Where’s The Snacks?!

August 27, 2022 by Michelle Novak

Who is ready for the Kenosha Book Festival tomorrow?!? (www.kenoshabookfestival.com)

I mean…not me! I just finished my oatmeal! I’m only on coffee 2 of 4! I haven’t even packed the bookmobile! Where’s the books?! I hope I have some books! Do I have gas in that car? You’d think I wanted to get stuck on the side of the road – I always ignore that silly tank! Wait – gas is less expensive in Wisconsin than Illinois, right? I’ll wait till I cross the state line. A near-empty tank will get me from Evanston to there, right? (just kidding!) Where’s the snacks?! Just as important as the books! I need my snacks!

Thank you for being there on my author journey, Friends! It means everything to me. I hope to see some of you tomorrow – I’ll be selling and signing my tales, including my newest Still, from 10 – 2 p.m. (Sunday August 28th). STAY INSPIRED!

What Events Do You Suggest?

February 6, 2022 by Michelle Novak

Hi Friends!

Man…is anybody else ready for spring?! I sure am. I need some warm sun. It’s been a winter, that’s for sure!

So, I’m thinking about events in 2022 and beyond and thought I’d ask you all – what do you suggest in the Chicagoland – Milwaukeeland area that I check out? Fairs, festivals, markets, conventions, independent-author-bookish-fun-stuff, etc.? Please mention in the comments and I’ll absolutely take a look! And, thank you!

Stay Inspired!

Milwaukee’s Antiques On Pierce

March 7, 2020 by Michelle Novak

Hello All! How are you today? The sun is shining in Evanston, and the birds are singing that spring is coming! That makes me smile…even if I’m sniffling! Ha! These seasonal viruses (my second this winter) are just awful. But, what can you do? I’ve been wallowing in bed for days. But, I’m hoping that this one will be my last until next season.

Please Lord.

Therefore, though I wish I could be spending this sunny Saturday on an adventure, I’ll just have to reminisce over past fun, until my bug skedaddles…

A few weeks ago after a visit to the Milwaukee Domes, drove past a sign that made my car wheels, quite beyond my own control, emergency-bat-turn into a parking lot, in what appeared to be a more industrial neighborhood…

It’s funny sometimes, when there appears to be not a stray cat around, and the walkways are without any traffic, that there can be a hidden gem awaiting…

Milwaukee’s Antiques on Pierce has reminded me why emergency-bat-turns are a necessary driver’s skill to acquire…

And why being adventurous enough to explore, when you spot an intriguing sign, can really pay off!

This treasure trove of the bygone had my mouth gaping for at least the first five minutes…

Continuing on with a great many more oohhs, and ahhhs, and look at this-s!

Unfortunately, there was only about half an hour on the clock before this mind-boggling establishment was closing for the day…

Yet somehow I still felt like I’d been spellbound, and there for quite a while, in awe at every turn…

Antiques on Pierce reminded me of Volo Antique Mall in Volo, Illinois, which is one of my favorite places to go with my folks…

These places are a collector’s dreamland. Hunting for things in particular, is a real treat on antiquing excursions…

And if only you could know the history behind even just a handful of the items for sale, your mind would be broken. It’s just too awesome for the imagination!

I repeated at least five times, that next time, this was going to be the destination, with a much longer review of all of the displays.

And as the lights began to shutter off, one section at a time, darkening the circumference of this massive cave of curiosities…

I simply did not want to go…

Traveling out from that neighborhood, spotted at least one (maybe two) similar signs for antiques. I think I know what one of my next adventures is going to be! Think they’ll let me bring in a picnic lunch? I mean, one has to eat to keep their energy up on a day-long treasure hunt!

Stay Inspired!

Let Me Walk In Eden…

February 23, 2020 by Michelle Novak

Good Day, Good Friends! Today, I am wishing you most well and happy! And, I am hoping, that you are ever finding ways to stay inspired!

I found my inspiration yesterday, by taking a walk through a transcendent Eden. Three such wonderful gardens, in fact. Would you like to come along and see?

On a completely impromptu whim, I found myself on an adventure at the Milwaukee Domes located in the city’s Mitchell Park…

Three massive glass houses, each with a unique botanic garden: The Show Dome, The Tropical Dome, and the Desert Dome.

The temperature and feel of the air was different going from dome to dome, the tropical dome warm and humid…

In the tropical dome, there were glorious palms reaching for the sky, and vibrant flowers that were of course, very unique…

Being that the sky was blue on this day, it truly made me feel for a time, that I had blessedly escaped winter…

There were even birds singing at the tops of the trees, while the matted roots and vines clambered around the trunks below…

I also immensely enjoyed watching large koi swirling together in a stream underfoot…

Their bright colors mesmerizing…

And their gliding like a dance…

They almost appeared to me like little dragons, floating through the air…

I now understand why these fish are so often prized! They were quite beautiful and relaxing to watch…

The Show Dome had a cooler temperature, with much low-lying greenery…

It was a cacophony of delightful scenes and plants…

With many unexpected little bursts…

And entertaining miniatures…

Even Godzilla made an appearance…

The Desert Dome seemed a little more arid, though without the blazing one would normally feel within such a zone…

The armadillo considered it a temperate day.

There were plenty of barbed little beasties, best to stay away from…yikes!

This brought to mind, a recollection of a cactus my grandma used to keep when I was a child, and the several unfortunate brushes I’d had with it.

I won’t keep a cactus. It doesn’t want to be kept, and will be happy to remind you of that.

I very much enjoyed this foreign view however, a desert scene being something completely alien to me…

I even paused to coo at the tan-blue tinted doves, flying through…

And for a moment, as if under a spell cast by the shifting of a late afternoon sun…

I forgot just where I was. I had left, and gone someplace else…

Small adventures are a gift to me. A respite from duty, and a forgetfulness from life’s pressures. A walk, through my own magical tales.

And even if they are as short as dreams, just an hour or a single day, they are as indispensable as any sustenance.

Take your adventures, no matter how small! And as always, stay inspired!

Milwaukee Public Museum Part II.

February 9, 2020 by Michelle Novak

Having my first exploration of the Milwaukee Public Museum last Saturday was a wonderful adventure! I had a few favorites from my visit, but the collections that will be bringing me back to take a little more time, were all the bugs!

I have a serious love for insects.

Had I known I would have felt this way growing up, I might have studied to be an entomologist…

As you may have read here before, I took a natural field science class in college long ago, where each student had to pin their own collections. I’d always been intrigued by insects, but that added a generous amount of fuel to my fascination…

And if I had extra time now (don’t we all wish we had more time for our special hobbies), I would pin my own collections still…

Though, I have to tell you, my heart is so ridiculously tender these days, I’d have a hard time dispatching a single creature just to show it in the stage of a glass box. I can’t even kill a spider, and when I do by accident, I feel sad…

I believe these little beasties deserve to live their lives, as whisper short as they may often be…

…except for ticks perhaps. I’ve no comprehension for why God included them in His plan. Baffles me everyday. Why ticks, Lord? Why?

I just shivered imagining a tick on my neck. The horror.

Thankfully, I didn’t see any ticks on display at the museum! But I did see…

Lots and lots of butterflies!

Live butterflies! Baby newborn butterflies birthing from their chrysalises!

This brought me back to grade school, when our class eagerly awaited a butterfly to be born from a chrysalis. A lesson about life and nature. That was so special.

At the Milwaukee Public Museum, they have a room of live butterflies, that you can amble through as though walking in a dream…

What I found most interesting, was that I observed that different kinds of butterflies have unique flight patterns. Sort of like how a goldfinch, a swallow, and a sparrow, all fly quite differently. This is probably common sense, but I enjoyed noticing it on my own all the same…

I enjoyed too, observing all the color combinations and patterns of butterfly wings, when gazing at the pinned specimens…

I could spend a lot of time pondering before these displays.

Is not the butterfly, the very epitome, of the fragility and beauty of life?

If I were a butterfly, I would like to be her, the one with the cream and pink-tipped wings.

Precious little souls…

And now you have taken a walk with me, to see all the insects at the Milwaukee Public Museum! I sincerely can’t wait to go back, to take more time to view them!

Best wishes dear friends! Take good care of yourselves! And for those of you in the same northern climate as I, think on spring! It is not so very far.

Stay Inspired!

Milwaukee Public Museum Part I.

February 8, 2020 by Michelle Novak

Good Day Good Friends! Are you staying inspired?

I wish that I could say that I am full of energy today, as the sun is actually shining for what feels like the first time in ten years. But, I am writing to you sick from bed, where I have been for some days. Not feeling so good. However, I am bearing it well and it could be worse. To say nothing of the endless drear of these after-December months, there’s no escaping catching at least one, if not two or three, viruses per season. How terrible. Achoo!

[Dinos eating dinos at the Milwaukee Public Museum]

Lucky me however, I had a truly wonderful adventure last Saturday that I must share with you! It will have to come in several parts, as there was so much to see! My first visit to the Milwaukee Public Museum! And as the book I am currently working on, Still, is a thriller taking place in a museum, what better place to spend an afternoon for some inspiration?

I digress, but…whatever virus I have at present has been making me want to eat about 4-times the amount of food I usually consume in a day. I’m sort of feeling like that T-Rex up there!

Bugs. One of the greatest loves of my life. The museum had so…many…bugs. I died, and went to buggy heaven, with all the bugs. It was beautiful.

And there was lots of taxidermy. Which, I might have spoken aloud to, as though these creatures were still alive and could hear me speaking to them. Because, I’m a little strange like that…

“Hey little dude! Whatcha’ eatin?”

I was particularly fascinated by this prehistoric water scene. Those oceanic beasties are terrifying! Prehistoric times were terrifying. I’m imagining that thing getting my foot while swimming in the water, and I’m terrified…

I’m also really hungry right now, anyone got a cookie? Aaaachooo!

But for Part I. of this share of the Milwaukee Public Museum, I give you a glimpse of the European Village!

A collection of many different cultural snapshots from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Every illuminated house, and some businesses, labeling the ethnic tableau from which the scene was created…

First, loved this because these dim and aged scenes elicited that feeling of being in a museum that can hardly be described. Of things old and mysterious, which you will never know, because you can never go back…

I love that it made me imagine. That I lived in this or that little home…

Explored how I’d spend my days…

Dabbled over the craft and work that I would do…

Envisioned the ways I would have worshiped…

Thought about how I would have survived and thrived, and about how much more I would have needed to rely on my neighbors…

The European Village took me, quite literally, back in time and place…

So that I forgot for a moment, just where I was, and who I am…

I had traveled, without going anywhere at all.

I entreat you too, to take such a journey next time you find yourself able to make a visit to Milwaukee!

But for now, wherever you find yourself, be sure to stay inspired!

An Inspired Heart…

December 14, 2019 by Michelle Novak

Hello All! How are you today? I hope you are finding ways to stay inspired?

With the holidays surrounding us, sparkle, joy, and inspiration would seem naturally about. But, I know that this time of year isn’t always glitter and gold for everyone. Whether it’s lack of money, the drearier weather (at least in these parts), the absence of a supportive family or friend circle, or thoughts of a new year (and new decade!) and all the things one is still hoping to achieve…

{Painted wall, Milwaukee, WI}

But, you know what I think, dear friends?

I think, no matter what time of year, we should just try our best, to keep an inspired heart…

{Me in Milwaukee…La Croix in hand…of course!}

What keeps me inspired? I’ve a little treasure of ways…first, adventure…

{Painted wall, Milwaukee, WI.}

I presently don’t have the funds for faraway travels, something I really enjoy. However, I’ve always just as equally cherished, the adventure to be had, at my own back door…

{Summer street festival, Milwaukee, WI}

Whether it’s a ride to a nearby town for a bite and a stroll. A peek about a new neighborhood…

{A lakeside trail, Milwaukee, WI.}

A nature walk…

{Street festival delights, Milwaukee, WI.}

Or a display of sprinkly donuts, well I just love it…

{Mom & Charlie at Bristol, Kenosha, WI}

I’m thankful too, that I always have the adventure of Bristol before me! Mom (Lita) and step-dad (Charlie), always help me set up my little shop each summer, The Quill and Brush. We stage it all, and then have a bit of picnic lunch…

It’s a treat each year to see Bristol in the weeks before opening day!

So peaceful and green…

I’m already anticipating the 2020 season!

I’m also ever inspired and thankful for all of my wonderful Bristol friends. To name a few…

{Tammy & Dino, Bristol Renaissance Faire 2019}

{Priscilla & Nic, Bristol Renaissance Faire 2019}

{Stephanie & Bryan, Bristol Renaissance Faire 2019}

Thank you to all who have supported me as an author. I can only hope that my tales will bring even a portion of the magic to your life, as your friendships have inspired in mine…

Well, it also seems I find adventure and inspiration no matter what the course of my day. Yesterday afternoon, for instance, was my regular 6-month cleaning at the dentist. I go to Smileworks in Chicago, and have for years and years. Recommended by a trusted friend, they are hands-down, the best. And they gave me a pink toothbrush in my swag bag yesterday, so…

Well, Smileworks moved offices recently, and now have a spectacularly trendy spot! Yesterday was the first time I’d visited the new office. Located right in the middle of one of Chicago’s Lincoln Square ‘community areas’, I was wowed by the old-timey meets hip-urban block. I didn’t have the money for shopping, and wanted to get home for a rest, so I didn’t stroll after my appointment, but let’s just say it’s a destination. If you live local, and want to have a day adventure, this is a gem. I’m going to make a point of planning an exploratory visit at some point…

I did however, stop in one store, Gene’s Sausage Shop & Delicatessen. I wish I’d taken photos, and next time will. It was a dreamland. An utter dreamland. I bought myself some weekend dinner, zesty quinoa salad, cucumber salad, chilled fried perch…

A block of Northwoods Cheddar…

Heaven. Truly heaven.

This might be the most beautiful photo I have ever taken. I call it, Cheese and Cracker.

Isn’t that an inspiring plate? Oh my word, it was delicious too!

I’ve also been finding inspiration lately in everything chocolate and mint!

I have always loved chocolate mint. My mom was eating chocolate-chip mint ice cream when I was in her belly. I know this because I’ve loved chocolate-mint since birth. It’s my favorite. I could eat a box of Andes Mints in one sitting all by myself. I’m pretty sure that I have.

So, Christmas-time means chocolate-mint time. Matt’s limited edition double chocolate peppermint cookies? I swoon. Superior on Main’s chocolate mint brownie bites? I faint…

Excuse me? Mint and dark chocolate KitKat? Crying tears of Christmas chocolate-mint joy…

I’m so silly.

To share, there’s a verse in Proverbs that I’ve been dwelling on the last few weeks, because I have plenty of moments (and hours, and days) when my joy and inspiration flicker…

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22 KJV

And so, in this season, and in every season, I’m wishing you too, a merry heart. Find the joy you’re given in each day. Try not to worry. Love yourself. Love each other. And so especially…

Stay Inspired!

Welcome to The Hen House!

September 21, 2019 by Michelle Novak

Hello All! I hope that you are keeping inspired?! Glad you’re reading today, because I’ve got a special treat for you!

I enjoyed another adventure in Milwaukee last Saturday, and it included a remarkable visit to The Hen House. No, there were no clucking chickens present. Only a room full of fabulous hats, alongside one accomplished milliner!

Ms. Kate McLaughlin, founder and milliner extraordinaire, was there to greet guests to her hat shop with a welcoming smile…

Unbeknownst to myself when first entering, I already knew the artist! Years ago when I was a part of the Guilde of St. George at Bristol, Kate was one of the talents contributing costume expertise, helping to make history come to life!

“I know you!” I blurted when seeing her behind the counter. We soon made the connection, and I’m sure that neither of us could believe that that had already been two decades ago!

I soon expressed something like, “I didn’t know you loved hats so much!”

Kate had a delightful response. Something along the lines that hats had always been her cookie of costumery. Love it!

The Hen House is so amazing, as it brings a wonderful tradition back into our current day. The days when you could walk into a specialty shop and have something custom-made…

I didn’t spend enough time to really dig into that process, but judging by the antiquated head-forms covering one wall, Kate and her shop must best be considered one of Milwaukee’s gems…

This is what we will title: The Wall of Millinery Wonder…

I digress, but…isn’t this one lovely?

When Kate shared a little bit of her story about how The Hen House came to be, I was really inspired. When sharing that her first custom hat order after opening had been for a going home, speaking so sweetly on that memory, the gloss was readying in my eyes. When she told of the hat-making events that are hosted in her shop (wouldn’t that be fun), I imagined such a merry party. And when Kate spoke about doing what she loves, I just wanted to nod my head and smile, thinking…

That’s where it is. Right here in this shop. Through all the hard work, there’s real joy, when you find a way to do what you love. You are an example, Ms. McLaughlin, Master Milliner! Thank you for the wonderful introduction to The Hen House!

Now, I must add, The Hen House connects to The Brass Rooster, the master hatter of which is Kate’s husband John. It was a room full of men’s hats that is a wonder all to itself, so I’ll save it for a future post. But let’s just say, whatever style of hat you seek, I believe you’ll need look no further than 2250 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Milwaukee!

Love Your Life…

September 14, 2019 by Michelle Novak

Good Morning Friends! How are you today? I hope that you are staying inspired? I had a nice little chat with my mama last night, and she said some things that sparked my inspiration. We were talking about hopes and dreams, how we can plan to make them come true, and how thinking on them keeps one’s spirits buoyant…

So I’m passing the torch forward to you today to ask…what’s your dream? Think on it a little just now. A big dream, a teeny-tiny one…stay inspired, this is your life, ever keep the spark of your aspirations bright in your heart…

Do you have a thing, that you love, that you can’t do without? Mine is currently pouring M&M’s over popcorn every night, and crunching to high heaven like a lively, sometimes rabid, squirrel. I shouldn’t even be eating chocolate before bed…makes me have lively, rabid dreams…but I…can’t…stop.

No, regular sized packages of M&M’s wouldn’t do. They have to be Share Size…

Do you know what else I love? Deeply inhaling roses at their most full and beautiful bloom. I was spoiled to death the last day of faire with so many gorgeous flowers to celebrate my natal day…