Thursday, August 15, 2019

weekend birthday

Last Saturday was my birthday. As usual, I chose to celebrate it simply, which meant a day trip to Cedarburg, Wisconsin with Brian.


Cedarburg is a small, charming town 20 minutes north of Milwaukee that's known for getaways. We've spent the night here before at two of their B&Bs, but mostly we just drive up for the day.


The main street is filled with unique shops, restaurants, museums, art galleries, and beautiful flowers.



We had lunch outside on the patio right by the creek, then walked over to the winery for a tasting. A couple of years ago, I met a friend in Cedarburg and we did three wine tastings in a row. Afterwards, we were sitting in Adirondack chairs in the sunshine, feeling relaxed and a little giggly. A woman walking by with her dog looked at us and said, "You two look so happy!" I behaved myself this time and did just the one wine tasting.


 Then off we went down the street to explore some of the cool shops. This one had just about every kind of interesting yard decor you could want. Or not want.


 How about a pig grill for $1125.00?


This is the only way I like mushrooms - faux, cute and cheery.


 Wonder if anyone buys this stuff in the winter?


Weeds is one of my favorite shops in Cedarburg. The store is filled with items that are organic, fair-trade, recycled and handmade. They have a huge assortment of loose-leaf teas and the ones I've tried are delicious. My favorite is called Secret Garden - an organic blend of chamomile, lavender, peppermint, rooibos and rose petals. I like it iced. When I run out of my favorites and I know I'm not going to be in Cedarburg anytime soon, I just order online. Their prices are fair and so is their shipping. If you're a tea lover or want to order a lovely gift for a tea lover, check out their assortment here! This is not a sponsored post ~ I'm just sharing a favorite store and their products that I truly enjoy.

Another thing I love about this store is that it's filled with plants for sale, especially succulents. They even have a garden right next to their building that customers are allowed to browse.


Check out these beautiful plants and the way they have them displayed...







 We got home that evening just in time to watch our town's fireworks display. Our little town has a weekend fest every summer and it ends with a fabulous fireworks display over the lake that attracts over 10,000 people. When a friend of mine lived in a house right on the lake, we used to go to her house for the evening and watch the fireworks from her front deck. But now that she no longer lives there, we'd have to join the 10,000 other people all over the grassy areas. Which means if we'd want a spot to sit down, we'd have to walk to the lake hours before the fireworks and stake our spots. No thanks!

I'll be honest ~ I don't like fireworks anymore. As I've gotten older, I find they're too loud for me. It also upsets me to know that the noise scares off the ducks, geese, swans and birds that reside in the bushes and aquatic plants along the lake. That's their home. I have read that sometimes birds even die from the noise and light of the sudden explosions: they take off and fly into trees and houses at top speed. Dogs and cats are terrified of fireworks, too. I can hear all the neighborhood dogs barking and howling when the fireworks go off. My cats used to cower under the bed all night, but now we put in them in the basement ahead of time with a fan set on high to try and block out some of the noise. Monkey was still so terrified the next morning that he freaked out at every little noise. Then there's the matter of the debris and chemicals from the fireworks going into the lake, therefore poisoning the fish and other aquatic creatures. And...of course, there's the veterans with PTSD.

Since I don't have any control over the fireworks display, I just watch them from the steps of the side door to my house.




I am blessed to have taken another trip around the sun. 
Every morning that we wake up is a gift. 💓
Have a beautiful week and enjoy what's left of summer.







13 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Melanie! I'm so grateful for the gift of your friendship:) Your day sounds just perfect to me. I think we would make good wine tasting buddies. I'm with you on fireworks. I do enjoy them from afar, but one year our poor dog was so scared she took off on a run and ended up a couple of miles from home.

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  2. Such a beautiful spot you visited. The water was so clear I could see the bottom.

    Needless to say we can't stand fireworks because of our babies. Even worse is firecrackers. Our Reeses trembles at firecrackers. He's so afraid we didn't light our wood burning fireplace but twice last season. He associates the crack of a the wood with firecrackers.

    We are converting to a gas one early fall. My husband and I can't light fires and scare him like that. We love them too much, wouldn't be fair.

    Cindy

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  3. There is nothing simple about going to Cedarburg for your day! Simply beautiful, maybe. I need to get up there. We used to go several times a year but it just hasn't been on our radar.

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  4. I love Cedarburg. The first time we went to this sweet town I fell in love. I wanted to move there!!! Glad you had a great time on your birthday weekend.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  5. Happy Birthday! That looks like a wonderful town to visit!

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  6. Belated birthday greetings to you, Melanie. I think you found the ideal way to spend your special day. Cedarburg looks like it has a lot to offer. The flowers all look so lush and beautiful. The shops look like the kind of places I love to check out. So many interesting things to see. Thanks for taking us along!

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  7. Happy Birthday! Thanks for taking us along on your outing. Such a pretty place and so much to see.

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  8. Happy Birthday, Melanie!! Here's to a great year, my friend.

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  9. Hi Melanie! I sooo agree with you on the fireworks! I enjoy your posts!

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  10. Happy Birthday, my friend! I'm getting this a day late because I subscribe to your emails. No fireworks for me! I hate that about the birds. So sad. The one thing Charlie does not seem to be afraid of is the fireworks he hears. Ivy, however, didn't fare so well on July 4th. It scared her.
    Brenda

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  11. What a fun birthday outing with Brian.
    Greg and I visited a few wineries and did tastings before lunch when we were on vacation several years ago. Then we ate at a brewery and tasted some of their beers. Oh my. We had a very long lunch before driving back to our hotel...

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  12. Melanie - I enjoy your blog very much. Yes, I agree with you on the fireworks. We had some peregrine falcons nesting on the news tower near the river in our town. We were fortunate to watch them through a webcam; however, many of us were very concerned about the fireworks. It distracted the male adult and he was gone for a couple days. Fortunately, the female stayed nearby and all 3 have thrived! Last year there was one; this year three. Hopefully they will keep coming back. Thank you for all the cool pictures. Happy belated birthday.

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  13. I am delighted that you made it another year . . . this world would miss a lovely sunbeam if you didn't. It looks and sounds like you had a beautiful birthday. Thanks for sharing it with us. That little town is so charming and what a pretty place to stroll and enjoy.
    Happy Birthday Sweet Girl,
    Connie :)

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