Fluffy things and pretty colors: Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival.

My first year in Wisconsin, I had a blast at the 2011 Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. Last year, I missed the event in favor of a Madonna concert in NYC with one of my best friends (let's face it, Madonna always trumps sheep). Given that it had been two years since my last Sheep & Wool, I was really craving some sheep time.

I went to this year's event with two goals:

1. Hold an angora rabbit.

2. Don't buy yarn.

I'm on a yarn diet right now. Urban dictionary says this happens when crafters go broke, but in my case, what happened was a hiatus from knitting due to fractured trapezium, thus causing my yarn stash to take up space and not get used.

Surprisingly enough, I accomplished both goals!

1. I met an angora rabbit:

He didn't have a name. Let's go with the obvious... Fluffy it is!

2. I didn't buy any yarn. I "showed good use of restraint," to quote one of my favorite college design professors. But... I did buy soap:

Mint Medley from Heaven Sent Home Spun, who came all the way from Gerald, Missouri for the big event.

Now, to the sheep! This year, I sat in the bleachers and watched a sheep show (think American Kennel Club for sheep), where judges were awarding ribbons for the best in show.

All lined up and ready for the judge.

I also wandered through the barn and made some adorable new friends, big and small:

But Sheep & Wool isn't all about the sheep...

It's also about kitsch (like this fab sock monkey and ram duo).

And of course, YARN! I opted to focus my photos on rainbow hues. Just so pretty:

And of course, there was a Wisconsin touch:

Green Bay Packers yarn, anyone?

Fluffy things and pretty colors: a perfect day for an animal-loving craft addict like myself.

For my report on the 2011 Sheep & Wool Festival, click here.

We don't fit in here: my day trip to the land of cheese heads.

When I read that the US Collegiate Figure Skating Championships were coming to De Pere, WI, I knew I had to go watch. A 2 hour drive to watch a day of great skating would be well worth it, and my friend (and fellow skater) Katie was happy to go along for the ride.

When Amie (my supervisor and a De Pere native) heard that I'd be spending the day on her home turf, she recommended that we stop at Lambeau Field to visit the Packers Pro Shop. We didn't have to be at the rink until 1:00, so we left Madison with time to visit the historic football field.

Wow. That's really all I have to say.

Okay, I'll say a little more. I had never seen Green Bay Packers fans in their native environment. Even though it was just "family day" during Packers training camp, the entire venue was an intense sea of green and yellow. Katie and I felt very out of place in grey. I didn't dare utter the phrase, "I don't care about football," because I feared I would be attacked.

This was the line for temporary team spirit tattoos.
It wasn't even a game day.

Let me just get this out in the open: I have never been to an NFL football game, nor do I ever plan to go to one (Close your mouths! I'd rather spend the cash on major figure skating events... sorry, football fans).

The vibe was all Packers, all the time. Everyone wore green shirts had such a sense of pride in the team. Total strangers were sharing this common bond of Packers Pride, and it was unlike anything I had seen before. The city felt like one big family: one big spirited, beer-drinking, green and yellow family.

Once I settled into my culture shock, Katie and I explored the venue.

The Lambeau Field logo at one of the gates.

A lot of fans were posing with this statue, so I felt like it was the right thing to do.

I don't know why this buffalo was wearing a team jersey, but it seemed worthy of documentation.

The Packers logo (saw a huge one on the side of a house, too).

A view of the atrium.

And then, we arrived at the Packers Pro Shop. The fandom in here was overwhelming. If anyone needs to buy Packers clothing, toys, or home decor, this is clearly the place to go. The shop gets so busy that they have one door devoted to entrances, one door devoted to exits, and security guards directing the traffic.

A view of the shop.

And, well, you knew it was coming:

We found some cheese hats to wear! Finally, we were fitting in.

Now THAT was a true Wisconsin experience. It was definitely new for me to experience the Packers to this level of intensity, and I can only imagine how wild it gets on game day.

Daily sconnie fix: check. Then, we were off to the Nicolet Restaurant, followed by the competition at Cornerstone Community Ice Arena. Two skating competitions and a dog show were happening simultaneously at the venue (pretty hilarious that dogs and skaters competed in the same place). The event was great, and we saw a near-clean program from 2008 US Bronze Medalist, Stephen Carriere. Awesome day!

My friends have backyard chickens, and it's normal.

As I've previously stated on this blog, it's perfectly normal (and legal) for Madison residents to have up to four chickens in their backyards. My friends Cory and Ryan welcomed me into their yard last Sunday to explore their coop and bond with the gals. I had met the chickens before, but I do think we did more bonding this time.

Cory and Ryan have four chickens: Blondie (a Cochin), Nugget (also a Cochin), Raki (a Columbian), and Mountain (a mystery breed). There are a ridiculous amount of chicken breeds out there.

Cory's dad helped them build a gorgeous deck and an impressive coop for their feathered friends:

Exterior view.

Running area.

Interior view.

Side door.

Blondie demonstrates her mastery of the ladder (and yes, all of Cory and Ryan's chickens do respond to  "Here, chick chick chick!").

Ryan and I followed Blondie into the coop...

She was keeping an egg nice and warm.

I found it really interesting that Nugget, Raki, and Mountain lay eggs, but rarely sit on them. Meanwhile, though Blondie rarely lays eggs, she constantly protects the other chickens' eggs while they run around elsewhere. She has a job!

Ryan fetched the egg. Nice work, Blondie!

All of the chickens are used to humans and quite friendly, so they didn't mind that I filmed their snack time:

That's right, chickens like yogurt. And don't worry, Blondie ended up joining in:

And after all that yogurt, it was time to snack on an orange:

Left to right: Raki, Nugget, and Mountain.

I know that I had an exciting evening, but I'd say the chickens had a pretty great one as well: yogurt, oranges, and free roam of the yard. And of course, Cory and Ryan wouldn't let me leave empty handed:

My loot: fresh eggs and peppers from the garden.
Raki lays big dark eggs, Mountain lays big light eggs, and Nugget lays little light eggs.

Oh, and here's the best part: when Cory and Ryan go on their honeymoon next month, I get to cat sit AND chicken sit! Stay tuned for more posts on my egg-gathering adventures. Wisconsin rules.

Farmers' Market trip: summer salad edition.

Realizing that we hadn't gone to the Dane County Farmers' Market in quite a long time, my friend Tonya and I ventured out for some Saturday morning shopping. Despite the chilly wind, the market was packed, and I left with an awesome haul:

Broccoli, lettuce, mini cukes, a beefsteak tomato, and sweet cherries.
Yum! Time for summer salad.

Then, off to brunch at Mickey's Tavern. A delicious morning!

It's that time again: my 3rd chicken coop tour.

Any time before May of 2011, I never would have imagined myself saying this phrase:

On Saturday, I went on a walking tour of neighborhood chicken coops for the third time.

For me, one Saturday of my summer will always be devoted to thee Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association's Tour Des Coops. In Madison, it's legal to keep up to 4 chickens in a backyard, and local residents just love showing off their coops.

The Jones family (aka Scott, Elysha, Abby, and Clementine) and I took a leisurely walk down the bike path to get to the tour, which was smaller this year (only 6 homes). But still, I had the usual goal: snuggle a chicken.

Commemorative artwork from the 2011 Tour Des Coops (my first visit).

It didn't take us long to find some fresh eggs. 

And it also didn't take long for me to make a friend: Kuna, a 2-year-old Australorp chicken:

Kuna was quite talkative and did a lot of clucking.

Pretty girl, eh?

She had just finished laying this egg. Nice one, Kuna!

She lived in a well-decorated coop with some friends, like this gal.

Abby (a chicken coop rookie) had a great time feeding Kuna and her friends.

And soon, we were off to more coops! 

These 3 identical chickens stuck together, so I bonded with their cat instead.

Big Red posed while enjoying a snack.

It was getting pretty hot, so after our chicken coop fix, we grabbed some snacks at the Willy Street Co-Op and headed home via Jenifer Street. Of course, this meant walking by Andrea's house and seeing her latest sidewalk creation:

Ryan Gosling and a dog in sidewalk chalk: picture perfect.

As always, never a dull moment.

For my first Ryan Gosling chalk post, click here.

For my recap of the 2012 Tour Des Coops, click here.

For my recap of the 2011 Tour Des Coops, click here.

Lakeside morning.

After my lovely 4th of July, I invited some friends to join me at Tenney Beach this morning. Bronwen, Scott, Elysha, Abby, Clementine, and I had a relaxing lakeside morning of swimming and lounging. And with Bronwen's homemade iced coffee and delicious pastries from Batch Bakehouse, I'd say this was a perfect start to my Sunday.

"It's so picturesque!" was Bronwen's reaction to this photo op. I just love lounging with the ducks.

Lakeside 4th of July.

I've been a working professional for two years, and I know one thing for certain: paid holidays rock. The 4th of July is one of 'em, and nothing beats a weekday off from work. 

With perfect weather outside and only an afternoon BBQ on my agenda, I packed up my new Matt & Nat cork tote and headed to Tenney Beach. Less than 2 miles from my condo, this seemed like the perfect lakeside lounging spot.

Note: In Wisconsin, the word "beach" means a lakeside place to lounge with a small amount of sand and a large amount of grass. There are no waves, no seashells, and building a sand castle would be a challenge. 

I set up my towel lakeside and pulled out the latest issue of Vogue: pure bliss.

The ducks kept me company.

When I got through my magazine, that perfect lake was calling me, so I went for a swim. I went to summer camp for 9 years, so I'm used to lake swimming, but I probably hadn't been in a lake since 2003. And hell, I hadn't been swimming in the state of Wisconsin yet, so I figured I was due.

After my first swim in Lake Mendota. Wet hair and Ray-Bans.

Swimming: check. Now, back to lounging in my Havaianas.

My solo lake trip was fabulous but I was getting hungry, and in true 4th of July fashion, it was time for a BBQ. I headed off to Jennifer and John's house for a pretty amazing spread:

Chick pea salad, chips, olives, a veggie dog, and a veggie skewer: Yum!

After hanging at the BBQ for a while, my friend Michal invited me to join her at BB Clarke Beach on Lake Monona (yup, that would be another "beach" full of grass). I was pretty full and couldn't pass up more lakeside lounging:

Took those Havaianas to lake #2.

And then, it happened: I revealed the horrible fact that after living in Madison for over two years, I had never been to Memorial Union Terrace (arguably the best place for summer hangouts and swimming in Lake Mendota). We packed up our bags, headed over to the Union, and claimed our spot on the dock:

Michal and me enjoying the sun.

We had a beautiful lakeside view...

and jumped in! 

My second swim for the day: quite relaxing.

After hours by the lake (which included meeting Alejandro, a friendly Puerto Rican who will be Michal's new salsa dance partner), it was time to grab a table and get some food (we opted for Mediterranean wraps).

The signature Union chair: these are all over the terrace in orange, green, and yellow.
Really brightens up the place!

Two lakes, two swimming trips, and a delicious BBQ: a fabulous 4th of July.