An update on the house hunt…

Both me and Mr. D agree on our #1 choice, the Shaker-style Farmhouse. It was treated poorly by its last owners and needs a lot of freshening up, but we see the potential in it. It was the right price and in the perfect location. We made an offer and all last week we worked on negotiating a deal. The shame in this story is that we lost the house.

What’s even worse than losing the house you’ve mentally moved-in to? It’s the fact that Mr. D and I do not agree on the runner-up properties that we have selected. The idea was if we don’t get the deal hashed out on property #1, we’ll make offers on #2 and #3. I like the house with three gables as my number two choice.

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Last weekend Mr. D and I ventured off to “the country” in search of a house. It’s our intention to purchase something to live in full time until he finds work in New York City. I thought I’d share a sampling of the houses we toured over Halloween weekend.

The landscape is so serene. You’d never imagine that the hustle and bustle of New York City was only 90 minutes away.

The house above was complete country cottage perfection. You’d die if you saw how really, truly delightful it was. It had amazing 200 year old beams in the ceiling. There were beautiful grounds surrounding the property. It even had a guesthouse! The downside is that Mr. D had to bend over to fit through the doorways. When walking from the master into the living room he cracked his head on the door jam. As wonderful as it is, we can’t live like this - can we?

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From early October through April, there is almost always a pot of chicken soup in my fridge. I always start it the same way, with a mirepoix of celery, carrot and onion. The recipe varies dependent upon what veggies and which shape noodles I add into the mix. Sometimes I prepare it without the tomato sauce. This is an incredibly flexible recipe. Sometimes I just call it my “Everything but the kitchen sink chicken soup!”

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Get out your biggest soup pot, your cutting board and all the vegetables in the fridge. I use one large onion, one half a stalk of celery (chopped up it equals about 1 cup) and an equal amount of chopped carrots.

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It is my very, VERY favorite time of year. Strange, I am always bursting with excitement in the Fall. The promise of new beginnings, I suppose.

St. John the Divine Procession of Ghouls

Each Halloween, I look forward to my very favorite “spooky” activity. On the Friday night before Halloween, it is our tradition to attend the silent movie and Procession of Ghouls at St. John the Divine. Setting the tone for our newly re-vamped Lemons to Lemonade plan, Mr. D and I will be in New York City next week. I have already purchased our tickets ~Hooray!

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The ABCD Design 2nd Blog-i-versary is celebration is coming to an end. So are your chances to win a Hip Hostess apron with a set of matching tea towels! Pop by ABCD Design and leave a comment before midnight Wednesday. Good luck!

Over last weekend we celebrated Mr. D’s birthday. Last year, I ordered him the Coconut Cake from the Peninsula Grill in Charleston. Talk about a delectable cake!

This year, I wasn’t feeling the hefty price tag that goes along with the Coconut Cake but felt that I really had to “knock it out of the ballpark” if I was going to live up to his birthday cake memories from when we celebrated 34. I dug far back into my childhood memories banks - I remember my mom making this cake when I was a kid but it doesn’t seem to be written down anywhere! - and recreated a recipe from what I remembered. Three words for you = A.HUGE.HIT

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As you know by now, ABCD Design (the blog) turns two on Thursday, October 7. You also know that in the week leading up to my blog-i-versary, we’ve been running an ABCD Designs Bespoke Stationery giveaway over at the Pretty Lovely Things blog. The giveaway ends at midnight, so be sure to pop by THIS POST and THIS POST to leave your request for Bespoke Stationery. Don’t forget to tell us how you plan to use it if you win! Would you pick Holiday Cards? Personal Stationery? Thank You Notes??

As you see above, ABCD Designs’ motto refers to me (ABCD) as “a maximalist of sorts” which means I am going to take this 2nd Blog-i-versary celebration to the MAX! Do you know what that means?

I am giving away ANOTHER PRIZE! Since we’ve already given away paper goods, I have decided to turn the tables and give away something I would be delighted to decorate my home with. If you did not win the personal stationery set of 100 bespoke cards and matching envelopes at Pretty Lovely Things, stay tuned tomorrow ABCD Design for the plum pretty details. Plum Pretty … ring a bell -?- winkwink!

ABCD Design is celebrating it’s SECOND Blog-i-versary on October 7th! I wanted to celebrate in a really big way as a thank you to all my lovely readers. When it comes to birthdays and anniversaries, what would you say is the best part? Yep, you got it. The presents! I figure when push comes to shove - what’s a blog-i-versary without prizes? I am super excited about the first ABCD Design gift because it is…

Since I design stationery for weddings, new babies and other big social events, I figured this milestone in life should be marked with a Bespoke Stationery giveaway! The winner will receive a completely bespoke personal stationery design by (yours truly) ABC Dragoo.

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For those of you who don’t read ABCD Design on a daily basis, I thought I’d give you a little {Lemons to Lemonade} update. As you know, Mr. D lost his job with a London based financial firm at the end of May. Since nothing was exactly keeping us in the City during the month of August, we gave up our furnished rental apartment on July 31 and have been spending our time visiting our families in Knoxville and Detroit. Thank heavens, the job market is picking up and he has been getting interest from potential employers. One week ago last Saturday, we flew back to NYC after nearly 50 days away from the City. We packed our agenda with important work meetings and dinners out with our friends.

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It is a crazy feeling to be a “guest” in the town you consider your home. Over the weekend, we stayed at 60 Thompson. Great location and the common areas were beautiful! But I have to say … for such a nice hotel, our actual room was remarkably un-remarkable. We then moved up to Midtown and stayed at the Sheraton. For this portion of the trip we cashed in on our American Express points. When Mr. D and I got engaged, we enrolled with a Starwood American Express Card and paid for almost our entire apartment renovation with it. Since then, we have had endless amounts of “free” hotel nights which have come in handy when we want to get away for a long weekend, or in this instance visit NYC while he is interviewing! Seriously, it is one of the smartest things we’ve done as a couple. By the time our wedding anniversary rolls around each year we have at least 5 “free” nights - and we plan a “free” trip. Year one was a stay at the St. Regis Hotel in Rome and year two was ski-in, ski-out at the Westin on Whistler Mountain. Nice, no?

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As the autumnal equinox approaches, I always love to usher it in by making homemade applesauce.

A perfect mix - half a peck - Macintosh and Gala. There is no need for extra sugar. These apples are naturally as sweet and delightful as they can be!

Quarter the apples. Take out the seeds. Place in a soup pot with about 1 inch of water. Add just enough H2O so that they don’t burn to the bottom. (They’ll excrete a ton of water themselves, so don’t worry!)

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