Magnificent Madison

Hello, dear friends.  I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend.  Ours is ending up on a high note because the sun is shining.  It felt like we had been in the trenches of the Nor'easter for days.

Last month, I spent some time in one of my favorite towns, Madison, Connecticut.   

For those of you who enjoy a little geography, here is a map.  Madison is located in the Southeastern corner of New Haven county.  It occupies a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline.  Jacques Pepin, the world-renown chef, calls Madison home.  I call it a slice of Paradise.

It was my second trip there.  Last year I met my old Convent of the Sacred Heart buddy, Madalyn, there for an overnight.  We had so much fun that we decided to make it a yearly ritual.  You can read all about it here.

We again stayed at the picturesque Madison Beach Hotel where you can fall asleep to the sound of the waves.  

All the guest rooms feature spectacular views of Long Island Sound.  They are very spacious with a large bathroom and are equipped with a fireplace.  The entire hotel was immaculate.

All the rooms have a terrace to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets.

At the forefront in this photo stands Annie, the concierge extraordinaire of the hotel.  We got to know her last year and she remembered us right away. And it wasn't because we got into any mischief or anything!  

Annie and her colleagues lend positive energy and a hospitable spirit to this charming hotel.   Thanks to their attention, every detail of our trip was smooth as silk.

Madison Beach had me at hello.

I contacted my buddy, Liz, a couple of weeks before my visit.  I met her through one of my Sudbury Sweetheart friends, Laurie.  Liz moved to Connecticut a couple of years ago from Massachusetts.  She is a big Real Housewife fan and even went to the Countess' show on Martha's Vineyard over the Summer.  Needless to say, it was a most delightful lunch. 

Madalyn arrived in the late afternoon.  Later, we met for a few glasses of vino and dinner out on the terrace.  It was a gorgeous evening, and the place was hopping.  We did a lot of catching up and met some nice ladies that lived in the area.


The next morning we had a scrumptious breakfast.  Our buddy, Annie agreed to snap this photo.  We took our usual oath... what is discussed in Madison stays in Madison. 

Madalyn took off back to New York, and I headed towards my favorite shop in Madison.

Madison is such a cute town.

I haven't tried this cafe yet, but I won't miss it next time.

Great bookstore with an in-house cafe.

At last!  My favorite store, Maggie's.

Maggie's offers full design services.

And here is the darling owner of Maggie's.

I bet you think her name is Maggie.

You would be wrong.

Her name is Gretchen and she is lovely.

I highly recommend a visit to Madison.

And if you come across my friends Annie and Gretchen tell them Katie sent you!

Until next time...

Photo by Elias Castillo on Unsplash


Linking up with:
Love Your Creativity
Hello Monday!

Designer Tables/ Heading Home for Dinner

Hello, dear friends. First of all, I want to say thank you to all the wonderful people who took the time to leave comments, wrote emails,  and messaged me after my last post.  I enjoyed hearing the MOB and MOG stories tremendously.  And you ladies know your mascara, too.  I ordered all that was recommended.  

Note to self:  be scarce when the Amex bill arrives.

How was your week?  The highlight of last week for me took place on Friday.  I headed to Boston and picked my buddy, Annie up along the way.   

We met Mary, the Queen of the Sudbury Sweethearts, and my new buddy, Dell, who I met at an author's luncheon on the Cape.  Incidentally, Dell is the one who contacted me about Heading Home to Dinner.  It is a dine by design event hosted by the Boston Design Community to raise funds for Heading Home which provides housing and aid to homeless families. 

I ran into a fellow blogger, Danielle, from Finding Silver Pennies.

She hosts one of my favorite link parties on Sundays.

I also had the pleasure of meeting another blogger, Linda Merrill, from Decorative Surroundings. You can read her blog post about the event here.

I loved all of the colors that were used on this table.  

Also, who wouldn't appreciate an unexpected gift at the dinner table.

My parents use to have a set of those glass plates.

Great cork placemats and color combo.

How sweet are those monkeys!

As you know, I have a lot of blue and white in my home.

I think that it's about time to incorporate a pop of orange.

Remember I told you last Summer that Dell's niece is author Marie Benedict?  Well, another niece of hers is Elizabeth Benedict who designed this table and is one of the founders of this fabulous event. 

Those plates make my heart go pitter-patter.

Do you ever use lemons to decorate?

Gorgeous centerpiece!

Another great color combo.

Great plates!

This is Shannon Gilmour, owner of Grace Interiors and the designer of this colorful table.

The event also featured decorated bar carts that were due to be auctioned off that evening.

This one was my fave!

I end with a funny story.  Before we got on the road, Annie wanted a cup of tea to warm her bones. So we stopped at a restaurant.  I ran to the ladies room and when I came back to the table, Annie whispered to me that the gentleman at the next table shot McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy. I thought she was crazy, he looked like a normal, successful businessman. I dared her to go over and ask him. 

Sure enough, Annie was right. 
That episode aired in 2010! 

Michael O'Neill was so gracious.  He is off to Savannah in a few weeks to begin filming a new TV show that is along the same vein as This Is Us. Count me in.

I don't know what I was more impressed with - the charming actor or Annie's razor-sharp memory and star sighting skills!

Have a great weekend!

Until next time...

This is Bailey, another friend that I made at the Design Center.

Between you and me, much better behaved than my two hooligans!

Linking up with:
TFT Party
BFF Open House
Home & Garden Thursday
Creative Inspirations
Grace at Home
Friday Favorites
Friday at the Fire Station
Home Matters
What's Up Weekend
Friday Favorites
Best of the Weekend
Best of the Weekend
Saturday Sparks
Silver Pennies Sunday