Nothing like a day on Lake St. Clair to celebrate independence. I wish every hump day involved hours of swimming and sunning!
Happy Summer!
Lake Living- 4th of July 2012
Author: Sarah Lubetsky
I Said Yes!
We had already been enjoying one of the best trips we’ve ever had back to my home state. There wasn’t too much more that could make it any better… so I thought.
Brian (formerly the Beau) had a little Thursday morning surprise up his sleeve.
Since most of our trip was centered around seeing family, Brian had requested that we take one day to do something alone together. He’s an adamant baseball fan and really wanted to see AT&T Park (where the San Francisco Giants play). I figured since this was his day I’d stay out of the way and just go along for the ride with whatever he planned…
When Thursday morning arrived we were planning on having a little breakfast at home with my mom before taking BART into the city for the mid-day game against the Houston Astros. Instead we were woken by an early morning phone call from my dad- there had been a fire on BART and the track was melted in Oakland heading into the city. Flustered, I started checking ferry boat schedules to find another way into the city (figuring we should get a move-on it since we would be making the trek with the bazillions of other people headed to work, the game, and the US Open also happening in SF area that week).
Brian headed downstairs to the bathroom and I stayed behind in bed intently focused on my task. All of the sudden Brian was back, wide awake and handing me is iPhone. “I need you to watch this video,” he said. “Ok baby, sure,” I replied still distracted. More insistent, he put the phone in my hand and said, “No, I really need you to watch this video. Watch the whole thing, don’t push any buttons or turn it down or anything. When it’s done come find me downstairs”. And with that he turned around and left.
This is what I watched:
BJL Studios Engagement Trailer Video
By the end of this first video I was shaking and laugh-crying. Then another video started. I was stunned, excited, nervous, tickled, and head-over-heels in love the whole time I watched.
When the second video ended I ran down stairs to look for Brian. The rest was a bit of a blur. I remember holding hands with Brian as he told me more sweet things. I remember seeing my mom there and being glad she was part of this. I remember thinking that I should try and remember everything he said… but not being able to hear over the blood rushing in my ears. As he said my full name and began to get down on one knee I think I started saying yes, I’m not sure he even got the question out all of the way before I was jumping into his arms saying yes!
After what seemed like a million phone calls and text messages later, my mom let us barrow her car to drive into the city to the game. We were in no hurry, busy basking in the afterglow of the excitement (and staring at the new sparkler on my left hand). We didn’t end up watching much of the game. Brian was amazed at how awesome the stadium is and we fully enjoyed walking around checking out the view of McCovey Cove and soaking in the sunshine.
After a while we decided to leave and enjoy the unusually perfect sunny day in other parts of the city. We made our way across town to Lands End since Brian had read about a new visitors center that just opened at the location of the old Sutro Baths. If you’ve never been to San Francisco- or even if you have- you should check out the new spruced up Lands End. The views of the Pacific Ocean are epic on either a clear or foggy day and the new visitor center has a ton of information and old pictures of what it all looked like back in the day.
We ended the day with a delicious early dinner at Greens in Fort Mason. Brian had made a reservation for 5:30 pm so that we could get a seat by the huge windows looking out over the docks and a the mouth of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Best. Day. Ever.
Berkeley Bound
After spending an awesome weekend in Calistoga for the vineyard wedding, the Beau and I headed back to Berkeley to the house were I grew up. His parents had visited my mom’s home once before for a brief brunch, but this trip was the first time I have really had a chance to show them around my home turf.
It was a big group of us for the day with his parents, his sister Rachel and her boyfriend Jeremy (now Fiance), Jeremy’s uncle, and my mom and I. After a short visit to our favorite shopping and snacking haunts on 4th, we walked through the sunny streets of West Berkeley to my very favorite mexican restaurant, Picante, where I have been ordering Pollo Asado Burritos since I was nigh 6 years old. Ah the chipotle flavored memories of youth.
After lunch my mom went home to rest and we met up with my Dad up by his office, which is right next door to UC Berkeley. It was fun to walk around campus seeing it through fresh eyes. It really is such a beautiful place even with the grime of downtown Berkeley around it… I’m still a UC Davis Aggie all the way (and maybe a little Wolverine), but I can appreciate the bayside beauty that is my hometown. Apparently, at the top of the bell tower (Campanile), The Beau asked my father a very important question… wink, wink. I was down below with The Beau’s sister hanging out in the shade, there really was no bad option on this gorgeous Northern California day.
We ended the 1 day Berkeley tour by taking in the vista from the Lawrence Hall of Science parking lot (one of my favorite views in the Berkeley Hills).
That is the city of Berkeley and the campus in the foreground, followed by the bay bridge to Treasure Island and finally landing in San Francisco. Man, I hella love the Bay.
Calistoga Wedding Weekend
The Beau and I got back from California a few weeks ago, and let me just say that the trip went well. VERY WELL. We were in the Golden state for 10 days to visit my family and attend the wedding of one of The Beau’s cousins. It was a beautiful affair in wine country in the quaint town of Calistoga, CA. I haven’t been to Calistoga since I was a kid when my parents would take us to swim in the mineral pools while they enjoyed a spa mud bath.
It’s a romantic little town in wine country with nice shops. Since we were in Napa for the wedding of another one of his cousins last year we decided to just hang out this time and enjoy the pool and sunshine. We stayed at the Calistoga Spa Hot Springs which has awesome mineral water pools (all different temperatures), and it was über relaxing just hanging out around town.
The bride and her friends/family were staying at Rancho Wikiup. This stable turned vacation rental/event venue is where they held the rehearsal dinner. It was a really unique venue with gorgeous wood patterns, flowers and friendly faces.
We had a great time hanging out with The Beau’s extended family and getting to know some of the new cousin-in-law’s family who had come from all over the globe for the wedding festivities; There were people from the East Coast, Liberia, Ghana, England, all over!
The next morning I woke up at 5:30 am, still on Michigan time I guess, but it’s lucky I did since my mom had texted to ask if I needed the pink dress that was still hanging up at her house in Berkeley! Well yes, I definitely did need the dress for the wedding that night! The Beau and I ended up making a wee-early morning drive back to Berkeley through the morning mist and budding summer sunshine. We were back at the hotel before anyone missed us and spent the day checking out the shops, swimming in the mineral pools and enjoying lunch at a seemingly popular breakfast place, Sarafornia.
It was a beautiful summer day in wine country and very sunny during the outdoor ceremony at Hans Fahden Vineyards. Thankfully they handed out pretty parasols to shade the guests while we waited for the processional to begin. It made for a lovely sight!
Best memories of the wedding:
- The moment when the bride and groom opened the great big wooden doors that lead into the wine caves where we had our reception meal. It was magical. Twinkling lights and candles, everything was gorgeous (Check it out here).
- The laughs and bonding at the “cousins” table during dinner. I really love The Beau’s family.
- The Liberian and Jewish wedding dances- really all of the dancing! We got down like nobody’s business and my feet were aching by the end of the night.
Between the two family weddings last summer and this one, I can’t wait for the next wedding to come 😉
Over the Hump
Some days at work are crazy. Like today for instance, we have a bevy of young interns that arrived on Monday and I’ve spent a lot of the week getting them oriented and on track with work to do. We are also in the middle of launching focus group recruitment for one study, and we are ramping up progress on my other study all at the same time. To top it all of, I’m in the mad dash to get ahead of my to-do list before Friday since The Beau and I are HEADED TO CALIFORNIA!
So, my coworker friends couldn’t have chosen a better day to surprise me with this adorable, old school California history book! Some hump days are more of a take off ramp. Gotta love my girls.
Instagram Obsessed
On the off chance that you aren’t already obsessed with it as well, I thought I’d share. I’m completely hooked, not that I needed another ridiculous and wonderful app/site to spend time on.
The Instagram app is a quick and easy way to share your pics (and crosspost to FB, Twitter, etc). Check out my photo feed here- http://instagrid.me/sarah_ivy/
After tooling around with Instagram for a while I also discovered the app Pic Stitch. This app has many features you can purchase, but there is plenty to do with the free stuff. I’m loving all of my new little obsessions 🙂
Mutt March with Nelson & Co.
PUPPIES! I just got home from a sun and slobber filled morning at the Michigan Humane Society’s Mutt March. The Mutt March is an annual event held on the sprawling green grounds of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House estate in Grosse Pointe Shores, MI on Lake St. Clair. This was our second year walking with Nelson, and this year he brought his little buddy Ella Deville along for the fun.
Here are some glamour shots of Nelson, the brindle French Bulldog that stole my heart-
Now, it’s hard to admit, but the landscape sort of stole the show from our four-legged friends. The Edsel and Eleanor Ford house sits on a large piece of land dotted with weeping willows and tall old trees. Designed by Albert Kahn, the houses on the grounds are all done in the style of Cotswold village cottages (according to their website). The whole place gives me a sense of having stepped back in time.
Last year during the walk they were taking down what remained of a wedding reception and even half disassembled the scene was impressive – chandeliers hanging from trees, crisp white lounge areas tucked into bright green trees. This would be an AMAZING place for engagement or wedding photos if you are looking for something in the Detroit area 😉
The details in the architecture are hard not to drool over, the stone facades caped in ivy, the rounded doors and tiled roofs. One of my favorite structures is the gate house –
The grounds were designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen. After finishing a lap with the Mutt March we decided to spend a bit more time exploring the paths along the lake. I would love to come back and spend a day picnicking along the water, there were perfect spots to set up a blanket all over the place!
I can’t wait until next years Mutt March… and maybe by then we will have our very own little furry friend to take along! Fingers crossed.
Betsie Bay Memorial Day
Last weekend we took a semi-spontaneous road-trip up north to Frankfort, MI to celebrate memorial day. Though I’ve been up north once before (for a beautiful wedding on Little Glen lake near Glen Arbor, MI -adorable little town on Lake Michigan surrounded by other smaller lakes) I had never seen the Sleeping Bear Dunes or spent time poking around in the cute little lakeside towns.
Friends of ours had rooms booked at the Betsie Bay Inn, and we managed to find a pretty reasonably priced room just days before leaving down the road at the Harbor Lights Resort right on the beach! Betsie Bay Inn was adorable… and our friends’ rooms packed an extra surprise- spiral staircases leading to private basements with hot tubs! We spent A LOT of time hanging out in the large built-in hot tub. The boys enjoyed the private sauna during the rain Sunday while the ladies shopped (we found a cute little store called Glicks where I snagged a few tops and some adorable roxy flip flops).
On Sunday, after waiting out the brief but intense rain storm we headed over to Sleeping Bear Dunes park and went for a (long over due!) hike to Pyramid Point. It’s a moderate hike to a look out point where the view of the crystal blue waters of lake Michigan seems limitless.
Everything about the afternoon hike was breathtaking. I would have loved to have kept hiking and exploring for days. We topped off the fun with dinner in Glen Arbor, a visit to Cherry Republic for some cherry wine tasting, and ended what seemed to be a perfect day by watching the sun set over the water (as we sipped sparkling cherry wine from the bottle). These are the days we remember for a lifetime.
Spring Has Sprung
I’ve been having a rough week full of too much work and not enough sleep… How better to lift my spirits than a Saturday morning workout and a few GORGEOUS spring flowers from Trader Joe’s in Royal Oak.
Big Sky Over Woodward Ave.
The sky this morning was a perfect.
I was delighted to have this slowly evolving and brightening sunrise as my view as I made my way down Woodward from Royal Oak to Downtown Detroit this morning. Last year walking to class in Ann Arbor I marveled at how brilliant and close the sky would seem. Particularly in winter, the sky just looks closer here… like we’re looking out into space from a front row seat.
I couldn’t help but think that maybe this was a little reminder to me to see the beauty here in Michigan even when I miss home… and that there is plenty to appreciate and look forward to in unexpected places. Just to top it off, I was greeted by an equally gorgeous ride home.
Ready Set Sarah 