Mackinac Bridge

Well, well, guess who is back? Whew! I had the most amazing time last week, the weather was perfect, the food was amazing, the sights were beyond beautiful. I love the UP so much, I seriously want to move up there when I am older. It would be impossible to pick which area but still. Did you have fun reading all of the guest-posts while I was away? I did! Well, when I got back anyway. I loved all of them and I love all the bloggers behind them, they are some of my favorites so I am glad that they were all able to take care of this little blog while I was away.

I have over 1,000 photos from this trip, insane! I have so many great post ideas for you lovely readers, I am so excited! I am going to try my best to break up all the vacation pics so you are not bombarded. I also read a lot while I was gone, so I am hoping that some book reviews will make their way onto the blog again, I miss doing those!

Here is the Mackinac Bridge, isn't it beautiful? The bridge is over 50 years old and divides two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. I think I have been in this exact spot for photos several times before, I shall have to dig them out. We actually camped out at Tahquamenon Falls, but we had to stop at Mackinac City for some pizza & a view of the bridge before sunset. Kyle, Dan and Brian had fun throwing pebbles at the rock in the water, a favorite pastime of theirs. It is funny because a week later, my boss took his girlfriend to Mackinac and proposed to her on that rock. It was really funny because he was trying to explain it and I was cracking up because it is the only rock out there and the guys always throw things at it. Haha, small world.

School starts up again this week and my last first day of school is tomorrow! It is very bittersweet. I can't wait to graduate but at the same time, I love my school so much. I am stoked that my last two classes are English classes, and now I am off to get my back-pack together and order my books for the very last time.

Details:
Dress-f21
Shirt-Gift
Shoes-Payless
Bag-Amazon

Song of the day "Dogs" By Damien Rice

Guest post: Selective Potential

Hi there! My name is Tieka and I'm from the blog, Selective Potential. When Sara asked a few of us to guest blog for her because she was heading to the upper peninsula, I was so excited! I thought it would be super fun to round up a few of my favorite outfits from my trip to the U.P. last summer! My husband and I love to travel around the state and document our adventures. Our last year trip was definitely my favorite in Michigan so far!

We spent our anniversary weekend touring the hot spots of the upper peninsula. Our first day was spent at Tahquamenon Falls. We toured the upper and lower falls; it was amazing. It's definitely worth it to rent a rowboat and head down to the lower falls and walk around in the water. The U.P. is unlike any other place I've ever been. It's truly an experience.

We also drove a really long way to an abandoned lighthouse, Crisp Point. One of the most endangered lighthouses in the United States. It was so wonderful. We roadtripped all along the coast of Lake Superior - even stopping to hang out with baby bears at a Bear Ranch! We spent the majority of our trip at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was unbelievable - living in Michigan my whole life - I never knew this place was so magical.

Hidden waterfalls, the bluest water I've ever seen, trails, cliffs... insane! We explored as much as we could - also taking a boat around the coast and taking a shipwreck tour! We ended our trip with a little visit to Marquette, Michigan! We stopped and checked out some of the Black Rocks and ate dinner in their so-cute downtown area. If you ever have the chance, I'd definitely recommend a trip to the upper peninsula! I can't wait to read about Sara's adventures there!

Be sure to say hi over at my blog, Selective Potential! Thanks for reading! xo

Guest Post - With a Heart Full of Daisies

Hello She is Sara readers! My name is Kate (some people call me Lainey)

 and I blog over at With a Heart Full of Daisies.  I was pretty pumped when Sara asked me to do a guest post while she enjoys her vacation. I met Sara at a blogger meetup this year in Grand Rapids, Michigan and she is such a fun, sweet girl, with an awesome blog! 

 Over at my blog I like to talk about a variety of my passions; from fashion, running, decorating, to cooking.  Today I thought I'd feature one of my new favorite recipes! 

Polenta Squares

What you'll need: 

1 cup cornmeal

3 cups water

3 tablespoons Earth Balance butter

(you can use real butter as well) 

1 tomato, diced

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 can of beans

handful of cilantro

juice of 2 limes

1/2 onion, chopped

salt/pepper

oil

First make the polenta! 

Bring water to a boil.  Slowly whisk in cornmeal. 

Reduce heat to a simmer & cook until cornmeal thickens - about 10-15 minutes. 

Stir frequently. Once thick, remove from heat and stir in butter til melted. 

Put polenta in a 8X8 dish and refrigerate till chilled. 

Once chilled, heat a skillet with a tad of oil. 

Fry however many squares you will need. 

Then make the toppings

Combine black beans, jalapeno, diced tomato, onions,

 juice of limes, cilantro, salt & pepper, and about 1/4 cup of oil. 

Feel free to add more spices like garlic powder or oregano. 

This topping can be put on chilled or warmed. 

  

YUM! 

Have you ever tried polenta? 

The major reason why I'm loving this recipe right now is how fast it is to make. In between coming home from my job to start working on our new house, I sometimes just don't want to spend an hour cooking. What I usually do is make the polenta the night before, which takes about 5 minutes, then refrigerate it overnight. Taking the time to chop up the topping ingredients and combining them is extremely easy and fast as well. 

What I love about the topping is that it doubles as a salsa as well...so I made a double batch for my husband to snack on. Need a breakfast version? Try frying up a polenta square and putting maple syrup on it!!! 

Hope everyone has a lovely Saturday! 

Thanks Sara for having me guest post. :) 

-KateLainey

Guest Post: Maybe Someday We'll Be Smarter

Hi She is Sara readers! This is Stephanie from Maybe Someday We'll Be Smarter and I'm guest posting while Sara is having fun on her vacation. When asked to write a guest post, I was thinking about what I should write when Sara suggested I write about my favorite band Jimmy Eat World. After all, they are the reason why my blog has one of the longest titles ever.

 

 (source)

I've been a fan of theirs for the past 10 years and since their music has helped me through good times an bad. I remember after a breakup, I had their album Futures on repeat. Or when I need that jolt of inspiration and ecouragement, I would listen to their song "A Praise Chorus." That's what your favorite band does to you, they help convey your emotions through their music. 

 (source)

They are also underdogs. After being dropped by their label Capitol in 2000, instead of giving up they kept going. As shown in their live-concert/documentary film Believe in What You Want, they kept with touring and writing new music while also recording their breakthrough album Bleed American (which would later be re-named Jimmy Eat World after 9/11) without any major label help. Funnily enough when their album started gaining buzz amongst the record labels, their old label offered them a deal, which of course they didn't take.

These are one of the many reasons why I love this band so much. I've seen them 5 times, have all of their albums aside from a few b-sides, and they are the top band I listen to overall on my last.fm account. I'll be devastated when they decide to stop putting out music.

But that won't be anytime soon, they plan on going back to the studio later this year, so I leave you with some of my other favorite Jimmy Eat World videos.

The song from where my blog title came from...

 

They wrote this song in honor of Mykel and Carli Allen, sisters and Weezer's biggest fans who who died in a car accident on the way home form a Weezer concert.

What is your favorite band/artist of all time?

Guest Post: Despising life is so Passé

Hello there lovely readers of She is Sara! This is Theresa from Despising Life is so Passe covering for my favorite Miss Sara while she's out of town for the week! I know, unfortunate right? I'm already missing her gorgeous face in my google reader, well, even though I'm out of town myself this week... But that's a whole other story!

This is what I wore to breakfast with my friend Brenda who leaves me this week to go back to school in New York.  I feel like a lot of people are leaving to go off somewhere while I'm stuck in little ole' Southern California. Okay, not little, I lied, BUT regardless. Goodbyes are always so bittersweet, especially when done over delicious food. Le sigh.

Now I'm off to finish my very last minute packing for my own little venture out of the Golden State for a bit! 

I certainly hope you all are having a fantastic week! ♥

Guest Post: Midwest Mayhem

Hi everyone! This is Cat Bird from Midwest Mayhem! That's right another Michigan blogger! We're just all over the place here! I'm covering for Sara while she's out having fun on a much needed vacation. That girl is one of the hardest working people I know! It seems like she is always studying for school. It's hard to believe that I've known Sara for over a year now! We first met at a blogger meet-up for a She&Him concert last year. It just so happens I work in the city she was living in at the time. Small world, right?





Today I'm wearing an Irene Herberts vintage dress. I'm a huge lover of all things vintage and I've been collecting vintage clothing for 10 years now. I do a weekly vintage feature on my blog every Wednesday and this was actually the first dress that I featured for the series. The material is a little heavier, so normally it wouldn't be a great option for mid-August, but it has been so mild here in the mitten lately that it ended up being a perfect choice for a day spent outside with my husband, Jon.









I just love the tan, cream, and blue colors together, it's nicely muted (understated but not drab). The tic-tac-toe/hashtag pattern is my favorite part! It gives a little bit of fun and humor to the dress.



Have a great Tuesday!!! I'll be spending it working on an upcoming art show! What will you be doing?



The Breakdown:

Outfit:
Dress: Vintage, Irene Herberts
White Bow Shoes: r2

Accessories:
Glasses: Ray Ban
Purse: Thrifted
Floral Necklace: Forever 21
Blue Beaded Necklace: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted
Bracelet: Heirloom Piece/Gift

a guest post by tiffany

Hiya, it's Tiffany here from nynga + the bear. I'm a fellow mitten blogger who's obviously been asked by Sara to guest post. Hijacking the blog for today, yay!

Anyway, I didn't know what I was gonna write about until earlier today--before I went out celebrating my sister's 21st birthday--when I came across this on Tumblr:

What is the point of this book? I mean really? To teach girls from a very young age that the only way to be successful is to be thin and attractive? Because that's what I'm getting from the cover.

& why Maggie? Why not Sean, Michael or Patrick?

Children shouldn't be encouraged to go on "diets". Diets aren't realistic. Diets aren't healthy. Children shouldn't be told that they need to be thin in order to be excepted. They should be encouraged to eat healthy foods. They should be encouraged to love themselves and not envy others.

Not all children who are chubby are necessarily unhealthy. Not all children who are skinny are necessarily healthy. Am I right?

WHAT ARE YOUR TAKES ON THIS? LETS DISCUSS.

Free Me

Hello everyone! I'm Victoria from Justice Pirate. I just want to say that I think Sara is so cute with her sweet smile. Unfortunately you won't see my smile in this entry because I am going to be a bit serious about a passion of mine. 

In our world each year, 27 million people are forced into various forms of slavery (or Human Trafficking).  Slavery is larger today in our world than any other time at all because of the easy ways of traveling and communicating as well as the high demands of goods, sex, and production.

Over the past few months (since early April) I stopped purchasing outfits (I used to buy a vintage dress every week for my blog entries, then would usually resell them). In June I started to borrow outfits from bloggers and shop owners to help spread awareness on human trafficking. I hope to one day work with victims of sexual exploitation slavery, in which half of the people forced into it are children (some as young as 4). If you'd like to read through my latest entries to find out more about the various types of trafficking issues in our world, please visit my blog and follow it!

Anyway, I won't be posting a borrowed outfit today. This is a t-shirt I got from Sevenly for an organization I love called International Justice Mission which works for the legal and social issue of human trafficking. Every week on Sevenly a different organization for various causes is featured. When you buy a shirt, $7 goes to the organization (which adds up the more that shirts are bought). The maxi skirt I've had for years, the flower in my hair is from my sponsor Lila-Jo. The shoes are from Lulu*s back in May.

The Wide World Of Blogging

Hi!  I'm Ralph from Shybiker.  Sara is graciously letting me guest-blog for her.  You probably won't confuse us -- she's much shorter.  :)

One of the things I like about fashion-blogging is the width of our community.  You can find bloggers on the East Coast, the West Coast, down South... even in the Mitten!  I never knew anyone in Michigan before discovering Sara's blog.  Now, reading about Sara's life, I have a sense of where she lives -- its cool places, how people dress, the climate, and which movies and music people there like.

I also read fashion-blogs by people in Canada, Europe, Australia, even Africa!  That is so cool.  Bloggers in the Southern Hemisphere are looking forward to Spring as we head into Fall; their seasons are the reverse of ours.  It's disconcerting to hear them moan about the cold when we're wearing sundresses.

The only place I haven't find a blogger is the Artic.  That's probably because they wear big ugly coats all the time and don't have a Forever 21, Topshop or H&M...

Do you know bloggers from other parts of the world?  Have they taught you anything about their homelands?

Despite our different locations, we share a surprising amount.  We all love pretty dresses and chic shoes.  Many of us mix patterns and like colored-tights.  Everyone thinks a belt helps define a waist.  The guidelines for fashion and female beauty are quite uniform.  I find that interesting.  It's probably what makes chatting with foreign bloggers so easy.

I live in New York, where people usually make an effort to look good.  They'll buy nice stuff, endure physical discomfort, and put a high value on appearance.  That's the culture here.  I've heard, in some other places, people dress like slobs and don't care about fashion.  I wouldn't want to live there.

What's it like where you live?

Dearest - though you're the nearest to my heart

Whew! I am so going to have to find a way to wind down after today, what a rush!I walked Louie at 5:30am,  I worked all day-busting my butt to get everything done in time for my vacation, came home and took my final exam-took me 4 hours, ugh. I wrote my brother David a letter and made some sort of decor with an old vase and some sticks. I have been going list crazy trying to get everything done before vacation, tomorrow is laundry/cleaning/errand day, after work of course. Thursday I have to pack and then we are taking Becky out for her Birthday, which is really today and Friday, Friday is our ten year anniversary! I honestly cannot believe it. We have been together longer than most people have been married! Okay, not really but still. Friday is also the start of many guest posts that I have in store for you lovely readers, they are all amazing bloggers and I am so excited to see what they come up with (some I already know, and they are going to be really cool!).




And what do we have here? Lessons in fashion blogging. Que perfect lighting, the ultimate girly outfit, the first picture of me in heels in months, the most amazing purse ever, and what do I do? I squint! And I forget to ask Kyle to take pics of the shoes, they are so cool! I can walk in these without falling, and they are three different colors-like my hair! Hahaha, I am so easily amused. Seriously, we went to Target last night and I was unnecessarily excited about the Wild Berry Kix that were on sale.

Anyway, back to the outfit. I just acquired this skirt on my last thirfting trip with Kyle and it is perfect for work! It has the cutest bow print and I love the length! I had to wear my bow-top with it, even though I didn't bother to tie the bow part.

I am seriously so excited right now! I am FINALLY done with Summer classes, it felt like it would never end. I have been so motivated this week, I am bummed that I won't have time to go to the gym this week, but I am planning on lots of exercise on vacation, and lots of outfits! I planned out eight outfits composed of items that will be remixed over and over so I have less clothing to pack. I gotta make room for my books right? Okay stay tuned, I am hoping for one, maybe two more posts and then I am off to camp around various parts of the mitten with three smelly guys, woot!

Details

Ruffle bow top-Forever 21

Pleated skirt & Woven belt-Thrifted

Wedges-Alloy

Flower purse-Ally!

Song of the day "Dearest" By Buddy Holly