Adventures in Northern Michigan-Part One

I spent the early part of August vacationing in northern Michigan with M, my two sisters, and my dad. It was such a relaxing ten days spent reading by the lake, trying local restaurants, cooking leisurely meals at the cottage, and playing board games into the wee hours. My family has vacationed in Michigan since I was a little girl, and there are certain things that I have to cross off the 'to do' list every year, such as eating an ice cream cone from the Cool Spot and watching the sunset at the town's light house. This year we tried a few new activities that will surely be added to the long list of annual traditions. 

Freshly made doughnuts from Crescent Bakery. We always fight over the nutty crescents!

One of my dad's fish sculptures on display at the antique shop.

Scuba diver swimming into a trumpet.

Old encyclopedias for sale at the shop.

Horned fish sculpture suspended from the ceiling.

Vintage tabletop at Trick Dog, a local gallery and coffee shop.

Enjoying a cup of coffee and an oatmeal treat overlooking the harbor.

This definitely summed up our trip!

Overlooking Lake Michigan.

The Garden theater in downtown Frankfort. I saw ET here when I was a kid!

Sparklers on the beach at dusk.

Afternoon treat of coffee/hazelnut and raspberry gelato.

Morning dew collected in a spider web outside of our cottage.

My sisters swinging on the swings and eating ice cream on a cloudy evening.

Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler

Happy Mardi Gras! When I was growing up, my grandma would have a traditional Fat Tuesday pancake dinner every year and it was so much fun. She would decorate the table with brightly colored masks, feathers, and beads, and we would feast on flapjacks, sausage and bacon, eggs and fruit syrups. It was always a highly anticipated occasion for me and my sisters.

I decided to put my own spin on the tradition this year by whipping up a batch of sour cream pancakes (using this insanely delicious recipe) and served them up alongside sausage patties, scrambled eggs, fruit salad, and fresh squeezed blood orange mimosas. The best part was the real maple syrup (something that I rarely splurge on). The planning and shopping were just as much fun as the finished meal, and who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?






Remember last year, when I gave up coffee and chocolate for Lent. Yeah, that was pretty crazy. Well this year, I've decided to take it one step further and give up sweets and alcohol. I'm also going to try and make it a nightly habit to write something that I'm thankful for down in a journal. Wish me luck!

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras?

Smurfette

I've just been lounging around the house today in my new winter hat, which I kind of love. Fingers are crossed that I can pull off a fantasy football playoff win tonight!

Collectible Cards

Look what I found while cleaning today! That's right, ALF trading cards, circa 1987. It was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid. I wish they would bring him back!

It All Ends

I just got home from watching the final installment of the Harry Potter series. Although I'm sad that there won't be any more books or films (for now), I appreciate how well the final cut turned out. I think the ending was satisfying and definitely did the book justice. What do you think? If you've read the Harry Potter series, were you pleased with the ending?

Book-It

I'm excited to finally be stocked up on some new summer reading material. I can't wait to start The Hunger Games. I've heard great things about it, but was slightly surprised to find it in the young adult section of the book store. Guess we'll see how it goes!

What's on your summer reading list?

P.S. Does anyone else remember the Book-It reading incentive program from elementary school? I remember one of the prizes was being able to get a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut, which was so awesome!

Mirror, Mirror

I almost died when I saw this mirror at Anthropologie this afternoon. It's so funky and unique that I wanted it to be mine right there on the spot. In fact, I can think of at least three great places to hang it in my apartment right now. The only thing that's stopping me? Oh, just the $400+ price tag. I know. Insane. I'm planning on spending the weekend dreaming up ways to recreate it with my own little DIY. I'm more than open to suggestions!

I'd also like to point out that this is something that would fit in perfectly at my parents' house, which makes me feel like waving a little white surrender flag around. When I was growing up, I always thought my parents had the weirdest taste in antiques and old junk. Now, I've really grown to appreciate their sense of style and some of it may have rubbed off on me just a little. Ok, mom, you win again.

Little Toot

Tugboats lined up in the harbor at India Point Park.

Do you remember the children's book called Little Toot? It was such a cute story! I feel like kids nowadays don't read as many cool books. They're more into high-tech toys. Maybe it's just me, but reading was a huge hobby of mine growing up.

A Wild Discovery

I kind of love that I finally stumbled upon these special edition Barnum's animal crackers today while on a run for groceries. The box is so colorful that it really stood out on the shelf and I couldn't resist buying a couple packages. I can't believe it took me a whole year to find them!

Back in the Day

I was going through some old pictures earlier when I came across this shot of my friend, Ryan, and I at Christmastime in what I think is 1986 (or maybe 1987). We were inseparable as kids and lived right down the street from each other, so we played almost every day. Nowadays, he is all grown up with a little son of his own and we only see each other a couple times a year. It's fun to look back and remember the fun times we had together and how he could make me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe (especially at inappropriate times like Thanksgiving while we were saying grace)!

P.S. I love finding old photos!

Lunch Box Treats

Remember way back when your mom packed your lunch every day? I really miss that! Imagine how much time I could save in the morning if I didn't have to worry about what to pack for lunch. One of my favorite things to find at snack time were Teddy Graham crackers! For some reason they always remind me of childhood. I was always a fan of the honey flavor (chocolate, too!) but now they have fancy flavors like cinnamon and chocolate chip. Nostalgic snacks are the best!

What was your favorite lunch box treat?

Feel Like a Kid Again

If you're in to all things retro, (and who isn't these days?), you should check out the cereal aisle of your local Target. They're having a special promotion with General Mills this month that features old-school designs from the 50s, 60s, and 80s on select boxes of cereal. I really like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios ones (both from 1984). It's amazing to see how much the logos and graphics have changed throughout the decades. Of course, they're only available for a limited amount of time, so hurry!

Sunrise Sunrise

looks like morning in your eyes

I snapped this picture bright and early as I was getting ready for the gym. The sun was just staring to come through the window behind me and it created an unusually clear silhouette. It reminded me of intricate silhouette portraits that we used to have done at Montessori school when I was young that would end up as Christmas or Valentine's gifts for parents. Get your own custom silhouette print here.

lyrics from Norah Jones-Sunrise

Dinner Time

This little guy is such a fun addition to my kitchen counter! His face even changes as time ticks away. Get yours here.

Party Paper

I love browsing through stationery stores, especially the sheets of handmade natural paper or individual pieces of gift wrap. I spotted this barrel of monkeys pattern and fell in love. Wouldn't it be a fun way to wrap up birthday toys or even use to decorate a festive table?

Day Twenty-One: Another Moment, In Great Detail

One of the best parts about Christmastime at my grandparents' house was always the decorating. Every year they threw a huge tree-trimming party and invited lots of friends and family to enjoy hanging ornaments on the tree while drinking cider and listening to Christmas carols. As much as I enjoyed those parties (and got away with eating too many sugar cookies), it was the set up that I enjoyed even more. My Pop-Pop collected old electric trains and we would spend all morning going into the crawl space under the basement stairs and pulling out the boxes of metal track and each individually wrapped train car. The combination of smells from the sweet pine sap of the tree and cold metal from the tracks is still a vivid memory for me. It was so satisfying to lay out the track and fit each piece together perfectly until it went all the way around the base of our tree. I can remember laying on the cold hardwood floor and being covered with prickly needles that had already fallen.

We had to make sure the wheels of each car were lined up with the grooves in the track so they would glide along smoothly and the cars all hooked together in order, starting with the engine and ending with my favorite, the caboose. The most exciting part of all was, of course, getting to slowly turn the dial for the first time and waiting in anticipation to see whether or not the train would lurch forward-it usually did. I would set it as fast as it could go, until the little toy people would topple over and fall off. I still try to tinker with the train set every few years when I'm home for Christmas and I still get just as much enjoyment out of watching it circle the track under our Christmas tree. It brings back so many great memories, which is one of the best things about this time of year.

Day Eight: A Moment, In Great Detail

When I was a little girl, I was very close to my grandfather, Pop-Pop. I was the first grandchild, so he definitely spoiled me and we always did special things together. I'll never forget one rainy fall afternoon when he told me to go down to the basement and watch a cartoon while he got some work done. I couldn't have been older than six, and now that I think about it, I was probably just five years old. Anyway, the basement phone rang shortly after I started watching my show (I was allowed to answer the phone at that point). I picked it up and it was Pop-Pop, calling me from the office phone (which was super exciting/important when you're only five). He asked me what I wanted for lunch and I requested a grilled cheese (one of my favorites). Instead of just bringing me a grilled cheese on a paper plate, we had an elaborate indoor picnic. Pop-Pop made me my special sandwich on the griddle using the heavy cast-iron bacon press that made the cheese extra melty and gooey. Then he wrapped it up and packed it with juice boxes and chocolate chip cookies in an oversize basket. We even got to use special cloth napkins and he remembered to bring me a little packet of ketchup (to dip my sandwich in).

It was the best rainy day adventure ever and it obviously left a lasting impression! I still think back to it on dreary days like the ones we've been having here in New England. Nothing beats a good grilled cheese on a rainy afternoon.

Day Two: Your First Love, In Great Detail

Most of my first loves (yes, plural) were athletes. No, I'm not talking about pee-wee football players or Babe Ruth all-stars. I'm talking MLB, NFL, NBA, NCAA, and PGA superstars. That's right, I went straight to the majors! My dad has always been an avid sports fan, and so I, too, watched a LOT of sports growing up. Not that I'm complaining at all. It's probably why I'm 3-0 in my fantasy football league right now! My biggest and earliest sports crushes were definitely Brady Anderson (of the Baltimore Orioles), Gary Clark (Washington Redskins), Richie Sexton (Cleveland Indians), and Wally Szczerbiak (Miami of Ohio). I became unhealthily obsessed with their stats, ads, books, facial hair (okay, okay, just Brady's sideburns), community appearances, and pretty much any tidbit of information I could get my hands on. Looking back, it was kind of bizarre, but slightly more dignified than spending all day thumbing through Tiger Beat. At least I was learning about their sports, right?

I think my first experience with love towards an actual person I knew (and not a celeb) was my best friend, Ryan, from childhood. We grew up a few blocks away from one another and spent way too much time together. His parents were good friends with my parents, so we were pretty much inseparable. He used to talk me into playing hide and seek and basketball, and on days where he was being extra nice, we would do an art project together or play with Barbies for a little while. He used to make me laugh until I couldn't breathe (and almost peed my pants) and he was the person responsible for literally knocking the wind out of me for the first time (with a soccer ball). We had walkie-talkies that worked up to 3 miles away from one another, so even after we had to go home we could still talk. The only thing I didn't have was a ladder so he could climb right into my bedroom window (like Sam on Clarissa Explains It All or Dawson, of course). My dad used to joke that Ryan was his son because he was at my house more than his own.

When I was much younger, I used to just assume that Ryan and I would get married and live together because we were best friends. Obviously, I didn't understand very much about love and relationships then (and he's happily married with a one-year-old now), but it felt like a reasonable explanation of love at the time. Looking back, I wasn't far off, really. I still think that love can exist between best friends and that being able to laugh and have fun is one of the best/most important parts of a relationship. Having a simple outlook on love can be much more rewarding than overanalyzing relationships or playing games. I'm so lucky that my first love never ended in heartbreak and that we're still friends to this day.

Grand Wagoneer

I really love these Tommy Hilfiger ads that are running for fall. Growing up, my family always had a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and I thought it was super cool until I had two little sisters and we all had to sit next to one another in the back seat. Yikes! There were definitely some tense moments there. I feel like Wagoneers are the classic prepster car that could easily go from the beach to soccer games. Even though they stopped making the Jeeps in 1993, I'd still love to own one and drive it around the Cape in the summertime. Oh, and those L.L. Bean inspired lace-up boots are pretty amazing too!

Toy Story Cuties

I wish it was my birthday right now because I'd order up some of these adorable Toy Story cupcakes. Lyndsay of Coco Cakes has done it again (she is waaay too talented)! I think the Mr. Potato Head is my favorite, but the little aliens are adorable too! Have you seen Toy Story 3? If not, you must go. It was hysterical and maybe a bit of a tear-jerker. I cannot get enough of these cupcakes, though. Hurry up, birthday!