WANDER: Cozy Cabins

It's probably because I just got home from a small vacation, but I really don't feel any urges to wander this week. My apartment is wonderfully cozy throughout the winter and the snow is still new enough for me to appreciate it. It seems that I'm getting a lot better at that over the years anyway. It's all about the cycles, you know??

So this week, instead of some balmy, tropical destination, I'm sharing both charming and majestic cabin photos that exude coziness with the hope that you're able to embrace this season, at least for another week or so....

HEAR HERE: Merry Christmas, Darling

It's Christmas Eve, but for a lot of us it's been hard to get into the Christmas spirit. My family is scattered and it feels like I haven't done anything but work for the past month, but I finally found a little bit of cozy holiday feelings this morning as I put this playlist together. There are a few familiar songs, but a bunch of rare old blues originals to remind you there was a world before Black Friday and Auto-Tune ruined everything and it will make you feel things again.

HEAR HERE: Halloween Mix

Look how cool my brother and I were when we were miniatures and my dad got us ready for Halloween in Texas in 1990! I think I chose the weird clown costume because of the sparkly wig, but Andrew's cowboy costume is pretty great. That mustache definitely foreshadowed great things to come...

Now listen to this amazing Halloween-themed playlist to fully understand how cool I was when I was a teenager. I think I made this one when I was 17 or 18. I like that I still like most of the music I listened to when I was younger. 

Classics never die.

Kinda like zombies!

(If you can't see the player click here to listen on Spotify. I don't have this playlist saved publicly anywhere else, so you should probably get Spotify. It's cool because the artists get paid. You could also come over and we can enjoy it together.)

LITERATURE: Halloween Favorites

I'm an avid reader, but it's been a while since I've written anything here about books!

It's October so I've been thinking about sharing some of my favorite Halloween themed literature.

My favorite spooky story is Dracula, but actually it's one of my favorite books of all time. I read it years ago and was surprised by how much I loved it. It doesn't rely on cheap thrills and explores much deeper and more satisfying themes than a lot of other horror stories. And the format was interesting, with letters and journal entries rather than normal chapters and structuring.

I'm currently reading the Harry Potter series. I put it off for a long, long time, but some friends of mine finally convinced me to read them this fall. I had been reading non-fiction for a long time and started to notice I was feeling a little burned out so I thought a nice young adult series might refresh me. It has been pretty fun to breeze through them and see the differences between the books and movies.

I read Frankenstein years ago and found it moving, but haven't reached for it since. Maybe next year? It's very interesting to see the different impressions I get rereading books after a few years, and I am looking forward to Frankenstein again, since I was barely twenty when I first read it.

What do you read this time of year?

WANDERLUST: Manistee National Forest

Last weekend I went hiking through Manistee National Forest with my dad and some close friends. We hiked for hours to secret spots and told stories of old times spent there. I absorb everything when I'm out there with them. They don't need the trails, and they're teaching me their ways.

One thing none of us are experts of is Mycology. I plan on spending this winter studying and hopefully by spring can head up north again for some foraging. There were mushrooms everywhere and it was so hard passing them by knowing plenty would have been great to take home for supper. Some were just lovely enough to look at; pretty as flowers.

It's not quite peak season there for the Autumn colors yet, but there were some gorgeous colors sprinkled through, especially the Sugar Maples. We'll probably be taking another trip up in a couple weeks to see the real color show.

Autumn is a really beautiful time in Michigan. Click here for a guide for peak color seasons throughout the different regions.

HEAR HERE: Where the Wild Things Are

Five years ago the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are came out with a great soundtrack by Karen O, the brilliant front-woman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The movie always makes me think of  Autumn, even though it's winter in some of the scenes. There's so much golden light, fallen leaves, and rich warm colors; it's definitely got a cozy, yet melancholy, vibe. 

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, so I'm sharing this soundtrack. It was mostly written by Karen O, and features a group of kids singing and howling along with her and a few sound clips from the movie. There's even a Daniel Johnston cover (Worried Shoes).

(If you're reading on your phone you might not be able to see the player. 
To listen to the album, click here for Spotify, or here for Grooveshark.)

sweet springtime sounds.

spring is for the sweet folk ladies of the sixites.

this is on my turntable at this very moment.

i've also been really into nico lately, but i'm going to be digging through the albums of some lesser known ladies of the era.

happy sunshine!
<3 nico

hai!

I FEEL SUMMER CREEPIN IN...

hello, i'm here again... just for a quick moment to freshen up the place with a photo from a recent beach trip. oh, how i love lake michigan. it's hard not to be a beach snob when we have this perfection.

i hope to return soon with photos or stories.. it really shouldn't be too hard, i'm usually overflowing with observations from everyday life and what i've read or what i've seen or dreamed. i'll try a little harder to get it posted here. 

if you like, you can follow my instagram feed. just click this little button:

big love, nico

summer sun

 this song reminds me of being a teenager, and also of road trips, and of summer.

now it is summer, i have veggies and flowers and a raspberry bush growing, and windows constantly open, and grandma's picnic basket from 1960, and road trips, and a sprinkler, and sundresses, and i'm not a teenager anymore, not even close, and i think i'm pretty happy about that.

and i still like this song.

i miss this place. i'll try to visit more often.

 

welcome, summer.

nico

vamonos.

let's go.

<3 nico

unseasonable perks

gotta love motorcycles in january. 

keep on rolling by my house boys... (and girls)... i hear those harleys.

love, nico

oh christmas tree..

This week Dad and I got my Christmas tree and set it up in the living room. These are a few of the first pictures of decorating.

Christmas lights are magical. I don't know what it is. 

<3

happy halloweeeeeen!

more autumn festivities!

 A few weekends ago Tony and I took a trip up to Manistee National Forest to see the colors. (My second trip this year!) We meandered around and around stopping at a barn sale and general stores and found a nice little spot at Nichol Lake for a picnic. Right down by the lake, there was a clearing in the trees covered in plush green moss. Perfect for laying down the sheet and munching on Greek pasta salad and crackers and applesauce. Followed by a lovely nap in the dappled sunlight. What a perfect warm fall day for our trip.

Later we headed back to Tony's new apartment for root beer floats and pumpkin carving!

 Tony's is a mustachioed cyclops. Mine's pretty classic. What do you think?

-n

go play!

i guess this was our first dive into a pile of leaves.
we're so shiny and happy.

go enjoy the autumn before it's gone.

love, nicole

autumn in manistee, mi

My Dad and I went up north to Manistee to see the fall colors last weekend. I am so in love with Michigan! We live in a beautiful place. Dad showed me all of his hunting spots around there and we watched salmon swimming up the creeks. You can see one in the third and fourth pictures. The fifth is of him throwing rocks to get the fish moving past my camera. Can you identify the plant in my hair? I can't find a good website to look them up. The berries taste like Winterfresh gum. They were delicious! 

Go find a state park and watch the colors change! It's prime-time now. Especially with this gorgeous weather!!

love, nicole