Be fairy, fairy quiet...

Hiya, kids! Happy new year! Hope the new year is treating you well. I was just so relieved to get through the holidays. In my little world, it gets pretty crazy. I think it gets that way for everybody, though. So take a big breath, let it out, and remind yourself that you have a few months before you have to see your extended family or do any heavy kitchen work.

And let's talk about those resolutions. We all make them, and that's okay, as long as they are fun and interesting. Of course, we all want to get in shape and save money, but honestly, wouldn't you rather make a promise to eat better chocolate?

So that's what I did. I made a resolution to eat at some great local restaurants that I haven't tried, work on my Cicerone certification (which means drinking great beer), and travel more. So far, I have kept two out of three.

This weekend I got a chance to go on a little trip. Where do people from Florida go on vacation, you ask? Why, Michigan, of course! One of my favorite people in the world, Painting Mama, lives in Ann Arbor, so I took advantage of the slow down at work, an overflow of vacation hours, and a stupid cheap flight, to visit a very cool family and a very hipster town.

So many great things I could say about Ann Arbor, such as great food, fabulous cocktails, and cool boutiques, but my favorite thing were the fairy doors.

Created by a local artist, and installed all over town, these adorable little bits of art appeal to the kid in all of us. I was able to see five of the original doors, and several "copycat" doors. It became a game to try to find doors hidden among the buildings of downtown.

The original doors were designed to mimic the doors of where they are installed. Some of the doors are very simple, while others are more elaborate. One door lead into an entire fairy store, with a set of stairs going down into what one would assume was a fairy basement!

These little bits of architecture serve a great purpose. All the people I saw while on my fairy door hunt were smiling. Happy people, dreaming of fairies. And how wonderful is that?

So, my weekend adventure was wonderful, and full of fairy dust. Hopefully, some hipster fairies hitched a ride home with me and will set up a home here! If that happens, I will certainly let you all know.

For more information on the Ann Arbor fairy doors, check out www.urbanfairies.com. Also, check out the artwork of Painting Mama on www.etsy.com/shop/SherryStreeter. Her paintings will also make you smile.

Also, I apologize for the less than stellar layout this week. My computer decided to die after a valiant, long term illness and I'm blogging on my iPhone. Hopefully I will be able to upgrade here soon. So, until next time kids, stay hip!