Girls’ Weekend Up North

A couple of weeks ago, my best friend Alex invited me to spend the weekend with her and some of her girlfriends from work at her family’s cottage Up North.

We deemed our time away “Save Our Sanity Weekend” and that’s exactly what happened. For forty-eight straight hours, our sanity from the craziness of life was saved… here.

I left you all Friday sharing that Alex, our pups, and I would be on our way to make the four hour drive up to the Traverse City area by late that afternoon. By 4:30 p.m. the Jeep was packed and the four of us were on our way!

We hit a little bit of traffic, which was to be expected. Everyone seems to have a cottage they visit Up North during the summer months, and I’m so glad I finally got to have that experience.

Alex’s family share their cottage with her Aunt’s family, and they purchased their lakefront property at an absolute steal over thirty years ago!

We arrived to Lime Lake right after 9 p.m. and quickly dropped Roadie and Macy off inside before heading straight over to meet the girls for a late dinner in Downtown Traverse City.

I wish we could have spent more time there! I love the Traverse vibe and have only been there to visit the wineries. Scott and I wanted to make a trip up last weekend to attend the Cherry Festival, but I guess that will have to wait another year.

This time, we made our way in and out of the area for dinner at Mackinaw Brewing Company.

We started with a cherry wine (which I am still convinced was some kind of cherry brew), and both Alex and I ordered the exact same meal. We’re kind of obnoxious, but it tends to happen since we have very similar taste.

White chicken chili with black beans (yum!), Spinach Salad with fruit and feta, and a Bailey’s chocolate cheesecake to split for dessert.

We knew this weekend was open for indulging, and I think we took care of that in a great way and in moderation. We spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and watching Bridesmaids, which I now realize will never, ever get old!

Saturday

A big goal for our weekend was to make as little plans as possible, but still have an idea of what would take place according to food preparation.

We started the morning with breakfast at the cottage, then packed lunch and headed out to Van’s Beach for the rest of the day!

With the full group of us sporting big floppy beach hats, we were fully aware that we looked ridiculous and decided to embrace it.

We made our way through an art festival that was going on to find the entrance to Van’s Beach for a few hours of fun in the sun. I can’t even remember the last time my toes hit sand, so I was pretty excited!

The skies were a lot cloudier than we expected, but the gorgeous views surrounding us made up for it.

Knowing we came prepared with a picnic setup and speaker to play music, we made our way to the end where we were only bothered by the occasional beach bird.

Sunshine or not, hours of laying, chatting, reading, and sipping by the water was pure bliss.

There may or may not have also been some beach yoga and barre classes led by the water.

Hey… we had a blast and woke up with sore legs the next morning. That’s multitasking at it’s finest, my friends!

It started getting chilly around dinner time, so we packed up and went back to the cottage to prepare dinner in. I was really proud of the girls for planning out all of our meals ahead of time, and we all split up groceries and cooking tasks to get everything together!

(Shout out to Emily for her amazing grilling skills!)

Dinner came together quickly, and I appreciated the fact that our meal was light and healthy. Until ice cream, of course.

Eh, it was girls’ weekend. So I lived a little.

After the ice cream, we realized we never ate the grilled corn on the cobb and all had an ear.

Alex even taught Roadie how to gently enjoy his… like a human.

It was hilarious and he seemed to love the extra challenge and treat.

We closed the night by watching our second chick flick in the cottage and all went to bed two hours later, after loving then despising the movie Message in a Bottle. Have you ever seen it? It’s a great story until the twist of an ending. We were all so upset. Ha!

Sunday

Our Sunday morning started with two whiney pups who desperately wanted to explore the outdoors.

Alex mentioned taking them to a beach that allowed dogs, and I was all for it. Ironically enough (considering Scott and I are from Florida), Roadie had never been to a real beach before.

He absolutely loved the sand and grass, but wasn’t too sure about the water part. Macy, however, dove right in!

Eventually, we ran into a small river that Roadie warmed up to. Hey, any water is a big step in my eyes!

On our turnaround, I think he finally realized how much fun Macy was having in the waves and decided to give it a try.

I had a proud momma moment and had to capture it. Clearly, Roadie was still second guessing the whole idea of sand and water in his paws, but in my mind I still won the battle of the beach.

(His faces kill me.)

We made our way to the car and rode back to the cottage with two tired puppies. Alex and I kept talking about how fun it would be to live this close to a beach and take them several times a week! If only.

After a cup of coffee, the group of us drove into town for brunch and I ate the best Greek omelet in all the land. Seriously, this combo was the jam!

Three eggs, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, garlic, black olives, feta and mozzarella cheese.

We went back to the cottage and said goodbye to our friends who had to get back home and enjoyed the rest of our afternoon across the lake at Alex’s aunt’s cottage.

I told you, everyone seems to own property Up North! And after this trip, I can definitely see why. It’s absolutely beautiful and so serene.

Eventually, we came to terms with needing to head home ourselves, and went back to Alex’s family’s cottage to pack up our things and get ready to make the four hour drive back home.

We might have been in denial that reality would soon return.

After hours of driving and plenty of loud singing anyone overhearing or watching would find embarrassing, we entered the outskirts of our home city and spotted a rainbow!

How’s that for a great ending? A little cheesy, I have to agree, but pretty awesome at the same time.

Now I’m home and am slowly accepting that I don’t actually live on a gorgeous body of water. I will always remember my time at the cottage and hope to return again this summer.

Thanks Alex (and friends!) for an incredible stress-free weekend. My sanity has for sure been temporarily saved!

Giveaway Winner

Before I go, I have a giveaway winner to announce. Thank you to everyone who entered the Emergen-C (fizzy vitamins) giveaway over the weekend!

CONGRATULATIONS to…

• Entry #185 – Tonya M.

You won by liking Housewife Glamour on Facebook!

Please email me at hwglamour@gmail.com with your shipping address to claim your prize.

(Linking this post up with Katie for Marvelous in my Monday!)

Have a great start to the week!

Question of the Day

• What is one thing you do to “save your sanity”?

If a vacation or weekend getaway isn’t an option, I rely on things I can do at home to help me relax. If I’m high strung, I usually go for a long run or take a yoga class to de-stress. Also, I turn to my girlfriends to help pull me out of funks with a get together or even a phone call. If that doesn’t work, music or a hot bath seems to do wonders!