I miss the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is where I grew up…where my family is from. Where I met my husband. Where we both graduated from college. Where we got engaged. Where we got married. For those of you reading this and wondering where on Gods great earth is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan… the best way to describe it is to tell you to go about as far north in Michigan as you can get (and if you look at a map don’t stop in the mitten, some may call that “northern Michigan” but its not really north unless you go above the Mackinac Bridge). In the Upper Peninsula the summer and fall are amazing. If you can handle a little bit a lot of snow then the winters might work for you too. You couldn’t put the miles and miles of crystal clear fresh water lake front anywhere else in the world without it being eaten up by developers or condos. Not to mention the wilderness – hiking trails, biking trails, rivers to kayak or canoe…the list goes on. It is amazing. Breathtaking. Peaceful. Serene. It is my home. I know…I know…I am being a big sap over here. Don’t get me wrong I love some things about living in lower Michigan… but the Upper Peninsula will always be home. There are just things you can do in the Upper Peninsula that you can’t do anywhere else…at least you couldn’t do them and have the same experience. That isn’t to say I couldn’t live somewhere else and enjoy it. I will obviously make a home where ever Dusty and I live together but my heart will always be tied to this one place.

Dusty surprised me this past weekend with this beautiful sterling silver Upper Peninsula pendant on an 18 inch box chain from Wattsson & Wattsson Jewelers in Marquette, MI.  My guess is this is his “thank you for putting up with me and my crazy first semester of medical school” gift. It got me thinking how this necklace could be the perfect gift for that special someone who may have a close connection with the Upper Peninsula…whether they have moved away or still live there. It is simple, meaningful, and beautiful. Everything a Christmas gift should be.

I love that I can wear this pendant and keep “home” close to my heart.

Oh yea, you may or may not notice in these photos that I went a tad more blonde the other day…girl’s gotta cover up those grey hairs some how!