Hey everyone!

Saturday was a beautiful day at the cottage, with big plans for the evening. I knew going into this trip that we were going to a wedding on Saturday. I’d packed two dresses and a lipstick, since I wasn’t sure what kind of wedding this would be.

That afternoon, we were hoping to go to the beach, but it was a little too windy. Due to the lake effect, weather can be unpredictable and strange. So my aunt suggested something I will NEVER say no to- shopping!

TRIP TO GRAND HAVEN!

Grand Haven is a cute town on the water about forty minutes from their place. Although maybe it’s farther. Or closer. It was really hard for me to tell how far away we were from places, since there’s a lot of driving on flat farm roads in Michigan.

It was an absolutely beautiful day out in Grand Haven. We went to a farmer’s market and bought some peaches. I don’t usually go to farmer’s markets in Austin. I don’t like making small talk with vendors before taking the free sample and running away. I like the idea of supporting local farms and small businesses, of course, but I haven’t found one with enough of a draw for me. I went to one every week in Hawaii because they had beignets with lillikoi sauce. Now THAT is a draw.

Then we went to a hat store. I got my new favorite hat of life. At first I was surprised it was all summer hats, but I guess this is kind of a beach town. It was also cool to have a store entirely devoted to one item, like hats.

We walked around and had a fabulously productive day of shopping. I found a new outfit and a new top, and picked up some Lake Michigan touristy swag. I’d been really regretting not getting any cool tourist Montreal shirt on my last trip, so a ‘Lake Michigan: Unsalted’ tee was a must-buy.

Then we walked to this old restaurant for lunch, and headed right up the stairs. Yet again my aunt had the scoop on a rooftop lunch spot! We ate at the bar and enjoyed vodka thyme lemonade cocktails that we both agreed were amazing. I could see the water and feel the lake breeze (although my new short bangs were not loving the wind treatment) and we gossiped and chatted happily. I ordered a delicious stir fry bowl that I LOVED.

Wabassis Lake Wedding!

After our fun afternoon in Grand Haven, my aunt and I headed back to the cottage. We got ready for the wedding and headed out. I changed into my sundress and put on my new hat. I realized when we arrived that this dress is TECHNICALLY white, with big red flowers splashed over the linen, but the bride was wearing silver sequins anyway, so it was all gucci.

We drove a very long time to the lake park, and this was peak grouchy for me. I was carsick in the backseat, and we drove through tiny town after tiny town on these curvy roads that jostled me around back there. It was probably just an hour and a half, and I was probably just dehydrated or something, but I was VERY relieved to get to the wedding.

My aunt and uncle were seated with all their friends, who were all (obviously) their age. I felt like the little kid at this table of people in their 50s and 60s. The bride and groom were my age, but I didn’t end up meeting them. It was a casual reception since they’d already gotten married a few weeks ago, or something like that. Either way, we were fed and I got to sneak home two Kahlua cupcakes.

There was supposedly a meteor shower that night, but the three of us were exhausted by the time we got back to the cottage. I headed off to bed, which was nice and cool with the windows open. I wrapped up my secret wedding cupcake (one of them didn’t survive the long drive home) and headed off to bed!