fresh picked whimsy

Life is good at the lake

 
One weekend of every summer, we become lake people.  Our cousins very generously invite us up to their lake house on Crooked Lake in Angola, Indiana annually.  It is a little slice of heaven.  The biggest reason we love it up there so much is because we love being with them.  It's a laid back, pop open one and bring me one too, barefootin', bbq-ing, live in your bathing suits kinda life.  Saaaaweeet!  I took a million pictures, so sit back and enjoy this very long post about our getaway to the place that inspired my original Lake Lovers print...

 
the treehouse...

 
  tubing...

Max...

oh, the lilypads!

 
the snuggly screened porch is the perfect spot for checking facebook...

 
we spend a lot of time enjoying the view...

with a frosty beverage or two...or three...

 
Jeannine and I ran to the farmer's market...

 
and stopped by all of our favorite antique shops...(i scored 2 more globes!)

 
we play a lot of cards and games...

 yup, that's me playing charades...lovely...what in the world?

 
the girls on a canoe adventure...

Mark and Dave went fishing and Mark rowed them back...it just looked funny....and romantic!

 
  the boys love the fishing

Jeannine always makes the yummiest stuff.  As soon as she sends them to me, i will share the recipes for this amazing homemade crumb cake...

 
and blueberry cobbler...

the kids are always up for fun with my camera...they are so great about doing whatever i request...they love to ham it up for me...

 
 
one of my favorite things to do is to go out on the boat and look at all of the dreamy lake houses...

let's dream, shall we?...

 
 this one is the house that Vera built...it's the lake house of one of the founders of Vera Bradley.  It's on the next lake over from Crooked Lake...on Lake Gage...isn't it gorgeous?...

 
truthfully though...Dave & Jeannine's lakehouse is pretty fabulous.  It's everything a lakehouse should be and it's filled with love and coziness.  It's pretty perfect...

 
and as the sun sets on another summer on Crooked Lake...

 
we are so thankful for the fun family memories we made once again.  Thanks so much, Cerajewski's...we love you!
 

We've got spirit, yes we do...we've got spirit, how 'bout you?

In one more week, he starts two-a-day football practice. 

 

He's been conditioning all summer with the team.  He is so excited.  So is his Dad.  Me...i'm terrified.  Remember this?  He's all healed now and totally cleared to play by all of his docs.  Still...scary.  But, i'm taking one for the team here and supporting him 100% because he loves it. 

 
Next weekend there's a tailgate auction for a team fundraiser and i made these two prints for the auction.  I had this collage print enlarged to 16 x 20 and framed.  It's really cool blown up like that. 

 
I will personalize for the highest bidder with the player's name and number on the jersey and the correct class year.  It's quite nostalgic having R suiting up in the Greyhound blue and gold.  K and R go to the same high school that Mark and i graduated from and Mark played football, too.  Ahhh...the glory days. 

On a different note, i'm unplugging for the weekend.  We've got fun family plans that i will tell you all about next week.  So, enjoy your weekend and i'll see you back here in a few days!

xo, Lori

 

a little vino would be keeno

I choose my wine by the label.  Really, i do.  Don't you?  I was talking to my friend Joy about this.  We were going to a party together recently and we stopped to pick up some wine on the way.  We're both artists and laughed when we confessed that we both choose our wine by the label.  I don't know much about wine.  I would love to go to a class, vineyard or winery and learn.  For now, I know what i like when i taste it.  That's how i'm learning.  If you are set in your ways {and your wine} and you haven't taken the time to browse the wine shelves lately, you really should.  Yesterday, while making a quick stop at Marsh {the grocery store}, i dragged my boys {does that make me a bad mom?  Oh well, i was teaching them good design} through the wine aisles while i snapped away.  The boys loved finding all the cool ones for me and between them and my camera, we were really making the store manager nervous.  It was funny.  Chill out, man.  Here are some great ones we found:

Should i get a wine glass or a fork?  yummmmmm...

this is one of my favorites...i would buy a print of this label and i would love to drive one of these trucks.  How cool would that be?...

so pretty...

 
way cool looking but all things Ed Hardy are ruined for me.  Thanks a lot, Jon Gosselin...

i am soooo buying this for Halloween...creepy but intriguing all at the same time...

 
Love the simplicity of this...genius... 

 
this is one of my brother-in-law's favorites {sorry for the blurry shot}...he's the one that i painted the bottle of Fat Tire beer for... 

This one is a little gimicky, but still cool looking...

 
Love cupcake...always a sweet one to give for a bday gift...and it's good, too...

i just liked how you could see the clouds in the background from the back of the back label.  clever...

last but not least...i liked this one too, even if it's not from Italy.  Nothing fancy...just a little somethin' to go with your pasta...Salute! 

 
and that was all just at my grocery store!  What's your favorite wine?  Any recommendations out there!?
 

Big news from whimsy studios!

I am so excited to announce that you can now find my art on super cool invites and e-cards at Pingg. 

 
Never heard of Pingg before?  Well, they're a lot like evite...only cooler.  That's because they seek out artists of all mediums and creativity to design their invitations.  They contacted me after they saw my etsy shop and asked if i would be interested.  I really took my time and decided that it was a really great company to work with.  I had to submit my art and invite designs to them and i got an email yesterday telling me that my designs were live.  To top that fun news, when i went to their website to check it out, i discovered that i was the featured designer for the day on their frontpage!  How cool is that?!

 So, the next time you are hosting a fabulous party or event, jump over to Pingg and browse through their huge assortment of original designs.  They're FREE!  You can always start with mine...{psshhh...I'm just sayin'}

Go take a look here!

Say it ain't so...

Yup...our local stores stocked their shelves with back-to-school supplies this week.  We go back to school in 4 weeks.  I know!  Right?  I think we are the earliest in the country.  I know some of you east coasters practically just got out of school.  We got out on the last day of May.  Still...August 10th is WAY too early.  There's still so much summer left!  "back-to-school" is like a dirty word(s) around here.  And if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!  Right?

 
The kids and i ran to Target for some essentials and i just had to go to the school supplies section because i love all of those art supplies in one place.  I mean, c'mon...

 
that's like candy for me...i cannot resist.  Oh, and these fabulous notebook designs...i want one of each!

 
G and R weren't having it.  In fact see that line right there...

 
G absolutely refused to cross it. 

 
I don't blame you, buddy. 

Foodies, rejoice!

Brand new recipe card set for 2010, available in the shop!

 What's for dinner?

"five more minutes, kids!...and this time, i mean it!"

 
Who is she kidding?  I think Martha must have yelled that every 15 minutes or so for about an hour and a half.  So funny.  Nobody wanted to pull themselves away from Saturday night's fun pool party with our awesome neighbors.  We are so unbelievably blessed to have them.  I can't believe how many people really don't care for their neighbors or don't even know them.  When we moved in 12 years ago, the neighborhood was mostly made up of empty nesters...with one exception...our next door neighbors, who happened to have kids our kids ages.  Slowly, over the years, the hood is turning over to young families again.  It's a rebirth and it's wonderful!  These are good people.  We love them.  These are "can i borrow a cup of sugar?" kinda people..."we'll keep an eye on your house while you're gone" kinda people..."let's road trip to IKEA" kinda people..."if the tornado sirens go off, you can come down our basement" kinda people..."let's get together and have a few cocktails" kinda people.  They know how to have a good time!

 

These things I know for sure...

1. good friends are an extension of your family
2. Kirkland brand pre-made margaritas from Costco are super yummy and stronger than you think
3. life is so good
4. Casey {superman in photo above} is soooo lucky that i couldn't figure out how to upload the video of him "walking the catwalk" on the diving board.........yet.

  

Summer lovin'

FINALLY!!!!  Summer banner is up...late...story of my life.  Better late than never.  To go along with it, here are some snapshots of summer life around here...

we are not big campers...the backyard is the farthest we've ever pitched this tent.  We usually just set it up in the playroom when we're looking for a camping adventure.  But, last week was nice and cool...perfect for sleeping under the stars (5 feet from the back door)...

 
We put a lot of time and sweat and $ into our landscaping this summer.  I am giving it all i've got.  My thumb is far from green, but we have been enjoying the basil from our own garden this summer.  I'm so proud of my little basil plant...

 
 
BEST PESTO EVER:

Combine in a food processor into a thick smooth paste:  2 cups fresh basil leaves, 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 T pine nuts, 3 minced garlic cloves

For crostinis:  Thinly slice crusty bagutte and brush pieces with olive oil.  Lightly toast under broiler and top with a smear of cream cheese and then a dollop of pesto.  YUM!  This dish gets rave reviews everywhere i take it.  So easy!

Amazing Indiana sunset after a summer storm...

 
We found these AWESOME lights at Big Lots, of all places.  I've always wanted lights like these over the pool, but everywhere i looked, they were big bucks. 

 
BL had them for $10 for a string of 40 {40 ft!}.  We just LOVE them.  When they're all lit up at night, it feels like you're on a cruise ship!

 
happy, itchy dog...

 
k taught her brothers and cousins how to make bracelets.  Now, i find string taped to every table in the house!

 
mmmmmm...

 
Toy Story 3....i could cry again right now just thinking about it.  sniff sniff

 
have you read this yet?  I'm 3/4 of the way through and i cannot put it down!!!!!

 
how i see it...

 
I am happy to report that I made a $105 donation to the National Wildlife Federation from sales of my Save the Gulf with Love print.  It's still available in the shop.  Thanks so much to all who have purchase one already.  I will keep you updated on our total!!!!

a little slice of Americana...

It's Tuesday after a long holiday weekend.  Time for laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping and more laundry.  But, first i thought i would reflect back on our awesome American weekend.  This is our first in YEARS that we were not on the beach in Alabama.  I think we made the very best of it, though. 

 
BBQ and swimming at my parent's house...

 

their backyard is amazing.  My mom's thumb is so damn green!!!!

the weather was gorgeous and the clouds that did show up were glorious...

 
Our hometown of Carmel had decided to postpone their parade and fireworks until Monday {not to interfere with church goers on Sunday}.  But our kids really wanted to see some fireworks on the 4th, so we set out and stumbled upon Conner Prairie { a local living history museum }, who was hosting the symphony and planning fireworks at dusk. 

 
We of course, didn't pay the $70 per person fee to actually get in to the venue, but we did park along the fenceline on the fringe of the property along with a lot of other crafty folks and were able to set up our soccer chairs and watch the fireworks from there.  We could even hear the symphony from there!  It was lovely. 

 
FREE fireworks and patriotic music from the symphony on the other side of the fence...because that's how we roll!!!!  Ha ha! 

We decided last minute to go to Carmel's fireworks last night after a Dairy Queen run...it was so great. 

 

 

  Our fireworks seats this time, were much closer.  I love the feeling of community when you're at a hometown event, don't you?  The traffic afterwards, when you're trying to go home...not so much. 

 
 
  
 

Let freedom ring!

Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans!!!!

 
{flag art by G 2009}

We spend the 4th like most Americans do...with friends and family...barbecue-ing, swimming and fireworks.  It's a gorgeous day here and we are looking forward to the fun.  Before the festivities begin, I wanted to share the latest happy houses village set that i made for my client Dee {the one who i've been making all of the holiday village sets for}.  I only have a few more holidays to do for her and then her collection will be complete!

 
I think Uncle Sam is my favorite. 

 

Happy 4th of July, friends!  Enjoy the long weekend!!!! xo