{houseboat love}

Greetings~

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Ok by now...I can safely assume that anyone who stops by knows that I long to live by the sea! It's where my heart and soul belong. HOWEVER my husband does not necessarily share my sentiment....but I think I may have found a solution!!!

I am always thinking about, planning for and saving for our retirement...never mind that I am only 34 years old! I am kind of one of those people that plans for and budgets for every little thing...even though I don't always stay totally on the budget!!! I know retirement is my only way outta here during our super long, dark, cold winters! He won't move permanently and I have to have some reprive.....Sooo...I have decided that we should buy a houseboat! Cheaper than house on the water and oh so cute~

We can stay there for 3 months out of the year and rent it out for the rest of the time.

What do you think?!!

What do they say about pipe dreams??? But I say...well if you don't have a plan and dreams than what do you have?

Key West houseboats....you can bet I'm going to find these when we go in December flickr
Just look how colorful~
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I didn't even know such things existed~

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I mean they even have loungers and adirondacks!! It's like a whole new possibility opened up for retirement...or before:)

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Just look how cute the "gardens" are! It's just so perfect...no yard work... just hang out and take care of your potted gardens~

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I could definatley get into this lifestyle~
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I would just sit and enjoy my vino watching the boats go by! How perfect~

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Well there you have it...now you'll know where to find me when I retire!!!

If you know of anyone who lives on a houseboat or you happen to live on a houseboat, I'd love to hear from you!!!

Have a happy day~

"Nothing happens unless first we dream." Carl Sandburg

{yes, yes}

everything lovely

Have a super happy Monday~
Oh and stay tuned for another simpledaisy room "redo!"
Let's just say.....while the hubby's away I will tear out carpeting and buy new flooring! I really shouldn't be left to my own devices~

{Fresh Friday}

Hi everyone!!! It's time for Fresh Friday~

I thought I would share a super yummy breakfast for Fresh Friday:)

Something simple and oh so healthy~

French toast and berries baked in the oven.....I used simple enough ingredients....YUM-O

Now.....I am by no means a perfect eater....but I do try to eat at least 90% of my foods as whole foods with ingredients that I know what they mean! Know what I mean?!?!?And I L.O.V.E Saturday mornings {which you already know} and I love to eat my breakfast with a great cup of joe and my {blankie as my husband calls it} computer:)

Well when you have an extra minute to make a super healthy and yummy breakfast.....whip up some baked french toast....

Organic Flaxseed Bread {dipped in Egg Whites}

Bake it in the oven on 450 for 10 minutes on each side

take out .....pile some fresh berries on top and add some super sweet Orange Blossom Honey

Tasty...not too high in calories and oh sooooo yummy!

I have to say it was so filling that I didn't even eat it all!! I made extra so that I would be fueled for an early morning ride...but I couldn't even finish it!!!

Bon Appetit!! Oh and feel free to add a Mimosa to this tasty breakfast~

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. ~John Gunther

{displaying photographs}

I know there are more than a million ways to display/hang photographs. For me, simple is best!Remember this room.....I had nothing on the wall.....except for my twinkle lights and a chalkboard that I made out of an old frame! I don't think it's possible to have too many twinkle lights:)
Sometimes it takes me so long before I really decide what I want to do! But I did finally decide and.....An inexpensive picture from IKEA surrounded by some of the beachy photos I have taken! I think it looks nice~

The black and white framed by random images of the beach! I just stuck them to the wall with double sided tape! Sometimes they do start to peel off but it's an easy fix! Plus I can always add to them when the fancy strikes~

Oh and what I really love about the photos is the white border! I think it makes them look sort of old-fashioned!

What do you think?

So there you have it....A happy little way to disply your photographs!

Do you have any creative ways that you display your photographs?!

Oh and thanks for all the happy thoughts on getting through the winter!! I really appreciate all the ideas and I just might have to put some of them to good use!

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. ~Freya Stark

{so sad}

I must face the fact that summer is slowly winding down.... It really is just so hard for me to deal with.
This weekend the weather was just down right crummy and I just had such a hard time trying to stay motivated and chipper! Ok...i'll just be truthful and say "I wasn't chipper." I know it's just the beginning of what we have to come {i've lived here my whole life} but each and every year it just gets harder and harder to deal with!

Any thoughts on staying happy during the long, sunless winter months?!?!

Send 'em my way!
Oh and around here...we have what we refer to as a perma-cloud that lasts all winter! That means NO SUN for weeks on end!
Thanks:) and I promise i'll try & be happy during the winter months! Maybe I need to buy stock in a winery?!?!?

Have a happy week~
"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." - Benjamin Franklin

{Happy Day}

sort of....

It is completely disgusting outside today!! Cold and rainy....

So I got up early and ran, did p90x and then gently coaxed my husband into going to the Farmer's Market with me!!

I got some awesome produce to try out this week!! Yippee~Then I came home opened a bottle of wine {at 2 o'clock in the afternoon} and

started drinking while reading all the new magazines that came for me in the
mail today!

When life gives you grapes....make wine!!! LOL!

"Red, red wine you make me feel so fine,
you keep my rocking all of the time,
yeah" UB40

{Fresh Friday}

Well here it is FRIDAY!! Now that I am back to school I can really appreciate Friday's.
T.G.I.F.

This week's Fresh Friday is so yummy and fresh! I just love it!
Please feel free to participate in Fresh Friday's....just grab my button (that I painstakingly created over the course of about 4 hours:-)} and post a recipe that's yummy and fresh! Oh and try and make sure it's healthy. Let me know that you posted and I will try and check it out! That's the point....to share great recipes and to get ideas from one another.

Meet Arugula.......

Black River Organic Farm
I love arugula ... it's spicy and completely delicious!
I whipped up this tasty salad and thought I would be fabulous on a bed of arugula. It was!

For the salad
fennel
English cucumbers
cantaloupe
feta
mint
For the dressing
stone ground mustard
red wine vinegar
honey
lime
I don't usually have exact measurements {unless I am using a recipe} because I just throw things together until they taste good:-)
YUM-O
You could enjoy it as a light summer snack or like I did as part of my whole meal!

Cantaloupe Salad atop Arugula
Feta Caprese Salad
Spicy Black Bean Burger on Low-carb bread

Well hope you have a happy and healthy weekend!!

Oh and in case your wondering about the riding.....
Last Saturday morning I rode 34 miles in...
2 hours and nine minutes....Not too bad I think!!!! Plus I have been riding so much that it barely raises my heart rate anymore:-) When I run my average heart rate is much higher and so I think my body is just super used to riding now! And that heart rate is even with some pretty good sized hills! Oh and I burned over 1000 calories!

I am definitely getting closer to my goal! The ride is coming up real soon and I am hoping the weather holds out! You never know what you're going to get around here and I know I'd never make 75 or 100 miles in the freezing cold or pouring rain! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they'll ease
Your will they'll mend
And charge you not a shilling.
~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

{Ruby the Wrecking Ball}

Yep...that's what we call Ruby now!!

She's getting big and she's all puppy! Everywhere she goes she's into something...just look at her and all the stuff all over her face~

Let's just say I don't have one nice pot left~

She runs around so fast that I think sometimes she forgets where she's at and just runs into things!

L.C.'s nice new collar doesn't look so new anymore! Ruby pulls L.C. all over the place by that little bit of her collar! Poor L.C. she's such a trooper!
You'll notice the rug Ruby pulled over to her {filthy} bed before I yelled at her! She grabbed a stick instead. Smart choice~

What... I wasn't going to start chewing up that remote if you didn't just walk into the room~

All in all I'd say they love each other...but boy oh boy is having 2 large dogs interesting ... to say the least!

Have a great evening!! Oh and if your a dog owner....I'd love to hear your stories~

{garden girl}

YIPPEE~
I got accepted into the Master Gardener Program and class starts tomorrow!! I am super happy and can't wait to see where this might take me.

Here's a peak at what I just picked fresh from my garden~

Super yummy, fresh cherry tomatoes~
They're coming out of my ears~Oh and some fresh Basil~I figured they would taste great together in my take on a Caprese Salad~
Organic Cherry Tomatoes
Basil
Low fat Feta
Balsamic Vinegar
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Fresh and oh so summery!!

Now I have to be perfectly honest with you....
at the beginning of each season I have all these glorious ideas swirling in my head about what my garden will look like. Yet, as the season wears on it always seems to end up looking like this~Total chaos~Herbs going everywhere.....tomatoes all over the place~Flowers falling over...plants just crammed in!

Now what I really envision creating is something more like.....

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borders that look like this~ Cottage and cute!
Maybe a raised bed garden that looks like this~flickr
Seriously, if that doesn't make you want to eat healthfully, I don't know what would!
Look how ingenious this gardener is~ flickr
They have used all sorts of simple things to make a super effective and cute garden~ Now these raised beds are just perfect~
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Just look at the lettuce you can grow in such small space!
I am inspired.....
Next weekend I am tearing out my whole garden and building some raised beds. I am determined to have more vegetables in a much cuter space! Come on now, I am going to be in the Master Gardener Program surely my garden should be a little more stylish~

How does your garden grow??!!

Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit

{I'm back}

I couldn't be any happier than a kitty rollin' around in the grass on a sunny day!! I have my computer back and it's all fixed up! Bad thing....the hard drive went out and I lost all my pictures that were saved on my computer!!!Oh and did I mention that it's a brand new computer?!?!? {less than 6 months old} I guess that will teach me to back things up from now on!
So much has gone on since I last posted......
Where do I start??
Well.....Maybe i'll just share the things that are still saved on my camera~
Took my nephew to the beach~

He had such a blast~

I think it's so important to expose children to the water so that maybe they'll grow up to be beach lovers too!

He wanted to build sand castles.....

and I wanted to just relax...
Guess who won?!?!
All in all it was a great day, he had a lot of fun and I was happy for that~
Maybe he'll find his own way to the beach when he's older!
Let's see....What else?!Remember that Def Leppard concert that I was so excited about going to??? Well we finally got to go and it ROCKED!
My friend Michelle is so cute and even brought along the lyrics for several songs so that we could be really sure we knew the words for the concert~

Who cares if the skies looked like this...
I was determined to have fun! It's Def Leppard~
I put on my best Def Leppard outfit that I could think of~
I didn't realize that no one dresses up for fun at concerts! I was the only one who looked like this for fun....the others I saw dressed like this really do still dress like this!! Owell I owned it and had a great time!
Too bad when we finally got there {I think we were the first one's there} I had to put on an under shirt because I was FREEZING! Who knew it would be sooooo cold in July!

Had a girls day with my friend Sherry in Saugatuck! Another cold and dreary July day! It sure hasn't been warm here this summer....but all I can do is make the best of it~


It's such a cute town on Lake Michigan! Very artsy and happy!
We had plenty of this...

and some of these...

Key Lime martinis....yum!! Ok they were kind of sweet for me but still tasty!
Ate lunch here!! So cute and the food was delicious!

There are all kind of potted flowers all over the town~ And I saw these cute adirondacks! The perfect shade of blue~I was a super fun day even if the weather didn't cooperate!

Had my summer party! All my girlfriends came! I am so lucky and feel so blessed to have such wonderful girlfriends! They rock~

Hey look here I am at my party sporting my Def Leppard shirt again!!

Someone really needs to take it away from me! I think I had a little too much fun at my party but hey....isn't that what a party's for?!?!?

I think you are all caught up now~
I am so happy to be back and can't wait to hear what's been going on with you for the past month!! Take care and i'll start up with my Fresh Friday's again next Friday!
Have a super happy and relaxed weekend!