Pure Michigan Vacation

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Back in June I spent a week on vacation with my family at a cottage on Lake Michigan.  We rented the cottage using VRBO.  Have you ever used VRBO (vacation rentals by owner)?  It's amazing what you can find.  We first used it to rent a condo for our vacation to St. Thomas in 2010.

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I was amazed at how many of you have connections to Michigan.  Thank you for all of your questions and comments about Michigan.  I know I wasn't able to respond to all of your questions, so hopefully this post will answer them!

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The cottage we rented was in Holland, MI.  Holland is about a 40 minute drive from Grand Rapids (where I live) and is a nice Summer town with a cute shopping area downtown and lots of great restaurants.

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If you've never been to Lake Michigan, it's like an ocean, it's huge!  Lake Michigan is 307 miles long and 118 miles wide.  Around here a popular slogan in the beach towns is "Lake Michigan: Unsalted".  And that's exactly what it's like.

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The first day of vacation was cold.  World's Cutest Brother didn't seem to mind though and the lake was still beautiful.

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Our cousin and her two little girls came up to visit us one day.  It was a cold, rainy day but we still had fun.

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From our cottage we could walk up to the pier in Holland.

The light house is known as "Big Red".

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If we went the other way from our cottage on the beach, we could walk for miles!  Nothing but beautiful beaches.

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Most days we spent on the beach just relaxing and playing in the sand.

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We had some nice dinners in both Holland and Saugatuck (another beach town about 15 minutes South of Holland).  On our last night we ate dinner at the Piper.  We all enjoyed our meals and the pretty water views.

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It was another great vacation!

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Tasty Tuesdays #26

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Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

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Sorry, no recipe from me today.  I spent the weekend mostly at the beach and didn't do any cooking.  I did enjoy some great picnic food though.

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Hopefully you did better cooking this week than I did!

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{ Please remember to add a link in your post back to this post or add the Tasty Tuesdays button to your post.  You will find the button on my sidebar.  Thanks! }

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Shabby Apple Winner

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The winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway is comment #55....

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Meg of henning love

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Congrats Meg!

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Shabby Apple is offering a 10% discount code to 33 Shades of Green readers.  The code is:   33shadesofgreen10off. Code will be valid until July 23, 2011.

Craigslist Table: Finally Painted

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I have finally finished my Craigslist table!  I debated over painting it a bold, bright color, but in the end I went with my trusty standby, Krylon Dover White.  I love the bright pop of white - my living room really needed it I think.

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Here's a before photo, I just love all the detail in the table.

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Another before shot:

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Before painting, I used this primer by Valspar.

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And here's what it looks like right now in my living room:

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I still haven't added any accessories.  I sort of got sick of everything in my living room and took it all out and am slowly bringing things back in.  The bare look is actually sort of refreshing.  I was so sick of all my pillows that I sold them at a garage sale we had in May.  I have fabric to make news ones...I just need to find some time and get sewing.  I am going to attempt to add zippers to the pillows.  Anyone have any good tips or know of helpful tutorials?

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In other news, today is my Dad's 60th Birthday - Happy birthday Dad!

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I couldn't resist adding a few photos...

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{ Dad's First Holy Communion, 1958 }

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{ High School Graduation, 1969 }

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{ Dad & I in front of Mighty Mac, 1979 }

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{ Linking this post to Finding Fabulous & Just a Girl & Funky Junk Interiors }

Tasty Tuesdays: Wedge Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

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Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

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I love a good wedge salad.  This was the first time I've made blue cheese dressing and I have to say I see no reason to ever buy it in a bottle again.  This just tasted so much better!

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I searched online and found this recipe for the dressing. I changed a few things like using fresh garlic instead of powder and the amount of blue cheese.

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Ingredients for Dressing:

- 3 ounces blue cheese or blue cheese crumbles

- 3 tablespoons buttermilk

- 3 tablespoons sour cream

- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

- 1/4 teaspoon sugar

- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

- salt and freshly ground black pepper

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In a small bowl, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and garlic until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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{ Recipe yields (6) 2 tablespoon servings.  Whole milk may be used in place of buttermilk for a milder flavor. Dressing may be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to two weeks. }

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Ingredients for Salad:

- 1 head of iceberg lettuce

- 4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

- 1 tomato, chopped

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Cut lettuce into wedges.  One head will be enough for 4 - 6 nice size salads.

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Top lettuce with tomatoes and bacon.  Spoon dressing over top and top with additional blue cheese crumbles, if desired.

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Now it's your turn...what did you cook this week?

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{ Please add a link in your post back to this post or add the Tasty Tuesdays button to your post which can be found on my sidebar.  Thanks! }

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I have a great giveaway going on right now from Shabby Apple...click HERE to enter.

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Crazy Days of Summer: Yellow

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Happy Friday!

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Today I am taking part in a photo challenge hosted by Alicia of Project Alicia and Kristi of Live and Love out Loud.  The theme this week is:  Yellow.

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When Alicia posted about the challenge this week and mentioned the theme, I immediately thought of this field of weeds.  I rent a plot at a community garden and this week when I went to check on my plants, the fields surrounding the plots had erupted into fields of yellow.  I don't know what type of weed this is, but boy, it's everywhere!

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Have a great weekend!

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Shabby Apple Giveaway!

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When I was contacted a few weeks ago by Shabby Apple wondering if I would be interested in having a giveaway, of course I said yes!

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Here's a little bit about Shabby Apple (taken from their website):

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"After years of not being able to find stylish dresses that covered enough skin to make you really feel comfortable (without wearing a tank top, cardigan or long slip), owners Emily and CK decided to do something about it. They visited trade shows, marketplaces and designer studios only to discover the problem was not that department stores weren't buying the right dresses, but that designers weren't designing them. Shabby Apple is proud to offer you fantastic dresses that allow you to look fabulous, without having to compromise anything else."

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{ L to R:  Trade Winds Dress, Seven Seas in Seersucker Dress, Lost at Sea Skirt }

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Like me, you might know Shabby Apple for their beautiful and stylish women's dresses.  But they offer so much more, including, swimwear, maternity clothing, and even clothing for the kiddos in your life like these cute little girl dresses .

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But, this giveaway is all about Shabby Apple Jewelry!

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The Giveaway: 
One 33 Shades of Green reader will win a piece of Shabby Apple jewelry of their choice!

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Just a few of my favorite items:

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{ Avery Amozonite Earrings }

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{ Kai Necklace }

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{ Pompeii Earrings }

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{ Light as a Feather Necklace }

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{ San Remo Turquoise Ring }

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{ Fontana Earrings }

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How to enter:

1.  Mandatory Entry:  Head over to Shabby Apple and leave a comment telling me your favorite item.  Does not have to be jewelry - chose any favorite item from their site.

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2.  Bonus Entry:  Become a fan of Shabby Apple on Facebook.  Then come back here and leave a separate comment for your bonus entry.

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The fine print:

*  Winner must live in the Continental United States.

*  I'll select a winner by random sometime on Saturday, July 2nd.

* Please leave your email in your comment if you do not have it linked to your google account so I can contact you if you are the winner.

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Discount:

* If you are not the winner, or can't wait to purchase your favorite Shabby Apple piece, use this 10% discount code:  33shadesofgreen10off.  Code will be valid for 30 days.
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Good Luck!