Mackinac Photos - Part 2!

My rental bike, a retro-looking Trek purple Wasabi Beach Cruiser complete with a yellow daisy & a basket for my Louis Vuitton bag. Forgive the smudge on my lens....oops! I found out that at the end of the tourist season, the bike rental company sells all of their bikes so I have a plan to buy this bike from them!


Hot pink Adirondack chairs in somebody's yard! Aren't these adorable and the color is wonderful!


I think I need to live here, don't you????



Or how about these delightful beach condos with lavender painted doors!


This hotel also captured my imagination!



This was a bed & breakfast the same "daisy green" as my car and it was gorgeous when it was lit up at night.


Everyone got around the island by horses


Or by bikes


The world famous Mackinac Bridge--scary long and scary high! I took this photo from the bike trail.


The marina



There was an abudance of flowers on the island and this whimsical bike planter caught my eye!

I hope these photos conveyed even a fraction of what a lovely place Mackinac Island is. I met the friendliest people, had the most delicious fudge and the most relaxing weekend I can remember in a long time! As I said, it really is almost like stepping back in time--if stepping back in time included a Starbucks and room service.

Mackinac Island Photos - Part 1

Noodles in the back seat & ready to go at 6 a.m.!

On the ferry leaving St. Ignace, Michigan







I rode this fun purple beach cruiser all over the island!


AND WE PULLED NOODLES ALONG BEHIND!


No weekend getaway is complete without S'mores & Champagne!

Ten On Tuesday - Except It is Wednesday - Hee!

I got this idea from my very favorite blogger friend and also wonderful Friend In Real Life, Amber, at A Little Pink in the Cornfields.


1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you’re splurging?





I start my day off with instant coffee! How bad is that? Because although I have a coffee maker, I am too lazy and I prefer spooning instant coffee crystals into a cup & then boiling a kettle of water! And I am a black coffee girl. If I am splurging, I like to get a chocolate coffee cooler at Caribou.


2. What is your genre of books to read?



These cute book plates are available here by my favorite illustrator, Anne Keenan Higgins.


First and foremost, chick lit, women’s fiction, and young adult. Then I also adore reading memoirs, and also some history—history of rich people & socialites in particular. Also, sometimes I like reading about true crime & crimes of passion—I am always curious what motivates someone to kill their spouse or lover.


3. Where do you want to retire, if you could go anywhere?



I would love to live in Hawaii when I am old & retired, but also have a huge love of the Laguna Beach/Newport Beach, CA area. And most recently have fallen in love with Mackinac Island in Michigan. So maybe in the summer I would have a condo in Mackinac and then spend the rest of my time in Southern California or Hawaii. Sounds good, right?

4. The 17-year-old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked?



17-year-old me DID have to write & give a speech in my speech class junior year. My speech was on the effect of different colors on people and the psychology of color.

5. What word describes you best?



6. What is the next “event” that you are looking forward to? (ex.: vacation, moving, date, job change, etc)




I am going to West Des Moines, Iowa this weekend, my old hometown, and I have made plans with about 7 different friends. I can’t wait to see them all and hope I am able to squeeze in time with everyone.

7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those types of conversations?



I used to have a guy friend that I would argue politics with, but really I don’t like getting into anything too touchy or sensitive or inflammatory. In other words, I don’t especially like to argue. Let’s all get along!

8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day, or add 1 extra day to the week?




I would take the extra day as long as it was considered a WEEKEND day to relax and have fun. No work allowed.


9. If you created a sports team; what would your colors and mascot be?



Mascot would be a Siamese cat or a Pug—ha ha
Colors would be pink & green


10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach?




I would probably teach English, history or art – all classes that I was good in. No science or math for this would-be teacher!

A Charming & Delightful Weekend

I went to Mackinac Island this weekend. For those of you who don’t know, it is a lovely Upper Midwest destination in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is about a 10-hour car ride from my house across Wisconsin and Michigan, and then a 15-20 minute ferry ride from St. Ignace.

The island is right in the middle of Lake Huron and it is wonderful! It is very charming and old-fashioned and delightful. Two of its claims to fame (there may be more but these are my favorites) is that there are absolutely, positively no automobiles and there are 17 shops selling every kind of delicious fudge imaginable. Everyone gets around on foot or bicycle or horse & carriage, and it is just so peaceful, like stepping back in time.

I went with my two best boyfriends (my husband, Eric, and my Pug, Noodles) so we had to find a pet friendly property. There are a lot of cute bed & breakfasts as well as condos to rent and, of course, the famous Grand Hotel. But I had to specifically find one that allowed dogs and then even more fortunate was I found one that had on-site dog sitting! So we ended up at Mission Point Resort which, although the décor was very old-fashioned and there was no air conditioning, it had a ceiling fan and windows that opened and a wonderful box fan that did a great job when it was perched in our window.

The other pluses about Mission Point are there was a spa and a place to get Starbucks coffee and a wonderful bistro where I had many, many glasses of Riesling and Prosecco and shrimp and avocados and S’mores, all while my dog was sitting at my feet. Dogs were allowed at restaurants as long as they had outdoor patio seating.

The best part of the trip was renting bicycles and a Burley stroller pet cart with which to pull Noodles behind. I had a purple beach cruiser that was all retro with a big basket and a yellow daisy and I rode it all over the island. I want that bike and I am determined to buy it when they sell their bikes at the end of the season . Every year they sell all their bikes and then get new ones in the spring!

I hope to post pictures soon, but just wanted to do a quick update in my effort to be a better blogger.

Oh, and besides wine there was fudge – I brought back Cherry Cordial fudge as well as Vanilla Pecan. I brought it to work with me today to share with my co-workers, but then I forgot to put it out. Oh, well, there is always tomorrow!

Anyhoo—if you are looking for a charming & delightful weekend getaway, I completely recommend Mackinac Island – just horses and bicycles and fudge and, of course, Starbucks and some really cute shops selling unique jewelry and artwork and, of course, T-shirts. It was completely relaxing and I just lived in the moment.

Pictures to follow!

I Am A Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad, BAD Blogger!

Seriously, I am such a bad blogger! Does anyone even read my blog anymore?

I did update my other little blog this morning and will try to get better at updates.

The summer has just been zooming past and here it is July 22nd. Can you believe it? I have 3 fun trips planned and then that pretty much finishes off the summer and by then we will be into Fall, which is actually my favorite time of year, but that is neither here nor there why I have been so bad at blogging.

I can't really pinpoint it. It is not that I had writer's block. Lord knows I always have SOMETHING to say even it if is totally (and usually) random. It is almost like I was too restless and unsettled to sit down and write. Almost like I had just too much going on in my head so I never sat still long enough to put it all in writing.

But I have vowed to be back, writing both my blogs, leaving comments on yours, socializing on Twitter and Facebook, and keeping my personal journal as well - where all my crazy thoughts go - ha ha!

So what has everyone else been doing this summer? Is it flying past for you, too?

P.S. The above image has nothing to do with anything - I just liked the colors.

Have a really Happy Weekend and I PROMISE to be back on Monday with some updates.