• Food and Drink

    Holiday Drinks from Around the World

      ‘Tis the Season for amazing drinks. The cocktail blog Lark has generously agreed to share drink recipes specific to the regions I have visited over the holiday seasons. Keep reading to find out what they are and be sure to save the recipes- they are delicious. All the drinks @livinglark are made in gallon batches — perfect for holiday crowds!

  • Food and Drink,  Michigan Travel,  Uncategorized

    An Afternoon in Grand Rapids

    Today I was fortunate enough to have a “work afternoon” with Kelly from the Lily Pad Cottage. Have you visited her blog? If not, you should go right now. Not only is her design and taste impeccable, but she is also seriously such a nice person. She is gracious and generous (much like that famous designer on HGTV from Texas) and has been helping me/fielding all of my annoying questions since the idea popped into my head that I wanted start a blog. Oh, and did I mention she is super fun? I had such a great time shopping and eating (and talking) our way around Grand Rapids today. If you are…

  • Decorating,  Uncategorized

    Christmas House Tour 2016

      Well, as the picture above may indicate, this is not really, truly a travel post, and, yes, I will stretch it to make some connections, but in all honesty, this is a house tour. And my first one at that, so there are two things to forgive right there. While I’m apparently confessing, come on in, let me show you around, and share some decorating admissions, one for each day of Christmas.­­ Admission #1: I love wooden signs! And just discovered a new small store in town that sells these made by local sisters. Aren’t they great? Admission #2: I am a plant killer. However, since discovering the beautiful…

  • Food and Drink

    Amazing Desserts from Around the World, Tres Leches

      Next up, my new friend, Nerin and her amazing Tres Leches cake. This past summer, we were at a lake party, and Nerin brought two cakes. I, of course, went directly for the chocolate one, but she encouraged me to try the Tres Leches cake as well. Since we were new friends and she had a very convincing Costa Rican accent, I cut a small piece of the Tres Leche cake, too. And then another. And another. And when she offered to pack some up for us to take home, I said “yes please.” And then my kids ate it before we even got in the car. I am so thankful…

  • Food and Drink,  Uncategorized

    6 Kid-Friendly Christmas Activities in Chicago

    Every year at Christmastime, we head into Chicago for a weekend on the town. It is something that we all look forward to and is a great way to start the holiday season. Lincoln Park Zoo Lights- This year, our ETA into the city was around 5pm, so we decided to check out the lights at Lincoln Park Zoo (the sun sets super early in Chicago this time of year, and for once, I appreciated the early sunset). Admission to the zoo is free, but you may want to bring along some money for the hot chocolate stands along the way or the mulled wine you can get to-go from…

  • Decorating,  Uncategorized

    Global Christmas and Holiday Traditions in 2 hours or Less

      This week we headed to our local gardens to check out their annual Christmas and Holiday Traditions from Around the World exhibit. If you happen to be in the Grand Rapids area, it is well worth the trip to Fredrick Meijer Gardens. And, I’ll be honest, I had a 3-year old with me, so it took us far less that 2 hours. Whenever I’m with my kids, I try to remember to give them a “job”; otherwise, they tend to find their own “jobs” that don’t always jive with what I had in mind. Today, the task was to find all of the displays from their 5 nationalities. All information shared…