Seeking Beauty on Roads Less Traveled

No one seems very sorry for me when I try to explain that Mom and I were stranded in Bermuda for 5 days longer than intended. As Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc back around NYC, we managed as best we could. Bermuda was not a planned-months-in-advance trip. I hesitate to call it a vacation. The trip to Bermuda was very last minute, highly spontaneous and a labor of love and friendship. “It looks like Operation Bermuda is all set”, I said to John and my Mom. We are all feeling rather proud of ourselves as we can't believe we are actually going to pull off this surprise...and that we have managed to keep it a surprise. And the recipient of our “surprise” has no idea he is going to be surprised. The very nature of the word “surprise” will be accomplished. No communication leaks...no e-mails accidentally read....no conversations overheard that would give (lets change his name for the fun of it) Fred any idea that for his birthday and because he is at a point in his life right now where

Mom and I have a rule when it comes to our “See America” road trips. It is a rule that has developed from experience. Wherever we are going, the exploration stops before nightfall. Street signs are too hard to see and getting lost, although potentially fun during the day can turn un-fun after dark when one is tired and just wants to be someplace comfortable. “Lick Street”, Mom says to me. “The bed and breakfast is on Lick Street”. You're kiddimg me, right? This is funny for a variety of reasons. One being that out of all the streets we drove past between New York City and Upstate New York, the one street sign we both mentioned out loud as we passed it was Lick Street. Great minds think alike I guess...or warped minds think alike :) Of course, our new bed and breakfast inn is on Lick Street. And as luck would have it, as nightfall approaches, we know exactly where it is. The Bountiful Blessings Bed and Breakfast is just that....a blessing. Owned by a lovely innkeeper by the nam

The morning of the Barn Sale has arrived. I have to admit that I am rather excited. We set out for Mackenzie-Childs but by now, you should realize that we never get from Point A to Point B without getting a little sidetracked or distracted by any number of things...a road we have never been down before that looks like it could lead to somewhere pretty or this particular morning a sign that said “Lake Ridge Winery – Open”. Before 11a.m. seems a tad early for wine tasting but when in NY State Wine Country.... I will tell you, if you are in the area, you must try their apple wine....It's delicious. Get it? Apples? Delicious? Delicious Apples?  And we have 6 bottles of it, packed away in the trunk of car to prove it. Beautiful scenery all with a backdrop of Cayuga Lake. We did stop at another winery...the name eludes me. The town of Aurora is lovely. Federal-style buildings dating back to the mid 1700's line each side of Main Street. Lots of tourists in town and lots of local

“Mom, Mackenzie-Childs is having a Barn Sale, July 14th – 16th. Aurora, New York”. For those of you who may never have heard of Aurora, New York, it sits on the Eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. For those of you who may never have heard of Mackenzie-Childs, it is fair to say that it is reflective of a particular design state of mind. It is a lifestyle emporium; a world where checkerboard black and white patterns collide with multi-colored swirled fabrics that then cozy up to polka-dots and plaids painted onto ceramic furniture legs. Oh and tassels, we can't forget tassels that stand on their own merits or are used as trimming on ottomans ...and the fish-motif wooden chairs alongside the four poster bed wherein each post is adorned with a rooster?! Or maybe it's a hen...I don't know. I'm a city gal who is not well-versed when it comes to barnyard animals. It is also fair to say that most items at Mackenzie-Childs are way out of

Let me set the scene for you...The scene being a beautiful restaurant in New York City within Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan called the New Leaf Cafe.  It is a hop, skip and a jump from the Cloisters and with its surrounding gardens and stunning views of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge, it seems miles away from the urban jungle that is New York City.   Yet beyond the stone structure that is the restaurant, beyond the terrace and the herb garden that the chef makes good use of are the streets of Washington Heights and the reality and cacophony that is NYC on any given day.  Imagine an oasis from NYC and that is New Leaf. There are not many places to host an afternoon garden party tea luncheon in NYC.  Oh, there is Lady Mendl's Tea Salon at the Inn at Irving Place but they do not have a garden to accommodate 75 guests and musical performances and such.  New Leaf was THE spot to make this happen as I envisioned friends and family in their summer garden party finery a