Wine & Design: Only me...

Shana, the kids, and I spent the afternoon at the most LOVELY birthday party. The family who had the party is actually the family that Rebecca (the Australian au pair who I had dinner with) works for. The party was at the grandparents house just outside of the city. To say it was the most exquisite Italian villa I have ever laid eyes on (battling even George Clooney's Lake Como house...) would maybe even be an understatement. As you pull through the front gate the long pebbled driveway with tall trees on either side leads you straight back to the house. It is similar to the feeling of pulling into Vanderhorst, but with an old Italian villa waiting at the end as opposed to an old Southern plantation house. The pebbled driveway leads around to both sides of the house and to the left are these two expansive manicured gardens and lawns, separated all by the pebbled paths with perfectly lined trees. The main lawn had a beautiful pool in the middle of the grass; that is absolutely my favorite look for a pool- dark bottom, in the grass with only a small amount of brick or slate defining the edges, so that it looks more natural, like a pond. Defining the edge of the lawn from the woods surrounding the house were these giant potted plants, which is such a classic look as well. Also in the main lawn, all the way in the back was a few old sheds that had been converted into a lovely bathroom/pool house. This is where the story gets interesting... At the beginning of the party, I had to use the restroom, so I excused myself after Marika (the mother and host of the party) pointed me to the back of the yard. As I'm about to walk back out to the party, I see that there is no handle on the door...and it's shut. I wonder how I even got it closed in the first place, but obviously can't remember in my current state of panic. After about 5 minutes I found two keys- one of them fit the door, but clearly worked from the outside, not the inside (who designed this bathroom?!?). I see that there is a window above the toilet, and after about 10 minutes I decide maybe I'll just have to climb out of it because there was NO ONE in sight. So, I climb up on the toilet, peek my head out the window to evaluate who would see me come tumbling out the window if that was the move I chose to make. Of course, the only table of people sitting down closest to the bathroom was the grandparents'. I decided that would be totally inappropriate and go against all my efforts to avoid making a scene. About 20 minutes and a full-fledged anxiety attack later, someone finally came to use the restroom. I explained that I was stuck, slid the key under the door, and they still couldn't even get it from the outside. Long story short, a groundsman was finally able to get the door open and I was out- only causing a slight commotion...much less, no doubt, than if I had come tumbling out the window.

You can see only the smallest bit of the house/grounds in a few of these pictures. They absolutely do not do it justice! It was everything I expect an Italian villa should be and more. The ground floor was mostly open with these huge windows and doors so that you could basically see straight through. Unfortunately, I did not get to go inside the house, but I heard it was gorgeous, and would expect nothing less! It's amazing, as well, what such perfectly manicured grounds add to a house...completes the amazing package.