Day Trippin' to Mackinac Island

Word on the street, is that summer is coming to an end. 
....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! 
Ice cream, summer dresses, beach days, flip flops... livin' is easy.
Since there's only so many days of summertime left, my adventure gal pal Cait and I decided to hit the road once again, and took a day trip to Mackinac (pronounced like Mackinaw) Island. 

Mackinac Island is a little island in Lake Huron, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Back in the day, the island served as a strategic position and was the site of two battles during the War of 1812. Today, it is THE CUTEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And a very popular tourist destination. Colonial style homes and bed and breakfasts in bright cheery colours line the roadways. Motorized vehicles are prohibited on the island, so tourists and locals alike wander the streets on bicycle. Bicycling not your thing? Take a tour of the beautiful trails and beaches with your own horse and buggy. 

To get to the island, you are going to want to hop on the ferry.

Then pick up your bike at one of the rental shops. 

A 13km road follows the island's perimeter, hugging the shoreline most of the way. Get on it, and go! 

(But try to avoid the horse poop along the way.)

When your legs start to tire, and your tummy starts to rumble, stop at one of the the pebble beaches for a quick bite to eat. 

Then hop back on the trails, and see where they take you.

Make your way back into town, and check out some of the candy shops. Mackinac Island is known for their fudge. Their fudge is so famous in fact, that Mackinac tourists are referred to as "fudgies". So of course, you must try some.  

Pick your poison, and head on home. 
I went with some good ole fashioned salt water taffy. 
Perfection. 
Dear summer, please don't leave us!! 

Blues & Whites

My recent trip to Nova Scotia has stirred my obsession with all things nautical. 
Here's a few things I'm lusting for, in blue & white:

Cobalt blue wine glasses. 

This dress. 

This iphone case (I love anything monogrammed). 

This Daniel Wellington watch. 

These bowls. 

This cozy bedroom. 

This dinnerware. 

DIY Flower Crown

I am OBSESSED with flower crowns.

I'm not at all a hippy child - I like to think of myself as more of a Kate Middleton than a Vanessa Hudgens, but there's just something about flower crowns I love so much. SO. FREAKIN'. MUCH!!! 

After looking around online, there were a lot that I liked, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend ~20-80 dollars on an accessory I wasn't even sure I could pull off. Here's a few favourites I used for inspiration on Etsy: 

This one is delicate and not too over-the-top.

Find it here. 

These colours are so purrrty.

Find it here. 

Really diggin' the peach.

Find it here. 

I'm not usually a DIY/crafty kind of gal (craft stores give me anxiety... TOO MANY THINGZ IN THURR!!), but this was a project I couldn't wait to get my hands on. First, I gathered my supplies: 

You will need: 

wire cutters

a couple handfuls of silk flowers (I used 9)

heavy rustic floral wire, for the base

light floral wire, to attach the flowers

I bought all of my supplies at Michael's (with the exception of the wire cutters, those were my dad's), and my total came to $23. BUT I bought way too many flowers (two more bouquets in addition to the one shown above... couldn't make up my mind!) so I had enough flowers to easily make two more crowns. That's roughly $7.67/crown. Not bad. 

Part two: assembly. 

Take your heavy rustic floral wire, and shape it into a circle that fits comfortably on your head. Don't make it too tight - adding the flowers makes it fit a bit snugger at the end.

Before you do anything, figure out the general arrangement of the flowers on your crown. I only covered the front half of my crown, but feel free to go all the way around if you like. Try not to over think this part. Once you put a flower on, it's just as easy to take one off. 

Once you've decided, take the light floral wire and wrap it around the stem of your flower. 

Then, start from the back of your crown and move forward. Secure the flower in place by wrapping the thin floral wire several times around the base. 

Keep adding flowers, until your crown is full and luxurious. 

Ta-daaa! 

Part three: put on your crown, and run barefoot through a field of daisies. I couldn't find one, so I ran around my back yard instead. 

Now go get your flower child on!