SET YOUR MONKEY FREE

Spring. It can mean so many things. Spring cleaning, new beginnings, bare legs and no tights, pedicures, and if you’re a mamagirl, it inevitably means the beginning of the playground season. I used to loathe the playground when the kids were younger…it was so hard to watch and manage the two boys when they tore off in different directions. JV has had staples in his head from the playground. He has also had stitches to the chin. And Gus jumped off the monkey bars and broke his foot once. It’s a crazy place where the kids unleash their inner beasts and go wild. It used to be so stressful for me. That is until I realized, if you can’t beat them, join them. One day, as I sat on the bench looking at how the playground equipment has evolved since I was a kid, it dawned on me. There are poles everywhere! Why should the kids be the only ones having the fun flipping, climbing and spinning? Move over kids, The Mamagirl wants in on the playground action. And that’s when I started to play on the monkey bars again.

When I thought about it further, maybe one of the reasons why I love to climb, swing, flip and behave like a primate is because it is inherit in me. I was, after all, born in the Chinese New Year of the Monkey. When I realized that, all of my life seemed to clearly explain itself. That is why I am impish. It is why I am cheeky. And it is why I like to tease and play. It is simply in my nature to be a mischievous puck.

And so, when I discovered my true love for monkeys, I decided to surround myself in them and start collecting them by putting them all over my house. Here are some vignettes into my monkey-mania decorated house. One of my very first acquired decorative objects was the Aubusson Monkey Carpet that now lies in my dining room. I saw this in an auction and fell in love. But wouldn’t you know – the date of the sale was inconveniently scheduled on the same day that I delivered my first child, JV. Well shit, that wasn’t going to stop me from being outbid on that rug. I HAD to have it. I recall being in the OR recovery room after my c-section and fervently tracking the progress of the sale. That was one of the best days of my life – I became a first time mother AND I acquired my first Aubusson. I finally felt like a grown up that day. If we stay in the dining room, please check out the mural below the chair rail that I hand painted. After a very late pregnancy loss of my second child, I was incredibly depressed and threw myself into wine and painting. It was an incredibly therapeutic and creative experience for me. Pictured above my mural is a very large painting that my dad found in a garage in Florida. It was on its way to the dumpster and my dad, knowing how much I loved anything simian, took it off the stretchers, rolled it, put it in a tube and mailed it on up to me. Soon after, I found this chandelier with monkeys climbing up and down the palm tree fixtures. I now have monkey lamps on my bar. I have monkey needlepoint prayers that bless my house in the entryway. I have monkey cachepots on the mantel. I have toleware monkey caddies where I keep pencils. And one of my newest auction finds is a brass monkey door knocker. Because I NEED to have good looking knockers, you know. It’s very, very important.

Since it’s the onset of spring, I encourage you to all set your monkey free. Interpret this how you will. Maybe  you’ll go do a pole class and unleash your pole monkey. Maybe you will channel your inner martial arts techniques and Monkey Steal someone’s Peach. Maybe you’ll challenge your kids to a chicken fight on the monkey bars at the playground. Maybe you drank too many martinis last night, can’t get out of bed and want to just spank your monkey all afternoon.  Knock yourselves out.

How do YOU set your monkey free?

Tory Burch, black leather Donna boot
H&M black and gold speckled knee-highs