4 people - no exaggeration!) We had cocktails in the bar and later Maryellen met us for a fabulous dinner. We had an impromptu birthday celebration for Pam, but you won't see any evidence of that in the photos...she's shy about her birthday! In the morning we toured the HGTV Dream Home, then we went to the Trapp Family Lodge, and finally one last stop at Maryellen's to see Gary's art before heading home. Favorite idea: Huge birch branches installed around columns. To see more photos from the trip, click here.

Tues April 12 - Cash 4 Gold

Louise, Betty-Jo, Pam, and Carol had a great time selling our broken chains and single earrings! The group took home $4300! Favorite idea: turn unwanted jewelry into cash!

Mon Dec 20 - Cookie Swap

Cookie Swap - Louise, Kate, Pam, Betty-Jo, Joy, Pat, Samantha, and Carol all enjoyed celebrating a little Christmas and coffee with cookies. Although the sugar high was intoxicating, I think next year we should skip the baking and just get together mid-day or afternoon so that we can enjoy a little something in our coffee! Favorite idea: cookies you don't have to bake!

Tues Dec 7, 2010 - Radio City Show

Radio City Christmas Spectacular Show at the Wang - Louise, Pam, Kate, Kate's Mom, Betty-Jo, and Carol had a great time at this classic show. The reindeer costumes were the best! Loved all that tap dancing! Favorite idea - a shot of Godiva Chocolate Liquor or Kahlua in hot cocoa or coffee, topped with whipped cream, of course! Made the show so much better!

South End Flip - Sun, Sept 19 & Tues, Sept 21

The flip is finished and fabulous! Here's a link to before and after photos. This is where you can see photos and a virtual tour. Favorite Idea: Aerobeds for staging!

Thurs. Sept 9, 2010 - Brimfield Antiques Fair

Betty-Jo and Carol had a great day in Brimfield! Weather was perfect for bargain-hunting! There was lots of costume jewelry this year! We checked out Majolica for Pam but only found one booth. Favorite Idea: Bring lunch so you don't have to eat "carnival" type food!

Friday, June 11, Cocktails for a Cause

This was a great evening! Well attended, fabulous food, good company, lots of laughs! Kate's gardens looked spectacular - candles and torches gave a soft glow to it all.

Thursday, May 27 - Sex and the City 2

Everybody put on their cute skirts and high heels to enjoy the opening night of Sex and the City 2. We had friends, our favorite row and slushy cosmos...there's no better way to enjoy a movie!

Thurs, May 20 - Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

We had a fabulous day on Beacon Hill. Our car service, aka Pam, provided beverages and an efficient ride to the city. After a brief stop in the Public Garden for a pinning ceremony to acknowledge our President Carol, we were off to see the gardens. Ann was our guide and did a great job reading the map. The weather was absolutely perfect for a stroll in the city. Lunch at a casual bistro was a hit. Favorite idea - garden mirrors...in the glass of french doors or behind lattice.

Friday, May 7 - HGTV Green Home Tour

Our day in Pinehills was terrific. Carol's friend Bizzie (who lives there) acted as our tour guide and the day truly special. After going through the HGTV Dream Home, we toured a model, and then we got to see Bizzie's house - the most beautiful one of the day! Beautiful decor and furnishings throughout - Bizzie has done a fabulous job of making her home cheerful and welcoming. Then we enjoyed lunch at the clubhouse and finished off the afternoon by touring several neighborhoods and model homes. Favorite idea - outdoor kitchen behind sliding doors.

Fri, Jan 8 Flipping Out in the South End

Kate, Patty, Pam, and Carol ventured into Cazenove Street to look at the property being flipped by Katie and Joe in the South End. The photos say it all! Take a look at all the pics posted by Pam on our share site. http://bookit.shutterfly.com/17
Favorite Idea -
Gut it! Take it all! Leave nothing!

Monday, December 21 Cookie Swap

The Cookie Swap at Carol's was a fantastic success! Everyone went home with over 8 dozen yummy cookies just in time for sharing with friends and family over the holidays! To see pics of the delightful assortment go to our Shutterfly share site http://bookit.shutterfly.com/17 Favorite idea - cookies that don't need to be baked! Like Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls, and Oreo Cookie Balls!

Sat, Dec 12, Easton Holiday House Tour

Kate, Louise, Pam, and Carol enjoyed 4 homes decorated for the holidays by Easton Garden Club. Favorite Idea - mosaic flower arrangement.

Sunday, December 6, Westport, CT

Pam, Louise, and Carol had a fabulous day in Connecticut. This tour was run by the Historical Society, and they had sponsors for each home who paid for or provided the Design and Decor aspects. We began at a Victorian owned by the Westport Woman's Club. The holiday designs were provided by the club's Garden Club. The tabletop designs and Bride's room were highlights. Next we visited a green, sustainable, waterfront home, with collector's cars in it's 5 car garage! The garage was cleaner than my home! Here we found our favorite item from the entire tour. There were dental moldings mounted on the wall in two horizontal rows spaced about 18" apart in a wide hallway, which they used to hold a multitude of family photos. Because the framed photos were merely sitting on the skinny shelf/molding, they could be changed out easily. Genius! The next home was a restored 18th century saltbox with a fabulous pool and cabana. Since we found ourselves on Turkey Hill Road, we decided to stop by to see Martha Stewart. Imagine our disappointment when not only was she not home, but her house didn't have a single holiday decoration! You can see her rusty mailbox with the upside down alarm sign in the photos on our photo share site http://bookit.shutterfly.com/17 (please note they would not allow any inside photos) Then it was a quick stop at Adams Academy and then on to the final home which was unforgettable! This home was adorned with tons of dollhouse which the homeowners have been building and collecting for 37 years! Thank you Pam for driving and taking all the photos! Favorite idea - family photos propped on wall-mounted skinny shelves made of dental molding.

Wed., October 21, North End Culinary Tour

You will notice something different about these photos (there's a link at the end of the post) - it's not raining! Yes, Cheryl, Ann, Pam, Carol, and Pat had great weather for our day in the North End. We met our guide on the corner of Salem and something, and then we had a mini lesson on North End history before proceeding to the various shops and areas of the neighborhood. We toured Maria's Pastry Shop where we sampled 7 or 8 of her specialties, then on to Polcari's where we learned about various seasonings and ingredients, including capers packed in salt, and checked out some real cinnamon (not like the stuff we are used to using). Then it was on to a fabulous deli, where our guide instructed us on canned tomatoes (make sure you get San Marzano DOP), commercial pasta (De Cecco), artisan (Setaro) pasta, olive oils, balsamac vinegar (there's a $4,000 bottle in the store) specialty cheeses, prosciutto, and lots of other cured meats. The samples were to die for! The Rubio ( a type of balsamic vinegar used for seasoning meats and cheeses, not for vinegrette) was amazing. There were lots of lessons outside of shops all over the neighborhood - cheese shop, green grocer, etc. where we learned about the diversity of Italian cuisine. We finished our tour at Cirace's wine shop, where we learned about Italian wines and sampled the store's own Limoncello. Here's a link to our share site where you can see Pam's great pics! http://bookit.shutterfly.com/17 Favorite idea - San Marzano tomatoes and De Cecco pasta - available at our own local stores.

Saturday, October 17, South End House Tour

What a great day we had! Katie, Liz, and Carol saw 6 homes on the South End Historical Society annual South End house tour. For some reason, we were surprised that all the homes felt, well, old, including original (dark) woodwork, original (beat up and refinished) floors, antique furniture and lots of color on the walls, including wallpaper. I don't know why, but we were hoping to see some contemporary renovations, which I'm sure, would have horrified the Society, and of course that's why none of these sorts of homes was included! We also went to a Sotheby's open house in the neighborhood, and had a fabulous lunch at Stephi's on Tremont. Our resident photographer could not attend, and sadly, the only photo we have is of this teeny-tiny sink, which you can't tell from the pic, but really has a diameter of 8", yes, I said 8 inches! Favorite idea - media room right off the kitchen.

Tuesday, October 6, L&T Benefit Bash

What a fun day! Who knew you could get manicures and massages at Lord & Taylor! And free gifts! Kate has a lifetime supply of lipstick, Louise smells heavenly, Pam will be best-dressed, and Carol made a friend in the cosmetics department. We shopped for so long we didn't even have time for lunch! Favorite idea - free massages while shopping!

Friday, September 11, Brimfield Antiques Fair

Brimfield was fabulous! Rainy day prices prevailed for Carol, Kate, Betty-Jo, and Louise. Carol found some windmill roly-poly whisky glasses to add to her otherwise pathetic windmill collection consisting of a few postcards and salt and pepper shakers. Louise found a great antique picnic basket to add to her collection. Kate was the only one to remember typical Bookit weather and bring an umbrella. We enjoyed a sumptious lunch courtesy of Kate and Louise in the car on the way home. Favorite idea - always bring an umbrella!