As a wedding planner, I find myself buying treasured items that I find on my adventures of thrifting and antiquing. My theory is I wont be able to come back and buy it and I’ll be able to use it for an event. Luckily, for Jason and my parents, these items are small, so they don’t take up much room.

 

A few weeks ago, my mom took me to an estate sale like no other. This estate sale was the home of Grand rapids Philanthropist, Leslie Tassell and concert pianist, Krystyna Cotter. I have been ‘neighbors” with Leslie Tassell since he moved into the neighborhood around 1997. Leslie built his home on land that my family used to play in; everything from bog jumping during the spring, picnics during the summer, hikes during the fall, and cross country skiing during the winter. I remember the day he started building his home and when we could no longer use the woods as our backyard. We got to watch the house being built, the zebras come in, and the fence go up. His estate occupied 95 acres that were adjacent to my parents yard. After he passed away, the fence came down, some of the land became a park, and his mistress, Krystyna Cotter remained living there until she passed away in September. For my mom and I, we went not to buy, but to see. Since we got to see this house being built, it was a chance to see the inside of his home. Below are some pictures of this magnificent estate and the treasures it held.