The First of Spring

Every spring I get the urge for change. I love spring cleaning and the chance to start fresh. We'll open the windows, let the light and crisp air in, and start shaking things up a bit. Now, the weather here is just starting to warm up, but it's still in the 30's so for the moment I'm just dreaming. 

Anthony and I have already started some big changes around here, and because I'm not one to back down from a challenge, I've decided to "go big or go home". You may have noticed I haven't been around the blogosphere much lately. That's partly because all this change in my behind the blog life looked scary and I wasn't sure what to say to all of you. But there comes a time when you've got to stop being scared and start being tough.

With this change, I started thinking about what I believed. Change bring decisions, and I want these changes to enforce my values. I believe in packing light and traveling often. I believe eating healthy should taste good, that fitness should be fun, and that you can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. I believe stress is important, as are headstands. I believe spending time outside is the best therapy. I believe we can do more than we think, and I believe spring is a time for change. 

You may be able to guess what type some of these changes are, but don't worry, this isn't the last you'll hear of them. For now, smile. It's time for change. 

Travel Time: Rules of the Road

The importance of travel was instilled in me from a young age. Taking a trip together can strengthen bonds by creating wonderful shared experiences, and providing new challenges. I've traveled with my family from the moment I was born, and have learned the in's and out's of surviving enjoying the experience.

A few years ago, I started traveling with Anthony, which proved to be an entirely new experience. Over the years, we've come up with a few guidelines for successful "short trips" which we take once or twice a month. These have in state destinations, are day or weekend trips, and are usually under five hour drives. Tomorrow we have a 3 hour drive to my great grandmother's party... she's awesome, you'll meet her.

So what have we learned?

A Look at Family Life

Good Morning! Hope your Monday is absolutely lovely. If not, you can relish in the fact you didn't have to be a part of this family photo. 

Every year, around Thanksgiving, my wonderful family takes a photo to send in our holiday cards. Every year we fail... miserably. 

To paint you a picture: No one is given any sort of advanced warning that the photo will be taken. This year, my dad was wearing the same cloths he did the day before, and Sarah hadn't brushed her hair yet. After threatening, coercing, and forcing us into one room my poor mother has to figure out how to get everyone to sit still. You would think this would be easy, but it couldn't be further from. Between the dogs, my hyperactive sister, and my adhd, we struggle. If, by some divine intervention, we can all sit still, we later have to flip through the shots and find what is often a single photo in which no one is making a funny face. (Which has almost led us to send a photo of my father, cross eyed and sticking his tongue out to his wonderful coworkers) 

This year was even better, as we bypassed the self timer method and had Anthony snap a few for us. By this I mean, we're all sitting on the couch, and in the first minute or so he's taken fifty frames. No one really noticed, and no one was ready, but we were done. We always get a laugh out of the process. It's more of a joke than a family photograph, but looking back, taking the photo means more to me than whatever the result may have been. Looking back I see the moment just after Sarah decided she would sit on my lap, and before my dad reminding us to look normal as my mom tries to get the puppy, who's decided he must sit on someone's head, to behave. So if and when you take a family photo this year, remember: no one's family is normal, you look absolutely beautiful, and it's the memory, not the print that matters most. 

*My mother emailed it to me, which is why it's so blurry- and it will probably say something different... (but knowing my family, probably not). 

So let me ask you this:

Do you take a family photo for the holidays? 

How does your picture day unfold? 

Nod and Smile

Good morning loves! 

(Instagram @kbailey814)

Sometimes... you just have to nod, smile, and accept. For example, this conversation between Anthony and I regarding my stand up comic caliber humor. 

I start, of course: Why don't you laugh at my jokes? 

Because they're not very funny, baby. 

But... you laugh at me sometimes. 

Because you're funny

Just not my jokes? 

No. Just you... when you're not trying to be. 

Oh... So apparently this is a "I'm laughing at you, not with you" type of thing, and you know what? I'm Ok with that... Somebody's got to be the entertainment around here. 

P.s. Anthony's back in town today (because I know you guys missed him around these parts!) 

What are you smiling about today?

Why I've Been So Busy and Cute Puppy Pictures

You may be wondering where I've been lately. Or maybe not. I hope you were. Well I have something tiring and time consuming and really really cute to share with you. Actually, three somethings. 

Meet my temporary house guests: 

They're all eight weeks old, unknown breed, and for adoption in Michigan.

This is Lester. He's cuddly. He'd rather sit on your lap than play with the other pups, but he's going to be big! 

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

Over the weekend, Anthony and left the city and drove to a local farm for pumpkin picking, cider, doughnuts, and other lovely goods. Each year, we make sure to spend the day at one of the  local apple orchards picking apples, enjoying the outdoors, and supporting local farmers. It's one of the days I look forward to all year, and is always a good time! 

Unfortunately, Michigan has had some odd (but relatively normal for michigan) weather. While today was beautiful for our adventure, the season hasn't been kind to the crops. Many apple orchards are closed for U-pick this year because of a misplaced frost. However, even some of those that have closed and are still selling surviving apples, other crops, or goods they produce. The farm we visited wasn't hit hard, and was still open for pumpkin and apple picking. They also had baked goods, honey, fruit butters, flowers, games, and rides for children. We also picked up cider and donuts to take home... as a reminder of a great day, of course. Will you check out your local farms this fall? It's a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall weather while supporting local business! 

Don't know where to go? Check out:

Pickyourown.org
Local Harvest

What is your favorite fall activity?

Meet SheJumps!

Hey Ladies! In place of your Motivation Monday, I'm sharing with you an organization you'll probably here a lot about around here... mostly because it's absolutely awesome! This is just a little intro, as it's busy busy busy around here this week. 

via Shejumps.com

Shejumps is a nonprofit whose mission is to "increase female participation in outdoor activities by building upon a supportive community that inspires its members to reach their highest potential" You can check out their website here. It features some amazing women! The best part? You can be a part of it, easy peasy. There is an online community, and you can find a chapter in your area.

Let's Go Cruisin'

The Woodward Dream Cruise 

As many of you know, I grew up in a little town outside Detroit, the Motor City. Every year, our area has this event called the "Woodward Dream Cruise". The dream cruise, according to their offical website is "[...]the world's largest one-day automotive event, drawing 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars each year from around the globe."

Basically, Woodward is the main road on the southeast side of Michigan. The Dream Cruise is when a ton of classic, antique, and weird cars drive around this road through four or five cities. Attendance at this massive party is nearly mandatory each summer in our area.

Though I am not a car enthusiast, even I can appreciate the work so many men people put into a hobby involving automobiles. Some of these cars are truly amazing. 

(I'm partial to the "cute" trucks.)

Some are just weird.

And yes, that is me- on a Harley Davidson. And no, I didn't actually drive it. 

The kickstand is still down. 

I'm not that cool. 

How have you been spending your last weekends of summer?

Two families around the Fire

I apologize for the absence, 

I've been at a family reunion. 

Camping. 

Since I'm still getting back into the swing of things, all I've got for you today is a quick photo journal of some reuniting. 

As for the backstory:

My grandmother's 7 children and her brother's 13 children and all of their children's children plus a bunch of dogs get together every year to go camping.

We cook food over the bonfire, play beach volleyball, go kayaking, and have a shotgun shooting competition.

Where we stayed. Not in the water, of course, but in the yard behind the house next to it.

True to reunion fashion, every meal was cooked over the bonfire. 

My sister and I were in charge of breakfast. Which was, of course, filled with dirt, but otherwise delicious.

(The pan was heavy and we're kind of clumsy)

The boys fished, and my younger cousin caught this monster!

Dozer was there too, searching for leftovers the little ones dropped.

We played sports and exercised (just kidding... we ate more bonfire food).

And Dozer even helped clean up camp... kind of.

Does your family hold reunions? 

What do you do?

Roll With Me: Chronicles of a Mountain Biking Trip

"Get a bicycle. You won't regret it if you live." -Mark Twain

My first experience mountain biking was quite a trip. See, I'm not a mountain biker. The thought scared me to death! But hey, "do one thing every day that scares you", right?

 So my boyfriend, Anthony, and I headed over to the closest state park, which happened to have some fantastic mountain biking trails. We started out on an easy one, a trail called "homestead" and someone how got just a little lost and ended up doing a loop that wasn't prepared for. It may have been called Granny's Garden, but apparently Granny was a bad*** with no sense of self-preservation. We ended up following routes with names like "no fear chute" and "deliverance" instead of the original route on trails with names like "1st and 2nd stream". 

Even so, we each only fell a few times (but I may or may not have walked some of the more challenging obstacles- but come on, I'm a newbie.)

As for a little glimpse into what we each brought along. 

Anthony's Pack: Osprey Raptor- 14 liter

Bike lock, shoes, earbuds, helmet, multitool, bike tool, head lamp, gloves, ipod, bandana, skoal, lighter (No pictured: hydration bladder, which was in the pack)

Katie's Pack: Osprey Manta- 20 liter

Helmet, Keys, Carabiner, Ipod, Sunglasses, Trash bag, Hydration Bladder, Bathing suit, Deodorant, knife, bug balm, hair balm, sunscreen, tissues, allergy medication, Aspirin, banana, tampon, camera/case, shoes.

As you can see, I've got a little more than him, but we were debating jumping in the lake after our ride, hence the extras. 

Also, we each through in a sandwich from a local food co-op that we stopped at on our way to the park. 

The photos don't do these trails justice at all. They look so much more frightening in person!

After getting of track for quite awhile we stopped by the lake for lunch. 

Check out the second to last ingredient. Yeah. It says "love". 
Aw :)

If injuries bother you, skip this next photo.

I chickened out coming up to a obstacle, and decided a dead stop was better. Anthony ran into me, and his bike ran into him. Hopefully that will teach him to not follow so close!

We even joked about co-writing a "how our relationship survived mountain biking" post!

I'm a firm believer that being active together will either strengthen or end your relationship. I mean, they call tandem kayaks "couples councillors" at the boat shop near our house. Each adventure teaches us something new about ourselves, each other, and our relationship. We barely survived this trip, and loved every minute of it. Now I'm off to work on my skills and try it again!

What's the most frightening thing you've done this week?

My House is Crooked and What It Taught Me

If you've been following along, you've seen a few peeks of my remodeling projects. 

Well long story short, while working on these projects, we realized the house was crooked. Like who built this thing and how has it lasted 105 years crooked. Nothing was lining up how it should, and we were left with more than a few spots that had us wondering how to hide the imperfection

Now of course, I am generally an "as long as your happy" person- pretty easy going, and an overall optimist. 

Secretly, though, I'm a closet perfectionist. 

All these "mistakes" were driving me crazy. 

My co-projectors got me to thinking. These weren't mistakes I had made. The house is crooked and I haven't been working out near enough to pick it up and set it straight. 

I was going to have to deal with it. 

So does hiding a "mistake" make it go away? Or can we learn to live with imperfection, and maybe even enjoy the stories behind them. 

Two years ago, we mistakenly "ruined" another room in our home. It was never fixed, and to this day there is a patch in the tile that is glaringly a different color than the rest of the floor. Each time in walk into this room, I can't help but laugh remembering the good times we had making that "mistake". 

Had I not been so worried about perfection, I just may have found myself enjoying the journey to almost perfect- or at least to "better than it was". 

So what exactly did my crooked house teach me?

Just because something isn't perfect doesn't mean it isn't good. You have only made a mistake if you have failed to enjoy the journey, left your little piece of the world in worse condition than before your touch, or learned nothing from what life throws at you.

*Because I have no pretty pictures pertaining to this story, you get to see a glimpse of my summer*

The trunk of my car: Beer, fireworks, ammunition, gas for the boats, a tent, and some camping essentials.

What is your favorite imperfection?

Have you started/completed your summer bucket list?

Eastern Market, Detroit

Hello my lovelies. 

I hope you've all had fantastic weekends

My weekend was spent traveling back to the Detroit area to visit family. 

While I did enjoy the sunrise from my car, I couldn't wait to get "home" for a weekend of shopping, spending time with family, and getting ready for the holidays. 

The big adventure of the weekend was my first trip to Eastern Market, which is an outdoor market selling fruits, vegetables, meats, clothes, many detroit products, and other booths selling miscellaneous items (sunglasses, belts, and such).

You would think living so close and being somewhat obsessed with farmer's markets and local businesses, I would be a regular, but sadly, no. After visiting, I really wish I would have ventured down here sooner. 

The market is huge, covering a couple blocks in downtown detroit. It is nestled between other business selling everything from fresh fish, to ethiopian food, to the best pistachios this side of anywhere. One exciting highlight was all the festive holiday items. I have never seen so many wreaths, centerpieces, and other evergreen items. It smelled like a christmas tree farm. Just amazing. 

 The market is mostly outdoors, which made for quite a chilly morning, as I was no where near dressed for the weather. It is, however, open year round, and I am looking forward to a summer or fall visit. 

I don't know much about the market, but from what I hear, most food items coming to michigan go through here before heading to their respective supermarkets, shops, and other venders. One great quality of the market though, is the price and quality of everything. Everything was so fresh and so cheap. 

I wish I could have spent the entire day exploring, but alas, it was cold and I had a long to do list for the weekend. 

On a side note. I found the perfect hostess gift for thanksgiving at a small stand in the back of the market. I promise a picture next post, when I continue my holiday survival stories.

Now that you've listened to my raves about eastern market, I'll leave you with a question. 

Are farmer's markets in your area, and do you shop them?