2014 Gift Guide

A little FFC411 gift guide for anyone panicking! Ho Ho Ho!

For your favorite ladies - everyone loves a pretty desk calendar, and with the great gift box and gold stand this one is my go to!

Lobird $49.95
http://lobird.com/pages/lb_calen_seaside.html

For your debonair husband - spice up his wardrobe with these eye catching shoes. We love the colored soles and super comfortable fit. They also have classic leather and suede styles for the more subtle dresser. However we say go bold or go home! 

Austin Heller $195

http://www.austenheller.com/

For the new homeowner - save them from writing their address 3247 times next year, treat them to an adorable return address stamp! Be sure to include a pretty ink pad as well. 

Pure Joy Paperie $38 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PureJoyPaperie

For the host or hostess - the perfect cutting board for the person who loves to entertain. Steak boards, cheese boards, chopping blocks - something for everyone, in every size! 

Soundview Millworks - price varies by item 

http://www.soundviewmillworks.com/

For the picnic lover - these duraclear stemless wine glasses are awesome for the beach, picnics or everyday use. In heavy duty plastic they are a must have for the wine lover on the go! Add a monogram for a personalize touch. 

William Sonoma $77.95

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/monogrammed-duraclear-outdoor-stemless-white-wine-glass/?pkey=ctabletop-duraclear&cm_src=tabletop-duraclear||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

For the traveler - fulfill their sense of wanderlust with a map of their favorite destination. With tons of custom colors and lots of new locations to choose from, this is also a great gift for a newlywed! We love their signature crests. Email for web access. 

Bank and Surf - prices based on size and frame 

http://www.bankandsurf.com/

For your favorite little ones - these plush animals are just about the cutest new thing I've seen this holiday season. Add some whimsy to their nursery - a gift mom will love as well! 

Rikshaw Design $48-$58

http://rikshawdesign.com/gifting/plush-animals/

For the boater - get your favorite yachtsman ready for summer with one of these awesome cooler bags and bottle openers. Cooler bag keeps ice for up to 24hrs and comes in a size for every outing! Add a boat name, initials or coordinates for a custom touch. And don't forget to include a fun speciality bottle opener!

MW Coastal Goods - $40 

http://www.mwcoastalgoods.com/

Polar Bear Cooler - price varies by size 

http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/

For the guy who has everything - but 400 thread count boxers. The best part of these boxers is the product card that comes with them. Good for a Christmas morning giggle!

Royal Highnies $82 for a pack of two pairs

http://www.royalhighnies.com/shop/his/royal-highnies

For the preppy redneck - most guys these day love a great trucker and these are the perfect blend of sporting and prep, a fun stocking stuffer! 

Duck Head $30 

http://duckhead.com/shop/trucker-dh-circle-embroidery/

For the party hopper - we're always on the hunt for the best "road soda" cups and these are definitely them. Bring a cocktail to your neighbors, the beach, on your bike. Another great stocking stuffer! 

Roadie Cups $20 

http://www.roadiecup.com/roadies/

You have sixteen shopping days left - no sweat! 

Hope Lights Lives

One of my favorite nights of the holiday season is the Hope Lights Lives luminary display. Not only is it beautiful to drive around and see all the flickering luminaries amongst the Christmas decorations - it's also a fundraiser for a fabulous cause and makes me give pause and thanks during the busy holiday season.

Hope Lights Lives is Family Center's annual fundraiser to benefit the bereavement and critical illness support offered through the Center for HOPE and The Den for Grieving Kids. All throughout Fairfield County residents will place these luminaries on their lawns to remember those we've lost or those coping with a critical illness or life-altering circumstance. Please don't miss this opportunity to support a wonderful cause in town and shine a little light of hope over the holidays!

Towns participating are Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Rowayton, Southport, Stamford, Weston and Wilton.

This year's luminary lighting will take place on Saturday December 13th at 5pm {with a rain date of December 20th}.

You can buy your luminaries online here but don't delay, it's already right at the order deadline!

Luminary kits are $25 and include 12 tea lights, 12 white luminary bags and 12 candle holders. All proceeds benefit the Center for HOPE and the Den for Grieving Kids.

Learn more about these special programs, opportunities for support for you or your loves ones or ways you can get involved on their website
https://familycenters.isecuresites.com/The-Den-for-Grieving-Kids
https://familycenters.isecuresites.com/Center-for-HOPE

I'll be wishing for snow on the 13th to make it an even more beautiful night!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It's starting to feel like Christmas with the chilly weather, holiday decorations popping up and 300 catalogs in my mailbox every afternoon! But I couldn't be more ready to kick of the season - would it be too soon to put a tree up before Thanksgiving??

If you're in the Christmas spirit too I have a great event to make you feel even more festive! The Enchanted Forest in Greenwich is visited by over 7,000 people as they enjoy an amazing holiday experience - beautiful gingerbread and Christmas tree forest where all items are for auction, a holiday boutique with over 50 vendors to jump start your shopping, gingerbread decorating workshops and my personal favorites - a Santa breakfast with the jolly man himself and tea with Clara the ballerina from the Nutcracker! There is also a girls shopping event on Friday night with cocktails, beauty treatments and lots of door prizes!

The most fun event of the weekend however is the Saturday Night Jingle Bell Bash - a night of live music with the Short Bus, lots of festive cocktails and delicious dinner, wonderful silent auction items {a week rental in the Vineyard, a year membership to the Hermitage Club, tickets to to Lady Gaga/Tony Bennett concert and so much more!} And at only $125/ticket it's one of the most reasonable tickets in town.

All proceeds from the weekend go to benefit the amazing works of the Junior League of Greenwich supporting those in need in our community! It is by far their largest fundraiser and supports almost a year of their work so please come check it out - bring your kids, your family and your friends! You can buy tickets below or make a donation if you are interested. It's a truly magical weekend and I hope to see many of you there!

Friday Nov 21 - Sunday Nov 22: times for all events listed below

Hyatt Regency Greenwich
1800 East Putnam Ave
Old Greenwich

http://www.jlgreenwich.org/?nd=ticket_list&fundraiser_id=56

oomph Event!

Get into the holiday spirit with a fun shopping event tomorrow. Two things always on my wishlist - oomph furniture and Dani Renchard paintings! If you need an extra special gift for someone be sure to check this out!

November 11th from 1-6pm at oomph, 5 Elm Street in New Canaan

www.oomphonline.com - tiny tables, Quadrille pillows, slipper chairs...heaven!

www.danirenchard.com - the most dreamy landscapes, we're fortunate to call the below one ours thanks to my favorite aunt and the best gift giver!

Makes me smile every time I walk past it - so serene and I love the colors! 

My favorite oomph photo - gorgeous lanterns, side table and of course a shell mirror by Anne Jayson, also featured in our entry hall! SDH is lucky to call this her bedroom! 

Happy shopping! xo

Dining Room Makeover

We used our dining room for the first time this weekend since moving in {we need to get entertaining!} so it felt like a good place to start for a renovation sneak peek! When we first saw the house we loved the amazing light in this room, the great size and, despite the horrible paint color, even the corner cabinets - they just seemed so New England to us!

Yellow floors, shiny drapes and lots of green paint! 

But those cabinets were already sneaking their way into my heart!

First stop was redoing all our hardwood floors. Jeff from New Age flooring was amazing - fast, affordable and such beautiful work. It truly transformed the entire house. Even four months later sometimes I still just sit and stare at how beautiful they are. Don't be offended if you come over and I make you put on booties {kidding!}

Trying out stains - Jacobean on the left and Provincial on the right

In order to move from the 60's feel of the room to something more updated we added molding to the door opening to the living room {those 60s cut out entries are so strange to me!} and also a chair rail to tie in the cabinets and crown molding.

Priming and trimming

Chair rail going up

To make them look more like cabinets and to give the room a more coastal feel we decided to paint the cabinets Super White like all the trim but paint the inside back of the cabinets the same color as the walls - BM Sea Foam.

Finally coming together!

With an awesome hand me down Pottery Barn table from my cousins, all our wedding glassware finally unpacked and filling the cabinets and our Monomoy Designs Nantucket painting hanging on the wall it's starting to feel like the perfect space to entertain! This room makeover really showcases the amazing power of a little paint!

Loving the dark floors and dark table against the aqua walls and white cabinets!

Our Monomoy Designs painting is the perfect way to fill a big wall and add a pop of color!

Still on the to do list - a new rug, bamboo blinds {does anyone have any good sources for these? Having a hard time finding the color I'm looking for}, a new chandelier and perhaps switching the dining room chairs out to white ones...I'm also hoping to introduce some pops of coral, my favorite combo with aqua!

Here it is all set up for YWCA Winetasters this weekend - inviting 10 people you've never met over to drink wine at your house - add that to the list of bizarre things people do to meet friends in a new town! : )

Ready to taste wine!

Pure Joy Paperie

Just before we moved into our new digs Liz Joy from Pure Joy Paperie shared this adorable Rowayton poster on her Etsy site! We decided it couldn't have been a more perfect way to share that we were moving to our favorite town!

Photo from Pure Joy Paperie

But we wanted her to tweak it just a little to fit better as a 'We've Moved' card and it came out so perfectly! We also got her anchor address stamp and couldn't have been more thrilled with the way the whole thing turned out! We're also getting a big Rowayton print to hang in the new house. 

Address removed - but you get the idea : ) 

Liz is also now offering custom home watercolors which are super adorable - check out her new home renovation journey on her blog Pure Joy Home. 

Photo from Pure Joy Paperie

And just in time for the holidays she's launched a line of holiday greeting cards and until Thursday she is offering 25% off! If you don't have your photo chosen yet you can still order your cards and decide on the photo later by emailing lizjoycreative@gmail.com. It's never too early to start getting organized for the holidays - get this checked off your list and it's one less thing you'll have to worry about so you can kick back and relax in December {yea right!}. 

I've got my eye on this one - to stick with our anchor theme. Check out all her offerings for holiday cards here! Be sure to check out the custom return address stamps as well! 

Happy Shopping! 

Pure Barre Darien Coming Soon!

FFC411 is very excited to announce that one of their besties is opening a Pure Barre studio in Darien! This is very convenient as Pure Barre is the only exercise, aside from some recreational bike riding, that  I've done since college so I'll actually be able to support this venture with my attendance and not just my writing! And hopefully that speaks volumes to how much fun and addicting Pure Barre is, even to a non-workerouter!

The new studio will be located at 313 Heights Rd in the Noroton Heights Shopping Center. Perfect for FFC411 as we can grab a delicious hot dog from Franks & Frites after our workout : ) My moto is calories out, calories in!

Plans are to open in early November and until they open they are running these great pre-opening specials! All customers are considered new customers and if you have a mindbody account from another studio you can use that to sign in.

5 WEEKS UNLIMITED :: $150
4 MONTHS UNLIMITED :: $500

Available on their website http://purebarre.com/ct-darien/. Even if you only attend 6 classes in 5 weeks the special is a better deal!

They are still posting their schedule but will be offering classes all throughout the day - targeting 6am, 8:30am, 9:45am, noon, 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 6:30pm and 7pm. I also know a few of the instructors and they are peppy, fun and sure to run a great class!

They will also have a retail space offering lululemon and other awesome speciality work out brands. The perfect holiday gift - a PB gift certificate and some new gear!

So join now to Lift, Tone, Burn into the holidays!

Follow them on Facebook for studio updates. How cute are they?

Getting the studio ready!

Winter Street Reading

*UPDATE* This event has been cancelled - wishing Elin a speedy recovery!

My favorite author is coming to town - so exciting! - but I can't go because of a meeting - so sad! - which means everyone has to go out and support her for me. Elin Hilderbrand is releasing her first ever Christmas novel, Winter Street, and she's doing a reading and signing at the Darien Library on Thursday night at 7pm. I'm pretty much crying on my keyboard that I can't go. While I love Elin as my favorite summer beach author, I have a soft spot for Christmas novels so this is the best combo ever to me. I'm going to save it for Thanksgiving weekend to enjoy by a big fire and get in the Christmas spirit!

RSVP via their Facebook events page - books will be available for purchase at the event.

Darien Library
1441 Post Road
Thursday, Oct 16th
7:00

If you can't attend the event, visit their website for a list of bookstores that will be carrying Winter Street, if you can, support your local booksellers!
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/elin-hilderbrand/winter-street/9780316376112/

Barrett Bookstore
314 Heights Rd
Darien CT

#iheartbooks

RHS Chili Fest

Join the Rowayton Historical Society for their 4th annual Chili Fest next Saturday. Want to put your cooking skills to the test .... submit your best chili to be judged for $50. Not feeling the culinary talent ... $10 to enter your carved or decorated pumpkin in the festivities. Or my preferred option, come between noon and three to taste all the entries and vote on your favorites! You'll also be able to enjoy cold beer and live music. Come see who's the big winner! 

Deadline to enter chili or a pumpkin is Oct 12th - rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org 

Saturday October 18th 12-3 

The Blaze

There are still a few nights of tickets available to check out this fun Halloween event - The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-On-Hudson. Come view over 5,000 hand carved illuminated pumpkins as you walk through the grounds of the Manor. Spooky and spectacular! 

We always like to check out a fun area restaurant for dinner before we go - two years ago we visited the adorable Ocean House Oyster Bar in Croton-on-Hudson for oysters and a charmingly cozy dinner. 

www.oceanhouseoysterbar.com

This year we're headed to Red Hat on the River in Irvington to soak in the beautiful views of the Hudson river and feast on some tasty French-American fare. 

www.redhatontheriver.com

Check ticket availability here...
http://www.hudsonvalley.org/events/blaze/tickets

Boo!

Good Goods Fabric Sale

Don't miss out on this rare opportunity to get all in-store fabrics at Good Goods for 25% off! I was lucky enough to catch their summer sale to buy the fabric for our beautiful new headboard! {photos to come} Be sure to check out the back room for their wonderful selection of pillows as well - we added these great aqua ones to our new den. The girls from Good Goods were the ones who finally inspired me to start blogging again so thank you to them for that as well!

Happy Shopping! 

2013 Book List

The biggest request I've gotten from people when they ask about the blog is for book recommendations!

I did complete my 2013 resolution to read 52 books in 52 weeks {with two weeks to spare!}

So I thought I'd share my final reading list. Here they are in no particular order.

52 Books in 52 Weeks

The Song Remains The Same
I Have Iraq In My Shoe
Sharp Objects
Here We Go Again
Love Anthony *
Indiscretion *
Touch and Go
The Storyteller
Family Pictures
Six Years
Summer House
Fly Away
Ivy Secrets
The Great Gatsby {a re-read but it counts!}
Angels All Over Town
No Way Back
Tides Of The Heart
15 Seconds
Between Husbands and Friends
Fault In Our Stars *
Revenge Wears Prada
Tao Of Martha
Ladies Night
The Last Camellia *
Beautiful Day
Sweet Salt Air
Island Girls
Last Original Wife
Last Summer Of The Camperdowns
Time Flies
Looking For Me
Crime Of Privilege
Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop *
Chose The Wrong Guy
The Silver Star
The Silent Wife
A Hundred Summers *
Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls
The Widow Walz
Cuckoo's Calling
Second Honeymoon
The Lemon Orchard *
These Few Precious Days
The Girl You Left Behind *
Off Season
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt *
The Exiles
The Book Thief *
Nantucket Christmas
The Supremes at Earl's All You Can Eat Cafe
Blue Christmas
Tell The Wolves I'm Home
* donates some of my very favorites from the list

Yikes, it seems like so many more books when I type them than when I read them!

Happy Reading! #iheartbooks

The New FFC411

Recently a lot of people have inquired when I might start blogging again and now that things have settled down a little it felt like the right time to start it up again - in a small way!

I looked back at the blog, interested to see where I left off, and it was right when we found the listing for our new house. Things got a little crazy from that point on - we put in an offer on the house {a short sale}, waited a few months to hear - we got it! - on the same day my husband changed jobs, then we moved out of our condo in Greenwich and in with my parents for two month while we renovated our new place. Things are finally starting to come together and we couldn't be more in love with our new house, our new neighborhood and our "new" town. All the more things to share about what I love in FFC!

So you'll definitely see a few more home improvement sneak peeks, decorating posts and DIY projects as we take on our own little fixer upper. But we'll still be sharing lots of things to do in FFC, recipes as we try to brush up our cooking skills, travel posts and of course lots and lots of books! #iheartbooks

To kick it off, we'll just say while we've been gone we've been turning this...

Into this...

Glad to be back! xo