The day of our Seattle Supper was one of those rare, perfect, late-spring days in Washington. Each of the many greens of the manicured gardens at Jardin del Sol stood out against the bluebird sky, which perfectly matched the floral tablecloths we selected. The cloudless sky was decorated with wisps of cotton from the surrounding dogwood trees drifted gently in the warm air. Two half-moon tables fit just about perfectly in line with the sharp-edged hedges framing the garden’s lawn, creating a cozy nook in which to serve a very special meal from De la Soil.

Watching the sun set over open water is a singular experience. It slowly swells from a pale yellow dot high above to a pink pulsing thing, slowly bleeding into its surroundings. It sinks towards the horizon so slowly for hours, until it just starts to touch the border between sea and sky. Then, like someone deep below the ocean started sucking the sky up through a boba straw, it disappears, leaving streaks of rose in its wake that eventually fade…

Upstate New York is idyllic in the golden, sunny time between summer and fall. We arrived to the quiet town of Sharon Springs just as the leaves were starting to turn; the landscape was all green and amber and the rust color of brick and late-season flowers left out in the sun — interrupted by occasional bursts of bright Beekman yellow.