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.
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little luxuries
The first day of fall is just around the corner! I love fall and am so excited for the changing of seasons. The newness that fall brings with a slower season at the shops, more of a routine with the boys in school, cozier days and crisp leaves! Here are a few things on our family’s bucket list for this new season!
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- Chai Tea Lattes: If you know me, you know how much I love chai tea! I’m looking forward to being able to drink chai tea while seeing the changing of leaves as I bike down Main Street!
- Pond Hill Farm is located a little north of Harbor Springs and is so fun to visit in the fall! They have a pumpkin launcher, animals to see, hayrides, pumpkin patch and more! It’s the perfect family friendly outing for you and your kids on a fall afternoon - they even have a farm - to -table restaurant for a delicious lunch or dinner!
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- Apple Town in Brutus, Michigan, a little north of Petoskey on the way to Mackinaw City is another fun family spot to visit this fall! Stop in for fresh apple cider and the best apple donuts! You won’t be disappointed with their hayrides and corn mazes!
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- Uncle John’s Cider Mill is of course one of my favorites, as it is in my hometown of St. John’s! They have so many fun activities for the kids that we love to go do with the boys! Corn mazes, wagon rides, train rides, apple cannons, a pumpkin patch and so much more! I can’t wait to head to my hometown this winter and visit!
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- Carving Pumpkins: The boys are getting old enough to where they love to carve pumpkins! It’s fun to help them design a face on the pumpkin and then watch them get so excited about creating a masterpiece. I love to roast the pumpkin seeds and save them for a fall snack!
- Mackinac Island’s Halloween: No one celebrates Halloween quite like Mackinac Island. The end of October is when Mackinac Island starts to shut down for the season, so Halloween is the last big celebration! This is one of the last nights that a lot of the hotels / restaurants are open, so it’s a big deal. Our family will get all dressed up and walk around downtown to see all of the businesses decorated for the season. The decorations are extravagant, with gigantic spiders decorating a hotel, and other fun spooky decor!
As I said, I’m so excited for fall and I hope that you are too! What’s on your fall bucket list? Do you plan on visiting Mackinac this fall? If so, stop on into the shop to see all our fun fall items!
xoxo
Nicole
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Today’s Monday Maker is about an innovative artist right here in Michigan, Woodward Throwbacks! What started out as a way to have furniture and clean up the streets of Detroit, has turned into using reusable materials from all over Downtown Detroit to create usable products that carry history and help employ locals all throughout the greater-Detroit area.
Woodward Throwbacks is founded on the basis of being a salvaged materials company - on their website they say: “We didn’t want to be a cool brand in someone’s basement. We wanted to employ locals, renovate vacant buildings and be a model for modern manufacturing.”
We currently carry Woodward Throwbacks poster hangers, signs, key chains, bottle openers, coat racks and more. Stop in to see our collection of their work and purchase a product to help restore the city of Detroit and employ Michigan workers!
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Today’s Monday Maker is about Lulu & Bird, a new artist at the shop this year!
Lulu and Bird started because owner, Kristen, wanted to have a creative outlet. One day, she saw a doll pattern at a craft store and thought that she could teach herself how to sew and make little dolls for her daughters and her nieces. The more she worked at sewing and creating the dolls, the better she got! She would take the dolls into work and embroider their faces during her lunch break. This prompted her co-workers to ask her to create dolls for their children!
Since starting Lulu & Bird, she has not only taught herself how to sew, she has also started creating her own doll patterns and has a few different custom creations. Kristen would tell you that since starting Lulu & Bird, it has helped to push her outside of her comfort zone, as she has learned to reach out to different shops and how to sew / create different patterns! She loves seeing people (especially her children!) enjoying her dolls!
Of course, the question we had for her when we started carrying her items was “Where did the name come from?” Well, her daughter’s names are Lila and Wren, which are affectionately nicknamed Lulu and Bird! Since she started creating these dolls for her daughters, it’s only right that this creative venture is named for them!
Next time you stop in, pick up a Lulu & Bird doll for your daughter, niece or friend’s daughter - you won’t regret it!
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September has been off to a busy week for us here in the Doud household! Louis has started kindergarten, with Tommy in Pre-K! With these big changes of the boys in school, we are commuting over to Mackinac Island, while having Petoskey as our home base. This is the first year that we have ever done this, so we are learning a change of pace this fall until the shops close down at the end of October.
The temperatures have dropped drastically since Labor Day, with the highs in the 60s during the day and it getting down to the low 50s / high 40s at night! At this rate, it is going to be a very cold fall.
Summer was wonderful on the island, as usual! The boys had a bucket list that we checked things off of, which included visiting Fort Mackinac, horse back riding lessons, the Watercolor Cafe and a few other Mackinac Island favorites.
Heading into fall, I’m excited for cozy weather, hot chai tea lattes, the colors changing and the slower pace of life on Mackinac Island. As always, thank you for your support of Little Luxuries, The Artists Market and Canvas and Paddle.
Xoxo,
Nicole
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Motor City Barrels started out as a project for owner Robbie Lambert’s wedding and ended with him and his Dad having their own company!
The barrel materials that are used are from the whiskey, wine and beer barrels that are used to age alcohol. When the barrels are no longer useable for this process, they are typically just thrown out. Motor City Barrels repurposed these barrels into furniture and decor.
The barrels must first be taken apart, wood from the inside scraped out and then sanded. Finally the fun part of sawing and assembling the pieces can start!
We currently carry their wall bottle openers, candles, cork stopper, heart and peace sign made from steel and more! We’re proud to carry this creative Michigan based company!
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