Girls on Bikes!

sources: 1., 2., 3., 4.

Last week, I FINALLY for the first time in years....was able to ride my bike to work. I just switched jobs and work at a women's health clinic downtown so it not only combines my love for nursing, but for bicycling as well! After college, I lived on the east side alone in a small apartment and worked long hours. To keep myself sane, I began biking after work and got really good at it. I then raced competitively for 2 years, spandex shorts and all. Nowadays I wear a t-shirt and ride a commuter bike. Oh, and I bike really slow. I know if I keep working at it I could work up to competing again, or I could just work at looking cute and trying to avoid helmet hair and pit stains. I'll take my inspiration from these ladies above. p.s. all these gals should be wearin' a helmet.

Beach yoga

photo: Amber
This looks so fun. And in summer, I want to take everything outside, especially to the beach. But I'll probably skip South Shore Beach in Bay View. It showed up on a recent list of top dirtiest beach in the US. So, we'll be skipping that one. Luckily Bradford and McKinley are just up the shoreline in Milwaukee and get water samples are tested daily. Bradford Beach also has a "Beach Yoga" class on Saturdays and Wednesdays offered through Elite Sports Club. Classes are $5 a session.

Check out the Bradford Beach Yoga info here.

Home Tour

The home and garden section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel can be a little lackluster, but I was pleasantly surprised when this home tour popped up in last Sunday's paper. This colonial house in Whitefish Bay, just a couple miles north of Milwaukee, is home to an interior decorator and magazine editor who undeniably have great taste. Check out some of the rooms. For more photos, see the full JSonline article, here.

photos: Ernie Mastroianni, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Dressed for: weekend gardening

1. trowel, 2. solar radio, 3. coral tee shorts (similar), 4. bolga basket, 5. 'Urban Farms' by Sarah C. Rich

Despite the lack of rain these past few weeks, our garden box is out of control! It needs some serious weeding and trimming. I like to be out in the garden in loose clothes, but something decent enough that if I need to run to Home Depot, I don't feel like I need to a) run inside and change or b) run into Home Depot ninja-style to dodge anyone I might know. We have a few gardening urban gardening books, but this one is pretty nice. Growing in small spaces needs real planning. That's why my seed-throwing method didn't work last year. And the baskets...I brought home three of these bolga baskets from Ghana last year. I use them for just about everything. You can find them online (see link above) and even World Market.

Do you have an urban garden? Any tips? My best tip is get a SMALL trowel. Those things come in so handy for weeding.

I want to go to there: Natural springs in Iceland

photo: peter barker, photo: cntraveler, the fancy,

This place looks amazing! It's a natural geothermal spa or hot spring near Reykjavik in Grindsvik, Iceland. Named the Blue Lagoon, it has a full service spa, saunas, and cafe, so you can hang out here all day. It looks incredibly peaceful. Put it on the travel wish list!

Around: Downtown Dining Week

Once a year in Milwaukee, a long list of downtown restaurants celebrate downtown dining week with lunch and dinner prix fixe menus for $10, $20, or $30. It's a chance to sample some great downtown restaurants on the cheap. Monday night we went to Tulip. Today for lunch, we went to Molly Cool's right on the Milwaukee river and Old World 3rd Street. I hadn't been there in a really long time and after hearing about their raw bar plate, I had to give this place another try. I had the salmon caesar salad. The husband had the raw bar plate - tuna tartare, sushi rolls, and unpeeled shrimp. And we finished with a mini lemon layer cake. Not pictured is the crab bisque because that got eaten way too fast. It was pretty good. And so nice to hangout downtown in the middle of the day and have lunch. We don't get to do that very often.

Check out the full list of participating restaurants HERE
Downtown Dining Week goes until June 14th!

MKE Locals: Marisa Seguin

photo: Brett Stenson
Marisa lives in Milwaukee and makes wonderful illustrations. Originally from Vancouver, Marisa attended MIAD and now works in Milwaukee as an illustrator. I originally fell in love with her collection of illustrated city maps that she sells in her Etsy store. Aren't the colors great?! She's a true joy! - I've been working with her over the past months on a very, VERY exciting project that I'll announce next week! Check out her website to see more. And her blog, too!

Shopping List: grapefruit and calf tan

1. Ann Taylor tote, 2. necklace, 3. blush, 4. sandals, 5. scarf

It's summer! Lately, my eye has been drawn to coral pinks and anything that screams "backyard lounging". I'm a little obsessed about our new backyard. And since I'm trying to avoid the lounging type where I stay in my "workout clothes" all day long, I'm also looking for anything that screams "I put on real clothes". So for me, this summer is all about effortless summer chic. Nice sandals, a quick swipe of pink blush, and easy accessories and I'm out the door and onto the patio.

Out to Lunch: Smoke Shack

I seriously love southern food so I was really excited to check this place out. Smoke Shack in the third ward serves up BBQ done right. The place is small, you drink out of mason jars, and the country music is ON. If there were ever a place in Milwaukee that didn't feel like Milwaukee, this is it. My husband and I split the four meat combo (a sampler of their pulled pork, sliced brisket, house made sausage, and pulled chicken. Then, we split dessert -- a bacon bourbon brownie usually served with Purple Door vanilla ice cream, but I had them substitute with their whiskey ice cream. Three words: Oh Lordy Moses.

Check out their website here. Check out their menu here.

Etsy Finds: Thief and Bandit

top tank, $58 left bracelet, $18.50 right bracelet, $14 lower tank, $54 (images via thief and bandit)

I'm really digging these handprinted fabrics from Thief and Bandit. Even though navajo prints are oozing trendiness right now, I think these designs are pretty unique (aka unlike anything you'd find at f21 or Urban Outfitters) because they're done simply and classically with a color palette that doesn't burn your retinas. So, go ahead and add some tribal inspired pieces to your wardrobe when they're like this.

They even makes little kids clothes!