Thursday, January 30, 2020



Well, well, well, look who it is! It's me! I have not visited my own blog, an old one for sure, for a long time and all I can say is shame on me!

I figured I would swing by an let those who visit this blog page know where I am now and what has been going on.

First, I can still be found over at NewEnglandFineLiving.com  and even though I have had my YouTube channel since around 2007, I am on their a lot more now sharing home and lifestyle tips.  The address for my channel is YouTube.com/newenglandfinelivingonline  If you haven't already, I would love to invite you to subscribe to the channel!

Oh! You can also find me on my Instagram feed also @newenglandfineliving Instagram.com/newenglandfineliving 

Now that I have told you where you can find me most of the time, I promise to swing by this blog a bit more to keep you updated an in the loop.

Monday, June 24, 2019


Please visit NewEnglandFineLiving.com or TheFineLivingMuse.com for more articles and inspiration.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017


The holidays are upon us and once again I have created a Christmas garland for our front hall.
This year's color theme was inspired by the red, gold, and green of the metallic Tartan wrapping paper I found at a local pharmacy and a pre-loved Federal mirror that I purchased at a consignment shop.

To view this and additional photos of Christmas garlands used on stairways, doorways, and over fireplace mantels, click here to be magically transported to New England Fine Living's blog.
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Wednesday, November 8, 2017

A visit to the William Haskell House in Gloucester, MA

A visit to the William Haskell House in Gloucester, MA


This past October, my birthday was spent sleeping in a first-period colonial home that was once owned by my husband's 9th great grandfather and some of his other ancestors. The below link will take you to my new blog where you will be able to read about this amazing experience.


Read More



















New England Fine Living , New England Living , New England , New England Style , New England Homes ,  New England Home , Design New England , North Shore , Gloucester,  Massachusetts , Linda Smith Davis , New England Fine Living Magazine , Yankee Magazine , North Shore Magazine ,

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Keeping Watch


As the song goes... "I hear you knocking, but you can't come in".   This lion door knocker is keeping watch and guarding a historic home in Newport, Rhode Island.

Below, I have found a few lion door knockers for sale, while they last, through one of my affiliate sites.

        




     

Monday, September 4, 2017

The scent of fall in New England with my favorite Fall Candle.

   Fall is almost here and I am excited to share that my all-time favorite scented candle for fall is back!    

   

       

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

New England Living with New England Fine Living

I am so excited to announce that the summer 2017 issue of New England Fine Living is in production  and will be out the first part of July.  

Subscription are available to order via New England Fine Living Magazine's website


Monday, March 20, 2017


New England Fine Living Magazine, issue number three will soon be out in the market and online.  Subscription information is available through our website. NewEnglandFineLiving.com


New England Living - New England Style - New England Home - New England Design - 
New England Fine Living. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Hazelnut White Hot Chocolate

Call me crazy, but for someone that loves chocolate, I never acquired the taste for hot chocolate, so I created my own hot chocolate recipe that included three sweets that I enjoy.         1. Milk Chocolate 2. White Chocolate and 3. Nutella 





And yes, this recipe is FULL of calories and sugar.  You're welcome

Ingredients
  • 4 - 5 oz milk chocolate (bar or chips
  • 11 oz white chocolate (bar or bag of chips)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 gallon whole milk
  • 2 cups Nutella (or your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread)
In a large pot, add the dry ingredients and stir together.  Slowly pour in the milk while blending and stirring in the dry mixture.  Once that is done, add the two cups of chocolate hazelnut. Slowly bring the mixture to a soft boil making sure to stir regularly until all of the ingredients have melted and dissolved.  Serve alone, with whipped cream, or with marshmallows.  

To make this a bit more "festive", for those over 21 you can add a chocolate liquor, white chocolate liquor, or hazelnut liquor.   PS, It's good chilled too! Can you imagine blending this with ice cream?  Oh don't get me started!  I could go on and on! 


Tuesday, October 18, 2016

A visit to Hinckley Yachts

Today my husband and I took a drive to Portsmouth, Rhode Island to visit the home office of Hinckley Yachts where we got to go step aboard several of their yachts and see their amazing workmanship.  
















After our visit, I was inspired to share some items I felt emulated the "Hinckley Look".



Monday, October 10, 2016

Castle Hill Inn Newport Rhode Island

This past summer, I had the pleasure of staying at Castle Hill Inn, in Newport, Rhode Island.  I was invited to attend the Newport Music Festival and since my husband was not available to join me, I asked Lorna, a friend since childhood, to join me. Any pictures with me in them, were taken by her since I have yet to master the art of a selfie stick. :-)


Close to everything, but tucked away from it all with amazing water views:

Built in 1874, Castle Hill was first and foremost a summer residence before being converted into a private inn in the late 20th century.  Now part of the Relais & Chateaux family, Castle Hill Inn offers luxurious amenities, an attentive staff, gourmet meals and spa services.  


Monday, September 19, 2016

It's all about presentation


For me, visual presentation can change everything. When my husband ordered a burger and fries, I never expected the meal to be presented in such a beautiful way.  The white bowl, holding the french fries, was a simple addition to how they served the meal, but it made quite and impact.  Call me silly, but something so simple caught my attention. That said, I ended up going home to find a similar style vessel.  Not only do I think I found something similar, but the Sur la Table white lion crock / bowl looks like I found the exact item.  If you like the look too, I posted the link below. 




I will be returning to the Rangeley Inn's tavern soon and I will need to confirm how well I did with finding a "similar" item.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Gourmet dining on the porch

Last year, my husband and I had the pleasure of staying at Twin Farms, a Relais Chateau property, in Vermont.  Each day was an amazing experience, including our gourmet lunch that was served on the porch of our private cabin.  Below I have linked a collection of table top items if you would like to recreate this look. 


 

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Thursday, July 21, 2016

A visit to America's oldest jeweler - Shreve, Crump & Low

I first walked into Shreve, Crump & Low, while on Newbury Street, to obtain information about how to clean diamond rings at home.  This information will be shared in a future post, but I also walked in knowing I had another mission to fulfill. 

That mission??? To keep finding New England businesses, or those who got their start in New England, that are unique, have a great story to tell, and exude "fine living" qualities no matter what the price point is. 

My visit to Shreve, Crump & Low absolutely fit my check list and then some.  Their story in a nut shell?  With a start in Boston in 1796, they are the oldest jeweler in America and what a story it is. At then end of this post, you I have included a link to their website and also their historic timeline.  

In the meantime, here are just a few stunning items I got to view.  I was like a magpie drawn to every glittery item hopping from case to case.  As soon as I saw one piece of jewelry, that lured me in, my eyes were being distracted by another piece and I could not wait to move on and hear more about it. Let me just say, my jewelry wish list has just gotten a little longer :-).   


This little beauty, a 20 plus carat tanzanite and diamond ring, called my name as I walked by the case.  Did I mention I LOVE tanzanite?  At one point it was a consideration to use tanzanite in my wedding ring, but I was informed it would be too fragile for everyday wear.  This glamorous ring would be perfect to wear to a gala, cocktail party, or a "just because it's fabulous" party.


I am always drawn to the estate jewelry section when visiting jewelers.  There is something to be said about knowing someone else enjoyed and loved a piece of jewelry. For the fun of it, I create my own stories of their history if there is not one to be told. The watch above is a vintage Shreve, Crump & Low piece that made its way back to store to be enjoyed yet again. 


Also in the estate jewelry case.... Sapphire and diamond rings and so much more!



There are three locations:Boston, MA - Chestnut Hill, MA - Greenwich, CT
BOSTON JEWELRY, WATCH & GIFT STORE

Thursday, July 7, 2016

The revolutionary Bogányi grand piano makes its North American debut at the Newport Music Festival, July 9-15, 2016.

After being invited to a private cocktail reception to hear the revolutionary Bogányi grand piano, I wanted to make sure I shared the below information with you, so that you too will have the opportunity to hear this amazing piece of functional art at the Newport Music Festival, July 9-15, 2016. Information about the festival follows the below press release. 


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Eben House - A luxury inn in Provincetown, MA - New England

One of my writers had the wonderful opportunity to visit Eben House, a 1776 Home of Captain Eben Snow, that has been turned into a modernized luxury inn and I wanted to share her article with you, as seen in the fall 2015 issue of New England Fine Living magazine. 



Paradise in Provincetown

Written by Jessica Sacco for New England Fine Living 

Friday, July 1, 2016

Sliced watermelon and sliced lime Jello shots

My previous post was for a watermelon gin fizz cocktail and I thought I would follow it with this recipe for sliced watermelon and lime Jello shots since we used the watermelon and lime leftovers. 

Keep in mind these can be made without vodka too, but these were for an adult 4th of July party. 


I currently do not have photos of the watermelon sliced since that and the large batch of watermelon gin fizzes is going to a party that I won't be attending, but hopefully the hostess will share photos of the watermelon with me once it's been sliced.  

That said, I did make these mini lime slices with the left over Jello mixture, just for fun, since I had the limes.

This is the Jello all firmed up and ready to be cut, but sending it off to the party whole was a lot easier since.
Recipe to make the Jello that is firm enough to slice and hold:

This recipe was enough to fill one half of a smaller seedless watermelon that was hollowed out (leave a little of the watermelon flesh for the Jello to adhere to).

3 packets of red Jello (we, my daughter and I, used strawberry since watermelon comes out pink)
1 box of Knox gelatin (the box has 4 packets inside)
4 cups boiling water
4 cups citrus vodka

In a large sauce pan, boil the four cups of water then add the three boxes of Jello and one box of Knox gelatin and carefully whisk until all of the gelatin is dissolved.

Remove sauce pan from the heat. This is when you add your vodka.

Instead of adding the cold water to the end of the process, as noted on the box, substitute the water with the vodka.  Of course if you do not want to use alcohol, go with the water.

Fill the hollowed out watermelon with the mixture and set in the refrigerator until completely firm.

Once firm, the watermelon can be sliced and served.

For the lime wedges:

Cut limes in half lengthwise and juice them (our juice was used in the watermelon gin fizzes as was the inside of the hollowed out watermelon) and remove most of the pulp.  We went down to the skin and found the Jello took on a little bit of the bitter taste, so I would recommend leaving some of the tart pulp.

Note: The limes were very time consuming to hollow out without a press, so if you want to make a large batch, you will want to give yourself some extra time.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Watermelon Gin Fizz Recipe by New England Fine Living

My daughter is constantly juicing or making dried fruit, so when we were discussing a fun and super thirst quenching cocktail, we came up with our own version of a watermelon gin fizz since she just made a bet with a co-worker that she could dry watermelon (I will let you know how that turns out).

So I wanted to share the recipe with you before the holiday weekend in case you too had left over watermelon!  Below is the recipe and the steps we took to create this ultra refreshing watermelon cocktail.