Design Loves - Round Mirrors

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We've been talking a lot about books and travel on here lately, so as Monty Python would say - now for something completely different! We moved into our house over a year ago and I've been meaning to buy a mirror to put over my dresser. I still haven't gotten around to it, which means I have to walk into the bathroom whenever I need to put on my makeup or check if I have food stuck in my teeth. (Insert sarcastic "oh no, what a nightmare!") It's not a big deal except when my husband is using the bathroom and then...well I'd rather not. So I really would like to get a mirror. I've held off buying one partly because of laziness and partly because I just didn't know what I wanted. However, I'm sort of in love with these round mirrors. Slightly retro, slightly modern, and super simple. I think I might be on the lookout for one of these in the future.

Guide to Door County, WI - Sister Bay

Door County, WI is one of my favorite places. The lakeside towns, marinas, independent shops and restaurants make for some happy memories. I've been going up there during the summers for as long as I can remember and after visiting it again last week I wanted to share some of my favorite places. There are tons of other shops and restaurants in Door County and there's no way I could name them all, but here are some of the places that I've discovered and loved over the years. I'll be covering the 4 largest towns - Sister Bay, Ephraim, Fish Creek, and Egg Harbor, though there are many more towns and villages to explore. First on our list - Sister Bay!

Eat:
1. Al Johnsons - See the goats on the roof and eat a Swedish breakfast. Did I mention real goats? On the roof! It's a bit touristy and there's usually a wait, but it's a classic breakfast spot.

2. Husbys - great for pub grub and pizzas. Relaxed semi-tavern atmosphere but kid friendly. There's darts and game and a huge bar room with tvs if you want to watch the game.

3. Chop - Newer restaurant in Sister Bay, but great steaks and seafood.

4. Door County Creamery - This is possibly my most favorite place in the entire Door County peninsula. Dairy goat farmers opened up a little shop and offer lunch food, wine, and all the amazing goat cheese you could ever want. Even if you don't like goat cheese, they have one you'll like. Also fairly new to Sister Bay and definitely worth going to see.

5. Door County Ice Cream Factory - For dessert, ice cream is king! Eat it and be happy. If you want more than ice cream, they also offer sandwiches and pizza.

Drink:
1. The Garage @ Husbys - Husby's chill outdoor patio. They offer drinks, appetizers, and live local music. Pretty much the perfect place to spend the evening relaxing outside under the bistro lights listening to music with a drink.

2. Bier Zot - Even though I harbor some resentment toward them for knocking down my favorite brunch restaurant ever and building this instead (goodbye Sister Bay Cafe, you will be missed!), I have to admit this is a fun place to grab a beer. It's right next to the beach and the marina and has a pretty great selection of beers. My husband was a big fan of this place. You can sit on the patio which is right on the main street and people watch to your heart's content.

3. Door County Creamery - Yes, this place again. They offer wines by the bottle and by the glass. You can even buy some cheese, a bottle of wine, and walk like 3 blocks to the beach to enjoy the sunset. Wine. Cheese. Yum.

4. JJs and La Puerta - Technically this is a restaurant, but it didn't make my Eat list because I don't love their food. The rest of my family, however, will tell you that I'm crazy and they make it a point to eat here every single time they go up to Door County. So to each their own, but this is MY list! But don't worry, JJ's opened up a patio that overlooks the marina and now you can sit and drink margaritas and eat chips and salsa while watching the boats go by, so they are ok with me!

Do:
1. Sister Bay Marina - I'm a big fan of walking around the marina and looking at the boats, but you can also rent all sorts and go out on the lake. (FYI Sister Bay faces Green Bay, not Lake Michigan so the waters are calmer and not as dangerous for beginners.) The marina also faces west and has some of the most spectacular sunsets in all of Wisconsin.

2. Pirates Cove and Johnson's Park - Play some mini golf at Pirates Cove or Johnson's Park. The later also has go karts, which is always a fun time. Again, great activities for date nights or family nights.

3. Go antique shopping, or shopping in general. There are so many cute little independent shops and antique stores all up and down the peninsula. I have a few favorites in other towns that I'll mention during their guide, but you really can't go wrong with picking a store and checking it out.

4. Door County Confectionary - If there is only one thing you do in Door County, please taste the fudge from the Door County Confectionary. It's incredible. There's one of these in each of the larger main towns so you can't miss it!

5. Door County Creamery - Haha one more time! (Can you tell this is one of my favorite places?) Sample wine and goat cheese pairings. That photo above is from this place. Goat cheese, wine, and bread drizzled with some sort of chili flavored olive oil which somehow went perfectly with the creamy goat cheese. I was dying from all the delicious flavors in my mouth. Also, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I just cannot stop talking about them! They should hire me to advertise for them. They could pay me in cheese. That would be my dream! They also have cute goats in front of their shop! This one wanted nothing to do with me though.

So there are some of my favorite places in Sister Bay, WI. I'm not affiliated with any of these places, I've just been going up to Door County for over 20 years and wanted to share some of my personal favorite old and new places. Do you have a favorite place in Sister Bay that you think I missed? Let me know!

Coming Up: Ephraim, Fish Creek, and Egg Harbor

We Come from the Land of Ice and Snow

Aren't vacations just the best? I wish we could have stayed longer in Wisconsin and seen more of our friends and family. A few more days to relax in Door County wouldn't have hurt either.  

Regarding the title of this post, I think it's a Led Zeppelin song lyric? But all I can think of is that viking kitten youtube video. Either way, Wisconsin is definitely a land of ice and snow in winter, but summer is absolutely amazing. 

We spent our time visiting in the Milwaukee area then escaping up north for a few days. I found my old bike from when I was oh about 12. I think that's the last time I rode it too, hence my slightly terrified and hysteric face in the photo. They say it all comes back right? Luckily it did and we rode bikes into the little town of Sister Bay. Sadly, some of my favorite places were no longer there (goodbye Sister Bay Cafe! You will be greatly missed!) but we did find a few new favorites. I also read Harry Potter by the pool. It was glorious. (Book 3 if you want to know, one of my favorites.) We explored lighthouses and went to Peninsula State Park for some hiking. We watched the sun set over the harbor and stuff ourselves with amazing food. Then it was back to Milwaukee for more catching up with friends and back to Phoenix way too quickly. Not sure the next time I'll be back, but I'll sure miss it. 

Also, can we just talk about this picture for a moment? This was at the magazine stand at the grocery store. How much more Wisconsin can you get? Stay awesome, WI. And full of cheese. Definitely stay full of cheese because I will be back. 

Also, is "culture, the word on cheese" a national magazine or this this just a Wisconsin thing?? I must know! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a cat video to look up on youtube. 

Desert to Farmland

I hope everyone had a fantastic week and weekend. Kacey and I were up in Wisconsin visiting my family and taking a few days to rest and revive in Door County. I've been working through a guide to Door County in my head for the past year and I was finally able to get back up there and take some photos/check on all my favorite places. So expect that in a few weeks!

This last week was great. We saw some old friends, relaxed by the lake, saw some glorious sunsets, and ate a ton of food. Why can't vacations be longer?

Book Review: Money Advice Round Up

I've been on a bit of a finance kick lately. I think it finally struck me that I'm almost 30 (ok, a year and a half to go, but still) and I have no idea if my finances are where they're supposed to be. I know that everyone's situation is different, but I figured I might as well smarten myself up a bit and see if I'm on the right path.

That being said, finance and finance books make me want to take a nap. I minored in business in college, and I still have no idea how I got through those classes because I didn't know what was going on half the time. So I've collected some books that are easy to understand, hilarious, or short to make the process easier.

I Will Teach You to be Rich - by Ramit Sethi
If you only ever read one finance related book, read this one. It's written for 20 and 30 year olds and is freaking hysterical. Better yet, listen to it as an audiobook. I got a copy from my library, and the audiobook is narrated by Ramit himself. I don't even know how to describe this book. It's brilliant, full of common sense that no one seems to listen to on their own, and he talks about punching stupid people in the face. He's like the male, Indian, more financially savvy version of myself, and it's phenomenal. He tells you exactly what you should do with your money, and none of this full budgeting or Starbucks deprivation. It's not so much teaching you to be rich as it is teaching good money management. And while this book is a few years old, the basics still apply today.

The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read - by Daniel R. Solin
Short, sweet, to the point. I know nothing about investing. This book teaches a tiny bit about investing. My favorite part about the book (one that I wish more books did) was the fact the author actually said go ahead and skip the next 5 chapters if you want to get to the good stuff. That's the kind of book I like,  one that tells you to skip the fluff and get right to the point.

The Richest Man in Babylon - by George S. Clason
I listened to this book on my commute and this is another one I would recommend as an audiobook. It gives financial advice in the form of tales from Babylon and ancient civilizations. Good advice on saving is still relevant, but I'm not sure if I would have been as interested in this book if I had been reading it. It was entertaining, but if I had to pick one book to read it would be I Will Teach You to be Rich.

The Millionaire Next Door - by Thomas J. Stanley
This was my least favorite of all the books. It just wasn't what I expected. It has very interesting information on the affluent in the country, they're not what you'd expect. While the information was interesting, the book was largely a collection of research data. While I didn't find it that helpful, my dad is a huge fan of this book. So to each their own.

So if you're looking to start reading some easy to understand financial books, hopefully this will help!

Literary Inspirations - BSC - Kristy's Great Idea - Stacey

"Stacy had on a pink sweatshirt with sequins and a large purple parrot on the front; short, tight-fitting jeans with zippers up the outsides of the legs; and pink plastic shoes."

Some things are so 80s that they should just be left there. Like a pink sweatshirt with sequins and purple parrots. And Stacey's supposed to be the grown up, boy crazy one.  Also, pink plastic shoes. Like jelly shoes? Because crocs weren't around back then and I'm blanking on what else that could mean.

Stacey was always way above me in coolness factors as a kid. I never wanted to be her because I couldn't identify with her, although I always thought she had some of the best clothes (after Claudia of course). However, I liked that she had diabetes (as weird as that sounds) because my aunt has it and it was something I could understand as a child. The boy crazy thing, not so much. I never could understand how Kristy's brother Sam, a freshman, was so into a seventh grader. But hey, Stacey was grown up. I'm pretty sure I was still playing with rocks in seventh grade.