Our Travels // Buffalo

↳We visited Buffalo, NY for New Years and a wedding. One of our first stops was S's sister that lives in a log cabin that the family built themselves (swoon) on many acres of land. Being there in winter was magical. Growing up, my family used to visit the Catskills mountains and we used to hike to the creek. We did the same with S's family here, and it was refreshing. 

↳Their dog loved playing in the ice cold water and scaling the sides of the hills down to the creek. The water was high due to the melted snow from weeks previous, so we couldn't make our way to the waterfall, but we caught a glimpse of the smaller one. 

↳The earth is an amazing thing. On their land there are piles of natural shale making it's way out of the ground. They use it as mulch around their plants and landscaping. The layers and various colors are beautiful. There are also so many useful plants on their property like goldenrod for making tea. 

↳We visited an outdoorsy store where I purchased some wool socks - so cozy for winters up north! See the taxidermy? As someone who has lived in Florida for the past 13 years, I do not own a pair of wool socks. One year during winter I tried playing in the snow with my cousins in my boots and thin cotton socks, my toes were frozen within five minutes. Wool socks keep your soul warm. 

↳I really wanted to go ice skating! When I was growing up in New York we took ice skating lessons, but I have not ice skated in a long time. There is a new skating rink on the canal of downtown Buffalo, as well as one on the main street. We went to the smaller one on main street with a shorter wait time. I struggled a bit to get used to the balance, but I had fun! I am proud to admit that I did not slip and fall - but that's not saying much considering I did not go very fast. S's nephew plays hockey so he was spinning circles around us and spraying up ice like a theater show. 

↳We visited a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Buffalo. This one was built in 1904, and at the time it must have looked so futuristic! This house is surrounded by old Victorian houses, just plopped in the middle of a neighborhood. 

So many gorgeous brass details like these numbers above and the light fixtures below.

↳We had a New Years Eve wedding in this basilica - look familiar? We visited this church last time we visited Buffalo. It was a gorgeous backdrop for a wedding ceremony, still decorated from the holidays. 

↳While at the church, a snow storm was approaching. Before hopping in the car to head to the reception, we had to snap a photo of the snow flurries around us. (And my fur coat is from an old Halloween costume when I went as Margot Tenenbaum that I bought at a vintage shop. It's definitely a statement piece...)

↳This politician right here. My brother in law, looking out the window at the snow storm bringing in the fog just before the reception. The hotel had a view of Buffalo's ball drop for the new year countdown.