it's gettin hot in here

i don't mind a little rain especially it if gets out of the way before Memorial Day weekend! have you seen the forecast! 88 degrees! i can't remember the time when we had a holiday weekend that nice!

this hot weather makes me really excited for celebrating the holiday weekend and for all of our vacationers and locals to come out and enjoy the day. i have to suggest that you start your saturday off with the farmers market and make your way down.

we have great new cottage and home furniture as well as awesome outdoor supplies. (i'm in love with a teal plant stand...and it's only $39)

come and visit us we will have goodies and coffee and we'd love to hang out!

xxoo Abby

cowgirl up

anyone who knows me is aware that once upon a time i was not domestic. at all. that is...until i met the pioneer woman (not in person just via internet)...(i'm not that lucky)

once i got married i started attempting her recipes one by one and fell in love with not only her food but her writing, her style, her life......sigh. if you haven't read her story it's a must read!

and if you haven't tried one of her recipes yet may i make a personal reccomendation and suggest the white chicken enchiladas? they are hands down one of my top 5 go-to recipes.

during one of my vintage exploring expaditions i guess i got a little inspired by the pioneer woman and her style of life. i found a small selection of vintage cowgirl boots and bags that are too cute to pass up!

yeeeeee haw!

mark your calendars!

many of you remember the tape over the windows back in march...we did that because we were busy bees remodeling the shop and adding our new friend Cotton Dress. since then we've wanted to have a grand re-opening but well it's been snowing.

the threat of snow is now gone and we are adding yet another component to FOUND but we are not ready to reveal that yet.

just know this...the event is going to take place June 17 from 5-8 at the shop.

here is a little hint...more details coming soon!

a woven bench...

retro cooler...

vintage glider...

a blanket a beach and a boyfriend

it's hard getting back into the routine of the week once you've disappeared for the weekend! we had a wonderful time at "couples retreat" (the second annual). we went wine and beer tasting, sight seeing, ate a ton and just had a silly time. its good to be with friends but it's better to laugh with them. the best feeling in the world is when you laugh until your stomach hurts. and yes, i do consider that a workout.

my friend carrie is a great photographer and owns her own photography business, check  it out!

here are some photos of our epic weekend!

fish town on the Leelanau penn. is a place that was a new adventure for me! it has remained (almost) un changed since the late 1800's! i must recommend the cheese shop here. yes...an entire shop dedicated to cheese. my hubby and i went here on Sunday alone and sat and watched the fish.

this is the entire gang! the boys all knew each other in high school and when we all got married we all just kind of meshed together. this is a photo of us in front of the inn. we were all asked about 13 times which one will have kids first...i have my money on a particular couple...

the boys were busy playing cards so us gal's had a little fun with the camera...strange.

a glass of yummy delicious sangria!

i'm a sucker for little amenities. my friend brooke was pretty geeked about the poo-pori. that is perfume you spray before using the restroom. yeah brooke!

we usually go out the first night (we went to Shorts) (i recommend the dips!) the second night we grill this year it was the yummiest steaks ever!

the gang all left on Sunday afternoon but joe and i decided to stay just one more night. we started off the morning at Good Harbor Coffee (best mocha EVER)

we then went wine tasting all over the Leelanau penn. together. the best part of wine tasting was we went to off the map tasting rooms and got to talk with the actual vineyard owners.

one of my favorite stops was Tandem Ciders. i'm not much of a cider drinker but this was amazing! the bottles too are so cute and vintage style fun. my fav was the smackintosh brew. sooo yummy i'm saving it for some friends.

The last winery we went to that day was joe's favorite Good Neighbor Organic Winery.  we sat and talked with the vineyard owner (who was quite the jokester). we talked about what led him to start a vineyard and what drove him to be organic. he was so fun to talk to that we just ended up....staying. you could actually taste a difference with organic wine. the flavor was so crisp. we ended up with a bottle of the apple crisp white. i love to cook so i like to find out what people pair their wines with. i asked the owner what he would pair the wine with. his response?

a blanket, a beach, and a boyfriend

i love people like that.

well back to the real world just thought i would share my staycation adventures with you!

xxoo abby

au revoir!

it's almost the weekend and i am about to go up north for a little r & r with 5 other couples to a bed and breakfast up near Torch Lake. this will be our second annual "couples retreat" and it has become an event that i look forward to almost as much as Christmas...almost.

each year we head up to Harvey's bed and breakfast and i'm not sure what is better the gorgeous rooms, the wine tasting, the scenery or Harvey's breakfast.

when i head up north i have a few must stop places

the first is always Chateau Chantal where i stock up on the Naughty Red and Malbac...you seriously need to try it.

once we make our way down the winding vineyards i like to stop downtown at Ella's. If you love vintage...you seriously need to stop into Ella's. it's a clever mix of vintage and new (Betsey Johnson, AG, Frye etc).

at the end of a long day one of my favorite places to grab dinner is at Stellas. this wonderful restaurant is a farm to table restaurant with everything made in house and from farm fresh only ingredients (so the menu is ever changing). i should mention that the farms are ALL local! i should also mention that it is located in an old mental institution :)

So now that i've laid my route out for you....what to pack?!? here is what you'll find in my suitcase.

my go to pair of AG Tomboy crops

my bright red pair of Hunter Boots (which i actually used for gardening last night!)

and my other essential a great party dress for going out for a nice dinner at night :)

what are your plans for the weekend?



xxoo abby

does it make you happy?

 i was headed to my favorite afternoon refuge in Saugatuck this past Sunday and i couldn't help but notice the yard of a home i passed along the way. much attention had been paid to the landscaping of this modest house. you could tell the person who owned it had taken great pride in the yard and put alot of thought into it. the only problem was the primary color used was blue. not a soft watery blue, or the soothing tones of  robins egg, but ELECTRIC blue! and i mean everywhere..on the rocks, the yard ornaments, even a strech of outdoor carpeting.
  so of course my first reaction was 'yikes!'. but then i started thinking about that as i continued on my way. i mean, this space was intentional, not accidental. and who was i to pass judgement on their taste. because i bet whoever lived in this house got great enjoyment from their yard everytime they looked at it..
 and then i started thinking about how often people bring things to us that they love, that has memories or meaning, a story behind it, and just needs a bit of an update to work it in to their current lifestyle. and thats what we enjoy the most about design - when someone comes to pick up a piece and the minute they see it their face lights up and it makes them, well, happy! and even though i admit i might recommend a little bit different color palette, if electric blue makes you happy then go for it!

Susan

the most beautiful people in the world

i like to consider myself a garment treasure hunter. i dig through some pretty icky places to find that piece of hidden treasure, but every now and then i get really lucky.

last week i was fortunate enough to meet a fellow former treasure hunter. i could tell the minute i stepped into her square 50's style home decked out in an eclectic mixture of primitive antiques, mid century pieces and colorful folk art wall pieces...she was my kind of collector. she collected whatever was beautiful.

before we even started talking shop i HAD to have a tour of her house which included a history of her pieces. her parents had been dealers so many of her pieces were family heirlooms.

i was quickly drawn to two pieces.

the first was her amazing, elegant and not to mention HUGE entry tree. it was this large deep colored wood mantle looking piece (but no fireplace). it reached all the way to her ceiling. from the top it had a large mirror that reached all the way to the desk piece in the middle. on each side there were 6 hat hooks (on which she had a vintage hat hanging on each one). then was a beautiful engraved desk piece with two oval shape holes on each side to hold your umbrellas with removable drip pans underneath to catch the water. along the bottom of the piece were several places to place your shoes. i was in love.

the second piece that i was drawn to was a large piece of folk art in her living room. it was a life size alligator head made out of what looked to be papier mache. it was huge and bright green it looked so odd yet still inviting.

after my grand tour and a yummy glass of sweet ice tea, she took me to the back of her house to talk shop...and i about fainted.

in front of me was the most beautiful vintage collection i have EVER seen. the colors, the cuts, the beads unbelievable. the best part? they are all sizes 4-12! yes that is right 4-12.

3 hours of digging and ooing and ahhing i was walking out with the entire collection. i couldn't leave anything behind it was too beautiful!

here are some of my fav's!

 30 dresses, 12 tops, 40 slips, and 2 pairs of shoes later her collection is almost ready to be put on the floor.

meeting people like this is some of the most rewarding parts of my job. she was so elegant, gracious and a true kindred spirit.

i can't wait to go visit her again because next time she is going to teach me to make bread!

come in and view the most beautiful things from one of the most beautiful people i've ever met (should be ready by Wednesday!)

xxoo Abby