Summer Moments

I was going to write a whole post about all the stuff I bought at the flea market at the Washington County fairgrounds last weekend, but taking the advice of the above sign I bought at Francesca's in Crossgates (ironic I know), maybe I'll tell you what I've been up to this summer instead (by the way, I love that store and I want to cover my body and walls with everything in it - but why so talkative, staff members? I'll tell you what I want in a clothing store - everything costs $20, no one talks to me, and Rihanna is playing in the background. That's it, when you try to be my best friend or make me into your career counselor for your Arts Administration degree I'm doing that instead of deciding on necklaces).

This summer I:

• Went swimming. We did all kinds of wine tasting in the Finger Lakes. I wanted to go swimming at the Seneca Lake State Park and the lifeguard never showed up. We went all over, including antiquing in Hammondsport (America's Coolest Small Town, don't you know), and it had to be over a hundred degrees. Then, we were taking off to go to our hotel in Ithaca, and there like a gleaming glacial sliver was a patch of beach on the southern most tip of Keuka Lake. In a totally spontaneous way, I jumped out of the car and into the coolest, most refreshing lake imaginable. It was perfect. The next day we visited Lively Run Goat Dairy and sampled their delicious cheese from an adorable French girl, and Myers Farm Distillery where they age gin in oak barrels (mmm.).

• Had Buffalo wings in Buffalo. We went to Duff's. I ordered hot, and they totally burned my face off. It was great fun.

• We went back to the Tailored Tea. I still love it. Its so classy with the tea cups and linens, and their lunch items are always exactly what I'm hoping for. The scones benedict is way fabulous.

• I had a salad bar party for the third year in a row (see 2012). I don't know what we ever did to deserve such fabulous friends - people who are effortlessly so smart, cool and funny. The concept totally still holds up too. The variety of ingredients is so fun, and the combinations are endless. 

• We had our 5 year study abroad reunion. I can't believe that, it makes me feel a million years old. Here we were at Claridge's in London, 2009 (40 pounds for tea, scones, and cucumber sandwiches), fancy as all hell, all uncertain futures and mad paper writing skills:

And here we are Alice's Tea Cup, Upper East Side, Manhattan, filled with career advice and strategies on dealing with people in the workplace - maybe having traded in some optimism for some wisdom. Maybe with age you learn to deal better. You learn what you have to accept and what you don't. Things get both easier and harder, but we're still cool ladies: