Girl Friday

The transition from summer to school year has made this one long and exhausting week.  Tonight just the hubby and I are heading downtown to one of the best restaurants in the city...

we can't get a reservation for a table tonight, but I love sitting at the bar and eating.  I feel so french...

Have a beautiful (and french) weekend!!

Top Chef

For 1 week out of the summer all of my hubby's brothers and sisters are together for family week at my in-law's cottage in Michigan.  One of our traditions is to have a top chef night, everyone makes an appetizer and then we all vote on our top 3.  The appetizer with the most votes wins.  This year I decided to go with something so simple but oh so delicious.  While my sister in law was making pasta from scratch, I took some red potatoes, wrapped them in bacon, then popped them in the oven...

I am telling you if you want an easy but amazing appetizer this is the one...

The apps on the center stage....

The hubs calculating the votes...

and the top chef winner, my app.  My acceptance speech was very simple, "everything is better wrapped in bacon!"

and the grand prize...

A butter boy, for an easy and cute way to butter my corn on the cob!

Ch Ch Changes...

Now that all 3 of my kids are back in school, it is time to get to work.  Summer is the most unproductive time for me, if it is a sunny day we will be at the pool.  I barely find the time to go to the grocery store, so getting things done around the house just never happens.  That all changed yesterday when the third and final child had his first day of school.

The kids were all out the door by 8 am and my friend, the decorator, showed up at 11 to help me tackle my first project...redoing my son's room.  We decided on horizontal stripes for the walls...

pinterest

pinterest

and my son has picked out a platform bed and furniture...

  

complete with a "lounging area"...

we also looked at wallpaper for my first floor powder room,  I am definitely leaning towards the trellis/ikat papers...

of course the first thing I will do in my house every morning...

all images pinterest

enjoy my cup of coffee!

Girl Friday

I have spent the last 4 weekends out of town so it will be nice to finally have a quiet weekend at home. Tonight I am meeting my neighbor on my porch for a little WOP (wine on porch)  It has been quite awhile since we had WOP night, we have a lot of catching up to do...

enjoying some of our last days at the pool...

dinner with friends at my restaurant (I seriously need an intervention with this place)...

getting the kids ready for school, come Monday everyone is back!

Have a beautiful weekend ladies

Summer's End

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over.  Step foot into any store and that belief is confirmed by the inventory.  Gone are bikinis, cover ups, shorts and sandals, they have been replaced by sweaters, boots and pants.

Lucky for us girls we will have some great options for the fall, I mean OMG these pants are so cute.  If I had not walked by the store in a swimsuit and coverup I would have gone in and tried these on...

I will be prepared today, I might just walk by Anthropologie again and I might be wearing clothes more fitting for a try on...

If that fails, I can always get them here.

Up North

My second week in Michigan I spent "up north" in the Bay Harbor area.  This was my first time to this part of Michigan and upon arrival I knew why this is called the Hamptons of the Mid-West.  The view was beautiful and the houses, simply amazing.  I met my sister and nephew in the Petoskey area, and we checked into the beautiful Inn at Bay Harbor...

My 9 year old was at overnight camp in Holland, my son was at an overnight camp about 30 minutes from Bay Harbor so it was just me, my sister and the little ones...

we immediately hit the beach...

we spent a day shopping in the darling town of Petoskey...

with a vintage JCPenney...

even the planters on the sidewalks were so darn cute...

we spent our evenings at the harbor...

watching the beautiful sunsets...

this place is top of my list for a good family friendly vacation spot...

my week ended on a high note when I picked my son up from golf camp and his foursome won 1st place in the golf tournament!!

Nighty Night, Sleep Tight

With all the traveling I have done the past few weeks, I have spent many nights in guest bedrooms at my in-laws, my sister's and my friend's; this has inspired me to redo our guest bedroom.  When we moved into our house 2 years ago the guest bedroom became the catch all room for furniture/accessories that didn't really fit anywhere else.  I am officially sick of looking at the room so let the decorating begin...

First up I want to paint the yellow walls a pale shade of gray...

I found this Kate Spade bedding that I think would look great with the gray walls...

some cute pillows for the bed...

I could not find a shower curtain that matched the bedding, but this one came pretty close...

If I toss a pink pillow on the bed as well, I think it will tie the bedding and the shower curtain together...

Nighty night!!

Girl Friday

This weekend I am off to Cincinnati...

where I went to college...

to have some cocktails...

do a little late night dancing...

and see some my college besties!!

Have a beautiful weekend!

A Few of My Favorite Pins

I have had an unusually busy week; unpacking from Michigan, getting my kids ready for the first day of school, going through 3 weeks of mail, restocking the fridge, and packing for a last minute trip away this weekend to see my college friends.  Amidst all the chaos I still seem to find the time to pin whenever I can (thanks to the app on my phone)  Here are a few that made me smile.

A quiet get away...

a black towel to wipe away make up...

a beautifully set table...

jewel tones and hats, Fall is right around the corner...

a bright and cheery DIY tray...

Kate Spade...

coffee and donuts...