FIREWORKS FESTIVAL

On the Sunday before the 4th of July the city of Kingston hosts a fireworks festival down by the water,  just a couple of blocks from our house.  We watched it with our neighbors in their backyard.  What a view!  Fireworks look especially dreamy when they are behind a silhouette of trees.

NOW THAT WE HAVE A LAWN...

...I guess we have to mow it.  We've been avoiding this fact until now...but on Sunday Justin borrowed our neighbor's lawn mower and gave it a go.  I got the biggest kick out of watching him do it.  Mowing the lawn seems so 1950's suburban dad.    

Fact:  justin + lawn mower = cuter than cute

HIS AND HERS

Justin and I got new bikes! Well...new OLD bikes.

Mine: a light pink and white vintage Ross.

His: a burgundy vintage Armstrong.

Some of the sweet details:

a tank with super 60s graphics and a headlight (gonna try to get it to work)...and a wicker basket

a pink rack on the back

a big old-school speedometer/odometer

an adorable scripty logo

and a red and white bike seat with a matching satchel!!

We got them from Revolution Bicycles in Saugerties -- a cute bike shop with a good selection of vintage bicycles.... and the best part....it's owned by a young couple from Manhattan who also bought a house in Kingston!!

We took our first bike ride down to Keegan Ales, the local brewery...enjoyed a couple glasses of Four Philosophers Belgian Tripel...watched the sun set and rode back home.  God, I love summer.

ROADSIDE DELICIOUSNESS

Just about every time Justin and I get in the car we pass some super charming little upstate eatery that we HAVE to check out. Case in point: Bubby's Burritos. I mean...how adorable is that burrito truck?! It is located right next to Hardeman Orchards on Route 199 in Red Hook. We had driven past it a few times when it was closed and knew we HAD to go back. Last Thursday we finally ventured over during business hours...and it was AMAZING. They only have a few things on the menu -- a black bean burrito (with rice, cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream and guacamole optional) a cheese quesadilla (with sour cream and salsa), agua de frutas, and a cooler full of Mexican sodas and Cokes in glass bottles (my favorite! why do they taste so much better?!) Everything is super fresh and delicious and the homemade red and green salsas are tops. Oh...and the atmosphere? Well...that's a photo of the view below. So...picture yourself on a picnic blanket looking out over sprawling fields, listening to the birds, and enjoying an afternoon snack. Not bad...right?

And for dessert you can get a basket of fresh strawberries from the farmstand right next door.  So perfect.

THE ROBERT BRADY MUSEUM

Last time Justin and I were in Mexico City we rented a car and drove 2 hours south to Cuernavaca because Justin had just read Under the Volcano, which takes place there.  In the 1930s, it was apparently an ex-pat haven...full of American artists and writers...and it maintained that reputation for several decades, attracting the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Timothy Leary (bohemian street cred alert!). The city has changed a lot since then...and the Cuernavaca of today is unfortunately pretty touristy and fairly commercial.  But there is one thing that made the drive TOTALLY worth it:  The Robert Brady Museum.

Casa de la Torre is the home of Robert Brady, an American artist who moved to Cuernavaca in 1962 and set up camp in a massive XVI Franciscan Monastery.  His decorating style is RIGHT up my alley.  Lots of color, lots of art, and lots of COLLECTIONS.  Collections of pillows, masks, crosses, bottles, ceramics, statues.  Art hung salon style!  Objects en masse!  Everything just the way I like it.  

Here are some of my photos from the trip and a few I found on flickr. 

So much decorating inspiration!  I love the way he chooses to display his art collection.  The mix of high and low.  An original Frida Kahlo self portrait next to a bunch of random tchotchkes and Mexican handicrafts.  Nothing too fussy.  Everything done with a sense of humor.  A necklace thrown around a statue...a giant gaucho doll slumped in an antique chair.  I love it all.  This house REALLY appeals to my maximalist side.  Hmm...do I have a minimalist side?  

Photo Sources: #4, #5, #16 from here; #7, #11, #15 from here; #13 from here; #17 from here

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SUMMER WARDROBE

Lately all I want to wear are caftans and maxi dresses. Unfortunately, almost all of my vintage frocks are of the mini variety. Yup...I pretty much have a closet FULL of teeny tiny 1960s tent dresses. But now I'm craving a longer hemline. Maybe it's living upstate? The proximity to Woodstock? I don't know.

I'm thinking something 2 parts Rhoda Morgenstern and 1 part Mrs. Roper.

photo sources (top to bottom): caftan pattern; rhoda 1; rhoda 2; rhoda 3; mrs. roper 1; mrs. roper 2.

RESPITE

Oops.  I guess I haven't posted anything since last Tuesday?  Sorry mom!  I know you get disappointed when I don't have a new post up by sunrise each morning.  

I've been super busy working on the house and, more importantly, doing fun upstate summery things like going to yard sales, swimming holes, farmers' markets, roadside ice cream stands, cute cafés and antique stores.  

The photo above is the path down to a swimming hole that is just 13 minutes from our house.  It was pretty standard fare as far as swimming holes go.  Not too deep and pretty rocky...but fun and relaxing nonetheless.  We have directions to some other ones that I am DYING to check out.  They may or may not involve waterfalls and naked hippies. I'll report back.

OUR YARD

The exciting thing about moving into a new home in Spring is that the yard is full of surprises.  We've seen trees that looked totally dead sprout leaves and come to life...and there have been several different flowering perennials whose blooming periods have come and gone.  The photo above shows some of the foliage in our side yard - a big thick patch of clumping bamboo, a purple beech tree and a blue spruce.

When we moved in our lilac bush was in full bloom.  After the lilacs faded and disappeared our giant rhododendron was suddenly covered with the most beautiful purply pink flowers.  But now they're gone too.  I had no idea how SHORT the blooming time was for these things!  If I did I certainly would have taken some pictures.  

Just this week a row of stunning pink peonies opened up in our front yard.  Our neighbor says he thinks they have been there since the 1920s!  

I couldn't help but cut a few stems to put around the house.

Yesterday our first tiger lily opened up.  Today there are about 10 more!

And then there are these pink and white flowers.  I think they are some kind of Dianthus? 

Whatever they are they seem to have an extended blooming period.  They started flowering a while ago and are still staying strong.

There is also some honeysuckle, hostas and a slew of weeds...some which are perfectly lovely looking...and some which are more...well...weed-like.  The yard certainly needs work...and hopefully Justin and I will be able do a little something to it before the summer is over.  But in the meantime I am happy to enjoy whatever perennial surprises it has in store for us.