The honeymoon phase ain't got nothin' on us

I've never really understood the meaning of a honeymoon phase when it applies to the person that you are supposed to be with. In my opinion when you are with that perfect person for you, the honeymoon phase never ends which is why I would like to dedicate this post to that person in my life who is the best boyfriend and best friend ever. Chris and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 7th, and to celebrate we rented a little cabin up in the Catskills in Stamford, NY. We had a lovely trip. I'm including a list of places that we went at the end of the post in case you are ever in that area. 

Breakfast in bed cinnamon sugar rolls, bacon, fruit salad, and coffee! 

View from our front window as it started to snow.

Our little home away from home.

Our field and the view of the mountains.

The main room taken from our bedroom loft.

Relaxing in front of the fire.

Champagne from our host in front of the fire.

Beer puddle (?) outside the Ommegang Brewery.

Chris being a monk.

Ommegang brewery.

Clearly we went a bit crazy in the gift shop.

Ommegang brewery tasting room.

Driving through the mountains.

Fall trees.

Recommendations:
East side of the Catskills:
If you are coming from the south you will pass by Rosendale and New Paltz. They are a quick little detour right off the highway. New Paltz has more because it is a bigger town (and college town), but it has lots of cute shops for gifts, coffee, etc.  Then, you can scoot on over to Rosendale to have lunch at the Rosendale cafe on the main drag. The cafe is owned by one of my best friends from college parents and is amazing food.
Also on the east side of the Catskills, but actually in the mountains is Woodstock.  We stopped there on the way back.  It is a super cute town with lots of shops.  Bread Alone has a shop there (I HIGHLY recommend their apple cider sourdough), there was a very cute book shop called The Golden Notebook (on Tinker st.) is awesome for kids books.  Finally, my last recommendation which came from someone that Chris works with is Peace, Love, and Cupcakes (also on Tinker). This place was amazing. All the cupcakes are named after famous musicians, and they very fudgy cupcakes with amazing frosting.  My one complaint is that they are not easy share, but, then again, who wants to share a cupcake.

West side of the Catskills:
We stayed in Stamford, NY, and the one place I can recommend there (it is a TINY town) is TP's on Railroad ave. It's an a little diner, nice people, good food, amazing prices.  One place near by (pretty much the same town) was Hobart book village. It is basically a village of bookstores.  We drove by it, and it looked like a lot of fun.
We spent Friday in Margaretville which is a small town with lots of little shops. Two stuck out to me, one was an antique shop on Main. st. called 768 Main it is a coffee shop and antique store, but they also sell local maple syrup/chocolate syrup/caramel sauce. The other store we found there was a gourmet grocery store called The Cheese Barrel. They have lots of fresh cheese spreads, homemade candy, meats, etc. On the way to Margaretville we stopped for lunch at the Andes Hotel in Andes, NY.  The chicken caesar salad (me) and the burger (Chris) were both GREAT.
On Saturday we spent the day in Cooperstown, NY.  Probably one of the bigger towns in the area.  We went to the Ommegang Brewery as you can see from the pictures which was a lot of fun.  The tour was free and the tastings were $3. They also have a pretty good gift shop and a cafe which we didn't eat at so we can't vouch for it. We did eat at the Otesaga Hotel bar and grill for lunch.  It was good food, but the view of the lake is what you go there for.  It would be perfect in the summertime.  We ate dinner at an amazing restaurant on Main st. called Alex and Ika's which had GREAT food, but you definitely need a reservation.  It was crazy in there. We stopped at a few stores around town including The Firehouse market (another gourmet grocery store), there is a crafts store on Doubleday court (I can't remember what it is called) that sells stuff from artists in the area.  We had so much fun on our trip.  I hope it inspires you to plan one for yourself!

Compared to the month of October, November has been struggling for me.  HOWEVER, I am going to start focusing on Thanksgiving recipes, things to bring to parties, holiday DIY gift ideas, and decorating for the holidays! So get ready for lots of upcoming posts!