A Summer Full Of Gratitude!

This past summer wasn't particularly exciting. In fact, there were no great adventures, no trips. (Although Noah went up north a couple of times to my parent's cottage on the lake.) But really, nothing note worthy or interesting took place, and I am just so grateful for that!

You see, last summer was HORRIBLE. Our beloved cat Priya died, and we spent two months not knowing if Willow had feline leukemia (which thankfully she didn't. It was a false positive.) We had tons of stress over some home repair issues and then trouble with faulty repair work that was difficult to get corrected. Just a string of set backs and disappointments and sad stuff. I was glad when that summer was over.

So when this summer was perfectly quiet and status quo, I thanked my lucky stars each day. No need for a fancy vacation. I was just glad for some sun, watching Noah enjoy his summer camp days and the chance not to have to wear a coat outside. 

Here are some other summery things that I appreciated..........

Walks on my street, (the quiet end, not the town end) that looked like this!

(There was a family of Green Heron living in the trees surround the pond this summer!)

The Woodward Dream Cruise. This is the largest one-day classic car event in the entire world, and it happens two blocks from my house! For one day and one evening, 40,000 classic cars (I'm not joking) and roughly 1.5 million people, come to cruise and stand along the famous Woodward Avenue. It's a ton of fun. We make a weekend out of it. The cruising starts the week before honestly, but all weekend you can hear the rumbling sounds of old cars and the city is filled with excitement. We take advantage of this to see friends and walk in the evening with ice cream while watching the cars cruise by.

This year was really special. We had the chance to take an evening drive on the day of the Dream Cruise in our friend Colonel's vintage Land Rover. Her name is Barbara.
This was part of the view.

She has a double clutch and is right-hand drive. I can't imagine how hard that must be.

We began the weekend eating alfresco at Luxe. I suggest their BVB (Best Veggie Burger) mushroom burger style. There were lots of classic cars to watch and perfect weather. After this we got ice cream, walked and listed to a great Beatles tribute band!

Jon took this rare snap of the two of us before heading out to the official cruise. I wasn't posing, I hadn't realized that he was about to take the picture, I was just adjusting my eating, but it came out ok!

Anyway, I was thankful for Dream Cruise weekend, even if it smell like diesel fuel exhaust and the roads are so clogged that you can barely get out of your driveway.

I appreciated trips to our library this summer.

And like I mentioned earlier, so happy to not be wearing a coat. Michigan winters are long and freezing and snowy and wet, even during the years when it's not the polar vortex. Warmer weather means a lot. Interesting to note though, this summer was cooler than most Michigan summers. It still felt fantastically comfortable and perfect though. At least to me.

Grateful for good salads and iced tea and this  book.  "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown.

 I am mesmerized. A total convert. This is what I need, essentialism. YES!

 If you search Greg McKeown and his book on iTunes, there are a few, great podcasts that really explain the, well, essentials of essentialism. It really is a powerful book and helpful concept.

Noah and I saved a palm tree that was put in the trash outside of a classroom at school. We were there visiting his new teacher, when we came across this 6' 4" palm tree, lying outside another building. There are two things I can not do: kill bugs and leave a dying plant.  The teachers who worked in this classroom came out when they saw us and said we could take the giant plant. They loved this palm tree and had him for years, but he had just grown too tall and continually fell over.

I don't know what we were thinking. It weighs a ton and I....... drive a mini Cooper.
Somehow, in a moment of super human strength, I was able to carry the six footer and his large, dirt-filled pot across the parking lot and then into my car. This is a picture BEFORE we got him all the way in. We must have looked like a clown car driving down the road with a palm tree smashed up against the from windshield.

We brought him home and I tied the palm tree  up to one of my curtain rods with some soft, foam covered floral wire. Now he just needs a larger pot and some new soil.

Meet Dustin Hoffman the palm tree. Did I tell you? Now I am in love with Dustin Hoffman I have decided. He's just great. What a brilliant actor, and a seemingly intelligent, sensitive, insightful human being. (Click on the link for a short, moving video where Dustin talks about his character in Tootsie and the poignant thing that playing a woman has taught him.)

Thankful for summer mornings like this, and the fact that we still have mailboxes and snail mail!

What were you grateful for this summer?

Until next time, 

xoxoxoxo,

Lauren :)