It amazes me how traveling to a new place gives me a fresh new perspective immediately... so refreshing and perfect and totally inspiring.

I'm in Upstate New York and this charming little town, Hamilton, is beautiful in it's charm and simplicity. Within an hour or so out of the city, everything looked and felt totally different. Serene, calm and breathtakingly pretty. It's funny because I did not even realized how tense I was until I came here... We are staying at a quaint hotel right in the center of town called the Colgate Inn.
Philip was at his conference all day yesterday so I spent my day wandering aimlessly and blissfully through these hills, arriving upon more gorgeous tiny farm villages. One of which I found an entire town devoted to antiques, (is this a sign?!) Bouckville, NY. I acquired some fun souvenirs for myself -- vintage photograph postcards of Hamilton, a perfect blue Ball Mason Jar with a wire hinge top and a lucite and crystal ring (Alexis Bittar inspired) from the sixties.
After antiquing, I made my way back to Hamilton, and it started pouring rain as I was walking around the main street. I hopped into Sushi Blues and ordered some soup and an avocado roll...only to begin chatting with the owners - a couple so lively, warm, quirky, funny and self described as the "craziest restaurant in town." The food was great, and after my meal we got to talking. I told them I was on my own because Philip was here for work, and they promptly invited me to hang out with them the next day! First to meet them at their stables, where they introduced me to their stunning horse, Princess...

Followed by breakfast with them at Judy's Diner, in Sherburne, where above the grill a sign reads "I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either."

Yeah, this place feels like home.