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I'm Nicole. I am a wife, mother, shop owner on Mackinac Island, and lover of handmade. The little things and little moments inspire me. Follow me on my blog as I write about shop news, my travels, island life and motherhood.
Nicole
xo.

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little luxuries

Fruit Pizza

I made mine in a heart shaped pan because it was for Tommy. ❤️ 
My mom made this often growing up for our sporting events and family gatherings. It's SO good and so easy!
Two Packages of Sugar Cookie Dough
One Container of Cool Whip
One Package of Cream Cheese
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Assortment of fruit - you can use blueberries, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, melon, whatever you love! 
Fruit Pizza
Spread the cookie dough on a baking sheet, bake until golden brown, let cool. Combine cool whip, vanilla and softened cream cheese together. Spread over cookie dough. Sprinkle your fruit on top. Enjoy!
I hope that you can enjoy this recipe and that it will bring a smile to your family's faces during this time at home! 
xo Nicole
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In last week's blog, I talked about ways that Andrew and I have been spending our time with the boys, while they are learning from home. Spring is always busy for me, as I prepare to re-open the store fronts on Mackinac Island, but this spring is looking differently for all of us. Today, I want to share a few ways that I have been caring for myself during this rather crazy time.
Northern Michigan Walk
 
1. Taking walks alone, even if it's 10-15 minutes long while pushing the stroller. 
2. When I find an extra ten minutes in the bathroom either in the morning or before bed, I am taking a longer shower or using a facial mask. I LOVE face masks! When my skin is extra clean, it makes me feel like I am going the extra mile to take care of my skin. My favorite face masks are by Farmhouse Fresh - their Pumpkin Dirt Mask is incredible! I also love Lollia, as it's always a treat for your skin. Mackinac Bath and Body, our exclusive line is also always on hand! Did you know we have a new scent coming out this spring? Keep your eyes open for that! 
3. Once the boys are in bed, I am choosing to spend time with my husband talking and watching a show or even the news together. Just that alone time together is helpful! 
4. While teaching the boys what they need to be learning, I am including ideas that I enjoy doing too. Such as, baking cookies, scavenger hunts outside, going for a drive, or just dancing to music and being silly! Those belly laughs sure help! 
5. Reading - reading and listening to podcasts is very calming for me especially when the topic is about restoring our health. I also enjoy reading about business and how I can improve what I am doing in my own business. 
Nicole Doud
6. Organizing - organizing ALWAYS makes me feel like I am ready to take on the next project. It's such a good feeling to de-clutter and organize your chaos!
7. Facetime or Phone calls - one positive from being at home is being able to talk on the phone more to friends and family. Those short or lengthier calls sure do help!
 
8. Snail Mail - I have sent out more cards to friends and families this week than I have in a long time! I really enjoy sending loved ones a happy message. We have a great selection of cards in our online shop to choose from too! 
9. Instagram Love - for me instagram is a happy place. It's great to see the small business support and love out there lately. I do have to limit myself on it, but seeing happy photos and what other friends and business owners are doing inspires me.
 
Northern Michigan
10. Nature - raking leaves, sweeping, or any type of yard work to me makes me feel good! Give me all the house chores :)
I hope that we can see the simple things as joyful things right now. Tell me, what ways are you caring for yourself during this time?
xo Nicole
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March 24, 2020

Homemade Orange Juice Cookie Recipe

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While being at home these past two weeks, I had to make my favorite childhood cookies, orange juice cookies! My brother's and I would love when my mom made these for us. Best thing, they are super easy to make! 
Orange Juice Cookie Recipe:
Ingredients:
3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
1/2 c. orange juice 
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
Mix together ingredients. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. 
When cooled frost with glaze. Glaze is orange juice and 2 c. powdered sugar. Add just enough orange juice for spreading consistency. 
Enjoy! 
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This week has been one for the books! With unprecedented amounts of quality family time, I’m choosing to be thankful for this season that we find ourselves in! 

Doud Family

The boys have definitely kept us busy - here’s a little list of the things that we have been doing to stay busy and encourage hands on learning. I hope that this list can spark some ideas for you and your family! 
Doud Family
  1. Build a Fort
  2. Decorate a card board box and make a city out of it, house, garden, etc - be creative!
  3. Clean Your Toys: this can be a fun project with your kids. Lots of bubbles and warm water and they can give their toys a bath :)
  4. Make play dough or slime
  5. Make Bath Bombs: I’ve never done this one before, but we are going to attempt it this weekend!
  6. Scavenger hunt
  7. Hide n Go Seek
  8. Tag: You can add a twist on this and play Ghost Tag, or whatever your little ones are into 
  9. Art: There are SO many art projects you can attempt! Check out my Pinterest kid’s art crafts here for some ideas! 
  10. A Reading Marathon: Gather the kids on the couch, bed, or next to all their stuffed animals and get cozy and read as many books as you can to them!
  11. Easter Egg Hunt: Never too early to hide plastic eggs (maybe some with a toy or treat inside) around the house or outside! 
  12. A Walk: A simple walk is always good for us!
  13. Baking: Have them help bake muffins, energy bites, cookies...they love to be a part of the process! 
  14. Kid’s Yoga: There are so many resources online for how to get started. 
  15. Organized Sports: Have them play a mini game of soccer, basketball or baseball as a family!
  16. Homemade Pizza: We’ve been making these for lunch and the boys love creating their own custom pizza!
  17. Lastly, if our boys are just fussy and tired, I put them all in the bath tub. They always love the tub! Plus, it's never too early to take a bath xo.

Doud Family

 

I hope these trigger some ideas for your own little ones at home these next few weeks, especially while it's still cold in our neck of the woods. Don't stress! Some days just don't work out the way you want it too with 6 different projects on the list for your kids to tackle. If the day is just not going great, let them play with their toys, tablets (yes, some tablet time is okay in my opinion. It just needs limitations), or go outside for a drive!
Doud Family
To make our weekend a little more exciting we purchased a homemade beef pie from our friends at Good Hart General Store in Cross Village. This will be our 'out to dinner' night. We may even attempt a fun breakfast in bed one morning! We'll see how that goes! Our kids will always remember this time at home with mom and dad and siblings. Remember to try to always choose joy and make the most of it :) 
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We are so excited that the First Day of Spring is on Thursday, March 19th! The time change with spring forward was confusing for everyone's schedules, but now that the boys and I are finding the new rhythm, we love that it is lighter later and a little bit warmer for us to be able to play outside after school!
Soon, we will start the commute back up to Mackinac Island for a new season at our favorite place! I am excited that John will be older this summer and will be able to keep up with the boys a little bit more! We've started a Spring Bucket List and here are a few things on the list!
1. Play with Sidewalk Chalk! Once the sidewalks are dry, the boys will love to be able to create art outside!
2. Plant Flowers. This is probably only on my bucket list, but the boys will like to play with the dirt while I plant the flowers! There is something about looking out your front window and seeing beautiful and colorful flowers each morning!
3. Fly a Kite. The boys love doing this on Mackinac Island at Windemere Point. It's one of their favorite Island activities when it's nice outside, so I know they are anxious to get back to flying their kites!
4. Decorate Easter Eggs. I feel like I just wrote this blog here about our Easter Traditions. I can't believe how time flies and that we will soon be celebrating Easter again!
5. Have a picnic. One of our favorite family actiivities is to have a park (with provisions from Doud's Market and Deli!) in Marquette Park. The boys love to run around after they have finished eating and I love to just look out and see the water, the beautiful flowers and people biking by! 
Spring time is a time of newness - especially with a new season on Mackinac upon us. But there's also so much newness in the air, in the flowers, and just in a feeling of the cold winter ending, where now we can spend so much more time in the sunshine outside! I'm so excited for spring this year, to do more with the boys outside and to be back on Mackinac working for another great season! 
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