Coping with Wanderlust -- The 10 U.S. Cities I Would Most Want to Live (If I Didn't Live Here)

I've really been getting the itch to travel lately. It's been a long time since Mr. G and I ventured outside the Land of 10,000 Lakes. In fact, we have only left MN a couple of times since moving here last Spring -- twice to visit my family in Nashville, two business trips for Mr. G and one weekend trip for me in LA with his sisters. That's not to say we haven't gone anywhere or done anything; we traveled upstate twice last year, recently took a trip to nearby Stillwater for our anniversary and spent many weekends this summer at our cabin north of the cities. Nevertheless, I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic here in the southern suburbs of Minneapolis, and even though I love this state, I'm ready for a change... No doubt the fall weather is contributing to this as well. :)

For example, a LOT of my friends have traveled to Seattle this year for whatever reason. It's a little strange, really; I mean, why now all of a sudden? Is there a Groupon that I missed or something? Seattle is one of the places I want to visit most in the U.S. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to places that are known for being rainy, cold and kinda dreary (case in point: London is my top pick for international travel). So, I've been living vicariously through my friends' Facebook updates and Instagram feeds showing pics of "the original #Starbucks!!" and so on. It doesn't help that I habitually listen to Owl City on repeat every fall (not sure why; it's just a thing for me), which means "Hello Seattle" has been stuck in my head for weeks. Salt on the wound, Owl!

So, in my usual fashion, I've dealt with my restlessness and wanderlust by compiling a list. :) It's pointless for me to list of all the places I want to travel because the answer would be EVERYWHERE, so instead I came up with the 10 U.S. cities I would most want to live if I didn't live here (...even though I haven't been to some of these places). Disclaimer: this is just for fun; I have no plans to move, nor do I want to. So don't ask. ;) Here is my list, which is (sort-of) in order:

1. Boston, Massachussetts (been here)
2. Seattle, Washington
3. Chicago, Illinois (been here -- briefly)
4. San Francisco, California
5. Denver, Colorado
6. Washington, D.C.
7. Manhattan, New York (been here)
8. Nashville, Tennessee (from here!)
9. Asheville, North Carolina (been here)
10. Atlanta, Georgia (been here)

Mr. G and I are hoping to take a big trip next year (remember what I said about London?... :) ), so we are saving our vacation $ and time off for that. In the meantime, we'll be taking a daytrip to Red Wing, MN, in a couple weeks with his family (they take a fall trip each year; last year we went to Duluth), and we'll head down to Nashville again over Christmas. Hopefully that will be enough to tie me over until next year!

In which city or cities would you most want to live? Do you have any upcoming travel or relocation plans? Have YOU been to Seattle this year, too??

<3 Mrs. G

i thank you God for most this amazing day

Recently, I have been feeling very blessed. We were up at our cabin over the week of July 4th with friends and family, and it was the most amazing feeling to have so many people we cared about in one place -- at our place, no less. But it was also a weird feeling, because this lifestyle is still so foreign to me. I didn't grow up going to cabins or even lakes very often. This "cabin life" that is so essential to the culture here in Minnesota doesn't exist in the South. The only people I knew with cabins lived in the mountains, and even lakehomes weren't very common. But I guess having 10,000 lakes is also a bit of an advantage for this state...

As a kid, I never went boating, never tried any water sports, never even went fishing, and I only swam in a lake a handful of times. Here, everyone has grown up with lakes and boats and water sports. It's part of the childhood experience in MN, and that's just in the summer (don't even get me started on winter activities here). I feel like I'm behind and constantly trying to catch up, but almost past the age of being able to, if that makes sense. For instance, I still haven't tried waterskiing and have only been tubing once (last summer). And here's an embarrassing confession: I get scared just sitting in the boat sometimes. When the boat takes a sharp turn, my heart starts beating really fast and I feel like I have to adjust my body to overcompensate for the turn, whereas everyone else just sits calmly. I'm practically in the middle of the boat, praying it won't tip over... After a few days, I got more used to it and have started employing the same technique I use while Mr. G is driving -- I just keep my head down and, if necessary, shut my eyes. If I don't see the boat tipping, it's not tipping. Very rational, I know, but if it keeps me from looking like a panicked fool or crying, I'll take it.

Anyway, when the boat isn't about to capsize, it actually feels wonderful, and I'm starting to get why people enjoy them so much... On a hot day, nothing beats taking the boat out to a random spot on the lake, jumping into the cold water, and then letting the wind dry you off on the ride back. I'm learning to love it.

On our first night with the boat, Mr. G took me out on it -- just the two of us -- while the sun was setting over the lake. We drove around the perimeter of the lake, seeing everything for the first time, and then stopped for a while so Mr. G could fish. In that peaceful moment while we were still, I felt overwhelmingly blessed, relaxing in a boat on a beautiful sunset lake with a cozy cabin (our cozy cabin) waiting for us. And that was when a line from a poem by e.e. cummings (one of my favorite poets) came to mind: i thank you God for most this amazing day. That was exactly how I felt then -- in awe of the moment and yet wanting to give thanks for it. Here's the full poem:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

From that day on, there were several times throughout the week of the 4th (mostly on the boat -- sometimes out of happiness, sometimes out of fear) that that line popped into my head. It became a short prayer of thankfulness, a small way to acknowledge little blessings and those "life is good" moments. I decided to keep it going in hopes that I'll become more present and aware of all the ways in which I am blessed. So now, whenever I have one of those moments where everything seems to be right with the world -- even if just for a few minutes -- I repeat that line in my head: i thank you God for most this amazing day. It makes those moments just that much sweeter.

As for adjusting to cabin life, I'm beginning to accept that this is my new normal, and I'm excited about this new phase of my life. I still get overwhelmed about all the work that goes into cabin ownership (ie: mowing the lawn, cleaning cobwebs, cutting down trees, killing lots of mice), but my learning curve was steep. I'm starting to get it, and I'm starting to consider myself part of the cabin culture. I'm even more excited that our loved ones can enjoy it with us, and that someday, our kids will grow up coming here in the summer. This will be their normal. That blows my mind. God is good, and life is sweet.

Here's to many more amazing days and little blessings.

<3 Mrs. G

Cabin Vacation & Holiday Weekend

Hi everyone!

I hope you've all been enjoying the long weekend and have fun plans for tomorrow! As for me, I'll be going to a nearby lake with Mr. G and some friends (and Molly, of course). We'll be grilling hot dogs, swimming in the lake, and watching fireworks. Pretty standard 4th of July stuff. I'm excited, though - the weather finally warmed back up in time for the holiday weekend.

While we were at the cabin last week, it was chilly and rainy basically all week. We were pretty far up north at Lake Vermillion, but I was still hoping for warmer weather. We got one nice day and took full advantage of it - Mr. G and I came back burnt and bug-bitten. But we still had a good time. The guys went fishing a lot, and I even went a few times! It was my first time actually fishing, and I ended up catching a total of 10 fish - 9 in one day. They were all small perch, but I was still pleased with myself. :)



my best catch - a fat perch


As for the rest of the week, I spent it reading, playing Wii with the kids, watching McHale's Navy, and I even fit in some shopping. I finally read a book my mom gave to me back when I moved to Connecticut - Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter. She had read it as part of her book club and even got to meet the author, Lisa Patton, who happens to live in my hometown. She gave it to me because it's about a Southern girl struggling to adapt to life in New England (Vermont, specifically). Although the New England portrayed in the book was nothing like the New England I experienced (less maple syrup; more Jersey shore), it was still a fun read that was perfect for a vacation up north. Also, I did survive a couple nor'easters in CT, and they were bad even by New England standards, so I think (hope) I'll be ready for my first Minnesota winter!

All in all, we had a fun, relaxing cabin vacation. But I must admit it was very nice to come home to my bed...

Here are a few more photos from the trip:

Mr. G and me at a local restaurant

happy Molly on her first boat ride :)

In other news, I have officially started my internship at the ADA, and so far it's going well. I've even gotten a work perk already - free Twins tickets! Mr. G and I went to the game last night with some friends, and even though the Twins lost (in the freaking 9th inning), we had a fun time and I got to wear my new Twins shirt. :)

I'm sad to say that I won't be making cupcakes for the 4th. :( I was hoping to make festive blueberry and strawberry cupcakes, but Mr. G and I have stayed busy all weekend with friends and family. Plus, we'll be outside all day tomorrow, which isn't the best condition for cupcakes if you don't like them melted. But let me know what you're baking for the holiday! I'd love to hear your patriotic recipes. :)

Happy 4th!

<3 Mrs. G

Window Treatments & Life Update

Hello all!

My curtains are up!! Finally! Here are the choices I made:

• Guest room - Bamboo shades from Home Depot (same as my last post)
• Living room - White sheer curtains from IKEA for the window, and grey scroll Fieldcrest curtains from Target for the sliding glass door
• Kitchen - same IKEA floral curtains from the previous post

The last thing I need to get now is a sheer white curtain to cover my ugly but necessary (and expensive!) vertical blinds in the master bedroom window. I also still need to hem the IKEA curtains to the right length, so I'll post pics of all the curtains once they're done! They're up, though, and I couldn't be happier with my choices. I love the grey/white combination in the living room - it goes perfectly with my grey rug and modern-ish furniture. And the kitchen is so colorful and fun, while still letting in lots of natural light.

Confession time - I STILL haven't finished my crafts... But in my defense, I don't have a hot glue gun yet. I refuse to buy it anywhere but Family Dollar since I'm cheap, and they're all out right now. Haha.

But as promised, here is a photo of my tiles as decor:

In other news, I've had a lovely week. On Friday, I went out to lunch with my mother-in-law at Edina Grill by 50th and France. I had eggs benedict, and it was amazing - I think I will try making it sometime soon... We also stopped in at an adorable cupcake shop, the Monique Lhuillier boutique, and a yummy bakery called Breadsmiths, where I got my newest obsession: lemon lavender bread! So delicious. Now I feel inspired to try my hand at the lavender cupcakes in my recipe book. :) 

I had an awesome interview yesterday, and I have another one tomorrow as well as on Friday. I also played tennis with Mr. G yesterday. I was terrible at first but eventually started improving and had a lot more fun. We joined a beach volleyball league that starts next month, so I definitely need to work on my athletic skills ASAP. I'm excited, though!

As for more upcoming excitement, we officially have vacation plans for the summer! We will be spending a week at a beachfront cabin upstate with Mr. G's family at the end of June. And pets are allowed, so Molly can come with! I can't wait to take her swimming for the first time. She is truly my child. ;) The cabin is pretty far north, though, so I'm hoping the weather will be warm enough for swimming. It's about 60 miles short of the Canadian border - if my passport wasn't outdated, we could have gone over the border for a day. :( And speaking of Canada, Mr. G will actually be there in a couple of weeks. He is going for a work conference, so unfortunately I won't be going with. But he knows to bring back souvenirs.

Anyone else have any fun vacation plans for the summer? I'm also hoping to to hit up Nashville at some point... It's been too long!

<3 Mrs. G