Flowers for Friends

Life’s been pretty fast-paced lately, so when I found a spare hour right before my friends came into town, I headed over to Trader Joe’s with an open mind and an eye for faux fancy things to spruce up my condo. Fifteen minutes and twenty bucks later, I had an armload full of what the bagger boy called “fun homemaker stuff.”

It was a simple lesson that the best things in life don’t always have to be planned or costly. Bonus: most of the flowers survived the weekend and are still going strong, so I can come home to their tropical scent, even though it’s now snowing outside. 

Secret Garden

Much like last year, and in another effort to squeeze every last bit of sunshine and warmth out of this lingering weather, we recently made our way over to one of my favorite neighborhood spots at dusk to breathe in the roses that continue to unfold despite the impending evening frost. I hope that these quick phone snapshots serve as a reminder to get outside and take it all in this weekend, before it's too late...

So Long Summer

Our favorite beach on the last day of the season

I’m happy to brag that the term lazy doesn’t even begin to describe our Labor Day weekend. We’ve been traveling, reorganizing and working so much recently, that I didn’t feel a bit guilty about doing next to nothing. Sure, we made the requisite stops at the Farmers’ Market, the beach and the library, but other than that, we basically basked in peace and quiet. We met our goal of cooking a lot and not going out to eat once, we watched a decent amount of HGTV and college football, and I developed a not so subtle addiction to Pinterest that embarrassingly resulted in a stiff neck and a sore-from-flicking-through-images arm.  (Psst...Visit my finds here)

This time of year always makes me slightly sad, but with the sadness also comes excitement for impending New York Fashion Week coverage, falling leaves, hearty crock pot meals, nubby sweaters, boots, new TV series, and the rollout of Halloween decorations. Until I can satisfy myself with those signs of early autumn though, I’ll cling to these few reminders of the last official week of summer 2013.

Calm, crystal clear lake water

Late summer vase filler

Early fall colors and textures

Decadent, cloud-shaped challah french toast inspired by Ina Garten and enjoyed on a cool Sunday morning

Adrift

Frigid, glacier-like conditions on the Lake

This weekend, we continued our spree of filling in the vacant winter hours with lots of indoor time and a few spur-of-the-moment activities, including a quick trip to check out the ice mounds skirting Lake Michigan and grab giant cinnamon rolls at our favorite local bakery. I otherwise spent far too long on the couch, alternating between Netflix binges on House of Cards, reading binges on The Night Circus and the Sunday New York Times, and Twitter binges on Fashion Week and Grammy coverage. Thankfully, the weekend wasn’t entirely anti-social, as it wrapped up with a leisurely brunch with my two baby-bumped friends. 

Not quite perfect after the hurried car ride home, but delicious nevertheless

Anticipating Valentine's Day with a sequin ban.do heart

Anticipating warmer weather with new Elizabeth and James Holly Platforms scored on a major sale at Shopbop

Twin arrangements for our bedside tables

Dusk Blossoms

One of my favorite spots in the neighborhood is a rose garden that’s incredibly reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Though it’s a relatively peaceful spot in town, a twilight stroll in the crisp Fall air amid its fields of iridescent flowers can lead one to look for curiouser and curiouser things around each meticulously-pruned corner.