WE ALL NEED A LITTLE
INA GARTEN RIGHT NOW!

I don’t know about you, but I have resorted to watching reruns of Friends, binging seasons of The Barefoot Contessa and downloading 1990s rom coms.

I can’t watch the news anymore. Especially the daily press conferences with you-know-who. It sends me into a complete frenzy ~ which then sends me to Grub Hub to order Shake Shack.

I have narrowed my list of “approved” things to do to stay sane. Walking and being outside has risen to the top. Everything looks especially beautiful this spring.

We left Boston for a week to hole up in Sharon, CT so we could all have some additional elbow room, easy access to outside and GREEN SPACE.

We stayed in a lovely house that a dear friend lent us, with sunset views of the mountains.

I found myself looking at houses on my daily walks in Sharon. I mean, ACTUALLY looking at houses! Writing down addresses and then looking them up on Zillow.

Our empty nester plan was, move to an apartment in Boston and have our little Block Island house as the rural haven for our family to escape. It has not quite panned out recently…. Which has led me to fantasize about other places to land where we can simply jump in our car and go!

I walked past this beauty every day. Its Caroline Roehm’s house, so not for sale.

This house is for sale. Big back yard and a beautiful pool. No, I didn’t climb the fence. Zillow and I became one while I was in Sharon. My husband is looking at me crosseyed, but this pandemic has made me rethink everything.

One of my walking routes took me past lots of cows and Jasper Johns’ gorgeous enclave.

Another route took me past the Sharon Town Hall where we got our marriage license. We got married in Sharon January 1992 on an eleven degree snowy day.

No judgement, but even my book choices have shifted to light and airy vs. the more serious tomes I have on my bookshelf. After I read “Dear Edward” I craved a mindless beach read and grabbed  “Christmas in Winter Valley.” Predictable, lots of romance and a happy ending all around. A win win!

But, back to Ina. Watching her make comfort food, pick flowers from her garden and lay a gorgeous table setting makes it all seem okay at the moment. She filmed a video talking about the importance of keeping traditions during this crazy time and her favorite tradition is COCKTAIL HOUR ~ love her. You can see the video HERE.

Emily made an amazing Ina meal last night for dinner. Tomato tarts as our appetizer – heading into the oven.

Lemon chicken with arugula and baked sweet potatoes.

Homemade banana pudding for dessert. We are planning more Ina meals here and Easter is definitely going to be a Barefoot Contessa extravaganza! Stay well everyone and Happy, Happy Easter.

the wry home