Daycation

A last hurrah before school starts in earnest.  I decided to take a little daycation road trip an hour up north and do a little recreational shopping.  First stop was Great Lakes Crossing.  I had a $5 coupon from Eddie Bauer and I always enjoy the challenge of seeing what I can get for really cheap.  Found these two blouses on the $4.99 rack - originally $59 dollars (although we all know those prices at outlets can be pretty inflated).  I discovered that Eddie Bauer gives a 10% discount with teacher ID - never knew that, weeping at all the $$ I could have saved over the years!  With my discount and coupon, these 2 items cost under five dollars.  SCORE!

Then headed up to Clarkston.  I have always wanted to try out the Clarkston Union restaurant that I have heard so much about.  An old church repurposed into a cool restaurant.

I just grabbed a quick sandwich while sitting at the bar.  Got a pecan cherry sausage smothered with mushrooms and onions.  That sausage slid right off the bun after one bite - had to resort to cutting it up in pieces to eat!  The grilled onions underneath were pretty good, too.  Next time, though, going for their famous mac and cheese!

I stopped at the gift shop next store and grabbed a couple cupcakes for to take home for dessert.  I seriously think these are the best cupcakes ever!  I am a frosting freak and these had a mound of buttery frosting.  I tried the raspberry one that had a great raspberry filling and a blueberry one with an almond cream frosting.  I would make the trip again just to get these cupcakes! 

Then on to downtown Holly.  I don't think I have been there in many years and had forgotten how cute it is.  There are several really interesting gift shops on the main street.  My favorite was called Pigeon in the Parlour - just loved how all the items were displayed!

I did some antiquing - there are several great stores to explore. 

I always love Battle Alley Arcade Antiques - it is divided into cute little rooms that are fun to wander through.   

I bought a few vintage hankies and 2 wire locker baskets that I plan to use for storage.  I'd been looking for wire baskets for a while - really liked the number tags and the diamond pattern that the wires make.

Things I bought at IKEA that I really Didn't Need

I know you've done it too, so don't judge me!

Blue and white dishes - to add to my collection, can't resist any blue and white dish!

During the summer, I plan one trip to Ikea just for fun.  Usually I have a list of things I am looking for, but typically end up with things that are completely different, just because they are cute and such good prices.  I try to go right at 10 am when they open - great parking, no crowds, and this time no line to check out!

White enamel colander - only $9.99, will use for fruit.

Cobalt blue serving bowls - $1.99, will go great with blue and white dishes!

Small Ribba frames with mats, price recently reduced to $1.99.  Have a clever project in mind for this!

Scented candles in glass holders - only $1.99!

Actually bought some of these lacy metal candle holders last spring, but picked up a couple more for outside because they make such a great light pattern in the dark!

Cute pillow, but really doesn't match the couch, might return.

These stencil stickers because....

I want to do this to an old dresser!

I've been trying to find a new bolster pillow for months.  This is a new addition at Ikea - think I bling it up a bit with some vintage fabric!

I didn't find the kind of shelves that I was looking for, but just had fun looking around.

Rome Day 2 - the Vatican

For our second day in Rome, we spent a large part of the day exploring the Vatican.  It took us about 20 minutes to walk there from our hotel.  We crossed over the beautiful Pont Sant'Angelo by the Castel Sant' Angelo Fortress and then cut over to St. Peter's Square.  The square was relatively empty when we arrived at 9 am.  Nice time to take a few photos.

I had been in Rome many years ago during a day time layover on the way to a mission trip in India.  We had a bus tour and saw all the major sites and actually had some time to walk around the Vatican and St. Peters.  It was a Sunday and we saw the Pope addressing the crowd.  But since it was a Sunday, the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel were closed.  I always hoped I would return to Rome (and yes, I threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain!) so that I could see the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.  So that was the priority of this day.  We had booked tickets online to visit the museum a couple of weeks ahead of time.  It costs a bit extra, but it is worth it to be able to bypass the LONG line waiting to get in the museum and walk right in!

The Vatican Museum is jaw dropping beautiful. Ceilings are painted, floors are tiled with gorgeous patterns, and the walls are covered with amazing art.  We wandered through the various galleries - above is a room in the Pinacoteca filled with rich tapestries and Raphael's Transfiguration.

There were rooms and rooms filled with gleaming white statues.  Small heads, large heads, full bodies, giant bodies, groups of bodies, animals, animals eating animals...... unbelievable!  I tried to get some shots that captured the natural light on the statues.

My favorite room was the Map Room.  The long walls were covered with ornate maps of Italy and the ceiling was lush and golden.  This picture doesn't do it justice!

This is the closest picture I could get to the Sistine Chapel.  No photos allowed - however that didn't stop many people.  It actually is quite a circus when you go into the chapel - it is totally packed with people straining their heads upward.  Guards are constantly trying to shush the crowd and yelling out to stop taking pictures.  Despite all that, I was very moved by the chapel - it was amazing to look up and see that iconic painting of God's hand touching Adam's hand.

When we finished in the Sistine Chapel - we cut out a side door meant for tour groups which saved us a long trek back through the museum to get into St. Peters Cathedral.

The first thing that hit me as we entered St. Peter's was the dome with this beam of light shining through.

Benini's ornate main altar over Peter's tomb.

We took the elevator up to the dome level - here is the view looking down...

.... and looking up to Michelangelo's dome.

Close up of the mosaics - I was surprised that the walls are mosaic, not paintings!

Then up on the roof - looking out at the city.

This is the view of the dome from the rooftop terrace.  At this point it was mid - afternoon and it was VERT hot up here on the roof!

It was a wonderful day - so grateful that I was able to visit the museum and have the opportunity to spend more time exploring St. Peters.  

I have many more photos of Rome posted here in Flickr.

Rust Belt Market - Ferndale

If you are looking for someplace new to explore over the weekend, why not check out the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale - an artist market with a fun and funky vibe. This wide open space with high ceilings is filled with an assortment of vendors selling vintage clothes and collectables, jewelry, artwork, handcrafted items, and even food and beverages.



Each booth has unique displays and in most cases the artist or vendor is sitting at the booth. It was really fun to wander around - there was music and even entertainment (tap dancing) while I visited.

Lots of cool vintage clothes - who knew that some tie dye could make old slips and camisoles look so cool?

This booth had these great signs made from cut up license plates.

My favorite booth had some really neat jewelry made with vintage items. Unfortunately, the vendor did not want pictures taken. Too bad, I'm sure everyone would want to check out her stuff when they saw it. (I think she thought I was trying to steal her design ideas, I wasn't, I just liked her stuff, oh well.)

The Rust Belt Market is located in Ferndale on the corner of Nine Mile and Woodward in the former Old Navy store. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 - 7.

Microplane Herb Mill

This has been my favorite cooking toy this summer. My friend Jenni gave me this cool Microplane Herb Mill as a gift last Christmas. Since I grow so many fresh herbs, I really have enjoyed using it to get perfect finely chopped herbs.

Simply stuff in some fresh herbs and put in the plunger and twist!

These are the little blades at the bottom. The only tricky part is when you take it apart to wash it you need to pay attention to how to layer the blades to put it back together.

And these are the chopped herbs! Nice, huh? It has worked great with parsley, rosemary, basil, and cilantro. Simple, easy, quick!

KrisTea's - Berkley

It's been fun to see a bunch of new shops and bakeries pop up along Coolidge in Berkley recently. Over the weekend I stopped in at KrisTea's, a darling little place just north of Catalpa.


When I walked in, I was offered some tea, either hot or iced. I tried a wonderful iced peach tea. They also serve you a scone and they even have clotted cream to put on top of it. The scone was wonderful - it was made from a mix (which they sell in different flavors) but it tasted homemade. I definitely would buy this sometime when I need to make a fast and easy treat.


I love Harney Tea and they have an entire wall of both lose and bag teas. I had a discount coupon that I found in one of the discount mailers and I purchased their tropical green tea.


The store has a mix of both new and vintage items. Lots of teapots and tea cups! But I was delighted to find other kinds vintage goodies - all the kinds of things I love! The owner said indicated the shop was an outgrowth of her collection over the years.

There was an entire closet of vintage linens - tablecloths, chenille bedspreads, towels, and more.

Hats in sherbet colors

Vintage dresses dripping with white lace

An old shutter to display vintage jewelry

Loved this display of gloves hanging from the ceiling like a curtain!

If you are a tea lover or enjoy vintage goods, stop in at KrisTea's and enjoy some tea and scones while you browse the shop!