Sunday, June 28, 2009

On Golden Pond

We just returned from a long weekend up north.  One of my friends just told me that out-of-staters don’t know what “up north” means.  Basically, when you go to any northern part in the state of Michigan, it’s called “up north”.  Maybe I’m not sure what she means by that…

Anyway, we stayed at my friend’s cottage.  When we got there, I knew immediately it wasn’t your “average” cottage.

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Our friends also have Maximus’ sister.  So…we shared the cottage with two bullmastiffs.

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The view from the cottage.  You see that little fake owl on the dock?  It took Maximus three days to get within a couple of feet of it.  Good guard dog, eh?

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There’s “our” cottage in the middle.

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The inside is just about as good as the outside.  This is the view when you walk in the front door.  We sat out there to have our morning coffee and talk about our solutions to life’s problems.  It’s quite easy to do that when you’ve got that view.

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The beat up living room that my friend is ashamed of.  Believe me…we weren’t in this room much.

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I don’t think I got a good picture of it, but they just re-surfaced the island with large beadboard paneling.  It’s gorgeous!

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They like to entertain lots of family and friends up there, so they have tons of seating and easy access hangings.  I love the laid back nature of the place while still looking put together.

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The colors are so complementary, huh?  Nice chandelier.

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This was the room we stayed in.  At their cottage.  The guest bedroom.  It’s more put together than mine is!

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My favorite room of the house.  The bathroom.  They have another one downstairs for the kids, but this is the adult one.

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I could NOT stop staring at the hooks in here!  It’s all paneled beadboard behind it with 8-inch baseboards everywhere.  Sooo nice.

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The owner’s dad did all the custom woodwork in the house.  He’s also the one who built our mudroom lockers.

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Yes.  It’s a sink.  But a reeeeally pretty one!  I stared at it every time I brushed my teeth.

IMG_5771 Don’t let the house tour mislead you.  We did enjoy the water.  I had to use my daughter as a ploy to get us to go slower.  My first time out, I barrel rolled twice.  And had my suit bottoms wrapped around my ankles once.  Thank the lord for deep water.

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And last but not least, Maximus surprised us all and proved that he can swim.  Who knew? 

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36 comments:

Courtney said...

Great pictures. Looks like lots of fun!

Madison Sanders said...

Love the pics! How nice of your friend to let you stay there.

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

What a beautiful place to stay and such a fun trip you had!! Enjoyed the pictures. Love & blessings from NC!

Becky said...

That looks like so much fun. I wish I had a friend with "cabin up north."

Printersdevil said...

What a great trip! I loved all the photos of the gorgeous cottage.

Nancy Hood said...

glad you had fun! thankful you're home safe and sound :)

Farmgirl Paints said...

What a great retreat. Looks like you all had a lot of fun and a really nice place to stay. BTW they do that in Minnesota too. Everything is UP NORTH. Unfortunately we've never been...it's on the to-do list.

Unknown said...

Looks like you had a great time! Love the cottage and the colors she used.

~Mommy+Me~ said...

Wow, what a great place! Looks so nice. How fun! Sounds like you had a good time! I need a friend with a place like that!! ;) LOL

Nicole A. said...

Beautiful pictures and what a beautiful place! I love that kitchen and the beadboard!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Beautiful location! We stayed at a Maine cottage one year (for a week) on a lake and it was gorgeous. It was also a great family vacation and very relaxing. Looks like you had fun!

Kasey said...

I love that sink. beautiful cottage. I'm from McBain, Mi. Have you heard of it? It's close to Cadillac, an hour from Traverse City. I love Michigan. I'm glad you had a great time.

LWLH said...

Great pictures...looks like a fun time was had! :)

Mrs. E said...

Beautiful! My kind of vacation spot! I want to live there.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

What a fun and perfect place to visit for the summer. Up North. Works for me!

Question... said...

What do your kids do all summer? Just curious, since you're a teacher. I work full-time so my kids are at camp.

brokeintrovert said...

Very nice cottage! Looks like you're having a lot of fun in the pictures with your daughter!

amberdawn said...

Love it! Looks like y'all had a great time! PS I love your blog, and have been totally stealing (borrowing) your craft making ideas! :)

Jo said...

Looks like you had a great time. Yes, for some odd reason we (those from Michigan) always refer to it is Up North rather than the actual town or city ~ don't know why sorry.

Were you in Lake City by any chance? Some of the houses you pictured look like those near my families "cottage". I wish I was able to come home this summer but our family schedule just isn't going to permit the opportunity.

Jo

Freckles Chick said...

LOL @ the owl & Max!

I could just feel my stresses melting away in that lake house! Gorgeous.

I would sleep....and bathe....and carry on w/ life in that lovely bathroom sink if I could. =]

Danielle and Clint said...

Isn't that funny how Michigan feels like it's own country sometimes! lol. Where was the cottage located, if you don't mind me asking? It was soooo pretty!

Naturally Jules said...

What great pictures, and looks like a great time! Brings back great memories - my grandparents had a cottage on Elk Lake near Travers City - oh how I loved that place! Anyways, thanks for sharing!

Denissa said...

How beautiful!! Looks like you had a great time! LOL at the pics of Maximus and the bathing suit bottoms...have had the same thing happen! :)

Shannon said...

What a beautiful house! Looks like y'all had a great time!! Loved the pics.

Rita said...

What a great getaway spot! Here in Florida, everything in the rest of the country is "up north"....I guess it's all relative!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a fun time was had by all! Life is good in the summer! I am a teacher and my husband is too. We are both off during the summer and love it! We work sooooo many hours in the school year (lots of work comes home with us... along with coaching for him and many school activities for me). I'm from OHIO and we say "Up North" here too. Nancy from OHIO

dotti white said...

That looks so relaxing and like so much fun for everyone! Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing!

Lori said...

Thank goodness your bottoms stayed on your ankles and did not land on shore! What a beautiful spot ~ does your friend need any new friends?? I love everything about the place ~ a great get-away for sure.

Kimba said...

It looks like you had a great time!

And that's the best kind of uber-fab cottage to have...a friend's uber-fab cottage. All the fun...none of the expense.

Kimba

Jessica said...

That looks heavenly! What fun!

Mandi @ Sweetly Home said...

Can I just tell you that I love the movie "On Golden Pond"? That movie holds so many memories for me. Anytime I want to feel cozy and cottage like, I watch it.

I had to laugh about Maximus and the owl. What a funny dog. :)

Kaitlyn said...

I LOVE Up North, and I can't wait to go in August!

Joanna said...

What a gorgeous cottage! Loved the pictures.

Online Printing Company said...

God, I'm so jealous! I want a vacation too... T_T
Cool, the dog can swim!
And that is a verrrry preeeety sink.

Lara Harris said...

SOOO jealous! We used to have a cottage at Houghton Lake growing up, what I would give to still have that place now!

Connie said...

Love your great pictures. I especially like "On Golden "Pond." Reminds me of the movie with Henry Fonda.

Will you please tell me how you get your pictures that size ? I have iPhoto and always use the "large box" checked, and they still come out small. Is there some magical way to do it, or does mac not go there ?
You do wonders with a paint roller. I am in the process of doing my kitchen walls late at night. I can find my goofs the next morning.
No hurry........ :-)

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