The Perfect Cup of Tea

I have an addiction. I openly admit it. My Grandma's best friend Carol turned me onto tea as a child when everyone else my age was getting into coffee everything and soda. I never turned back and I am not a bit mad about it. I am often asked what type of tea I drink and I will tell you it is rarely green tea. There is nothing wrong with green tea but I prefer my tea black. DARK and strong like you would drink a coffee topped with a small amount of honey. Now I will switch to white or green tea as well and I have been known to enjoy an oolong. I hope my terms have not overwhelmed you if you do not drink tea. It's funny because I often talk to people who tell me they do not like tea and I wonder where that comes from. Have you tried all the lovely types of tea and many ways it is served to know that. A lot of Europe and I know my heritage of Britain drink a lot of tea. It makes me sad that we do not do that in the states. I often wonder why that is? Is it because most of the tea bags we buy are icky and the dust at the bottom of bins of wonderful loose leaf tea. If you cannot tell I prefer to brew my tea loose and not bagged if I can. I actually made a delightful pot of (black) Earl Grey tea with lavender for breakfast today. I can be counted to have a pot a day or more. I switch to white or green that have less caffeine than black in the afternoon. I have an electric kettle at home and two tea pots I use to steep my tea. Yum!

I want to challenge you to go out and try some tea. Herbal, Chai, Earl Grey even a good Green Tea!

Some pictures of my favorite pots of tea I have over the years.

My newest tea pot (Amazon) and hand me down mugs from my grandparents.

Another mug from my grandmother. :)

Tea-- Earl Grey

The highlight of my tea drinking life. Tea service at the Grand Hotel.

Yummy Chai a favorite of mine!

Iced Chai is delicious too.

My tea set up at home. We actually have a beverage cart for our tea and coffee needs.

Thank you Katelyn for this fun mug!

This is my art mug Ryan got me for Christmas last year. Made by a local artist.

Thank you for this insanely awesome mug Maggie.

I use this mug at my friends cabin. Cute!

In closing try tea. Try all the kinds! Find something you love there is so much out there in the world.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Ledgestone Vineyards: Harvest Hootenanny

I did not know what to expect going here for this event. I love all things fall and I was excited to come have some of my favorite wines along with some of their new beer offerings. I also have a soft spot for local businesses and food trucks so regardless of the sketchy weather we made it out on the tail end of the event. When we arrived the Feed The Dog band was playing and I really enjoy them I had seen them and the next band Listening Party at this venue earlier in the year. We quickly purchased a pumpkin ale and IPA from their new brewery offerings. I loved that pumpkin ale not super spicy like some pumpkin ales can be. It was smooth. For me with events like this it is the small details I love. Free cozies and pretzel necklaces made this event feel officially fall and AWESOME. We came too late for some of the food trucks but snagged some delicious sourdough bread from my favorite bakery in town Voyager. We also shared a sandwich (patty melt) from Tenet food truck which was a mess but had good flavor. I also had to have a glass of my favorite current wine offering since we were at a winery their Marquette. It is such a good mild sweet red so highly drinkable in every way. We met some cool people here like we always do when visiting this local winery. I loved this event and I will continue to come back here to dance, for wine (AND now beer!), and for their food offerings they always make you smile here.

Some picture highlights:

Their new brewery options!

How cute are these? Perfect free snacks for fall beers.

I loved the read up on the new beers.

Free cozy time!

Their story of the brewery.

Beers. Smiles. Free Music and pretzels!

Music.

They always have pretty flowers every where.

Winery logo.

Brewery logo.

Music.

Hay at the Hootenanny!

Rainboots were a great idea!

Duke. :)

This was a bright spot in a wet weekend we had a really good time. Cannot wait to go back to the winery in the future.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Spread A Little Love

The last couple months have been rough for many reasons not only for myself but those around me. I want to talk about spreading a little love today and love language. Showing people you care does not have to be an elaborate affair and can be simple.

I saw this meme and honestly it was perfect for this topic today. Whenever I think of love languages and spreading love to others I try to think about how each person is unique and how we receive care from others or want to receive it can vary. A great burrito example above.

I am going to use my three pets for my real life examples today. Mostly because they are all so different and their personalities are a good life lesson on care.

 

Stella-

 





















She is 19 years old'ish. She is grumpy. She is high maintenance. She purrs like a freight train for only being 5 pounds and all fluff.

Love Languages:
Words of affirmation- She will talk at you all day and you will know if she is happy right away. She also likes when you talk back to her and chat with her. I can have entire conversations with her.
Acts of Service- If the grandma wants to lay on you she will get what she wants by perching herself next to you until you give in and let her climb on you for pets. She will not make you a burrito but she will purr for you and keep you warm. A good way to show love.
Receiving Gifts- She IS your gift okay! She loves eggs and chicken as gifts for her. She loves getting gifts but will give you none outside of cuddles. On her terms.
Quality time- She will give you the time she wants to give to you only. She cannot be forced to cuddle ever. Stella will give you a lot of cuddles if you want it. Especially face cuddles.
Physical Touch- Did you see the face cuddle comment above? She loves to give physical touch and get it. ALL The pets!

 Luna-

Luna is about 9-10 years old and pure fluff. In her older age she has become a sweet heart who is actually easy to care for most of the time.
















Love Languages:
Words of affirmation-  Luna is a strange Husky. She does not talk really at all unless really excited or if she wants to come inside then she will yodel. Otherwise she is a silent shadow. She does like being talked to but I think she is mostly deaf now-a-days so she likes to hang out.
Receiving Gifts- Luna loves to get gifts. She like Stella enjoys chicken and eggs. Sometimes she will get a soft bone to chew on. She will only give you gifts of cute looks when she wants something.
Quality time- Luna will spend time with you in the same room as you. She likes to be by people or going on a walk but does  not want to lay next to you or need you to even be around. The only dog that does not greet you at the door in the world I am sure.
Physical Touch- ONLY on her terms and for pets only. She will not cuddle you and does not like if you hug her. She will give you cuddles really randomly which makes it special and she likes a pet from time to time. Not a cuddlier like Stella.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be-

She is about 9ish and is twice the size of Stella. We are working on a little weight loss though and she is sliming down a bit. Looks like a little panther.





















Love Languages:
Words of affirmation- She is a little chatter box once she trusts you. She talks to Ryan and I all the time. It took us a long time to gain her trust and now she does not shut up. She likes when I talk back with her and chat.
Receiving Gifts- She loves two things in life. Cool whip and tuna. Tuna is not good for her tummy so she rarely gets any gifts of food. We do have plenty of new toys for her and she does bring us gifts by trapping mice two times in our house already. Good kitty!
Quality time- She is much like Luna that she likes to give you time by being around but not being physically on top of you all the time. She likes attention when she wants it.
Physical Touch- She is special in this regard. She is skittish and it took me months to get her to let me pet her regularly. I can now pick her up and kiss her face (sometimes). I do not think I will ever be able to pet her tummy and she tempts you by laying all cute on the floor all the time. LOOK AT THAT TUM! I do love that she likes me kiss her little face now. I do that to Stella... a lot.
















So why did I go through all that about a bunch of animals? Because animals are much like people in their needs for love. We all have different ways we like to receive a little love. Look around you with your friends and family. Are you giving them what they need and spreading love to them? This activity works for anyone and would be a good way to reach out to someone struggling to say: "How can I best show my love for you?" "Do you like gifts?" "Do you want quality time with me?" "Do you need a hug?" "Do I need to tell you what I really like about you?"

Something to think about today and really every day!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Travel Adventures: Mackinac Island

What a magic filled weekend on Mackinac Island. I wanted to specifically go to the island to have afternoon tea service at the Grand Hotel. I have always wanted to have a full tea service like that and it did not disappoint. I have included detailed pictures on all of that below as well as an overview recap of our trip. I really had the best time and it refueled my soul a bit. Thank you to my wonderful husband that indulged all my requests this weekend. You truly are an amazing man who will most likely not even read this post.

Friday-
We drove up to the island it took about 5 hours with the time change to get to the Ferry. We caught the 2:30PM ferry to the island with our luggage and bikes. It seemed to be a bit of a hassle to bring the bikes but it cost around $10 per bike compared to the $80 it would have cost to rent. Big cost savings bring your own. The ride on the ferry to the island took about a half hour and was actually cool views. Arriving at the island our hotel The Lake View Hotel picked up our bags so we were able to bike right to the Grand Hotel for tea service at 3:30PM. The hotel is gorgeous. My pictures do not do it justice but I have included some below here of it. We waited in the parlor for tea service. It was about $60 per person and included a pot of tea, full stack of snacks,  and Champagne or Sherry. It was totally worth the high price point. We loved every minute of this with that amazing view. They had a harp player which played some wonderful music to listen to during tea. We then went and checked into our super cute hotel on the main street. After that we walked around to shops, ate at the Pink Pony, Horns and another little place for apps before retiring for the evening.

Pictures below:

Ferry time!

It was windy waiting for the Ferry!

Here comes our boat!

Nice inside cabin on the ferry.

We made it to the island.

The first set of horses!

The Grand Hotel-- world famous.

Look at that view and carpeting at the hotel.

Taking in the views.

Ryan originally sat in a tiny person chair.

I mean this place is magic.

Great views.

Super cool wallpaper.

Hello lovely.

Cheers to my birthday!

Love. IT.

Their tea sets are so cute.

Scone with cream.

Salmon sandwich with Caviar.

A mini donut thing with chocolate.

Hummus sandwich with paprika.

A chocolate wrapped in hazelnuts and filled with creamy chocolate.

A crab sandwich.

Macaroon.

Ryan's Macaroon was pretty.

Ham, Brie and apple sandwich.

an adorable human and tart.

tart.

a little rye sandwich package.

mmm Strawberries

Cheers!

They have fancy napkins in their bathrooms.

Wow!

The flower area was heavenly smelling.

Lilly pad carpet!

The Grand Hotel carriage house. Cool.

Ponies!

Our hotel.

The inside of our hotel was cute.

The street.

Street views from our hotel.

Our hotel back in the day.

Fudge making in progress.

Walking the island before dinner.

WOW!

The views are outstanding.

We stumbled into the Forrest. It was so cool.

The woods!

First stop of the night.

Pink Pony Rose!

The bar has a stage built into it.

White fish dip to DIE for!

Mule at the second restaurant stop.

$16 old fashion... smoked.

MEAT & CHEESE!

It was my birthday. No judgement zone at Horns to finish the night.



 

Saturday-
I did not realize there was a run around the island in the AM so good thing my plans were flexible. We started with free breakfast at the hotel. Biked up the center of the island to see the Fort, Arch rock, etc before going to check out of our hotel. They held our luggage so we went back to the Fort to have lunch which was divine. Take a tour of that and then bike around the island. We purchased some fudge before hoping on the ferry back to town with our bikes/luggage. A whirl wind fun trip!

The view from out hotel in the AM. WOW.

The lucky bean was a cute coffee shop.

The view while enjoying my morning tea.

yum!

The highest point on the island is this fort.

King of the island!

Arch rock!

View from Fort Mackinac.

We watched a cannon go off!

The fort was actually really cool.

We had lunch at the fort. The best views!

Tea!

YUM!

We biked around the entire island in the PM it is about 8 miles and worth the ride.

Last views before we left.

I would highly recommend you go here if nothing else for an extended weekend. The lack of cars and only bikes/horses was really neat. I really enjoyed myself having off for this trip on my birthday!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily