Life & Real Estate | 9.7.23
Conrad or Jeremiah: Before having kids, Andrew and I would end many evenings side-by-side on the sofa, watching an episode of a show. These days, it’s a challenge to find free time for TV after family dinner and bedtime routines. The nights go by so fast! Before we can even blink, it’s 11 p.m. and we’re exhausted. That’s why watching The Summer I Turned Pretty has been such a treat. After many a friend told me I had to see this Amazon Prime series, I told Andrew we had to try. I was hooked after the first episode! (Andrew, not so much, but he’s been a good sport!) It’s a teenage romance — partly corny, partly nostalgic — set in a dreamy beach town on the east coast. For some reason it has held my attention, and I don’t want season 2 to end! We’re taking our sweet time (years ago, we would’ve flown through the episodes by now!) but having fun watching a show together. P.S. I’m on Team Conrad.
Party hats on a patio: Annie turned o-n-e last week! On the big day, Andrew and I took her to the pediatrician for a check-up, stopped by Sweet Mandy B’s to pick up a cupcake, and then the four of us sat beneath string lights on the patio at Tarantino’s. I put party hats in the diaper bag and pulled them out for us all to wear at dinner — could I be any cheesier? 🙂 This night will forever be in my heart: Annie grinning in her hat, Holly talking up a storm, and Andrew praying over Annie’s birthday dinner. So, so special! (I wrote this letter to Annie a few days before her birthday.)
Top 15: I posted about this on Instagram last month, so it may be old news, but I still can’t get over the fact that Melanie Everett & Company landed in the top 15 teams for our number of transactions from January through July! 2023 has undoubtedly been my most challenging year yet. The hurdles — higher interest rates, buyer hesitation, economic uncertainty — have really impacted not just us, but the entire real estate industry. At M&Co., we’ve had to get creative this year and do things differently: events at Dom’s and Anthropologie, a pop-up at Green City Market, a sip & shop happening next weekend. I couldn’t be prouder of my team for their perseverance and hustle!
Palm Beach forever: When Andrew and I were in Palm Beach for our 3rd wedding anniversary, we bought a beautiful tabletop calendar from interior-designer-turned-watercolor-artist Lydia Marie Elizabeth. Each month depicted a scene from around the island. The calendar was enjoyed through 2022, but now that it’s 2023, I wanted to find a way to repurpose it. So, I picked out a few of my favorite scenes (the lobby of The Colony and the front of the White Elephant), and popped them into white frames from Michael’s. Voila! The frames are leaning in our built-in bookshelf and they make me smile every time I pass by.
My best friend’s wedding: On an unseasonably breezy and beautiful August eve, Courtney married Shamus. Everything about their day was perfect: the florals, the vows, the gorgeous bride, the venue (a drool-worthy home in Hinsdale that felt more like a treehouse!), the elegant table set for just 17, the speeches! Andrew officiated the wedding and shared such precious words about the love of Christ — there was barely a dry eye! Congratulations to my best friend and her new husband. I love you both dearly.
M&Co. at the lake: One of my summer highlights was our trip to Delavan Lake, Wisconsin. Beatriz graciously hosted our team at her family’s lakehouse, and we had an absolute ball: we boated, we swam and lounged on a raft, we stopped at the Inn-Between for slushy cocktails, we cooked a big dinner with grilled steak and orzo and more, and we laughed well into the night. Bea, thank you for your sweet hospitality!
