Fun in a small town.

Headed up to Schenectady to catch a screening of Wallace & Gromit at the Proctor’s Animation Fest, going on this week. Schenectady! This place’s name takes up an entire section of Ralph Wiggum’s brain!

We’ve always wanted to try Aperitivo… where we sampled some wine, even though I’d brought a split of Cambria in my purse—for good measure, chaps.

[Pencey chiffon dress + Low Luv x Erin Wasson chain @ ShopBop + J.Crew grandpa cardigan + Jessica Simpson Dany platforms + M by MJ bag]

Schenectady is not ready for these shoes; I’ll leave it at that.

When you live in an area that’s a sneeze of a car ride from New York City, it almost feels like finding things to do is an afterthought. “Meh, sure let’s drum something up,” when you could swing a trip down the next weekend and just save your energy. But we’ve been making a concerted effort to investigate nooks and crannies lately. I try to convince Rob to move back to Chicago with me—he digs in his heels—I think, “Chicago will be there.” So, these random nights here and there are the fun stuff.

[Dinner and drinks at Aperitivo next door.]

I’ve been in love with Nick Park’s work since I was a kid. When I first saw Creature Comforts in between movies on HBO, I would stalk the channel to try and see it again. Wallace + Gromit is nonstop hilarity subtle ways—I laughed louder than anyone else in the entire theater, mostly due to the ridiculous bunny facial expressions, but also the contraband pocket wine.

[Wallace + Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit!]

For more fun in our small town(s), check out our feature on All Over Albany, as well as all the other “Summer with…” posts from fun-loving locals. I learned a lot.

Do you live in a small town? Are you still coming across things in your own backyard you never thought to do before? That’s this summer’s mission: exhaust this town and learn it inside and out.

-Carey