Dollhouse Dedication!

Last Thursday I took a quick trip down to Atlanta for the dedication of the cottage at Jacqueland. I posted pictures a while back from the ground breaking which everyone went to but me, and boy did I get a guilt trip for not being there! So even though my birthday party was the next day, I scooted down south for the night and I am so glad I did.

The rain held off and everyone from the Frazer Center and AHHH were at the dedication. Pop and Dot made it down and so did Angela. Bernie Marcus, founder of Home depot gave a great speech and had most of the crowd in tears when he dedicated $64,000 to the new cottage for operations expenses. We all got a kick out of the 'sawing of the board' the Home Depot was of doing a 'cutting of the ribbon.' Also on hand for the dedication were three pastors and a rabbi (that is not the opening to a joke) who each blessed the cottage with their own prayer and speech.

The board was painted by children at the Bernie Marcus Autism Center and the cottage will be used by the center for families who need a place to stay as well as for AHHH visitors.

The interiors of the cottage were amazing. The tile bathrooms, quilted bedspreads and plush laundry room plus the beautiful gardens are a great addition to the property and so much nicer than the ones in the old 'dollhouse.'

After finger sandwiches and catching up with old friends it was time to head to the airport, back to NYC for a final cleaning session before Saturdays party!

Welcome to the Dollhouse Redux

As most of my friend and family know, my Great Grandfather's home is one of my favorite places. I grew up going there with my grandmother learning about my namesake and hearing her tales of living in the home in the 20's and 30's with fresh cut flowers from the 12 acres of gardens and the tea dances and debutant balls she enjoyed. Today it is home to the Atlanta Hospital Hospitality House (click on title for a link).

I have been passionate about keeping the house up since I was a teenager, raising money to replace windows and lending old pictures to decorate the house and to show restorers how the house originally looked.

About a year ago, the dollhouse that Mr. Cator built for his two daughters finally succumbed to termites. It is unimaginable how the little house built as a play place for two young girl's in the 1920's has stood this long since it was built with no foundation, just on the dirt. The little house (which I have a silver pattern from and several pieces of miniature furniture) was used as extra bedrooms for AHHH and was great for handicapped guests who couldn't climb the staircase in the main house.

After much fundraising and great donations from Home Depot the Dollhouse is being rebuilt bigger and better! Thanks to some pictures I sent them AHHH is trying to build it as close to the original as possible but of course they had to make it bigger for more rooms and an apartment for Kay who is the true heart of the house and has managed the place for years.

Looking forward to the opening hopefully in February!