Wander: House tours

Philip Johnson Glass House / Good House Guest

Judd Foundation / Good House Guest

The first house that I remember living in was a cozy ranch with a big back yard on a block lined with other modest one-story homes. Except for the two-story colonial where Annalise lived. Annalise was older (well, big enough to go to school all day) and she had a fairy tale-like older girl’s room with an enviable doll collection and a giant doll house.

I still can’t distinguish if the following memory was fantasy or a true event, but I recall sneaking into that house one afternoon. Her mother was preoccupied on the phone, and I scampered up the stairs (such a luxury!) just to steal a glimpse of all the wonderful grown-up-girl things lining the shelves in Annalise’s room. Her mother called up and I hid under the bed (chest heaving) until she found little trespassing me. I’ve always been fascinated with the interior life of a home.

I still am. I love taking an evening stroll to soak up the vignettes playing out in brightly-lit living rooms or bedrooms. I can’t pass up a good period room in a museum (don’t try to rush me through the Colleen Moore Fairy Castle), and I’m a sucker for a house tour.

Frank Llyod Wright’s Fallingwater outside of Pittsburgh – the architecture, the casual ‘gift from a friend’ original artwork and custom furniture – make it well-worth the trip. There’s hardly enough time on the tour to cover all of the details, and it’s the sort of place where I would want to spend even just one night as a guest.

Super-modernist fans should flee from New York for the day via the Meto-North to wander the contemporary art and architecture campus (kingdom?) that is the Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Private writing hut, personal art gallery and one crystal-clear domicile. This New York Times story offers insight about the influential couple who lived there.

After years of restoration, Donald Judd’s home and studio in New York’s Soho neighborhood was opened to the public in 2013. Tours are intimate (six or so to a group) and leisurely paced, and you gain a true sense as to how Judd’s philosophy extended to every space – from the vibrant-feeling kitchen to the almost monastic bedroom (if not for the dazzling artwork found there). It’s a meditative space in what is now one of the cities most label-wagging commercial hubs. I wonder what Mr. Judd would make of the old neighborhood today…

Wander: Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, RI / Good House Guest

In late May, Kate Thorman, my fantastic Mr & Mrs Smith co-editor, and I embarked on a quick New England road trip blitz. Our Chevy Impala rental car had us rolling way more like Cagney & Lacey than Thelma & Louise, as we’d imagined, but we managed.

In just five days we made our way up to Portland, Maine, followed by a quick stop in Cape Cod and ferried out to Nantucket before barreling down to Newport, Rhode Island. We snapped shots along the way for the savvy travel site, Fathom, and with that is our first dispatch for them about our finds in Newport. Among our other discoveries: turns out I like rum.

Wander: Austin, Texas

Wedding/ Good House Gues

The excellent excuse of a wedding brought many of my relatives together for a fabulous family reunion this spring in Austin. Above is a shot from the main event, which was authentically Austin in its laid-back, endearingly DIY way, with an emphasis on creative food and copious cold drinks. Even if you can’t swing an invite to a stylish outdoor wedding at the Zilker Clubhouse high above the twinkling city below, leafy Zilker Park itself is still worth a visit.

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Bonus: Todd has family there too, so it was all cousins, all the time.

East Side House/ Good House Guest

Vintage Eastide house/ Good House GuestScreen Shot 2014-07-07 at 10.26.25 PMStay: We rented this desert-inspired domicile on the city’s Eastside, a quiet residential part of town that still had plenty of cafes and colorful piñata shops (purchases were made; a candy-stuffed Darth Vader was pummeled). This thoughtfully restored 100-year-old home with wide-plank hardwood floors, a claw-foot tub and back garden made it easy to slip into Austin and feel like a local. And, as with any good sanctuary, there were plenty of amusements between the bookshelves stacked with compelling reads, a piano and the record player with a handful of albums.

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Eat: We quickly became regulars at Cenote, a casual cafe and coffeehouse just a few blocks from the house.The super friendly folks there made us feel right at home when we showed up every morning in need of their strong brew. It also proved to be a spot-on place for a mound of greens or a hearty sandwich. The superb taco truck, Veracruz All Natural –  the migas breakfast taco is a must after a night out –  was also a short walk away. The mess of smothered fries goodness above is complements of Banger’s Sausage House, a German-inspired beer garden that takes license with tradition. Sausage varieties include: goat cheese and beet, a trio of duck, bacon and fig and dak bulgogi, just to keep it, you know, weird. The generous outdoor space with communal picnic tables is tucked within a row of former bungalow homes that now make up the bars and restaurants of Rainey Street.

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Do: Paddle on Ladybird Lake. This reservoir on the Colorado River is ringed by 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, but escape the relentless heat by renting a boat from one of several outfitters along the lake.

Wander: Hudson Valley

Falling Waters Preserve / Good House Guest

We recently fled to Red Hook for a long weekend. No, not that Red Hook in Brooklyn with the Fairway Market, lobster restaurant and somewhat made-up maritime bars. Rather, the small town a two hour drive up the Hudson River and into the woods of the Hudson Valley and Catskills region.

Hudson River / Good House GuestBecause we can’t manage to pull off a normal spring break on a beach like everyone else, we tend to run in other less-populated directions. This trip it meant we had snowy paths of the just-waking-to-spring woods practically to ourselves – an incredible contrast to our daily life. And with over 60 parks protected and maintained by the Scenic Hudson conservancy group, you could easily fill the days following birdsong and the trickle of ice-melt streams in a maze of pines. We tracked critters, poked at the lip of the still-frozen Hudson and even passed a few stoic saints (the path is part of a Dominican Sisters retreat center) as we crunched through the snow at the Falling Waters Preserve.

Sawkill Farm/ Good House GuestWe spent Saturday morning sampling pickled green tomatoes, stinky cheese and jams at the Hudson Valley Farmers Market at Grieg Farm. Later, we stopped off of Route 9 and met Michael and Callie, the couple (along with their chickens, pigs, cows and sheep) behind the bounty of gorgeous steaks, chops, sausages and just-collected eggs for sale at Sawkill Farm. A little daydreamy window shopping is always in order wherever we wander, and for that we spent time running our hands along the expertly planed tables and trying out chairs Goldilocks-style at Sawkille, a beautiful furniture and goods store in Rhinebeck.

Chicken coop/ Good House Guest

Not entirely removed from civilization though, we did venture into Rhinebeck and snacked on crispy wood oven-fired pizzas and a towering salad of shredded greens at Market St. In Red Hook, we were welcomed as regulars by the fine folks at Mercato. Warm reception aside (a woman from the kitchen picked Soren up and took him over to the chef for a special treat) the house made pastas – in particular, the toothsome tagilatelle bolognese – were the true reason to stick around.

hot tub / Good House Guest

Friends tipped us off to a simple, tastefully decorated two-bedroom rental house. Large windows maximized the views of the deep woods where we’d catch deer loping early in the morning. As an added bonus, it also had what Todd considers to be cherry on top of any vacation rental: a hot tub. Who needs the beach, anyway?

We are chronic weekend escape house renters. Here are a few other finds a pleasant drive from the city:

Overlook Nook Plenty of bedrooms, an inviting living room, a killer record collection, a sprawling garden and a pleasant blue stone pond.

Floating Farmhouse We were lucky enough to spend a glorious long weekend at this sublime space with some of the loveliest people we know (and a black bear, too!).

Woodstock Cottage We tucked away in this little cottage one snowy January weekend. It’s compact and cozy, but it was just right for a last minute off-season escape.

Wander: Portland, OR

Last year, our dear friends, Joe, Jill and Luca took a chance on carving out a more creative life for themselves and made a break for Portland, Oregon. They have since settled in a tree house perched among the pines, landed dream animation gigs, found work with interesting clients and Jill completed and staged a rock musical aptly titled DREAM. It more than seems to be working out.

All this, and they’re steps from 30-lush miles of hiking trails that are pine-scented and rich with treasures their son adores, like plump, slimy banana slugs.

We had an ambitious list of things to do during our visit. But lingering over endless cups of coffee in their living room, watching our boys delight in their insta-playmate status and sliding into our familiar places at their dining room table, with wine in hand, as we had so many nights over our years together in Chicago, slowed us down. Which was exactly what we needed. 

We did however, manage to connect with other friends in Portland, sample silky charcuterie at Olympic Provisions and meditate on the turning maples at the Japanese Garden. And headed out on the gaping open road (no traffic snarls, or towering buildings and ‘buy this!’ billboards polluting sight lines) to Cannon Beach.

Dining at Le Pigeon or Bar Avignon and a tour of the World Forestry Museum will have to wait until next trip… as if we needed any more incentive to return.

Wander: Camptown ladies

camptown/ good house guest

I haven’t pitched a tent, lit a camp stove or burrowed deep into the secure cocoon of a sleeping bag as owls called out to no one in particular, in far too long. Nine years to be exact. The last camping trip I mapped out was to the Apostle Islands, but that was also the same summer that my dad died, and I cancelled the trip. So when my friend Jane threw together a last minute mid-week camping excursion, I couldn’t refuse.

woodland valley campground/ good house guest

And I’m so grateful that I was able to juggle schedules and move work and childcare days around to get out to Woodland Valley Campground in Phoenicia, New York, tucked into the Catskills at the foot of Slide Mountain.

stream cooler/ good house guest

The tidy campground established by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s, was practically empty on this Wednesday in October, and we had our pick of sites. Signed off on all the bear disclaimers and bundles of firewood purchased, we pitched our domestic domes on the bend of a gentle stream that slipped over a shallow, rocky river bed. And attended to very important matters, like setting the beer to cool in the stream. Nice work, Sue.

We strolled, leaves crunching underfoot, to the trailhead which led to substantial ascents to the ridge line, but we only had enough daylight for a healthy scramble part of the way up. This was a power camping round, but we did it all: Jiffy Pop on the fire, a gourmet feast of rich black beans and Alaskan salmon (thank you Iliama Fish Co.) and s’mores roasted over the fire pit. There was strong French press coffee in the morning and the newest trick in the outdoorsy book: heating lavender-scented face wipes in a pot of bowling water to freshen (and warm up) in the morning. My idea of a spa retreat. It was nourishing on every level, and I can’t wait to return in the spring…

Cstskills/ good house guest

spa treatment/ good house guestin my element/ good house guest

Wander: Summer Round-up

Good House Guest/Chez NousWith somewhat regular desk jobs (translation: less free-roaming vacation time) this past year, summer travel was more about the long weekend away and revisiting tradition. Some old, like time spent at the family cottage (100 years old this summer!) in Bellaire, Michigan.

Good House Guest/ Cuttyhunk, MAOthers newer, such as the three-summers-old tradition playing castaway on Cuttyhunk Island off the coast of Cape Cod. This year we loaded up on groceries, wine and diapers and stayed for one whole blissful week on island.

Floating Farm House/ Good House Guest

And, something we hope that will become a tradition, an escape to the Floating Farmhouse, in Eldred, New York, for the birthday of a dear friend. The meandering drive along two-lane roads trimmed with farm stands by way of New Jersey, with a jog into Pennsylvania and back over the New York state line to the Catskills, made it fell like more of an adventure than the easy two-and-a-half hour journey it was. 

Good House Guest/ Gazebo

This 200-year-old farmhouse was artfully revamped to blend the existing structure – wide wood floors, exposed beams, rustic wall planks – with new elements. Most notable was the open kitchen with its wood-burning pizza oven and soaring wall of windows facing the pine-dense forest. Ok, we were all ga-ga over the deep soaking tubs, vaulted ceilings and generous porch perched on the muddy pond, too.

Good House Guest/ Floating Farm HouseFrogs croaked their creaky songs at night on the pond. A black bear sauntered through the woods in plain sight. People wandered out to the gazebo with coffee in hand and a book, or rocked in the hammock. Frisbee breaks were mandatory and frequent. Like a group of test kitchen chefs, we worked on perfecting a pizza crust recipe. We lazed for hours on the loungers surrounding the pond. And we laughed, a ton. It was filling on all levels. And I can’t wait to get back there again next summer…or, in any season, for that matter.

night farm/ good house guest

Wander: Sonoma County, CA

We experienced the perfect reason-to-escape storm earlier this month: a wedding of a dear friend, Todd’s birthday and a grandmother all-too-willing to take on our toddler for four whole days. As an added bonus, we were returning to wine-soaked Sonoma, where we had spent a long weekend following our wedding. Our first trip as Mr.+Mrs., and one that kicked-off our year of sporadic travel (everywhere from northern Wisconsin to Japan) that we classified as our honeymoon.

Years ago we stayed at the mod cottages of the Duchamp in Healdsburg, a town that has been significantly built up in the last seven years. This trip was also coupled with a work jaunt (I know, tough gig) and we bunked at the charming Farmhouse Inn. Here’s a little dispatch/postcard from our weekend among the vines, and a few pics we snapped, too.

Wander Sonoma Good House Guest

Local bounty at Shed.

Wander Sonoma Good House Guest

Winery picnic with friends. I could do this every day.

Wander Sonoma Good House Guest

Just your average Friday afternoon.

Wander Sonoma Good House Guest

Gorgeous couple, gorgeous setting. Congrats Julie + Ben!

Wander Sonoma Good House Guest

Birthday swim in the Russian River.

Wander Sonoma Good House Guest

Grand finale.

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Wander: Scenes from an inn, Maine

A solid lobster roll – plump meat unfettered by mayo or secret sauce – is worth the drive to Maine alone. Last month I had the excuse of scouting and reviewing the cosy, nine-room  Captain Fairfield Inn, for work, which, it turns out, is a much better cover-up for a summery lobster roll craving in March. Despite a season spent canvassing nearly 240-piney, boggy, craggy miles on foot, earning rent (and splinters) splitting firewood and nestling in quaint Camden for a few months, along with return trips over the years, I will never get enough of Maine. It’s rugged, a bit stand-offish and slow to warm-up: all the makings of the perfect crush, no? We were all so charmed by the off-season pace of leisurely dinners, wide open vistas and satisfying silence, that I hope we’ll make this an annual family trek.

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