Life Lately

The last weekend in July was a fun one. We got to babysit Ella for the first time. She is just the SWEETEST. She loves her uncle "awrth" so much. We played with lots of her toys, read lots of books, took a walk to the park and went on the swings and slide and sang patty cake more times than I can count. It was just the best. Also, it was exhausting. How do parents do it?! We were so tired!

And since we were in the area... We had to get Crispelli's and make a trip to Trader Joe's.

We came home Saturday evening and enjoyed a glass of Dry Riesling on the deck and then called it a night.

Sunday morning we drank our coffee on the deck and played cards. Then we walked Manny, mowed and weeded.

We headed to our local beach since it was going to be 86 degrees and spent a few hours floating.

We came home and G started grilling us lunch and I started Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. It was a relaxing, lazy afternoon at home before a full week of work (in 2 weeks!).

This past weekend was another great summer weekend. AND it was my birthday weekend. We kicked it off with friends Friday night at this cute restaurant right on the river I had been dying to try. 

Can we just talk about this lobster artichoke and spinach dip? It was incredible!

My steak was really delicious, but the potatoes were not cooked enough and my veggies were ice cold. G got this sausage pasta and it had this mint aftertaste that he just did not like. I didn't like it either so he shared my steak with me.

But the atmosphere was so much fun. We sat on the patio and ate dinner and talked for a few hours. I usually only order one drink while I'm out to eat but I ordered three! A glass of red with dinner. Then we ordered another glass of red and took it down to the river to watch the sunset on the river and talk.

Then we came back up to the patio and Felicia and I ordered martinis. I got the pom pomtini and it was AMAZING. The patio was lined with torches and each table had these flames so the atmosphere was just so peaceful and relaxing. The service was great and the company was awesome. We spent four hours out here eating, talking, laughing and drinking. It was seriously so much fun. I would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers because the patio sitting was the best in the area for sure.

Saturday was my birthday and we decided to take a day trip to Saugatuck. My friend Felicia had brought flowers (with a necklace wrapped around the vase) to dinner last night. G gave me the cutest card (he knows how much I love cards) and workout socks, running shirts and the most comfortable pajama pants. He knows me, haha! We drank our coffee on the deck, packed the car and headed out for our day trip.

We got into town around noon just in time for lunch. I had never been to Saugatuck in the summer and it was crowded! There was an hour wait at every restaurant and even an hour wait to sit outside at Mermaid Bar and Grill so we sat inside. We still had great views of all the boats going out to Lake Michigan. I could not get over all the yachts!

G and I shared the Shrimp and Goat Cheese Pasta and it was delicious. G declared it the best pasta he ever had! It was definitely what we were craving after the lackluster pasta from the night before.

After a yummy lunch we grabbed our beach bags from the car and took the ferry to the other side of Kalamazoo River.

We walked by a few GORGEOUS houses and then had to hike up all these stairs at Mt. Baldhead Park. It was seriously no joke! This super fit couple next to us were going to run it, but after the first leg of stairs they slowed way down and we ended up beating them to the top, ha!

The view was amazing and this was only halfway up! Crazy! Once we got to the top we took a breather and enjoyed the view. Then we had to go down the dune, but the sand felt amazing. My legs were still shaky but we made it to Oval Beach and changed into our bathing suits.

We spent a good four hours on the beach. We took naps. People watched. Spent a lot of time in the water. It was windy so the waves were really big. Some of the waves even knocked me over! It felt like the ocean which was amazing. I kept thinking I was in Myrtle Beach and had to check for sharks and then remembered I was at the lake. It was so much fun. The water felt amazing. 

We made the hike and ferry trip back to downtown Saugatuck. We tried to wine taste but they were all closed for private events. We tried to find a place to eat dinner but there was an hour wait at every restaurant so we grabbed coffee at Uncommon Coffee Roasters and drove the two hours back home. It was such a fun day trip! It felt like vacation and the drive wasn't bad at all. If I could do it all over I think I would drive into Oval Beach and bring dinner so we could watch the sunset after swimming all day. 

Sunday we slept in. Drank coffee on the deck. Took Manny for a long walk. Read. Then we headed to my parents' to celebrate my birthday. We ate appetizers and caught up. There was these adorable penguin cheese and crackers. Smoked white fish dip. Brie. YUM! It was all super good.

Since I don't like cake my mom made zucchini pie for me. So delicious! We also had steak, potatoes, cherry salad and Oreo cupcakes. It was all amazing.

We hung out with Ella. She loved running to everyone and playing with my phone. And dancing. She is the BEST dancer! So cute. We hung out. Looked at my parent's vacation pictures. Laughed. Relaxed. Opened presents. I got gift cards, scarves, candle, workout clothes and I loved it all. I felt so loved and so spoiled. It was a great day.

We stopped at Trader Joe's to grocery shop for the week and then came home to relax. G was watching a movie and I was watching Beauty and the Beast when the power went out due to crazy winds. It didn't come on until around noon the next day. Crazy! So we decided to call it a night. It was a fun weekend and I loved every second of it!

Tuesday night a bunch of us went out for Mexican food and then went to see the new Mission Impossible. I highly recommend the movie. It was so good. Lots of great action scenes!

Wednesday we picked up our marriage study again and it felt so good to get back into it after a month off. We were on vacation and then they were on vacation and then they had a new nephew to meet. Summer busyness. But we are back at it and it was so much fun. Such great conversation. I really recommend this book! It's my favorite on marriage so far!

So that's life lately. It's a great summer!