I'm excited for...

The house is taking longer than we thought, but that's okay because I LOVE surprises. So much. It's to the point where something will get completed on the house and I will purposely wait days, literally days, until I go look at it.

For example, right after Mike left for a week in San Diego, some of the flooring was completed. Instead of rush over there, I waited 6 days for Mike to get home to go look. There is something about the unknown and the anticipation that builds as I wait that keeps me coming back for more.

Now that I am typing this, it makes me think about that show "My Strange Addiction". My name is Lindsey and I am addicted to surprises.

Now that we got that out of the way, here is what I am excited about.

I am excited about the tanning sessions, morning coffees, and get togethers that this deck will be hosting. It went from this...

...to this!

Garage moved, railing complete, fence up. Yay! As long as I can see the water, I'm happy.

I am excited for a kitchen table that has quick access out to my garden, just in case I need to add a few extra veggies to my meal. 

I am excited for the front porch to be finished and to have a living room that is full of sunlight from the new windows! And with a front porch comes the duty of passing out Halloween candy, not mad about that! I want to be the house that gives out the "good" candy. There has to be one in every neighborhood, mine as well aim high.

This is more something that tickled Mike's fancy, but it'll make my list anyways. I am excited about a skylight on the third floor! It brightens up the room and is the perfect place to watch the awesome storms that roll off the lake. And Mike can stand and keep a look out, he's pretty excited about the whole standing without hitting his head thing. #tallpeopleproblems

And a view to die for. When I'm not outside, you will find me up here, on the couch that will be right in front of this window. Enjoying a cup of coffee, a breeze dancing on my face from the open windows, the feint lapping of water, and peace in my soul.





I'm excited about my garden doubling in size! So much more room for vegetables!! Just what I needed to achieve my goals of being a farmer. You have to start somewhere!

Some more spots for my veggies of choice.

Now this one is my favorite. The one I am most excited about...barn wood floors! Oh man, this wood is the icing on the cake. The kind of icing that you keep in an extra container so when your piece of cake runs out of icing because you have to have more icing than cake with every bite, you have more waiting.

It's not just any wood, it is reclaimed wood from a granary in Ohio. It was on the walls, not the floor, so it is in great shape, and the only markings are from an occasional math problem that was too hard to do in their heads. It's a little dusty in the pictures, but they are still working so bear with me.

Just look at it! I could stare at this all day. If I could fall in love with an inanimate object, this would be it.

In addition to vegetables, we will have quite an array of fruits too! Lining what used to be the garage, are about 15 blueberry bushes. We thought getting fruits that are expensive to buy made sense, hence our choices. I cannot wait to reach my goal of eating 50% of my yearly food from my garden.

Why stop at blueberry bushes when there is room for more? Here are 2 dwarf cherry trees, and in the corner by the stones is a peach tree. I'm not sure how long it will be until these babies will bear fruit, but I won't mind waiting.




Last but not least, I'm excited to be sustainable! We have 2 rain barrels going in by the garden to help with my water usage. We get plenty of rain out here by the lake, so I'm thinking these are going to be a good investment.

That's all the updates for now, I cannot wait until it is done and it's time to decorate! And that is a horse of a different color. I'm not sure I'm the girl for decorating a house, but we shall see!

First paddleboard of the season!

So I'd like to share a little tidbit about myself. I love working out. Exercising, moving, burning calories, getting stronger, building muscle...however you want to look at it works for me. If I'm sweating, I'm happy. Activity dates are, and always will be, the best. Well, that and food dates, but that's a whole other side of me.

Anyways, I recently committed to a goal that I am super excited about, and it is as follows - this summer, I will do all of my workouts outdoors, with the exception of yoga classes. The sun gets my going every morning, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than taking advantage of the summer weather.

Darwin plans on sleeping in this summer, what a bum.

Activities outside make me feel like the world is my gym and that I'm training for life. Doing stairs outside = winning the races I always play at the airport against other strangers taking the escalators. Trail running = the ability to chase down your dog when he takes off after a rabbit (oh Darwin, such a trouble maker). Jumping rope/plyometric workouts = never having to step away from a dance party because your calves are burning in your 4 inch heels . All frequent occurrences in my life, so I plan on being as ready as possible for them.

So this brings me to my first day after setting this goal. It started off rainy and gloomy at 6 am this morning, and I was afraid my workout date was going to skip out on me. We had planned to meet at 7 am on the beach for a little pre-breakfast sweat, but I almost rerouted home when I felt water droplets during my warm-up jog to the beach. The universe was working in our favor though, because as I headed down the hill, I saw my neighbor Denise coming down the stairs.

These are the stairs, oh man what a good workout they are.

After some jumping jacks, too many different kinds of push ups, some ab work, and some more push ups, the clouds parted and the sun beamed through.

And that is when I decided it was time to debut the paddle boards.

Off to visit the lighthouse!

The cool thing about the harbor is that it can be calm one minute, and ridiculously choppy the next. We sat down when it got too rough, mainly because falling in the 50 degree water wasn't part of the plan. As it gets warmer here, the water will follow suit...soon wetsuits won't be necessary and swimming can be part of the workout!

I like to face backwards and take pictures while trying to not drop my Ipod touch in the water...thank god I do yoga, hello balance!

Relaxing and enjoying the view as we cruised in.

Paddleboarding is an amazing core and arm workout, and I will take that over being stuck in a gym any day! Day one of working out outside was most definitely a success! 

What's your favorite outdoor activity?

Meet Darwin!

I suppose we can't really be friends without you knowing my favorite things in life, so it's time for you to meet Darwin.

Whoops, he was excited...too close.

There we go, isn't he awesome?! A pinch of Akita, a dollop of German Shepard, stir in some Canaan, and here is what happened! He's perfect. 

My boyfriend (Mike, perhaps you'll meet him later) and I rescued him from a local dog shelter and he has been king of the castle ever since. His favorite hobbies include: seat stealing (he has this thing for still-warm-with-body heat spots on the couch, which makes getting up for anything a bit of a game), checking every window to see if he can spot a moving object to intently watch, digging his way out of the fenced in back yard to hunt, and of course, long walks on the beach!

I am getting ready to move close to Fairport Harbor beach, the beach is thatta way.

Darwin was a stray for a long time and was in the shelter for around 8 months before we found him, but he has always been amazing with people. He will follow us around and make sure we are never alone in a room - so thoughtful. One of Darwin's best qualities is that he is the quietest of hunters. With the agility of a mountain goat and the stealth of a panther, he would spend all day hunting if we'd let him. I guess that's what being a stray teaches you! And yes, his name fits him perfectly, although it was only by coincidence. We didn't know he was the epitome of survival of the fittest until we saw his hunting techniques, how he rationed his food, and his expert hiding skills when there are thunderstorms.

Who me? King? Yep.

All I've ever wanted is someone to watch every sunset with me, and now I've found that someone! I think Mike would do that for me too, but Darwin's enthusiasm for going outside is unmatchable. Not too bad of a view either. 

Wondering what ocean this is? Surprise, it's Lake Erie! Mistake by the lake? I think not!

Darwin's worst quality is most definitely his deep hatred for cats. The kind where if he sees one outside, he will run to every window, stand straight up, and start whining and barking until he can no longer see it. When a cat is around, it's as though we aren't even there. He completely ignores our commands and if we shut the blinds he merely moves to the next window. Any suggestions?

See? What a window hog! I wouldn't want to take a plane ride with him, I'm the kind of person that has my face pressed to the window the whole time. Uh oh...it just dawned on me that I may be a window hog...

Anyways, now you've met Darwin. This is the first dog of my own (well I share him with Mike, but you know what I mean), so excuse me if I constantly include him. I feel like a mom with her first child, I just want everyone to know how amazing he is!

Goodnight Lake Erie, I will never stop loving you! Well, as long as you keep letting me pretend that you are an ocean...it makes me feel better.