Hi!
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.
Read a little more about me.
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.
Read a little more about me.
connect
newsletter
Sign up for our occassional newsletter to learn about new goodies and upcoming events!
little luxuries
What day is it?? This seems to be the common question over the last two months. We have moved back to Mackinac full-time again, and, a little earlier since the boys are doing school from home. Normally, the island would be coming alive right now for the 2020 season. Unfortunately, this season is going to be very different. I am on my second week being back in the store getting it ready to reopen (hopefully soon!) and it feels so good to be back in the store! We ARE OPEN for curbside pick up for local residents and WE ARE shipping with a special $5 shipping rate and free shipping over $49!!
When we are on Mackinac Island our little family loves taking walks after dinner, either through town, along the board walk or to Grand Hotel and the West Bluff. This spring, our walks have been extremely quiet and, honestly, it's VERY weird to me. Not seeing the lights on at Grand Hotel or the flags flying, only seeing 2-3 people on our entire walk, and seeing CLOSED signs on almost every business along Main Street - it's so scary. It has definitely been challenging trying to stay positive once we moved back to the island. We are so used to experiencing a normal, busy Mackinac Island season to now a lonely, quiet island. This time has made me realize how important small businesses are. Of course I know how important they are to our economy, but through all of this small businesses are the heart of small towns. The past 12 years running my shops, never did I ever think we would be experiencing something like this. However, it has had it's positives. Such as, making me think out of the box, ordering more carefully, and digging deeper to make my businesses work. I do believe that small businesses are going to get more support than ever right now and after this pandemic. We will get through this! Our world is realizing how important independent businesses are to our economy.
Mackinac Island, along with other tourist towns will have a later start than normal, and I really hope many of you can still make a trip to our beautiful island this season. If you cannot, follow my Instagram stories so you can feel like you are on Mackinac. I am trying my best to show each of you your favorite place(s) and what's behind our store doors.
Fun New Things:
Our Island Girl Collection items are arriving the end of this month!! I can't wait to show you what's new!!
Who would have thought we would be styling ourselves with handmade masks?! Families are purchasing patterned masks and supporting local makers. We are carrying 4 different makers' masks in the shops. Check them out online! They are selling quickly!
Family Time On Mackinac During Stay-at-Home Time:
You are probably thinking what are we doing to keep busy on Mackinac Island with only the grocery store open and the Mustang for take-out. With three little boys it is a little challenging, especially with the weather not being in our advantage right now. We are spending time in our backyard, enjoying walks, venturing out to Wawashkamo Golf Course, finding rocks along the shore, family face-timing, board game nights, science projects, eating more, and just holding each other tighter more.
I know this isn't easy for anyone. This will pass and IT WILL get better eventually. Be patient, stay positive and don't be so hard on yourself. Staying in your pjs all day and binge watching Netflix IS okay :)
Be well,
Nicole
xo
| share this
Over the next few weeks, we are going to share fun ideas for Mom!
This week, we have a round up of 8 goodies from the shop that we think she will love!
- Mackinac Island Bath & Body: A perfect gift from beautiful Mackinac Island. This line is moisturizing and refreshing, inspired by Mackinac Island, made in Michigan. Be sure to check out the latest scent: Cherry Almond!
- One Hot Mama Card: Check out this sassy and fun card from The Social Type!
- Island Girl Hoodie Dress: It’s still a little chilly in Michigan, so get Mom this cute Island Girl dress for when she wants to be cozy, but feel primped and ready for the day! This cute dress comes in Magenta or Gray.
- Mackinac Island Lilac Tray: This tray is unique to Little Luxuries. Decorated with purple lilacs, this tray is beautiful and ready for to be an accent for your summer decor.
- World’s Best Mom: Snag this cute card for Mom to let her know how much you love and appreciate her! The inside is blank, so you have plenty of room to write a heart felt message.
- Cheese Boards: New to the shop this spring is a beautiful collection of cheese boards in various styles. Surprise Mom with a by presenting her with a beautiful charcuterie board for Mother’s Day brunch.
- Best Mom Ever Mug: Mom has probably been drinking her coffee or tea at home a lot more recently! Gift her with a new mug so she knows just how much you love her!
- Lollia Dream: Mom will LOVE this! It is one of Little Luxuries’ Best Sellers all year long! Lollia is luxurious, dreamy and leaves your skin feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
These are just a few ideas for Mom, but we have so many more fun ideas in our shop! Also, check out our Mother’s Day from Little Luxuries board on Pinterest here for some other great ideas!
| share this
This week, we thought it would be fun to have Nicole answer some questions! Everyone is asking each other for recommendations on what to read, what to watch, anything that they haven't thought of yet! Here are some questions that Nicole answered about what she's doing!What are you reading right now?
Health and business podcasts when I get some free time. I am enjoying Natalie Freeman's new podcast on business and Dr. Brownstein's, blog who is a holistic doctor.
What is a TV show you'd recommend?
I actually do not watch much television. It's usually Ninjago or Star Wars these days, but since the stay at home order was in effect, my husband got me to watch the Netflix series, Ozark. It was very intense! Ozark is not your happy, feel good show. Haha!
Outside of getting the shops ready, are you doing any fun projects?
I have had on my 'to-do list' to get more things on our walls! I am working on getting our family photos on some of our walls as well as inspirational verses that I live by. Instead of scrapbooks, I enjoy photo books. I just got our winter photo book printed. If I don't do it now, it might be a year before I do it!
What is your quarantine comfort food?
Oh, gosh! I feel like that's all I've been doing lately is eating! I've been snacking on my favorite tortilla chips with salsa or hummus, the zucchini bread I made for the first time from Joanna Gaine's recipe book, and chocolate from the boys' Easter baskets!
What is the boys' favorite quarantine comfort food?
Pancakes and pizza AND cookies!
What is one piece of advice for anyone working from home?
Deep breaths! haha! I'm learning I can't stress out too much with how much I do NOT accomplish in a day that I would like to. There's always tomorrow and the day after. We are extra sensitive right now. We can only do what we can do. If you go to bed early one night, make the next day extra productive. If you stay up late working on things or can't sleep, then know the next day will be not be as productive. We are all in this together. Stay positive, listen to music, podcasts, read inspirational quotes, bake, go for a walk, do 25 jumping jacks... I also make lists. I'm slower at accomplishing my lists right now with homeschooling, Tommy's broken arm has slowed me down too, and keeping up with house chores. Organizing also helps me be more productive. I hope some of these will help you as well!
| share this
Please enjoy these free printable coloring page of Doud's Market, Little Luxuries and Mackinac Island designed by Katie Doucette, a Michigan designer.
To download the coloring sheets, click here.
| share this
This year, like everyone else, we will just be celebrating Easter as a small family, without our parents. While the boys will miss their grandparents, we will be sure to spend time FaceTiming our family, so that it’s almost like we are all together.
I want to do everything I can to make the day as special as possible for our family. I found this French Toast Bake that I know everyone will love and I’m so excited to have it for Easter breakfast this year!
The secret is, you have to make it the night before! If you know you are going to want to make this, just make sure you prepare on Saturday night before bed!
Ingredients:
1 loaf of sourdough bread*
8 eggs
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of heavy cream
3/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
*If you don’t have sourdough bread, try another bread like brioche, challah, pullman or French bread! The trick is, you don’t want the bread to get soaked and mushy from the eggs!
Topping:
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon or salt
1/2 cup of cold butter, cut into pieces
-
Cut the loaf of bread into cubes and put in a greased 9 X 13 pan.
-
Mix together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour over the bread.
-
Cover and place in the fridge to settle overnight!
-
Mix together the remaining topping ingredients. Add the butter until it has formed a crumbly mix and store overnight in a container.
-
In the morning, put the topping on the bread / egg mixture.
-
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
-
Enjoy! We’ll probably add some fresh fruit to the side with orange juice for the boys and tea for me!
For the complete recipe and more details, visit: https://lilluna.com/french-toast-bake/. Picture credit to Lil Luna.
I hope that you have a very Happy Easter weekend. Tell me, what are you making this weekend for your family?
Xo Nicole
| share this
