36 HOURS IN THE CATKSILLS
Happy Thursday, friends! This week started off slow, then sped up really quickly. Can't believe we're (officially) more than halfway through February and only one day away from the weekend. YAY!
Speaking of mid-Feb, how did you spend Valentine's Day? I spent the day doing all the things that I love - went to yoga before work, visited my laser technician (love/hate relationship with her), treated myself to some vegan pizza & watched 50 Shades Freed with my roommate. And all those things made me happy & wouldn't have changed a thing.
Anyway, I spent last weekend in the Catksills with my friends Kat & Laura. It was the perfect getaway to catch some fresh air and get out of the hustle & bustle of the city. Toyota graciously lent me a Highlander for my weekend trip and I truly only have good things to say about it. TBH, I haven't driven in 3+ years and I was a little worried when I saw the size of the car but it was perfect. The car was spacious enough for all of our luggage and fit all of us comfortably with more than enough room. And more importantly, I felt safe driving it in the snow, rain and over black ice. Yikes.
Where we stayed:
We booked the cutest Think Big Tiny House Resort and stayed in the Mizu which houses 3-4 people. There's a lofted queen bed, a lofted twin bed and a pull-out futon and it fit the three of us perfectly. TBH, I think 4 people might be a little tight. But there our other options at the resort if you wanted a larger or smaller home.
What immediately sold us to the Mizu were the giant windows all around—from both lofts, the living room, the front door—it was all made of glass aka so much natural sunlight. We're definitely vitamin D deficient as New Yorkers, so we were thrilled for a sun-drenched weekend.
But as all (good) things come to an end, Sunday was raining pretty much all day.
PS- The house is also now on AirBnB :)
Where we ate:
Phoneicia Diner: The only plans we had for this trip was to make a stop at Phoneicia Diner en route to the Catskills. It was about a 2 hour drive from Manhattan and another hour drive from our weekend house. They serve classic American comfort food—think eggs, bacon, home fries, mac & cheese, etc with generous portions. The wait can be long but so worth it.
The Red Onion: Highly recommended by our hosts and for a good reason. The ambiance was quite romantic—dim lights, warm red-tone walls, a fireplace and all. Perfect for date night, or a night to treat yourself with the girls like we did.
Garden Cafe: While none of us are actually vegan, we like to be conscience of what we eat, so when we saw that there was a great vegan brunch option, we had to try it out. The restaurant was super cute and spacious (I forget how big restaurants are outside of NYC) and the food was good too. I love eating plant based because you never feel slugglish after eating a huge meal :)
Dalton's Donuts: When we needed a snack to tide us over until dinner, we made a stop at Dalton's Donuts—another rec from our host and it was so good, super indulgent and just the perfect sweet treat after a long day of driving. I loved their PB & J donut.
