whimsy and wild: Michigan

Frederik Meijer Gardens

If you haven't already noticed, I'm kind of bad at blogging on time. I do things in my life, and days (or weeks) later, I'll finally post about it. So, almost two weeks ago, I ventured out to Frederik Meijer Gardens with my sister, her "little sister" (Big Brothers, Big Sisters), my brother-in-law, and my niece! It was a gorgeous day of lovely sunshine, perfect weather, and beautiful butterflies and plants.

Frederik Meijer Gardens is a pretty neat place to go. It's a national gardens, which is pretty awesome to have in town, full of beautiful flowers, sculptures, and butterflies when they are "in bloom." Have any of you ever been to these gardens before?

They also host a summer concert series, which I haven't gone to before, but it seems like a really good time. They always have really great artists lined up, and this year they have Ray LaMontagne in July. I'm not sure if I'll be going yet, but I would really love to see him perform. Ray LaMontagne is a seriously talented musician, and his song "Can I Stay" is actually our wedding song. :)

While we were there, we of course checked out their butterfly exhibit because it's really awesome to be up close + personal with those pretty creatures. I'll be honest, they kind of make me jump a little when they fly near me, but I can't get over how many of them there are + how different they all are. They're so neat looking, with all of their different markings, and it was really fun to see my 1-year-old niece react to them. You can see that in the first picture below that I took of her (one of my favorite pictures of her). It looks like she is discovering something for the first time (which she kind of is), with that look of wonder in her eyes and that tiny little smile. Makes my heart melt!

It was a really, really lovely day and I'm so glad my sister asked me if I wanted to go with them. If you've never been before, I suggest you go, especially when they have their butterflies exhibit. You won't regret it.

These pictures were edited with the awesome photoshop actions by A Beautiful Mess. The actions I used were Joan + Glow (Brighten) from The Mini Collection!

Celebrate

via my instagram

I love my state. I'm so proud to call this place my home. Happy 177th birthday, Michigan!

Our Engagement Photos

I suck. I know. If you want a reason why I haven't posted these photos yet, you won't get a good one from me. Call it laziness or forgetfulness or whatever, it just didn't happen. I'm not the best at keeping up with this blog because it's just not a huge priority of mine. It's a fun outlet and I enjoy posting, but sometimes it's just hard to sit down, edit photos, and write a post. It takes motivation and I don't usually have that. So, thank you for sticking around even though I'm not very good at this. Anyway, here I am, finally, with our engagement photos from 3 weeks ago!

We headed out to Aman Park on a seriously cold evening to brave the weather and get some lovely photos taken by the incredible Arielle Teft. And let me tell you what, she delivered. Oh man, did she deliver. Her work is so inspiring and beautiful and exactly what I wanted when looking for a wedding photographer. I am so happy and so lucky I found her, and I cannot say it enough how excited I am for her to shoot our wedding day. I know she will truly capture the essence of the day, and I look forward to having stunning shots of that day to remember years from now. If you are in this area and need a photographer who is not only very talented, but also a very sweet and lovely person to be around, you can't get any better than Arielle Teft. Truly.

A Hike at Aman Park

Hello everyone. I hope your week is going swimmingly. I don't think I've ever said that before... swimmingly. It is a thing, right? Anyway, this post is a week behind pretty much, but I wanted to share my trip to Aman Park last week with Nicholas and Penny. Aman Park is a really beautiful getaway about 10 minutes away from where we live. Once inside on the trails, you don't feel like you're near a city at all.

Yesterday, my family and I headed out to Robinette's, a local apple orchard that is super awesome. We went there a couple years ago, and it was nice to be back. We got there and got in line first thing for some of the best pumpkin donuts and apple cider in the area. The line was super long (duh!), but we finally got to munch on some deliciousness.

John Ball Zoo

This past Sunday my family and I went to the zoo in our area. I hadn't been there in a couple years, and it was exciting because my mom hadn't been there in about 10 years and it was my niece's first time to the zoo! It was a really nice day out, and it was so lovely to be able to spend that time with my family and enjoy the lovely animals. When it comes to zoos, I'm very conflicted. I love to go to them and I love seeing the animals. I also love the good that can come from zoos: rehabilitation, saving/keeping a species from extinction, et cetera. However, I've always felt really horrible about the small spaces they have to call home, unfitting climates, and possible mistreatment. I like to believe most zoos are in it for the good, and my heart breaks and I try really hard to help when a zoo isn't doing a good job, but still... I am conflicted. I care a lot about animals, and sometimes it makes me upset to see them in such situations, but I try to remind myself that sometimes it is for the best, and sometimes it might just save their life. Do you like going to the zoo? What is your favorite you've been to?

My lovely sister, brother-in-law, and happy niece.

Pretty Pictures

Just wanted to pop in and share some of the recent photography prints I added to my society6 shop. Yes, a little shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone, and really, I just love to share things that I think are beautiful with the world! All nine of the photographs I've posted to my shop are from my trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore last summer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I had gone a long time ago when I was younger, and I am so thankful I got to go back. What a truly incredible place! I also found out while on the boat tour that you can kayak along the rocks, so that is definitely on my bucket list! I hope you like the pictures, and you can check out the rest here if you'd like. Tomorrow, Laurie, Nate, (possibly) Nicholas, and I are going to the Phoenix Zoo. I'm really excited! I hope all of your Mondays went well and that your Tuesdays follow suit. :)