what i did on my summer vacation, part one

for a few weeks each summer, i spend time in northern michigan. it's been a family tradition spanning five generations, and it's part of most of my favorite memories. to make up for the drought in blog posts for this month, this is the first of several recaps of this year's vacation up at the lake.

What I did on my summer vacation: I painted!

This should be a surprise to no one...I will slowly be updating the Mirthmarket with this assortment of rings. (Except for two, because I let my awesome niece Gretchen choose a few to take home):













I am experimenting with the stone background on some of these listings. The lighting was too good not to try it.

Another project was something I'd been thinking about for a few years. One of the most vibrant, fun, and tasty restaurants I know of is the Roast and Toast in Petoskey (I adore Petoskey, Michigan. I really do). The Roast and Toast has really awesome food - especially the Lake Street Salad and the Triple Berry Bar. Also, they have about any special coffee or soda concoction you can imagine. And, they have a magnet wall, which often features a collection of little poetry word magnets. I really like those...but they aren't very colorful. So, as a gift to this lovely establishment, I painted a little set of wooden word magnets, and left them on the board before dining on a delicious Garden Turkey sandwich. Awesome niece Gretchen is posing in front of the wall in the photo below.













Magnet close-ups:
























Before I finish for tonight, it must be noted that no trip to Petoskey is complete without American Spoon sorbetto. This year I amended my usual Blood Orange/Lemon treat with some Red Raspberry.


















So good I cannot describe it.