Jennifer's 365 Project

Since it's a holiday weekend and I have Monday off, we drove to the east side of the state to spend some time with family. We visited the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, which is great for kids.
 We were able to find a quiet restaurant so the little one could take a break from all the excitement and eat some lunch.
He had a lot of fun in the hotel room as well. He really enjoys going on new adventures.

It's the last day of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair and the only weekend day it is open so what better way to spend Saturday than wandering the streets of Ann Arbor with family?
We met up with everyone (my father-in-law and my parents) at The Cottage Inn Pizza for lunch before heading out into the heat and sun for a few hours to look at all of the art booths.
There were lots of interesting things sprinkled throughout all of the booths. Admittedly I think Chris and I have seen several of these people recently at the Grand Haven Art Fair. Mostly it was just fun to chat with everyone and see what's been going on lately. Plus we walked through the Borders bookstore. Everything was on sale but, quite honestly, not as cheap as you'd except a company in liquidation to have things. I suppose they'll do it tiered and sell as much as they can now, then keep dropping the price as time goes on to move what isn't selling fast.

Anyway, it was a hot one with lots of sunshine. I had a good day, but I was glad to be home with a snuggling kitty and air conditioning. I dont mind lots of walking, but I am wimpy when it comes to heat and humidity.

Also, I learned the Maker Fair in Detroit is next weekend, and we're busy, so I'm kind of bummed. Not that I build anything or have much of an aptitude to do such things, but I thought it would be interesting to walk around and check it out. I know both Chris and his dad enjoy making and creating things. Maybe we can check it out next year.

Today marks the last day for the annual Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. It's a huge art fair, larger than any one I'd been to growing up.  And there were an amazing number of people when we first arrived, despite the rain.

Of course with rain and heat comes humidity, and today was no exception.  The humidity was really high, as was the temperature (90ish).  So we wandered around for a few yours, being sure to hit Vault of Midnight, which is a comic shop Chris used to frequent when was in town.   We even stopped in at Wizzywig, which had moved from downtown Ann Arbor and is apparently much smaller (and very disappointing).

Next was IKEA.  I'm not sure when it was built, but it's not that old of a location in Canton.  And I know lots of people who it's a big deal to.  So Chris took me over there so I could get a taste.  It feels very Disneyworld  but with none of the awesome rides. I can definitely see the appeal though. Entire rooms laid out and all you have to do is write down the numbers and grab everything down below. No real hassle of figuring out how to decorate and coordinate things.

The problem for me is everything in IKEA is in a very modernism (or is it post-modernism?) style. I'm not a fan of the style.  So most things there don't appeal to me.  Anyway, Chris has some pretty amusing video of my reaction to seeing the whole place for the first time. If you know me, you know I'm not a huge shopper and it's a huge store....

After IKEA Chris took me to his old stomping grounds, and showed me his old neighborhoods and favorite hangouts.

All in all, great day!