Star Struck!

Let me get straight to the point: I met HGTV’s Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri from Cousins Undercover, Cousins On Call, and Kitchen Cousins! They even talked to me for awhile after taking a few photos with me, and I somehow managed to keep my composure and form complete sentences in their presence! I also met Genevieve Gorder from Dear Genevieve, but I don’t have a photo to prove it.

Photo from Sharp Communications

Photo from Sharp Communications

Now for the backstory:

A couple weeks ago, I joined some friends from work for the launch party of Dekton (a new product by Cosentino) at the Center for Architecture in NYC. I had to go somewhere before the party so I was going to meet my coworkers at the CFA, but ended up arriving before them. While I was waiting for them inside, Anthony came up next to me to grab a drink. Since I had no idea the HGTV stars would be there and because I’m an embarrassment when I get star struck, I immediately froze, saying nothing and just smiling like a crazy person. After finding my coworker’s sister, who works for the PR firm that was putting on the event, I told her how excited I was to see the HGTV stars, as I’m a little too obsessed with HGTV, so she pulled Anthony aside to have him take a photo with me. He then grabbed his cousin John and suddenly I found myself having my photo taken with both cousins and having a conversation with the two of them about design! They then introduced me to Genevieve, and my night was complete! All of this happened before my friends even arrived at the party.

Before I knew HGTV people would be at the event, I was actually excited about the product launch and the corresponding exhibit. It was not only highlighting Dekton and its features, but also showcasing an exhibit by six local emerging architects who each created a model or design piece either using Dekton materials or interpreting concepts of the product in some manner. Below are my favorites.

Model by SOFTlab

Detail of model by SOFTlab

Model by MANIFOLD

Model by EASTON+COMBS

Model by Architecture in Formation

I’m so glad I was able to attend this event, and I’m feeling very fortunate to have met and talked with Anthony and John!

Princeton

Last Sunday, I tagged along with Vincent when he drove down to Princeton to work at the Seton Hall men's soccer game against Princeton university. Neither of us had been there before, but we had been told it's a cute town that we would enjoy visiting. That was an understatement!

The day could not have been better. The weather was beautiful, that perfect combination of fall approaching while summer still lingers. As soon as we turned onto campus, I felt like I was at Duke, with the forest trees protecting the street from the outside world only to reveal a little oasis of collegiate gothic buildings. I remember hearing somewhere that Duke blatantly copied the architecture of Princeton, but it was odd to see it in person.

The sports fields and facilities were immaculate and I was instantly jealous of their use of contemporary architecture for the sports buildings. I feel that too often college architecture plays it safe, so it was refreshing to see these newer buildings taking advantage of contemporary styles, materials, and forms. I also appreciated that not all of the facilities were exactly the same. It was clear all of the buildings were part of a larger complex, but each had a unique function expressed through its form, solid/void relationships, and materials.

After the soccer game ended and Vincent had finished his work (unfortunately Seton Hall lost), we headed over to Palmer Square, a cute block of shopping, restaurants, cafes, etc. We quickly learned, however, that we had come during Jazz Fest so the entire area was packed with people and vendors. By some miracle we found parking and set out to find a decent restaurant nearby.  We ate outside on the patio of the Yankee Doodle Tap Room, listening to the wonderful jazz music being performed on the lawn next door and watching all of the people stroll by.

As Jazz Fest came to an end and vendors packed up their tents and trucks, we wandered around window shopping and taking in the local history. Once the daylight started to fade, we decided it was time to return home to a cranky pup and needy kittens. All in all, it was a remarkably pleasant day!

While I was Gone

For many students and teachers, as Facebook has informed me, today was the first day of school. Today also marked the day that my baby sister headed off to college as a Freshman! So in honor of summer vacation coming to an end, I will end my own Blog-cation by sharing what has been occupying my time this summer (because it certainly wasn’t maintaining this blog, for which I apologize).

The number one reason for taking a break from open studio this summer:

Travel

Things I did not do this summer: anything on my “Improving a Rental” to-do list. Maybe I’ll be better about checking things off that list in the fall.

What kind of summer adventures have you all been on?

Fancypants

Vincent and I are living the life of the rich and famous.  That’s right, we spent last weekend in East Hampton.  My aunt and uncle, who recently built a beautiful new summer house in the Long Island beach town, invited us to join them for the weekend.  Here are some of my favorite design details, both interior and exterior.

Even though we were only there for 2 days (we got in late Friday night), we managed to fit in an equal amount of activity and relaxation, including a beach day, eating at some incredible restaurants, and gallery hopping with my aunt while Vincent and my uncle went golfing.

I had never seen waves this big in person!

Maggie (my aunt and uncle's yellow lab) loved the beach as much as we did. 

I made a friend! 

We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. I didn’t want to leave!

Carolina Goodnight!

It’s officially summer, and last weekend began our summer of traveling.  We have something planned for every weekend from now until August.  While we don’t have any big trips planned (they’re mostly just relatively quick drives to places nearby), last weekend was one of the longer, farther trips for the summer: Raleigh and Durham, NC.

This visit to Vincent’s parents’ house in Raleigh was different than it normally is because we were also joined by my family.  As my sister enters her senior year in high school, and my brother his junior year, so begins the college touring; and certainly Duke must be on that list of schools to visit in person.  I was able to tag along with my family on the campus tour, making me feel very old!  It’s hard to believe that when I was a freshman, my sister was in 1st grade and my brother was in kindergarten, and now they’re looking at Duke for themselves!  

It was also interesting to see the changes on campus since I graduated.  While my parents accompanied my brother on the tour of the Pratt School of Engineering, my sister and I managed to sneak into the recently constructed dorm on West Campus.  I only took photos of the exterior, since I was trying to be inconspicuous, although we eventually did get caught.

 



 













No trip to Duke is complete without a visit to the Duke Chapel.  As much of an advocate as I am of innovative, contemporary architecture, it’s hard not to appreciate the beauty and grandeur of this neo-Gothic cathedral.

 

 





















After completing the student-led campus tour, we stopped by the Smart Home before heading back.  The Smart Home is a “living laboratory,” a LEED Platinum house that serves as a dorm for students performing research projects contributing to the technology within the house and green living in general.  The house was in the design stages while I was a student, and it was something I wish I had known about earlier so that I could have been involved, so it was great to see the final building.

 



 













All in all, it was a great trip.  Colbert had fun playing with Vincent’s parents’ dogs and cats, Vincent enjoyed multiple golf outings, and everyone loved Cook Out!  How will you be spending your summer?