Lisa Pryzstup
By: Alexis deBoschnek
Oona Founding Partner Alexis deBoschnek sat down with Lisa Przystup, her dear friend and neighbor in Delhi, NY, for a chat about moving upstate, learning to interpret nature’s shifts and rhythms, hosting at home, and serving Oona’s Barbera Rosé — a symphony of goodness we aspire to channel daily.
Lisa is a writer with experience in the beauty and apparel worlds, and she’s the author of the acclaimed design and lifestyle book Upstate: Living Spaces with Space to Live, a collection of covetable upstate-based interiors, plus their owners’ stories.
Source: Lisa Pryzstup
You moved from Brooklyn to the Catskills during the pandemic. How has that move shifted your perspective on life?
We bought our house in 2016—our plan was to baby-step it into living there full time, but my job required that I maintain a presence in the office (that, plus I am wildly adverse to change). So, there was always a reason—at least for me—to keep kicking it down the road. My husband Jonathon had lived in the city for a solid stretch and was beyond ready to make the move—he grew up in Syracuse, got his Master’s at SUNY New Paltz, and was hungry to get back upstate and closer to central New York.
Living upstate has made it so that I’m so much more aware of the natural world and its seasonal shifts and changes. There is a real immediacy and accessibility to nature and everything it brings: an intimacy, a kind of noticing that asks me to slow down, an awareness of the rhythms of the natural world. You start to realize in short order what certain blooms signify: goldenrod and asters mean fall is on its way, narcissus and snowdrops and grape hyacinth mean that things are ever so slowly (and I do mean slowly) shifting towards spring—all those little noticings accumulate and build on each other in a really wonderful way.
“There is a real immediacy and accessibility to nature and everything that brings: an intimacy, a kind of noticing that asks me to slow down, an awareness of the rhythms of the natural world.”
What's the main difference between gathering in the city versus a more rural area?
The biggest difference is that instead of going out to meet friends at restaurants or coffee shops we all end up hosting dinner—you host dinner one night and then find yourself being hosted the next. It means that we’ve all had the good fortune to pull up a seat to a table in someone’s home, pass plates around, ask for seconds and sometimes thirds - all while each of us talks about our day. It means cleaning up and doing dishes together after, stacking and laughing about one thing or another. It makes for a much more familiar and intimate experience—the kind usually reserved for family but now extended to a different kind of family: the family we choose, the family of friends.
How does hosting differ for you living in the country versus when you lived in the city?
Oh, hosting didn’t really happen in the city. Everyone’s apartments were too small! Ours maxed at four people (including us). Once, we really pushed it and hosted six friends, but it was not ideal. We hosted dinner from time to time for friends, but it was definitely the exception to the rule—whereas here, upstate, hosting is the default.
You have such a gift for creating beautiful spaces — from the flowers you arrange to the candles and linens you set out. Are there any pieces that are always present on your table?
A vintage wooden candelabra (light blue) that I honestly can’t recall where I found, but I love it, and a wood salt cellar that my husband and I bought early on in our relationship—it somehow felt so fancy. And, in the summer, a bowlful of fruit.
We’re very excited you’re part of the Oona family, and know we all love Oona for all types of gatherings. What's your favorite pairing with our Barbera Rosé, apart from BjornQorn, of course?
Ha! Yes, I do have an embarrassing weakness for BjornQorn—zero impulse control when it comes to that. To me, Oona’s Barbera Rosé screams summer, so I love pairing it with easy, seasonal, no-cook dishes—like a peach, tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad. The wine’s creamy nose and tart body perfectly complement the bright freshness of salad’s ingredients.
I've been lucky enough to share countless meals with you over the years. There's always a seasonal approach to your menu planning, with a touch of whimsy. What are the dishes you love most in your dinner party rotation?
If I’m being honest, it really is Jonathon who does most of the cooking, BUT, as you know, I do love a pavlova (and thanks to YOU, I was finally able to execute my very first successful one a couple winters ago). I love that pavlova’s identity changes with the seasons—in the winter, it’s citrus and powdered sugar; in the summer, peaches and currants (and recently, at a three-year-old’s birthday party, cherries). It’s basically a delightfully sugary vehicle for whatever topping you can dream up.
