Venice Beach on a sunny afternoon - the kids looked for sea shells and sand dollars. My sister and I lay on the sand and listened to the sea lap at the beach. We wondered how much sand was getting in our hair and socks, then the kids kicked in each others eyes and we decided it was time to go.

We spent several glorious days on the beach recently... have I mentioned that? I waded waste-deep in crystal clear water searching the sand below my toes for shells with my two sun-kissed daughters. It will be one of those memories in my top ten of their childhood. It will be that place I go back to in my mind when I'm 101 years old lying in an old folks' home fighting off leg cramps (leg cramps are actually one of my biggest concerns with getting old, much more worrisome than loss of bladder control or eyesight, possibly because I'm already well on my way with those two).
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I wanted a clever way to display our treasure trove of shells and smooth rocks from our marvelous days on the beach. So I picked up a $4 shadow-box frame at Ikea and voila. Now every morning I can peek at the shells and remember the sounds of lapping waves, laughing kidlets and sunshine (which sounds a lot like angels but you only hear it in the deepest parts of your heart, not so much with your ears.)

At night on the beach, there are no fits. No need. No itsy-bitsy scratches yielding one teensy-tinsy drop of blood causing horrendous yelps of pain and sadness. No hitting, or yelling of any kind. No lying or tattling. No snot. No tears.
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I miss the beach.

Vacation houses have always intrigued me, well, ever since seeing The Holiday. As we were looking for an affordable beach vacation my sister found The House at Sunset Trails in Ogden Dunes, Indiana - overlooking the Chicago skyline on Lake Michigan. At under $100 per night per family ($1,200 for the week total) it was in our price range and within an hour train ride to Chicago to boot.
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Here's the specs:

- Adorable red cottage in sweet little community tucked away in northwestern Indiana

- Master bedroom upstairs off the loft overlooking the lake

- Second bedroom downstairs with two twin beds

- 2 bathrooms, all tiled and beautiful

- Perfect vacation house kitchen, with windows looking into a wooded back yard... we saw a mama deer with three babies in the mornings... it was pretty much amazing

- Breakfast nook with windows on three sides, again, with the deer, so cool

- Basement with washer/dryer and beach toys

- Large living room with tv and wi-fi

- Hardwood floors, totally Pottery Barn magazine ready

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Here's what I loved:

- The deer were pretty sweet

- The 5-10 minute walk down to peaceful quiet and heavenly beach

- Making breakfast and lunch instead of eating out

- Late night games as the kids cuddled in big piles of cousins watching movies

- Front porch swing with the kids in the morning

- Grilling kabobs on the back porch

- The sunsets

- The Chicago skyline

- The telescope in the loft to enjoy the views

- One hour train ride into downtown Chicago

- Ogden Dunes (this community might be a new obsession for me, I want to get every book on Indiana Dunes that I can, what an intriguing little-known part of our beautiful country)

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Check out the website for The House at Sunset Trail HERE

Great. Heavenly. Perfect. That about sums it up. Of course, the pictures speak for themselves. More stories to come, and an explanation of where we stayed and why it was ideal for this type of vacation.

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For now, I sleep. Vacations make me tired.

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PS - See the gallery of photos HERE