Bob and I took an extended weekend and travelled to Elk Rapids, MI for some gigs and some family time. We spent our weekend with Bob's brother Matt and his family. Matt's wife, Jen has a family cottage in Elk Rapids, her parents were gracious hosts and invited Bob & I to stay with them! We had such a fun time with Bob's nephews and the whole clan- also, we couldn't have asked for better weather. Damn, I love Michigan.
A few highlights: going out on the boat with the boys and watching Bob attempt to water ski. Watching Bob play on the beach with his nephews. Watching the Olympics late at night after the boys went to bed. Family dinners and home cooked meals. Playing a gig at sunset on the beach- wow. Ordering MI wine off of a menu. Playing games with Bob's nephews. Stumbling across a field of endless sunflowers. Taking the long way home. Spending 3 solid days with Bob.
Happy Friday!!! I'm so looking forward to this 3-day weekend! I'm taking Monday off and Bob and I are heading up north for some gigs and some Mervak family beach time. I really can't wait to get out of town for a few days with my favorite man friend. Here are a few thoughts...
1. I'm really excited about the mani I got for our long weekend- I'm pretty nuts about the Essie metallics collection that just came out. I've dreamed of the perfect chrome polish and here it is.
Danielle and I had a girls night-
we got manis, drank pink margaritas and ate dinner at Luxe!
on me: "No Place Like Chrome"
on Danielle: "Penny Talk"
2. I'm really hoping that the storms quit it for our trip. This is what Detroit looked like last night. (photo courtesy of Cybelle Codish's instagram)
Isn't it beautiful though? Cybelle is a well known Detroit photographer and is one of my favorite instagrammers to follow, her handle is "photobell".
How can she make iPhone photos look this good?!
3. I'm going to make an awesome mix for Bob for us to listen to on our road trip. Here are a few of the songs I'm most excited about...
Give em' Hell by Little Hurricane
Michigan by the Milk Carton Kids
Mama Don't Like My Man by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
God Only Knows (Beach Boys cover) by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
(one of my favorite Detroit bands!)
4. The Olympics start tonight! I'm really looking forward to tonight's opening ceremony particularly because Sir Paul McCartney will be performing! Here is a great interview my friend Jennifer posted today with Paul McCartney talking about the Olympics, The Beatles and his own thoughts on his being a national treasure. Can I just say- Paul is an INTERNATIONAL treasure!
For Sammy's last night in town, we took him to our favorite sushi place, Noble Fish- since sushi is his favorite food. He loved it so much he ate the roll he ordered and then ordered another, that's a lot of sushi for a 10 yr. old!
After sushi we went to Thunderbird Lanes for some good old fashioned bowling. Sammy got bumper lanes so he nearly won but Bob ended up taking the lead! A tradition has emerged in the past few years that we must have an epic air hockey tournament after our bowling so of course we had to play. Again, Bob won... but I could have beat him and I have before!
You might be wondering about the awesome shades I'm wearing in practically every photo... I totally forgot my glasses at home and had to bowl with my sunglasses since they are prescription. I'm not so cool that I can wear sunglasses in the bowling alley :)
So... as I've mentioned on the blog before, Bob did some of the music for the upcoming film "Hit and Run" and I was lucky enough to be asked to sing a few songs as well! We will be flying to LA in August to attend the premier and hit the red carpet (not gonna lie- I'm stoked). A friend of mine who is also involved in the movie and does the red carpet thing often helped me determine to go for a "Zooey Deschanel" style, meaning... something vintage and "adorkable"... :)
So, I've been looking for an outfit of course that is comfortable, unique, chic, classic and easy to travel with and I think this is what I've settled on (Ceil took these pics in the dressing room at Mother Fletchers- a fantastic vintage store- in Ferndale)
BUT my Mom thinks I should wear this one...
I need help people!!!
Also, I'm an awful eBay shopper and bid on two pairs of shoes... stupidly... because now I have two pair of silver strappy heels- expensive heels-
when I needed only ONE fab pair!
So, more decisions...
The Kate Spades?
or the Manolos?
So, please, go to the comments section with your style opinions!!!!
Saturday we decided to be tourists in our own beautiful city and we took Sammy to the Detroit Institute of Arts! It ended up being a great time to go to the museum because they have three fantastic exhibits- Picasso and Matisse, Patti Smith Camera Solo and Five Spanish Masterpieces. Both of Sam's parents are professional artists and own a gallery so Sam is constantly exposed to artwork of a high standard so I think he liked the DIA but wasn't as impressed as most kids might be. haha.
Warhol
Picasso
The rest of our weekend was spent with family. We went vintage shopping, got Thai food (Sammy loves Asian cuisine- he's definitely a Nelson), went to church, got lunch and a matinee with the Grandparents, went swimming and had a delicious home made meal of short ribs and polenta by the wonderful Bob! It's been great having Sammy here. I love that out of town guests kind of force you to be a tourist in your own home town. I should force myself to do that more often.
There is a lot of Detroit that I have yet to discover...
