Vacationing Upstate

While I sit here and wait for the apartment to get fixed, the lack of my usual attractions has made me revisit old favorites. Mainly letting my friends and family know what we're up to and really because it gives me an excuse to take photos. I REALLY MISS IT! I've been so useless recently with picking up a camera but will definitely make more of an effort. I usually rely on my poor iPhone, which is where these photos came from. 

So we recently tried to get away from the city (before all the drama) and I have to admit stupidly thought the weather would be warmer. Yeah it's called upstate for a reason and we went to the bloody mountains. While we freezed our butts off we discovered a new favorite place to escape the city. Phoenicia was beautiful and picturesque. We went hiking and Paco obviously loved it the most. The town was teeny but what was there was perfectly formed and of phenomenal quality. Including wood oven pizza, the most incredible fudge that I had far too much of and the Phoenicia Diner was absolute yum. There are also options for sporty activities, which we kept away from as we went to relax. The rest of our time was taken up with making fires to try to stay warm. 

Riding High

So last week Tuesday, as you well know, it was my birthday. On the Tuesday I spent the day exploring the city filling the space between the mooching/shopping with eating. I started my morning in the Flatiron District with a gorgeous brunch at Nomad. Followed by afternoon tea at the new Laduree Teahouse in Soho, ending with dinner at Tertulia in the West Village. It was a fantastic day.

The Saturday before Hipster Dufus' friend very generously offered to take us on a plane ride to celebrate my old age. However it turned out to be somewhat of a disaster. While I'm starting to settle in very well, every so often the city throws me a curveball and reminds me that I still have a long way to go. So what happened? Well I allowed myself to think that I could invite enough people to my house for drinks. This gathering was supposed to follow a quick whiz in the plane, making for quite an epic day. The morning of, it decides to snow. So the plane was out. And during the day the inevitable cancellations started pouring in. Feeling like a Susie-no-mates and NOT dealing with the whole "it's my birthday" thing very well, I decided to do everyone a favor and cancel. By this point I was waiting on 3 people...

However this weekend Hipster Dufus' friend followed through on his offer and off we went. This time the route would take us all around New York. Starting in Coney Island, circling the Statue of Liberty ending up in a full on approach towards Manhattan. I think the photos really speak for themselves, there 's no better way to see the city. The view from up above is breathtaking. It's like seeing your very own opening credits to a film set in New York except this time, after two hours the screen doesn't fade to black.

Back to the Island

Antigua, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama. Actually they say Aruba but we went to Antigua. So here are the digital batch from this amazing holiday. Hipster Dufus and I are city people I'm sure you've heard me say many times. We love exploring new places and being able to see landmarks, history, artifacts etc. We've actually only taken 3 beach holidays together and of those only this one included not a single element of exploration. I took one book and a sketch pad. Our daily activities included deciding where to relax. The beach? The bar? The Hammock? The bed with a view? Ooh the choices, it's so hard! Five glorious days of crazy hard choices.

We also did happen to go because it was Hipster Dufus's birthday. We celebrated by, uuh, mmm, choosing which location to relax in. Followed by a massage. And then finished the day with dinner at a cliff side restaurant with cocktails at sunset. And that really sums up Antigua, at least the way we did it. Relaxed, quiet, laid back. Just wonderful.

Family and New York

Hello! Well I've been away for a while so what have I been doing? Well After our well deserved break from the many visitors we just lay low and waited for the family to arrive for Christmas. I had such a fantastic Christmas. Yes the boys did spend most of their time on their phones and were completely disengaged. But still when they did manage to come up for air it almost seemed like they were enjoying themselves. I basically spent a week being a personal New York tour guide "and on the left the Empire State Building, and on the right Grand Central Station". Most of our time was spent at home watching bad movies and snuggling on the sofa. Hipster Dufus completely outdid himself with his conveyor belt of consistently delicious food. And really that's what Christmas is all about. Family, food, TV.

It's been a week since my family left and I miss them like crazy. It was really special to have them here in my personal space. It made New York real, it hadn't seemed like I was really living here without them in my space. It always seemed like something was missing. But now I can remember the time we went here or there and it just brings the city to life for me. It has been an absolutely epic year for me. Many low, struggles and success and triumphs. It feels amazing to have finished it on such a high.