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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

While going through my recipe box this week, I found some of my favorite recipes that I like to pull out for the holiday season.

This Turkey Dressing recipe is a family one on my mom's side.  

Turkey Dressing

  • 1 loaf bakery style bread
  • 1 c. chopped onions
  • 1 stick oleo
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 pound pork sausage
  • 1 can cream of celery soup
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms
  • salt and pepper to taste

Cut bread into cubes, set aside in large bowl. Fry onions and mushrooms in oleo; add salt/pepper, cook until tender, add to bread cubes. Fry sausage until brown, drain fat, add to bread mixture. Mix in remaining ingredients of soup and eggs, Use to stuff turkey or place in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour covered, til brown on top. Uncover the last few minutes in oven. Enjoy! 

I can’t wait to have you try this favorite recipe of my family. Let me know what you think!

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

Xoxo,

Nicole 

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Doud FamilyDoud FamilyDoud Family
Today’s blog post is about Petoskey, Michigan, where our family lives when we are not on the island. I wanted to give a few highlights to our favorite spots in the area:
  1. Grain Train: It’s a lot like Doud’s Market and when I can’t shop at Doud’s Market we love the Grain Train. Friendly staff, quick in and out, healthy snacks, great deli options, and the health and wellness section has a lot of good finds.
  2. North Perk: Centrally located downtown Petoskey! They are the perfect place for a chai to do work, hot cocoa date with my boys or a place to catch up with a friend.
  3. JW Shorters: my go-to gift shop away from Little Luxuries, plus Grandpa Shorters’ and Katydids (sister stores) are right next door and carefully curated just how I like my shops. Jennifer Shorter, their owner, does an awesome job! 
  4. Mim’s: I love Greek food! And now my boys do too! They call Mim’s the Gingerbread House because of its cozy, quaint appearance. We love the artichoke hummus with warm pita bread, the kids grilled cheese meal, the sampler and the original gyro are all delish! 
  5. Petoskey State Park: This is the perfect little place to “escape” to and it has a gorgeous beach - be sure to stay to watch the sunset!
  6. If you’re looking for a great place to go for a walk, we love to head to the Bay View Association! This historic neighborhood is an easy and beautiful walk from our home. 
We hope that when you aren’t on Mackinac Island, you can enjoy one of my other places to visit in Northern Michigan, Petoskey. If you find any other cool spots that I missed, be sure to let me know! Would love to hear your faves.
 Xoxo,
Nicole
North Perk PetoskeyPetoskey State ParkNorth Perk PetoskeyGrandpa Shorter's
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Happy Sunday evening! Again another week has passed and this is our last week of the 2019 season! 

This past weekend we celebrated the Women’s Wellness Weekend on Mackinac Island! Little Luxuries shut down for a quick two hours while 120 women had a private trunk show with Jenna Kator and her new fall line. Women shopped til they dropped and helped clear out some of our 40% OFF inventory items as the season comes to an end. It was a fun event, with champagne, cupcakes and endless laughs! 

Jenna Kator Trunk ShowJenna Kator, Women's Wellness Weekend

Jenna Kator, Women's Wellness Weekend

Almost as quickly as it started, another season is quickly coming to an end. Most of Little Luxuries’ crew have headed off the island, as the 2019 season is ending. During the off-season, staff goes back to school, some work other seasonal jobs, travel, visit with family and friends and rest before the next season. This year, I had a great group of girls who loved to have fun, work hard and enjoyed living on Mackinac Island! As girls have been leaving, I’ve been sharing over on our Instagram page what their favorite things to do on the island were or what favorite products we carry. Check it out! Little Luxuries 2019Little Luxuries 2019

Women's Wellness Weekend

Soon, we will be accepting applications for 2020 staff members to join our team. If you or someone you know is interested in working for Little Luxuries, Artists Market of Mackinac and Canvas and Paddle, be sure to keep your eye out for hiring information or send an email through our website. 

Xoxo,

Nicole 

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Artists Market of Mackinac
The 2019 season is rapidly coming to an end - I can't  believe how fast the seasons seem to go here on Mackinac Island. This was the Artists Market of Mackinac's fifth season in business and it was such a great year! Every year, we have the opportunity to represent over 100 emerging artists from all over the United States and Canada. Some of the artists are one person operations, while other's are made up of small teams.
Artists Market of Mackinac Artists Market of Mackinac
We had artists make live appearances in the shop throughout the season like Mary Lou Peters, The Barn Social, Mulberry Pines, Genesis One Designs and Red Cabin Studio! Favorite products this season included "Married on Mackinac" ornaments, Iconic Detroit coasters, unique jewelry, block prints, Mackinac inspired mugs, "Been to the Beach" framed artwork and so many other treasures. Each year, it is my pleasure to be able to represent these artists on Mackinac Island. To all the artists that trust us with your artwork, thank you! My staff and I love getting to know your work, being able to share the process of how it's made and tell more about your company to each customer that comes in the door! Thank you for making such wonderful products and for such an amazing 5th season!
Artists Market of Mackinac Island
Artists Market of Mackinac
To all our customers, thank you! We would not have had such an amazing 5th year without your support! As we do close for the 2019 season, we look forward to a season of rest and preparing to welcome back artists in the spring of 2020! We look forward to bringing back many familiar faces and incorporating a few new ones, as well. If you saw something in the shop that you liked this year, remember to shop directly through the artist this winter! A full list of all the artists in the shop can be found here. 
xoxo,
Nicole
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As you know, fall is one of my favorite seasons, yet it goes by so quickly! The weather in northern Michigan has recently seemed to turn colder and rainy. We are hoping for a few sunny, beautiful fall days to enjoy this month. 
Each year, October seems to be a whirlwind month. Our fall sale keeps our staff busy, tourists flood the streets on weekends, our fall shopping event takes place, and we close out the season celebrating Halloween October 25-27. With restaurants and shops closing up the end of the month, our family tries to go out to dinner a little more. With kids, we love the Yankee Rebel, Gate House (where Andrew and I first met), Millies and Mary's Bistro. They all have great options for kids and mom and dad too!
Women's Wellness Weekend 2018Women's Wellness Weekend
Jenna Kator Trunk ShowJenna Kator Trunk Show
Jenna Kator Trunk Show
Now, the most important event of the month and season really, is the Women's Wellness Weekend. Seven years ago a group of like-minded business owners got together to create a refreshing, women's weekend focused on health, friendships and a little bit of wine! My close friend and vendor, Jenna Kator has a huge love for Mackinac Island. When she learned about the event, she thought, "I want to bring a group of women to this great weekend getaway." We carry Jenna's beautiful handbags in Little Luxuries. To tie her handbags into this event, Little Luxuries' hosts a private trunk show for her group of women. This year's group is her largest - 120 women! Since we can't fit all 120 women inside of Little Luxuries at one time, the trunk show shopping event will also take place inside The Artists Market and Canvas and Paddle. We are very excited to host this special event and have so many women in our stores at one time! Best of all, the Women's Wellness Weekend supports the Mackinac Island Community Cancer Fund. In these short seven years, we have raised over 170,000! Last week, there was an end of the season women's dinner at Grand Hotel supporting the Cancer Fund. Over 100 women attended and it was such a great time! What a special way to close out the 2019 season. 
Women's WellnessWitches BrewWitches BrewWitches Brew
As I mentioned before, fall is my favorite season and now you can see why! There are too many great events taking place this time of year before the island hibernates. 
If you have never visited Mackinac Island in the fall, add it to your bucket list! 
Nicole
xo.
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