Michigan Summer

We have been to Michigan now many times but never in the summer. Out friends who have a home in Leland that we stay at usually are there the whole summer but this year, they were having a baby and decided to stay in Ohio. SO we got to go and it was truly a treasured time. Michigan has proven to be eventful and beautiful no matter the time of year but since it stay colder than Ohio this was our first experience getting to swim in the lake and not be freezing. I’ve said t before and I’ll say it a again- Northern Michigan is where its at.

Northern Michigan | Lake Leelanau | Oct 2020

If you follow along you’ll know we made our way up to northern michigan back in the spring and it was an easy get away during the hype of COVID. We didn’t plan on going back up for a second time but I had an old co-worker friend ask me to photograph her wedding in East Jordan, MI which is about 1.5 hours away from our retreat house on Lake Michigan/Lake Leelanau area. I reached out to the owner of the home and checked if it was open and it was! So we made repeat plans to head north as a family and asked a couple friends and their families to join us this time. We had never come up in the fall and I think we got it at the right time fortunately. It was cool but just enough to need a light jacket or cardigan. One our friends even jumped in the lake.. a few times. The kids were able to enjoy the beach area each day and by the end were always wiped out. I had to use one of our days to go meet the bride and see the venue so I took along all the moms and we made a small day of it. We stopped at The Farm Club for a mid day snack/drink and enjoyed the scene (without kids for a couple hours). We hiked The Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes for the first time and we stayed up late enjoying whiskey smashes, thanks Noah, played cards, ventured out for a meal at the Hop Lot Brewing Co and used the homes paddle boards for some Lake Michigan time. Michigan has proven to be the best escape and we have big dreams to someday have a getaway up there, only time will tell but for now, we are so grateful for our friends big hearts to share their home and allow us to get away.

Lake Michigan | 2020

In a surprisingly good turn of events amidst these stay home/quarantine times during covid-19, Ryan and myself found we had a long weekend off together after his scheduled drill weekend was canceled. Originally, we had plans to go stay at my favorite interior designer/nursing school bestie’s lake house in Michigan a few weeks ago and had to cancel due to Michigans strict rules of no travel at the time. Now with this new time off together, I checked with her if the lake house was open; AND IT WAS, cue the happy dance. With Michigan lifting their strict travel ban, we headed north to go spend some quality isolation/stay home time but with a change of scenery…(one with a view). Brittanys lake house sits right on Lake Michigan in an area called Lake Leelanau on Michigans famous Highway 22. We really enjoyed lounging around and cozying up by the wood burning fire while also supporting locally and ordering some of the areas best take out food. For two days in a row we went about 30 minutes north just past Northport and hiked a really easy 1 mile hike to the shoreline to go play on the sand dunes. The first day was pretty foggy with little visibility and the next day was bright sun, which made for two completely different experiences despite “doing” the same thing. We are home now and so glad we took the leap to take the long drive north.

We can’t express how thankful we are to have had the opportunity to get away while still feeling safely socially distanced. If the house catches your attention, check out Brittanys interior design services over at Will+Blu, she has always been my go to inspiration on styling my home and can’t recommend her enough.

Lake Leelanau, Michigan | 2019

In April we got away with our besties, The Britts, for a long weekend to northern Michigan to a friends lake house. Its located in Lake Leelanau area and couldn’t be a prettier setting. Michigan really is a beautiful escape with all kinds of beautiful little lake towns along the shore. We explored some neighboring towns, wineries and relaxed at home with the kiddos. To end the trip we did a gender revealing for baby baker #3.