Last Month, We Went Up North to See the Fall Colors

We went up north to see the fall colors, last month,  although I think we were about a week too early. It was still a good trip. I've talked about Harbor Springs many times before. It's one of my favorite places on earth!  The tiny resort town on Little Traverse Bay is somewhere that I've been going to my entire life.

Originally we would visit in the summer, and then when I was about eleven, my parents bought a vacation home, and we went up as often as possible. Summer was perfect for going to the beach, fall has gorgeous colors. Winter was all about skiing and snowboarding at the local ski resorts and spring....spring is just rainy up there, but it's pretty! My parents, (my Mom and stepfather) sold their vacation home while I was in college. It was pretty upsetting for me because I loved being there so much. I'd go up with friends all of the time, it was my second home. Luckily, my Father and stepmother also purchased a vacation home in Harbor Springs and eventually made it their permanent home. This was after deciding that downtown Chicago wasn't where they wanted to raise my much younger brother. After a couple of moves to Toronto and Los Angeles and a divorce, they are both back in Harbor Springs full time, and also...working together! It's a long story, but in addition to going up for the fall colors, we made the four hour trip north to see my Dad, my stepmother Lauretta, and their newly opened restaurant and bakery!

Heading North! You start to see lots of logging trucks.....

Arriving at Grandpa's cute, little cottage.

Lots to see when we went out for a walk to stretch after the long car ride.

It was so much fun to visit my stepmom Lauretta at her bakery: Small Batch! Yum, you can click on the link above to see more pictures. She's such a wonderful and creative baker. Before this, Lauretta was a shoe designer like my Dad. Baking was always her hobby and she eventually turned it into her full-time job. How cool is that!? :)

My Dad and Lauretta also own a little restaurant in Harbor Springs together. It's called "Small Batch at the Cupola."  I swear, I'm not being biased, it was the most delicious breakfast I've ever had. It was our first time eating there because it just opened this year! I had Lauretta's famous Eggs Benedict dish. It was fantastic, and I LOVE the flash fried chard salad. It was just the most unique texture, the chard melted in my mouth.

Noah taste-tested a new kids' meal for the fall menu: chicken and waffles! The chicken is in a waffle cone and comes with scrambled eggs. Everything has sprinkles on it. Lol. If there is one thing my parents know, it's how to have fun!

I didn't stop to think that Josie might be too upset to stay home alone at my Dad's house, but she was. She was so nervous any time it looked like we were about to leave, so we ended up having to take her out to breakfast and dinner. She had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs under the table, and then some truffle fries the night before when we went out to another restaurant. Oy!

There's so much to do in Harbor Springs, but this trip was very short and low-key too, which was fine! The balcony at my Dad's provided a lot of entertainment for Noah and Josie....

Pond Hill Farm is a local farm that's open to the public. They have crops and vineyards and an animal barn and a store and restaurant and a brewery and a playground and...and.....We love it!!!

Josie met so many new friends.

A potato catapult!

I know this picture isn't great. I was stuck in the backseat, but I really wanted to get a picture of the famous "Tunnel of Trees!" You basically drive through a winding, twisty, tunnel of trees. It's gorgeous, and before and after the tunnel, the road takes you along a cliff, high about Lake Michigan. I love it.

Did you know that the Great Lakes can almost look like the ocean ?

Can you hear the waves?

We drove up on a Tuesday and home on Thursday, so our visit was quick. On Thursday morning we took a quick, nostalgia drive. This is our old vacation home, the one I loved.  I miss it so much, but it looks like somebody is caring for it nicely.

Oh, this is why I woke up to find Jon sleeping in Noah's room. Lol.

Where was I? Thursday morning we were sad to leave but ready.

A quick walk around town and a stop in at Gurney's Harbor Bottle Shop for sandwiches! I've been going there my whoooooole life and I STILL can not see over the counter to order my sandwich!

Oh! And this cute, little place is Tom's Mom's Cookies. Another place that I've gone to since I was a little kid and it's still there!

Just before we headed out of town, we took a quick family picture onto of the bluff that overlooks town and the bay.

I'm so glad that we made the trip!

Until next time.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo,

Lauren :)

A Peaceful and Happy Summer

Friends, Romans, country ladies, lend me your ears......

I am coming to you today from my backyard. Purchasing new outdoor pillows to replace our old, moldy, chipmunk-eaten outdoor pillows was the best decision I have ever made. Today marks day one of the new school year and I hope to spend a lot more time here, on this wicker love-seat, underneath the wisteria-vine covered pergola. With Josie, trying to type for a few, but also involved in an intense game of soggy tennis ball toss. 

(This is where I'm typing from)!

This morning I have already exercised, gotten cleaned up and ready for the day, helped a brand new FIFTH GRADER and his Dad get out the door, folded laundry, cleaned the kitchen, AND went out for a few groceries, toiletries and gym shoes for school. WOOT! Give it up for Mom! Apparently on her game today! (I hope I can keep this productivity up).

So while that was all awesome and great, now the lure of scrambled eggs for lunch is almost too much for me, so I'll be a woman of few(er) words than usual today. Here's an abridged wrap-up of the second half of our summer. It was truly a nice one, but I am looking forward more than I can say for fall and cooler temperatures. Here, this week, we'll be hovering around 90 degrees each day. And Noah's excited for fall too! It made me incredibly happy to see him so happy when he smiled and gladly went back to school today. Noah told me that he couldn't wait to hug his teachers and friends.

This summer, in a nut shell, was pretty quiet. That's a good thing! Noah took a ceramics class and did some day camp. We swam and relaxed and went to the park and visited with friends. It was peaceful and nice.

It was a very dog-dominated summer in a way. We were either walking with the dog, letting the dog out, telling her to stop barking or snuggling. She's extra good at snuggling. 

The largest bit of commotion came in the form of our deck being ripped off and then re-built! When Jon and I bought our house, it was in need of much TLC, inside and out. We needed to gut the inside, and re-side and paint and roof the outside. One of the only projects that we didn't do was replace our  rotting deck. It was a good, old deck, but weather and wear eventually made it time. Well, when our feet started going through a few rotted out boards, it was really time!

We'd been saving up and planning to do this for a while. We decided to do the deck and the backyard all in one sweep. This is the new cedar deck, it smells SO GOOD! 

We had to replace our retractable awing and patio umbrella as well. I have to tell you, for those of you who have sunlight that really streams in and heats up your house in the summertime, these retractable awnings are really amazing at keeping the temperature down when you want it. At first I was unsure of the awning that came with our house, but I quickly understood how helpful it can be!

Also, I found outdoor pillows for the deck furniture, the chaise lounges and the seating area underneath the pergola, all about 1/2-off on Amazon! 

Jon and I spent two, full, long days out in the yard, trying to weed and prune, wash and paint. Basically, attempting to fix the back up! We washed all of our furniture with scrub brushes and soap. Jon painted our patio set and a little bench that I've had and stained the chaise lounges.

(I need to do something with this corner...)

(Come sit and read!)

My favorite part was weeding and clearing our little pebble path and trimming the dead branches off all of the trees and bushes. That was fun! Now our "secret garden" is looking a little bit tidier, but there's always more to do.

We took part in a deal to join a local swim club for the month of August. We belonged when I was a kid, and this very same cement dolphin was there! And I was in love with him!

Each time we went, I'd have these grand plans to relax poolside with a magazine or book and my crochet. And each time, I'd last about ten minutes before the heat got to me and I would jump in.

Speaking of crochet, I whipped up the world's easiest little cardigan and the pattern was FREE!!! I made mine a cropped cardigan and I chose not to make the sleeves long. I need to get a picture, but in the end, I sewed on an acorn and some oak leaf appliques. You can watch the video with free patter from Wooly Wonders Crochet HERE!

For my September window decorations, I went with a school and apples theme.

I put them up today! They came out nicely if I say so myself! I'll put up some pictures of them in the fall decorations post I'd like to write. The jug of cider and donuts is from a much beloved, little cider mill around here. 

This summer I got glasses!!! I began wearing glasses at age three. Over time my eyesight became stronger until I had 20/20 vision in my 20's. Now though, I'm getting a little far-sighted again. I was hesitant about wearing glasses, but I'm glad that I got my eyes checked, and just like gray hair, glasses can be something fun and expressive about yourself too!

Another thing that happened is that we went up north! "Up north" is what we Michiganders call northern Michigan, a place where many of us vacation on the great lakes or various inland waters. There are sandy beaches and lots of pine trees. My father lives quite far up north on a bay of Lake Michigan. My Mother vacations at a nice lake in the woods, about three and a half hours north of where we live.

In August, Jon and I packed up the car, the Noah and the Josie, and we headed up north. The cats stayed home with our new cat sitter. (It was hard to leave them, but I'm glad we actually got away). Noah was very prepared for vacation in his Hawaiian shirt and ukulele.....?

Josie was strapped into her doggy car seat and she did so well all the way there and back. She just slept!

Our bedroom opened onto this screened in porch, that opens up onto a deck with the lake below. It was extra pretty in the morning and we even heard the calls of the Loons! It's just like On Golden Pond.

There were bonfires and boating, a walk around the lake, cooking, reading, spending time with friends and skipping rocks. It was such a nice time and such a nice summer!

Until next time, enjoy these warm end of summer days!!!

xoxoxo,

Lauren :)