I have absolutely nothing to blog about! I did however, promise to leave my giveaway open for two posts to give everyone a chance to comment and join in. So, I am sitting here in my jammies, reading blogs while Milo lies on the table waiting for the squirrels to come down from the trees and I thought I would just ramble a bit.
~Our temps have been in the low 80's and I have had the windows and doors flung open all week, just enjoying all this fresh air and giving the air conditioning a little vacation.
~It was back to school for Abby and she landed two great babysitting jobs to help support her shopping habit. Yay!
~I finally started reading The Help, which I bought last winter. I have 2 chapters left so don't tell me what happens.
~I read that Steven Spielberg is making the movie and that Claire Danes may have the part of Skeeter and Anne Hathaway the role of Hilly. Sounds good to me. Now who should play Aibileen and Minny?
~Ran errands with Emily Wednesday morning...her errands, not mine. I just HAD to get out of the house.
~The Husband left me his 2~seater sports car today and I have grocery shopping. Will have to strap the bags to the roof.
~Had some sewer problems in the backyard Tuesday morning but was quite entertained by the two most gorgeous Irish plumbers that came to fix it.
~I'm way too old and married to be entertained by cute Irish plumbers.
~Was picking basil in the garden this week and got stung by a bee. This hasn't happened since I was about 5 years old. I really wanted my mom.
~Have a wedding to go to tomorrow and am agonizing over what to wear.
~May cancel going to wedding due to bee sting.
Okay...I've rambled enough. I am looking forward to going to Target for the gift card so I can do a little shopping of my own. I wish everyone the best of luck and want to say Hi to all of the new followers. It's really been a lot of fun. I hope all of you had a good week and that you have an even better weekend!
You have to applaud The Husband here, diligently winding my wisteria up and around the front porch posts and tying the runners with neat little knots. They were actually on the ground and starting to wrap around the house. So my man, who is afraid of heights, began the climbing process to help the wisteria learn to climb on it's own, up the beams to the arbor on the 2nd floor balcony. What a guy.
But here is the thing {and there is always 'a thing' with me}. It's my wisteria! We have these little ownership things around the garden and yard. His arbor with beautiful clematis growing over it. My arbor with dead clematis vines clinging to it. So when he saw the wisteria going around the house in a vise~like grip, he took matters into his own hands. There I was, washing the dishes and looking out the window and all of a sudden I see Spiderman descend with an armful of my prized plant. My Wisteria! Just saying.
He worked on it all morning and then sat down on one of my {our} porch chairs and lit a cigar, surveying his work. I did dishes and flicked suds at the window in his direction. I would have happily threaded the runners around the beams had I noticed they were encroaching on our house, but it may not have been awhile until I noticed...like next spring. But what I am trying to say here, what I am trying to get to, is that even though he did me a favor, worked all morning with these scratchy, yukky vines, I know...truly in my heart, that this will now be called his wisteria. It's just the way it works around here. Even as he sat there with his cigar, I knew he was contemplating how he was going to train the vines once they got to the 2nd story balcony. The work of an evil, er...intelligent mind. Does this sort of stuff ever happen to you? Let's be honest. I want to finish what I start so I can say I did it. I feel like someone sneaked up behind me and stole my thunder!
After breakfast dishes I continued my dutiful wife thing and posted our dinner menu. It was the only plausible thing to do and I am sure he loved it. Maybe even learned that what's mine is mine.
On a lighter note, when we were in New Orleans, we fell in love with the coffee at Cafe Du Monde. I mean, really fell in love. And good old Amazon sells it and so we have been stocking up every few weeks or so. I don't think I'll ever tire of it. Now the 3 cans on the left are his...
Have a marvelous Wednesday! :-)
One of my favorite place to visit in Southern Michigan is South Haven, a charming little resort town on the banks of Lake Michigan. But before I take you along with me on our trip earlier this week, I wanted to show you some pictures that I caught of the Blue Heron that is hanging out more and more in our area of the lake. You can just make out his silhouette on the shore.
And here he is standing on top of the shore station. I think he looks majestic. I love how these great creatures walk with those long spindly legs. Beautiful. Now, on to South Haven...
We stayed at The Harbor Inn, as we always do, although I did spot some Bed and Breakfasts nearby. Our location is still the closest to the shopping and restaurants in town that make this such a great place to spend time. This is a picture of part of our room, not entirely because we had already dropped our bags and whatnot on every available surface. I like to keep our room tidy so that packing up is easy, but The Husband is the opposite. It's easier to see what he has to pack when it is lying all over the floor.
This is a view from one of our windows. I took the picture right through the glass. The dock is adjacent to the Inn and you can pass much time watching the sailboats float up and down the river that the Inn sits on.
Also attached to this dock is the Old Idler, a big old boat no longer in use except as a restaurant. We have eaten here a zillion times and it is always a treat.
We started our afternoon off with drinks and the most delicious crab cakes.
Strolling through town I took a few pictures, but as usual, the camera became cumbersome when I started buying things, so back in the room it went.
And this is one of the most favorite things I bought, a nice big beachy picture for the master bedroom at the lake. I'm still working on giving it that seaside look. This reminds me of Cape Cod or Martha's Vineyard. two of my favorite places to visit.
I also found this beautiful reversible runner. I have seen some coordinating napkins here in town that would be great inspiration for a tablescape. I bought some sand dollars and starfish to scatter about. I can almost smell the ocean. ;-D
And finally, this lamp is going on an end table that I am getting ready to paint white as soon as I am done with this post. The glass is a soft silvery blue and reminds me of a lantern. I fell in love with it and it is finally motivating me to paint the old table. I'll do before and afters.
So these are the highlights of our two day trip and we really had a good time. South Haven is close enough to take day trips and I have to do that because I didn't cover all the streets with their charming shops. Next time!
Our vacation here at the lake ends tomorrow when we return to Chicago. I miss my kids and house, although it is hard to believe after all of the peace and quiet and relaxation we have had here. I want to thank everybody for their sweet comments about the lake and our life here. It seems you can all identify with the way I feel when I am here and I love all of the compliments the lakehouse has received. What a great group of ladies you are! :-)
My 2 week vacation is nearing it's end but writing a post makes it all seem like one beautiful day flowing in to the next, each one bringing new and fun things to do and see. I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to not have to pack up and leave after 2 days. I think Milo and Layla have forgotten about their 'other house'. The weather has been perfect and we have have had as many quiet and relaxing days as we have had busy. I even took a nap one afternoon! I ordinarily would not waste a minute here, but it was so great to wake up, stretch and walk outside to see the calm lake and hear the birds chirping. Heaven.
I bought these little bird houses at Steinmart last year and finally got The Husband to hang them. He's not very fond of ladders. Aren't the faces precious?
So days just stretch out before me...I haven't found a good novel to start, but I will. The Husband is half finished with East of Eden, which I may pick up after him. I never read it. Time to break out of my Chick Lit mode and read a classic. Sometimes it's just nice to sit under the oak tree and read and daydream...
...or maybe under a palm tree. Yes, The Husband added two more palms to out patio, we are really in Tahiti now, baby.
And Milo loves his view from the Summerhouse where he can scout for other dogs to play with.
We've had our share of boat rides and flying around the lake on the wave runners. It's nice during the evenings and week when the lake is mostly empty. At the sand bar, where the water is only about waist high, you can hop off your wave runner and stand and have a refreshment or two...
Finally, I mentioned that we were going to an Antique Fair in Indiana and that we did last Saturday. I started out with my camera and then put it back inside the car. It becomes cumbersome and I know that you have seen tents and vendors and people shopping before. We had a great time. I had the experience of the 'one that got away'; a beautiful white chippy cabinet that went to the ladies in front of me admiring it. We spent the rest of the fair looking for something similar and it didn't happen. We made up for any sad feelings by munching on Chicken sandwiches, ice cream and lemonade. I did find this neat mesh bowl {sans veggies} and really liked it. Perfect for fruit or sewing items. junk mail...
I found this perfect, chippy window that is nice and sturdy and will look beautiful hanging above my bed. I'm not sure if I should hang fabric or something on the back of it or just let the wall color show through. Please let me have your suggestions. I am in LOVE with it.We got back from South Haven this morning after picking the dogs up from the kennel. I think they had a good vacation themselves. Milo actually turned and ran out of the office and back into the cage area when we got there. Must have forgot to say his goodbyes. They have not been barking much....probably wore their barkers out! Anyway, I did some serious shopping in South Haven and I will share it with you in my next post. In the meantime, I hope you are having a marvelous week! :-)
I have absolutely nothing to blog about! I did however, promise to leave my giveaway open for two posts to give everyone a chance to comment and join in. So, I am sitting here in my jammies, reading blogs while Milo lies on the table waiting for the squirrels to come down from the trees and I thought I would just ramble a bit.
