holding on to summer

I'm a summer lover. Give me long, light-filled days, blue skies, lush trees and flowers, garden-fresh tomatoes, the scent of neighbor's grilling wafting through the air, and bare feet any day. Of course, I don't like the intense heat that we sometimes get and the humidity gets ridiculous, but like Brian says, "You don't have to shovel sunshine."

Summer, for us, is also filled with birthdays. Our firstborn son, Philip (may he RIP) was born July 21st.

Me, my mom, and Brian have summer birthdays, too.

Last year, my birthday brought a derecho. We spent the afternoon in the basement due to tornado warnings. This year, intense thunderstorms knocked down trees and power lines all over our neighborhood. We were without power for 22 hours! Next year, I'm skipping town. 

We've managed to sneak in some summer day trips; our last one being to Milwaukee, Wisconsin....

This summer has flown by. It always does. The season is too short here in Illinois. I still have a summer bucket list of places I wanted to visit. 

I've been seeing fall decor on blogs and on Instagram already and I'm just not ready. I don't like rushing seasons (except winter 😜) or holidays. Technically, we still have three weeks of summer left. I suppose that still gives me some time to fit in some of those places on my summer bucket list.

But here we are, September 1st already. The perennials are fading and drying up, it gets dark at 7:30 now, the neighborhood is quiet during the day with children being back in school, dried leaves are littering the ground; even the air smells different. This time of year always makes me a little melancholy.

"How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door."
(Emily Dickinson, 1880)

for the love of plants

There's not many January days in the Midwest where the sun is shining and temperatures are in the 40's. But when it happens, you take advantage of it. Because, heat wave. At least, that's what it feels like when you're used to frigid temps. In this case, we headed up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past Saturday ~ one of our go-to places to explore and hang out.

(St. Hegwig - Three Holy Women Parish, Milwaukee)

We always stop at the Public Market to browse the different vendors and sometimes get a bite to eat for lunch. 

One of my favorite stores in Milwaukee is Mod Gen ~ they have all kind of unique products and kitschy gift items, plus they have a fabulous selection of plants. And when I saw they were having a 20% off plant sale, well, let's just say I wanted to buy out the store.

So, what came home with me? I restrained myself and only bought two plants:

A Money Tree (which needs to be repotted)...

and a little red air plant.

Another houseplant I picked up recently (at IKEA) was this Gold Dust Croton. If you have an IKEA near you, they have a decent selection of plants and great prices.

Most of my plants are in our spare room because of all the wonderful light this room gets, but it's getting a little crowded in here.

I'm going to be working on some rearranging and also thinking vertically ~ meaning, hanging a plant or two in front of the windows. Hmm, maybe I can find a cool, retro planter like this one!

(Brewed Cafe, Milwaukee)

How about you, do you have a green thumb? Do you have houseplants or perhaps succulents (which I love, but can't keep alive) in your home?

birthdays

Brian had a birthday a couple of days ago and as he wished, we spent the day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We went to the Milwaukee Public Market...

walked around the neighborhood, poking our heads into Anthropologie and Goodwill Restore, then we happened upon this new store called Mod Gen.

To me, it was like Anthro, only no clothing and a lot less expensive.

There were also plants everywhere you looked...

The Birthday Boy took a liking to this 1960's sofa.

We had lunch at a thai food restaurant and then did some more walking, stopping in a specialty market and an independent coffee shop. We should've had lunch at this restaurant on the rooftop deck. Doesn't it look like the  perfect lunch spot on a summer day? Oh well, perhaps next year.

Drinks, dessert, bacon...what more could you want?

Speaking of birthdays and dessert, here's a photo of my precious Philip back in 2003. He wasn't quite 15 yet. We were on a family vacation in Cancun, Mexico - the only "real" family vacation we ever had. His birthday was July 21st. He would've been 29 this year. Brian, Tim and I went out to dinner at an Italian place - Phil's favorite food - to celebrate his life.

 Since Phil passed away when he was 21, it's hard for us to imagine him at 29. We wonder what he'd look like, what job he'd have, who he'd be living with...would he have a girlfriend? A wife? Would he be a daddy? 

"The expression of love to another is not reserved for a single day or for a special event or occasion like an anniversary for a birthday. The celebration of love is more about how you live each day with the ones you love and care for. " 

(Byron Pulsifer)

how to combat cabin fever

Hello, February! We're one month closer to spring. If you live in a cold climate like me, where you're already tired of bitter cold temps, days on end of cloudy skies, perhaps lots of snow, then you know how cabin fever sets in once the holidays are over. Going to and from work or running errands just doesn't cut it for "getting out of the house". 

So, when the weekends roll around, I'm always looking for something to do ~ antique shopping, museums, a new restaurant ~ something, anything to keep the feeling of the four walls closing in around me.

A couple of weekends ago, me, Brian and my aunt went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the day. We love going to the Public Market - an indoor venue with different fresh food vendors, artisan markets, a couple of restaurants, and a wine bar. We had lunch there at a place called The Green Market. I had the most incredible salad of mixed greens and just about every kind of veggie you can think of - except for mushrooms and beets. Those are the only two veggies I can't tolerate. What's really cool is that it's build-your-own. You can pick and choose from 50 different vegetables and toppings! 

Across the street was a West Elm store. I was familiar with West Elm online, but I've never been in one of their on-site stores. It was ultra-modern with really loud music, so not my taste, but was fun to look around.

At least Brian found a comfortable chair to relax in!

On from West Elm, we took a walk around the neighborhood and all of a sudden, the fog rolled in from Lake Michigan. Was really cool to be walking around in the fog, but glad we weren't driving in it.

Loved the architecture of these buildings.

Our walk brought us to an Anthropologie store, so we just had to go in and look around. (Poor Brian. He's such a good sport.) I rarely buy anything from Anthro - overpriced and most things made in China - but the eye candy is fun. And they certainly have a knack for creating beautiful displays.

Later in the day, we stopped at our favorite Milwaukee coffee shop to relax and have a warm drink.

The inside is hip and painted in vibrant colors with local art, lots of plants, homemade treats, and wonderful coffee.

Speaking of art, last weekend a friend invited me to one of those painting classes that are so popular now. What was the first thing I noticed when we walked in? The decor, of course! We had time to linger before the actual start time, so I walked around and took some photos. Love this green sofa!

The little kitchen had an interesting backsplash - squares of wood.

This industrial style mirror was in the bathroom.

All set up and ready to go. We were painting coffee mugs with creamy coffee and a heart design in the middle. It was harder than it looked!

Here we are, all done. I'm standing by the window in the beige sweater. Don't look too closely at my masterpiece. ;-) I really messed up on the hearts and couldn't fix it. And I think my cup handle looks more like a bunny ear. 

Not sure what we're going to do this weekend, but I'm sure we'll find somewhere to go or something to do. We do have some home projects to work on, but we have to throw in a little fun, too, right? 

What fun things have you been doing lately on the weekends?