Thoughts On Home

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I spend a lot of time thinking about how long I’ll stick around NYC. Another two years…another ten…forever?

I’ve had the privilege of living temporarily in some pretty beautiful places. Summers on Nantucket. Internships in San Francisco and Sonoma. Study abroad in Rome. College in upstate New York wine country. And while these locations could never compare to NYC in many ways (nowhere can)—they also helped me realize something about myself. That despite my city upbringing, I’m not a city girl at heart. I like clean, fresh smelling air. I like quiet. I like nature. Competing and networking and budgeting are not fun things for me.

So what’s next? Move to a leafy green NYC suburb—try a new city–Boston? Charleston? San Francisco? Put in my time in NYC then execute a (very) early retirement to Nantucket (vacation all year sounds nice, no?)

My thoughts on the matter have yet to be sorted out–and so, in the spirit of nostalgia, here, my favorite things about NYC…

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  • Walking to work through the magical weirdness that is the 28th street flower market.
  •  Strolls through Brooklyn Heights at twilight and peeking into all the beautiful homes.
  •  The season changes, each one special and celebrated in it’s own way: the first few weeks of spring when the trees turn back to green, running around the city without a jacket on the first nights of summer, sweater weather when air first turns crisp in fall, how pretty the city looks under the first white blankets of snow.
  •  A new restaurant to try for every meal out.
  •  Bluegrass and gospel subway musicians.  
  •  My $8 ½ dozen oyster & glass of wine happy hour spot.
  •  People (outfit) watching from sidewalk cafes.
  •  Tree-lined brownstone streets.
  •  The freedom the subway provides to go anywhere, anytime.
  •  Being close to my family.
  •  Pre-war architectural details.
  •  Stumbling upon lush pockets of green park tucked into busy city streets.
  •  The Manhattan skyline from rooftops (never gets old).  
  •  How smart, plugged in and interesting people are.
  •  Weekend flea market treasure hunts.
  •  Ubiquitous sushi.
  •  $20 mani-pedis.
  •  Designer consignment shopping.
  •  Any food I want, at any time—even late night.
  •  The knowledge that I could live here all my life and have something new to try every single day.
Thoughts On Home

Travel Notes: Lake Country, NH

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I spent the past weekend in Meredith NH visiting my 94-year old grandfather and extended family on my mother’s side. Not surprisingly it entailed lots of family time balanced with carefree, country-living–namely hiking, kayaking, and picking fresh fruit and flowers right off the side of the road. Love me some summertime.

Highlights below:

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Picking raspberries with my mom.
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One woman’s invasive species is another woman’s free bouquet–(these country folk don’t know how lucky they are!)
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Covered bridge off a back-country road.
Channeling Pocahontas.
Channeling Pocahontas.
Travel Notes: Lake Country, NH