FIELD TRIP: PHOENICIA

Phoenicia is one of my favorite summertime spots upstate. It's a quirky little town with lots of personality and plenty to do. We just spent the afternoon there with a couple of our friends from Brooklyn...and let me tell you...there is no better way to spend a super hot day than floating down the Espous Creek on an inner tube.

So, if any of you are thinking of venturing up here this summer I highly recommend a stop in this gem of a town.  Here are some things you won't want to miss:

As previously mentioned: TUBING! I know it sounds kinda lame...but seriously...it is SO fun. Just trust me.  There are a few different places to rent tubes...but we've always gone to Town Tinker Tube Rental. It's right at the top of Main Street and is charmingly no frills. For instance, if you don't have water shoes...or don't want to buy them...they have a shack full of old canvas sneakers that you can rent for a couple dollars. And the photo of the old white bus at the top of this post? That's the tube taxi. You pile in there and a crazy old hippie drives you a few miles up the road to the launch point. From there you are on your own. The voyage will be relaxing at times and downright frightening at others...so be prepared. And when you see this bridge...

...stay to the left...and start praying...because I would say there is a 25% chance you're gonna wipe out. But even wiping out is kinda fun. 

SWEET SUE'S:  Jumbo sized super fluffy pancakes in a zillion different flavors?  Yes please!  This is definitely where you want to eat.  It's pretty much legendary.  Note:  A normal stack comes with three pancakes.  You will NOT finish three of these pancakes.  No matter how hungry you are.  Order two and thank me later. 

HOMER AND LANGLEY'S  MYSTERY SPOT:  One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE vintage stores.  This place is jam packed with all kinds of gems.  Clothes, records, books, housewares, collectibles, oddities(?)....pretty much anything and everything you've ever wanted.  It's all curated by proprietress Laura Levine who clearly has an eye for the amazing...and the...umm...unusual.  But no description of mine is going to do this place justice.  You have to go see it for yourself.  And while you're there give my regards to Petey the Piranha.

Other Phoenician delights worth mentioning:

The Nest Egg general store for old timey candy, trail maps galore, some hysterical dreamcatchers, a GREAT selection of moccasins and a big display of hippie gemstone pendants for $2.99 each. Mix and match till your hearts content.  Here are the ones I got...

And Justin picked up some new summer shoes...

The Phoenicia Library has a permanent book sale going on outside...even when they're not open!  50 cents for paperbacks and 1 dollar for hardcovers.  You just drop the money in a slot and go...honor system style!  

And before you head out of town you should definitely check out the time capsule that is the Phoenicia Pharmacy.  Stuff clearly isn't flying off the shelves here.  I would say about half of their merchandise has been there since the 70s or 80s.  And it is awesome.    

Below:  Some of their more modern stock.  And by modern I mean at least it's from the LATE 80s.

And if you need a place to stay while you're in town... 

KATE'S LAZY MEADOW is where it's at.  It's a few minutes away in Mt. Tremper.  Kate Pierson from the B-52s bought it years ago and restored it to its original mid century kitschy glory...vintage tchotchkes and all.  There are suites, private cabins, and airstream trailers available. LOVE. IT. ALL.

photo credits (from top to bottom):  bus and town tinker sign by nina westervelt;  bridge by AllisonLOL - found here;  sweet sue's and the mystery spot by me;  petey the piranha by laura levine - found here;  pendants, moccasins, and phoenicia pharmacy pics by me;  kate's sign found here;  airstream found here.  and as always: if i used one of your photos and you would like me to take it down or credit you differently please let me know.  i would be more than happy to change it. xx darbie

LAZY DAYS AND VINTAGE LANTERNS

Summer is in full swing.  We've had a lot of visitors over the past few weeks...mostly refugees from the super-heated streets of NYC.  We've been doing our best to treat them...and ourselves...to a proper upstate summer.  Think:  tubing the Espous, swimming in "The Deep", hiking through Plattekill Clove, kayaking on the Hudson.  And, of course, no upstate summer would be complete without  a backyard barbecue...so we finally threw down the $69.70 for a Weber grill and have been eating lots of delicious dinners on the patio ever since.  

This has inspired me to start sprucing up our back porch.  One of the first things I did was string up some of my vintage paper lanterns with a cord of cafe lights.  It instantly made it a hundred times more lovely out there.  And they look good in the daytime and the nighttime! Win win.

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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