Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Spring seems to have already sprung in Michigan and although it's not bound to last it's definitely a breathe of fresh air. I will take mid 40's and a drizzle any day over falling snow and temperatures below zero. Even the piles of snow we had just over a week ago have all been diminished to tiny lumps.

Friday turned out to be the best day weather wise. It was absolutely gorgeous with lots of sun and temperatures high enough to go outside without a coat. In the afternoon my mom and I headed to Tandem Ciders for a little fun. We might not agree on our wine preferences, but we both love cider.

Tandem's tasting room is in an old white farm house with a casual bar area and lots of outdoor seating for the summer months. Since the property was pretty muddy on Friday we opted for inside seating where we sipped a variety of crisp cool ciders and munched on my favorite pickled eggs. The only downside to the trip was my inability to taste or smell a whole lot due to my recent cold. Hopefully next time we go I can savor the goods a bit more.

We still walked away with two bottles of cider. One of Sweet Heart and one Smackintosh.

Afterwards we decided to stop in Suttons Bay and walk around for a bit. Suttons Bay is a quaint little town located right on the water along M22 highway (and the end of the TART trail). It's home to many lovely shops but my favorites are Enerdyne and Brain Storm. It's hard to consider these separate stores since they're physically connected. Enerdyne sells mostly nature and science products while Brain Storm mainly sells games. Both stores are dedicated to the notion that learning and exercising your brain can be lots of fun.

On Saturday my dad and I decided to hit up the local record store. We've been record shopping every weekend lately. I love sharing a passion for records with my dad. It's been fun hunting for certain albums or artists that we both like, although we both agreed that we need to start bringing lists. Every time I walk into the store I get distracted by all the names and forget what exactly I wanted to look for.

My dad and I both managed to find worth while purchases Saturday. I walked out with a 2008 limited edition remastered version of Pain In My Heart by Otis Redding in red vinyl and my dad went with a greatest hits kind of album from The Beatles. I had been looking for a Redding album for quite some time, and although I prefer old over remastered I was still quite happy with this purchase. Since my parents only had one Beatles album in their collection (Let It Be), my dad's been trying to find a reasonably priced record to add to the list. Some of those Beatles albums can get pretty pricy! I almost bought The Beatles White Album last weekend, but I just couldn't manage $50 at the time. It's definitely an album I would like on vinyl, so I might try saving up for it.

That night my parents had a work party and my brother had to work, so I was left with the house all to myself. Taking full advantage of my time alone, I decided to make cookies. I always prefer to bake cookies alone because that way I can blast music, dance around the kitchen, and eat as much dough as I like.

Later, just as I was about to go to bed, I found my brother watching a feature on the Mercedes Benz Formula 1 racing team. After a few minutes I was totally sucked in. It's fascinating what all goes into making the vehicles. Soon after I decided to just stay up to watch the whole Australian Grand Prix with my brother. I don't go out of my way to watch Formula 1, but I find the races exciting. It's one of those sports that I always find interesting and want to know more about. There's just a lot that goes into the sport between it's careful engineering and constant teamwork.

Sunday morning, after unfortunately forgetting I set my alarm before decided to stay up so late, my dad suggested we try one of the antique stores for more vinyls. Browsing the antique store usually requires a little more digging and careful inspection, but you can usually find better prices.

Lastly, Sunday afternoon my parents and I went to see the new Cinderella movie. My mom and I were already on our way to the theater when my dad called to say he would meet us there. My dad is kind of finicky about watching movies, so we were both pleasantly surprised that he decided to join (the more the merrier!) The movie was excellent and I was very happy revisiting a story that I hold so close at heart.

I ended up having a very family oriented weekend. I'm thankful my family is still able and willing to spend so much time together. Cheers to the great weekend!

-S