My Plans for an EPIC Driftwood Sculpture + Other Creative Driftwood Decor Ideas

One of my goals in life is to make a massive driftwood sculpture, inspired by the talented Heather Jansch.  Her driftwood sculptures are so captivating, I can't stop thinking about them: 

Photo Via

Instead of a horse though, I'd like to erect a massive Komondor sculpture in my backyard, inspired by this sculpture of a Puli in Hungary:

 

(As an aside, how amazing is it that there is a sculpture park in Budapest celebrating the nation's dog breeds?  I've never been more proud to be Hungarian!) 

Instead of lumber painted black, I plan on using driftwood, which I think mimics the cords of the typical Komondor so perfectly.  So my newest hobby is collecting driftwood.  A LOT of it...

Earlier this year I refrained from collecting driftwood because, for awhile anyway, it was protecting our eroding shoreline, but then one day it disappeared.  That's the nature of driftwood I guess, it drifted away...right toward our neighbor, who burned it all in a massive bonfire.  Dude, you had enough for two horses, where are your priorities?  I started collecting it late in the season and soon the lake will freeze, so this is definitely long term project.  But I have still been dipping my hands into icy water to add to my growing pile.

Meanwhile, I've been collecting beachy ideas for driftwood decor that don't require quite the epic haul - plus some pretty pieces to just buy (because sometimes that's just more fun).  ALL of these ideas and DIY tutorials are much easier than my DIY idea (I honestly have no idea how the heck to make a massive Komondor sculpture, but that's a problem for Future-Me to sort out).

Here Are My Favorite Driftwood Decor Pieces:  

This dreamy driftwood and clay spoon is handmade by Fall for DIY and I'm obsessed with it's earthy, natural look.  Plus it looks so easy to make!

This Etsy shop makes the most gorgeous driftwood pieces, like this mirror and coffee table (which is seriously inspiring some ideas of my own):

I actually spotted a driftwood mirror at the IDS back in 2012, not realizing that I would ever find my dream home on Lake Superior and develop a craving for all things beachy.  Tutorials abound on how to make these but I don't think it's too complicated (famous last words). 

A little chalk paint in some watery hues really complements this easy peasy driftwood art so beautifully.  I love the scale of this piece (from Sustain my Craft Habit). 

This driftwood wreath is another cool take on beachy, driftwood art.

I love this driftwood table lamp because it has such graceful lines.  A knock off could easily be made by hacking a really simple, inexpensive lamp by affixing some driftwood pieces...



A few years ago, Sarah M. Dorsey knocked out two AMAZING DIY driftwood tables: this Target hack and also this herringbone coffee table.  It is absolutely dizzying how much work went into making these two table - you have to click over and take a peek!

If DIY isn't your jam - or you just don't have access to driftwood - this driftwood and brass jewelry stand (available through Etsy) is a great way to bring that beachy feel inside.

If my sculpture doesn't pan out, maybe furniture would be fun!  I am so inspired by these massive, organic hunks of driftwood turned into furniture - like this glass topped coffee table or this glass topped driftwood table:

Because I first planned a horse, I hauled out a few large, curved root pieces but with my sculpture plans changed, I love the idea of making a driftwood table with glass top with those random pieces.  If I changed the top to something less breakable, it could be an outdoor table instead.

Big Fab Designs, an Etsy shop, makes such stunning wall art made from wood, including beautiful driftwood.  The weathered wood with the vibrant hues is such a striking contrast!

These DIY driftwood boats from Alisa Burke are so pretty - I love the swirly blue sails and it looks like such a fun and easy craft project, I think kids would love making these.

There are so many beautiful ideas for using driftwood, but these are my favorites right now!

I've never really gone too "coastal" with my decor, staying away from anchors and seahorses and opting for a watery color palette, a mix of wood tones with some driftwood greys and creamy whites, and beach glass inspired finishes here and there, but I do find myself pinning more and more modern coastal spaces these days.  If I have any driftwood left from my sculpture, I might just make a pretty mirror or wall hanging - it would look really perfect in the fish room.

P.S. If you're planning on making a little driftwood craft - or tackling a massive project - check out this post on how to clean and sanitize driftwood. 

Our Stand Up Paddle Board Adventures on Lake Superior

For various reasons (both fun and decidedly un-fun), we decided not to launch our sailboat this year.  I was definitely disappointed about that, especially because I just love being out on the lake.  But after realizing last year just how much work owning a sailboat is, a little part of me was looking on the bright side and relishing the idea of a lazy summer just relaxing and exploring the bay with our canoe.  But when we flipped our canoe over for the first paddle of the season, we realized that bees had moved into one end of it, safely hidden behind riveted panels we cannot remove.

How does one deal with bees in a canoe? 

Drive into town and buy two stand up paddle boards!
 
Our interest in stand up paddle boards had already been piqued because friends of ours had them and were eager to go paddling on our bay of Lake Superior.  A canoe full of bees was the motivation we needed to get boards of our own, so we spent an afternoon checking out the local sporting goods stores and found the perfect stand up paddle boards, made right here in Ontario.
 
Learning to Stand Up Paddle Board

Learning to stand up paddle board was super embarrassing.  We didn't watch a single YouTube video or anything - we just pushed them out into the water and hopped on.  Hubby took to it much more quickly than I did, but we were both wibbly wobbly enough for a neighbor to comment: "not as easy as it looks," when she saw us the next day.  I think this implies that we were terrible at it and the whole bay was watching us.  In my defense, I have not fallen off - not once - but I did spend a lot of time shrieking, "I'm going to FALL" in the beginning.  I wasn't prepared for how high I would feel: because the water is so clear most days, when I can see right down to the bottom it was surprisingly trippy at first.  Plus any little ripple in the water felt like it would send me ass over tea kettle.

But I got used to it!

   
We were both off work for all of August so we went out almost every day and now I feel so much more confident paddle boarding.  I started by kneeling and then once I got a feel for it, I would stand up only when the wind was calm.  Eventually I found it less nerve wracking to stand where the water was deep because I was convinced that if I fell I'd crack my head open where it was shallow.  Probably an irrational fear, but paddling in deeper water ultimately helped me feel more at ease - even though it weirded me out at first.

Although we still definitely prefer calm days, we have also been out on crazy wavy days and I'm starting to love the feeling of getting tossed around.  I still cannot fathom how people actually surf because on even slightly wavy days here I feel like an extreme sports enthusiast - even though we stick to our extremely sheltered bay. 

On the day of the solar eclipse, though, the bay was dead calm so we actually paddled right out into the open water, which was such a cool experience.  We'd actually never been that far away from our bay because it's usually prohibitively choppy, so it was so exhilarating.  Although I felt very exposed being on this tiny little board in open water, it was also so peaceful.  Until I got distracted by the rocks.  I didn't realize that beneath the water out there are these massive boulders - the size of cars, polished so smooth into giant eggs.  I was really expecting a more sandy bottom, like in the middle of the bay, so I guess that's why I'm super fascinated by this discovery.  I also didn't realize how much random stuff is in the water, which is also super distracting because part of me hopes I'll find a chest of gold.

So far, no gold - just a lot of tires.  

Choosing the Right Stand Up Paddle Board

Choosing a paddle board was stressful because they're so pricey and every salesperson kept pushing the inflatable models.  We didn't really need the portability or small storage size of an inflatable board, although I did come very close to ordering this turquoise one from Amazon because of the color (of course) but also the great reviews and price - especially considering that it comes with an adjustable paddle and coil leash (even the paddle is aqua, I'm drooling).  Living right on the lake, we don't plan to bring ours anywhere so we liked the convenience of a rigid board - plus no possibility of leaks!  After spending days playing, "where is the air leaking from?" with the old inflatable Zodiac we use for our tender, neither of us were super excited about the inflatable paddle boards.  Once we started shopping though, we were blown away by some of the prices of the rigid fiberglass boards. 

We hadn't really planned to spend thousands of dollars per board but it really seemed that it was either that or a $500 plastic one from Canadian Tire that got ho-hum reviews online.  When a salesperson let it slip that the fiberglass ones are actually really delicate and they can't be dragged over rocks or anything rough, it seemed like we might not get paddle boards after all.  Luckily we stumbled across the perfect one at a local place (Chaltrek for my Thunder Bay friends - they rent them too).  The Inukshuk (by Clear Water Designs) is linear polyethylene with molded fins and it's durable as heck, which is perfect for our rocky shore.  Plus it has a deck bungie and a paddle holder, which is really convenient. 

The $799 price tag was a bit pricier than the Pelican ones from Canadian Tire, but our friend bought one of those and after we compared the two, we found ours was much more stable, plus the Pelican board weight rating didn't seem accurate because it seemed to really sink.  Plus I could get blue with the Inukshuk!

Do you like my t-shirt?  I know that the SUP lifestyle demands a slim blond gal in a skimpy bikini for photos but this is my paddle boarding tee - it has sharks on it :)



Hubby picked out a black and white board.  I quite obviously picked out his turquoise swim trunks.

Like so many hobbies, the cost of this one definitely added up pretty quickly.   

 
In addition to two boards, we also each bought a coil leash (a must-have) and an adjustable paddle (If I had money to burn, I'd totally splurge on this turquoise one).  I liked the adjustable style because when I was first learning if it got really wavy I'd kneel for stability and the adjustable paddle was great for that, plus it's perfect for sharing my SUP with friends and family when they come to the lake to play.  I almost always stand to paddle but a friend of ours only kneels and she uses a kayak paddle, which actually would be really nice on choppier days, so I am currently shopping for a small one (this one's cute!) to keep clipped to my board. 
 We both already had a life jacket but I'm thinking of buying a newer style that's meant for SUP and offers a better range of motion.  We both have one of these self-inflatable ones on the boat but I keep an older style from our early days of sailing at home and that's what I've been using for now.  For the last bit of "gear," they don't look very cool, but we found that these cheap water shoes from Walmart (wish I'd seen these aqua ones) are the comfiest option because they can get wet and still offer good traction - flip flops are terrible for paddle boarding and bare feet feels weird for me, especially when we hop on and off on our pebbly shore. 
 

In the end, I'm grateful for those bees moving into our canoe because we've been having SO much fun with our stand up paddle boards.  Now that we have the hang of it, it's really enjoyable and I love that there's no set up required: we just grab our boards and head down to the water and hop on.  It's such a great workout and such a beautiful new perspective of the lake.  My only complaint is that summer is ending soon and now I have one more reason to miss the warmer weather...

Nobody talk about fall!

Instead, tell me: have you tried stand up paddle boarding?          

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Lake Life Lately: Volunteer Fire Fighting

So...I have kind of crazy news:  Hubby and I finally joined the volunteer fire department in our municipality!  We'd been meaning to do this since moving to the lakehouse three years ago but, for some reason or another, we always moved it to the back burner.  We had tons of super good excuses: it was too cold, we weren't in shape, we were too busy, we were too content not being busy...

Finally, we just did it! We actually joined the fire department and the first response team so we'll be called for anything from motor accidents to house fires.  There's extensive training before we can actually become full fledged fire fighters (years) so picture me doing a lot of grunt work for the immediate future.  There is - unsurprisingly - a lot of work involved, including weekly training sessions and then extra training sessions that range from cleaning the fire hall to extracting people from vehicles (scary).  Because Hubby and I work weird shifts we're an excellent asset because we can take calls on 2pm on a Wednesday, when others are working their more typical 9-5 shifts, but it also means we'll miss a lot of training so it might take even longer for us to get fully trained.  My dreams of driving a big ass fire truck are still out of reach!  But I'm really thrilled to be able to give back to my small community in this way.



I'll admit I'm a little terrified, not only because of the fires I'll need to run toward instead of away from, but also of responding to a call where the situation might be a little gruesome.  I have always thought that I not good with blood, but after our tiler cut himself on a chop saw and I needed to drive him to emergency, I realized that I can overcome my natural inclination to toss my cookies at the sight of severed flesh when it's an emergency.  I can be cool and calm (and bomb down country roads like a bat out of hell) when I need to.

So I got this.

I think.

I can't share photos of any fires or other encounters to ensure the privacy of those impacted, so I likely won't be able to share too much of this part of my life but hopefully I can share some fun updates about training.  You'll at least have to see a photo of me all suited up once I finally get some gear.  Right now it's just very uncool coveralls and boots.  But for sure I'll look awesome, like I always do in safety gear (lol)!

We attended our first after math of a house fire recently and helped document the damage (yikes!).  It was heartbreaking walking through the burned out house and seeing the damage, but the person in question managed to get out okay, which was a relief. 

Our first act of duty: washing and manhandling the massive hoses.  See?  Grunt work for the newbies! 

And it was immediately apparent that I am going to have to start lifting weights.  Being out of shape was, in actuality, a pretty darn good reason for not joining, haha, but now I have the motivation to remedy that.  Any time I struggle with lifting something and want to call on Hubby for help, I start to chant "FIRE HOSE, FIRE HOSE" to pump myself up.  

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A Cute, Blue Utility Trailer Makeover

This is the kind of DIY project where you see how much of a country mouse I've become... 

Spring has sprung - the first shipping vessel came to my city recently and the captain reported that there's barely any ice on Lake Superior, which is totally unbelievable.  The shipping season has opened earlier as a result and with surprisingly balmy temperatures, that familiar smell of spring (damp leaves and dog poop) is in the air already!

I'm excited.

It means we can get the boat out on the lake earlier, which means I can actually share more photos and (finally!) some aerial videos with our drone (last year we launched too late in the season because of repairs).  An early spring also means we can start tackling yard work pretty soon too - we just need those last few heaps of snow to melt, but I'm already seeing tons of grass!  To help move our yard work along, we bought a little utility trailer from Kijiji to use with our riding lawn mower to haul stuff around the property.  Wheelbarrows are for chumps.  These mini trailers are normally hundreds of bucks (this one is the most similar to our dump cart) but we got this for $80. 

It was a little rusty and beat up, though, but functioned perfectly.  Hubby asked me to paint it, but I was super busy with other projects and work, so he dangled this carrot: "you can paint in turquoise".

Sold.

I had a case of Rust-Oleum Harbor Blue in my spray paint stash and, after prepping the wagon (thorough wash, light sand), I blasted it with multiple thin, light coats - even the wheels!  Now I'm eyeing up our ugly old riding lawnmower too...

Between this trailer, our turquoise front door, and the turquoise guesthouse trim and door, I'm easing the neighbors into the day I decided to paint our entire garage bright turquoise with a huge, Instagram-worthy mural on the garage door.  #notkidding

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Lake Life Lately: I Have a New Job!

I never intended to become a professional blogger.  I started blogging as a hobby, while I was in grad school, because I wanted to connect with other people who had small budgets and big dreams for their homes.  I've always loved making and creating, and it was just so thrilling to be able to chat with others DIYers.  To my surprise, Dans le Townhouse grew and by the time the blog became Dans le Lakehouse, I was making a nice little income.  I filmed videos with Canadian Tire, saw my house pop up on sites like Elle Decor and Better Homes & Gardens, and even parlayed the blog into some exciting freelance work for various Canadian retailers.  Behind the scenes, even crazier opportunities presented themselves - it has been a wild ride!

But secretly, I was applying to other jobs.

My job search is such a long story - with so many crushing disappointments - but I don't know if it's really all that uncommon.  Lots of my friends, with various backgrounds/education, have struggled to find work.  I was lucky I had a back-up plan!  I decided to start growing the blog more purposefully (wishing I had laid the proper groundwork to run the blog like a business when I started) and things were chugging along.  Looking back, I'm especially grateful that I had a flexible job like blogging to fall back on because when some terrible things happened in my family, I was able to be there.

But I pined for a different kind of job.

Recently I took another stab at looking for a job but I took a wildly different approach with my job applications.  I threw out every single piece of advice I'd been given over the years (and I had been given a lot) and just wrote my cover letters from the heart, keeping them casual and upbeat.

Well, guess what?  I landed interviews for every job I applied to and was offered two competing offers within days of one another, for two excellent jobs broadly (sorta, kinda) in my field - if I can even say that I have "a field" (I have a PhD in Feminist and Gender Studies and an HBA and MA in Philosophy).

I chose the one with flexible hours and a chance for adventure.  Hubby works a really weird work shift and a 9-5 job would mean I'd rarely see him, so I pounced at the opportunity to work a job that has similarly odd hours.  I always worry about sharing too much on the blog, which is why I've kept details like Hubby's first name, our last name, his place of work, our location, etc., private.  I am probably overly cautious, but I hesitate to share too much about new job too, although I will say it's in education.  I am currently training and I start in earnest very soon.  There is a lot to learn and that's why I haven't been posting here with the same frequency as usual.  I'm cramming, haha! 

But I'm not leaving blogland!

The best thing about my new job is that I can keep blogging.  In fact, my new boss has encouraged it, which is amazing because Hubby and I have so many great projects lined up - plus I'm collaborating with some really great brands I've been wanting to work with for years.  With my focus shifted to my new job and new research, I'm actually feeling so much more inspired these days.  I think my brain needed a little bit of a challenge - and probably a change of scenery - to get those creative juices flowing again.  Ideas for posts and projects are just pouring out of me right now.

I wanted to share my news to explain my absence but also because I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads Dans le Lakehouse.  I never shared my employment struggles because I try not to let my problems seep into the blog.  There is an abundance of negativity in the world so the criteria for the blogs I read is simple: I like to be entertained, uplifted - and if I can learn something, that's a bonus!  I don't want to be mired in someone else's crazy drama, so I try not to foist mine on you.  But when I was feeling down, your kind comments and emails definitely propelled me forward, made me smile, and made me appreciate this job so much more. 

So I wanted to say thank you.  So much.  I think this year will be our best year yet!

P.S. The photos are from my home office makeover - if you missed it (and our DIY walnut waterfall desk) check out the before and after tour here.

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Lake Life Lately: Behind the Scenes

I find it so interesting how people (myself included!) like to peer into the lives of other people.  Long before reality TV and blogging, my Mama would pop in on family, uninvited, "to see how they really live".  When she visited the townhouse for the first time, she unabashedly peered inside each and every one of my cupboards and closets, eager to ascertain whether I was actually a tidy homeowner, or I has just cleaned for her visit.  When I said the garage was off limits (because the house alarm would sound), she was convinced that's where I was keeping the mess.  I repeatedly asked her not to open the door, but that just made the garage more enticing.  When the house alarm went off at the crack of dawn one morning, I knew that her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

I laughed when I caught her red-handed!  I couldn't fault her, because my favorite hobby was to go for a walk at dusk - so I could nonchalantly peer into our neighbors' homes as I slowly sauntered by.  That was the reason I started reading blogs.  And I know this isn't some weird family quirk because that passion for voyeurism is what makes reality TV such a lucrative industry.

What's funny to me, is that the authenticity and realism we seem to crave is so illusive.  The Hills?  Turns out much of it was scripted!  Blogger homes?  A lot of those Pinterest-worthy images are staged!  Instagram was, for a long time, a place for those candid snaps, but it too has become more glossed over by highly edited and stylized shots.  The "way people really live" is driven deeper into the depths of the internet - now you can find it mostly in short-lived Instagram stories and Snapchat whatevers.  But in this world, where cash is king, there's no conspiracy to hide real life, it's just that glossier depictions perform better: better show ratings, better blog stats.  So do people really want "to see how people really live" after all?

I think about this so much.

I struggle with this as a blogger, because I feel pressure to produce Pinterest-worthy images but I'm still passionate about the function blogging used to serve: a glimpse into real homes, to see how people really live and decorate.  That's more difficult these days and the monetization of blogs blurs the lines even more.
  
The biggest lie I perpetrate is in my food photography and flat lays: I photograph so many things on the floor!  Not so scandalous, I know - until you see how heartbreaking this is for Szuka...

Szuka will come lurking and just hang out, staring longingly at the food that's within her grasp and yet so far away.  I can leave the room and she won't touch it, but she's there.  Watching. 

When I see blogging from her eyes ("why is the food on the floor, human, and why aren't we eating it?") it all seems so strange...

P.S. that's a diabetic-friendly cheesecake!

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Lake Life Lately: Zombies + Other Completely Rational Fears

Being alone in the woods at night has always ranked high on my list of irrational fears - right up there with a Zombie apocalypse and shark attacks in swimming pools.

I never planned to move to the country.  I longed for a lake house, but I always imagined living close to a city.  Lakefront properties, however, do not often come up for sale around here and, if you remember my Sliding Door series, they are often out of our reach.  When this lakehouse came up for sale, we fell in love immediately.  It had some flaws to overlook (why would someone build a basement five feet tall?!?), but my biggest concern was its rural location.

We were actually cautioned against moving so far out to the sticks, largely because of the 45 minute drive to town.  But because we had been living in Ottawa, where rush hour can turn a 10 minute drive into a 45 minute ordeal, we weren't concerned about the commute.  Hubby had grown up in the country, on 80 acres deep in the woods, so the distance worried him even less.  He was more concerned about our measly little acre of land.  To him, our new home wasn't rural enough. 

I'll admit, I was mostly worried about zombies (in the woods - two fears in one!), so I didn't heed anyone's advice because their concerns (winter driving conditions/convenience) seemed pedestrian when there were much larger concerns to consider (seriously, why was no one else worried about the zombies?).

Shortly before we moved, we started watching The Walking Dead - which was such a mistake because it scared me senseless.  For months after moving here, I wouldn't set foot outside in the dark alone.  If I was in town for the day, I'd tear down the highway after dinner, trying to get inside before the sun went down.  If Hubby was out of town for work and I missed that sunset cutoff, I'd crash at my parents' place in my childhood bedroom.  I bought underwear and socks to keep there because this happened so often.

But it turns out that there are scarier things than zombies!  Since moving here, I've dealt with black bears, getting my truck stuck (and unstuck) in the snow more than once, a frozen well, and some really close calls with moose and deer on the highway.  Like, "is that deer fur caught in my grill?" close.   

Surprisingly, I took to country life like a duck to water.  The drive, the distance from everything, the well, the propane tank, the wood chopping, the garbage hauling - all of it feels routine now.  Eventually my fears melted away too.  I started driving home alone in the dark (although I'd sprint to my door at Olympic speeds).  But then I relaxed about that too, and now I putter around at night, taking out the garbage and admiring the stars.

One night Szuka ran away during her evening pee and I took off after her in my nightgown.  When I reached the road, I remembered that without street lights and our home's motion lights, it's really dark at night!  Then I remembered I was in the woods.  At night.  Alone.  At night.  Undeterred, I started jogging down the road until I found Szuka, who looked startled, like "oh sh*t, I thought you don't come out at night". 

Being able to be outside, in the dark and alone, seems ridiculous but that was a huge accomplishment for me.  Everything else was easy to adapt to, so when I finally felt comfortable in the woods at night, the country finally felt like home.

We even started watching The Walking Dead again (we're all caught up!)

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Lake Life Lately: Adiós Winter

I'm starting a new series: every Friday I'm planning to get a little personal and share a snippet of life on the lake.  I'm going to keep the format really relaxed and casual. 

As you know, I've been on a mission to embrace all four seasons - as opposed to complaining my way through Fall and Winter, like I normally do.  When the temperatures really plummeted in December, it was a challenge!  The biting cold definitely sidelined my plans for snowshoeing and other outdoor winter fun.  Mostly we got cozy by the fire under a blanket.  With snacks.  There may or may not have been one day, after the snowblower broke and I got stuck trying to power my way out of the driveway in four wheel drive, that I beat a metal post at the end of our driveway with a shovel, screaming "I hate this f*%$ing snow" before flinging my shovel into the woods.

But all in all, I've been pretty good at living in the snowy moment and appreciating just how beautiful winter can be.  I've barely complained, I swear.

It helped that I discovered the trick to enjoying winter when you live somewhere really, really cold: book a trip somewhere really, really warm.  There are actually direct flights from my one-horse town to Punta Cana!  That says a lot about how people here handle the winter.  Hubby and I have never been anywhere warm in the winter - we've only been on one beach vacation (Portugal, seven years ago this May).  So when, on a particularly blustery day in December, friends invited us to Punta Cana with them, we said yes!  Ironically, there goes my new snowblower money...   

Of course, since then the weather warmed up considerably and temperatures have actually been above freezing - the snow even melted in places.  The bay opened up and one particularly glowy sunset even had me thinking that spring was on its way.

I could really get on board with winter if it was this mild all of the time.  It hardly feels like winter at all!  Still, I'm counting down the days until I'm sprawled on a beach. 

We've never stayed at an all-inclusive resort.  The adults only (yes!) one we booked has something like 700 rooms, which is so nutty to me!  We usually vacation very differently: coming home from vacations more exhausted than when we left because we tried to cram in as much sightseeing as possible.  This will be different, that's for sure.  Packing has been a real challenge because after my weight loss, I never really dealt with my too-big wardrobe and so I'm doing this unintentional extreme capsule wardrobe thing, meaning only a handful of things fit and I wear them over and over again.  I recently bought some new swim suits, a floppy brim straw hat, and I'm on the hunt for cute summer dresses.

In my bathing suit shopping haul, I bought mostly two piece tankinis (my favorite) in different turquoise designs (literally nothing but turquoise) and paired them with high waisted bottoms.  I also got a cute turquoise bottom that's a little skirt plus I bought an adorable one piece with the cutest vintage styling.  The funniest thing is that I was so wowed with the selection at a local shop, I brought my Mom there the next day because she's had her bathing suit since I was in the second grade.  She ended up finding only ONE that fit her, and it fit her perfectly.  Want to guess which one?  The one piece I had bought the day before!  She was reluctant to buy it, but I am cracking up picturing us swimming in them this summer and the neighbors spying across the bay with binoculars like, "what the...?"

Although we have a house/Szuka-sitter all lined up, I'm not sharing the dates we leave.  Any would-be robbers would know from the blog that I've spent all my money on Pyrex anyway, lol, but I always cringe when bloggers blast their trip dates all over the internet.  It just seems unsafe!  But I'll be sure to share some photos - and what I ended up packing - when we get back, all sunburned and blissed out.   

Does anyone have any tips for packing for a beach vacation?  I'm all ears!

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