This/That: Winter Catskills Edition

This weekend I...

+ Stayed in this A-frame Catskills house to celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays. It was snowy, cozy mountain perfection. Sitting in this hot tub with the snow coming down all around us, looking up at the star-filled sky was so relaxing and romantic and beautiful we didn't want to leave.

+ Made and ate this delicious breakfast.

+ Reveled in the wonder of this beautiful man's existence. 

+ Explored this teeny, tiny nearby town that made us feel like we traveled back in time.

+ Snuggled with this precious pup by the roaring fire Will kept on perpetual rotation.

 

+ Soaked in the peaceful pace of mountain living before coming back to the city to begin filming HGTV handmade. 

This/That: Knoxville Edition

The last 2 weeks involved 3 out-of-town trips, one visit from my best friend, one vow renewal, one huge career step forward, and lots of DIYs. I can share all but the last of those with you this week as I roll out my blog posts. The withheld information will be a big announcement coming in either later November or early December (at the latest). Trust me, it'll be worth it. I'll break these up into phases and trips starting with the one I just returned from in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Last week I....

Made this.

  Made this.

Stirred this.

Wore this.

Worked with these oh-so-talented ladies on the aforementioned secret project. 

Vacation Photos: Catskills Part 2

 More Coles in the Catskills / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Vacation Photos: Catskills Part 1

Watching the fog and clouds roll in from the back deck.

A deer diorama in The Natural History Museum or Gracie Strudel on the window still?

Adorable little mushroom friends.

This city girl dreams of having her own rustic farm house one day (with wireless internet, of course).

A peaceful rainy day view from the couch.

My beloved family in the garden.

The huge lawn that the dogs romped on all week.

Another perfect view of the exquisite mountains that surround the house.

// More //

At This/Lived in This

Catskills Coles

Coles in the Catskills

Vacation Photos: State College

Vacation Photos: State College, PA

Before we traveled to the Catskills, we drove to State College, Pennsylvania to visit my mom and step dad in their lovely home. A short but warm welcome was just what we needed before heading into the woods for a week. Here are our photos from the weekend.

My mom is the absolute sweetest for washing ALL of Will's work shirts.

My mom's no-cook strawberry jam is to-die-for delicious.

A sweet summer afternoon Shoe-nap.

The perfect late-summer seafood feast!

Evenings on a screened-in porch calls for atmospheric votives.

Ate This/Lived in This

 This weekend in the Catskills I...

+ Lived in this.

+ Roasted marshmallows on this.

+ Kayaked at least once a day on this.

+ Took saunas in this.

+ Ate this delicious country brunch.

We did so much more that I'll be sharing snippets of throughout the week. I hope your weekend was  as splendid as mine was.

Catskills Coles

This is the escape we have longed for. Just our family of four surrounded by mountains, rivers, waterfalls, forests, fog and wild life. We are soaking up every moment of this incredible vacation together and feel that every element of this trip has been a dreamy and magical moment in time.

Our days and nights in the Catskills are filled with kayaking, hiking, reading, lounging, very happy dogs, strumming guitar, eating delicious food, cool mornings, hot jacuzzis, invigorating saunas, star gazing on the deck and seeing the 2 biggest and brightest shooting stars we've ever laid our eyes on (!!!), stoking the fire in the stone fireplace, playing cards, watching old movies, adoring this beautiful house, and soaking up sightings of the local wild life. We've seen countless deer, frogs, badgers, horses, bunnies, fish, chipmunks, and all kinds of birds. Today our best friend, Dejon, joins us, so it can only get better!

Coles in the Catskills

We are in the Catskills hiking, eating, sleeping, and relaxing like we haven't in YEARS. This is a much-needed escape that is serving me restorative realness like no other. We just got back from a 2.5 mile hike in the Tomannex State Forest where we saw a deer, a hawk, and around 7 or 8 waterfalls. You can follow all of our adventures by checking out #ColesintheCatskills on Instagram.

Plans

This weekend I plan on...

+ Finishing and posting a DIY Pantone Wall Canvas video on MACC.

+ Coveting these boots in gray SO HARD CORE I can taste them. Which is weird, but I'm cool with it. 

+ Due to our need to leave, packing up all of the summer vacation essentials we can think of and hitting the road. 

+ Swimming in the lake off of the house we are renting in the Catskills.

+ Yes we ARE packing our juicer so I can make fresh juice to drink post-swim, pre-fire pit.

+ Making gluten-free 'smores over the aforementioned fire pit that is in the middle of the gardens in this amazing lake house. 

+ Wearing some DIY GEM-covered sunglasses while reading my new books.

+ Posting vacation photos on Instagram while we're away.



I will still be posting here on Nest while away next week, but will focus on dreamy, lazy, lake house-worthy posts instead of the usual home decor moments that happen on the daily here on Nest. If I skip a day or two, it's just because I'm too busy taking a sauna or a bath in the jacuzzi or swimming in the lake, Dirty Dancing-style. Enjoy your week! 

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Yesterday Will and I had a beautiful day out in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The weather was that perfect early-summer hot with a sweet salty airy breeze that only happens down by the water. We soaked up each other and the weather and the freedom of having a few days off of work as we strolled through the cobblestone streets of DUMBO. We had pineapple, cucumber, celery juice at No. 7 Sub, lobster rolls at Luke's, and picked up Dough on the way home. We window shopped and regular shopped and had a lovely lazy day in one of our favorite pockets of the borough. I want to have a million more days like it. It was so perfect I swore I heard Lou Reed.

Ate This/Baked This/Stoked This

This weekend I...

Ate this.

Baked this.

Cooked in this GORGEOUS KITCHEN with my mom.

Watered this.

Received this.

Stoked this.