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.

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It’s time to celebrate a new holiday, which you know I love! The boys and I have a fun week planned filled with Easter activities that I know they are going to love!

This past weekend the boys were SO excited about Easter coming up that we did a “practice” Easter egg hunt in the yard- they loved it! It was a fun way to get outside and burn off some energy! 

One of our friends gifted us a Gingerbread Easter House - which is so fun! I love that these are becoming activities for more than just Christmas! We plan to do the Gingerbread House together one night as a family - I know there will be more snacking than decorating, but that’s just part of the fun!

Of course, we plan to dye eggs this week, too! This is an activity that I grew up doing and always love to have the boys do with me! It’s so fun to see the boys be creative with what colors and designs they choose to put on their eggs!

I love writing cards + receiving cards! The boys and I are going to make Easter cards for our neighbors as a way to bring a smile to their faces this spring season! 

Photo from The best Ideas for Kids Website 

I found this super easy but fun craft to make Paper Plate Easter Bunnies! All you need is Paper Plates, Construction Paper, Pom Poms, Pipe Cleaners, Googly Eyes and Glue! It will be fun to create cute and silly faces! 

My Easter Delights board on Pinterest is filled with decor, treats, activities and more! You can look at it here! if you need just a little inspiration for your home decor or for a fun new treat this week! 

I love getting emails from Play, Party, Plan! They always inspire me with craft ideas for me to do with the boys! If you are still looking for Easter inspiration, check out their website post here that has 30+ Easter Games that will keep your family entertained for hours this upcoming weekend! 

I’d love to hear what you do fun for Easter with your kids! As always, I hope that you find a way to celebrate and make every day special in a way that works for you and your family. 

 

Nicole

Xo 

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I have wanted to visit the Mall of America since I was in the eighth grade. I finally made that happen with our family last week over spring break! We drove through the Upper Peninsula along US-2 and stayed the night in Green Bay, WI. It was a four hour drive from the Mackinac Bridge to Green Bay. It didn't feel like four hours, maybe because the drive along US-2 is so pretty along Lake Michigan. I had never driven through Escanaba and Gladstone and all those little towns along US-2. We stayed at Tundra Bay Lodge in Green Bay which was right by Lambeau Field. We were planning to all do a tour of Lambeau Field, but Louie wasn't feeling great and we knew Johnny wouldn't last through an hour and a half tour. So Tommy and Andrew were the lucky ones to experience the field and get the tour. They LOVED it! Andrew was so excited after the tour! We highly recommend doing a tour. It was $75 for two people for an hour and a half tour and totally worth it. 
We then continued our drive to Bloomington, MN where the Mall of America is located. It was four hours from Green Bay to MOA. We passed over the Mississippi River and lots of farmland. The drive again, was really easy. I hoped to stop at Door County because it was only 45 minutes from Green Bay. Maybe next time! I didn't think the boys would love strolling the town and looking at shops! Ha!
We stayed at the Marriott Hotel connected to MOA. They had a small pool (no hot tub) and a restaurant for breakfast and dinner. We loved the hotel and so nice it was connected to the mall. 
We explored the mall Saturday evening and the boys were in awe at the amusement park section of the mall. They had roller coasters, rides, food stands, and more! We paid $75 I think for so many points to ride the rides. It was definitely enough for us. They had things for toddlers too which was really nice. It was very busy, I'm sure because of a weekend and spring break. We never made it into the Legoland store because the line was wrapped around the store. We visited the aquarium which was really fun! Something we didn't know is you can't just buy tickets and go in. We had to buy tickets from our phones (online) and then reserve a time to go. We had to wait two hours before the next slot was open. 
The restaurants all had long wait times as well. I recommend making reservations in advance if you want to eat inside the mall. Wait times were from 1-3 hours. Since the wait times were so long we opted to eat in the food court area. I don't recommend that. Service was very bad and it was dirty. 
We really did not go into many stores. We did hit up Old Navy and got the boys some summer clothes and I bought myself a pair of overalls I have been wanting for awhile and they were half off! We left the mall at 3pm Saturday and then switched to a different hotel located downtown to try something new. It was called the Hewing Hotel. It was really neat! Industrial and built in 2016. 
If we make another trip to the mall we will make reservations in advance for restaurants and stay at the Marriott again. If you plan on going in the future, I hope it's a great trip! It is something fun to experience especially since malls are not as popular these days. 
Nicole
xo
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I love snack time after school with the boys! It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. I love seeing the boys and having them tell me all about their days! They also love it when I have delicious snacks and treats waiting for them!  Here are some new delicious after school snacks that I plan on incorporating into our after-school routine this fall.

Apple Nachos from Good Cook

  Shot from Good Cook. Grab apples, peanut butter, Nutella and some fun sprinkles to make this nutritious and fun snack! 


Critter Crudites from Good Housekeeping

Shot from Good Housekeeping

Grab some apples, blueberries, peanut butter cream cheese and other fruit to make some delicious and healthy veggies friends! 


Grilled Cheese Roll Ups form Brit + Co.
Shot from Brit + Co

Grab some bread, sharp cheddar cheese and make these tasty little treats for an afternoon snack! 

These are some of the new recipes that I’m adding to our after school snack rotation! For more fun recipes, visit my Pinterest here for more ideas! 

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Egg Roll in A Bowl
I love a good, easy recipe! With the beginning of a new season, the easier the recipe the better! I recently stumbled across this Egg Roll in a Bowl Recipe from Evolving Table. 
London, from Evolving Table, created this delicious deconstructed egg roll that is delicious and easy to make!
Here are the ingredients for this dish:
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil divided
  • 1 lb. ground turkey or beef
  • 1 ½ cups sweet onion finely diced
  • 1 cup carrots shredded
  • ½ tsp. ginger paste or minced ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed
  • ¼ cup chicken broth regular sodium
  • 5 cups shredded cabbage cut into ¼-inch shreds
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce Tamari or coconut aminos, gluten-free
  • 2 tsp. rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tsp. salt to taste
  • ¼ tsp. pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil 
  • Toasted sesame seeds optional
  • Green onions optional

Directions:

  1. In a large saute pan over medium heat drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and add ground turkey. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until turkey is almost cooked through.

  2. Push turkey to the side of the pan and add onion and other tablespoon of oil. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

  3. Add shredded carrots, garlic, and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. Stir the vegetables and turkey together.

  4. Pour chicken broth in the pan and scrape the bottom of it to deglaze it.

  5. Add cabbage, coconut aminos or soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until cabbage is to your desired tenderness.

  6. Just before serving add toasted sesame oil and top with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve over regular rice, cauliflower rice, or eat it in a bowl by itself. Enjoy! 

     

    Let me know what you think! We love this recipe and I hope that you will too! 

 
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This past weekend we were on Mackinac Island getting ready for the new season. There is a lot of preparation involved before that opening day! 

We are enjoying the last couple of weekends of the streets being empty before the crowds arrive. We were also able to spend some time with family and friends and catch a gorgeous sunset! Louie made a little ‘boat’ out of popsicle sticks and duct tape and we all went down to the water to let it ‘sail’. It was so cute! 

On the work side, I’m busy getting the three shops ready for the new season, along with Andrew busily making new changes at Doud’s Market. Doud’s Market has decided to update to self-checkout lines which is an exciting, but big project!

 

I worked on tidying the shops, going through new product that has arrived and putting displays together! We have SO many amazing new goodies for the season. I’ve been sharing on my Instagram many of my favorite new goodies for Mom this Mother’s Day. 

Do you need help picking out a gift for Mom? Check out our Mother’s Day page here: https://littleluxuriesofmackinac.com/collections/mothers-day-gifts.

If you still need help after looking at our Mother’s Day collection, send us an email at littleluxuriesmanager@yahoo.com. We’d love to help you find the perfect gift for Mom! 

Hope your week is a good one! You’ll find me in my casual shop clothes and a baseball hat this week moving boxes, pricing, displaying and trying to get it all together! 
Nicole 
Xo
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