Challenge #13 – JULY Feature Grid – SPRING GREEN

POST WINDOW: July 1st – 7th

Use Mosaic Moments Spring Green Grid paper & Page Pattern # 48

http://blog.tamipotter.com/page_patterns/2011/01/title-strip-and-mosaic-accents.html

THEME:  My Spot on the Big Blue Marble

Create a page that shows us “your spot”

Consider: what do you include in “your spot” – is it a favorite chair, your favorite room in your house, your house and yard, the street you live on, the town you live in… How would you describe “your spot on the earth”.

Element options - please choose one or more of the following:

• Layered photo elements
• Lots of little tags
• A list

Living in the Midwest is a far cry from where I grew up on the Jersey Shore! When I first moved here 14 years ago, I lived in Indiana. I then relocated to Northern Illinois and finally settled in the tiny village of Sharon in Southeastern Wisconsin. Living in Sharon was nice, but it was so tiny and so rural, we didn’t even have a traffic light! On weekends I’d often visit the City of Lake Geneva, WI. I LOVED it there and said if I were ever to move again, I would like to live in Lake Geneva. It’s a tourist town, quiet in the winter and full of Chicagoans in the summer. There’s a beach, lots of boats, fine dining, fun shops and souvenir stores up and down the streets. There are horse and carriage rides, people walking around town in their beachwear and lots of fudge and ice cream! It always felt like I was on vacation when I went there, even thought it was only about 25 minutes from my house.

And now I live here!!! It was a long 2012 for me, but on June 18th, 2013, I closed on my very own house in Lake Geneva!! It’s on a dead end street away from the busiest section of town, but surrounded by Big Foot Beach State Park. It’s a 2 bedroom 1964 ranch that, big surprise, I’m going totally retro with!!

But never mind about my house for now….let’s talk about the town!! 

On this first page, you can see OshKosh, one of the 2 horses that pull the carriages around town. He loves having his picture taken! One of my favorite things to see in Lake Geneva is all the signage on the shops and eateries. They’re all very unique and I’ve tried to capture some of my favorites. Allison wonderland is the best toy store on the planet if you ask me. I love to go in there and play with the puppets! The Riviera is full of shops on the lower level and then there is a banquet hall upstairs if you’re lucky enough to book your wedding or event there. The fountain is beautiful! I’m glad I took these photos in early spring….it’s much more beautiful now, but it would have been impossible to get these photos now with all the hanging baskets of flowers and budding trees this time of year. The Olympic restaurant is a nice diner, and Popeye’s has the best fish fry around.

On the second page, I’ve included a list as my element option. This list is entitled “My Favorite Shops in Lake Geneva.” My friend Lisa owns Geneva Gifts and she has the best fudge in town, so if you’re ever in the area and need some Minnetonka Moccasins, fudge or souvenirs, hers is the store to visit first! Paws for Treats is upscale doggie accessories, Fleming’s is an Irish store and they have the ENTIRE Vera Bradley line and other beautiful things from Ireland. Leather Accents is my source for Brighton bags and jewelry…that’s Zoe, the Pekingese that guards the front door. I LOVE FUNKY’s is a shop you can’t miss. I don’t even know how to describe it…taxidermy meets antiques meets candy meets adult toys? Something like that. Well worth a visit! =balance=bath and body is a fabulous shop where they make their own aromatherapy products: soaps, lotions, lip balms, whatever you want, scented however you want. Global Hands is a fair trade shop that carries gift products made from talented people in other countries trying hard to make a living for themselves. Absolutely gorgeous stuff!

One thing that I would love to do, but haven’t yet is take a ride on The Lady of the Lake, the gorgeous boat you see above. They offer cocktail cruises, sunset cruises, and the mansion cruise I think. I’ll get to it one of these days, but for right now, I’m still unpacking!

As far as my pages go, I almost forgot! I used Spring Green Grid Paper, of course, and page pattern #48 for the first page. The second page is Page Pattern #47 from www.tamipotter.com. The Lake Geneva title came from a cropped photo that I took, shown uncropped below:

I love everything about Lake Geneva; these are just a few of my faves. It really is worth a visit, and if you’re in the area, let me know! I’d love to visit with you!!