Sunday, June 24, 2012

Eventful weekend...exhaustion

Hello Lovelies!
Going to try very hard to get through this horrible headache that has been nagging me for over five days to post a huge, packed with great images from the weekend blog...I hope this entry finds you all well and I hope your weekend was great! Winding down...they never last long enough do they? 
This weekend we left on Friday and headed up to Bay City and Midland where Don's family resides.. Don was the best man in his brother Tim's wedding..Congrats to them! 
We have been wanting for some time now to head to Frankenmuth which is on the way to Bay City and Midland but have just never had the time on other visits but this time we planned a bit in advance and were able to get there relatively early on Friday..We had to pick up Don's tux before 5 and the wedding rehearsal was at 530 so we needed to NOT be late ..and we were not. That is because I can be slightly O.C.D. with time and being on time...
Frankenmuth was a BLAST! Had not been there since I was nine years old. If you are not from Michigan and have no idea what I am talking about check out the link below!
Frankenmuth is many things...it is a place where it is Christmas all year in parts...and then it is also a very historical, German inspired town with shopping and museums and horse and buggy rides and great restaurants, wine testing and beer and fudge and taffy and....its a fun fun place..and a beautiful one! If you are ever in the area or live in Michigan and have not been there it is really a great place to visit..we already have plans to return when we are in the area again...
The first place we stopped was River Place.
Forty different very unique shops in a beautiful plaza...the only thing I can tell you is that the place is full of eye candy and magical wonders. Shops with things you wont find anywhere...everything from beads, to clothing to toy shops...and they're not just your average stores..we found so many incredibly unique things there...we spent two hours walking around this place and it was not enough time!
Their webiste explains it better stating that:

"You will enjoy the architecture, floral gardens, streams and waterfalls, and of course the great shopping opportunities.
A small sampling includes: Yankee Candle store, toy stores, purses, Michigan's largest bead store, "Animaland" stuffing factory, two women's boutique shops featuring Misses and Plus sizes, leather apparel and accessories, a dozen unique gift shops, a full service day spa, video arcade for the kids, and tons of fudge, candies, popcorn and ice cream"
Um...hell yes is all I can say! It was a blast and for someone like me who is a big kid at heart..I was going nuts in the unique toy shops! Here are a few things I wanted and had to snap shots of to share with you guys! :)
Here are a few photos I took of just the grounds and shops to give you a feel for what a cool place this is!
The walls of this place are lined with every kind of popcorn you never knew existed!
Dill pickle popcorn....rocks..no lie!




And just to give you an idea of some of the unique funny things we found there...
Toys, Toys & More Toys...I found heaven! :)~

Bead shop which is the largest bead shop in MI....awesome finds!




Ahh...Josh Don and I HAD to have a real Faygo in the glass bottle!



Postcard I found fitting...



I am in love with gnomes...have you seen Gnomeo and Juliet? <3


love him <3





Inspiring paper butterflies...will be making some of these..loved them!


pickled popcorn...pickles pickles pickles...everywhere in Frankenmuth..?

Yes...you read it correctly. EW!

WTF means " Where's the fudge in Frankenmuth! lol


Not gonna lie..a bit obsessed with robots lately...

MUST have this lunch bag for work.

Seriously? A bit disturbing..but worthy of at least the photo..

Wanted it lol

LOVE THIS!!
From here we headed to downtown Frankenmuth...we didn't do the whole Christmas Bonner's gig..just was not up for Christmas in June..
The town is really something to see...the cleanest...most floral and friendly place...here is what their website says about the town..

" America in Bloom champion recognized nationally for its outstanding community assets including cleanliness, environmental efforts, citizen involvement, heritage preservation, urban forestry, landscaping, floral displays and parks.
Stroll our Main Street and enjoy the colorful streetscape as our landscape blooms with color year-round. From the pinks and yellows of summer flowers to the reds and golds of the fall harvest to the twinkle of Christmas lights and crystal-clear blue of ice sculptures, it is obvious Frankenmuth businesses and residents take great pride in their community.
Frankenmuth businesses skillfully paint the backdrop to one of America's loveliest main streets. Over the winter, the city's horticulturist colors the floral display, working closely with regional growers to find exciting new varieties as well as traditional favorites. Hundreds of flats of flowers and more than 2000 individual pots are planted by the city's Clean Team in May. Four hundred locally-grown hanging baskets pepper the street's quilt of colors in hues of yellows, reds, purples, blues and greens. When visiting Frankenmuth enjoy. We're delighted to share our landscape with you."

Amazing huh? These are only a fraction of the images I took of flowers this weekend...








If I ever have that secret garden I talk about all of the time...it will include one of these God willing..this was possibly one of my most favorite things in all of Frankenmuth...this is Don's son Joshua with us here...checking out the flowers through a kaleidoscope attachment...you can turn the bottom place of flowers...or turn the hand dial he is holding and looking through...coolest thing ever!! I want one...bad. 




 Captured some of the secret lives of bee's :)
P.S...one of my favorite movies...
 More shops and beautiful boutiques...fudge shops..taffy shos...cheese stores..tea stores...resturants museums and so much more...
http://www.frankenmuth.org/shopping


More places than you know what to do with...
Mmm...yes please...nothing like some cheese to go with a good wine huh? LOL


Taffy!

Sinful...just...freaking sinful!

It's the fudge girl!

Colors everywhere...

Water fountain...


And then..we were on the road headed to Bay City where Don's mother lives...took a nice little nap in her bed cause I was up at 430 that morning and driving..as you can see our route on the map blow...nice day for driving nothing but blue skies my friends....
 

Headed to the Bay City mall to get Don's tux..looking pretty dapper he was...:)
Then a dinner at Tim and Kylee's place...Saturday the wedding...up at 530am..to the church by10 wedding at 1230...then party bus and a few cocktails with the wedding party over to Dow Gardens for their wedding photos with the bridal party..
Dow Gardens...another place with certainly I will be returning to for photos...this place was seriously so beautiful that it looked fake...
but first...the Bride and Groom!
Introducing...Mr. & Mrs. Williams!
http://www.dowgardens.org/

We did not see a great deal of this place..but it only cost 5 bucks to get in and we will be going back this place was breath taking pretty..



Largest dragon fly I've ever seen...had to be the size of my hand!
And so...wedding ended around midnight helped do some work to clean up the hall headed back to Tim and Kylee's packed our bags and hit the road for home...kind of crazy of us to drive home after so many events in one weekend but we wanted really badly to wake up in our own bed...good thing we got home when we did the road was starting to play tricks on my eyes...arrived home about 240-300am or so..thank God for the DJ who rocked great songs the whole way home..he probably saved our lives lol I was just so tired and ready for home.....today..ran errands cleaned house made dinner and here I am...running on empty..
Did I mention I am mentally and physically exhausted?
And now...I am going to jump in my pj's...and try if this headache will let me to read a bit. Another favorite movie of mine and has been since my girls were little is "The Secret Garden" may be the reason I dream of one day having one? Just love the idea of some secret door to an enchanted place where you can escape everything and everyone...where there are beautiful flowers and foliage...and magical things....
 Curious to see how close the movie was to the story it was based on...VERY excited about this weeks reads...
And I leave you my friends...with sleepy eyes...and gratitude for the DJ who kept me awake while driving all of these crazy miles the last few days...
Liftning my cup of tea to you Mr. DJ...
Good night*

6 comments:

  1. boo about the headache persisting but YAY for the photo-filled entry. i truly enjoyed looking at your photos and would love to visit frankenmuth someday. seems my place, completely. now i'm debating taking my rebel on our day trip, just using my phone or taking my husband's basic point + shoot - either way, you've inspired me to take more photos (and to share them) today!

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    1. That makes me happy...may never be famous but if I can just inspire one person to capture something from their day than I feel successful in my blogging and artistic quest. Thanks for the kind words Val...love ya girly! <3

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  2. WOW!!
    Such a tour of photos, THANK YOU! :]
    I will say... everything looks fantastic and what fun, huh?!!
    Take care, rest... wishing your headache away. ((hugs))

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    1. This is only a fraction of the photos I actually took April..just so little time to upload/edit/share..I'm really hoping for an uneventful weekend this weekend so that I can get myself back around to doing more and sharing more here! Been trying to do the graphics and layout work for this blog for weeks it seems and something always comes up or interrupts my creative process..I need a BREAK! Thanks for you!

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  3. Interesting post. Now you can use this suppliers exporters directory to promote kids toys import & export business.

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