Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. After 14 hours of travel yesterday, we finally made it to one of the most beautiful spots in the country: Traverse City, Michigan. We come here every year for our anniversary, and it's quickly become my favorite week of the year. Normally we fly right into Traverse City, but yesterday, we had to reroute our entire trip after our plane's tire popped on the runway as we were taking off. Talk about a scary moment...we were speeding up to take off and suddenly the pilot slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt. Everyone jerked forward and wondered what in the world had happened.

Long story short, they pulled the plane off the runway, went back to the gate, and we quickly realized that we would not be making our connecting flight in Chicago. We ended up rebooking to a flight into Detroit, renting a car, and driving over 4 hours up to T.C. All of that, coupled with the 2 hours we had driven yesterday morning from Connecticut to the airport (we had been at a friend's wedding this weekend), and it made for a very long travel day! But the good news is: we're here. We normally stay in a gorgeous farmhouse (pictured in the opening shot) up near Northport, but this year it was already booked, so we rented a little log cabin on a vineyard near Sutton's Bay. It was so dreamy to wake up this morning with sunlight streaming in, and row after rows of vines outside our window. Oh, and the sound of total. silence. Ahhhh.

Two-Lads

Though I do have to do some work this week on the cookbook, I think I'm going to take a few days off from the blog. I need some time to breathe and think. To read and go on long walks, to explore the countryside and to enjoy some QT with Brandon. We only get this week once a year, and I want to make the most of it. I want to come back relaxed and renewed and recharged for all that the fall holds in store.

See you guys next week (and on Instagram!).

xo, Anna

Branna-TC

P.S. One year ago, we threw a really fun Simple Evening with our good friends Megan & Mike Gilger (and Cammie Buehler of Epicure Catering) at the farmhouse. Check out pictures here.

(Opening photo by Bryan Dale.)