Andrea's kitchen, and mowing the lawn in Louboutin

 

This is the view of the lawn from cousin Andrea's kitchen. Not so long ago she was living in New York and taking me for drinks with her banker buddies at Smith & Wollensky, where her frequent patronage and utter devotion is celebrated with a plaque in her honor. Now she comes home from the office at lunch and mows a few of her six riverfront acres in Louboutin boots. She recently texted me a photo of her Jimmy Choo pumps next to her L.L. Beans in the entry. Madison Ave. takes Michigan.

Below is Ms. Arnold at the helm, whipping up, oh, steak, buttered corn and several salads. I brought a three-minute pie. At the island is my mom, sister Anne, brother Dave, and Andrea's dad, my awesome Uncle Chuck.

That book in front of him is my late grandmother's log of all the guests she had to her home from the 1960s on. It's such a great idea and a wonderfully nostalgic read, coming across the names of all those old neighbors. Plus, it chronicles the changes in our handwriting as kids! We all should have guest logs.  

My cousin...

 

My cousin left Manhattan after fifteen years and bought a beautiful, spacious log cabin in Michigan. I have yet to send her the photos for approval, so more details to come!

The walk-in closet/bedroom

The bedroom at the home of M. Gunnison doubles as a walk-in closet--or is the walk-in closet. It's the only closet in the apartment. The black pipe is from a pipe fitter on Great Jones. The hole in the wall serves to exhaust the steamy air from the bathroom, which is on the other side of this room. Below, the view into the main area. "Between the cramped quarters and sloped floors," says M., "it feels vaguely like living on a ship."

 

Below, the lamp and fan were hand-me-downs from a friend who lived around the corner but moved away. This is the kind of lamp I expected Papa to have in his writing studio.

M. got the Star Wars pillowcase when he was a boy. He found in recently in his trunk from summer camp. (My little brother had the same pillow case!) "I was never such a big Star Wars fan until college when I came to understand the influence that Joseph Campbell had over the early three films," he says. "That and Boba Fett was a badass."