A few weeks after school let out, the kids and I spent five days in Michigan City, Indiana. It was such a (surprisingly!) great getaway that I thought I’d share a little more about our trip.

Since it was just me and the kids (Steve couldn’t slip away from work), I was hoping to keep the drive time under six hours. I can’t remember when or where I heard about Tryon Farm, but it was one of the few possibilities that came to mind when I started planning the trip. When I mapped it, I was stoked to learn we could make the drive in less than five hours. (We’re in southwestern Ohio.) You can read more about the green farming community here. Essentially, it’s the real life intersection of nature + modern architecture, and it happens to be located a mile and a half from Lake Michigan in Indiana. It sounded like the perfect spot for an adventure.

Several Tryon Farm homes are available as short-term rentals. We rented the coziest little house nestled among the trees. It was a one-bedroom, one-bathroom modern cabin with all the essentials but nothing over the top. There was no television and no internet service. I loved how all the windows cranked open to get a good breeze going. No need for A/C even on the hottest of days!

The kids’ favorite feature was the triple (!) bunk beds built into a tower hallway between the kitchen and bedroom. A pocket door separated the bunk nook from the kitchen. Each bunk had its own window, reading light and book shelf. A sturdy ladder reached from the floor all the way to the top. The highest bunk even had sliding doors with frosted panels to create a secret hideout. Naturally, the kids fought over it. They ended up taking turns sleeping on the top bunk. A huge skylight in the ceiling of the “bunk tower” kept the space bright during the day. It also acted as a silent alarm clock early every morning, but I actually enjoy waking up early on vacation so it wasn’t a big deal.

Each morning after breakfast we’d explore the farm by way of various trails. There were ponds, dunes, meadows and woodlands. Mabrey loved visiting the chickens. The boys had a blast playing on the tire swing.

I couldn’t get over all the amazing homes and how they were seemingly built into the landscape. Raw materials like corrugated steel and concrete were softened by creeping vines and leafy canopies. My absolute favorite house was a low slung ranch built into a sloping hillside. It had a green roof that you could walk on! (It was empty during our visit.) I loved the juxtaposition of modern lines against the wild landscape.

I used basil and oregano from the community garden to make meatball subs and spaghetti in the kitchen of our little house.

After lunch we would venture off the farm to take in some of the local attractions. Namely, the lake beach. It wasn’t really warm enough to swim until the latter part of the week, but that didn’t stop the kids from getting in – sometimes fully clothed. I decided I prefer freshwater lakes over salty oceans. (Plus, no stingrays. I was stung once as a teenager, and the ocean just hasn’t been the same for me since.)

One windy afternoon we started walking west toward the Michigan City lighthouse. I thought we’d walk to the pier and turn around. But as we got closer, there weren’t any restrictions against walking along the pier. In fact, there weren’t any railings or warning signs or anything. We literally walked out and onto the lighthouse. I’m not much of a helicopter mom, but I was a little anxious trying to keep three kids contained on a narrow pier. Luckily, we made it all the way out to the lighthouse and back with no casualties.

We had planned on taking the train into Chicago one day to visit a museum, but that plan was thwarted by an overly tired and whiny four-year-old. (Just look at her disgruntled face!)

I couldn’t see spending all that money just to make everyone miserable, so we did the next best thing and rode the train two stops west then back again. Everett especially liked the train. The boys later confessed to only wanting to ride the train anyway, so it worked out perfectly.

The highlight of our trip was visiting Indiana Dunes State Park in nearby Chesterton. We completed the 3 dune challenge. The wind was whipping. The sun was beating down. Our shoes filled with sand and instantly became two sizes too small. Everett and Mabrey complained most of the way. I refused to carry them. (I couldn’t carry them.) At one point Mabrey dropped to her knees and raised mini fists to the sky and cried, “I’m soooooo tiiiiiiiiiired!” I had to stifle my laughter. It was like a scene from a movie where the main character is stranded, dying of thirst, in the desert. Only, replace the main character with a preschooler. Who has a water bottle, sunscreen and snacks.

But. BUT!

We were rewarded with the most AMAZING view! The kids begged to walk down to a private beach after we crested dune #2. I warned them that it would turn the 3 dune challenge into a 4 dune challenge, but they weren’t fazed. It was the best detour. We felt like we were in a different world. (If you look closely, you can see all three kiddos in the shot above.)

A few other local hot spots that we tried and loved:

*49er drive-in movie theater in Valparaiso, Indiana – Affordable and family-friendly, they play new releases. Named one of the top 10 drive-ins in the country.

*Mucho Mas! in Michigan City, Indiana – Tex-Mex cuisine. Great lunch option.

*Stop 50 wood fired pizzeria in Michiana Shores, Indiana – Probably some of the best pizza to ever grace my taste buds. Get the firecracker appetizer. (Homemade marinara + hot sauce + a dollop of melty goat cheese + flaky breadsticks = fireworks in your mouth.) The house salad is incredible, too.

In the evenings, we’d drive down to the lake and watch the sun melt into water. In reality, I was house-stalking.

On our last day, we didn’t have to check out until 5:00 p.m. We milked every last minute. It was in the 90s, so we spent the afternoon at the beach. It was so hot and the water felt so refreshing that even I got in. (I liken my swimming habits to a rare eclipse.) The kids built sandcastles and buried their feet. Mabrey collected a dozen teeny shells and smooth rocks. A stunt plane practiced its aerobatic routine over the lake directly in front of us, looping, rolling, ascending and diving, leaving its temporary, smoky signature in the blue sky.

As I lay on my towel watching the kids and the plane, an unexpected parenting milestone snuck up on me. I was able to lie uninterrupted on the beach for a full thirty minutes. It was glorious. Well worth the wait ;)

Late in the afternoon we headed back to the little house, showered, packed, locked up and hit the road. On our way out of town, I asked the kids what they would miss most.

Layne said, “The laid-back atmosphere.”

Everett said, “The tire swing.”

Mabrey said, “The chickens.”

I was already missing those thirty minutes on my beach towel.

My only regret of the entire trip was Steve’s absence. Everywhere we went one of us would say, “Dad would love this!” We have to get him there. Soon.

Thanks, northern Indiana, for giving the midwest a good name. Can’t wait to visit again!

Do you have any recommendations for vacation spots in the midwest and/or within a six-hour drive of Ohio? We’d love to add more midwestern cities to our wish list.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I’m often asked about the swing arm wall sconces flanking our bed. Are they adjustable? Are they hardwired? At what height are they mounted? How do you power them on/off? What types of bulbs do you use? This is my attempt to address those questions but I should give you fair warning: There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Different people have different needs when it comes to bedside lighting. You should choose what works for your lifestyle, but maybe the information below will give you a gauge if you’re considering bedside sconces.

We have a pair of the House of Troy Addison swing arm lamps in antique brass. The sconce is adjustable horizontally, not vertically. The arm is hinged and the brass shade rotates. It is a little stiff to move but holds positions well. Typically, we don’t adjust the sconces. We purposefully mounted them so that they were in functional positions from the start.

The sconces are not hardwired. They plug in to an outlet behind the headboard. Each sconce came with a matching 30″ brass cord cover which we used in the space between the top of the nightstand and the backplate. If you like the clean look of a hardwired sconce but for whatever reason aren’t able to install one, a plug-in design with a quality cord cover is a great option.

Before mounting the lights, I searched for hard and fast rules regarding the recommended height of bedside wall sconces. What I found were general guidelines. The most practical tip I came across (and ultimately used) was to get into bed in my regular reading position then measure from the floor to a few inches above my shoulder. The measurement is a rough estimate of how high the bottom of the shade should be positioned.

Of course, this measurement is influenced by numerous factors: the height of the bed, an individual’s height, preferred reading position, the needs of sleeping partners, etc. Our bed is relatively low. It’s 24″ from the floor to the top of the mattress. I’m relatively short. I’m 5’4″ with shoes on, on a good day. I prefer to read in a reclining position with my knees up, not sitting straight yet not lying flat. Steve isn’t much of a bedtime reader and, on the rare occasion he does read in bed, he usually lies flat with only his head propped on a pillow. That’s why our sconces are mounted mostly to my specifications. (If you have a shorter/taller sleeping partner, you may need to compromise on the height of bedside lighting or consider a sconce that adjusts vertically as well as horizontally. Obviously, you don’t want to mount one sconce higher than the other.)

When I stepped back and eyeballed the lamps at the height just above my shoulder, they felt too low. (Probably because our bed is low and I’m short.) In the end, I decided to mount the bottom of the shade 50″ from the floor, roughly 8″- 10″ above my shoulder when reading in bed. This height is consistent with another tip I came across which was to mount the shade ~24″ from the top of the nightstand. The distance between our nightstands and sconces is 26″.

Personally, I like the look and function of sconces mounted off to the side rather than directly above a headboard. (Additionally, the placement of a window above our bed wouldn’t allow for sconces mounted above the headboard.) For swing arm lamps, I like the shades to overlap the width of the headboard just a little for a layered effect. The distance between the cord cover and the edge of our headboard is 8″.

There is a small rotary switch at the shade to turn the light on/off. It’s easily reached from bed so there’s no need to walk across the room half-asleep to flip a switch. Initially, I put a 60 watt incandescent bulb in each lamp. Steve was always complaining the bulbs were too bright. I tried a small book light but it didn’t pass the Prince and the Bulb test either. Steve bought me an e-reader for my birthday to try to resolve the problem (and because I asked for one). It works great for most books but I can’t completely quit real books and glossies.

Recently, the kind folks at Ace Hardware offered to send me LED replacements for the sconces. I was put in touch with one of their lighting experts to determine which bulbs would be the best fit for our needs. I learned so much about LEDs! For instance, when it comes to LED bulbs “lumens” refers to brightness. 800 lumens is comparable to a traditional 60 watt bulb. Also, different LED bulbs give off different temperatures of white light. “Soft white” bulbs give off warm and cozy light while “daylight” bulbs have a cooler tone. For LEDs, the higher the Kelvin (K) temperature, the cooler the light. Bulbs <3000K are considered “soft white”; bulbs >4600K are considered “daylight.”

When it came to choosing LED bulbs for the sconces, I knew I wanted them to be comparable to 40-60 watts of incandescent light. Since the sconces are in our bedroom, I wanted a soft, warm light as opposed to a cool light. A 500 lumens 3000K LED bulb ended up being the sweet spot for our bedside lighting needs. (All images in this post except the one above labeled ‘incandescent’ show the light given off by the new LED bulbs at dusk on an overcast day.)

I can’t get over the difference. The LED light is pure yet warm and cozy at the same time. It’s the best of both worlds. The incandescent reads orange and dirty in comparison. The LED bulbs better portray the true colors of the walls and textiles in our north-facing bedroom. Steve still says my reading light is too bright when he’s trying to sleep. At this point, I think he would say any light was too bright. So I ordered a manly sleep mask for him ;) These are the little secrets to happy marriages, folks!

Truthfully, I have been slow to jump on the LED bandwagon. We installed LED over- and under-cabinet lighting in our kitchen and, at the time, it was an expensive extra. However, after realizing how much we use it and how much it affects our everyday living, it’s been a worthy investment. We use the cabinet lighting as ambient lighting during early mornings and late evenings. By day, we let natural light from windows, french doors and skylights do its thing. By night, we mostly rely on ambient light for a soft glow. Steve and I are both strongly averse to harsh, blue lighting. I swear, we’re part vampire.

A few weeks prior to collaborating with Ace Hardware, the incandescent above our kitchen sink burned out and I hastily grabbed an LED replacement at a local grocery store. I didn’t pay attention to the specs (size, lumens, Kelvin, etc.) and, as a result, the bulb is way too bulky, bright and cold for my taste. And I’m stuck with it for at least the next 15 years! Bummer. But now that I’m familiar with the LED lingo, I’m looking forward to switching out our remaining incandescents with soft white LEDs as they burn out.

Do you have any tips for mounting bedside sconces? Do you and your spouse have different bedtime lighting needs? Have you figured out which LED bulbs suit your home best? I inadvertently came across these easy plug-in LED dimmers that allow dimmable LED bulbs to be dimmed when/where hardwired dimmer switches aren’t possible. Pretty cool!

*This post sponsored in part by Ace Hardware. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking