entertainment – Barnwood and Baked Goods

Tour the Town!

During a recent hangout with my BFF Amber, we decided we wanted to inspire something a little different for 2019. We were talking about some of the Instagram pages that really strike us, how the imagery makes us want to do more, and travel more, and eat more, and figure out internet fame! We cracked up over how popular some pages are and for such simple content. This discussion became a rabbit hole of ideas and before we new what was happening we were starting something pretty awesome!

We have decided to take 2019 and discover everything we can about our own hometown, and any other place that we might travel too or stumble upon along the way! And whilst exploring we’ll share these adventures with all of you here, along with pictorial reviews on Instagram! You can follow us @Tour_the_Town

Amber and I met 7 years ago when she and her husband moved back to Michigan from South Carolina. Her husband and I went to high school together, he and my husband grew up playing baseball together, and we had one other rather sad connection…. Her son was a cancer survivor and my late son was at the time a newly diagnosed cancer patient. Not something you expect to bond over but there was an empathy there that I needed, and 7 years later I don’t know what I would do without her!

We live a block away from each other in a small Michigan town that we both grew up in. We have thrown parties, held fundraisers, gone to community and school events, and even vacationed together! Our families often feel like one big family and we love that! So now that we are starting Tour the Town we hope you’ll have fun with us, laugh with us, and get to know us a little better.

Since we are so close to our little district of Vandercook Lake we plan to start there! There are a couple of awesome little restaurants right around the corner from us, and we plan to highlight these locations each week, or as often as our schedules allow! This week we visit Klavon’s pizzeria and pub in Vandercook Lake! This locally owned restaurant and sports bar has quite a story to share and we can’t wait to get to it! More soon, until then enjoy some memories from Amber and I. Thanks for following along!

Labor Day at the Last Minute

This past weekend was Labor Day weekend and although I had to work on Saturday, we still managed to fit in a brief get away. My husband and I love to travel and frequently do quick weekend trips to some of our favorite hangouts. We seem to gravitate toward the water here in Michigan (maybe because there’s water everywhere lol) but this time we decided to try a new… or newer destination. We had both been here before but not in a very long time. I think I was in high school!! We visited none other that Frankenmuth MI.

Frankenmuth is a couple hours north east of us, and seemed like a good fit for a quick stop vacation. We however didn’t take into account that this was after all a holiday weekend in a tourist town. We didn’t make reservations ahead and upon arriving found that all of the hotels were fully booked except the Frankemuth Motel. Now, I’m not usually a fan of Motel’s but this was a surprise, a little dated but clean, spacious, and the staff was very friendly. It was a quick walk from there to the Main st. action.

Once checked in we traveled over to main street to see what was happening there are a tons of little shops and specialty stores. We walked and walked, stopped by the Historical Museum, listened to the Glockenspiel, walked the historic covered bridge, and took in the sites…Did I mention that this place is literally coated in tons and tons and tons of gorgeous flowers!!

They had flowers everywhere lining the streets, hanging from the light poles, across all the building fronts, it was beautiful! In the evening we visited “the Tavern” a local hangout bar, it was OK. traveled from there to Tiffany’s there we had a couple of drinks and appetizers, and shared a dessert. It was a nice quiet laid back evening.

The next day we had lunch at Zehnder’s. They are famous for the chicken dinner served family style with all the delicious sides you can eat. We opted out of an all you can eat menu and order individual meals.

Now I usually order a pretty healthy entree’ I’m not overly picky but I don’t like a lot of heavy food especially early in the day. So I thought I’ll play it safe and order a hot chicken sandwich… This was not an ordinary chicken sandwich…

What I thought I was getting… Chicken on sandwich bread or bun with lettuce, tomato, etc… something like this…

What I actually got was a monotone plate covered in gravy! It was like drowning in gravy lol. Everything gravy…gravy…gravy…gravy…

Although not what I was expecting I ate it and it was delicious and I was super sleepy the rest of the day lol.

We let our food settle after that on the Bavarian Belle Riverboat tour, this is a nice relaxing tour of the river and the surrounding hotels and establishments there is an entertaining tour guide telling you about the boat, the covered bridge, and many of the area attractions that can be viewed from the river.

We ended our quick visit to Frankenmuth with a trip to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, a huge holiday store with everything you could possibly think of that is holiday related. I remember it as a kid and it’s still that awesome.

So all in all a nice trip away and something a little different that our usual get away. If you’ve never visited Frankenmuth I highly recommend a visit. It has a lot of beautiful sites, shopping, attractions, and a little old world German/ Bavarian flare. Thanks for reading!

Fantastic Fall Cookies for the WIN!

So after polling my various social media outlets, email subscribers, and getting some feedback right here on WordPress.com, it looks like this fall I will be hosting a blog series on Fabulous Fall Cookies!

I’ve already started to compile a list of favorites, and can’t wait to get in the kitchen and get things started! I will include a couple of sugar free options as well, so stay tuned! I promise there will be a little something for every taste… Happy Fall Baking Y’all!

Introducing the 2018 Pantone Color of the Year! ~ Ultra Violet

I love when the Pantone color of the year is introduced and my style feeds start to fill up with inspiring uses of the new trend setting colors!

This years Pantone Color of the Year is Ultra- Violet and I am loving it!

This color could be viewed as a seemingly difficult color to introduce but it’s actually really fun and easy! You can go for the gusto and introduce it as a primary wall or accent wall color. I utilized a very similar color when redecorating a medical office that I worked for at one time. Needless to say it met some skepticism until it was on the wall, and wow what an impact. This color has a soothing effect, and has an unexpected appeal.

Not sure about painting an entire room purple? No problem! Try adding accent pieces, a vase, a chair, maybe just a picture frame. You’ll be amazed!

Is you’re interior not ready for a splash of color try your garden! Ultra-violet is a prevalent floral color! Go for a classic Nikko Blue Hydrangea, or purple campanula in your perennial gardens and purple verbena, and night sky petunias in your patio pots and hanging baskets!

Close up of fresh hydrangea with white blackground isolated

There are a ton of ways to make this year’s Ultra-violet influence part of your indoor and outdoor decor. How will you use it?

The Rose Parade and Picnic in the Park

Back at it again after a busy weekend! This past Sunday we celebrated the Rose Festival and attended the picnic in the park, this is a local tradition that started 59 years ago! The Rose is our official flower, and the rose festival is a Spring/Summer event that celebrates all of the wonderful things that Jackson has to offer. Jackson MI, is known for its abundant and beautiful parks, lakes and waterways, recreational resources and of course roses.

A little more history for you… For decades, Ella Sharp Park, community and residential gardens have cultivated the rose. In 1931, the rose was chosen as the official flower of Jackson and we became known as “The Rose City”.

In 1958, The Jackson County Rose Festival was inaugurated with The Jackson County Rose Parade, followed by The Jackson County Rose Queen Pageant in 1960. The Parade is a celebration for local organizations to honor and reward individuals and groups. The Parade allows schools, scouting troops, churches, civic organizations and businesses to promote a positive image of themselves and the Jackson area. The Rose Parade is one of the largest in Michigan with over 100 entries each year.Over the years, various Rose Festival events complement the Parade and Pageant including the Picnic in the park event featuring a good old fashioned pie eating contest!

The event has not changed much since it inception, the route changed slightly for a couple of years and reverted back to the original location in honor of the 50th anniversary. However the picnic in park, and pie eating contest have held strong and still take place today!

So why the history lesson, well… our daughter Brianna was in the parade this year as Miss Teen JTV, proudly driven down the parade route with her Mentor Celia Napoletano, by none other that her very proud Dad, and big brother. It was truly an honor for one of our kids to be a part of such a wonderful community event.

A quick get away

As I mentioned in my intro blog. One of my favorite things to do is travel with my family. We have been to Jamaica, Mexico, the Bahamas and all over the US. My all time favorite place to go though is Las Vegas!

I love the energy, the weather, and the give your all entertainment value!

This past weekend my husband and I decided to take advantage of some warmer MI weather (which means a slow work week for him) and head out to Las Vegas!

This might not be the post you were expecting though…

I promise I will give you some amazing tips and tricks in a later post, but this trip was SO different!

First off it was a quick get away in every sense. We flew out via Spirit Airlines on Saturday morning and arrived in Las Vegas around 12pm just one problem….my luggage didn’t make the DIRECT flight with me! You heard that right it was a direct flight no layovers no changing planes…no weird flight delays…they just didn’t put my bag on the plane. They stated it should come in on the later evening flight. OK….off to the hotel!

We stayed at Harrah’s hotel and casino this time. A much older resort compared to some that we have stayed but it’s in a great location center strip! We arrived and we’re checked in without a problem. Arrived to our balcony room. The room was small and the balcony is standing room only lol…but it’s always nice to be able to open the door for some fresh air.

Upon further inspection the safe in our room was not working…we travel with cell phones, extra cash, and a laptop so the safe is important. We called the desk and within minutes the staff arrived to attempt a fix. Unfortunately the part needed to fix it was unavailable and so we were promptly moved to a new room with a working safe. The staff was exceptionally nice and worked without delay!

The second room was identically set up, and the safe was in working order. Harrah’s is indeed in need of a make over though. They have a new tower opening soon with newly renovated rooms but this was not it…there were dents in the walls, stains on the carpet, and stains inside the dresser drawers (more than one). Not 5 star accommodation for sure. The bathroom was small and there is a dark colored shower curtain and no lighting in the shower stall itself. Even with the bathroom light it was like showering in a cave lol.

And at one point even the cups we were drinking from were leaking! Seriously!

So what were the positives…

#1 the staff, always friendly, courteous, helpful. Top notch better than some of the nicer places I’ve stayed even!

#2 the location, you can’t beat the location of this hotel!

#3 Fulton Street Food Court, excellent food 24hours a day at good prices

#4 the piano bar, a fun interactive entertainment opportunity

#5 Toby Keith Bar and Grill, live music nightly and excellent specialty drinks! Try the Georgia Peach it’s awesome!

We shopped…mostly for clothes since mine never arrived…you heard that right! My luggage is still missing and I am now home! But picked up a couple nice gifts for the kiddos too…

We visited the Bellagio Gardens, ate at Nacho Daddy, and Enjoyed the night life and knocked another item off our list by riding on the high roller, a very large Ferris wheel/ observation ride. It’s also awesome, and a great way to see the city!

We did a little gambling and rested up for our busy Spring schedule ahead…it’s amazing what a weekend away can do for you! Even if you only had 3 outfits to choose from lol!

Here’s to Vegas, and hopefully getting positive reimbursement from Spirit Airlines after this debacle…I’ll blog some about that later…Happy Travels everyone!