No Longer MIA!

Well my lovely followers... I am back! Sorry for the lack of action lately but since its the last few days of summer, I had to fully submerge myself into the warmth and outdoors. Unfortunately blogging, tweeting, and Facebook had to take a backseat. Now I get to show you guys what I have been up to.

1. Trip to Northern Michigan University with my best friend to visit my sister and some friends. Since it is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I came prepared hike, swim, and experience what college life is like for them.

Me & my sister

Rebecca and me on top of Blackrocks in Marquette, MI

2. Cliff diving... enough said.

3. Making delicious Cookies 'n Creme cupcakes!

4. Watching my brother's senior year varsity football games. He has scored 5 touchdowns in each of his first two games, so I spend most of the game jumping up and down and acting like an idiot. Yeah, I am in his number one fan. Not to mention from attending every game, I am becoming a phenomenal action shot photographer.

5. Taking care of my burn victim of a best guy friend. We were lighting sparklers one night together and acting like kids by writing each other's names in the air. Well he was holding a group of them together and went to light them... all of a sudden they instantly exploded in his closed fist. I rushed him to the hospital immediately and now once a day, I get the pleasure of redressing his wounds and thanking God it wasn't me... Sorry B.

6. Making serious progress on our back porch bathroom... Goodbye lime green {yikes}, hello beautiful tan.

7. Finishing the Friday Night Lights seasons. I literally cried of happiness for 20 minutes straight during the season finale. I loved this series and can't help but hope that the talk of making a movie out of it comes true. Plus staring at Tim Riggins for five seasons makes anything enjoyable!

Who else is trying to get everything out of the rest of the summer? Have you guys tried anything new lately? New hobbies? New loves? I wanna know what's keeping you busy.

Exploring Petoskey in the Summer.

Doesn’t it really irk you when certain people are good at everything? Like no matter what they touch or try they can do it flawlessly? Yeah, well one of those people happens to be my younger brother, Joe. He plays three varsity sports and still has time to pick up a new hobby… this summer his obsession is long-boarding. Our cousins kind of sucked him into it and have been getting together to make movies and take pictures of their long boarding adventures.

I was pleasantly surprised when Joe showed me the completed video which was really done well… Thought I would share with my followers. If anything just watch the video to see the beautiful city in which I live! I think I may start long boarding more often so I can go down these trails and actually appreciate it. But at the 2:30 mark, our street, house, and my red convertible makes an appearance. :)

My brother is the brunette wearing the white shorts and tall socks {love that description of him} throughout the video… and the other two are my cousins {the blonds}. Enjoy!

So my sisterly duty is done by putting it on my blog!

Anyone else out there long board or do something relaxing outdoors to take in the scenery? Any new hobbies for the summer months? 

Kabobs & Kitchen Karaoke.

Check off the “make kabobs for dinner” off my summer bucket list!

You know when you make plans to do something then put it off? Well this was one item my friends and I have been talking about but we actually made it happen. This weekend I met up with the boy and our best friend at a local market to pick up the kabob ingredients and adult beverages to get the ball rolling on our dinner plans. We went back to their house where the chicken was marinating and I started cutting up the vegetables.

Jordan and I are so anal about things that we even had to discuss what the proper order of the kabobs would be over a drink. Scotty just shook his head at us as we debated it. So the final conclusion was mushroom, green or red pepper, chicken, onion, and repeat. They turned out looking amazing.

The only downfall was it was raining during the day, so poor Scotty had to man the grill all by his lonesome while we stayed dry in the kitchen making red skinned potatoes and corn on the cob.

While busting out lyrics & dancing to Eric Church’s new album, Chief, as it played throughout the house, it was one of the best days this summer. Bad weather wasn’t going to bring down my favorite dinner or me singing into my beer bottle. Once we sat down at the dining room table {like a little family} I couldn’t stop thanking the boys for making my bucket list item come true. We ended up staying awake until 4:30 in the morning just talking and joking around. I woke up the next morning still full and very contempt. I really love this summer!

Anyone else using the grill this summer to make summer inspired dinners? I need ideas of other dinners to make with these two... I will over at that house more and more now, so help a girl out!

Mud on the Tires.

Even though I was born and raised in northern Michigan, I haven’t really embraced the whole outdoorsy-ness of the state until lately. The past three years, whenever I was home from college in Ohio, I would call the boys I had known since elementary school and say “take me two tracking” or “let’s go camping.” They would often laugh and then say “well grab those Coach rain boots of yours and let’s go!” Well this weekend was no exception. We live 15 minutes from a town called Boyne Falls which hosts a Polish Festival every year. One of the events is a Mud Run.  Basically, boys work on a truck or jeep for years {or all summer} to get it to the point that it can make it through a track full of mud in the shortest amount of time possible.  So I grabbed my sister, who is as naïve about mud and trucks as I am and we went to watch.

Me & Kelly.

The boy we went to go cheer on was Mike, who drives a truck he named “Mud Slut.”

Haha yeah, pretty classy huh? But it was honestly one of the best looking trucks in the competition… I know that isn’t in the “winning criteria” but I thought I needed to tell him that he should win for that alone. {See how girlie I can be?!} The whole day we would just kick back & sing this song together:

I've got the perfect place in mind
It's in the middle of nowhere only one way to get there
You got to get a little mud on the tires

Hands down it was one of the best summer days ever. We got to do some serious people watching {my favorite thing in the world} and also ogle over guys in big trucks.  Not too shabby! So we sat in the “rain, then sun, then rain, then sun” weather, drank beers out of our new Polish festival coozies {Classy, huh?}, and just enjoyed the country-ness.  

I was one happy yet muddy girl by the end of the day! This even has now become something I will look forward to for years/summers to come.


Anyone else ever been to something like this? Anyone ever went completely out of their comfort zone and then realized what they had been missing? Cannot wait to read about everyone else's weekends!

U Gotta Regatta!

Well this weekend was busy, busy, busy… hence the lack of blog posts, but I’d figure I would show what I have been up to. My hometown of Petoskey had its sidewalk sales which were nothing short of amazing due to the hot weather and all the sale racks. One of my big purchases of the day was a Vineyard Vines skirt to wear later that night to the Regatta!

The last weekend in May the Little Traverse Yacht Club and Irish Boat Shop always host a sailboat race {called the U Gotta Regatta} in Lake Michigan. Once the race in completed all the racers and sailors celebrate with free beer and brats. {Greatest combo ever.} It always turns out to be the party of the summer with its live bands and beautiful scenary!

Jordan & Me.

Mom & Me

Little brother Joe, Me, and my cousin Sam

Afterwards, we had a few more drinks at Dudley’s Deck @ the Pier and then crashed at my best friend’s house for the night. It was great to unwind with friends and family while enjoying where we live. Its days/nights like that when you look around and realize how beautiful my little hometown is. I spent the entire weekend on the water, so expect a few more posts of me lakeside! {Totally goes with the theme and name of this blog, huh?}

Anyone else get a little water and sun in their life this weekend?!

What I'm Loving Wednesdays! {2}

I am linking up to littledaisymay.blogspot.com today to tell my wonderful 62 followers about what I am lovin' this Wednesday! I can't believe I have that many followers. I started this blog because my best friend Emily peer-pressured me into it and now I don't know what I would do to relax at the end of the day without blogging and reading other's posts. So I am definitely loving this blog. It's my journal and inspiration. So thank you for reading!

1. The fact that it’s Wednesday {making it Thursday in my workweek} since I am taking Friday off. Sounds confusing but makes total sense to me. {See next item}

2. Friday is Petoskey’s Sidewalk Sales! It means I get to wake up at the time I would be starting my workday to go downtown and shop in the streets. The stores give amazing discounts and sales, not to mention lunch and drinks outside since all the bars/restaurants put their tables in the street. It’s seriously my favorite part of summer! Pretty soon these streets will be CROWDED with clothes and people.

3. Also, Friday night is Harbor Spring’s Regatta. This translates into walking the docks to look at all the beautiful sailboats before they set sail on Lake Michigan. They hold a large party for all locals and participants, so it turns into a huge class reunion for those up for the summer before returning to college. Its so preppy… so I can’t wait to put together an outfit for the occasion. That’s all the fun!

Last Year's Regatta. {Kas, Dylan, Me, Rebecca, Kate, & Lauren}

4. Every day after work, we have been hitting the beach. There is nothing better than working a 10 hour day then driving down the road a bit to the State Park. After a quick dip in the lake, all the stress and worry from the day seems to melt away.

5. We have had customers {VIPs of the aerospace engineering world} in at work this week. This translates to dinners out and serious butt kissing. I was just happy that one of the engineers graduated from Miami University. So we were probably ignoring as we talked about Bagel and Deli, nights dancing at Brick Street, or where the best frat house to party at was.

6. Netflix arrived yesterday with the first season of The Walking Dead. I don’t know what it is but I love watching zombie related things… I even turned to *the boy* last night and said “I would like to think that I would make it through a zombie attack.” He just held back a laugh, smiled, then nodded… So I took that as he thinks I would die in the first few hours. The series is pretty amazing… the makeup is flawless and looks so real, its creepy.

7. What’s not creepy though is the fact that Boondock Saint’s actor (which is my favorite movie} Norman Reedus is a character in this series. Ahh, I love the toughness he brings to ever role, not to mention the fact he’s serious eye candy for me. So for the next few days as I work my way through the season, I get to drool over him. Win-win.

8. My dog Lola.... this was her last night. She was just hanging out with her ball. Stinkin' adorable.

So as you can see most of the things I am loving are PLANS! Seriously, I need to stop planning my life out so much but if the place that you live has such amazing events going on, its hard not to fill my social calendar up. Plus the people I get to spend it are the ones who make it fun. Hope you guys have fun things planned for the weekend… I can’t believe its only Wednesday and I am geared up for Friday. I shouldn’t rush time, huh?

So what are you guys loving this beautiful Wednesday?

Lovin' the Heat.

I don't know how people can complain about this weather. I am in love and hope its like this for another month {or two}. Rockin' the Sperrys and white shorts today at work even though I should be at the beach soaking it all in. Get outside people! You know it will be winter before we know it.

Anyone else enjoying the hottness as much as I am?

Life's A Beach.

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately but when you are given amazingly HOT weather; you just have to spend it outside. Well that is how my entire weekend went down… I was on the beach & boat with plenty of cocktails, 2 person extreme tubing, wakeboarding, swimming, and lounging in lawn chair with my feet in the water.

I am obsessed with these sunglasses which inspired a photo shoot {see below}. They are called Knockaround sunglasses and cost about $15 online here. Amazing… plus, I am a sucker for bright colors. The best part is they are cheap so in case things get rowdy on the boat ride and you lose ‘em, not too big of a deal…

The only causality of this weekend’s festivities were my Tiffany & Co. pearl earrings. For some reason, I didn’t take them off before hooking on the board. Next thing I know I am toweling off after my ride and I realized one was gone. Sad moment, but after this weekend its hard to be sad for too long.

Of course, my camera died after I took a few pictures of Joe getting on the wakeboard. So there aren’t any of me killing it on the water. So next time we head over to the beach, I am making sure its on full battery.

Overall, it was a perfect weekend. Full of sun and fun! Next weekend should be even better because I am expecting visitors! Ahh, I love when friends come to visit, especially cute boys. Win-win.

How is everyone else surviving the heat wave this weekend?

Going Down the River... In Style.

Since I am one of the biggest planners you’ll ever meet… It’s no wonder that I have already made plans for this coming Saturday. After much thought of an idea that involves sun and water, I thought a little “trip down the river” with my friends was muchhh needed. Every summer, a group of us will get together to tube down the Sturgeon River.  It’s kind of a joke because the river is extremely slow moving and all that is left to pass the time is to just kick back, relax, and…drink.  

I made a list of everything I wanted to bring along and starting putting things into my beach tote and after the list was completed, I could help but smile. It’s going to be a good time! Here’s what I am taking:

Ralph Lauren turquoise beach tunic
Ralph Lauren yellow striped beach tote
Old Navy gold flip-flops
Pair of aviator sunglasses with kroakies
Banana Boat spray tanning lotion
Skinnygirl Margaritas in my double insulated Pier1 cup {Reward if I make it down the river alive}

The river takes about 3 hours to complete…at our pace. We always have to pull up to beaches along the way, swim a bit, and make friends with everyone else on the river that day. So this year, you can tell I am a little bit more excited than other years, well it’s because I bought this beauty. I went to the marine shop last night with Jordan and I originally wanted to find a hot pink or purple inner tube to use this weekend. That was until I saw this one… with a cooler! And a cup holder! And a BACK REST!

So needless to say, I am now the proud owner of a pimped-out inner tube. My friends are going to be jealous! :) But now, I am going to be scared of every stick, log, or tree we float/rub against because I am going to be so depressed if she {it} gets punctured. See I am already really attached to my new toy. I just with the guy came with it!

Does anyone else go tubing, canoeing, or rafting down rivers? Let me know if you guys think of anything else that is needed to survive the trip.

Lunchtime Thoughts.

Ahh its beautiful today, so at lunch I put the seat all the way down in his passenger seat. With my feet out of the window, I tried to soak in the summer air before heading back into my air-conditioned office. Love days like this... keep em coming, Mother Nature. 

Weekend Warrior.

This weekend was very eventful but unfortunately I didn’t document really anything with photographs, so be prepare for a semi-random account of how everything went down.

Yesterday was spent on the boat in Walloon Lake, which is about fifteen minutes from where I live. Not only does the lake have sandy beaches but also the water is SO warm… Lake Michigan {in my front yard} is “freezing” year round, so it’s nice to spend the day on a lake that doesn’t suck the air out of you when you jump overboard!

This picture was taken as soon as we cracked our first drink for the day while putting the boat in. Yeah showing some MIAMI LOVE… gotta represent the best college/place in the world! The entire day, however, was spent wakeboarding and soakin' up the sun and BOY did I get a lot of sun. I was totally the"mom" of the trip by packing a cooler of just sandwiches and snacks while bringing another cooler consisting of many adult beverages... ohh yeah. So I think the boys will be bringing me along on more wakeboarding trips this summer.

Once I got home late last night, I started layering the lotion on my red body while watching the movie, Happy ThankYouMorePlease.

I highly recommend it! I didn’t know if it was going to be a proper date movie choice because it’s an indie-romantic-comedy type movie, but it had arrived from Netflix and I was anxious to watch it. What’s great is towards the end of the film the storyline really starts coming together and out of nowhere the guy I am watching it with whispers “Sarah… I really, really, really like this movie.” Haha, it was probably hard for him to admit that but now he is promoting you guys see it too. It’s a feel goodmovie and makes me want to get in a relationship...quick! {Really close to that happening… trust me, you’ll be hearing about it!} But anyway, see the movie… It’s got great one-liners and many opportunities to say “awwwww” out loud.

Other than that, this work week needs to move fast… yeah it’s only Monday, but this coming weekend is the big 3-on-3 hockey tournament!! It’s been wayyy too long since I have sat in an ice rink to watch my favorite sport being played. Plus, there's nothing better than walking outside after the games and its freakin' hot out. Pretty good combination if you ask me. The boys who I go to support graduated high school with me and they always have a great team. Not to mention, a lot of college hockey players come to the tournament to use this time to play a few rounds during the summer to stay in shape and practice. To me this translates to...Eye candy! Haha.

So I hope everyone's weekend was wonderful. I wanna know what you've all been up too, so I will be checking blogs. Did anyone else get some "color" this weekend?