Summer Getaways

Let's move on to summer, shall we? It unofficially starts this weekend (did Memorial Day sneak up on anyone else?) and while I'm more of a Spring gal for the most part, I get excited for summer getaways. I like them to be close-ish to home (so the relaxing can start a.s.a.p.) lazy but also full (like how summer days felt when you were nine), and with plenty of summer-y food (preferably cooked outside and enjoyed with a cold beer).



So when I ran across this New York Magazine slideshow of fantasy summer rentals, it got my wheels spinning. Some of these definitely sit in the "fantasy" category with their hefty price tags, but Airbnb is sure to have plenty of places to rent with just as much charm. But let's dream for a minute, ok?





I'm ready to pack a bag and hit the road. Do you have fun travel plans for the long weekend?

All photos via NY Mag, linked info here.

(A Weekend in Hudson) Weekend in Pictures

{welcome to hudson!}

{stripes and critter pants in my room}

{accidental ombre coffee}

{bread at cafe le perche}

{cafe le perche}

{pretty warren street}

{strolling}

{navy and turquoise}

{fall}

{heart-ish ivy}

{almost ombre}

{how much is that doggie in the window?}

{sold out!}

{trick or treat}

{a little lion on safari}

{looking out over the hudson}

{drinks at swoon}

{hurrying home on the train before the hurricane}

{bye hudson!}

This past weekend two friends and I skipped town and headed north to Hudson, NY in the Hudson Valley. It's a great little town with a long main street, lots of shops and some yummy restaurants. Plus, with it being Halloween weekend, there were trick-or-treaters out. (Check out that little lion! He was my favorite.) We browsed lots of shops, had some great meals, and also had plenty of lounging time in our cute little townhouse (we watched Clueless and lots of SNL clips). Also, some dancing:

 

Here's some of our Hudson favorites:

Cafe Le Perche A cute little French place with great pastries. Try the apple cheddar scone!

Swoon We had a great dinner here. Lots of local, seasonal ingredients. We each got our own dessert and were pretty reluctant to share, they were so good.

Lili and Loo  Lovely housewares. We cleaned up in the Halloween decor section, lots of skeletons :)

Front Street Guest House Close to the train and an easy walk to Warren St. We stayed in their Half Moon Suite, which is less of a suite and more of a townhouse. It was the best of both worlds - a little bit like a hotel, a little bit like renting a place to ourselves.

(A World Away) Weekend in Pictures

{catching the ferry to fire island}

{ocean beach}

{at housers for a boozy lunch}

{the best bloody mary}

{private beach}

{so many red wagons}

{napping in the sun}

{a deer! in a front yard!}

{the perfect day at the beach}

Determined to wring every last drop out of summer, which I feel like only just got started, I headed out to Fire Island for the day with a friend. (New Yorkers, the LIRR has some great deals on day trip packages!) We took the ferry to Ocean Beach, a cute little beach town with no cars and lots of red wagons. It was a dream of a day -- cocktails by the water, wandering past pretty homes and cats sleeping in the sun, lounging on the beach, a perfect breeze, ice cream, and a ferry home just before sunset. I think it was as much summer as you could squeeze into a day! Hope your weekend was summery!

(A Day Trip) Weekend in Pictures

{celebrating a friend's new job with chili margaritas}

{headed to grand central}

{classic meeting spot}

{10 minute rainstorm}

{the old croton aqueduct trail}

{the hudson river from dobbs ferry, ny}

{salty paws sailboat}

With no plans and an entire summer Saturday ahead of us, my friend Nicolle and I hopped on the train and headed north. There's tons of little towns to visit within an easy train ride of NYC, but it's not always easy to get from the train station to the town. Last summer we walked a mile of sketchy roads in New Haven, CT before getting to anything worth seeing.

This time, we chose the Rivertowns (we started in Irvington) which are all an easy walk from the train. They're all connected by the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, which winds through lightly wooded areas and past big beautiful homes. We had a lovely day getting lost (like, actually lost), rained on for a bit, and imagining who might live in the houses. How was your weekend?

Weekend in Pictures

{chillin' in the shade}

{so. many. tiny. drawers!}

{a giant, somewhat outdated globe}

{the courtyard we got locked in for a bit}

{a pretty, new england-y house}

{drinks back in the city, at the smith}

{sunday skies}

This weekend I took a somewhat spontaneous day trip to New Haven, CT. A couple friends and I got the itch to go somewhere, with the limitation that we didn't want to rent a car so we had to be able to walk to our destination from a train station. That limited things a bit, but we eventually settled on a little jaunt to the Ivy League. We wandered and shopped a bit unsuccessfully, then ended up strolling around Yale's campus. We explored Sterling Library and got locked (temporarily) in a little courtyard. It was all very collegiate, it reminded me of visiting Oxford. And, if I'm being totally honest, Hogwarts :)