summer holiday, part one

I'm back from vacation and verrrrry slowly beginning to get back in the swing of things. This is always a confusing time for me. I'm happy to be back in my little home with Lucy, yet I dearly miss the friends I only get to see once a year or so. Bittersweet!

Here are some scenes from Part One of our trip out east. Andy and I first dropped Lucy off at his mom's place. She lives out in the country and there is this beautiful old grange hall there I've always wanted to get photos of, so I finally did. There were some very enticing racks of clothing inside, but the place was locked up tight, sadly.

Next stop: Detroit to pick up our pal Stephani, and then the three of us set out for the Catskills. But first, we stopped overnight in Ithaca, NY. We had a nice little dinner with fancy cocktails, and in the morning checked out beautiful Buttermilk Falls, which has a nifty swimming area at its base.

We then set out for the Catskills, naturally taking the slow route, which consisted of beautiful twisty roads through New York's Southern Tier farmland, and stops for ice cream and antiquing. Stephani and I hit gold in one shop: a mod canary yellow linen dress for her, and an Alpine print sundress and matching jacket for me!

But our friends J.R. and Jason in Kerhonkson (or KerHUNKson, as I now call it) were waiting for us at their beautiful country home. They live in the woods, off a pretty little creek with the most idyllic swimming hole. My dear friend and former roommate, Rob, came up from the city and joined us, and we basically spent two days enjoying the amazing hospitality of the Kerhunks--eating like kings, drinking cocktails, sitting in the sun, reading in the shade.

It was the kind of setting that just made you want to wear breezy little dresses, which luckily was pretty much what I packed.

The setting of Jason and J.R.'s home is unbelievably gorgeous--and the inside is just as spectacular. I was totally inspired and could not stop snapping photos (see below).

The first set of photos below show the screened-in porch, where we ate all our meals and of which I am hugely covetous.

On our last day, before heading down to the big bad city, we stopped by the boys' Rural Modernist studio/shop, where Jason sells his fabulous ceramics, art, and greeting cards, and J.R.'s collection of outsider art is also available for sale. I nabbed a beautiful vase for myself (photos to follow soon!).

I think we all were tempted to stay at Casa Kerhunkson, especially knowing the 90-plus temps that were awaiting us in NYC, but we had many dear friends to see, so on we went. More on my return to Gotham later!

xo

K