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Coastal Michigan: A Labor Day wedding weekend in Holland and Saugatuck

September 9, 2017 Randi

I’m totally biased, but Michigan is probably the most underrated state in the union.

I could wax poetic about the mitten state for hours on end, I truly love it that much. There are an endless number of cities available for weekend trips, whether you’re looking for sporting events, casinos and urban culture (Detroit), winery tours (Traverse City), brewery tours (Grand Rapids), hiking and kayaking (Pictured Rocks), skiing (Boyne Mountain), dune buggying (Silver Lake), beach lounging (Grand Haven), Christmas celebrations (Frankenmuth), an old-fashioned resort weekend (Mackinac Island) … my list could go on, and on, and on.

I swear, the Pure Michigan campaign isn’t paying me to say any of this, either.

If you hadn’t heard, my college friend Caitlin got married (yay!) this past Labor Day weekend back in Michigan, where we both grew up.

Her wedding was held at the gorgeous Felt estate, located about halfway between Holland and Saugatuck, and since it was scheduled during Labor Day weekend, Mando and I ended up turning the entire affair into a mini-vacation of sorts by exploring as much of both towns as we could after celebrating Caitlin and Sean‘s nuptials.

Life lately

August 31, 2017 Randi1 comment

I cannot believe summer is almost over! There’s still a ton of warm weather left this year — and you better believe I’ll keep wearing white long after this holiday weekend — but school supplies are on store shelves, nightly temperatures are dropping down to the ’50s and pumpkin products are starting to make their appearances. Fall is coming, and the basic bitch in me loves it.

The Chicago Air and Water Show

August 26, 2017 Randi

You would think that after several years of living in Chicago, I’d be used to Air and Water Show weekend when it comes around… but, nope. I still always end up getting caught completely off guard at the end of the week when the pilots start their practice rounds for the weekend shows.

This year, I was running south along the Lakefront Trail when a single F/A-18 suddenly rocketed past me from behind and scared the absolute shit out of me. I literally put my arms over my head and ducked. I felt like an idiot… and as if that wasn’t enough, I did it two more times during my run before I just gave up (my pace was shot at that point) and wrapped up early.

I think I’ve spent a little too much time reading tweets about the impending World War III/ Civil War II/ North Korea War.

Anyway, this past weekend was Air Show weekend! I’ve always loved watching the practice rounds leading up to the Saturday and Sunday shows (once I get over the initial terror of hearing that F-22 Raptor engine), but I’ve always been out of town/ working/ busy during the actual shows and have never gotten to go.

That finally changed this year! The event itself is free (kinda hard to charge admission when the show is visible from literally everywhere with a view of the sky), but Mando and I scored some tickets (thanks Tribune!) to the fenced-in area along North Avenue Beach where the announcers sit and the parachutists land.

Mando let me borrow some of his camera gear, which was pretty cool of him. I used the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens to take a few shots of the show, and while I wish I’d had a bigger lens, we still had a pretty good view and I ended up getting a couple good frames.

You could say it was just plane awesome!

(Sorry.)

Weekend bachelorette celebrations in Northern Kentucky

August 20, 2017 Randi

It seems like all my college roommates are getting married lately and I’m so unbelievably excited for them!

I celebrated Amanda’s bachelorette party in Nashville last month, and this past weekend was spent in northern Kentucky/ Cincinnati celebrating Caitlin‘s upcoming wedding!

(I’m actually going to be in Caitlin’s wedding this Labor Day weekend, which makes the whole thing even more exciting!)

Last weekend, I took the bus down to Cincinnati to spend a super low key weekend celebrating with Caitlin and some of her closest friends. It was an absolute blast!

A tequila and espresso cocktail perfect for brunch

August 6, 2017 Randi

It’s not really a secret that I’m an absolute coffee fiend.

I start every single morning — regardless of how much/ what quality of sleep I had — with a cup of coffee.

Cold brew, french press, auto-drip, a trip through the Starbucks drivethru: It doesn’t matter. I absolutely have to have a cup of joe in order to get my day started.

So, when my love of coffee mixes with my affinity for brunch, it can get kind of awkward. I usually end up with a small collection of mugs and glasses filled with water, coffee, mimosas or a.m. cocktails just piled up in front of my plate of french toast.

So, when Blue Nectar Tequila reached out and asked if I’d like to try my hand at making tequila and coffee cocktails with American Cocktail Club, I knew I’d definitely be down, because hey — combining the booze and the coffee means one less awkward glass at brunch!

A peculiar book series, ‘Dunkirk’ and new music from Kesha

July 31, 2017 Randi

This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but at the end of 2016, I realized I hadn’t been reading as many books as I usually read. I kept so busy with my day job and freelancing that I just inadvertently stopped reading. Whoops.

So, when it came time to make a list of goals I wanted to focus on, “read more” was an obvious addition.

We’re a little more than halfway into 2017 (seriously, where has the time gone) and — while I haven’t made it as far down my reading list as I’d like — I’ve already read substantially more than I did last year.

You can actually follow along on Instagram using the hashtags #onrandiskindle / #randiwithabook!

I started recapping recent books — and TV shows and movies — at the end of every bi-monthly life recap post. That section of my post kept getting longer and longer, and it just didn’t make sense to keep it hidden at the bottom of a single post published once a month. So, I gave my little mini-reviews and recaps their own section on my site! You can now find my posts about books, movies, TV shows and music here, or under the “lifestyles” drop down menu at the top of my site.

Without further ado, here’s a really addicting book trilogy, a movie now in theaters and some long-awaited singles from a pop artist I love.

What to pack: Hostel essentials

July 23, 2017 Randi

When I published my post earlier this week about my recent trip to Nashville, I ended up getting a lot of questions and comments about my decision to stay in a hostel for the first part of the trip.

(If you didn’t know, I stayed in an all-female eight-bed hostel room for the first few nights of my trip. It was a blast!)

I was a little caught off-guard by the questions, actually. I know hostels aren’t as prevalent in the U.S. as they are over in Europe, but I’m so accustomed to them that sometimes I forget they’re not quite as common here in the States! When I travel alone, hostels are always my first choice of lodging because they’re budget-friendly, and they’re a great way to build friendships with other members of the travel community.

When I say budget friendly, I mean it. Hostels can actually be dirt cheap. I’ve booked beds in the U.S. for as low as $20 a night… which means more money to spend on drinks, dining and souvenirs! And the building friendships part is no joke. Every time I’ve stayed in a hostel — both here in the U.S. and over in Europe — I’ve always met so many people from so many countries!

Because so many hostel-dwellers are traveling alone, everyone kind of ends up hanging out together. It’s great. Not only do you learn about different cultures, but you also end up having friends to spend your trip with, so you don’t end up playing tourist all by your lonesome. Plus, if you keep those connections via Facebook (I always do!), you have couches to crash on in the future if you ever need them.

But, hostels can sometimes be a little scary if you’re not totally prepared. If you’re a first-time hostel stayer, I’d definitely suggest booking a smaller one-gender room, like a four-bed female room. My first ever hostel stay was a mixed-gender 12-bed room in Washington D.C., and I was kind of terrified! I shared a room with two of my friends and nine incredibly drunk German men, and got about two hours of sleep. It makes a great story now, sure, but at the time, I definitely was not prepared for the experience.

But, after staying in a slew of hostels across two continents, I think I’ve become a bit better at knowing what to expect, how to prepare and what to pack.

A bachelorette party in Nashville

July 18, 2017 Randi

Pop quiz! If a 20-something girl tells you she’s going to Nashville for a weekend, why?

If you guessed “bachelorette party,” there’s a pretty good chance you’re right. So, I’m sure absolutely nobody will be surprised when I say that I just returned from an extended weekend trip to Nashville for my college roommate’s bachelorette party. It was a complete and total blast!

Because I have an unconventional work schedule, I decided to head down to Tennessee a few days early to explore on my own, since I’d actually never been to Nashville before. I’d found a convenient Southwest flight, so I departed Midway right from work last Wednesday, and stayed in Nashville until Sunday afternoon. The bachelorette party started Friday afternoon, so I had an evening, a day and an afternoon all to myself before anyone arrived.

Navy, red and polka dots

July 3, 2017 Randi2 comments

Happy (almost) Fourth of July, America!

I love Independence Day. When I was a kid, we used to day trip to my Uncle Mike’s house every Fourth to spend the holiday there.

My Uncle Mike wasn’t biologically my uncle; he was my dad’s best friend — and actually, my dad’s best man, too. He was a pretty prominent figure in my life growing up, so calling him my uncle always came naturally.

Anyway, Uncle Mike lived right on Strawberry Lake back in Michigan. Like, right on it. So every summer, my parents would pack us up and take us over a handful of times each year. We’d spend days learning how to waterski behind the speed boat, afternoons dining at Zukey Lake Tavern and nights catching fireflies, barbecuing and jumping off the rope swing into the canal behind Uncle Mike’s backyard.

And, the Fourth of July was no exception. Almost every year, we’d take the pontoon out for the day, park it at a sandbar and allow ourselves to sunburn waiting until dusk. Once night fell, we’d watch the fireworks show while fishing cold melon out of the cooler with our sandy hands.

Fourth of July was always a summer highlight growing up.

And, while I won’t be spending tomorrow docking the pontoon and lounging with a drink in hand, there’s something to be said for celebrating the Fourth here in Chicago, too. Miles of beaches along Lake Michigan, drink specials on rooftop bars across the city and the Navy Pier fireworks show?

Chicago is not a bad place to celebrate America’s birthday.

But, it begs the question: What do you wear?