Friday Favorites: Week of 8/27

Hi there and Happy Friday to you!

It’s been a great week here in Brooklyn, and I’m thrilled to note that both Skyler and I are feeling much better after our extended post-travel sicknesses last week. Whatever we had took us both out for several days.

But, we’re back, and there’s a lot to catch up on in this edition of Friday Favorites, including highlights from our road trip to Michigan and a few extras. Thank you for reading!

FRIDAY FAVORITES: WEEK OF 8/27

• Basic Invite customized stationary

Before I dive into highlights from our Michigan trip, let’s talk about how cute this customized stationary is from Basic Invite, which is an order I placed while on the road to come home to.  

What’s really cool about Basic Invite is the wide variety of color options with instant previews available on customized designs.

I was given the opportunity to pick out and design five different stationary cards, and it was quick and easy to brand them in Life In Leggings colors. I saw what each card would look like before placing an order, and I loved that I could go in and change each element of the card, which isn’t always an option with stationary or cards.

(It was almost like I was working in Canva, which is the software I use on the regular to create graphics and images for the blog and social pages.)

Since I have been buying whatever blank cards I find to send out to clients who shop clean beauty with me, I figured it was time to step up my stationary game and include that part of my business on them. They turned out perfect, and I can’t wait to start sending them out.

I stuck to stationary for this order, but you can find anything you need for birthday party invitations, graduation announcements, holiday cards, showers and more on their website. While I’m not in need of any right now, how cute are these first birthday invitations all the way up to 60th birthday invitations?

Foil options are available too, as well as over forty different envelope colors that are all peel and seal. Basic Invite is now offering 15% off with coupon code 15FF51, so let me know if you use it and make your own cards!

• Otsego Resort – Gaylord, MI

I was a little nervous searching for dog-friendly hotels near Grayling and Gaylord because it’s not always easy to find vacancy at a good place. Lucky for us, I found a suggested page that leaded me to Otsego Resort in Gaylord, which is located just about thirty minutes from my grandmother’s house in Northern Michigan.

The resort is known to be a family-friendly ski and golf resort, and this is what really draws the crowds. Neither Scott nor I spends time on golf greens, but that was the go-to activity for everyone else there during our visit. There were several guy groups driving around in golf carts and gathering around the bon fires at night!

It was hard to get a full perspective on what the resort is really like, as the main restaurants and the other popular seasonal activities were closed during our stay. That said, the views were stunning and it was exactly what we needed to feel safe and settled for a few nights during our trip.

We stayed in one of the dog-friendly lodges, which is a separate area from the others. They have different room sizes, styles and price points, so it all just depends on what type of experience you’re looking for!

I don’t see us going back to the area anytime soon, but I wanted to mention our stay here in case anyone was searching for a good place to stay in the area. We enjoyed our time here, and I bet it’s a completely new experience in the winter time, too!

• Main Street – Gaylord, MI

My favorite part about staying in Gaylord was exploring Main Street, which is located just down the street from our resort in the Downtown area. The buildings are charming and closely resembled a shopping center you might see in the Swiss Alps with local retail shops, boutiques and restaurants.

One of our favorites was the Alpine Chocolat Haus, known for their hand-dipped chocolates, caramel/chocolate covered apples, sweet treats, ice cream and candies.

We dined out here and there, and our favorite stop was Mary’s Stein Haus for some excellent German-American food. We visited close to their closing hours, but it is recommended to call-ahead for a table if you’d like to go during normal dining hours.

We ordered family style with my dad, brother and Skyler to help us and tried a table full of German favorites. I always love a good Shepherd’s Pie, but the real superstar of the meal was the German Chocolate Cake for dessert. It was out of this world!

Traveling during this season of the pandemic resulted in a lot of the shops remaining closed during our strolls, but we still got the sense of Main Street and we all loved our time there.

• time with friends in Lake Orion

You know you’re getting older when the usual pictures of you and your friends on your visits together turn into only taking pictures of your kids together. This is exactly what happened during our stay with our friends Alex and Alex, who some of you might remember! Skyler had an absolute blast playing and hanging with their son, Reagan.

Their second son is on the way, and Alex might just be the cutest pregnant lady that ever visited the pool. (Right?)

We totally crashed the party and stayed with them for five nights during our road trip, and it was the best way to truly soak in quality time that we never get to spend together. The boys loved playing in the back yard and taking advantage of any type of water table or situation we set up. Skyler was in suburbia heaven!

It only took up until the end of our trip to realize that we never planned an adult-only dinner or real outing together during our stay. It was super relaxed and summer-paced, which was what we needed. But that’s why the normal group photo together is missing. Total fail!

• Jenn + Ryan’s Wedding

Our trip started in Gaylord and ended in the Detroit area with two of our friends getting married. I unplugged for the wedding with the exception of taking a few family photos, but it was absolutely beautiful and a really fun time.

The couple asked Scott to officiate the wedding, so he got ordained and did a wonderful job leading their ceremony. Skyler had a lot of fun dancing the night away and playing with other kids during the reception. It was a good time for all!

Jenn and Ryan met working for the Detroit Pistons together (fun fact, I was a dancer and Scott used to be the mascot and dunk coach!), so it was nice to catch up with some of our old friends from those days, too.

We were on the road for a total of ten days! It seems like a long time when you get back to your normal schedule, but the time actually spent on vacation and with loved ones you don’t always get to see always goes by too fast.

Thank you to everyone who made time to see us during our trip (many un-pictured), and for the memories Skyler will continue to talk about for years to come!

• favorite LIL posts

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I shared a personal tribute and a short history of my dad’s side of the family on the blog earlier this week. In case you missed it, here’s a post honoring and remembering the life of my grandmother who lived to 103 years old in Lovells, Michigan.

» 5 Ab Exercises You Can Do Anywhere

Here are some of my go-to moves that target the abdominals with demos. You can do them anywhere from your hotel room to a state park, so perfect for summer travels or as the cooler weather rolls in outside!

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And that wraps up this week’s faves! We have a busy weekend ahead filled with church events and outings, so I’ll be back here with more fun and content next week.

Until next time, you can keep up with the latest on Instagram and Facebook, as I post much more frequently on those pages. Enjoy the weekend!

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*Disclaimer: The Basic Invite portion of this post is sponsored. As always, the thoughts and opinions captured in Friday Favorites and all posts that appear on the blog are my own. I appreciate your support so, so much.