Dining Under the Stars, or Sun, or Whatever, As Long As Its Outside

Our move to Texas was 95% motivated by the opportunity for nearly year-round outside living! I've written about outdoor showers (I will have one someday. Oliver has actually promised to built me one/have someone build one for me…like, in the very far off future, but now that he's said it, it will happen. Homey don't play); I've written about outdoor rooms, which seemed so out of reach for me, until somewhat recently; I've written about how nature-deprived New Yorkers misguidedly think fire escapes are legitimate terraces; and I've written about water towers and life inside them, a post inspired by an afternoon on the roof deck of my parents' building in New York. So, if you didn't know before, now you're aware that I love being outside.

This week has been kah-RAZY busy (in so many good ways) but its left little time for chillin' outside (although we've done our best to make time). So, it made me happy to write a post Houzz.com that allowed me to scour all the amazing photos of enviable, romantic outdoor dining nooks. We're still working on the inside of our house; we haven't even gotten close to thinking about the outside, but inspiration is swelling, thanks to Houzz. Check it:
Romantic Outdoor Dining Inspiration


I swear, I have some fun things to report on. I just need a minute to sit down and sort them out. In the meantime, all I've got time to write about it what I'm writing about on Houzz.com. I'm just dying to tell you all about the awesome Heritage Homes Tour we checked out last weekend – a photo-filled post is forthcoming! xoxo

Roadtripping to the Lone Star State

We've been in Texas for almost three weeks, and it's high time I told you about our travels. It was a fairly uneventful trip down south – no big truck or traffic snafus, no weather-related hold-ups, no wrong turns that wasted precious minutes. In fact, planning how to extract ourselves from our apartment was the most complicated part of the whole ordeal.

Many of you are familiar with alternate side of the street parking rules implemented in most parts of most cities to keep traffic moving whilst street cleaning and plowing, etc. occur. Naturally, we had to consider the parking rules and regulations for our move, so as not to incur a substantial parking ticket on our last day as New Yorkers (disclosure: we incurred a $115 ticket for double parking two days earlier, with my parents' car, which was a real bummer). I was working like a madwoman right up until the day of our move, so Oliver had to take on the majority of the planning responsibilities, and let me tell you, he coordinated one smooth move! 

On Sunday, Dec. 7, we were in our apartment packing up the last few things until 3am. It was hard to not leave a bunch of stuff until the last minute because our apartment was so small, and packed boxes took up, like, eight times the amount of space than our stuff did in shelves and whatnot, making living, working and packing there a real challenge. So, we crankily packed up and moved things around the night before the move, then had to drive to New Jersey, where we were sleeping. The next morning at 8am, we drove our borrowed car to pick up the truck, parked the car for the day and drove the truck into Manhattan. Oliver had precisely timed our arrival to coincide with street cleaning, which was to take place between 11:30am and 1pm. We got in at about 12, so he had to circle the block a million times to avoid the traffic cops and their dumb little ticket books. At 12:55, he cruised into a spot right in front of our building, minutes before the movers arrived (yes, we hired movers to get our stuff from the apartment and into the truck. That is time well-saved and money well-spent, my friends. Those guys are machines. Our truck was packed tightly with room to spare in less than two hours. Thank you, Divine Moving and Storage!) Some douche-nozzle with a champagne-colored Honda Accord was illegally double parked diagonally from out truck for nearly the entire move, making a very skinny passage and causing lots of traffic disruptions. The owner eventually showed up (wearing a shiny tracksuit that matched his car) and angrily drove off after collecting his own well-deserved parking ticket.

With our belongings finally in the truck, we cleaned the apartment from top to bottom (it was sparkling when we left. I was ready to move in all over again!) and headed back to New Jersey. We both had some work-related things to take care of the next day, so we came back into the city one last time, and drove back to the Jerz with my parents in tow for our final night. 

We woke up bright and early on Dec. 8 and hit the road in our trusty steed. 

My dad gave us hugs inside, then went back to bed. Mom weathered the 20-degree cold morning with us and snapped some photos.

In Pennsylvania we initially saw a lot of this: 

but later saw more of this: 

Much better.

There was lots of road work on I-81, in addition to manure smells, but pretty silos and barns eventually cancelled out the noxious odors. That day, We drove along Route 23 to 287 to I-78 and finally I-81, gliding through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and stopping for the night in Bristol, Virginia, right on the border of Tennessee. 

It was a freezing cold night and a frosty eleven degrees in the morning, but the belgian waffles at our hotel on Dec. 9 made us feel all warm and fuzzy. We hit the road and eventually caught I-40 in Knoxville, TN. We had considered making some tourist stops along the way, as we were passing through Nashville and Memphis, but we figured we'd have more fun if we visited those places when all of our earthly belongings were not sitting a truck, begging to be tampered with. So, we forged on, but Memphis delivered a beautiful sunset for our viewing pleasure:

The Mississippi River wasn't a terrible sight to behold, either: 

And Appalachia was lovely:

After an over-priced, under-tasty dinner at Chile's, or some such dining establishment, we called it a night. The morning of Dec. 10th took us through Little Rock, AK, which had the bumpiest interstate road we'd ever been on – very unpleasant in a huge truck! I suspect some federal funds are not being allocated correctly over there, but who am I to judge?

Along the way, we took some self-portraits...

My stumpy arms make for terrible self portraits

...Made some new friends...


...And made a quick pit stop for some essentials:

I kid. 

Here are the actual travel essentials: coffee, water, GPS, phone, chargers, sunglasses and horrific radio

After Little Rock, we zipped over to I-30, which would take us to Texas. Our first sighting of the Lone Star State yielded exactly what you expect to see when you enter Texas: lots of stars and the shape of Texas everywhere: 

We stopped for a late lunch in New Boston, where we happened on Randy's Smokehouse BBQ (we could not consume another sandwich from Arbys) and it was worth taking a quick detour from the highway. We split pulled pork and a beef brisket sandwiches, a side of baked beans, pickles, onions and jalapenos. 

We then scurried along to Oliver's parents' house in East Texas, where a room was all set up for us and beer was at the ready.

The Paradis Compound a few summers ago

The next day we hit the super market to stock up on some much-needed vegetables, after days of road food.

Ok, these are not the vegetables we were actually buying, but can you believe the size of those cans? I've never seen anything like it! They say everything's bigger in Texas. Let's hope I don't become one of those bigger "things."

Oops! Oliver caught me. A girl can't get enough of pork-n-beans!

Some images of the roads we frequent these days:



After a long weekend of hunting, we secured ourselves an adorable house in the Skyview neighborhood of Austin. I can't wait to move in and share photos and stories as we explore our new home. In the meantime, I have some posts planned about our stay in East Texas, so stay tuned! 

Storm King Art Center

Oliver and I recently journeyed upstate to Storm King Art Center in New York's Hudson River Valley with friends. It was a warm sunny day, perfect for a picnic before an afternoon of wandering around the vast grounds. A permanent collection of large-scale sculptures, Storm King consists of 500 acres of walkable landscaped lawns, fields, ponds and woodlands featuring 125 sculptures, many of which are site-specific. Fall is obviously a beautiful time of year to visit, but I imagine, with the changing seasons, there is not a bad time to see the sights.


See? BIG.


I'm sorting out the map. Very busy. 

Notable sculptures captured by our Nikon D90:

Endless Column, by Tal Streeter


For Paul, by Ursula von Rydingsvard
Undulating sculpture of stacked and glued 4"x4" cedar wood, rubbed with graphite


Alexander Calder


Storm King Wall, by Andy Goldworthy
A 2,278 foot long serpentine wall constructed out of stones found on the Storm King site



Schunnenmunk Fork, by Richard Serra
Highlights the changes in terrain and levels at Storm King


Storm King Wavefield, by Maya Lin
Not as impressive as I expected it to be. It seemed a tad contrived, considering such undulating situations occur in nature and we can actually walk on them. Why so fragile, Maya Lin?


Untitled, by Robert Grosvenor
A black-painted weathering steel sculpture mimicing the rise of a mountain beyond (not pictured)

Sunday in the Park with Mom & LexLuxe

Yesterday was GORGEOUS. Of course, I didn't have the good camera with me (just the little guy I carry around to photograph construction progress at jobsites), but it was one of those sunny, warm fall days that has a hint of crispness. After a delicious breakfast with Oliver, I met my mom at Columbus Circle for a little wandering around in Central Park. We listened to some music, watched an acrobatic guy flip down an aisle of people for about half a mile and eventually made our way up to 81st and Columbus Avenue, where we happened on a little outdoor art fair. There were a ton of great vendors, but my favorite was LexLuxe, classic modern jewelry designed and hand-crafted by Alexis Russell, who was on-hand selling her wares.


The pieces were displayed thoughtfully in simple cases that made looking, touching and trying on very easy, and the varied designs back up Alexis' keen eye for merchandising. My pictures of the booth don't even kind of do it justice (wrong light; wrong camera), but Alexis' branding is great, too. Note the banners hanging at the bottom of the jewelry cases:

It was a little dark for photos, but Alexis' work speaks for itself. 

I loved the use of sand and slate tiles to display different pieces. Layering natural elements on the wood and metal cases simultaneously warmed up and beautifully offset the golds, silvers and gemstones:



I was immediately drawn into the booth by these woven metal earrings:

Photo courtesy Alexis Russell Design 

Then I was quickly distracted by a few pieces involving rough stones and light, airy hammered gold hoops:


I ultimately settled on this lovely branch necklace with a chocolate diamond, an impromptu gift from my generous mom (I love it - thank you!!):


More of Alexis' unique pieces are viewable on her website. Two of my favorites:


Photos courtesy Alexis Russell Design

Alexis, who is based in Buffalo, NY, sells her lovely pieces at the various gift fairs around New York, but if you're not in the New York area, you can find her work at several shops throughout the country as well as on etsy. Alexis will also work with individuals to create custom pieces. Contact her to get the process started. I look forward to seeing more work from this talented (and super nice) designer.

Sojourn to Governor's Island

Photo by A.C. Frieden

Last Saturday, I met up with my friend Kate and we ferried over to Governor's Island to spend a day tooling around before it closed for the winter season (boo).

The ferry ride takes, like, three seconds (it's only 800 yards from lower Manhattan, and even closer to Brooklyn), althought is quite beautiful. Kate was prepared with bagels and the juiciest Asian pears, so we munched and chatted and voila! We were there!

Map courtesy GIPEC

The 172-acre island, originally called Noten Eylant (Dutch) then Nutten Island, assumed the name Governor's Island in 1784, which stemmed from the British Colonial assembly, which reserved the island for the exclusive use of New York's royal governors. Fancy! For nearly two centuries, the island was a military base, first home to the U.S Army (1783-1966) then to the U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1996). From 1996 to 2003 it sat vacant, but, as always, there were grumblings underfoot: in 2001, two buildings on the island (Fort Jay and Castle Williams) were deemed National Monuments, and in 2003, most of the control of the island was transferred to New York state, with 13% transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior as the Governor's Island National Monument and the island was opened to the public. In 2006, New York's leaders called for proposals to redevelop and preserve the island. A year later, the submissions by architecture firms Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rogers Marvel Architects, along with urban planning and landscape architecture firm, West 8, were chosen to design three signature open spaces. Further development is progressing, but 22 lovely acres are walk-or bike-able now on summer and early fall weekends.

We first passed Castle Williams, (currently under construction), which is considered one of the best remaining examples of American coastal fortification. During the Civil War it held Confederate prisoners of war. Apparently, it only took four years to complete, which must be the fastest project ever done in the history of New York City (wink).



Here's what it looked like many moons ago – a formidable site for oncoming enemies, no?


Then we roamed around Colonel's Row, admiring the grounds and stately homes, built in the 19th century:


Some of the homes could use a little attention, but we were still able to imagine the Colonels' wives getting the homes ready for entertaining or lolling about on weekend mornings, sitting on the front porch waving to neighbors as they walked by.


Colonel's Row has retained it's bucolic look and feel – here it is in the early 1900s:

Photo courtesy NYPL

At 350,000 square feet, Liggett Hall, designed by the beloved firm McKim Mead & White, is the island's biggest building. It was built to house all facilities for an entire regiment, and it is quite a site to behold!


In the winter:

Photo courtesy The Trust for Governor's Island

Then we headed to the Nolan Park houses, built between 1857 and the 1890s and occupied by officers - aren't they charming? Apparently, the design of the homes are standardized plans out of the Army Quartermaster Corp., and the "French Yellow" is a custom color right out of the Quartermaster handbook.



The Governor's Manse, built in 1810, ain't too shabby:

Photo courtesy The Trust for Governor's Island

In this photo, Manhattan's skyscrapers, visible in the distance, create a stark juxtaposition against the wood homes and breezy tree-lined walkways:


Some of the homes were open to the public. We had a blast poking around inside and checking out various interior details, like pocket door hardware and fireplace etchings:



We also spent some time wandering along the water:


As it turned out, there was an Oktoberfest celebration going on, but we took one look at the miles-long line for what we assumed would be cheap, flat beer and said, "forget it! Let's hit the beach!"



After enjoying a drink (with no line) and battling for territory with a few feisty yellow jackets, we called it a day and hopped on an afternoon ferry back to the city:

Can you believe that sailboat? Does it not look like it just came out of a bottle?!


The Staten Island Ferry chugged on by:


And we prepare to dock:


It was a splendid day for a visit!