IN AND OUT OF BLOOM

Last year I was caught off guard by how fleeting the blooming periods were for all the different flowers in our yard. But this year I'm prepared. And I am making every effort to thoroughly enjoy them before they disappear. Like clockwork, the lilac has faded and the rhododendron has opened up in its place. And sadly, it too will be flowerless before I know it. But in the meantime I'm going to soak up all this loveliness streaming through the living room window.

HELLO AGAIN

I haven't posted anything in a SHAMEFULLY long time. After my long winter's nap, the sunny days inspired me to take on a zillion new house projects. Some that are now completed...some that are well underway...and some that have just begun. I plan to share all of them with you in the coming weeks.

Here's the teaser:

My dream of wall-to-wall, over-the-door bookcases in the living room has become a reality.

We're almost done rearranging the studio and putting up those shelves in the attic.

We got a new couch and some artwork.

The bar area is completed and fully functional. (Margarita anyone?)

We have been attempting to make our yard a little less Grey Gardens.

We leveled out our patio and had some stonework done.

And I've started tackling the upstairs bathroom.

I will post about all of this in detail soon. Until then, here are some pictures of our big beautiful lilac bush. It's a little gangly and untamed, but it has the most beautiful deep purple blooms. And our neighbor, who is basically the plant whisperer, assured me that with a little bit of seasonal trimming it will grow out instead of up and will be even more breathtaking.

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.

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.

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