I’ve lived in New York pretty much my entire life, but I don’t think it was until recently that I stopped taking fall in New York for granted. When you leave the city, you realize how beautiful the state is this time of year. From the colors of the leaves changing, the crisp fresh air, the excitement of Halloween for both adults and kids, and of course the luxe layers of clothing that you get to break out this time of year.
This past weekend was the first time we had that crisp fall air along with the changing foliage, so it’s no wonder it felt like everyone we knew in New York made the trek to one of my favorite Empire State places to go in the fall: to upstate New York’s outdoor art park, Storm King, I first came here with my art class in college, but really appreciated it when I came here with my hubby last year and we vowed to keep coming back.
This time we planned a Sunday Funday with a few fellow city folk friends and we made a great day out of the beautiful weather. We weren’t the only ones with the idea, so it took us twice as long to get in, but once we were in, it was so worth it. As our friend Mea exclaimed, its Insta-opportunities are massive. The amazing rolling hills and natural landscape surrounding the larger than life art sculptures scattered throughout the grounds. There’s probably more than you can tackle in a day, unless you prefer to travel by bike or tram than by foot, so it makes it worth coming back.
My friend Emily of AccessoriesGal came along and we were like little kids playing through the art, and while also simultaneously urging our “Instagram Husbands” to snap photos along the way. You can’t take a bad photo here!
Emily originally had a pair of smoking slippers on, so luckily our friend Mea warned her to wear something a little bit more outdoorsy, so she was perfectly dressed with her riding boots. We saw other guests wearing their parkas, but I felt we were all pretty sensible in our leather jackets or sweaters. I couldn’t wait to break out my new sweater that I scored from TJMaxx’s “Runway” section when it was like 90 degrees out still. I couldn’t resist it and knew it would be something I would live in as soon as it got cold.
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After our trip to Storm King, we decided to make the most of our long car ride, so we grabbed dinner at the cute nearby café, Painters before we headed to The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze (shout out to Bianca who managed to help us get tickets despite it being sold out for a while).
The Pumpkin Blaze, as it’s also known, is like a Christmas light show for Halloween. There are over 10,000 pumpkins that create scenes, sculptures, and even recreating the nearby legend of Sleepy Hollow’s Headless Horseman. It was a bit overwhelming and somewhat terrifying for children under 5, but it may be one of the coolest things you could do during the fall season in New York.
Designer sweater scored at TJMaxx // Club Monaco turtleneck // Levi’s jeans // Frye boots // vintage hat // Joanna Maxham bag (c/o)
Check out more on Storm King and get your tickets for The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze before they’re completely sold out.