“You Have Taken Something Beautiful and Rebuilt It For The Future”
That is what my 101-year-old mother said when she saw the rebuild of our home in Westhampton NY. She is kind of amazing. When mom moved into assisted living 4 years ago, we thought about selling her house in Westhampton. The decision to keep the house was driven by our kids and their children. They had so many important memories spending summers in the Hamptons. The old house had issues. For one, it was old. It was small. It was so small that Susan and I would have to stay at the motel down the street when we had visitors. But then again, what is the key thing about real estate: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
Mom enjoying the new house
Location is one consideration, economics is another. Picking an area that is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive in the country to live, is never a good idea. With ravages of Wall Street nearby, there is an abundance of “stupid money” in the hood. There is also the adage of buy low, sell high that factored into our decision. Picking the peak of the market to buy and build can certainly be called stupid. Then again, I have never claimed to be the brains of the family. With both of my parents being college professors, one might think that brains ran in the family. When it came to me, it has been said that brains walked.
Susan and Paul enjoying an adult beverage on the back porch
After a two-year process of planning, spending, and spending some more, we moved into the new house in mid-August. It is still a small house, but we have a few more bedrooms and bathrooms. The floor plan is a little different. We live on Sea Breeze Avenue and no matter how hot it gets, you could sit under the arbor in the backyard and there was a delightful breeze to cool you off. No matter what my father tried to do with bay windows and fans you could never cool off the main living areas of the house. We worked with an architect, who lives down the street, and when we talked about the dilemma of the old house, he brought up a very simple solution, shift the living areas of the house to face the ocean and the prevailing breeze. That, and central air conditioning, make a world of difference.
The decision to go right or left is usually a political reference. Where we live in the Hamptons, from a food shopping standpoint, going right or left has an enormous economic impact. Going left (west) from our house I can get amazing seafood and local fresh produce at reasonable prices. Go right (east), and it can be crazy. There is a great wholesale/retail seafood place where I get great swordfish for $16/lb. and lobster for $8.99/lb. We went right (to a local market in Sag Harbor and the price for swordfish was $32/lb. and lobster was $24/lb. There is a farm stand 10 miles west of us where I bought 3 tomatoes at $3 per pound and the farmer threw in an additional 2 for free. That is versus the $7 tomato I bought last year few miles east. Living out east, brings new meaning to the saying “go west young man, go west!”
Mom asking for clippings of sage and lavender from her herb garden to take back to her apartment.
There are certainly culinary benefits to summers in the Hamptons. We had two wonderful salads for lunch with Mom:
-
Curry Chicken with Peaches
-
Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto
The salads were perfectly complemented with a loaf of olive bread brought by friends from Brooklyn.
Curry Chicken Salad with Peaches
Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto
At the end of the day, life is about building memories. And, taking something beautiful and rebuilding it for the future is not about location or economics, it is all about building memories
If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are