Put a Little Fun in It
Monique Keegan's house is striking.
The nearly 90-year-old manse sits on a hill overlooking charming downtown Granville. Carefully chosen plants in giant rustic pots punctuate picture-perfect landscaping, while lush ivy climbs the home's exterior stones. And the four-story interior has been fully and thoughtfully restored to its former glory-and then some.
But while it's filled with stellar pieces of furniture and antiques found 'round the world, it's far from an untouchable show house. Monique, an interior designer, lives here with her husband, Keith, 14-year-old son, Maxfield, and giant Newfoundland dog, Rogue. Windows are slung open. Doors are, too-and a slew of them lead to outside lounging areas (I absolutely lust the indoor/outdoor family room). And there's plenty of entertaining-be it of the adult kind or the all-the-boys-are-coming-after-practice-then-sleeping-over variety.
There's a reason, after all, that Monique's company is called Enjoy Co.: She clearly takes her houses seriously (as proven by snapshots I saw of her leading their indoor demolition in work boots), but not herself. Life is, after all, about living.
With that as our manta, we put together this issue. We hope it offers you several ways to better enjoy yourself this summer, whether it's drawing inspiration from someone, reminding you to enjoy a ballgame at what may be the nation's best minor league park or prompting you to organize a progressive patio party.
You'll meet Alexis Jacobs, who has successfully navigated a boy's world in both business (she owns an auto auction) and pleasure (she's an accomplished competitive deep-sea fisher).
You'll get a taste of Brownie Points, owned by former teacher Lisa King, whose treats are wowing people from doctors to celebrities. (I highly recommend The Original Kitchen Sink Brownie. Ah-mazing.)
You'll join us at the ballpark in our fashion spread-a two-years-in-the-making shoot at Huntington Park. (The Clippers folks could not be any cooler or more accommodating. Thanks guys!)
You'll find good reason to spoil yourself with our pedicure story, which highlights what we think are the five best in Central Ohio (tough job, we know).
And if you needed an excuse to gather your neighbors, you'll find it in Robin Davis's recipe for strawberry sangria in the patio party package.
We'll also get you fitted into the perfect bra. And driving a wow-worthy car as well.
To practice what I'm preaching, I even ditched the normal editor's note shot in favor of this ornery outtake (which Will only put in my folder as a joke and won't believe is running 'til it's printed).Because this issue is a reminder, even for me, to take my job seriously-but not myself.
Happy summer!