"When rve bought it, the house had a lot alone makes Westchester a rvelcome respite.
of funky features that made you think of the
Vermont woods,"Barbara says. She remembers
Arnold reading real-estate ads.'As soon as he
said,'House on a lake,'that rvas it for me."
At first their lakefront neighbors, each
with their very own dock, were mostly
rveekenders up from the city. (Barbara
introduced trvo neighbors, and it turned
out they lived in the same building in the
city!) Now they're surrounded by upscale
families who live by the lake full time.
To mingle with them, the Cohens make
a point of getting out into the community.
They both play tennis at the Sarv Mill Club
in Mount Kisco, and Barbara slvims in the
lake all summer long. "I just love being on
the water," she says. "I can sit and look at
that lake day in and day out. It's such a nice
offset to my crazy life in Nerv York."
']l hr,r Sirt il J"r: .[,i i.'r,:
Land, lakes, towering trees, and sunshine
seem to inspire living life at a slorv speed,
and for many busy Manhattanites, that
38 intown westchester .irrt1,' 21'1(r't
Judith Klinger and her husband, Jeff Albu-
cher, have been summering in \\,'estchester for
25 years. These days they spend a rveek at a
time. Their Lake Katonah home is small-
about 1,500 square feet-but it has shadl',
private decks, porches, and patios in all
directions. Most mornings 1'ou'll find Judith
on the front patio, updating her daily blog
at aromacucina.com. \rybil. blogging lakeside
is certainly a departure from her N4anhattan
existence, the couple is no stranger to
change. A couple of years ago, Klinger and
Albucher quit their full-tirne Garment
District jobs to spend more time in West-
chester and to launch a new full-service
seven-room villa in ltaly. Kl_ingqls- c-a{pe,L
gontinues to et'olve: Norv she leads cook-
ing classes and rvorks as a personal chef.
Together, she and her husband are about to
launch an online food magazine that will
cater to everyday cooks.
Like their own, many of the houses sur-
rounding Lake Katonah were built as unheated
hunting lodges in the 1920s. Over the years,
the owners har.e rvinterized them and
enlarged them, adding a ne\\, kitchen here,
an extra screen porch there. So each has
its orvn particular charm.
Judith and feff still use the rrvo original
foldout Murphy' beds (rvith the original
hog's hair mattresses) in their living room.
Like the rest of the trvo-level house, the
space boasts lots of u'ood and a fireplace
that probably kept the old hunters warm
at night. The revamped kitchen, though
modest, is much larger than in their SoHo
apartment, and given the new stainless-steel
appliances, it makes a great lab for trying
out nerv recipes. It's not glamorous by any
stretch, but it's quiet and relaxing, an easy
place to rejuvenate from life in the city-
and for most Westchester rveekenders, that's
everything a second home needs to be.