08.2024
Early August is peak summer. Almost overripe. When the humidity has settled in so fully that it has coated the city with no relief. The subway stations had that summer stench that lingers. Even in the shade, the heat relentless. When things slow down and the city clears out. And so I too looked outwards. August was an exercise of patience and resilience. A few stolen days upstate. A reunion in Seattle amid rainstorms and sunshine. A surprise layover in London. So many flights. So many airports. So many lounges. And finally, a delirious landing in Africa. My first time on the continent. First time in the southern hemisphere. A winter of sorts to round out summer.
weekdays in hudson
In the heat of the summer, the allure of the Hudson Valley really got to me. And so I booked a spontaneous midweek getaway to Hudson. A couple nights at The Wick. Working remote outside the city made work in the summer that much more tolerable. Plus, it was a full 10 degrees cooler up here.
Hudson is the perfect 2-3 day escape from the city. It’s a small town, accessible by train, walkable. Plenty of shops to bop around. Several boutique hotels to stay in. A giant antique warehouse. And an incredible food scene. It’s not hard to fill a few days, slow down, and realize why the Brooklyn to Hudson Valley pipeline is so strong.
Midweek, Hudson was pretty empty. The main street only had a few mostly locals. But the shops were open, and of course, the restaurants were still pretty full. But more on the food later.
Hudson was exactly what I needed. Fresher air. A little quiet. Even in the rain it was a nice change of pace.
current obsessions
It happened. I became that person who goes on safari once and is fully converted, obsessed. It really got to me, a city girl through and through. Somehow fell in love with life the bush. Well, the most luxurious version of it. But still, something about the routine of safari, waking up just before sunrise, adjusting the circadian rhythm from the weight of modern society to what it was meant to be. Nature. Quiet. Learning to listen. Cleaning the mind. The luxury of flying around the world, three planes and a car into an expansive nature reserve. To clear my mind among elephants and nyalas. And Pablo the warthog. Obsessed is an understatement.
culture fix
Let’s be honest, most of the culture fix this month was consumed on airplanes.
And for some reason, I couldn’t stop listening to early 2000s R&B. Did popular music peak then? Maybe. The nostalgia of these hits just felt so comforting.
Honestly more entertaining than I expected but do not understand the hype. Definitely more of a press tour movie than anything. Couldn’t bring myself to watch the REAL press tour film of the year though.
Ok this one lived up to the hype. Smart, great pace. Love Zendaya. It was intense, passionate, focused. And yeah I can definitely see how this instilled new obsession for tennis.
Admittedly this is a crazy film to watch on an airplane (maybe even more so than Challengers), and honestly not really my kind of movie but felt like an obligatory prestige watch. The design was beautiful, acting great.
a week of too much travel
In less than one week, I went from classroom to airport to Seattle for a wedding. Monday night back onto a red eye flight to New York, stopping home only to drop off my suitcase and shower before heading straight to the office on Tuesday. The next morning, waking up to find out my next flight got rescheduled, rerouted to Dubai that would get me to South Africa 2 days later. And so after a couple hours with customer service, I quickly repacked, went back into the office for a couple meetings, came home, finished repacking (poorly, as I would soon find out in Cape Town), and headed back to JFK in under 48 hours. For a surprise 12 hour layover in London where I walked around, underdressed in a cold and rainy Notting Hill enough to catch a cold.
And then back to LHR to join a couple meetings while delirious from a lounge, and hop onto an 11 hour flight to Johannesburg. And then another flight to a tiny Air Force base adjacent airport in Hoedspruit, picked up for a 40 minute drive into the bush, packed a lunch for the road and placed back onto a safari vehicle for a 3 hour game drive before I even saw a bed. On Friday, in South Africa, 3 flights and 2 days after leaving New York. If you’re counting, that was 2 sleeps in bed in 6 days.
And just 2 days later, another flight, this time to Cape Town. 7 flights and 8 airports in the last 10 days of August.
NEW FIND
Went to DUMBO for the first time in a long time, and it actually was a lovely mini itini. Set out for Front General Store, Lassen and Hennings, and Usagi, but ended up stumbling upon Mumu Bath, a Taiwanese American bath, body and fragrance brand made locally in Brooklyn. Couldn’t resist picking up an Osmanthus Body Oil, which smells so floral and nostalgic.
Also stumbled upon Fontainhas, an Indian cafe with comfortable lounge space, where I stopped in for some chai.
good bites
Ate really well in Hudson. From breakfast sandwiches at Little Rico, to a giant pizza in the back yard of Half Moon. The buttery crepes at Cafe Mutton. The decadent chocolate cake at Kitty’s. And a perfect BLT from Talbott & Arding.
Also ate really well in Seattle, though it seemed every meal was in 4DX with the sudden storms.
And was overfed in South Africa, but we’ll save that for another day. For now, a moment for bakeries.
The trains decided I would need to take a detour to Chinatown one day. So stopped by Michaeli Bakery and grabbed a rugulach and burek.
Summer Friday foray uptown, a rare excursion to the east side. And a sweet moment at Patisserie Vanessa.
God I wish Mel was still in the city. But would travel back to Hudson in a heartbeat just to come back here.
Summer in brooklyn
Clearly didn’t spend much time home this month but the few days in between and one weekend I got, were as lovely as summer in the city could be.
Made the annual trip back to Brighton Beach. Which is really more of a food trip than a beach trip. But nevertheless packed a blanket and sunscreen and took the B to the end. Stopped by the favorites: Güllüoglu Cafe for beach snacks, and Kashkar for dinner after.
On a rare free day, made a leisurely walk to Brooklyn Heights. Iced coffee in hand, walked the promenade to look at Work Island, popped into Books are Magic, Housing Works, and then ran some errands. Oh the joys of running errands without a timeline amid a packed month.
what's cooking
Was barely home, and thus barely cooked. But did buy a ton of Thai basil at some point which inspired a gra pow. And had some leftover frozen radish cake that I cut up as a snacky meal.
camera roll
brooklyn u pretty
the best walking companion for the summer
encountering sunny platforms while runnig errands
slut for heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit and basil