WATCHING THE LEAVES CHANGE

Fall is truly magical upstate. I love waking up each morning and seeing the bright, beautiful leaves out my bedroom windows. And with all of the trees up here it's like every room in the house has a brand new view!

This is what I see when I walk out the front door...

And this amazingness is right around the corner...

I'm not that into the earthy palette usually associated with fall---browns, burnt oranges, yellows, maroons---but I REALLY respond to the crazy neon oranges and electric reds that I see on these trees around town. Apparently it's impossible to capture with my camera...but I swear, they look radioactive.

CECI N'EST PAS UNE CHURCH

Well...it WAS a church...but NOW it's a house. Right around the corner from us...and it's for sale!

You should definitely watch the virtual tour.

I want it! Or at least I want someone I know to get it and do something awesome with it! I mean...those windows, those floors, that hand carved front door! Huge spaces, high ceilings, perfectly weathered walls! It's basically an Anthropologie shoot waiting to happen. And there's nothing overtly churchy about it. No cross on the steeple...no religious stained glass. It's just a perfect airy loft space with character and age. Love it.

It's listed at $299,000! And apparently it not only has a big beautiful old performance space...but also a recording studio?!

Full listing details here. I'm gonna go die now.

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.

OUR BLOCK

We got our first package in the mail!  It was from the Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission of Kingston and had all kinds of information about the four designated historic districts and a list of preservation and restoration guidelines for the homes that are within these areas. 

Our house is in the Chestnut Street Historic District.  It's a small area...only a few blocks long. And it's great because it means that nobody on our street...or the surrounding streets can do anything crazy to their house.  Any changes you make have to be consistent with the period and architectural style of your home. That means no vinyl siding, no crazy paint jobs, and most importantly no tearing down beautiful old buildings. 

The top photo is the view from our front porch.  Our street is a tiny cul-de-sac with only about 6 other houses on it and ours sits at the very end.  Here are a few of the other houses: 

And here's our house: