that time we went to saugatuck

here's a few pictures from our labor day-day trip to saugatuck.  steve had never been to oval beach before and when we found a hiking trail through the dunes, we both decided it is lake michigan public beach #1.  at least in an accessible area south of muskegon.

happy thursday everyone!

word count: 24,890

iphonery and more

i promise one of these days i'll post something besides rehashed instagram (though one of the photos above isn't from instagram... if you follow me you might know which one).

so as you can probably tell life lately has been a lot about animals, weather, and highly nutritious food.  i've also fallen head over heels in love with those flip flops in the second row.  if you're still looking for a cute and comfy pair i would more than recommend them... they are available here.

one of the highlights of our week unfortunately had to go unphotographed because my camera is not waterproof.  on wednesday evening a group of our friends all took an inner-tube float down the huron river.  it is probably one of our new favorite things to do, and hopefully i can find some way to document it.  there are lots of little waterfalls to slide down, which leave nobody dry at the bottom.  perhaps my holga could survive in a plastic bag?

and on a less related note (hey i skipped blogging yesterday because i had work deadlines... brevity is not my skill) i'm going to ask my readers for a bit of advice.

long haired ladies:  how do you live?

one of the things many people don't know is that my hair is currently the longest it has ever been in my entire life.  historically i always kept it at more of a layered bob, but in february of 2010 i took the plunge and got a pixie.  it was quite fun and i really liked how it looked, but i perfer a bit of variety when styling my hair and found it very limiting... i haven't cut it since.  

i am planning on continuing to grow it out for probably one more year, but let me tell you it is driving me up the wall... it gets in your mouth when you eat... it gets in both your mouths when you kiss... it gets stuck underneath your own body when you lay down or sit back in a chair... it's maddening.

what do the rest of you long-haired ladies do?  what are the tricks of the trade?  do you swear by products or some perfect top knot for sleepy-time?  do you simply develop unfathomable amounts of patience?

let me know, if you have any tips to save what little is left of my sanity.  hope everyone is looking forward to as lovely a weekend as we are!

this lovely place

this lovely place is the private beach on lake michigan my family visits every summer.

for the last three years steve has come up with us and every year i've told him my childhood fantasy: summer home here, winter home in disneyworld.

my parents are already there (lucky dogs) and steve and i will be joining them this weekend, and let me tell you we have not stopped talking about it for days.  we are both so excited for hours of walking the beach, swimming in the lake, laying in the sun, and feasting (because my family always includes hardcore feasting in our social events).

it's wet, rainy, and gross here today-- the kind of day when you just want to roll into a ball the minute your alarm goes off.  the kind of grossness that they invented tuesdays for.  unfortunately the forecast for this weekend is calling for isolated thunderstorms.  but this is a place even rain can't ruin.

this week should hurry itself along please.

what are your plans for the weekend?

p.s. i was featured in a "blogging 101" post over at the lovely meghan silva's blog yesterday.  do check out meghan's blog, she's always posting something beautiful, inspiring, or freaking delicious looking.  and she's a total dear to boot.

trees

i didn't get around to blogging yesterday because sometimes you just need a second to whine to your boyfriend about being blamed for others' sloppiness at work.

and sometimes you just need a second to go outside and enjoy the 80 degree weather.  we took an adventure in the arboretum and i got all instagram happy (and actual happy too).

it's been so great that steve finally has a chance to relax before starting work in june, but it does make my job feel like such a bummer time-suck since i can't go out an play in the sun until dinnertime.  how am i ever going to get anything like a tan?

it's not the most fun feeling kind of bored, but i suppose we should get our kicks now because i don't think we are going to get a chance to be bored too often in the near future.

for now we are looking forward to the weekend and hopefully we are going to be able to tour our potential "first place" on saturday morning!  it's so exciting that we are finally moving in together after all this time!! happy thursday!

(and if you want to get all my instagram updates before i rehash them here)

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