{Travel} Upstate New York: Work, Family, Music & Sightseeing

 Mr. Click had a work event in Troy, New York which also happened to be the day before a concert we had booked in Bethel, New York. 

We made it into a little getaway weekend.  We stayed on the waterfront in Troy.

When we got to the hotel, we walked around a little and along the Hudson River.  We walked around River Street Market that had quite a few restaurants.  We also checked out the area around the hotel.

I thought this was an interesting use of space in our room.  That night was Mr. Click's work event so I ordered dinner at the Bistro in the hotel (delicious Mediterranean bowl!).  When he got back, we hung out at the bar in the hotel with some of the other event attendees. We also met two make up artists from the show The Gilded Age! That was pretty exciting. The show films in Troy for some of the scenes. I love that show!

The next morning we headed into what I think is the downtown Troy area. We had coffee at a cute coffee shop Alias Coffee before heading to our next destination.

The scenery was so beautiful on our drive.

In another serendipitous turn of events, we were able to visit our niece and her husband at their lovely home on our way to Bethel.

We got to meet their kitties (one was too shy for a photo).

They gave us a tour of their amazing home and property.  It was our first time visiting them so it was quite exciting.    We went out to lunch with them in their super cute hometown.  It was a great meal and a beautiful day.

Then we were back on the road to Bethel...more gorgeous scenery along the way. We stopped once for a call and got some really good cappuccinos at a Greek restaurant.   We made it to our next hotel in the afternoon.

We stayed in the town of Monticello, outside of Bethel.  This was my look for the concert.

It was about a 15 minute drive to the venue.  

It is on the site of Woodstock and a historical landmark.

We didn't know what to expect and we were blown away by how beautiful (how many times can I say beautiful?!) views and grounds.

Everyone working there was so friendly and helpful.  There were so many food and drink vendors and zero lines.  

We had some great seats!

We were there to see J J Grey and The Mofros  and he was the second act on the bill.  Mr. Click is a big fan of his music which can be described as swamp rock,Southern soul blues and funk.  He put on an amazing show and left us wanting more!

The venue is pretty incredible and looked even more magical at night.

The headliner was Joe Bonamossa and we stayed for a few of his songs before heading back to our hotel.

The next morning we headed out to Beacon, New York.

City Girl #1 had told us about this quaint town and it sounded like a good place to visit.

We had a delicious brunch at Beacon Bread Company.  The lemonade was top tier as well.

The rest of the morning we walked around town, stopping in shops and window shopping at others.  This cat cafe was tempting but I just said hi to the kitties.  

It started raining and we figured that was our cue to start our drive home.  It was an easy drive and we were happy to be home after a wonderful getaway.

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{Thrifting} July Thrifting

 July was a really good month for thrifting! I didn't realize how much I had gotten until I pulled the photos from my phone.

This haul was from one Saturday morning at one or more places - I can't remember if it was all from more than one shop but I know I went to a few.

The Nestle tin has a a different season on each side. It's charming. I'm using the vase out by the pool and the mug is from Anthropologie.  Willow checked out her new toy.  The birthday card was an additional one for Mr. Click. It played "Rhinestone Cowboy" when opened.

I always need a new plain white t-shirt for summer and this LOFT one is super soft.  

This light green bubble hem blouse is also from LOFT.

We went to our first estate sales this month.  We checked out two in our area. The jacket was free, as the sellers offered it to me after I purchased the recipe box for $1.  I thought City Girl #2 would like the jacket and she does.

The recipe box is stuffed full of recipes and I'm enjoying looking through them.

We found these items at a another estate sale in the garage.  The wicker rolling cart is a perfect addition out by the pool as a side table with storage. I cleaned it up and I may repaint it one day. The flameless candles no longer worked but I replaced them with new ones and they are also now out by the pool.

I scored three tops at the consignment shop and love them all.

[From my dressing room try-ons]

The tank is Free People and the other two shirts are LOFT and Ann Taylor.

I went to a community yard sale sponsored by a local ladies auxiliary group.  

I almost picked this up for CG#2 for her junk journaling but I couldn't get it to work. I love the look of it though.

There were two huge areas for shopping and you had to hand the seller the ticket and they would write down the cost and you paid for it all at the end.   I came home with a cute kitty puzzle, some silver spreaders and a small glass vase.

The spreaders polished up nicely.

in progress...

and done (I had help)!

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{Recipe} Roasted Marinated Tofu

 I've featured a few tofu recipes on the blog but I hadn't shared my go-to roasted tofu recipe...until now! 

Have you tried tofu? Maybe you're tofu curious or just want to incorporate more plants and plant proteins into your diet. I think this is an easy (and tasty) way to start.  It's also very economical, coming in at $2-$4 per package. 

Step 1: Get ready to press the tofu. I usually prefer extra firm tofu for this recipe (or I get the super firm tofu from Trader Joe's and can skip the pressing step). I have a handy tofu press but it is not a necessity.  Using some dish towels, two plates and some canned goods does the trick like this.

Step 2: Rinse tofu and squeeze any excess water out of the tofu.

Step 3: Press the tofu in a tofu press or wrapped in a dish towel between 2 plates with some heavy canned goods on top.  I press the tofu for a few hours or up to a few days depending on when I need it. Usually it's just a few hours.

Step 4: Refrigerate. I always keep the pressed tofu in the fridge.

Step 5: Drain & Dry the tofu pressed tofu and prepare to cut into cubes. Drain any excess liquid and discard. Pat the tofu dry with paper towels.

Step 6: Cut tofu into bite sized cubes.

Step 7: Make marinade. I don't have an exact recipe because I always just eyeball the measurements.  

I use approximately 1/4 cup liquid aminos (or soy sauce), a generous spoonful of minced garlic, a generous spoonful of Dijon mustard, a squirt of Sriracha sauce. I sometimes add minced or dry ginger and/or crushed red pepper flakes. You could also add a sweetener here like maple syrup or coconut sugar.   Whisk up the ingredients.  Can be thinned out with a little water (you want to have enough marinade to coat the tofu chunks but they don't have to be covered with marinade).

Step 8: Marinate the tofu chunks.  Gently add a few chunks at a time and toss in the marinade until all have been coated.    

Step 9: Refrigerate in a sealed container.  My tofu press can also be used for marinating so that's what I use but any airtight container will work.  I give it a few shakes to move the marinade around.   The tofu can be marinated for a few hours or longer (up to a few days).  Sometimes I just toss it in the marinade and roast immediately but the added marinating time does help deepen the flavor so it is recommended.

Step 10: Roast the tofu.  Preheat over to 400ºF.  Pour the tofu chunks and all of the marinade onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  You can see the tofu has absorbed most of the marinade.

Step 11: Roast the tofu to crispy goodness!  Roast for 25-45 minutes, stirring the tofu occasionally so all of the sides get crispy and keeping an eye on it. I like it a little extra crispy.  You can enjoy the tofu right then (careful, will be HOT!).  Store in any extra in an airtight container in the fridge. It's good hot or cold.

Roasted tofu can be used in many different ways-salads, wraps, Buddha bowls, spring rolls or right out of the fridge as a snack.

Spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, tofu and pickled onions topped with everything but the bagel seasoning.

Buddha bowl with rice, veggies, tofu and pepitas.

Are you ready to try some tofu?

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