Fight or Flight

After hitting up Madison and then concluding our visit with my family, the engagement celebration train headed north to the cabin, where we experienced cold on a hurts-to-breathe-outside level. I was more than happy to sit by the fire and tear through a few books (including this and this) while Mike ventured out to capture the over-stuffed wildlife and ice-encased trees.

Yes, that's a tiny little (real!) lighted Christmas tree in a field. Isn't it the cutest?

See. I wasn't kidding when I said it was cold outside. And this wasn't even the low.

Untraditional

via

Though our car is packed with gifts, food and warm clothes for a holiday trip as in any other year, this year we head north instead of south. For the first time in my entire life, I won’t be in Cincinnati for Christmas. Instead, we’ll be visiting my sister in Lake Country before moving on to the cabin in the Northwoods for a few days to ring in the New Year.

Though I’m sad that some traditions will have to be put on hold this year, I am happy that I’ll still be spending the holidays with family, and I wish the same for you as we say goodbye to 2013.

Thanks for following this year's adventures, I'll look forward to seeing you here next year!

Fall Forward

And just like that, one of the last official weekends of summer is upon us. Not only am I desperately looking forward to a long holiday weekend, but I also can’t wait to embrace some of my favorite late summer/early autumn activities in the coming month. Among my goals for September:

• Incorporate a few favorite fall trends into my look, including camouflage, dark green nails and deep berry lips
• Tidy up one room each night so that I don’t have to do anything cleaning-related during the weekend
• Use a long forgotten Chicago ArchitectureFoundation gift card that I recently found in a drawer to rediscover a part of the City
• Set aside time to enjoy a few local chocolate and beer pairings
• Continue to use regular HGTV watching as an impetus to save for a future home, complete with personalized improvements
• Visit the new Trader Joes in my neighborhood frequently to sample all of their specialty goods that I’ve been without for so long
• Whip up a batch of homemade granola to scent the house and put one of my Weck canisters to work
• Organize all of my favorite blogs on Feedly
• Go for runs under falling leaves in the parks along Lake Michigan
• Attend a fall festival up in Lake Country with my sister

I hope that you have a restful holiday weekend too, and I’ll look forward to seeing you around here in the new month!

Lake Lounging

On the dock with a captivating book that I highly recommend

We’re back from a few days at the cabin up north, and as usual, I’m feeling notably refreshed. Time away from computers, cell phones and TV can do wonders for state of mind. The weather was perfect, the meals that my boyfriend’s mom prepared were excellent, and the fish were biting like crazy. In other words, it was business as usual in the Northwoods.

Big lazy clouds floated overhead all weekend long

We never strayed too far from the cooler of ice cold New Glarus

Each evening ended with a paddle around the lake

The picturesque barn at Blue Vista Orchards

Just a sampling of the ten pounds of blueberries that we picked one sunny afternoon

We were greeted with a view of Lake Superior at the end of a hidden hike through the Red Cliff Reservation

We made a pit stop in Cornucopia for some fresh fish to fry

My dream shed, tucked behind Siskiwit Bay Coffee & Curiosities

Ice Fishing

My boyfriend goes on an ice fishing trip with his friends every year, and I have to admit that my interest in the sport has always been piqued. While we were up north, I had him take me out onto the frozen lake (a mind-blowing experience in itself since I’ve only seen it in the middle of summer), and show me how it’s done.  Though the temperature hovered around zero degrees during the entire experience, I must say that there is something quite refreshing about quietly communing with nature on a desolate sheet of ice.