mayday, mayday...

that's a cry for help right? like as in "this ship is going down". RESCUE ME!

 

well it's also an invitation to celebrate may 1st- to me the

official first day of spring. have you ever put a little

sumpum-sumpum on a friends porch, rang the doorbell and run

on may day?

( it's one of the coolest traditions i can think of!)

 

tomorrow is may 1st people- and we have officially turned the corner

... winter you are outta here- shazaaam, so long, farwell!

 

 

the weekend in stillwater was outstanding. i'm pretty sure half the population of minnesota was there along with my friend and i. not even kidding. it was beautiful outside and some people even had the courage to whip out their bare white legs- as if to say
" if all this glaring white skin hurts your eyes people, put your sunglasses on- these lily white legs will not be contained for one more day". loved their attitude!


i'd recommend the inn we stayed at in osceola wisconson- just a 20 minute drive from stillwater. anyone who serves me carmel rolls for breakfast (just as an appetizer) will be
commended and recommended.    : )    the inn was walking distance from mainstreet and right on the st. croix river- in fact our room had a little deck that faced the river and you'll see a photo (below) of some kayakers taken from it.

weekend plans

 

 

 

 

i just finished reading this book. it's a memoir written by glennon melton. glennon isn't a girl with a pretty story to tell. she was a train wreck for about 20 yrs. it was all pretty much self induced too. she had a great childhood and no real reason to go down such a dark path- she made really bad choices for a long time. and then she got pregnant. when she saw those two lines on the pregnancy test she turned her life around.

glennon says she thinks she was born just a little more broken than most. she feels things deeply and that makes life hard. she cares about other people and making the world a better place for the hurting souls out there.

she's going to be speaking at a church in Plymouth tonight and i am hoping to get a seat to hear her story. she's real, raw and funny. her blog if you are interested is called

momastery.com   (you say that like the word monastery.)

tomorrow a friend and i are going to meet in stillwater and storm the city for good stuff, yummy food and inspiration. i haven't been there in so many years i don't even remember the town-other than that it's fabulous and historic and built next to the water. (a winning combination-always). then we're staying at an inn in wisconsin to celebrate our birthdays! it's become a tradition to do that together and we talk half of the night and then usually write poetry about our day that is irreverent and makes us laugh our fannies off.  we wake up the next morning, after approximately 4 hours of sleep-with dark circles under our eyes and declare that it was the best weekend EVER!!!   :  )

sounds like it's going to be safe to wear ankle pants and sandals and not ever worry about getting frostbite and that alone is reason to thank the good Lord above!!!

                                          my oldest has been ok'd to go back to work 16 months after
                                                       he was rear ended and injured in 2011~ whoop whoop!!!

                                         feeling blessed and thankful for that and so many other reasons
                                                                                    this morning...
                                                                   have an awesome weekend my friends!

                                                                                  xo, beth

positively love small towns

 

                                             last friday the hubs and I toured park rapids minnesota.
                                                  it's a cute little town up north. how great are these
                                          signs that hang up and down main street? speaking of main
                                          street, look at how the parking is arranged! i've never seen
                                        anything like it. you can park on either side of the street-or
                                  else-what the heck- just park in one of two rows right down the middle
                                      of the street if you feel like it. legend has it the reason for the extra
                                             wide main- is that years ago when this town was built they laid
                                          huge logs in the middle of the road to dry or they could   
                                                turn a whole team of horses around in the middle of 
                                                 the street. this is paul bunyan land people.              
                                                  logging territory. babe and a blue ox have been here.
          

 

if you've never been to park rapids you should make the trip. it's right by itasca state

park and that's the headwaters of the mighty mississippi.  you cannot live in

minnesota and not be able to say you have walked across the mississippi.

(i have always loved spelling that-either in my head or out loud).

 

 
                                  the good life café.  i will be eating here café next time i'm in town.
 

 
                                                         nothing like a good trading post right?
 

 
                                             speaking of logging- check out the yard we saw on the way.
                                                     whoever lives here must love cutting wood more than
                                                 watching american idol and the voice combined.
 
 

 

                                        this is art people- art.

 

 

 

 
                                                         this is a view of the road leading in to our lodge. it's
                                                        beauty takes my breath away. when we get close we
                                                            always all roll down our windows- no matter how cold
                                                      it is out. we hang our heads out and let our tongues wag
                                                                             and just breathe in the wonder.
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
                                          now, back at the ranch this was the view looking out the front
                                                             door last week. i know- we love it too.

 
 
 
 
                                      pretty much wore my wellies everytime i stepped outside due to
                                                       the fact that winter is practically here again, and the
                                                    snow from 2012-2013 is still hangin around.   

 

 

this photo below kind of looks like a watercolor painting, but it's not, it's one of our deer, coming up

to eat some corn.

it's a real live deer-standing in the snow.

 

 

now his great-great grandfather (below) is not alive. this old buck was a gift to me from

 my little brother. apparently he was shot in 1958 (same yr. i was born) near appleton

minnesota. a local dentist who was an avid hunter had him in his dental

office for many many years and now he proudly resides in our cabin. my brother

thought we needed some antique relics to cozy up the place so he graciously

shared one of his prized possessions with us. he's nice like that.  : )

 

this is a hunting lodge remember? there will be antlers and stuff of that sort

hanging on the walls.

there will be walleyes that came from lake of the woods-

and maybe a stuffed duck or two.

 

at least they are no longer in my family room in the city!!!

 

 

 

 

xoxo beth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

                                                             tonight i've got 3 of my favorite photos taken
                                                                          in the last week or so.

                                                this quaint mailbox was right on main street, park rapids.

                                                     :  )     oh yes i did bring my bunch of ranunculus up to the
                        lodge and then because they were still pretty- hauled them back home again.

                                                                          a steaming hot cup of java at barbette café




                        we just enjoyed a 5 day respite up north- snowed in pretty much- and it was
                              exactly what i needed. i was reading 3 books at the same time- (don't
                         know if i've ever done that before) and i had a stack of magazines that were
                           delicious too. i crocheted a bit and made a sign that i'll show you another
                                  day- to put out on one of trails in the woods. there was a constant fire
                                    in the woodstove and i bundled up and sat out in an adirondack chair
                             reading till i had some april sun showing on my face. the birds entertain
                              us at the feeders all day long and this time there was a family of deer too.
                                                                     life is good my friends- and spring will come-it
                                                                                 always does. so this snow tonight?
                                                                                                        bring it.

                           

 

                                                                                             bonjoir,  beth

                                            when you think of me for the next few days,
                                                                think of this.

 

no...not the mouse part-

the traveler part.

 

 

going off the grid for a few days to relax

with my big sweetie~

 

how lucky are we?

 

 

                                                  pretty sure that little dude lives in one of these two cottages~

                          most people go south when they are on holiday-- us? we go north, to our
                                         cabin in the woods. i plan to make one of these little fairie houses
                                                 in a tree there- if i find a tree with a hollow base.


                                                                            i'll be back next week!

                                                                                            xo, beth

the idea house

yesterday i had the pleasure of touring the bachmans spring idea house with friends. have you ever gone to it? it was really fun and the perfect way to spend a couple of hours trying to forget that although it was called the "spring" idea house, it was only 30 degrees and ice raining outside.

the original bachmans who built the bachmans on lyndale ave. lived in and raised their 4
children in this house. it's charming and has a lot of the original character. a team of designers completely redecorates the house 3-4 times a year for the public to tour. there were of course, a lot of fresh flowers and plants all over and that was a favorite part for me. the photos i took were with my phone so I apologize for the small size- but that's the only camera i  remembered to bring. (goll darn it)

                                                       the colors they used on the main floor
                     were gray, a buttery yellow, cream and black-it was a beautiful combination.     

                                                              living and dining room

                                                                              kitchen

 

the bedrooms and office were done in soft robins egg blues, ivory and grays

 

 

 

 

 

                                                      this last (blurry) picture was of an adorable two-tiered
                                                       plate covered with dainty little fresh flowers.
                                                     they were arranged in silicone cupcake liners. (let's
                                                      go ahead and copy this idea)!

                                                       *do any of you other bloggers have tips for using your
                                                         I-phone photos and how to upload them without them
                                                         being blurry? they are in focus when I take them!

                                                                 i believe the idea house is open through the end
                                                                  of april if you're interested. you can get tickets on
                                                                 bachman's website. one other cool part is
                                                                   that everything in the house is for sale!
                                                               


                                                  hope your day has some great moments in it,  beth

30 ROCKS!

a year ago when the first of my daughters besties turned 30, we had a birthday party for her at a winery. it was a finery day at the winery and we all decided it needed to be a tradition for the moms and daughters to celebrate together, as each of our girls hit this fabulous milestone in their lives. yesterday it was anita's turn to be honored.

                                             here are the 4 musketeers at Barbette in Minneapolis~

                                                the birthday girl is on the left and for those of you who don't
                                                        know her- my girl is the one not standing on a stool.


                                                                          kidding here folks. i'm 5'4" and i'm taller than
                                                                          my daughter.  i don't think of us as
                                                                          short- i prefer to focus on how when we fall, 
                                                                          we have less far to go before we hit the
                                                                          ground. keepin it real- keepin it positive.  : )



                               it was such a fun afternoon. love you girls and i'm thankful for all            
                               the crazy fun and companionship you've brought to adria's life.




                                                                                           xo, beth



 
                       p.s. when rose turned 30 i counted out and wrapped up 30 rocks from my
                              landscaping. (i wrapped it real pretty- and gave her a real gift too).
                              i put a brightly colored card with it that said    30 ROCKS!     we all had a
                             good chuckle yesterday when she "re-gifted" it to anita. i'd forgotten
                             all about it and i don't think it's the last time we'll see it.



                                                            
                         

                                                              

                                             

                                                               today's truth.
  
                                                                       passion is the root of happiness for me.
                                                                         if you don't feel passionate about many
                                                                         things, i suggest you find some quiet time
                                                                         to sit with yourself, figure out what they
                                                                         are~ then go and find them.



                                                                                                be blessed,      xo beth 

please come for tea and a suet cake

                                       this little lady was surely caught off guard by the heavy blanket
                                       of snow that fell from the sky today. if i could have, i would
                                       have, invited her in for tea.

pretty sure if i'd have opened the patio door and sprinkled a trail of birdseed into the house
these hungry little critters would have hopped right on in and just kept eating while i took some pictures.






                                                                   i don't know what it is about little birds that i love
                                                                   so much, but love them i do! i'm going to  go get
                                                                   my bird book and see if i can figure out what kind
                                                                   of exotic bird landed in the tree outside my
                                                                   window this morning.


                                                                                           cheerio!   xo, beth

sometimes it snows in april

                                                                              as usual i've been taking pictures.
                                                                                      it's almost comical how when you blog, your
                                                                             next post is always in the back of your mind.
                                                                               here's some of the beautiful bright colors I've
                                                                                      been surrounding myself with.

                                                                              
                                                                                                     yellow

 

                                                  this was exactly one week ago...before the rain melted
                                                  the snow~and then we got more! it's april for crying out loud.

 

 

                    greens

                                                               this asparagus graced our easter table-
                                     and the little yellow chick is hand carved- 4.99 at an occasional sale.

 

 

 

                                                   blues

                                                         these are butterscotch nests i whipped up-yumm

                                                slowly but surely my collection of anthropologie dishes grows

                                                                      now let's throw in a bit of peach and orange

                               you can nab one of these pillows for your deck at home depot 

 

                                                                                            and pink!

                                                   thank you trader joes for selling beautiful bouquets for 3.99
                                                                          they make my heart happy~

                                                  
                                                                         hope these images brighten your day.
                                                                               i've spent most of my morning
                                                                            hovering by my patio doors taking pictures
                                                                           of the birds at my feeder. it's one of the
                                                                          busiest days out there I've ever seen. i even
                                                                        spotted a bird that was so unusual i seriously
                                                                            think maybe it escaped from the zoo!
                                                                        wouldn't you know my camera wasn't quick
                                                                            enough to capture it?  i prayed it would 
                                                                 come back but it hasn't yet- so back to the window.

                                                                                              : )   xo beth