Recent Blog Posts

Hi Friends, This is my mother's scone recipe. She has been making them for decades - I remember waking up to the smell of scones when I was a kid. Recipe for Grandma Otto's Almond Scones Ingredients: - 2 cups flour & a bit extra - 1/2 cup sugar & a bit extra - 2 ts...
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Hi, everyone! Can you believe it's already mid-August? School officially starts in less than a month here in Northern Michigan and the countdown has already begun at our house. The kid's day camp ended last week (wow, that went fast!!!) and now I'm in back-to-school mode. Most of the other kids that...
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With summer quickly starting to wind down I've been trying to cram in as much summer fun and activities as I can. This weekend was the Bayfront Festival here in Petoskey so much of our time was spent enjoying the activities at the Waterfront Park here in town. My husband is a police officer/fire f...
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I wasn’t fortunate enough to grow up in Michigan, but I’m raising my two sons here in The Mitten State. I think it’s one of the best places to you can be in the summer if you’re a kid. Here’s a few reasons why. 1. You get to spend your summers swimming in one of the Great Lakes, and you d...
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It's that time of year again - getting the kids back in the school groove.  You have tirelessly shopped and organized your children's clothes, ran around to multiple stores getting their school supplies, made sure their backpack & lunchbox are perfect, and loaded up on school lunch ite...
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Summer is just starting to wind down here in Northern Michigan, yes, I know it's hard to believe but sadly it will only be a matter of time (weeks!!) before August comes to an end. Summer festivals are all over the place to be enjoyed by young and old alike and several years ago, Petoskey's Bayfront...
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If you're looking for a river to paddle, we've got one here in Michigan. Here are 10 of our best. 1. The Pine River flows through a valley in the Manistee National Forest. Spring water, wildlife and beautiful forests make paddling the Pine an incredible experience. With rapids in some sections and ...
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Now that it's August here in Northern Michigan, it has finally warmed up and we have been enjoying our summer to the max. Today is a down day as it's pouring some much needed rain here in Petoskey but it's nice just to chill out and relax. I took the morning to compile a list of ten 'local's only' b...
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Hello, again! With summer in full swing I don't know about you but we grill outside several times a week. It's so nice being outside while the weather lasts. I always like to grill large packages of chicken all at once, too get more bang for my time grilling. We then use the grilled chicken the res...
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The grocery stores and farmer's markets in my corner of West Michigan are starting to fill their shelves with baskets of locally grown peaches. They're so pretty with their shades of deep red, orange and yellow. Sweet and juicy, they're a refreshing treat on a warm, mid-summer day. Grilled peaches ...
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