Hello, party people. Unfortunately, I was out of town on Friday and didn’t have access to my computer, so I was unable to post our friend Jim Williamson’s wise words. Please forgive me, and read them now. I am typing this with bleary eyes even though the Nespresso machine was working overtime this morning. We can blame the lack of sleep on the extra loud storms Thursday night that felt like they shook the entire house and that shockingly bright lightning that seemed to travel through my house for hours. Seriously, it looked like it went in one window, traveled through another, then went across the ceiling of the master and out the master balcony. At one point I was almost scared to sit up for fear of being struck. Add the two flash flood warning alerts blaring across my phone during the wee hours and the drip from a new leak in the roof hitting the bottom of a plastic bucket, which sounded like a shot gun every time it hit, and sleep is bound to escape just about anyone.
Here is a helpful hint for anyone ever experiencing any leaks that might require a bucket: Place a rag in the bottom of the bucket, and it won’t be so loud. It will absorb the sound so anyone still remaining in bed at 6 a.m. won’t think you are trying to torture them with the drip-boom-bang sound akin to some Edgar Allen Poe nightmare. Encountering me this morning was like coming home after curfew smelling of elder berries and Dairy Queen while encountering your mother with her hand on her hip.
But on to more important things like that all-important recap of the Memorial Day lake trip.
Now you are either a lake person or you are not. I am a lake person having spent many summers on Lake Blackshear in South Georgia. Max is not a lake person. He doesn’t like to put his feet in things where he can’t see the bottom. So we are limited to the occasional pool or perhaps a pedicure where he can see the bottom. But knowing how much fun lake life can be, I jumped at the chance to go when some friends asked us to join. Pretty much the second after the word “lake” came up, I accepted—usurping any chance Max might have to interject or object.
Our destination for the weekend was Cypress Springs Lake, which is 100 percent full and lapping at the sides. It is also a lovely place to spend a holiday surrounded by hills and lots and lots of trees, water, and deer. We planned on leaving late Friday morning but that turned into late afternoon. I’m not pointing fingers but it wasn’t me. It was fine because it took me almost that long to pack and unpack the trunk to try and take everything for a mere three-day weekend. Forget all those lovely editorials in fashion publications that say all you need for a weekend away is a great bag, some strappy sandals, and a few mix-and-match items. These people have obviously never traveled to any body of water—much less with us.
We had to take our Nespresso machine and all the accouterments that go with it because Max couldn’t bear to wake up without his latte of one shot of purple and one shot of black. We also had to pack up a box or two of booze, one of which consisted of all the ingredients to make those delicious coconut margaritas from Scottsdale; the other was filled with what we thought would be plenty of rosé, sparkling rosé, and a few reds. We had to do a cooler for food for lunches and snacks, beer, and the all-important milk for the latte. Add to this magazines for if/when it rained, rain gear for when it rained, and let’s not forget the Topo Chico, which has its own carrying case. By the time I packed all that into the trunk, which is far from small, it was so full that the luggage had to go in the back seat. Our host for the weekend drove an SUV. It was equally (if not more) packed than ours.
As we were driving with the car riding low like we had 15 cases of frozen lima beans in the trunk or several dead bodies, it looked as if we were just going to keep driving closer and closer into the storm. We had also never traveled with these friends before so possible nightmare situations of other types of storms began to emerge. What if this turned out to be like the movie Cabin Fever or A Perfect Getaway or Four Seasons, where everyone is just completely sick of each other by the end?
We arrived at what I thought would be a typical quaint lake house in the country only to find we were at a lovely, gated $1.5-million waterfront lake house. Things were definitely looking up. After we unloaded both vehicles and opened up the house, it was beyond time for a libation, and guess what? The coconut margaritas were a big hit. They turned out so well that the bottle of tequila we thought would last the weekend was gone in two hours. Four people, one bottle, two hours.
We did all the things you should do at the lake even when it is soggy with a chance of more sogginess. We cooked out, we got in the boat and tried to chase any break in the clouds we could see, we napped, we read, and we also walked about five or six miles each morning so we would feel no guilt when it was time for happy hour. We even fished. When I posted a picture of me catching a catfish, pretty much no one seemed surprised. I did grow up in the country after all. Max’s friends seemed quite shocked to see a picture of him with his catch of the day. I think he was just as shocked to have caught one. But instead of taking our catch to our hostess for a fish fry, we tossed them back and decided to go out for Mexican food. It was an easy choice as there was only one place in a 15-mile radius.
So that was our lake weekend. No zombie attacks and no drama, aside from running out of tequila the first night. Added bonus: I have official converted Max into a lake person, although his feet have yet to dip in the actual lake itself. Friends we liked before traveling together, we now like even more.
Now as far as design advice, let’s just take another look at today’s image courtesy of my iPhone. It shows just what you can do with a good architect, landscaper, and some beautiful surroundings. You add to the beauty of the surroundings—not take away from it. Those beautifully terraced decks leading down to the lake’s edge are divine and give a huge amount of extra entertaining space. I also double love how they used the rails between the decks as benches. It adds another great detail and dimension as well as tons of extra seating. We love things that are multi-functional.
