MI pillow

Look what came in the mail today! I found it on ElizaJay Home's Etsy store and I had to have it. I think one would make a great housewarming, wedding or baby gift.  She has a ton of cute stuff on her site.  The quality is really nice and it came incredibly fast too! I can't wait to put it on the day bed in the sun porch!



Arrival of my new winter coat

Joe and I have decided to go to St. Joseph over Christmas / New Year's this year.  Being a warm weather girl, I originally pictured our house being primarily a summer place.  However, after surviving my first real time in snow (flurries as Joe likes to point out) during our home furnishing trip, I'm looking forward to seeing all the seasons in Michigan. When we woke up that first morning in the new house we opened the blinds to see the streets and trees were covered in a light dusting of snow.  I laid in bed watching the snowflakes flutter down and it was almost hypnotizing!  I felt like I could have watched it all day.  Of course I realize that watching snowfall from a warm bed is different than commuting to work in it, but that is the beauty of this vacation house.  We don't have to be on a schedule.

View of the snow from our enclosed front porch

I just love our cute little neighborhood!

Of course, being the over-planner that I am, I immediately started looking for the perfect winter coat for this trip that is still 9 months away.  In my defense, there are some great deals to be had right now since spring is here.  So I searched the internet and found the perfect black, down-filled puffer coat on overstock.com!  I've wanted one of these ever since I saw Tatiana wearing one on the Property Shop on HGTV several years ago.  Now I have one!  Take that MI winter (but be gentle on me)! :)



First trip to the lake house

It had been 3 1/2 long months since our last trip to St. Joseph, MI when Joe and I set foot in our adorable little lake house for the first time.  Our realtor was nice enough to let us in to see it over Thanksgiving (we made an offer sight-unseen and were already in escrow) but we were only in the house for about 20 minutes which we spent frantically measuring and photographing every nook and cranny.   On that same trip we were able to buy the essentials – a coffee maker and a flat screen television.  We also found some pretty good deals on a couple furniture pieces at the Sawyer Antique Mall. 

Since that weekend I spent countless hours planning for the “home furnishing” trip we would make the first week of March – building floor plans in excel, shopping online for furniture that I could both see in person in AZ and purchase in either Illinois or SW Michigan upon arrival, shipping items like bedding and window coverings to my mother-in-laws house in nearby Bridgman. MI.  I had lists of lists and spent more than a couple sleepless nights thinking about where we would go first and wondering whether we would get it all done.

We flew into Chicago-Midway on Saturday March 3^rd.  After retrieving our 4 large suitcases from baggage claim we got in our rental car and drove straight to Ikea  in Bolingbrook where we loaded up several flatbed carts full of furnishings.  Two memorable events occurred during the trip to Ikea 1) I walked away for no more than 2 minutes only to return and find someone had swiped (what we thought was the last) 5’x8’ Tarnby rug right out of our cart (luckily Joe wound his way back to the rug department and found what was actually the last 5’x8’ Tarnby rug in a mislabeled bin - Great save, hunny!) 2) After checking out I waited by the door while Joe ran out in the cold to pull the car around (awww).  Several minutes passed and I started to wonder what was taking so long but there was no way I was walking away from our haul a second time.  Eventually he came running in with a concerned look on his face and said he couldn’t find the car! Just then his mom and Terry showed to help us transport everything to the house so Joe sent me off to look for the car while he helped them load up the van.  As I’m jogging around the snowy parking lot, trying to recall where we parked and clicking the alarm button on the key fob I’m trying not to think about the possibility that the car was stolen and what was in our suitcases – the two quilts I made for the house, our iPad, the shadow box my brother and sister-in-law made us for Christmas to “fill up our empty walls”, the seashell lace table runner my parents gave us when we got the house.  Just then I spotted our Ford Escape with Kentucky plates parked right about where I expected to be.  A sense of relief came over me which was immediately followed by confusion...the alarm wasn’t making any sounds and the doors didn't unlock.  I tried the key and it didn’t work. I peaked in the windows – yep, there’s all our stuff.  That’s when I glance down at the keys and see a red Mountainside Fitness tag in my palm.  We were using the wrong keys!!! Crisis averted!

We spent the next 3 days assembling furniture and running around town buying odds and ends for the house.  It was hectic but we love the way it came together!  3 months from tomorrow we will be back for 2 weeks over 4th of July!

Joe with our "haul" at Ikea

Our Lake House!