Your Home is Your Castle

It's good to be back in my 'castle' in Chicago! T'was a whirlwind of activities during our long weekend stay with family in Connecticut. We visited two very special historical homes; the circa 1750's home of my sister in-laws family, and Gillette Castle, (built 1914-1919), the former home of actor William Gillette ~ the original Sherlock Holmes! And how appropriate, being that I'm on a complete Sherlock Holmes kick right now. It was in fact Gillette who added his own touches of deerstalker cap, cape and curved pipe, which has become synonymous with the character.

There's way too much to go on about the eccentric Gillette and his amazing stonework castle that he designed, so check out these links that go into depth about it here and here. I'd like to quickly add that he had 17 cats, each wore a bell and had individual birthday parties. Some pals that would be guests back in the day, oh just Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin (two brilliant people I hugely admire). If the walls could talk!

The windows of both homes offered lovely picturesque views, so I thought it interesting to take some pics looking through the glass:

Inside Gillette Castle, this medieval window has a breathtaking view of the Connecticut river.

Lots of amazing glass lamps and look at that confetti-like window! I need one of these!

Good bye Gillette Castle! A view from the little Hadlyme Ferry ride that took us (and our vehicle!) across the river.

We stayed at my sister in-laws Deb's historical Waterford home. The house was passed down for generations, a cedar shingled beauty built by hand circa 1750's. Lots of love and good vibes here. That's me and Rob in the convertible his brother kindly lent us during our stay, hence my hat/ sunglasses/ long sleeves/ and SPF 30 (at my age, premature aging is always avoided, lol).

Now, let your eyes and soul rest upon this serene morning mist (click on it to see bigger). Deeeeep breath.... aahhhh. This is the 'backyard' of Deb's home, on Jordan Cove, situated in the Long Island Sound. How jealous are we?

A translucent display of old blue glass in the dining room window that looks into a 3 season porch (where we enjoyed our breakfasts), which then looks out onto the cove. I love the inside/ outside feel of it.

Sweet casement windows in the guest bedroom, right above the beds. These are the ends of a row of 4 windows. At night it is magical looking out into near total darkness over the water, with only a few twinkling lights in the distance.

Star fish window, looking from the outside in~

~and the inside out...

From the second story, a view of the wishing well.

A little girl's tombstone, with a weeping willow tree carved motif. It was found on the property many moons ago, when my in-laws were cleaning up the yard. No one knows if there was an actual grave or perhaps left behind by a tombstone carver. It's a mystery!

Antique silver spoons in a primitive wooden rack. This hangs in a quiet corner of the 2nd dining room, or the formal dining room. Just another detail (of hundreds!) I found so charming.

Hi kitty, kitty! One of three resident cats enjoying the perch overlooking the stone patio. An idyllic life indeed.

A bit of imagination goes a long way: This old 'flower truck' has been parked in front of a Niantic, CT garden nursery for years. Now that's recycling!

Hoped you enjoyed our New England jaunt, and seeing the inspired homes we visited. It's been eons since I've left town, and even longer since I put on a bathing suit and took a dip, so I was glad to accomplish both things this past weekend :O)

Have fun wherever summer takes you! And may your castle be a special place that reflects who you are with room for dreams.