Girls Take Wisconsin

No, we were not dressed up for Halloween as private investigators or American Girl dolls

The girls’ family weekend was exactly what I hoped it would be. Not only did we enjoy the autumn-esque traditions hinted at in my last post, we also held “Christmas in October” since we won’t be making the usual visit to Cincinnati to celebrate the holidays this year. With side trips to Madison for one of their last outdoor Farmers’ Markets of the season, to Delafield for some cheese curds, Spotted Cow and shopping, to downtown Oconomowoc for their Halloween parade, and to the couch for a late night viewing of World War Z, it’s hard to believe that we fit so much in to so few days away.

These seemed to be incorporated into every bouquet at the Farmers' Market

Vintage stamps turned eye-catching jewelry 

Blue skies for the win during a walk down State Street

Bear: the world's smallest horse, and the highlight of the Halloween parade. Note the knees behind for scale.

My favorite Friday night tradition: bloody marys with beer chasers at Burke's Lakeside

Children of the Corn

Aeppletreow Winery, under slightly more sepia-toned skies than when we visited last weekend

Is this image sufficiently scary? I’m hoping that it will set the tone for this weekend’s trip to the middle of (kinda) nowhere, when we have plans to drive through cornfields, sleep in a renovated barn, watch scary movies and eat caramel popcorn. You never know though, a side trip for some shopping in Madison might be made. A girl can’t live on fear alone.

Hope you have an equally creepy weekend!

Crossing County Lines

I had no sooner opened my eyes on Saturday morning before I realized that we had a completely unplanned day ahead of us ready to fill with adventure. I rolled over in bed, grabbed my iPad, took a look at the forecast (dreary but doable), and then quickly flipped through Twitter before stumbling upon this article listing a few local spots for apple and pumpkin picking.

It wasn’t long before we were in the car, coffee in hand, and making our way through cornfields to Stade’s Farm in McHenry County. We took full advantage of the trip by squeezing in a side visit to Glacial Park, where we were able to score a picnic table that afforded us some great vistas and a spot in which to enjoy our still-warm apple cider donuts. I love this time of year.

Home for the Holidays

My sister and I are packing up the presents and holiday attire and heading down to Cincinnati to spend Christmas with family. May your weekend also be merry and bright.

Happy Holidays from Sandcastle!

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Dog Days

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It seems that we haven't even unpacked, yet we're already loading up the car for another extended weekend adventure. Oh, how I love this time of year.

Have a great weekend and a very happy Labor Day!