Jessie Loves: Upstate
A weekend with friends celebrating my birthday and 6 months of "Jessie Loves"
Truth be told, I get scared in the woods. I’m a beach or city girl at heart. Add to this that I really, really dislike birthdays. (My mother, who loves birthdays more than anything, attributes this to getting me so worked up leading up to my birthday as a child that I always ended up disappointed).
But a girls trip upstate to celebrate with some of my most favorite friends? I am in! Throw in a dinner to celebrate 6 months of “Jessie Loves” and we had the makings of the best weekend ever.
We loaded up the car with our luggage and drove up on Friday afternoon. This is what I packed:
Our newest Liz fleece was the cozy layering piece I wore constantly, along with our Gemma shearling-lined slip-ons (literally the perfect snowy weekend shoe). Our new oversized cardigan was such a wardrobe hero. I’m in love with it!
First up was a birthday dinner at Eliza in Kingston. Our fav dish was the chicory salad with spicy peanut dressing. Chicory salads seem to be quite the trend upstate. We had them every day of the trip.
, one of my favorite Upstate people, has a recipe for one I’m excited to try. I’m always looking for good healthy winter recipes. Do you have any you love?
The next day my friend Melissa threw me a birthday brunch at her beautiful house.
Then we got to spend the day at Inness, a place I’ve been dreaming of visiting for ages. All that Plain English cabinetry! I am in heaven. We went in the spa and then had the most delicious dinner.
On Sunday, we visited so many amazing shops in Kingston. Clove and Creek, Inness Farm Shop, Red Owl Collective, Milne Antiques and Hops Petunia were a few of my favorites. I bought a gorgeous book about tulips. I want to learn about planting bulbs this year.
Any shops I have to visit next time I’m there?
Then I hosted a dinner at Stissing House (aka the most LR restaurant ever!) to celebrate 6 months of “Jessie Loves.” What a dream to be able to have my friend
teach us to paint flowers before dinner. She has a show out now called “Art In Bloom.” On top of being such an incredible painter she is so bubbly and kind. I adore her.
We each had our own palette of gouache paints and little bud vases for inspiration. It was incredibly meditative and relaxing.
Nikki Chasin’s stunning flowers:
My friend Julie’s masterpiece:
Then we headed into the gorgeous dining room for dinner. We had (another) chicory salad, baked mac and cheese, slow-cooked chicken and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. It was such a beautiful room full of warm, kind, creative women I admire. I feel so lucky to have been welcomed Upstate and into this Substack community with open arms.
Last thing! The genius gift bags (brainchild of
). One side says “everything I love” and the other says “…and one thing I hate.*” We filled them with my favorite (sold out) LR cosmetic pouches and cozy cashmere socks. We have a few totes left, and I’ll be choosing three lucky subscribers to send them along to! Look out for an announcement in my next newsletter.And One Thing I Hate:
The only thing I can think to say that I hate about Upstate is all the driving. Otherwise, it’s bliss.
This is so lovely!!!! Happy birthday, and congrats on six months!
What inspired me the most about this post was your choice to celebrate your fun, personal projects. I think as women we so often wait to be recognized or for someone else to sing us praises so we can THEN feel proud of ourselves. But this reminds me that MY joy and MY satisfaction is worth celebrating, too. Thank you so much for the inspiration - today and through each of your newsletters.