Crazy. Crazy Good.

I believe this is what they call the "sweet spot" of summer.  We finally have some days filled with tolerable sunshine and pleasant breezes.  The shop hit 100 sales.  The air is off, the windows are open.  Vacation is a sweet not-so-distant memory, and preparations for the Hootenanny are well under way.

So this is just a hodge-podge of a post about the pleasantries of life.  A few random vacation pics to get the ball rolling, and then we'll wrap things up with a lovely budding friendship.  I know so many of you will be in Leelanau heaven yet this summer...so here are few of my favorite things!

On day one, hour one, on the beach, my mom found a Petoskey stone.  Joe yelled out "Oh my God they are so rare!"  Which became the joke of vacation, as throughout the week we found hundreds.  If I told you where, I'd have to kill you...sorry!

Mom and Dad's first trip to L. Mawby!  One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mom and dad, every Sunday after church, having champagne together.  There was nothing sweeter than sitting in the vineyard and sipping some sparkling wine with them on a beautiful day!

Willow, not the greatest wine, but the greatest view!

Little Bee's in Sutton's Bay - Home to delicious gelato, Italian ices made with fresh fruit puree, and an adorable husband and wife funky retro couple...named after his Grandma Bee!  GO THERE!

Sadie loved her first watermelon/cherry ice!

Chateau Chantal...can't beat that breeze on a perfect Old Mission day!

2 Lads - Best wine and best company in all of the Traverse wineries.  We were served for an hour by one of the "2 Lads" who was gracious, knowledgable, and adorable.  (there were hugs given and emails exchanged).

Coco:  "Lets just get this over with mom."

And when you see 80 year old women and 2 year old children at the top, well, you really have no excuse.

The Dune Climb.  Coco insisted that there should have been some kind of better "reward" for reaching the top.  All she got was "jumping off the dunes" lessons from Joe...they are the tiny two on top of the dune ;).

Our sweet neighbor's luscious home, filled with primitives, antiques, perfect old quilts, barkcloth curtains, baskets hanging from hooks on ceilings...etc, etc.  Perfection.  (and a bear in her yard on night 2 of vacay!)

Part 2.  I have this friend who plays guitar in this Band, and there is this tall leggy blond lead singer whom i adore.  She is just good people.  Well, she did a sweet little blog post that may or may not mention me ;).  I love her blog, and she is doing a giveaway this week for a Shabby Apple gift card (really sweet reproduction vintagey goodness clothing!).  So head on over to Dressed Up Like a Lady, enter the giveaway, and look at the pretty lady in the pretty dress!  (And click the band link to get a peak at The Canastas who will be playing the hootenanny!!)  

It's just been a Crazy Good summer!

Barn Dances & Blueberries.

Let us, if we could, stray from vacation posts for a moment to celebrate some good old fashioned Americana...Barn Dances and Blueberries.

Happy Independence  Day folks!

The other night, while driving home on a dusty country road, we passed a hand made sign;  Barn Dance Parking.  Should we stop? Surely that sign was meant for us!  (in full disclosure, we started driving home when our dear friend called and invited us to that very same barn dance!).  So, we ran home and took care of the animals, and then headed back to the festivities.

It was a celebration dinner/dance for Tillian Farm, and our good friend Chef Alex is a supporter of their local food initiative, buying fresh produce from them for Zingermann's Roadhouse.  A handful of restaurants that support the farm put out some yummy vittles, and the very sweet The Appleseed Collective provided our dancing music.  Coco Rosie couldn't decide between dancing under the twinkling strands of lights and catching lightening bugs...a beautiful Michigan summer night just doesn't get any better.

The Appleseed Collective

Most of my pictures ended up being of Doc posing in his western wear. (but notice Joe and Coco in the background!)

Coco responsibly went and found the name tag table and made herself one.  God I love her.

Lightening Bug Goatee.

And, that brings us to part deux of this Independence Day post.  Joe's Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda are the proud owners of the Dexter Blueberry Farm (Formerly Zabinski's Blueberry Farm).  Each year around Joe's birthday, July 30th, we get the heads up to go out and pick a few days before the farm opens to the public.  Joe has his traditional birthday blueberry pie, and then we spend the rest of the summer stocking the freezer and our bellies.  Well, Mr. Zabinsky,who still lives on the property, walked through the fields this week and stated that this is the earliest and best blueberry crop on record, and we got the heads up to pick this morning :).  Coco started screaming "the bushes are all blue!"...and they were.  Cluster after cluster of huge ripe berries.  Joe and I picked 34 pounds in an hour and a half (at which point it became oppressively hot at 9:30 am and we had to call it.  but we stumbled on a good garage sale on the way home and scored a rock tumbler!).  I can not urge you good people enough to get your behinds out there and pick.  Fresh, local, and I think they are only like $1.75/pound...for realsies.  Take the kids - make the older ones pick, and let the younger ones play hide and seek between the bushes.  Take a blanket and a picnic...make a morning of it.

10810 Beach Road

Dexter, MI  48130

Follow the signs to tell you which field is open for the pickin'!

The Bluebs (as joe and coco call them).

And this is what 34 pounds of blueberries in a farm sink looks like (minus a few dropped off for Kelly as she did her farm rounds, and a few for Al and Lois).  The blueberry crisp just came out of the oven, and we are prettying ourselves for the pool.  (yes, I love my friends that much that i turned on the oven.  Probably could have just put it on the porch to bake ;)).

Blueberry Crisp:

Layer a baking pan with an inch or two of berries

Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over top

Bake on '350 for an hour (or until the berries bubble through the crisp;))

Crumble Topping:  

Mix together...

1 cup flour

1 cup brown Sugar

1 cup quick oats

Put 1 stick of butter in the microwave and soften it, then use a pastry cutter to cut it into the dry mixture

**You can do this with any berry, add rhubarb, peaches, etc.  Can't go wrong with a crisp!

Sunshine Through the Pines.

Vacation Day One... Leelanau State Park and Lighthouse.

We drove just a few miles from the house into the state park.  There was a short path out to the lighthouse, and then out to the rocky shores.  We then drove further down the lake side of the park and did a breathtaking walk through the pine and birch tree forest.  Through the moss, over downed limbs, across paths of sunlight pouring through breaks in the pines...our reward was windswept sand dunes ending in a mighty roaring lake.  Wave upon wave beat against the shore, one had to yell to be heard.  It was such a sharp and welcome contrast to our quiet and calm water in the bay in front of the house.  Such a lovely morning!

As I write this, we are having our first real thunder storm of the summer...Thank you Mother Nature, the plants and the people need this...and the ducks just love it ;)!!

The 45th Parallel.

Well, I still haven't unpacked from vacation...I'm in "vacation is over" denial.

It was a magical week filled with blue skies and blue water.  I know a small contingent of blog readers do not live in Michigan, and even if you do, everyone's "up north" is different...so I'm gonna split this up over a few blogs and give you a look at my little slice of paradise.

We spent the week in an amazing open timber framed home on the sugar sand shores of Paradesia Cove, in Northport Michigan on the breathtaking Leelanua Peninsula.  We sipped our coffee on the deck overlooking the lake each morning, swam all day, and ate Joe's smores in sweatshirts around the fire pit each night.

The home we stayed in was built by a lovely family in 2009, but we were surrounded by a lovely community of log homes finished and sold off right before the stock market crash of 1929.  The home to our right was built for the Olds Family (Oldsmobile), and to our left a beautiful family home which was a favorite rental of Mario Batalli and his family.  Incidentally, he and his wife fell so in love with the sweet little town of Northport, that they planted roots, and were staying at their home a few miles from us all week.  (Joe did his best to have a "Mario Sighting"...lets just say there were binoculars involved a many accosted coffee shop girls given the third degree about Mario's routine in town, but no sightings ;).)

I should probably just get to the pictures.  But let me just say that Michigan is one of the most beautiful states, and furthermore, one of the most genuinely heart warming places on the planet.  If you can't be happy in Michigan, well, you probably just can't be happy.  I have no desire to truck my ass to a salty ocean when I can swim in Lake Michigan.  I could hike pine tree forests for days, because most of the glorious pathways will eventually lead me to the lake.  Hell, I would even do the dune climb again (a post in itself to come).  As one of my favorite blonds commented this week "F*#k Yeah Michigan!" (censored a little, but sometimes you can't contain yourself!).

Joe likes to keep an eye on what's going on in the cove.

Oh yeah, we stayed there.

I love Sadie Lou!!

Our sweet neighbor Brenda lent us her kayaks for the week to go exploring!  Even my dad went for a romp with Joe!

Mom sadly closing down her bedroom for the last time...there ain't know waves lapping gently on the shore at night outside your bedroom window in Toledo ;(.

One of the best things in the house was a queen size chez lounge bed thing overlooking the lake (occupied here by Becca and Sadie).  Many a night spent reading as the sun went down!  

Pottery Barn Love everywhere.

And, so it is said that all good things must come to an end.  Packed my bag and my fresh lavender from the morning farmers market, and said goodbye.  I am so truly grateful to have spent a week with my amazing family...Love you Toledo, Cincinatti, and St. Louis crews!!

Stay tuned for our day trips and outings!!

Joe Watchers.

I've been wanting to write this post for awhile, and as I pack a pile of vintage bathing suit for vacation, it seems appropriate.  I wear vintage bathing suits because they are cut really well for a curvy girl - fitted bust cups, little skirts that nestle the tops of your thighs...let me repeat that.  I am a curvy girl.  40-35-44 to be exact.


Let me start by saying that I do not have body image issues, I just never have.  I have been much thinner than I am right now, and I have been larger.  I love my curves, my husband loves my curves, and I know how to dress my curves.  I think it goes without saying that it doesn't matter how thin you are, how much money you have, how many "things" you have...this does not define who you are nor does it determine one's happiness.  Shout this to your pre-pubescent and teenage daughters!!

But, we all get in eating ruts, and sometimes we need a good smack on the ass to make some healthy lifestyle changes.  When I got a little local food movement obsessed this spring, I started talking crazy talk about joining Weight Watchers to shed a few pounds.  I say "crazy talk," because my adoring husband can not fathom the concept of paying someone to weigh you each week.  (Full Disclosure:  I have done weight watchers, I love weight watchers).  But Joe asked me to try something different this time, a serious family lifestyle change.

And so, I joined Joe Watchers.

It's no secret that Joe does most of the cooking.  He is a phenomenal chef, and has learned in some of the best kitchens in town.  He, like my friend Allison, just has a knack for making something out of nothing, for knowing how ingredients can make magic together.  So, on Joe Watchers, Joe makes the meals.

My first obstacle was to stop over-indulging.  I crave good food.  My friends are foodies and chefs.  There is never a shortage of decadent cheeses, cream sauces, or luscious desserts to be had.  I had to face the hard truth that Zingermann's Roadhouse is NOT one of the five food groups (I was just as shocked as you are ladies!).  I just had to reign it in folks, the good old 80/20 rule.  Eat what you should 80% of the time, and what you want 20%.  And that certainly hasn't been difficult this time of year.  Our sweet new forever friends down the road drop off succulent bags of organic greens, kale, swiss chard, and kohlrabi from their farm, the raspberries are dripping off of our bushes, and our egg yolks are a deep rich orange.

And, it has been working.  With some good old sweaty farm work thrown in for good measure, I have tightened my belt a few notches and am ready for a little vacay.  My parents, sister's family, and her in laws pulled into the farm today for a big family dinner before we all head up north for a week.  We had a perfect meal of bbq pork on the grill, freshly shelled sweet peas, a medley of swiss chard and kale sautéed in bacon grease (80/20 right?), sweet corn, and salad picked from the garden with homemade croutons and Joe's famous vinaigrette.  Followed in short order by freshly picked rhubarb raspberry crisp with fresh whipped cream.  Pancakes, fresh berries, and sausage from last fall's hog in the morning before we set out on our adventure.  We will all be camping out here for the week (ok, I use the word camping kind of loosely :)).

Bottom line?  Love your self and your body.  Put good local food into your body...so that you can go up north and eat fish and chips for a week and not feel guilty ;).

Mamma prepping for dinner.  Have I mentioned how I adore my kitchen?  I could, and do, stand at that counter for hours.

The men taking the requisite walk through of the farm, you know, just to check things out :).  Joe was having a "white jeans" kind of day.

The ladies lounging on Grandma Rosie's beautiful porch furniture after a successful reupholstering effort!

Did I mention we live at the end of the rainbow?

Signing off for the week.  My toes will be buried in the sugary sands of Lake Michigan...15% off anything in the shop whilst I'm gone, coupon code UPNORTH   ;).