Mackinaw Road: The Quarterly 04

What a difference this winter has been compared with last year! We have had consistent snow on the ground. Every fall, when I’m still living in our technicolor days, I promise myself that I am going to embrace winter and its slower, colder days by living a Nordic lifestyle. And then, February rolls around and I’m ready to throw winter out of my life forever. But seriously, I am proud of our family for adding more and more days with winter activity each year. Skiing has been a major part of this season, and I am here for it. It is much easier to tell the kids to go outside when there is something to do outside. We have squeezed in some USA and Michigan ski trips, a related house project, subsequent warm weather clothes shopping, and settled in with some good books.

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The Quarterly: Travel

We were able to visit Park City, Utah over the break. It was beautiful! You can read all about our trip here.

Being a beginner skier and a big Michigan fan, I was excited to get back on Michigan’s slopes over the President’s Day weekend. We headed up to Harbor Springs and skied as a family at charming Nub’s Nob for two days. Even though it was a holiday weekend, the slopes were not terribly crowded and the bay views were lovely. The lodge curly fries were popular and I loved the chicken noodle soup too. (We heard there was even a local petition to keep the soup the same when a new chef came on board.) The boys skied the third day at The Highlands and were very impressed with those slopes as well.

We stayed at the Inn at Bay Harbor, which was just as lovely in the winter as it was when we visited in the fall. (If you are a points person, this is a Marriott property with Bonvoy points. It is also associated with Boyne Resorts so I believe you can also use those rewards at the inn.) The hotel itself had fun activities like nightly family movies, a hot chocolate bar, ice skating, and an outdoor hot tub. It was about 5 minutes from Petoskey, 15 minutes from Charlevoix, and 25 minutes from Harbor Springs. The boys own skis, but our daughter and I had a really good experience renting from Banhoff Sport on the way to the ski resorts. It is a good idea to reserve skis ahead of time during holiday weekends.

Overall, we had a great ski weekend and are hoping to get one last trip in to Northern Michigan before the winter is over!

The Quarterly: Projects

While on the topic of skiing, Raj repurposed our under stair storage in the basement for all of the newly acquired gear. He did a great job! You can find the details and links in this post.

In The Quarterly 03, I shared some samples that we were considering for our stair runner. Above is the “after” photo. I am so pleased with how the project turned out!

Photos are coming soon on this one… Our daughter’s room has been receiving a slow go refresh. She and I put together this bed in the fall. We then ordered a larger dresser. I loved the old one, but this made more sense for a teenager. And then to tie it all together, I purchased this versatile rug. (It would look good in so many different spaces!)

The Quarterly: Clothes

Have I mentioned that winter is lasting forever yet? It is and it is worth it to invest in some warm sweaters. I purchased this one with the January winter blues in mind and this one for the month of February. My sister gave me a fair isle sweater, and while it is no longer available in the exact pattern, this one is similar and from the same reputable brand. Oh, and I also used birthday discounts, etc to purchase this beautiful fair isle sweater.

The Quarterly: Books

Well, of course the second book that I read this year is my favorite. I’m calling it now. Hello Beautiful is a heartfelt, emotionally nuanced, highly rated, touching book about a family in Chicago. You can read more about it and purchase it here.

Another favorite is Good Dirt. This book is both a quick read and a slow burn in all the best ways. There are multiple points of views, notable historical references, a murder mystery, a broken priceless heirloom, forgiveness, and redemption. You can read more about it and purchase it here.

The Quarterly: Design Boards

This last section of The Quarterly usually contains Things that Caught My Eye, but I thought that it would be fun to share some Design Boards that I’ve been working on instead. You can click on the affiliate photos below the boards to shop.