Door County, Wisconsin

Last week my husband Dan and I spent 3 days in one of my favorite spots, Door County, Wisconsin

Described as the Cape Cod of the Midwest it never disappoints.

If you look at a map of Wisconsin you will see a thumb just a little above Green Bay, that is Door County.

Surrounded by beautiful Lake Michigan it's a peninsula with all kinds of charming little towns with names like Fish Creek and Egg Harbor.

Door County is known for it's rolling hills, cherry orchards, and charming little lake towns.  Washington Island, ferries and of course Lake Michigan.

Cave Point is one of my favorite spots although there are so many I can't even cover them all here.  Cave Point stands above sea caves spread across a limestone section of Lake Michigan.

We went to celebrate our 16th Wedding Anniversary.

I can't think of a better place to go.

Door County is also known for it's light houses.  There are about a dozen of them scattered around the peninsula. The Cana Island light house is one that allows visitors to climb the 97 stairs to the top for a birds eye view like this one below.

I got up early one morning and although I don't have a fancy camera, I was still able to get a pretty neat picture of the sun rising over Lake Michigan.

The lake effect seems to do wonders for all the beautiful flowers.

Another shot of Cave Point.

There is an endless supply of charming places to stop for a bite to eat.

And the shops could keep you busy for days.

Kayak lessons looked fun.

While we were visiting, the "tall ships"  as they are called, were passing through the biggest Door County town of Sturgeon Bay.

The roof-top of one of our favorite restaurants.  Al Johnson's is a very popular Swedish restaurant  in the town of Sister Bay that serves traditional Swedish food.  They're meatballs are the best I've ever tasted. They also keep anywhere from 3 to 5 goats on their grass roof.. weather permitting.

No lawn mowing necessary.

And fish boils are another not to miss tradition.

It really is a fun experience.  You gather with other diners while they cook the famous Door County fish boil.

This consists of fresh Lake Michigan white fish, potatoes, onions, and the highlight is when the pot boils over.

Everyone gathers around to watch and then dinner is served.

Dessert is Door County cherry pie served with a scoop of ice creme.

 We only had 3 days for our little get away.  Door County is only about a 3 hour drive for us, but you feel like your in another part of the country.

If you ever get the chance, don't hesitate to go.

Thanks for stopping by friends.

Cindy

Joining the Tablescaper for Oh the Places I've been,

Everything but the kitchen sink!

My DH has been working tirelessly over the past several weeks redoing our kitchen cabinets.

Today I thought I would share with you a sneak peek.

On the left you can see the before.

They are a cathedral style and we have been talking about painting them for the past two summers.

But Dan had a better idea.  He felt that the cathedral style would not really fit with our cottage style kitchen.  So he went about changing the style.  I am thrilled with how they are turning out.   These are not new cupboard doors, they are just re-made.
Some of the details:  He planed and sanded the cathedral style doors down.  He then built a new frame and added wainscoting.  Then onto priming, painting, poly and replacing hardware.
He is getting close now and soon I can have a big kitchen reveal.

DH had eleven of his woodworking students take their projects to our county fair this year.  This roll top desk was one of the top finishers.  The kids get quite competitive and my DH has an extra prize for the top 3 places.

This lovely cabinet was the best of show. Dan says the kid who built this spent numerous hours before school, after school and in class.  I think he did an amazing job!

And speaking of the fair, our little grand-daughter spent a lot of time with us there.
She sure loves it and not just the rides.  In fact, I would say the small animals are her fave.

She did a lot of chicken holding at the fair!  A friend has chickens and I mean a lot of chickens.  Every breed you can imagine.  She patiently let Addison pet and hold nearly everyone she had brought.  This rooster was nearly as big as little Addison.
I have to say I was impressed with her bravery.  She got pecked a few times but mostly just brushed it off.

There were a few very calm hens who would literally sit on her lap for as long as she was willing.  Oh their feathers are so soft.  This gal was just the sweetest bird!  And the other little gal is awfully sweet too.

My little Arizona grand-baby celebrated birthday number 2!!
I got to see her open our presents on Skype.
And as you can see, she enjoyed her cake as well.
I will be heading out to see her in early October and of course I can't wait.

So there you go friends, a little bit of everything except the kitchen sink.
Cindy

Flower arranging..beginner

Hi friends.

Tis the season around my house.   County fair season that is.

I love everything about our county fair.  I grew up on a farm with 6 brothers and one sister.  We spent our summers working on projects and getting them ready for the fair.

Now a days, I don't have any 4-H projects but I still like to be involved.

I love taking a few projects of my own every year and this year it was flower arranging.

My carnation tea-pot above is filled with mini carnations and baby's breath.

I found this cute tea-pot discounted down to only $2.  

Tea-pots are such a great vessel for arranging in.

Plus our fair has a couple of categories for them.

Polly put the kettle on, I believe it's called.

I used this farmhouse looking tea-pot for my late summer/autumn arrangement.

I will use this for a centerpiece on dining table when early Autumn rolls around.

I love doing wildflowers although I find them a bit of a challenge.

First of course you need to get out and pick them.  That's not hard for me although I have been known to keep peaking over my shoulder when I venture a little farther into the woods.

And here's why!

I took this picture of him late last June.  He had just passed in front of me about a mile from our home.   Needless to say, I am a bit watchful when I head around the wooded areas.

My final arrangement is one I created for Autumn.

The category at the fair is called bird watch, and you need to incorporate a bird of some kind into your arrangement.

I chose a pheasant that I had in my fall stash.

I bought this inexpensive wire container for a couple of bucks.

I then lined it with burlap and added a ribbon of sunflowers tied to one side of the handle.

Now for a few tips I've learned from the judges over the years.

 1.  When you are arranging your flowers, make sure the tallest point of your arrangement is one and half times the height of your container.

2.  Make sure you remove all the leaves that would be inside your water line.

Leaving them will contaminate your water and also drain moisture from your blooms.

3.  Use warm water not cold inside your vessel.  Make sure to make a new cut after bringing your flowers home and then fill your container with warm not cool water.

4.  I use a foam soaked in water for fresh flowers.  I like how it holds moisture and

creates a nice firm base to work with.

With silk or dried flowers I use the Styrofoam rounds or half moons.

5.  Try to think outside the box when creating an arrangement and don't be afraid to pull it apart and start over.  I tend to do that many times.

I am happy to report I received two blue's, two red's and one outstanding ribbon this year.

Have a great week friends,

Cindy

I am joining:

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Inspire me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

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