Walkins Glen State Park

I'm counting down the days until I officially relocate my life down to Charleston from upstate New York. I'm beyond psyched, but it's somewhat bittersweet to think that I'm forever leaving behind the place that holds 18+ years of memories for me. I may rag on Rochester for its less-than-ideal climate, but the truth is there is really a lot of beauty that upstate NY has to offer. People travel from all over the world to gawk at the Niagara Falls, wine & dine on the Finger Lakes, and hike the glens and gorges of the area. I love that you can drive ten miles in one direction and find a plethora of fantastic restaurants and boutiques, yet if you drive ten miles in the opposite direction you run into acres of farmland, lakes, and sweet, serene emptiness.

My mother and I drove down to Walkins Glen State Park today for a hike up the gorge and lunch on the water. Walkins Glen holds a special place in my heart for several reasons; I grew up going to the races in Walkins Glen with my Dad back when he raced Formula Continental cars. His car was yellow with polka dots and was always the easiest (and most exciting) one to pick out from the sidelines where we camped out for days. The state park offers one of the most beautiful hikes I've been to, which is what my mom and I decided to occupy ourselves with today on our days off of work.

 

After working up a sweat climbing the 800+ stone steps to the top of the glen we walked through town, perused a few of the antique shops, then stopped for lunch on the water. We each enjoyed a delicious salad- mine was topped with chicken, grilled apples, pecans, and almonds. An excellent combination that I will definitely be recreating in my own kitchen soon. 

I look forward to spending my last week home saying goodbye to all of my favorite Rochester-specific restaurants and hot spots. Hope you all enjoy another lovely summer weekend!

snapshots from D.C.

Last week I visited D.C. for the first time. One of my good friends Molly got an internship with the mega-successful PR company Ogilvy, so I decided to grace her with my presence for her birthday. I arrived on a Thursday morning at the butt-crack of dawn (my flight took off at 5:40 a.m.), so I was able to spend a full two days exploring the city and checking out the major monuments and museums while she was at work. 

Molly lives in the Dupont Circle area and is footsteps away from awesome parks, restaurants, and shopping. What I really really loved about the city was its dedication to environmental sustainability. Many of the restaurants served their food with compostable plates and silverware, with compost and recycle bins just as plentiful as garbage bins.

As always, we had a great time sharing our love of food and getting a taste of the D.C. nightlife. 

On Sunday (Molly's actual birthday) we had the most incredible brunch of our lives at 21 M Lounge. The amount of food served to us was absolutely absurd. It included an appetizer, entree, dessert, and bottomless mimosas. They also started us off with a basket of baked goods (muffins, bread, pastries). I ordered a vegetarian quiche to start, lox benedict for an entree (like eggs benedict, but with smoked salmon), and chocolate mousse for dessert. The food was phenomenal, and our tummies were content for the rest of the day.

Before heading to the airport I joined Molly's two roommates for a free yoga class in the park directly across the street from their apartment. How cool is that? And apparently they do this every Sunday evening in the summers. I need to find a city like this to live in! It was a totally refreshing way to end my long weekend away. D.C. has my approval and I'm crossing my fingers that Molly will stick around there so I will have more excuses to go back ;)

milan photo diary

   

  

  

Last semester I studied abroad in Florence, Italy and spent those four months traveling all over Europe. I chronicled my travels over at my old blog eatandbepretty.com but would also like to share my adventures on here as well. Milan was by far the most glamorous city I've ever been to. In my opinion it even surpassed Paris in terms of style and fashion innovativeness. During my weekend in Milan I visited the famous concept store Corso Como, ate gelato (obviously), treasure hunted in Milan's high-end vintage stores, did a LOT of walking, and spent hours perusing stores like Versace and Prada pretending that I could afford more than just a keychain.