16 A little bit of country...

... and western of course! Downtown Nashville consists of one main street, lined on both sides by honky tonks. Any time of the day or night the neon lights are flashing, the smell of beer is wafting through the air and live country western music is blaring out from the open doors. The party goes all weekend and everyone's invited.

Lovely husband C. And I got off the main drag pretty quickly and headed out to a national park for a music festival. We ate barbecue and drank icy cold coke while listening to a procession of acts, each better than the last.

On our last  morning we tucked ourselves into a tiny neighborhood cafe and shared pancakes and a breakfast sandwich, washed down with big mugs of coffee and then jumped into our car for our road trip to Memphis...

- Wouldn't this yard be bliss in the summer? -

... More on Memphis to come. What did you get up to on the (long) weekend?

From Nashville with love, xox

23 Breakneck Ridge

"Breakneck Ridge is a mountain along the Hudson River between Beacon and Cold Spring, New York"... A mountain. I so did not read that fineprint before going hiking this weekend. Me. Going up a mountain. As you do. You know, just a typical Saturday morning in upstate New York.

The climb was worth it - even if it was uphill for an hour straight (!) - the view was amazing. It felt like I was sitting on top of the world, surrounded by hills covered in green, with the river stretching on as far as the eye could see and the road a silky grey ribbon winding along its shore.  

After the climb we hiked through shady forests, alongside little streams and along the top of rocky plateaus for another few hours. We found a pebbly little beach at the end and snoozed in the shade to the sound of water lapping at the shore. Lying down was absolutely blissful!

From New York, with love xox

21 Balmy evenings

It's official, summer has started. What's a girl to do but string up some fairy lights, buy some cheese, grab a bottle(s) of wine and head up to her West Village rooftop with her fabulously fun next door neighbours?

It felt like the first time I'd relaxed in weeks. It's amazing what warm weather, wonderful company and some delicious mediterranean takeout can do. I can see where we'll be spending at least one night every weekend this summer!

From New York, with love xox

18 Working hard for the money

The last few weeks have been hectic to say the least. I don't think I've done much more than work, sleep, eat (when I can fit it in) and fly between Chicago and New York. When life gets this busy, I usually do a lot of escapist day dreaming about upcoming travel plans, morning walks on beautiful Perth beaches and my favourite holidays that lovely husband C. and I have taken.

- Ayers Rock, Northern Territory -

One of my hands-down favourite holidays ever is the five day hike we did in the Northern Territory in Australia in August 2010 - the Jatbula Trail. It was the most incredibly amazing experience. The landscape was surreal at times, the colours were incredibly vivid and it was a joy to be without any sort of mobile reception. I was the most relaxed I'd ever been... after I got over my fear of running into a snake/crocodile/big spider/water buffalo or wild pig!

I work to live, not live to work so I use this day dreaming to remind myself of exactly why I work this hard - so I can see the world in my downtime. Where do you go in your head when you're day dreaming the day away?

From New York, with love xox

Photography note: all photos taken on my little (now de-commissioned!) point and shoot camera, a Canon Ixy D500