A Quick Love Letter To Our Catskills Friends

There's about 25 questions I'm asked all the time by our Inn guests.

Photo by Ali Francis for The Working Pair

How'd you find this place? Did you always want to open an Inn? What'd you do before? What's the winter like? What do you do out here for fun? What's the deal with the Schwarzeneggers? Where do you go grocery shopping?

Some questions are more intimate than others. For example, I can't tell you how many people have asked without blinking:

Have you guys made friends out here?

When I'm asked for the 5th time on a Saturday afternoon, I'm often tempted to get a bit sassy and say, "Nope. Not a one. It really makes me regret moving out here." Because I think that's actually the question behind just about every question I'm asked: Are you happy with your choice to live out here?

And the answer is YES! Yes I'm happy we moved out here, and yes, a big part of that is because we've made lots of wonderful friends. I can't even list them all of course, but looking back on just this past week we had a studio visit with Theresa and Michael at their gorgeous home in Kingston, ate couscous and stayed up late watching a big boxing match with Stephen at our place, had a slumber party over at Tracy and Jamie's with too much Chinese food and bottles upon bottles of wine, had another slumber party at Sarah and Soheil's where we played dice and watched two great Dane puppies wrestle, and hit up Taco Tuesday in Phoenicia with Jac and Nora. And that's just in the past 6 days!

Morning lattes with Sarah at her and Sohail's wonderful restaurant Brushland Eating House. 

So really, this is just a quick love letter to ALL the friends we've made out here. I love you guys! You're such a hilarious and talented and wonderfully weird spread of people. It's easy to worry when you move somewhere new that you'll never make friends as good as the ones you already hold dear, but it's simply not true. The world is full of gems of people. Douchbags too of course, but no need to care about them. Just keep your heart open, and no matter how awkward you feel about doing it just suck it up and platonically ask out that nice couple down the road. Because they might turn out to be some of the bricks that build your heart's home.