Date Day: Hiking High Cliff State Park

To celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary, we went the super untraditional route... We incorporated exercise & the beautiful outdoors with a trip to hike High Cliff State Park & called it a date.

High Cliff State Park is located in Sherwood, WI, which is about an hour & ten minute drive south for us.  The park is beautiful & was just starting to show signs of fall while we were there.  It overlooks Lake Winnebago & sits on limestone cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment -- which is how the park got it's name.  I highly recommend this park to hike for any skill level, but there's much more to do there than just hike -- you can camp, picnic, hunt, fish, or even have your wedding there.

A few (ok, a lot) photos from our hike:

View from the lookout tower

Zac found a leaf the size of his face!

Wisconsin does fall so good...

P.S. I went with the Belkin slim fit armband & love it!

We had a lovely day & I can't wait to go back to do it again sometime soon!

Corn Maze

You know that disappointing feeling you get when you spend a lot of time carefully curating the most perfect Christmas present for a child, only to find that when they open it – they like the box more than the actual contents inside the box?

Yeah. That was our corn maze experience a few weeks ago.

I had planned the most perfect fall Saturday.  I called my sister & said I needed to kidnap her kids -- that Zac & I were taking them to a corn maze (because it’s on my fall bucket list, after all).  We will get lunch, we eat will ice cream, we will have a super fun time navigating through the maze… and it will be perfect.

She didn’t tell her kids all week what we had planned on doing, she just told them Auntie KK & Uncle Zac were taking them on an “adventure”.

For the record, they are 5 and 2½ years old -- they don’t really know what an adventure is, but they were excited for it.  And I was too.

They arrived at our house mid-morning; car seats were fastened in my car, water bottles were filled, and walking shoes were on.  We loaded up the kids & hit the road.

“I hope we’re going to Bay Beach.” says Elena.  “Actually, I hope we’re going to feed the ducks.”

“We’re going to do something totally new – something you’ve never done before!” I said.

“Where is it?  Is it going to take long to get there?  Are there bathrooms there?” Elena asked.

“It’s in Door County & will take about 45 minutes” I explained... “And yes, there are bathrooms there...”  <-- this kid worries about the most random things.

…10 minutes later…

“Are we there yet?”

  

We arrived at Schopf’s Hill Top Dairy, which looks straight out of a child’s story book.  Pumpkins lined the adorable barn themed store-front, Adirondack chairs were scattered about the play area, so that parents can watch as children climb around the play sets, & there was even an area to feed some farm animals.

We didn't waste any time purchasing our tickets for the corn maze & began our "adventure" right away.

Roughly ten minutes in, Kane got sick of walking.

When we got done with the brown maze, I asked if the kids wanted to do the red maze next, and they all but started crying,  "Nooooo!!  Don't make us do another one!  I'm hot. I'm hungry. I wanna play!"

So we listened to the kids & found the exit.  Elena was never more happy...

They had more fun playing on the tractors & play sets than navigating through the maze.  Guess they are still a bit young to enjoy it.  I had a blast, though :)

It was after 12:30 and we were all hungry, so we ordered a pizza & some rootbeer & had a picnic outside.

 After lunch, we fed a few farm animals...

Kane would spend the rest of his life on a tractor, if you'd let him.

At the end of the afternoon, we decided that we couldn't leave without a sweet treat first....

And then we got to watch them milk the cows, which was neat.

So lesson learned... playground > corn maze.   Now we know :)

I'm still so glad that we kidnapped them for the day.  Life gets so busy, and I don't see them near as often as I wish I did.  I love spending time with them; they make my heart so full!

Fall Home Tour

Fall is definitely upon us... the Midwest decided to cool down this week & you can't go one day without seeing someone post about a pumpkin spice latte on Instagram.

Along with all things pumpkin, cozy scarves, & boots; fall is also my favorite time of the year to decorate!

I could spend hours looking through home decor magazines & Pinterest.

It's fun to be inspired, but let's be real... 85% of us don't have homes that are picture perfect.

We have mismatched wood tones.  We have ugly heat registers.  We have carpeting that needs to be replaced...

So when Katie reached out to me with the idea of "The Everyday Home Tour" showcasing a "real person's" fall home decor, I loved her idea.

Here's the concept -- a practical Fall Home Tour with some everyday bloggers -- ones you can actually relate to.  So, we're sharing a few peeks into what a more typical home looks like, instead of all these fancy-schamncy homes you see in the magazines, blogland, & Pinterest.

I only have one storage bin of actual fall decor, so a majority of my fall decor is recycled items from around my house, just re-purposed for the season.

Let's start in our living room:

Since I don't have a fireplace, this side table acts as my mantel.  

The acorn banner is from Target's dollar spot & the old window is from a local antique shop.

Zac & I gathered acorns to fill mason jars from my grandma.  I scoured Goodwill for two books whose spines matched my color scheme & threw a framed wedding photo on top -- we got married in October... gee, maybe that's why I love fall so much? :) 

The pumpkin with lights is from Taylor Creek a few years ago, the chalkboard sign is from Hobby Lobby, & the crock (full of pinecones) is from my grandma.  Pinecones c/o the woods ;)  I jazzed them up with some spray adhesive & glitter.  The books & cross were items I already had from around the house.

The vase is from Big Lots ages ago, the canvas is a photo I took, and the LOVE blocks are photos from our wedding, from an Etsy shop called Waste Not Recycled Art.  The pumpkins I've had a very long time, and honestly can't remember where they're from.

This basket was from our wedding; it held our wedding programs at church.

I added some candy corn to a mason jar, threw a tea light in there, & tied a ribbon around the top.  Instant fall decoration to spice up our ladder.

On our TV stand, I added some leaf garland from Taylor Creek & arranged some pinecones. 

On our end table sits a cute pumpkin from Target's dollar spot -- love this little guy!

A few years ago, my mom, sister & I crafted these pumpkins out of dryer vents.  

I didn't do much in the kitchen, except add this wire pumpkin to our table.  I think this is from Kohl's.

In each bathroom, I added just a few fall inspired touches:

I framed a fall printable, found here.  And I made another little candy corn candle to sit on top of the toilet.

In our other bathroom, I added this ceramic leaf to hold my daily jewelry (bought at a rummage sale) & placed a metal pumpkin candle on the counter.

That rounds out my tour!  Simple, cheap, but kinda cute -- just the way I like it :)

Make sure to visit Katie's blog: Tomorrow with a Smile, for more fall decor inspiration!

If you've posted your fall decor, please link it in the comment section, or tag your photos on Instagram with #TheEverydayHomeTour  -- I'd love to check it out!

Happy decorating :)


Linking up with:
LollyJane | Adventures of Mel | Snap! | Live Laugh Rowe | Bowdabra Blog