The Wanderers // Charming Disaster // Cedarburg Maxwell Street Days // Weston Antique Apple Orchard // Love's Labour's Lost

Dress: Real Love Maxi Dress by Free People (size XL) via Nuuly

Sandals: Born

Necklace & Earrings: Wendy Baker

Bracelet: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo & Me

Stats: 5'7" 39-37-48 

In love with everything about this dress. I had it in the pink color way & I think they are different enough that I wish both of them were mine. The pink falls strictly into a summer dress...& this one is late summer/fall. It's an all cotton maxi, lined, with pockets. And the ties have tassels on the ends. 

The pattern on this reminds me of sunflowers. And I adore all the colors...from a distance, you see brown & mustard, maybe black...but up close there is teal, burgundy, a couple shades of green...sooo much going on.

A bit tricky with the low back to hide the bra band...but it can be done...& see...tassels! David bought me a fancy new camera...my first mirrorless full frame (Nikon Z 6ii) & these are the first shots we took. He got a different lens & we were never able to get the perspective right...we used it a few times & he ordered the lens he was used to...we just thought this would be nicer since he could stand closer to me.

Mustard heels that I wore the first & second time I wore this dress, but not the last time. Black jewelry just seemed the way to go with this...even though I have a ton of amber that would have been just as lovely. 

My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Bourbon; Minx, Half Baked, & Twice Baked eyeshadows by UD; MAC lipliner in Chicory; Kat von D lipstick in Gothica; & OPI nail polish in Talk of the Town Brown.

Dinner...pan fried crispy salmon with crispier garlic & dill..,& a bonus crispy salmon skin that I took off before roasting some salmon in the oven...served with roasted Brussels sprouts with kimchi & bacon. Boxy Charm. Flowers from the market. 

I first wore this dress when I took lunch to my friend who had surgery again...this time a roasted cumin salmon with a cilantro pistachio sauce...served as a salad. Car wash for Veronika. Sorta Goth. 

Charming Disaster at The North Street Cabaret...first time I've been back since the pandemic. The venue was promoting this show & they looked fun...so I listened to a few songs & bought tickets. They remind me of Amanda Palmer with Jason Webley...carnival goth folk? They had 4 vinyl records for sale & I bought them all. It was a fun show...they had audience members pick a tarot card out of a bag & then they'd play the corresponding song...& they often got off stage & played & sang among us. 

David & I going to The Overture Center to see Forward Theatre's first production of the season, The Wanderers. It was wonderful...now we want to see everything this playwright has ever written. That piece of salmon in the fridge was so appealing...it was difficult not to dive in & consume it all right then & there. David had grilled it with wood chips, slowly...for our picnic. Then I wore this dress for a jam packed Sunday. First, we drove to Cedarburg...

I had heard good (& not so great) things about Cedarburg's flea market, Maxwell Street Days...this was the final one of the season, so we went to check it out. We immediately saw this tin ceiling guy with all kind of patterns we hadn't seen before. And we finally got a question that beats, would you like a chicken with that (Kate & I strawberry picking)? When we paid for the ceiling tin, the guy inquired, would you like a free beer or tequila with that? It was 10am. Oh, Wisconsin...

Check out this zebra striped mink...wow! I spied it across several isles...but it was even more stunning up close. The lady that was selling it said it had been her 90-something year old neighbors. She'd already brought it to 4 shows, so we got it for a steal (also, a few smalls holes where the fur has separated). But the real deal of the day, that stained glass window...we paid $15...David is really good at bargaining...sometimes I have to walk away. I always just ask, what's the best price you can do on this? It fits nicely in our wreck room windows & has already made David's tv watching experience better. We actually got a bunch of stuff at this market, but I didn't take many photos. Then...onto the apple portion part of our day.

When I learned Weston's Antique Apples weren't going to come to farmer's market any longer...I decided we must make the trip & stock up for the winter. Look how wondrous that view is from their barn.

After talking to Gen (I think that's her name...why am I so bad at that?) & getting all the apples our hearts desired...she told us we should walk through the orchard. Oh, they were magical...they didn't have all the like trees grouped together as one tree would be red, the next green, the following one, pink...it was spectacular. And we picked apples right off the trees & ate them in the orchard. I don't know why picking & eating things right then & there is always so exciting to me...it never gets old.

We've been loving their unique varieties of apples for years from farmers' market (we even bought grafts from them & have 3 of our favorites planted in our backyard), but this was our first time at their orchard. It was beautiful & peaceful. After enjoying the apple farm...we drove back to Madison in a mad dash to let the dogs out & pack up our picnic for APT.

What a lovely day for a picnic. The salmon David cooked on the grill was aaaaamazzzzing...it was like smoked salmon since he used the wood chips & just so juicy with the best flavor...this was an amazing salad...served with bubbles...Eff Nat from Mawby in Michigan. Take note of my heart shaped radishes. 

I need to wander around more...hows did I miss this awesome piece of art?! I absolutely adore old rusty things. Can we take it home & park it in the front yard? I'd plant flowers in it. 

We had been here the night before & Kate showed us this longer nature path to get up the hill...it had been too dark the previous day, but the sun was just setting as we wandered to the theatre on this trail.

Much prettier than the usual nice walk through the woods...& we didn't see another person the entire time.

David & I were here to give Love's Labour's Lost another go...if you remember, we had been here with Kate a week before & the show was rained out...but we thoroughly enjoyed the 10 minutes we got to see & didn't want to miss this production. The only tickets left for the rest of the year were on closing night & they were practically the worst seats in the house & across the theatre from each other. The only reason I got them at all is I purchased them on our drive home from attempting to see it the first time. If I had waited until the next day when all the other people were also calling, I would have missed it. I had gotten a light scolding on the phone that the next time that happens, I need to wait & call so they can do a ticket exchange (they had to refund me for the second set of tickets I purchased). However, once we arrived, I went to the box office & had the good fortune of meeting the manager, Bruce. Bruce was miraculous! He swiftly got us 2 tickets together in the 3rd row, center (just where I like to be there...in the first 4 rows). So as long as he was granting wishes...I told him about my other dilemma...we had tickets on Friday to see The Moors, but I also had tickets elsewhere to a show that was only happening once. I'd been looking online every day for over a month, but all the shows were sold out & it seemed no-one was cancelling...or other people were beating me to it. Bruce asked which day I'd like, typed away on his computer for a minute, & handed me 2 tickets (good seats) to the Thursday show! Bruce made all my dreams come true...thanks, Bruce! So, back to this show...there wasn't an empty seat in the house...& people were all abuzz around us saying it was their favorite of the season & it was their 2nd, 3rd, or more time seeing it. Now, we don't always agree with other people...but in this case...it was by far the best version we'd ever seen...really creative, fantastic acting, & marvelous costumes. I had really jammed this day full of things, but we enjoyed every one of them.