real estate.

A LITTLE ARTIC FUNK…. BRING OUT YOUR INNER SOMMELIER…. AND SOMETHING NEW TO CHEW IN EAST HAMPTON!

It’s snowing again!  So I guess that’s why my brain is now frozen. Yes, I’m falling into my “Arctic Funk.”  But I’m trying desperately to find a way to work my way through it.  I’m remaining positive and focusing on the good stuff.

I want to dress like a food wrapper!

work through it.   In fact, I’m not even going to mention my strained back or the exorbitant bills from the driveway plowing or the fact I have half-fast inter net… thank you very much Cablevision!   Today, I’m  going on a stream of conscious blogging adventure.  It’s cathartic for me…. kind of like Katy Perry dressing like a bag of Wonder Bread or Cheetos and dancing with a shark.   I would have preferred if she had gone dancing with the Jets to be honest!   So, today if you’re looking for some sort of thematic thread from Hamptons Chatter (the most inconsistent blog in the Hamptons) forget it!   Go read somewhere else!

Wainscott Wine and Spirits… Facebook Photo

It’s Winesday/Wednesday according to Kathie Lee and Hoda!  So what better way to celebrate the hallowed hump day festivities then getting your buzz on!    Starting February 25th, Chimene Visser Macnaughton will be hosting a series of wine tasting events at  Wainscott Wine and Spirits.   Some of the topics to be discussed  will be “You say Spumanti, I say Frizzanti” and “Tresors of the Loire Valley.”   Classes start at 5:30p in the store located located at 354 Montauk Highway, Wainscott… in the shopping center right next to the Seafood Shop.   Call the store a 631-537-5800 to register or e mail them at WAINSCOTTMAIN@gmail.com.   The cost is $10 and that’s a bargain for some good wine and mingling with your Hamptons neighbors!  Hopefully I’ll see you there and as the old Liza Minellli song goes, “life is a Cabernet!”

Finally some food news… the restaurant formerly known as “Nichols” has a new tenant.   A sign has now appeared that it’s going to be known as “Winston’s.”    While I don’t have a name of who exactly is opening the place, it’s apparently going to be a Lobster and Steak house.   After all the restaurants that bit the dust in the past 12 months (maybe I should write them all obituaries?), it’s good to finally hear someone is here to help fill the void!

Meanwhile is anyone else depressed that the former Peconic Coast…. JL East…. Beach House…. Hamptons Polo Club space is becoming a garden center?!    Cue the Barry Manilow song.

Hamptons Snow and Tell… Meredith’s Mistake… and Sag Harbor’s Newest Chef!

Meredith…. what went wrong?

Yes, the weather outside is frightful…  so frightful in fact I actually stayed inside, drank coffee and while I was loading kerosine into heaters and batteries into my zillions of lanterns, I watched  the “Meredith Vieira Show!”   I know, I sound like a doomsday prepper!   Anyway, it’s  so sad,  Meredith had the potential to be the new Phil Donahue but instead she’s busy trying to imitate the “Ellen” show.  Why????!   I guess what the television executives are thinking is nobody with half a brain watches television during the day.  Well I guess they’re not wrong but with the ability to watch TV on your phone and everyone having a built in DVR, won’t audiences follow smart programming?  Vieira was great on The View, 60 Minutes and the Today Show.   She was smart and approachable and added a spark to most anything she touched.  What happened!? Oh well but I digress…

Something’s cooking at Baron’s cove!

Some interesting news is thawing around town, while construction continues on the former Baron’s Cove Hotel, the restaurant that’s going into the new facility has apparently lined up a new chef to run the roost.   Rumor around town is that chef Matt Boudreau will be overseeing the new waterfront eatery.    In case you don’t know the name, Matt was the chef at Vine Street Cafe on Shelter Island for the past few years.     While I do love spending the extra $16 bucks and 40 minutes travel time going to “The Rock”, I’m kind of excited to make the trip for some good bolognese a little closer!  Hint to Matt – – – the bolognese on the menu!      In case you weren’t aware, Baron’s Cove was bought by Cape Advisers the folks behind the Watchcase factory a few years ago.  They’ve since started a major renovation of the site and after some back and forth, got permission to open a restaurant on the site with some restrictions.

Meanwhile, the numbers are out and things are looking up for real estate in the Hamptons!   Douglas Elliman just released it’s fourth quarter 2014 “Elliman Reports” for Long Island, Hamptons and North Fork, as well as our Decade (2005-2014) versions of those same markets. The reports are produced in conjunction with Miller Samuel and provide “the most comprehensive and neutral market insight available.”

The Hamptons finished the year with a strong performance. The quarter totals had the most sales in nearly a decade and the highest median sales price in more than seven years.  Along with the rise in sales, inventory remained stable which kept the market moving at a fast pace.

 

If you’d like the read the rest… check it out on Elliman.com!

Snowpocalypse… Snowmageddon….. Blizzard ’15. Here are the pictures!

OK, so this is a good transition blog for me.   I took some time off to recharge my creative juices.     So look for a new blog tomorrow.  I promise.  In the meantime, I took a drive around town so you don’t have to go outside.

Yes……. I have to include Bella and Russell!

5 REASONS WHY ‘HOME GOODS’ IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR WAINSCOTT!

The future home of Home Goods in Wainscott.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, there’s been a lot of complaining about the new Home Goods Store currently under construction in Wainscott.    The building has been criticized for everything from being too close to the road to out of character for the Hamptons!   Really people?  Really?   It has cedar shingles, dormers and is no bigger than some guest cottages here on the east end.  It’s also alot better looking than the old Plitt Ford car dealership.  So why all the fuss?!!!  Well I guess some people here in the Hamptons have nothing else better to do.  So, that’s I’m here to put some of these Debbie and Donald Downers in line.   Besides, if you people stop the new Home Goods from coming to town, where else will I be able to buy an irregular coffee table, brand new Patrick Nagel prints or discontinued Isaac Mizrahi soap dishes?   In fact, there are bigger ugly fish to fry.  So, how about doing something with these local eyesores?

Located at the Hamptons Jitney stop in Wainscott, these cement benches are part of the welcome gate to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.    But admit it, you too thought they look like someone plucked them straight out of Pinelawn.  There is nothing attractive about these benches.   How about some Adirondack Chairs or perhaps a nice rope hammock? Those would be more Hamptons and you won’t need a Mary grotto to make it look complete!

A yabba dabba don’t!

It’s dusty, it’s rocky and it looks more like the gateway to Bedrock than the Hamptons!   Hello why can’t they make the quarry of Southampton Masonry more attractive!?   Yes, it’s a quarry but there is no reason they can’t plant some nice shrubs or something.  I mean,  use your imagination people!   Hire a talented landscaper and put some flair back on route 27.   Since it’s a rock pit and already looks like a home for a prehistoric family, why not add a Bedrock/Flintstones theme?!  Stop by the place in Southampton with all the dinosaurs out front.   I personally would love to see some Dino or Fred topiary!   It could be the year round Pumpkintown for Wainscott.   Besides, selling $20 juice boxes and souvenir photos with Fred and Wilma could be very profitable.

Holy creepazoids Batman, how come nobody is complaining about this seasoned greeting in Wainscott? Is it the pale complexion? Is it the beady eyes or the gaping open mouth that I find so odd?   I’m frightened every time I drive by!   This Santa looks like he’s an advertisement for Jerry Sandusky’s Christmas Kayaking adventure Camp.   I have nothing against Main Beach surf shop, Kayaks or even Santa but that mannequin is scarier than H-E-Double hockey sticks!!   There has to be a friendlier looking figure to go into this boat ? What about a real guy in Santa outfit or simplify with some holiday lights on a kayak without anybody on board?
Let’s hide behind the chainsaws!

You know that commercial for Geico on the air now?  It’s a group of teenagers running away from a Freddy Kruger kind of character and they make a “bad decision” and run into a creepy barn with chainsaws everywhere… well they filmed that here.   Yes, the former Star Room and Swamp location is scarier now than it was when it was littered with self entitled 20-somethings driving their Ferrari’s and Lamborgini’s and sipping $1000 bottles of D.P. at their reserved tables.   I’m not sure why this building hasn’t sold yet…. all it needs is some paint and a bulldozer!    Hey, what ever happened to CVS going in there anyway?

Finally, there is “Home Sweet Home Moving and Storage.”   It’s a good moving company and in fact, I recommend them to clients frequently.  But address the elephant in the room.  There is NOTHING “homey” or “sweet” about corrugated tin buildings.    Perhaps if they did a big needle point on the side of the building it would seem a lot more home sweet home like.  Think the old logo for the game show “Family Feud” being placed on the side of the building.

Time to wrap this up.  Other than the simple fear of an unintended drive through, the building is attractive and done by a group of professionals who in my opinion did a good job of keeping within the area’s aesthetic.    The business will bring jobs to the area and help a lot of residents pull a home together on a tight budget.    Let’s not waste our breath complaining about what is essentially a nice building that will help the community while there are empty shelves at the food pantries and actual homeless folks on the street!  Happy Holidays and remember you are lucky and blessed you live in one of the most beautiful places on earth!