A WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY

Off we went to the lake Saturday and having had a late start, decided to stop in Michigan for lunch. This is a little resort town called New Buffalo along the big lake. I've always wanted to spend a weekend here in the summer; it's only about 40 minutes from the lakehouse. It has a quaint little town with lots of shopping and restaurants and is a block from the beach. We could even bring our boat.
We ate at a restaurant called The Stray Dog. In this picture you can see the restaurant in the background. I was more interested in the cute gift shop {or gear shop as they call it}. They sell all things 'Stray Dog'; T shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, etc. It reminded me a lot of the Black Dog Tavern in Martha's Vineyard.
Look at the cute puppy!! A white picket fence surrounded a perennial garden that was waving goodbye to summer. It looked as wonderful to me in the fall as I am sure it does in the summer with all the beachgoers.
As you can see, it was a gorgeous day in the Midwest...sweater weather. Look at those blue skies. I am so glad we stopped.
Everything was decked out for fall and Halloween. I love the pretty flowers still blooming.
The restaurant was a lot of fun. The wait staff wore T shirts that had the 'Dog' on them and on the back they said: Come. Sit. Stay. I have to get one of those. Notice the fireplace along the back wall. Very cozy.
I had the Cobb Salad and...
French onion soup. Let's just say I cleaned my plate.
Back at the ranch, or Casa U Betcha, it was time to do a lot of outdoor cleanup. I took care of my flowers and plants, some of which were still blooming but would definitely be goners the next time I came back. The Husband put away some of the lake toys and patio furniture, it was just the perfect day to work outdoors and get all of this done before it gets too cold.
Before you think we moved to Havana, inside came all of The Husband's palm trees for the winter. Okay, I brought in my ferns and a hibiscus plant but the palms are obnoxious. We can't put them along the walls because the heat vents will dry them out, so they are basically sitting along one side of the bar. All I need is a safari outfit and some binoculars to creep around the house in. But we are now set for winter and we can simply come and go, no clean up to dread, just a long, cold winter sitting in front of the fire or wood stove, sipping hot chocolate or warm cider...
The swans and ducks were out like crazy this weekend and I'm not sure why {making plans for their trip South?}. Mr. Swan came to visit after I lured him with a half of loaf of bread.
So that was it for my weekend. It was good to be back at the lake after 6 long weeks {I don't even want to tell you what I found in the refrigerator}. We will get back on track with our never ending remodeling projects and just focus on the inside of the house after a nice summer vacation.

Today I am off to get some pumpkins and mums and straw. Did I mention we took The Husband's little sports car...the one with no back seat? I realized I had no room for anything after we were halfway there. So now I will have to pay Chicago prices. Ugh. I hope everyone had a nice weekend and is enjoying this beautiful weather. I will be back soon! :-)