Monday Musings No. 54

Monday Musings No. 54, a weekend update + 5 Things: what I read, watched, and discovered this weekend and more.

Good Monday morning musings friends. How was your weekend?

Saturday started slow, in fact we didn’t even want to get out of bed, for several reasons. During the night we received news we had been dreading, our friend passed away. Shari, was actually a childhood friend of my husband, and from the moment I met her almost 28 years ago became a friend of mine. Seven months ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and vowed t0 fight until the end. Sadly the end came much sooner than anyone expected.

Heaven gained an angel and the world lost one of the kindest, most generous, loving people I have ever known. Her loss will be felt not only by her family and friends but all of the strangers that became friends. The patrons of her husbands restaurant, the people who purchased a home from her, the elderly people in her community and so many more. Shari, we love you and miss your beautiful smile, laugh and zest for life. Until we meet again.

Musings

Loss is inevitable and I know that you are not here to read about that but this is a real life journal of life, my life. The rest of the weekend is inconsequestial when compared to that. But we soldiered on.

Saturday we wandered a few antique stores to see if there was anything the house could not do without. Although I did not buy anything I could have filled the car with all of the beautiful pieces just off the boat from France, England and Belgium.

We meet with a furniture maker to finalize the design and wood choices of our powder bath vanity. Hopefully soon we will agree on a wallpaper and the project can move forward. Even though it is a powder bath there is still a lot to decide, sconces or overhead light, mirror, faucet, paint, molding and the rest.

Sunday

Sunday morning we woke to rain and fog which suited out mood. An excuse to stay inside, talk to friends and share stories and memories of Shari and to tackle some projects.

Although we have been in this house for 11/2 years it has been in disarray from remodeling projects the entire time. Now that the heart of the home, the kitchen, is finished the surrounding rooms are starting to take shape. Yesterday we moved a bookcase that has been sitting in the hallway for 8 months to the office, and shifted furniture and boxes that have been sitting in another room. Who know, maybe in 6 months we will be “finished.”

Ok, Grab your coffee, tea or chocolate and let’s get on to 5 things.

+5 THINGS

1.Read

Lost And Found in Paris

Joan Blakely had an unconventional childhood: the daughter of a globe-trotting supermodel and a world-famous artist. Her artist father died on 9/11, and Joan—an art historian by training—has spent more than a decade maintaining his legacy. Life in the art world is beginning to wear on her—and then one fateful afternoon her husband drops a bombshell: he’s fathered twins with another woman.

Furious but secretly pleased to have a reason to blow up her life, Joan impulsively decides to get out of town, booking a last-minute trip to Paris as an art courier: the person museums hire to fly valuable works of art to potential clients, discreetly stowed in their carry-on luggage. Sipping her champagne in business-class, she chats up her seatmate, Nate, a good-looking tech nerd who invites her to dinner in Paris. He doesn’t know she’s carrying drawings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But after a romantic dinner and an even more romantic night together, Joan wakes up next to her new lover to discover the drawings gone. Even more shocking is what’s been left in their place: a sketch from her father’s journals, which she thought had been lost when he died on 9/11, and a poem that reads like a treasure hunt.

With Nate as a sidekick, Joan will follow the clues all over Paris—from its grand cathedrals to the romantic bistros to the twisty side streets of Montmartre—hoping to recover the lost art, and her own sense of adventure. What she finds is even better than she’d expected.

2.Watched

Are you familiar with Dominique Sachse? If not you will love her, she is an author, influencer, “inspiring women in their prime.”

3. Links

A refreshingly individual take on country-cottage style

Got Post-Holiday Blues? Here are 7 Things to Do Today To Feel Happy and Excited

60 Realistic New Year’s Resolutions You Can Totally Achieve This Year

If you make New Years Resolutions , here are Foolproof Tips To Make (and Keep) Your New Year’s Resolutions

How to Fight Inflammation

18 Snow Day Dinners That Practically Make Themselves

Cara Cara Oranges Prove It’s What’s on the Inside That Counts

HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR LOOK SIMPLY WITH A SCARF

The bitter civil war dividing American veterinarians

Being kinder to yourself pushes you to make positive changes.

4. Finds

I haven been shopping but I did peruse J.Crew recently and I am in love with all of the beautiful new pieces. I particularly like this sweater and this shirt. By the way if you like cashmere the end of the season cashmere sale is on now.

5. In Case You Missed It~Weekend Meanderings

pants//t-shirt//sweater//slippers//candle//book

Saturday I joined Juliet and Kim for our first weekend meanderings of 2023, it was nice to be back with friends sharing on our weekly series. I shared 10 ways to beat the winter blues and more including this cosy outfit and lots of links you might have missed this week.

You can find all  weekend meanderings  posts here if you missed any or are looking for something that was previously featured.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

I hope that you had a lovely weekend and that you found something on Monday Musings to enjoy. If you missed any of my musings you can find them all here.

Take care and thank you for spending part of your day with me. I will see you soon.

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