Friday Features - Chicago

As I mentioned in my last post, I was going to be away from my shop and blog for a while. The reason...we went to Chicago!! I still have several pictures to go through and edit. So for now, I'm leaving you with some fun Chicago themed Etsy finds that sum up our trip.

 

Skyline Canvas

 One of my favorite things about Chicago is the skyline. As a country girl, I don't get to see skylines very often, so it was a nice site :)

Ferris Wheel Pillow

One of our favorite parts of our trip was the day we spent at Navy Pier. Loved the Ferris wheel!

Chicago Flag Pint Glass

And we stopped at several local pubs to have a drink or two while walking the streets site-seeing.

AC/DC Poster

And the main reason for our trip was to see AC/DC at Wrigley Field!

And I got to meet up with 2 other Etsy/Blogger friends!! I can't wait to tell you all about it and share my photos!

Branson Vacation

Last Friday I headed down to Branson to see my parents. Jesse was originally supposed to go with me, but things just got too busy. And rather than miss the trip altogether, I decided to make the trip on my own. I'd never driven that far by myself (about 6 to 6.5 hours), but now I can say I did it :) And I know if I ever need to do it again, it will be a breeze.

 

One of my favorite things about visiting my parents is the view! They have the most gorgeous view from their back deck! I took multiple shots of the view at different times of day. No matter the time, the view is always amazing!

On Saturday, we braved the heat (about 96 degrees F) to go to a car show in Arkansas. My family loves vintage cars and I remember going to car shows with my parents my whole life. It's always fun to find a new location and see new cars.

After the hot day of walking around, we enjoyed an afternoon boating and floating out on the lake. I only took my cell phone with me, so no photos from the water!

The above photos are an iconic Branson attraction called Ride the Ducks. I remember riding on these several times during my childhood vacations to Branson. These are amphibious vehicles that take you on a tour of Branson and then out on the lake! It's always fun watching them splash into the water!

While the drive wasn't all that fun, it was sure a relaxing trip once I got there. Coffee on the deck every morning and floating in the lake in the afternoons...I could get used to that :)

Girls Weekend

 

I just got back from a great weekend at my parents' house on a girls weekend! We arrived about 3:30 Thursday afternoon and just spent the day at my parents' house. It was so great sitting on the deck just relaxing with a glass of wine. I could look at this view all day!

 

Friday we went shopping all day in Eureka Springs, AK. There are so many fun shops along the downtown strip. There was also a car show going on with a Model T convention. It was so fun to drive down the streets and see all the cars parked around town. Then Friday night we drove down the main strip of Branson, MO and down to the Branson Landing where there were a bunch more little shops. And we caught a water/light show and a Studebaker show as well. This truck/limo was just the coolest!

Saturday we spent the day out on Table Rock Lake. We drove around and saw so many cool places and then just floated in the water. What a great way to spend the day!

We're already planning our trip for next year!

Weekend Getaway - Part II

As promised on Tuesday, here are some photos of all the fun things we did while visiting my parents last weekend. We were only there for 2.5 days, but we packed in a lot of great times!

We got there Friday afternoon and didn't waste anytime. We headed into Branson to go wine tasting. We stopped at two different wineries for some sampling and purchasing. We had supper at a cute little diner that looked like it was out of the '50s...an old jukebox, food in red baskets, stools at the counter and ice cream treats. I wish I would have gotten some pictures, but I was too busy enjoying my meal :)

Saturday we went zip lining. I'm not a big fan of heights and I'm kind of a scaredy cat anymore, but this was so much fun! I was scared to death at first, but by the last jump I was able to let go of the rope and enjoy the ride :) I wish they would have let me bring my camera to get us all jumping and zipping on the lines, but this blurry group shot will have to do...lol.

After zip lining, we went back to my parents' and out on the lake. We just tied our tubes onto the boat and floated the afternoon away (see yesterday's post). I got one of my favorite photos during this trip...my dad and I smiling :) The one of Jesse and I is pretty good too :)

On Sunday we road tripped down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. My parents live real close to the AR border, so it was just an hour long drive. The main street is filled with little shops selling art, trinkets, souvenirs, clothing, etc. I bought myself a ring, a pair of sunglasses ($4.99!) and a t-shirt.

We also saw this cute Humpty Dumpty at one of the upper level stores.

And ran into an accordion player on the street who offered to play us a tune.

It was great to get away for the weekend for a fun and relaxing time. I'm hoping to get back down at least once more this summer to enjoy more time on the lake :)

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, Jesse and I went to visit my parents in Southern Missouri near Branson. It's so nice to get away and we had a wonderful time! The drive to Missouri is also much better than the drive to Michigan (where they used to live). Today I'm going to share a few scenery photos from the trip and Thursday I'll share some fun photos of what we did on our trip :)

Just past the Iowa border and into Missouri, we saw several wind turbines. At a distance, these look like normal windmills, but as you get closer you start to see just how huge they are! They stand 396' tall and each blade is 139' long...that's huge!

The further we got into Missouri, the curvier and hillier the roads got. Iowa is pretty darn flat, so it's a nice change in scenery. The land is also rockier. I love the rock formations along side the roads.

But the best scenery of all is out my parents' back door. They have a gorgeous view of the lake. It's so calming and relaxing to just sit and enjoy the view :)

 Have you been doing any traveling this summer?

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Sneak Peek

I've been a busy girl while I was away from my blog! I'll give you the run down tomorrow, but here's a sneak peek for today :)

Thunder on the Loup 2012

Over the weekend, Jesse and I went on an air boat trip with some friends. We had such a great time! We got to go boating on a beautiful river, watch the races and get away for a while :)

We got there on Friday and set up camp. That afternoon we took a nice long boat ride. It was so cool to be on a different river. Our river is much more narrow (and very shallow right now!) compared to the Loup River. The boat ride was great, but the storm that night wasn't! We ended up sleeping in the truck since our tent was trying to blow in on us!

But Saturday was beautiful again. The sun was shining and our stuff all dried out in no time. Saturday was the start of the races. It's so cool to see the boats all lined up! All the different paint jobs, graphics and setups are so cool to see!

I even found my dream boat :)

Sunday we went boating again for a while. We actually missed the races on Sunday because we were out doing our own thing and we wanted to get home at a descent time that night. But it worked out great. It was a nice relaxing weekend and we're already planning our trip for next year!

  I'll be catching up with blog posts that I missed over the weekend. And I'll do a double dose of Treasury Thanks on Sunday since I missed it this past weekend!

Christmas Break!!!

I'm officially off work until 2012!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited to have 13 days off to spend shopping, eating out and most of all, spending time with my family :)

My parents will be here almost the whole time I'm off work as well :) Then I'll have a couple of days to get life back in order to start the New Year!

I just ♥ this time of year :)

The Beauty of Missouri

Jesse and I made it back from our vacation to Southern Missouri and had a great time :) It was so wonderful to spend time with my parents and just relax for a few days!

We spent a couple of days on the lake and a day driving around seeing the area. We drove down to my parents property and saw the area they will eventually retire to. It's so peaceful there and the scenery is beautiful :) I could do without the curvy, hilly roads, but they sure make for pretty landscape.

Here's a photo I took of the rocks along side the roads.

And this one is my Mom, Dad and Jesse at Dogwood Canyon.

I would love to go down in the fall sometime...the trees will just be gorgeous!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend :)

Friday Features-Road Trip

And we're off! Jesse and I are headed to meet my parents in Southern Missouri today!!! I'm so ready for a vacay and some relaxation!!! But of course we have that inevitable drive to get there first! Maybe these cute finds will make the trip more enjoyable!

Highway 10 Travel Lined Horizontal Notebook

by yLook

Road Trip - Original ACEO Painting

by ShirleyArt

Route 66 Sign Earrings

by BeBopMoon Are you doing any traveling this weekend? Where will your road trip take you?

Girls' Getaway

I just finished a custom order for 7 Destination Word Albums. The lucky recipients are all going on a girls' getaway and one of the friends got them each an album :) I thought that was so thoughtful and such a fun idea! I hope all the girls love their albums!!!

I made them in three different color combos so they could choose which one they liked best:

I'm sure they'll have lots of great memories to fill these albums with :)

Countdown

In exactly one month I leave for vacation!!! I might be starting my countdown a little early, but I love having something fun to look forward too :)

Collage by scatterbox

Jesse and I are going to Southern Missouri to see my parents property where they will retire someday. Right now it's just a piece of land, but I'm excited to see the area and be on the lake! I can't wait for them to be down there full time! They'll be a few hours closer, no Chicago traffic, and they won't have the Michigan winters anymore!

How about you...any vacations coming up? It's never too early to start your countdown :)

P.S. - Stop back on Thursday for a necklace GIVEAWAY!!!

Blog Carnival-Vacation Traditions

This week's blog carnival theme is brought to us by AthenaWorkman and she gave us these two vacation themes to write about:

1) It's summertime, a time to get away from it all. Do you have a dream vacation? Share details of your perfect getaway.

2) Expanding on the vacation theme, are there any special (or not-so-special) traditions that you and your family do while away on trips?

Growing up, my family went on summer vacation to Branson every year. It was our tradition. We would go to Silver Dollar City and White Water and ride the go-karts every year! We would also go boating for a day so my brother and I could ride the tube and then we'd grill out right on the boat. I have many fond memories of Branson as a kid :)

My parents always kept their time share down there so we would always have a place to go back to. Jesse and I have been down twice with my parents and had just as much fun as when I was growing up! We did a lot of the same activities and got to enjoy them in a new light :) Here is a scrapbook I made my mom for one of our trips.

We will always get to enjoy Branson and southern Missouri as a family tradition as my parents will be moving there when they retire! They have some property ready for them when they finally decide it is time to move. Jesse and I are going down over Labor Day with my parents to see their new location. Being just an hour from Branson, we will be able to enjoy our traditions for years to come :)

New Flip Flop Albums!!!

I'm so excited to finally have some new items in my Etsy Store!!! I finished and photo'd 3 new flip flop albums and am starting to get them listed!

Surfer Girl Flip Flop Album (Listed Sunday)

Pink Flip Flop Album (Listed Today)

Blue and Brown Flip Flop Album (In Store Tues. or Wed.)

Convo if you'd like this one before it hits my shop :)

I have a few others started that I hope to get finished in the next couple of weeks and listed...keep watch :)

Traveling the World!!!

This week's Blog Carnival themes were chosen by Handmade by Sandi. Isn't this Coffee Cozy from her shop so cute!

Since Sandi is on vacation right now...she thought it would be appropriate for us to all blog about vacations :)

#1 What's the best vacation your ever had?

#2 Of all the places in the world, where would you like to go and why?

I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you one of my life long dreams. I have always wanted to visit every state in the United States :) Every state has something special (or several somethings) that that would be amazing to see!

Art by recycledartco Click photo to be taken to this listing.

As a child we took the same family vacation every year! I was so envious of my friend who traveled the world with her parents to such neat places! So I made it my goal to visit each state at least once! I've got a pretty good start on my list, but there are several areas I haven't even touched.

Here is my list:

• Arizona
• Arkansas (very briefly)
• California (but I was 3 months old...so I'm not sure it counts)
• Colorado
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois (I only drove through these last two...so they don't really count either)
• Iowa (obviously!)
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Though every year we went to Branson for family vacation, my parents also took me to Florida, the Bahamas, Arizona...and of course they are the reason I go to Michigan.

When I was in junior high, running track took me to many of these destinations as well. I went to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas all because of track :)

And of course Jesse has shown me some great places in the is great country :) We have gone snowmobiling in Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado. We also went to Vegas together :) Now if I could just get him to take me to the beach...LOL :)

I might have a long way to go to reach my goal, but I feel I've put a pretty good dent in it in my 26 (okay...almost 27) years :)

Now...where should I go next??