Traverse Northern Michigan, December 2023

12.2023

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DECEMBER 2O23

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11/3/23 2:30 PM

Building and Renovating Northern Michigan’s Finest Residences

joel@joelpetersonhomes.com • 516 E. Front St., Traverse City • 231.994.2168

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11/7/23 12:16 PM

features 12.23

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT UP NORTH PEOPLE, PLACES, FOOD AND EVENTS.

photo by Gina Marie Jeffries

18

LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS

The time-honored tradition of a cozy rental cabin in the North takes on extra enchantment in the hushed snows of winter.

Here’s where to find your next great escape. T E X T A N D I M A G E S B Y G I N A M A R I E J E F F R I E S

28

H O L I D AY C H E E R S

Jammy sugar cookies; nut-studded shortbreads; chocolate bites frosted with Earl Grey ganache.

Pair these classics with spirited sips from Iron Fish Distillery for a very merry holiday bash.

PHOTOS BY DAVE WEIDNER / STYLING BY SARAH PESCHEL

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36

M Y Y O O P E R G R A N D PA AND THE BIG, BROWN CAPRICE

A tale of late nights, big cars, local boys and coming of age in the wild two-tracks of the U.P.

BY KANDACE CHAPPLE / ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROSS MACDONALD

11/3/23 2:30 PM

46 412 N St Josephs • Suttons Bay 231-252-4132

DEPART M E N TS 9 | EDITOR'S NOTE 11 | UP NORTH

Meet Scout, a rescue dog that’s fetched the nation’s heart; Evil Queen’s handmade candles with attitude; holiday festivities across Northern Michigan.

Primary suite offers stunning water views and a five-piece bath

When the sky darkens and wind rattles bare branches, the best type of rambling waits for us.

Kitchen, Living Room and Dining Room offer panoramic views

41 | CULINARY NORTH

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photos by Dave Weidner (top) and Heather Higham (bottom)

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Snowshoe Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive for unparalleled winter views.

16 | OUTDOORS

102’ of private, direct West Bay waterfront

Waterfront three-season room features vaulted ceilings

46 | ON THE TABLE

Suttons Bay’s new farm-to-table tasting room; plus, cozy soup flights at Roast & Toast in Petoskey.

45 | SIP

The buzz around town.

Follow Us On Social Media

48

facebook.com/mynorthmedia instagram.com/mynorthmedia pinterest.com/mynorthmedia

ON THE COVER PJ’s All Day Mocktail + Jam-Filled Sugar Cookie Stars photo by Dave Weidner / styling by Sarah Peschel

4 T R AV E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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11/3/23 2:30 PM

> edwardjones.com | Member SIPC

Season’s Greeting

During this holiday season, we wish you all the best.

Financial Advisors in Traverse City Heather J Boivin, AAMSTM 3285 South Airport Road West 231-933-5263

Financial Advisor in Interlochen Teressa Hupfer 4110 Copper Ridge Dr, Building D Suite 202 231-252-3561

John Tredway 806 S Garfield Ave, Suite B 231-932-1290

Bill Collin 9672 US Highway 31, Ste 400 231-276-1355

Dreaming up the ideal retirement is your job.

Helping you get there is ours.

Yancy Boivin, AAMSTM 3285 South Airport Road West 231-933-5263 John W Elwell, AAMSTM 3588 Veterans Dr 231-947-0079

Jamie Keillor 4110 Copper Ridge Dr, Building D, Suite 202 231-252-3561

Jim Mellinger 12935 SW Bay Shore Dr, Ste 310 231-947-1123

We’re excited to hear from you.

John W Elwell, AAMS™

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Andrew Weaver 125 Park Street, Suite 250 231-947-3032 Greg Williams 513 S Union St 231-933-0881

Call or visit any of our financial advisors in the area.

11/3/23 2:30 PM

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6 T R AV E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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11/6/23 9:39 AM

1895 Victorian Remodel

Traverse

NORTHERN

MICHIGAN A MyNorth Media Publication

Vol. 43 | No. 7

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Cara McDonald

SENIOR EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR DIGITAL CONTENT & SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR CULINARY COLUMNIST

Elizabeth Edwards Carly Simpson Allison Jarrell Rachel Soulliere Meagan Francis Stacey Brugeman

PROOFREADERS

Elizabeth Aseritis Caroline Dahlquist

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Kandace Chapple Kim Schneider Anna Faller

ART DIRECTOR PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Tim Hussey Theresa Burau-Baehr

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR, SPECIAL SECTIONS

(231) 651-9711 suzy.voltz@gmail.com

City of Forest Avenue •

Frankfort

RealEstateOne.com

57 N. Michigan Ave • Beulah • 231-882-4449

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Julie Parker Mike Alfaro Ann Gatrell Julie James Meg Lau

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DIRECTOR OF SALES

MARKETING COORDINATOR

MLS 190 9637

Ashlyn Korienek Nichole Earle Beth Putz

OFFICE MANAGER

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES

415 Cass St., Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: 231.941.8174 | Fax: 231.941.8391 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES

Visit MyNorth.com/Account to renew your subscription, change your address or review your account.

Please email other subscription inquiries to info@mynorth.com or call 800-678-3416 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.

Traverse Northern Michigan, (ISSN10713719) is published monthly by Heritage Broadcasting Company of Michigan, 1 Broadcast Way, Cadillac, MI 49601.

Periodicals class postage paid at Traverse City, MI 49684 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Traverse Northern Michigan, 415 Cass St., Traverse City, MI 49684. Advertising rates available upon request. Subscription rate: $39.95 for 12 issues. Single issue price: $6.50.

Manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. All rights reserved. Copyright 2023, Heritage Broadcasting Company of Michigan.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

DECEMBER 2023

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11/8/23 10:43 AM

Editor’s Note FOUR WHEELS TO FREEDOM

M

by CARA MCDONALD

y son alek took his first ride in Alek is now 15. Instead of footie pajamas, he wears a The Blue Truck when he was still wear- Kalkaska Trout Fest T-shirt to sleep in, has legs eight million ing footie pajamas. He was probably 6. miles long and a voice from the bottom of the sea. He got It was a cold fall evening and we were himself a job at a sports shop working Sundays, and last borrowing the truck from a friend who’d week he told me that he’s going to buy the blue truck when bought it in Canada ages ago, keeping it he finishes driver’s ed. on the side as a chore-master, camping vehicle and schlepper My initial motherly reaction was hell no and an urge to of mountain bikes, dogs and unsplit firewood. throw up. I’ve felt that truck go into a skid on black ice, tried The blue 1990s F-150 is a hunk of steel—all loose to park its unwieldy bulk on the edge of a ravine, felt the handling, unresponsive steering, sloppy brakes and broad, weight of it shift as the wheels spun for purchase on the springy bench seats. Everything fresh wet snow of the driveis analog; the speedometer is, way. But I’ve also cranked the Rusty but trusty: unhelpfully, in kilometers per window down by hand and let The Blue Truck in all her glory. hour. The radio boasts a cassette the wind play across the cab, deck. In the sun visor lives a cassette tape wailing. I recogpermanently hooked handful of nize the invitation to advenfishing flies that a previous ture that it is. owner had stashed. The bent W hen I read Kandace radio antenna zigs like a lightChapple’s story “My Yooper ening bolt and the hood carries Grandpa and the Big, Brown a dent in the perfect shape of Caprice” this month, I laughed the tree trunk that had fallen on out loud in recognition: Her it some years before. stealing of her grandfather’s It was enough of a novelty commodious old brown Chevy that we could leverage a ride in and lighting out for the twothe truck for anything. “Finish tracks of the U.P. in search of all your dinner including vegetables,” I’d say, “and we’ll go parties and boys reminded me of my own teenage years for a ride in the truck.” screeching around in a VW Golf with the music loud, That first night, the boys climbed all over the back bench clutching contraband Doritos and Cokes and looking for… seat, blissfully, illegally free of booster seats, as we crawled something. Anything. Adventure. slowly through the dirt roads of our neighborhood to reach I marvel, with a little sadness, at Gen Z’s “meh” response a hilltop to catch the sunset. We’d found a lone cassette to driving and car ownership, which, while maybe not the tape, “Stadium Rock,” which oddly enough included both worst for the planet, is also a striking shift away from the authe musical stylings of Queen and Steam’s “Na Na Na Na tonomy, independence and adventure that the ability to drive Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” There, in our tiny steel sta- has always meant. Maybe they’ll embrace independence and dium, we na na na na-ed ourselves to sleepiness as the sky adventure in other ways I have yet to experience or grasp. For turned purple with dusk. now, I focus on making sure Alek learns to wield the truck We told our friends if they ever wanted to sell it, we’d buy like the beast that it is, a benevolent steel dragon that can it, and we did: for $1,500. It carried us on desert bike trips, carry him far from my “be careful” and “make sure you don’t” endless slogs up the Divide to rock walls for climbing, runs and the confines of automatic everything, until it’s just him to the school bus stop four miles away. We’d sneak out in it and the road, the wind whistling, the engine roaring him to try to catch meteor showers, seeing none but drowsing on away as the dust clouds swirl behind him. the scratchy blue upholstery.

How great to have a vehicle that was, by my account, too big, too strong, too impractical, too old. You couldn’t really hurt it. It was like a four-wheeled excuse not to hurry (it shuddered at speeds over 105 kph/65 mph) and to get out and play. PLEASE GET DIRTY, it seemed to say. We are Cara McDonald, Executive Editor impressing no one, here. cara@mynorth.com DECEMBER 2023

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11/7/23 12:52 PM

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11/7/23 12:08 PM

Up North.

PEOPLE | NATURE | ARTS | NOSTALGIA | BUZZ | WISDOM | CURIOSITIES

A VERY GOOD BOY

by ANNA FALLER

Meet Scout, the nursing home dog that’s fetched the nation’s heart.

photo by Dave Weidner

A

mong the t wo-leg ged residents at Bellaire’s Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility, a grey-snouted, four-legged friend is often seen patrolling the halls, asking for treats and doling out comfort and cheer to his fellow residents. The dog, a black-and-tan mutt named Scout, has been the recent star of national media attention, with features by the Washington Post, National Public Radio, Inside Edition, NewsNation, Animalkind by USA Today and the Detroit Free Press over the past few months.

The story begins in 2017 when a night-shift nurse discovered an unknown pooch curled up on a lobby couch.

“He had made his way through our automatic doors,”

explains Clinical Care Coordinator Stephanie Elsey.

Not knowing where the dog had come from, the nurse called animal control and they came to pick him up.

The dog, as the staff soon found out, had—miraculously— managed to escape from the nearby Antrim County Animal Control: a feat that required scaling two fences, one of which is a staggering 10 feet tall, and navigating a major highway.

Once back at animal control, the pup didn’t give up. He climbed out and snuck back into Meadow Brook two more times in less than a week. “He obviously felt like he needed to be here,” Elsey says. “So, at that point, we decided to give him a try.”

Since then, Scout has become a well-loved fixture at Meadow Brook’s facilities, acting both as default guard dog DECEMBER 2023

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ADD A

TASTE OF MICHIGAN TO YOUR GIFT GIVING

and a source of joy for staff and residents. “He just fits in here,” Elsey says.

Scout’s day starts in the Glacier Hill Unit, where his bed and an assortment of toys occupy a portion of Household Coordinator and Dietary Manager Jenny Martinek’s office. From there, she says, he makes his “rounds,” visiting residents while she’s out on the floor. “He knows who keeps treats for him,” she laughs (he’s especially partial to Ritz Crackers). All the while, Scout keeps an eye on the entrance and announces new faces with a bark. “He has to let everyone know that he’s here, and he’s doing his job,” Martinek says.

Throughout the day, Scout also makes appearances in the facility’s six other household units, which he visits

“

HE’S FULL OF LOVE AND BRINGS A SENSE OF COMFORT AND SECURITY. —JENNY MARTINEK

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with the nurses on shift, as well as the outdoor courtyards, dining hall and scheduled group activities. He’s even learned how to open doors, a skill he’ll sometimes use at night to greet sleeping seniors with a moist nose to the face.

Like a furry nurse, Scout seems to prioritize his attention based on the changing needs of “his people.” The comforting pup offers extra support (in the form of cuddles and gentle woofs), both for residents at the end of life as well as those they leave behind.

“He’s very intuitive,” Elsey says. “If someone is feeling down or unwell, he’ll go and curl up with them.”

Both staff and residents agree, Scout makes the place feel more like home.

“He’s full of love and brings a sense of comfort and security,” Martinek says.

“Scout always brightens a room.”

Anna Faller is a Traverse City-based freelance writer with a passion for good books, great food and Michigan travel. annacfaller@gmail.com

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11/7/23 12:12 PM

Up North EVENTS

FROSTY FUN edited by ALLISON JARRELL

Holiday events to warm the heart.

FRI / 01

Downtown Petoskey celebrates the season during its Holiday Open House. Meet your friends and neighbors for a night of good cheer, hospitality and shopping. petoskeydowntown.com

FRI / 01

SAT / 09

Santa is coming to Lake Ann Farm! Enjoy a meet and greet, hot cocoa and coffee, a s’mores bar, letter writing, pony rides and a petting zoo.

MyNorthTickets.com

Take part in a Victorian holiday gathering during the “1885 Come Alive” event at Manistee’s Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts. Black tie with a Victorian theme and live entertainment. lakesideclubmanistee.org

SAT / 16

FRI / 01

SUN / 17

The Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre presents “The Nutcracker” at Traverse City Central High School Auditorium, featuring choreography by Thomas Morrell, costumes by Donna Hood and breathtaking set design

by Amber Harker. Performances Dec. 1–3.

MyNorthTickets.com

FRI / 01

Catch “Holiday Resort, The Musical” at Leland Lodge, and enjoy a three-course dinner while you take in the show.

Performances thru Dec. 18.

MyNorthTickets.com

SAT / 02

Charlevoix shops offer entertainment, samples, refreshments, special sales, raffles and more during the annual Holiday Merchant Open House. visitcharlevoix.com

SAT / 02

Shanty Creek’s Tannenbaum Blitzen includes a torchlight parade down the face of Schuss Mountain, Christmas carols and a visit from Santa. Stay for fireworks over the mountain. shantycreek.com Traverse City Track Club’s Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk weaves through downtown and surrounding decorated neighborhoods. runsignup.com/jinglebellrun

FRI / 22

Head to the Traverse City Comedy Club to catch the comedic musings of Darius Bennett. Originally from Detroit, this West Coast comedian can be seen on Netflix’s “Introducing…” Two shows Dec. 22–23.

MyNorthTickets.com

SUN / 31

The Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tour comes to a close this month. Don’t miss your chance to explore seven of Northern Michigan’s most stunning homes through video documentaries. Proceeds benefit Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan.

Available thru Dec. 31.

MyNorthTickets.com

From ornament making to a soup cook-off and visits with Santa after the Parade of Lights, there is plenty of familyfriendly fun during Light Up the Night in Bellaire. bellairechamber.org DECEMBER 2023

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11/7/23 12:20 PM

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11/7/23 10:56 PM

Up North

S H O P LO CA L

SASSY SMELLS SO GOOD

by CARLY SIMPSON

I

These handmade candles have a whole lot of attitude.

da-sofia koivuniemi, founder of Evil Queen, fills her Traverse City candle shop with cheeky scents like “Old Soul” (ebony wood, vanilla amber, love letters), “Stolen Hoodie” (cedar, leather, cozy vibes) and “Mom Brain” (fresh tulips, cherry blossoms, one minute alone, please). Her business has caught the attention of national media groups, including Forbes and Buzzfeed, and the Evil Queen brand has amassed more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok who weigh in on new products they’d like to see and get behind-the-scenes sneak peeks.

A visit to her retail store inside TC’s Warehouse MRKT is a sensory treat—rosy, blush-pink walls lined with her signature and seasonal aromas and a workspace in the back where Koivuniemi offers candle-making classes. And for out-of-towners, there’s a subscription box with never-before-released scents.

Evil Queen Inside Warehouse MRKT, 144 Hall St. #103, Traverse City shopevilqueen.com

NEW UP NORTH ART IN UNEXPECTED PLACES …

MARK LINDSAY PHOTOGRAPHY AT JUNIORS DISCOUNT TIRE

photo by Dave Weidner

602 E. EIGHTH ST. TRAVERSE CITY

Landscape and nature photographer Mark Lindsay has a new gallery inside a downtown tire shop, selling prints and bags (messenger, crossbody, backpack) with his work printed on them. Also check out Mark’s canvas art boots online. marklindsaycollection.com

3 CANDLES TO GIFT YOUR FRIENDS SNOW DAY

For the person who has been waxing their skis since July

WINTER WITCH

For the person who uses hand-foraged pine cones and organic carrots on their snowman

HOMEBODY

For the hygge hibernator

Cool finds, community updates and sweet new businesses.

HOLIDAY MAGIC …

HILL TOP SODA SHOPPE

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY …

KITCHEN CHOREOGRAPHY

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420 S. DIVISION ST. TRAVERSE CITY

This ice cream shop is a fabulously unexpected Christmas wonderland filled to the brim all year long with thousands of ornaments—find classic snowmen and reindeer, shimmery mermaids, chubby corgis and, of course, a few tempting ice cream cones. hilltopsodashoppe.com

The interior design, remodeling and custom cabinetry business run by husband-and-wife team Angela and Mike Goodall is celebrating 20 years in 2023. The duo has completed more than 800 projects. kitchenchoreography.net

Know of a business that just opened or have a fun community update? Let us know at editorial@traversemagazine.com.

DECEMBER 2023

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11/7/23 12:14 PM

Outdoors

IN PRAISE OF WINTER WALKS

by CARA MCDONALD

When the sky darkens and wind rattles bare branches, the best type of rambling waits for us.

this page: photo by Tim Hussey; opposite: photos by Cara McDonald

C

onfession: As much as I have chased an outdoor lifestyle, I can be a fair-weather recreationalist. I am often cold, which, paired with a strong hygge streak, can find me melting into the down-wrapped cushions of my couch with a reheated coffee, contented sigh and only the slightest pinch of self-loathing.

But one thing that will lure me out in any weather—in fact, gets even more compelling the weirder things get outside—is a good walk. For the head clearing, the heart pumping, the red-cheeked wake up … the side effects that I’ve come to love from a good wander in winter.

There are all kinds of walking for me.

Dog walks, which are companionable jaunts around the neighborhood with lots of stops for sniffing or saying hello to other dog-walkers. I’ve walked for fitness, or to unwind after a stressful day. I’ve walked to heal from surgery, slow and measured as I knit my muscles back together. I’ve walked during periods of grief so deep that walking was the only thing I could do that felt like I wasn’t drowning— something productive with a beginning, middle and end that could help me move the hands on the clock so I could get through just one more day.

But what I love most about walking is the time to hear my own inner voice, and the desolation of the winter landscape is a quiet companion, a good listener, a white, bright backdrop for the unspooling loop in my mind.

Being alone with the voice in your head can be a bit fraught. It feels like our dirty, complicated affair with our cell phones has spoiled that for us. A 2014 study revealed that even 15 minutes alone with our thoughts was too much—30 percent of women and 60 percent of men would rather experience an electric shock than let their minds wander without interruption.

As much as the multitasker in me thrills to the idea of a delicious podcast while I take to the trails, I’ve fought the impulse to have anything in my ear except my own thoughts. When you add in the moodiness of the winter landscape, sometimes things can get dark.

But I often feel, at the beginning of a walk, that there’s a sort of reorganizing happening—like the thoughts and problems

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looming in my brain’s waiting room are now elbowing each other for a chance with the microphone, and giving it to them will bring about a little relief.

My walks have a rhythm to them. I typically come out of the trailhead charging, arms swinging, tilting into the wind.

I recently passed a gentleman walking a fat springer spaniel, and he called out, “Well, you’re going somewhere, aren’t you?” But once I establish a groove I start to check in not only with myself (chin up; breathe slowly; arms quiet) but also the world around me.

In winter, there’s less that competes for your attention, making the little slivers of life you do see all the more sharp and sweet. You notice a few lone chickadees, ice crystals weighting the tips of branches, the rattle of dead leaves in the wind, the lonely, syncopated honking of faraway geese.

Because snowy walks are a little more work (especially on the slippery uphills), it’s nice to stop and stand for a minute, catch my breath and just be quiet. It’s here when I tend to feel the spaciousness in my brain that allows for things to unravel. I replay conversations, try to pin down a runaway train of thoughts reviewing sad or cringe-worthy moments, and maybe jiggle the handle on the door of my mental Room of Brilliant Ideas and see if I can open it a crack.

St. Augustine has a famous quote: “It is solved by walking.” I find that to be true.

It’s here I do my best thinking and in turn, my best writing; most of my columns come to me on my walks, not in a measured, workshoppy way, but like a bubble of air released underwater that blurps to the surface with a pop. Often, it’s a chance to stop gnawing on something that isn’t working and find a totally fresh bubble that makes its way up, one that feels effortless and authentic and more true.

But my winter walks don’t always have the expectation of eureka moments or problem solving—sometimes, I just take pleasure in my own company. That sounds odd to admit.

Being alone and not lonely is a skill that takes practice, like meditation or driving on icy roads or being a good listener.

The first step is just showing up.

6 WONDERFUL WINTER WALKS Easy terrains that are quiet enough to be peaceful, but loved enough to have packed and user-friendly trails.

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Allan and Virginia McCune Nature Preserve, Petoskey

Three-plus miles of walker-friendly trails through meadow and hardwood and cedar forests.

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Roscommon Red Pine Nature Preserve, Roscommon

Wind through a 34-acre grove of centuries-old virgin red pine.

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Duncan Bay Nature Preserve, Cheboygan

An easy trail with plenty of boardwalks through Lake Huron shoreline and coastal wetlands.

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Timbers Recreation Area, Traverse City

The Fern Lake loop winds you along frozen stretches of Long and Fern lakes and through a majestic cedar forest.

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Heritage Trail, Mitchell State Park, Cadillac

This 3.5-mile, flat and easy nature trail surrounding a 235-acre preserve is accessed from the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center in Mitchell State Park.

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Lost Lake Trail, Ludington State Park

This flat, one-mile one-way trail from Hamlin Lake Beach at Ludington State Park is popular in summer but quiet in winter, passing a cove and boardwalk over the lake for easy but scenic views. You can return the way you came, or add the Island Lake Trail for a pretty loop.

Enjoying your own company also gives you time to reconnect with your own intentions, thoughts, wants and needs. Being off a schedule and away from demands helps me disconnect from external forces that would totally overwhelm and define me if I let them.

So, I reach for the thicker socks and my warmest boots, knowing that as I layer myself up, I’m also getting ready to unwind and reconnect. It’s not a luxury, or a hobby or a means to getting in my steps. Just a way to be a little more present, a little more at home, grateful for the gusts of wind that stage-whisper beckon me outdoors, the blowing snow that quietly covers my tracks.

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Text and images by Gina Marie Jeffries

Little House

in the

Big Woods The time-honored tradition of a cozy rental cabin in the North takes on extra enchantment in the hushed snows of winter. Here’s where to find your next great escape.

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When

the wind rattles the windowpanes and the fire snaps and crackles, our souls take the signal to settle in for maximum cozy, peak snuggling, deep rest.

Cabins are good like that. We don’t mean 5,000-square-foot “cabins” with heated garages, inhome theaters and Viking stoves. We’re talking woodstoves. Two-track driveways. Log everything.

My love of cabins began on a 2015 trip to Iceland.

The Scandinavian structures that dotted the country’s hillsides captivated me, and a brush with a delightful

short-term rental inspired me to begin exploring the for-rent cabin scene back home in Michigan.

I’ve since visited more than 70 across the Midwest, earning the nickname “Moody Cabin Girl.” In 2018, I began documenting this journey of architecture and hospitality through my blog and Instagram account, gathering together a group of 40,000 followers (and growing) who enjoy a well-crafted chalet or reimagined A-frame. Here, I share some of my all-time favorite rentals for snow-day getaways in the North.

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Nostalgic Retreat on the Sturgeon River Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath Location: Indian River This retro A-frame is located on the banks of the Sturgeon River and boasts a maximalist interior design that is both inviting and cozy. The cabin is filled with interesting décor, from the intricate chandelier in the dining area to the seafoam-green couch in the living room. After a winter storm, guests gazing out of the floor-to-ceiling windows might catch a glimpse of deer feasting on the snow-covered branches of a giant tree that sits by the water.

Scandinavian Oasis Near Downtown Quick Facts: 14 cabins, made up of 2- and 3-bedroom units Location: Williamsburg The KOTI community is located just outside of Traverse City, making it an ideal basecamp for those looking to enjoy an easy jump to downtown’s restaurants and boutiques, but from a peaceful perch in the countryside. These Nordic dwellings look striking against a forested backdrop that allows you to feel at one with nature.

Guests can easily hop on the TART trail (bring your bikes or skis). When the snow begins to fall, don’t be surprised if you feel as though you’ve been transported to a Nordic country—the Scandi vibes and minimalist luxury are spot on.

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Sanctuary at Sweet Lake Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths Location: Lake Ann This A-frame on a peaceful lake in quaint Lake Ann is the perfect blend of modern and rustic. Although the building has a vintage structure, the interior has been totally reimagined. During the winter, guests can hike nearby trails or crack open a book in a restful nook.

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Acorn Family Retreat Quick Facts: 10 guests, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths Location: East Tawas Northeast Michigan often misses out on the spotlight, but Tawas is a gem that can’t be overlooked. Nor should Acorn Family Retreat, a new cabin tucked on the shores of Lake Huron. It’s best described as a beach house with a touch of whimsy; a huge draw is the private beach guests can access just steps away, which delights even in winter with frosty sunrises. The best part? It’s family and pet friendly! Bring along the whole gang.

Dune Ranch on Lake Michigan Quick Facts: 10 guests, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms Location: Northport If spending a weekend on your own personal dune sounds like something on your bucket list, this Airbnb will tick that box. Dune Ranch offers access to 100 feet of pristine, private Lake Michigan beach and is a Mid-century Modern–lover’s dream. The architecture and interior design are minimalistic, clean and sleek.

Make a cup of hot cocoa, watch the sunset and then let the sounds of the waves outside lull you all to sleep.

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Hideaway at Black Lake Quick Facts: 16 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom Location: Onaway This log house is tucked on Black Lake, the seventh-largest inland lake in the state. The area is surrounded by state forest, allowing visitors to easily escape into the big quiet of the woods.

Many hiking spots wait nearby and Lake Huron is just a short drive away. The house is rustic but comfortable. Inside, you’ll find plenty of carefully curated knick-knacks, giving it the feel of a quintessential Northern Michigan family cabin. Winter bonus: The owners decorate for the holidays, making it especially festive this time of year.

Vintage Ski Chalet Near Boyne Highlands Quick Facts: 6 guests, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths Location: Harbor Springs Midcentury modern aficionados will adore this gambrel-roofed chalet. Built in 1969, it’s decked out in antiques and special finds giving it an authentic retro feel. During the winter months, nothing is cozier than staying warm inside while taking in the view of Boyne Highlands after a long day on the slopes. (You can walk to the ski hill, it’s that close!) Bundle up and make s’mores over the fire pit on the upper back deck.

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Picturesque Cottage on Spider Lake Quick Facts: 6 guests, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths Location: Traverse City This charming cottage on Spider Lake features an open floor plan with ample windows that provide stunning views of the lake yearround; you can also take them in from a sweet multi-level deck, or the spacious sitting area at the end of the dock. In the living room, a gas fireplace invites you to relax and unwind.

The cottage is just a short drive from downtown; indulge in a farm-to-table dinner and then tuck back in for a restful night.

Forested Lodge near Manistee Lake Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath Location: Kalkaska Recently remodeled, this A-frame on a pretty wooded lot has been tastefully designed with Scandinavian flair, and the open floor plan makes socializing a breeze. You’ll also be tempted to curl up by the ample deck and sweet firepit. While the cabin isn’t available all winter, if you stay at the right time in the fall or spring, you could be treated to a snowy holiday.

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Northern Getaway on the Keweenaw Peninsula Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath Location: Eagle Harbor Standing sentry on the northernmost tip of the Upper Peninsula, this saltbox home sits perched on a rocky cliff overlooking Lake Superior. It’s been beautifully reimagined—lots of barn doors, leather, sheepskin, soft pillows and throws. Inside, the focal point is a large stone fireplace.

Outside, you’ll be mesmerized by the deck and seating area balanced on the edge of the rocky coastline within spitting distance of Mother Superior’s crashing waves.

Fairytale Cottage on Lake Medora Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 3 baths Location: Keweenaw Peninsula The owners named this magical spot Anam Cara, or “soul friend” in Gaelic, and there’s no denying the soul-satisfying feel in this cottage built of beam and branch, stone and wood. Details like stick railings and 88 handmade lamps/illuminated panels bring the outdoors in. Guests can cozy up inside or venture out for skiing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. If the weather gets too extreme, visitors will have to hitch a ride in by snowmobile—sign us up.

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Intimate A-Frame in the Woods Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath Location: Harbor Springs This cabin is far enough outside downtown Harbor Springs to feel secluded, but close enough to enjoy the benefits of nipping in for a movie at the Lyric Theatre or brunch at Small Batch. On the inside: Bohemian vibes, with super-cute curation of pillows and tablescapes. A woodstove stokes the ambiance, and the outdoor fire pit is a great spot to roast marshmallows if you tuck a blanket around your shoulders. Bonus: This property is a very short drive to Pond Hill Farm, a working farm with an onsite café, winery, brewery and a winter market.

Tranquil Interlude in Atlanta Quick Facts: 8 guests, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath Location: Atlanta You’ll find this sweet, recently renovated cabin in Michigan’s “elk belt,” between Alpena and Gaylord. One of its main features is the large bank of windows that offer stunning views of Crooked Lake from the comfort of the home’s interior. From the upstairs loft, there are gorgeous views of the main floor and a bird’s-eye view of wildlife outside. Atlanta is known as the elk capital of Michigan, and if you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of one of these majestic creatures. More outdoor fun? Bundling up to hike nearby Clear Lake State Park.

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Bohemian Woodside Paradise Quick Facts: 4 guests, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath Location: Interlochen This Scandi-modern A-frame is located down a dirt road and far enough outside of town to give an off-the-grid feel, yet no comfort has been spared. The Wi-Fi is robust, a mini-split system provides heating and cooling, and the kitchen has everything you need to cook a five-star meal. The space may be tiny, but it’s airy and deliciously thought out with an open floor plan and a minimalistic boho design. This shingled darling sits just across the street from Bronson Lake public access and has multiple hiking options nearby.

Family-Friendly Haven on Little Traverse Lake Quick Facts: 10 guests, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 bath Location: Cedar This cottage has been owned by the same family for generations, and now they love sharing it with other families. The accommodating rental has a beachy, vintage vibe, a mix of white-washed wood and knotty pine, and is just a hop from the community of Cedar in Leelanau County. While its calendar isn’t open all winter, it makes a lovely retreat in the fall, when farmstands are bursting with pumpkins and apples.

Gina Marie Jeffries shares her favorite stays online at moodycabingirl.wordpress.com and on Instagram @moodycabingirl.

BOOK A COZY CABIN STAY Find these rentals online at

link.mynorth.com/wintercabins

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Meet the people taking the movement from lifestyle trend to landscape-changing, economy-boosting community builder.

by Diane Conners photos by Beth Price 28 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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Holiday Cheers

Jammy sugar cookies dusted in powdered sugar; buttery, pecan-studded shortbreads; delicate chocolate bites frosted with Earl Grey ganache.

These long-loved, reader-requested cookies always dazzle and delight.

Pair them with spirited sips from the cocktail connoisseurs at Iron Fish Distillery for a very merry holiday bash.

Cocktail recipes by Kirath Singh, Iron Fish Distillery Photos by Dave Weidner / Styling by Sarah Peschel DECEMBER 2023

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PAIR Jam-Filled Sugar Cookie Stars + PJ’s All Day Mocktail Kim Sperl—who trained at the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and in New York with renowned cake designer Colette Peters—spent more than 20 years creating wedding cake masterpieces for her business Bella e Dolce. From her gleaming kitchen in Cheboygan, Sperl transported her works of art to Mackinac Island and across Northern Michigan. Come December, now-retired Sperl turns her attention to baking for family and friends. This is one of Sperl’s go-to cookie swap recipes—one that we’ve been sharing and baking ourselves for a decade since first publishing it in Traverse in December 2013.

Pair these star-shaped stunners with a non-alcoholic mocktail that blends tart apples, sweet peaches and the warm notes of cinnamon and pie—plus just a hint of citrus.

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Cookie: Jam-Filled Sugar Cookie Stars 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 15 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cubed 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg yolk 4 Tablespoons cold water 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) Your favorite jam Powdered sugar for sprinkling

1. Pour flour into food processor with the cubed butter. Pulse until flour/butter mixture is crumbly. Add powdered sugar, salt and baking powder. Pulse a few times to mix in.

Add egg yolk, water, vanilla and (optional) cinnamon, then process until dough forms into a ball in the bowl. Do not overmix. Flatten dough onto a sheet of plastic and form it into a round, 1-inch-high patty. Wrap dough in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare baking pans lined with parchment paper, and gather two star-shaped cookie cutters, one large and one small. Roll out cookie dough on a lightly floured surface, turning the dough occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the table. Add more flour to surface only if necessary: too much flour can cause the dough to become dry. Roll out dough to about 1/8- to 1/4–inch thick. Cut out an even quantity of large stars and set them on the cookie sheet. Cut a small star out of the middle of half of the large stars with your small star cookie cutter. (You can bake the small stars separately, or knead back into the scrap dough to roll out more large stars.) Bake at 350 degrees for 12–15 minutes until lightly brown around the edges. Remove from oven and slide a cooling rack under the parchment paper to lift cookies off the hot pan.

3. When cookies are completely cool, spread jam on the bottom of the whole-star cookies. Using a strainer or sifter, sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of the cutout cookies. Then sandwich the whole stars and cutout stars, joining bottom to bottom.

Once all cookies are sandwiched, fill the center cutout with a bit more jam. Tip: First loosen the jam by adding about 1 teaspoon of hot water to a cup of jam, then carefully spoon or pipe into the centers of the cookies.

Cocktail: PJ’s All Day Mocktail 1/2 ounce brown sugar simple syrup (recipe below) 1/2 ounce lemon juice 1 ounce Wee Bee Jammin’ Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie jam 2 ½ ounces five spice apple cider (recipe below) Glassware: Rocks glass Garnish: Apple slice and cinnamon stick Combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice.

Shake until mixed, strain into glass with cube ice.

Garnish with apple slice and cinnamon stick.

Brown sugar simple syrup 1:1 Measure out unpacked brown sugar with equal parts water (i.e. 1 cup of water and 1 cup of brown sugar). In a small or medium saucepan, whisk together water and sugar over medium-high heat.

Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool or use immediately. If using in a cold cocktail, give it some time to cool before using. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 weeks and use in your favorite beverages or recipes as desired.

Five Spice Apple Cider Use half teaspoon of ground Chinese Five Spice and mix with 10 ounces of apple cider. Place back in the fridge for 12 hours, mixing occasionally.

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PAIR Butter Nut Cookies Dipped in Chocolate + Hotter Daughter Ruthann Dexter started her baking career with mud pies and an Easy-Bake Oven. To help her turn her hobby into a business, her husband (and biggest fan) Gregg turned his poker room into a certified commercial kitchen. From that seed, Ruthann’s Bakery flourished. The seed grew. And the orders kept coming for thousands of her beautifully decorated cookies, cupcakes and cakes.

Today, you can find Dexter at her downtown Bellaire storefront, which opened in 2016. “When I first started the business, I thought I might be too old,” Dexter says. “I was turning 58 then.

It goes to show no matter how old you are, you can follow your dreams. It’s about taking baby steps.” Pair these buttery beauts with Hotter Daughter: Creamy chocolate with a kick of rye, finished with a salted buttery caramel and a hint of pepper.

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Cookie: Butter Nut Cookies Dipped in Chocolate 19 Tablespoons unsalted butter (about 2 ½ sticks, room temperature) 1 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/3 cups flour 1/4 cup corn starch 1 cup pecans or pistachios, chopped + extra to sprinkle on top Chocolate melts, such as Grocer’s Daughter 70% dark chocolate discs

1. Mix together butter and powdered sugar until smooth, then add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix flour and starch, then add these dry ingredients to butter mixture. Add crushed pecans (or pistachios) and mix briefly to combine.

Roll out dough between sheets of wax paper. Refrigerate dough for an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter (a shape of your choice). Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake about 10 minutes—removing before the edges turn brown. Cool the cookies on the tray.

3. Melt chocolate in microwave on high, stirring at 30-second intervals. If chocolate needs to be loosened, stir in a few drops of canola oil. Dip cookies by running the tops of them across the chocolate (rather than dunking them straight down). Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Let chocolate set before serving.

Cocktail: Hotter Daughter 1 ¼ ounces Iron Fish Mad Angler Rye ¼ ounce Ancho Reyes, original Pinch of salt 2–3 dashes Iron Fish Cherry Maple Smoked Bitters 2 dashes orange bitters 2 ounces Grocer’s Daughter 50/50 (Milk and Dark Chocolate) Drinking Mix 6 ounces boiling water Glassware: Hot drink mug Garnish: Half rim caramel syrup with kosher sea salt, grated nutmeg Combine all ingredients in a mug. Use a cream frother or small whisk to mix. Grate nutmeg on top to finish.

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PAIR Bocca di Nonna with Earl Grey Ganache + Buone Vacanze We first shared Sari King’s story in the December 2014 issue of Traverse.

It was a story of perseverance: a woman, her life crumbling in the aftermath of divorce and a breast cancer diagnosis, who fought back in the sweetest way she knew how: baking cookies. King passed away in 2018, having served her Boyne City community for more than a decade as a youth pastor and bible study leader at First Presbyterian Church.

We share her recipe in remembrance.

Sari values the simple act of offering up a cookie to make someone’s world a bit better. “Looking back, I’ve realized that crazy things happen to everyone,” she says. “Life is so uncertain. If I can give someone a little hope … a little bit of a sweet indulgence to savor a moment in life, then so be it.” –December 2014 Translated, these dainty Italian cookies mean “Grandmother’s kisses.”

They’re rich little bites, with a loving smooch of chocolate and almond.

Pair them with a Buone Vacanze—“happy holiday” in Italian. Oak and juniper mingle in the glass with orange and red berry notes, ending with dry coffee and semi-sweet chocolate.

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Cookie: Bocca di Nonna with Earl Grey Ganache Cookies 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 Tablespoons unsweetened extra dark cocoa powder 2/3 cup unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 1 1⁄2 cups finely ground blanched almonds Earl Grey Ganache 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream 4 Earl Grey tea bags (or a tea ball with 4 teaspoons loose tea) 4 ounces dark chocolate, 65–70% cocoa content

1. In a small bowl, stir together flour and cocoa powder; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla bean paste. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Beat in almonds. Beat in flour mixture just until combined. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a chilled surface (either marble or a rubberized mat) roll out cookie dough and cut into 1 1⁄2–inch rounds. Place cut cookies on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes or until firm. Cool on cookie sheet.

Spread about a teaspoon of Earl Grey ganache on top of the cookies. Decorate with slivered almonds or any other decorative edible.

3. For the Earl Grey ganache: In a small saucepan, bring heavy whipping cream to a boil. Remove from heat. Add tea bags or tea ball and let stand for 15 minutes. Remove tea from cream and, if using bags, gently squeeze them with back of spoon to release any remaining liquid and add to the cream mixture. Return cream to boiling. Remove from heat and add 4 ounces of dark chocolate chopped into small pieces. Stir until chocolate is melted and shiny and smooth. Cool to room temperature before frosting.

Cocktail: Buone Vacanze 2 dashes orange bitters 3/4 ounce coffee liqueur 3/4 ounce Campari 1 1/4 ounces Iron Fish Slightly Lost Barrel Rested Gin Glassware: Nick and Nora glass Garnish: Orange peel twist Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass.

Stir until chilled. Express the orange peel, trim and garnish on glass.

Kirath Singh works for Iron Fish and is based in Southeast Michigan. Before joining the Iron Fish sales team, Kirath spent a decade leading some of the Detroit area’s most celebrated bar programs.

Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer based in Northern Michigan.

Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @dzwphoto Sarah Peschel, @22speschel, is a stylist and photographer with an appreciation for all things local agriculture, food and drink.

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HOLIDAY COCKTAIL PAIRINGS: HOW-TO Iron Fish Distillery’s Kirath Singh shares tips to get you started.

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1. Generally, the richer or fattier the food, the more spirit-forward the cocktail should be. For example, Béarnaise Sauce and steak needs to be paired with an old fashioned- or Manhattan-style cocktail.

2. But another important thing to remember when pairing food and cocktails is to match complexity—don’t pair an overly complex drink with a simple food item.

3. Pay attention to textures, meaning don’t serve a heavy, creamy or overly sweet drink with a lighter dish that it will overwhelm.

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Meet the people taking the movement from lifestyle trend to landscape-changing, economy-boosting community builder.

by Diane Conners photos by Beth Price / illustrations by Ross MacDonald /

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My Yooper Grandpa and the Big, Brown Caprice

/ by Kandace Chapple /

A tale of late nights, big cars, local boys and coming of age in the wild two-tracks of the U.P.

M

y grandpa drove a Chevy Caprice.

Brown. We called it “The Turd.” I think its color at one time was blue, and he spray painted it brown. Yes, spray painted. This was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the very tiny town of McMillan. My grandparents, Nelson and Vera, had lived there nearly all their lives, and they had learned to do everything themselves—for better or worse.

Worse, when it came to the Caprice.

The Caprice, however, turned out to play a pivotal part in my teenage years. It was 1990—I had just turned 16 and I had a driver’s license. No one—meaning my dad— would loan me a car, but I got it in my head that we teenage cousins in the family should head out for a night on

the town. Town being Newberry some 10 miles away. And I, naturally, would drive. It was my idea after all.

With dad’s refusal heavy in our hearts, we looked innocently at Grandpa. Would he loan us The Turd for a few hours?

He replied as he often did—with a laugh, a Holy Christ! and a slap on his knee—the crooked one, the leg that he’d nearly lost when the chains gave way on a lumber trailer, the logs rolling over him, crushing him, taking away two years of his mobility, nearly killing him. Leaving him with one stiff leg—it always stuck out in front of him. On his snowmobile, he would have to sit almost sidesaddle— his leg out, the throttle wide open. It never seemed to slow him down, maybe even when it should have.

My grandpa was famous for his outrageous stories. His

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bad leg all but proved everything he said. This man had survived that, why would he have to make up anything? He’d already lived the biggest story we kids had ever heard.

My grandma, standing at the stove—always, it seemed, making a bread-sized meatloaf that somehow fed 10 mouths, more if someone arrived unannounced—would listen with half an ear.

Grandpa would sit in his chair, his leg straight out— holding a space twice that of most men, but one he filled with ease—and when his story was tall, too tall, we would shout into the kitchen, “Grandma! Is this true?”

She would answer one of two ways: Oh, Nels! (We shouldn’t believe him.)

Or Oh, you kids! (We should believe the lie.)

And each time my Grandpa would laugh, “Come on, tell ’em, Vera!” and swing around in his chair, his leg sweeping a full circle from the kitchen and back to the living room audience—his grandkids, sometimes as many as eight at a time, on the floor at his feet. The story would get bigger and bolder on the rebuttal.

So it was, the night we asked for the keys to the Caprice, we really weren’t sure Grandpa had the authority to let us go.

Grandpa looked at my mother, “What’s the worst that could happen, Jude?”

My mother protested weakly. She had, after all, grown up in the backwoods of the U.P. She knew exactly what could happen.

But with Grandpa’s laughter, she relented: “Be back by 9 p.m.”

We were indignant about the early curfew—but we rushed from the room and barreled into the driveway and the front seat of the car, three teenage girls on the slippery vinyl bench seat. My cousin grabbed the phone book my grandma used to sit on so she could see over the dashboard and tossed it into the backseat. I grabbed the huge column gear shift and racked it down into drive. We were on our way.

Where? To the main drag in Newberry.

The tiny downtown was lined with just a few businesses, all of which were closed on a Saturday night—save the bar, which never seemed to close. The street was a ghost town.

“Where is everyone?” became the war cry of the Caprice.

We were looking for local action and, finally, with dumb luck, we found it.

Having reached the end of the main street and not wanting to cross the railroad tracks, nor having the ability to turn the boat around in the street, I swung the beast into the lot behind the grocery store where we’d taken granny to get milk earlier that day. There, lo and behold, we came across a lineup of local teens parked in their cars.

“Keep going!” my cousins screeched.

To which I slammed on the brakes, took a spot in the lineup, threw it in park and rolled down my window. Yes,

rolled down with an actual old crank handle.

“Hello, boys!” I shouted to the pickup truck beside us. My passengers slithered down into the bench seat out of sight.

The local boys, however, sat up straighter.

“You aren’t from around here,” they assessed, hooking their elbows out their windows and leaning out for a better look.

“Oh, our grandparents live here,” I said, unwittingly delivering the pickup line of the century. We were out to impress and simply being from out of town was plenty.

“How many of you are there?” one of the boys asked.

“Three!” I said.

“We know where there’s a bonfire in the woods, wanna go?” one of the boys said, having done some quick math to match the three in his truck to our three.

“Sure!” I replied.

The Caprice erupted in hisses of protest.

“Want to ride with us?” he offered.

I was no idiot. “We’ll follow you,” I said.

The Caprice exploded again with NO, NOT IN A MILLION YEARS and ARE YOU CRAZY. With that, the local boys took off in their pickup and I threw the Caprice back into gear. As we roared out of the IGA, I knew we were the talk of the town, every car in the lot watching us go.

Five minutes out of town, the boys took a hard right onto a two-track into the woods. I hesitated. This looked dicey.

But if we wanted to have any tall tales of our own, we’d have to see this through, right? And it wasn’t 9 p.m. yet, so technically, we reassured ourselves, we were still following the rules. No one had said we couldn’t off-road with this thing.

But as I drove the—did I mention—gigantic Caprice through the ever-narrowing trail, I started to sweat. The gals in the car continued to scream and we were, in general, in a frenzy. Branches were tearing at the paint and just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, the next turn in the road revealed a huge mud hole. I watched the pickup sail through it ahead of us.

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“Don’t do it!” everyone, including me, shouted. But we had no choice, because there was nowhere to turn The Turd around.

So, I did what I had to do.

I gunned it.

With horror, we watched the muddy water crest over the hood—and wash down Grandpa’s freshly painted and much-beloved Caprice. With a thud and a jerk, we surged forward, clearing the mud hole, spraying dirt everywhere and landing, more or less, on the other side.

Absolute TRIUMPH filled The Turd.

We’d done it! We were women of the world! Grownups! Out on an adventure! Right?

Too right.

Because the next scene was a little beyond our experience. We had finally reached the bonfire. It was in a field filled with trucks, plus little ol’ us in a big ol’ car. We came to our senses just about then. It was getting late at a mere 8:30 p.m., and we had to get home. Also, we were probably going to get killed, or worse, if we stayed.

We all locked the doors, and rolled down my window just two inches, as the boys approached.

“Ladies, we’re here!” they said. One was in a ball cap, the other two in shirts with no sleeves.

“Actually, change of plans,” I told them through my mail slot. “We need to return my grandpa’s car by nine.” I was

AS

one of them bellowed: “THESE GIRLS ARE LEAVING!” I realized then that they had gone from strangers to heroes.

We all fell a little in love at that point.

There was some scuffling and shoving, and then, a miracle. The huge truck pulled out of the way—driving over some small trees to do so. “GO THEN!” they shouted.

“Coming back in the minivan?” one of our boys called, moments before his own impending doom.

“Definitely!” we shouted, never to see them again, sailing through that water hole on our exit like it was dry pavement.

The car, by the time we got out of the woods, was covered in mud. We did the only thing we could think of—we pulled into Pickleman’s Petro gas station in Newberry and used the windshield wands and little blue rags to clean the car. It was dark—nearly 9 p.m. by now—and it looked good enough to us. We drove home and parked it and snuck into the house without saying much about our little drive to anyone at all. In the morning, we left for home in Interlochen at daybreak, before Grandpa ever got a chance to get out to the driveway.

Two days later, my mother got the call.

“Grandpa says there are scratches on his new paint job?”

She was holding the phone, one hand over the receiver, the other end to her ear.

“No clue how that happened,” I said.

She stared at me while she made her goodbyes—and didn’t stop looking at me until I confessed. She was in shock—I had

we roared out of the IGA, I knew we were the talk of the town, every car in the lot watching us go.

way past being smooth at this point.

“Aw, come on,” they said. “Are you serious?”

They looked so sad, our new friends, that I relented and had a stroke of genius: “Don’t worry, boys, my aunt has a minivan. I’ll ask her if we can come back in hers next!” My pickup-line game was back.

The boys brightened. “Yes, do that!”

I thought we were in the clear and would live to see another day, but no. As we waved goodbye, a huge jacked-up truck came and blocked our one and only two-track exit, blaring its music and the horn. We sat in the Caprice and, through the crack, realized our “boyfriends” were actually about to brawl with these newcomers.

“Excuse me,” I shouted through my window to the crowd that was forming. “We need to get going! We are just going to sneeeeakkk by you!” Casual, so casual as I inched the brown car forward. Every one of us in the Caprice knew we should have listened to my mother—and not Grandpa—at that point.

The new guys jumped in front of the Turd and stopped us: “NOBODY LEAVES UNTIL THIS IS SETTLED.” What was THIS!? We didn’t know and didn’t care. We looked at our beaus. I tossed them a little, jittery, pee-mypants laugh. “How about you tell these guys we have nothing to do with ‘this’ and let us leave?”

The boys saw our fear and did what any good ol’ boys would do. In a chest-to-chest standoff in our headlights,

been a very good granddaughter up until that very minute.

She said she had to call her father back before she could deal with me. I was dying inside. I had let Grandpa down!

But from my room, I heard her relaying the story to him.

And, I couldn’t believe what I heard: She was telling it with laughter, the tale getting taller, the mud holes deeper, the boys more heroic. I realized then, she was her father’s daughter.

In the end, that night turned out to be one of the best memories of my youth. One of simple times and simple boys, old cars and the wilds of the U.P. And the last part was the best part: By the time we went for our next visit that Christmas, my grandpa had tripled the story yet again, his buddies stopping into the house to ask which one of us had been driving The Turd that night and leaning over to check the paint job themselves. And I found myself playing along—with Grandpa’s version, the biggest one of all. It turned out that I had inherited a little bit of my Yooper Grandpa, too—for better or worse.

Kandace Chapple is a freelance writer and avid Michigan outdoor adventurer. mi-girl.com Ross MacDonald has done illustrations for periodicals such as Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The New Yorker, and has designed and created props for more than 120 films and TV shows. He was born and raised in Canada and now lives in Connecticut.

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inside DECEMBER /JANUARY 2023-24

northern home & cottage

26 10 14

34

features

departments

14 / THE INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN

07 / IN LOVE WITH

OF JEAN STOFFER

Michigan’s celebrity designer and Magnolia Network star Jean Stoffer lets us in on her life and design tips.

26 / UP ON BEAR MOUNTAIN

A talented design-and-build team translates the vision of a bigger-than-life client into a home for the ages.

34 / CAMP INTENTION

Everything has its place in this warm but minimalist home on a gem-like lake in Gaylord.

Pairing the Partyclette with Leelanau Cheese Raclette.

08 / MY FAVORITE SPACE Designer Marty Rhein

10 / TRENDS

Oh, Suzani! See what a dash of colorful embroidery can do for your home.

COVER PHOTO BY JOHN STOFFER

Click on Live Here > Northern Home

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northern home & cottage A MyNorth Media Publication Cara McDonald

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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agency inc. luscious summer and fall: dried mushrooms foraged from the forests that surround my home in Glen Arbor; smoked fish from Lake Michigan down the street; venison bow-shot by my son just weeks ago; jugs of wild-apple cider chilling in my refrigerator.

Andus if we should (231) need 271-3623 | www.bonek.com Call today! condiments, or good produce, or gourmet cheeses, Anderson’s Market is Call us today! within sight of my house—a market, like so many of the North’s small-town (231)271-3623 l www.bonek.com grocers, that defies expectation.

People who don’t live here year-round often ask me what there is to do Up North in the winter. I am always stumped by the question as there are really no words to describe the depth of wonder that Northern Michigan holds. But I think I may just start summing it up this way: We eat well, we play well (indoors and out) and we sleep well.

This after-hours life Up North used to be our best-kept secret. But with the advent of remote work, more and more people are discovering it. In this issue of Northern Home & Cottage, you’ll meet Michael Collins and David Zawicki, and Jim and Elizabeth VanSteenhouse—all folks who began as summer people and then couldn’t kick the Up North habit. Both couples have very different homes, but they share one commonality: their houses are built to blend into all of our beautiful seasons, not contradict them. I think you will love both of these home stories, as you will enjoy getting to know interior designer Jean Stoffer, the star of our third feature. Jean is a genius at turning a house into a home.

Not all of us have the opportunity to build our dream homes—or to spend the winter Up North. But we can all find a place to light a candle, snuggle up with a good book, make that recipe we’ve been putting off for years, renew our ties with community, take a long walk outside … find light and wonder in MYNORTHTICKETS.COM the dark season. Cheers to all of you hardy souls who carry the spirit of the 800.836.0717 North in your heart—no matter where you are.

Elizabeth Edwards is senior editor of Northern Home & Cottage.

Lissa@traversemagazine.com

NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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in love with

RACLETTE ON THE GO

By E LIZ A BETH E DWAR D S

WHEN we spied the Partyclette at Leelanau Cheese in Suttons Bay we knew it had the power to make us revel in our cold, dark Northern winters. Raclette is the wondrous, nutty-tasting semi-hard cheese created eons ago by Swiss shepherds to melt over a fire and put on potatoes, pieces of crusty baguette and other hand-held conveyances, and it’s been a star in our cheese scene for decades, since Leelanau Cheese came on the foodie scene in the late ’90s.

Raclette griddles are the way to go for feeding more than a few, but this portable gem would be perfect on a fall picnic or tailgaiting after a good snowy ski through the woods. Made by Boska, a Dutch company that has been crafting tools to consume cheese since the 19th-century, the petite Partyclette is beautifully simple: three tealights nested in a handsome little base for the tray where slices of raclette cheese are placed to get deliciously melty.

photo by Dave Weidner

Partyclette, $24 Raclette wedge, approximately $8 leelanaucheese.com

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my favorite space

ABOUT A TABLE Rustic and modern elements blend together to create an airy, inviting interior in this home designed by Marty Rhein. edited by ELIZABETH EDWAR D S

photo by Kate Bruinsma

AS WITH most lake house clients, our goal was to design the home in such a way as to capture as many panoramic views, from as many rooms as possible, so that at any moment one could appreciate the beauty of the water views.

I love the interplay of modern expansiveness with cozy and comfortable corners. Multiple textures, artistic expression and clean lines play well together in this home as do the black stained wood, metal, natural walnut, stone and white painted trim and cabinets.

These homeowners came with a sevenfoot-plus round knotty pine table with a tree trunk base that they wanted to repurpose in a more modern way. Utilizing the talents of our BAC wood shop we textured and finished it to complement the solid walnut island nearby. Comfortable modern leather dining chairs round out the look, as do the reverse tray ceiling and exquisite cascading chandelier above it. It’s capped off with a coordinating round lazy susan made of Belvedere quartzite stone in the center for practical distribution of food items. So fun!

This home is truly a celebration of collabora-

tion from the client to the trades. Many talents came together to create one extraordinary home.

And that is always my goal—to help people identify their home’s unique style and its desired meaning, then collaborate with many talented people to create a space that is cohesive and reflects that goal for clients to live, enjoy and share that space with family and friends.

8 NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023/24

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Senior Designer at BAC Design Group, Marty Rhein is a graduate of Kendall College of Art & Design and a former art and design instructor at Northwestern Michigan College.

Rhein is a National Kitchen & Bath Association Certified Kitchen & Bath Designer. He enjoys sailing, painting as a watercolorist and spending quality time with family and friends.

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trends

THE JOY OF SUZANI Treat your home to a vibrant shot of color with this ancient embroidery technique.

by E L IZA BET H E DWA R D S

ALTHOUGH Suzani textiles have never gone

out of style, the current craving for all things authentic, eclectic and tribal is putting them into contemporary design focus.

Suzanis are colorful and intricate designs of the sun and moon, flowers, fruits and occasionally fish and birds embroidered on a fabric base and used for everything from wall hangings and tablecloths to bedding and pillows. Traditionally made for their dowries by brides in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as early as the 15th century, the vibrant textiles’ colors cover the wheel, from hot oranges, reds and yellows to cool greens and blues.

“I love Suzani fabrics!’’ says Wendy Buhr, owner and lead designer of Ella’s Interiors in Traverse City. “They can be a springboard for an entire project.”

Designs can be printed on fabric and wallpaper, but Buhr particularly loves working with original, one-of-a-kind antique and contemporary pieces. “They give your home a touch of ‘can’t be copied,’” she says. “The originals are amazing to use on your bed as a coverlet, or made as pillows to throw interest anywhere in your home. I have also framed antique Suzani pieces in shadow boxes on a linen background to use as wall art.”

Ella’s Interiors and other designers can help you source authentic Suzanis, or you can find vintage textile curators on Etsy. Mainstream retailers like Pottery Barn always seem to have Suzani-inspired pieces in the mix, and we also love the Suzani accessories from St. Frank (stfrank.com), an online boutique focused on ethical sourcing.

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Suzani tablecloth by Pottery Barn. Above left: Vintage Suzani Christmas stocking by St. Frank.

NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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THE PERFECT GIFT is right in front of you!

Photo by Maconochie Photography

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house and home

THE INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN OF JEAN STOFFER 14 N O R T H E R N H O M E & C O T T A G E D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 - 2 4

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MICHIGAN’S CELEBRITY DESIGNER AND MAGNOLIA NETWORK STAR JEAN STOFFER LETS US IN ON HER LIFE AND DESIGN TIPS.

By J E A N STO F F E R Photos by JOHN STOFFER

nchored firmly in her Midwestern roots, family and faith, Jean Stoffer has quietly and carefully risen from self-taught interior designer to the star of Magnolia Network’s reality design show “The Established Home.”

The show’s pilot in 2020 featured her renovation of The Madison, a last-century Grand Rapids mansion that became home for Jean and her husband Dale, office headquarters of Jean Stoffer Design and gathering spot for the Stoffer’s four children and many grandchildren.

The accompanying photos of The Madison— taken by John Stoffer, one of the couple’s three children who work for Jean Stoffer Designs— illustrate Jean’s genius for creating timeless, relaxed spaces that are graced with subtle drama and rich detail.

In the following excerpt from her memoir, Establishing Home, Stoffer describes watching the first episode of her new show on New Year’s Eve 2021 with her family and friends in the sophisticated comfort of The Madison. –E.E.

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SARAH

from Magnolia Network called a few days after the pilot launched.

“Congratulations!” she said. “Your pilot is a huge hit.”

“Thanks!” I said. “I have truly enjoyed this little experiment, and I’ve been surprised and encouraged by people’s responses.”

“And people want more,” she said. “Listen, we’re launching Magnolia Network later this year, and we’re creating a whole lineup of inspiring shows that will focus on ‘home and design’ and ‘food and garden.’ Joanna wants you to have your own show that will take viewers behind the scenes on your designs and help them get to know you and the way you’ve built your family business. She wants her viewers to get more of your seasoned confidence.”

I stared at my phone, trying to take it all in.

“She feels your designs are next level—mind-blowing was the term she used. Are you up for shooting a six-episode series of your own?”

“Wow!” I said. “I’d be honored to.”

After a few more conversations, I signed on for two sixepisode seasons, and we started filming season one in January 2021.

One thing that surprised me about shooting for television is how many hours of filming it takes to capture just one hour of usable footage. For the six-week series, which would consist of six one-hour episodes, we shot for 60 days. That’s 10 days of shooting per one-hour episode!

The good news is that it was fun. I worked with a group of gifted people, largely in my own home, on our interior design projects. As a bonus, my family got to be part of it, too. The crew was kind, positive, patient, encouraging and talented.

I was also grateful the filming didn’t require much travel. For the most part we were in homes I was working on in Grand Rapids. The Michigan-based production team would drive over from the eastern part of the state, spend a day or two filming different aspects of the projects I was working

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Previous spread: “Placing a symmetrical garden in this space augmented the architecture of the classic 1905 Greek Revival home. The garden features shaped boxwood hedges, juniper trees, several varieties of hydrangea and many native perennials. The geometric paths are made of crushed stone. The center bed is highlighted with an antique cast iron planting urn. Garden design and installation

by Harder & Warner.”

Left: “The North Porch off the back of the home was once a service porch for laundry and receiving. It was in very rough condition. The original windows were restored, and all the millwork was either restored or replaced. I wanted the room and its finishes to look like it was original to the home. The colors of the non-skid tile floor from Fireclay Tile were inspired by a combination of the colors used in the rest of the home’s interior and a decorative border tile from Fireclay’s Metropolitan Series called “Chicago.” With the addition of a glazed partition wall, it is now a garden room on the far side and a boot room near the backdoor on the near side. I chose antique framed art and furniture along with framed botanical prints to decorate the room, allowing the exceptional architecture of the space to have the loudest voice.”

Below: “The garden room area of the North Porch is surrounded by original casement windows that were restored, using their original wavy glass. I chose industrial-inspired light fixtures and found a gray blue for the majority of the millwork. I used our customformulated Bradbury Green paint for the window sashes.”

on, and then go home and start planning the next filming. Meanwhile, a post-production crew in California edited what we shot.

The production team and director shared my passion for older homes whose heyday had come and gone and were now sitting neglected. They focused on six old-house projects, including the porch on the north side of the Madison, the one room I’d left completely untouched during our big project.

I loved the mystery involved in remodeling those homes to their former glory and updating them for a new era. You never knew what you’d find as crews dug into walls to replace outdated systems.

Every house has a story to tell, and our film crew joined me in telling some of those stories. Inevitably a remodel brings challenges, whether it’s a post that can’t be moved or

a beam that cuts into the kitchen but is essential because it supports the roof. I look at these challenges as guardrails. I can’t go beyond them or change them, so I need to get creative. I need to find a way to keep that guardrail in place while maximizing the home’s beauty and function.

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“The kitchen space was established by gathering several back service areas in the original home.

I wanted a central spot for this key room. I loved the idea of centering the kitchen sink on the window wall, which overlooks the garden.

Thirty-inch-wide refrigerator and freezer columns clad in white oak anchor each end of the cabinet wall. The 15-foot island, painted our signature Cotswold Green, serves as the kitchen’s second wall and houses significant storage, counter space and an induction cooktop with downdraft ventilation. The island pendants have milk glass globes and are set in oil-rubbed bronze frames. Small flush-mount ceiling fixtures were chosen over recessed can lights. The cabinetry hardware is unlacquered brass and the faucet is polished nickel. The counterops are durable two-centimeter-thick quartzite.”

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We all have guardrails we can’t change in our lives, whether it’s past tragedies, emotional scars or current circumstances. Do we complain about these guardrails and wish they weren’t there?

Do we just grind against them? Or do we choose to accept that they’re part of our story and incorporate them into our lives?

The challenge is to create beauty and function in our lives within the boundaries of our guardrails.

It took us 10 months to film the sixweek series, which would be called “The Established Home.” We began in January 2021 and wrapped in November 2021. The production schedule was complicated, and I marvel at the organizational skill it took to conceptualize, plan and film each episode.

It was an honor to be part of a project of this caliber, and we Stoffers were eager to see how it would turn out. The show was set to premiere on the Magnolia Network on New Year’s Eve, so we’d have to wait another six weeks before it came out. Throughout that time, I prayed that the finished product would reach a new generation of designers, homeowners, family businesses and women—especially mothers—who might be inspired to create things of lasting beauty in their careers and in their homes.

MAGNOLIA HOME PREMIERE I awoke at 5:15 a.m. on December 31, the day our show would launch. Immediately my mind filled with myriad details that needed attention before guests began arriving for the New Year’s Eve party/television premiere of “The Established Home.”

Then it hit me: our show was probably live right now! I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and pulled up the Magnolia app. Sure enough, “The Established Home” episodes 1 and 2 popped up as ready for viewing.

I elbowed my drowsy husband. “Dale!

The show is uploaded! It’s right here!” I pushed my phone in front of his face.

“Let’s watch it!” he said, perking up.

“But should we wait? The premiere isn’t until tonight . . .”

“We’ll call it a sneak preview.”

“I’m in!”

We propped ourselves up with pillows. Then I hit play, and we watched our family’s story unfold on the screen of my phone. We were mesmerized by

“The twin to the North Porch is the sunroom. It too has views of the garden through its original casement windows. For the floor, I used black and white marble with chiseled edges. Many people assume it is original to the house. I added tongue and groove paneling to the ceiling and painted the entire room Bradbury Green in High Gloss.

The architecture of the room is so exceptional; it needs almost nothing to embellish it.” the skill of the Big Table Media production team and the way they’d shot and edited the footage. The episodes felt true to life.

Seeing our story told onscreen was a fascinating experience. I was excited, to be sure, but I also felt humbled by all the little backstories that had led up to this season of my life—the many times I’d wrestled over decisions, made mistakes or struggled with people I hold dear. I recalled times I’d been hurt—or worse, times I’d hurt others—by sharp or unfiltered words. Through it all, we’d built something I’m proud of—not just the business, but a family that works well together professionally and still enjoys each other’s company.

How many times had God guided situations in my life? How often had he mitigated mistakes I’d made, circumvented parenting failures or blessed my feeble attempts to be faithful? With my phone’s tiny screen illuminating the darkness, I felt God’s grace wash over me—and our family.

What struck me most wasn’t the design aspects of the show, it was the interactions with my kids. I couldn’t help but notice how far we’d come as a team, and I was one proud mother.

I will never regret the career opportunities I turned down when the kids were young. Investing in my family back

then—not just focusing on their academic or athletic accomplishments, but investing in their souls, skills and interests as human beings—had led to such fulfillment. As Dale and I watched pieces of our story unfold, I thanked God to be receiving such dividends on investments made long ago.

As soon as the credits rolled on episode 2, I tossed back the covers, headed to the kitchen to start the coffee and dove into the day. My friend Rosa, who was a professional caterer before she came to work for us at Stoffer Home, had most of the details for the party under control.

“Let me just run with this,” she’d told me a couple of months ago when I asked her to help me plan the event. “This kind of party is right in my wheelhouse.”

That afternoon Rosa took command of the Madison, placing a carving station for beef tenderloin at one end of the kitchen island, wine and beverages at the other, and side dishes, salads and breads displayed artfully in between.

She’d ordered a gorgeous cake, and she and her husband had strung twinkle lights everywhere. The place looked and smelled magical.

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“The symmetry of the Greek Revival style can be seen in the living room. The fireplace with elaborate millwork is centered in the room and flanked by two windows. The furnishings reflect the symmetry. I chose clean lined sofas and designed a modern coffee table for the space. The alabaster light fixture is such a dramatic element, giving the room a chic vibe. I picked a light taupe paint color that feels warm and soft while still bright. The interior windows on the left separate the living room from the family room. It differentiates the space while allowing the light to pass through each room.”

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Left: “This sweet attic bedroom is where my grandchildren stay when they visit. It has the best view of the garden, and with its sloping roof lines feels like a treehouse room, but with all the comforts of inside. I furnished the space with an antique bed I found when my children were young. The velvet lumbar pillow gives the room a touch of class.”

Below: “I loved thinking about this bathroom as the one the grandchildren would use when they visit. It has a tub/shower combination on the left and a three-faucet trough sink on the right. I put a floor mirror sideways on the wall above the sink, clad the walls in tile and finished off the space with three single wall sconces centered above each faucet and enameled stools so the kids can reach everything. The floor tile is one-inch hexagon mosaic tile with a custom decorative element I made using black and white one-inch tiles.” guests, and the grownup time began.

As the Madison filled with beloved friends and family, I was thrilled to see how well the space we’d designed absorbed the crowd. Many guests hadn’t been to the Madison yet, and the hidden powder room and coat closet in the hallway were favorites, along with the sunroom, which—even in a Michigan December—was warm and welcoming.

This is exactly how I envisioned this space, I thought. My heart practically glowed.

At nine o’clock, I made an announcement: “Hey friends, thanks for being here! The viewing will start in half an hour, so load up your plates, fill your glasses and find a seat in the family room downstairs!”

While everyone made their way to the kitchen for refills, I headed downstairs to cue the show on our TV screen.

When I clicked on the Magnolia Network,

I saw that The Established Home was the first show featured. I scrolled down, and under “Trending,” our show was number one! Woohoo!

One by one, people made their way to the family room. At 9:30, Dale dimmed the lights, and I hit play. As each scene unfolded, I listened to people’s reactions.

I took their oohs and occasional laughter as encouraging signs.

When the credits rolled, Dale turned on the lights. Looking at each face in the room, I was struck by the power of this moment. I was filled with gratitude for these people—my husband, our kids, and these dear friends, clients and coworkers who had come to celebrate this event with us.

I rose and stepped in front of the TV. “Friends, I am not exaggerating when I say we would not be here watching this show without each of you. Every person in this room has played a part, either as clients NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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Left: “The house has a third floor with room for a full suite of spaces.

Altogether it has two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living space and a kitchenette with a dining space. The living space is in the front of the house. It has interesting roof lines we accentuated by cladding the beams in white oak. The rest of the ceiling and all the gable walls are clad in tongue and groove boards and painted white. This is a comfortable space for guests when they stay with us. “ Below: “The third-floor kitchenette also enjoys drama from the roof lines and pitches. The original oval window had been broken and removed years ago. We replaced the plexiglass with a replica of the original design found in old photographs. The Eden Green Cabinetry is further accentuated by the green backsplash tile.”

who have entrusted us with your homes, or as coworkers who have given your very best to every project we’ve tackled together, or as family members who have learned the art of working together professionally while still loving each other.

“This is the power of community. We are here for each other. We need each other, and when times are hard or things don’t go as planned, we have each other’s backs. When we allow people to see us for who we really are—not the Pinterest version, but the version with wrinkles and challenges—we discover we’re not alone.” One by one, I thanked each person for their unique contributions.

It was long after midnight before the last guest headed for home. As I climbed the staircase for bed, I thought with fondness of how those very stairs had given Cory and me fits as we struggled to create a natural flow in the

home. Tonight’s gathering had proven it was worth the effort.

By the time I slipped beneath the covers, Dale was asleep. I laid my head on the pillow, but my mind was still whirring. I was blown away by the day—and, to be honest, by so many things in my life. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God, who has brought me so much joy, wholeness and fulfillment. I am simply a designer who remodels houses, which are nothing more than containers for the humans who live there. I do my best to create designs that help those houses become homes, but design has never been the main thing for me. The main thing has always been the people.

Building a business has given me opportunities and brought me many dear friends over the years, but nothing compares to the gift of family. Having my life so intertwined with the lives of

my grown kids feels like an unwarranted treasure from God, and I count myself rich every day on account of the friends and family God has placed in my life.

As I closed my eyes, I thought back to the first time our family gathered at the Madison, for my birthday party the previous August. Our grandkids had lined up along the patio steps to sing my favorite hymn.

The final line of that hymn has become a crescendo for me: And give him the glory; great things he has done.

I still have far to go in this life. I have much to learn, and I hope I’ll never stop growing and becoming the person God dreamed me to be. No doubt there will be new challenges to tackle and new joys to embrace. But no matter what the future holds, I’ll give God the glory, each step of the way.

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Your home is more than a building.

You need more than a builder.

First thing we build...

TRUST.

New Homes Remodeling Property Management Cleaning Services

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231-348-2749 11/6/23 9:46 AM

Total Commitment to Quality

resources Contractor Kenowa Builders Designers Jean Stoffer and Grace Start, Jean Stoffer Designs Cabinetry Stoffer Home Cabinetry

More than 25 years of experience in building distinctive homes while exceeding the expectations of discriminating clients. jim@cooleycontracting.com

Landscape Harder & Warner

es NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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house and home

UP ON BEAR MOUNTAIN A DESIGN-AND-BUILD TEAM DIGS DEEP INTO THEIR RESPECTIVE SKILL SETS TO CREATE A HOMEOWNER’S VISION.

By E L I Z A B E T H E DWA R D S Photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

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ometimes it takes a near-catastrophe to

help us reorient to our dreams. In 2015, James H. VanSteenhouse survived a grizzly bear attack while bow hunting for moose in the wilds of Canada. That neardeath experience caused him to reassess his life: He retired as the CEO of a mortgage company and turned his attention toward more spiritual pursuits, creating Bear Man Ministries. Not long after, he and his wife, Elizabeth, began searching for property to build a home they could eventually retire in and share with family. With this newfound lease on life, they were determined it would be nothing less than spectacular.

“We were looking for either a water or mountain sunset,” VanSteenhouse says.

With the help of a Realtor friend, he and Elizabeth sleuthed properties across the lower 48, including Michigan—VanSteenhouse’s home state. He remembers the day his Realtor called and excitedly told him about a piece of property for sale on

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Opening spread: The family of grizzly bears in the front yard of Bear Mountain Estates are sculptures by Agius Studio.

This page: The view from the foyer stretches to Lake Michigan. The wroughtiron railing on the bifurcated staircase, by Black Rock Forge, tells a pictorial story of the flora and fauna of Bear Mountain Estate. Below: The custom bunk room makes for memorable slumber parties.

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MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY WANTED

IT TO FEEL RUSTIC, LIKE A WESTERN HUNTING LODGE, AND TO BE CONSTRUCTED

SOLELY OF STONE AND 100 PERCENT RECLAIMED BARNWOOD—A NOD TO JIM’S CHILDHOOD AS A FARM BOY IN MICHIGAN’S THUMB.

a bluff some 250 feet over Lake Michigan, facing due west, and located just south of the village of Leland. VanSteenhouse went up alone to see it, and as the sun was setting, called Elizabeth from the northwest corner to tell her they’d found something very special.

Jim and Elizabeth had a pretty good idea of what the family retirement home would look and feel like. Jim sketched out the first floor on the inside flap of a Bible study guidebook and the second floor on the same inside back cover. The plan centered around a sweeping bifurcated staircase in the foyer and views of the lake throughout the home. But most important, they wanted it to feel rustic, like a Western hunting lodge, and to be constructed solely of stone and reclaimed barnwood— a nod to Jim’s childhood as a farm boy in Michigan’s thumb.

Through friends, the VanSteenhouses heard about architect Nick White and the firm, White & Liebler Architects, whose rich portfolio dates to the late 1970s and includes some of the most architecturally beautiful homes in Northern Michigan. Firm partners Nick White and Nick Liebler, along with architect Drew Mittig, turned VanSteenhouse’s plan into a blueprint, refining it so that it took in maximum lake views, fit into the narrow bluff site and incorporated inspirational details from great hunting lodges of the West. They went on to design a home that would be constructed of authentic Montana stone and nearly entirely of reclaimed barnwood.

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“WE KNEW WHEN WE STARTED THAT THE HOUSE WAS GOING TO BE A PRETTY

INCREDIBLE ARCHITECTURAL PIECE,

BUT I DON’T THINK ANY OF US HAD ANY IDEA THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO FINISH

AT THIS LEVEL.”

This page: In the primary bedroom, the bowed wooden beam mimics the stone arch it connects to, both being examples of the extraordinary craftsmanship in the home.

Opposite: Interior designer Lawrence Boeder worked with the Easling team to turn the VanSteenhouses’ vision for their kitchen into reality.

Private chef Markus Ford consulted on the placement of appliances and other elements.

scape architect Anita Silverman, interior designer Larry Boeder and contractor Marty Easling of Easling Construction and his in-house team of 84 skilled craftspeople, including rough and finish carpenters, stone masons, block masons, painters, dry-wallers, trim carpenters and cabinet builders. For many members of that team, Bear Mountain Estate became the project of a lifetime—something that could both challenge their skills and offer the opportunity for them to shine.

The challenges began from the get-go: “It was the rainy season when we started. Of course, everybody knows a bluff is all clay and rock, so it was just a very difficult process, but we met all those challenges head-on and made it work,” says Jason Klingelsmith, CEO of Easling Construction. But far and away the biggest challenge was sourcing enough reclaimed barnwood to construct every nook and cranny of the home including the flooring, as well as the massive hand-hewn timber structural trusses and beams.

The Easling team, working with JC Woodworking,

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Above: The primary bathroom.

Below: The in-home movie theater.

a reclaimed wood business out of Pennsylvania, sourced beams from six Pennsylvania barns, two barns in New York State and one barn in Maryland.

The flooring came from some 25 18th- and 19thcentury log homes in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, none of that wealth of reclaimed wood came in standard modern dimensions, so it was up to the Easling team to cut it into jigsaw-piece precision to fit the blueprint.

Finished now, the home is a source of pride for everyone who worked on it. Says Liebler: “We knew when we started the design process that the house was going to be a pretty incredible architectural piece, but I don’t think any of us had any idea that it was actually going to finish at this level.”

As for the VanSteenhouse family, they love the home so much they’ve turned it from a vacation spot into a year-round residence. Perhaps that’s because Bear Mountain Estates achieved the VanSteenhouses’ primary goal: “To create an environment within and surrounding a home that no one wants to leave.”

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resources Architect White & Liebler Architects General Contractor Easling Construction Co. Interior Designer Lawrence Boeder Interior Design Landscape Architect Anita Silverman, Silverman & Company Traverse Outdoor

Bradley J. Butcher, AIA 989.705.8400 sidockgroup.com Novi • Wyandotte • Lansing Muskegon • Gaylord Sault Ste. Marie • Tampa Williamsport, PA

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Flooring Floor Covering Brokers Outdoor Sculptures Agius Studio NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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house and home

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CAMP INTENTION

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A COUPLE UNLEASHES THEIR INNER DESIGN SENSE IN THIS PERFECTLY EXECUTED NEW BUILD ON A TUCKED-AWAY LAKE NEAR GAYLORD.

By E L I Z A B E T H E DWA R D S Photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

he shallow waters of gem-sized Opal Lake near Gaylord run deep in Michael Collins’ life. During high school and college, he was a lifeguard for a private club on the lake. Later, when he brought his then-partner (now husband) David Zawicki there, David told him: “Someday I want to live on this lake.” A decade or so later, the couple purchased a small log cabin, using it as a place to unwind from their busy lives for the next 13 years.

By 2020 the couple knew they wanted the lake to be their forever home. But the little cabin was too snug for year-round occupancy and, at the very least, they’d need an addition to make it livable. After meeting with builder Bill Raymond of B & B Construction—a company widely respected in the Gaylord area—Collins and Zawicki decided if they were really going to get the home they wanted, they’d need to tear down the cabin and start again. And what they had always dreamed of was a midcentury modern, minimalist

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home—one that would blend into Opal Lake’s lovely wooded shores.

The couple sketched out a simple plan consisting of two wings and took it to Gaylord-based architect Todd Seidell, who refined their ideas. The finished floor plan includes the primary bedroom suite and office in one wing and the living area and guest quarters in the other. The wings are connected by a breezeway that the couple refers to as an atrium because of its two glass doorwalls.

A bounty of other perfectly thought-out details all work together to make this home sing. “We called the home Camp Intention from the get-go because everything in this house is intentional, from the furnishings to the floor to the cabinets,” Collins says.

That intention begins on the exterior, with black vertical steel cladding on the two-shed roof–topped wings and horizontal steel cladding on the breezeway. Not only is the steel siding the aesthetic the couple was looking for but, as Zawicki points out, it’s very low maintenance. “It will never need painting, just a quick rinse down here and there,” he says. The handsome steel exterior is echoed by a custom black steel-and-glass door to the primary residence. The effect of all of the glass, steel, light and big views of the natural world is indeed very atrium-like. The couple loves the space so much that they decided to turn it into their dining room—a spot to enjoy long

The living room is set above ground level to give the impression of floating on the lake beyond the windows; The kitchen bar stools are custommade—with walnut backs, moss-green steel frames and purple tweed seats—from Grand Rapids Chair Co. Collins and Zawicki found the working 1958 Grundig tube record player at Wilson’s Antiques in Traverse City. The hooks on the wall to the right of the record player were designed by Charles Eames.

The pegs on the wall in the forefront are vintage balloon molds.

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wonderful evenings of food and conversation with the wind off Opal Lake blowing softly through the open doors.

The couple’s thoughtful curation of elements continues in the kitchen, where Amish-built custom walnut cabinetry (with carved pulls in lieu of hardware) sets the stage for a waterfall-edge island countertop fabricated from a carefully selected slab of quartzite called Everest. Eclectic furnishings and art round out the home. “We opted to be our own interior designers,” Collins says.

“David and I have always been collectors, and we’ve always loved midcentury.

We rarely buy anything just to have it; we knew where we were going to put things right from the blueprints.”

The effect of all that purposeful design is not lost on the couple’s guests. As Collins describes those lucky enough to snag a stay at Camp Intention: “They are just in awe.”

The wallpaper in the primary bedroom is by Wallphoto. The bed is MCM Currey & Company and the bedding in both bedrooms is by Under the Borough; The midcentury chair was a score from the Petoskey Antiques Show and the lamp is by Adrian Pearsall; The midcentury couch in the office was made by the now defunct Detroit Sofa Company. Both the couch and chair above were re-upholstered by TC Upholstery Alternative. The vintage office wall unit is from Denmark.

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THANK YOU TO OUR 2023

SPONSORS OFFICIAL SPONSOR

resources Architect Seidell Architects Builder B & B Construction Interior Design Michael Collins & David Zawicki Landscape Johnston’s Landscaping Windows Andersen Window, Preston Feather Appliances Thermador, Advance Electric Flooring Southwind Authentic Plank Flooring, Builders FirstSource

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T he Cu l i nary North

photo by Dave Weidner

local restaurants . craft drinks . seasonal cuisine

“

This wine-tasting room is cozy, upscale ... the perfect showcase for the bounty grown at Gilchrist Farm.

—LUCINDA HAHN

NEW IN TOWN: GILCHRIST FARM WINERY P. 42 TUCK INTO A SOUP FLIGHT P. 44 THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN P. 45 RICE PUDDING WITH CHERRY SAUCE P. 46

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T he Cu l i nary North Served

D I N I N G OUT

GOOD IS IN THE DETAILS

by LUCINDA HAHN

photos by Dave Weidner

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A family’s passion for quality infuses Suttons Bay’s new farm-to-table tasting room.

he first saw the dish in a dream. Before the details could fade, chef Deanna Mikalauskas, bleary-eyed and still in bed, texted them to her colleague chef Christian Stawiarski: satchels of hand-made pasta stuffed with pinot-infused pears, all bathed in an Italian-gorgonzola sauce.

Her spin on sacchettini—using fruit from her employer’s orchard—quickly became a menu standout at Suttons Bay’s newest establishment, Gilchrist Farm Winery. Perched downtown “in the blue house next to Martha’s Table,” as locals say, this wine tasting room, coffee shop and dining spot is cozy, upscale and the perfect showcase for the bounty grown at namesake Gilchrist Farm.

On 85 acres of sun-kissed heaven above Lake Leelanau, owner Marc Huntoon nurtures 22 acres of grapes. Meanwhile, a one-acre “market garden” is tended by Marc’s wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter Laurel, a passionate soil scientist who uses regenerative agriculture practices to reap flavorful produce delivered daily to the Suttons Bay tasting room.

There, chefs transform it into plates such as Sardinian gnocchi in tomato sauce (from the farm’s organic heirloom tomatoes) and the pear filling of Deanna’s delectable sacchettini.

For now, the wine list features vintages primarily made from grapes sourced locally. (We recommend Four Daughters, a red blend that’s a nod to Marc’s kids.) Gilchrist

Farm’s first estate wines are expected this spring. The maturing vines include the usual chard-pinot-merlot suspects, but Marc—who works in tandem with wine manager Drew Perry—also planted rarer, cold-hardy varietals such as Teroldego and Lagrein, which are native red-wine grapes hailing from Italy’s Dolomites region.

Locals will be giddy to learn this winter-loving family is determined not to reduce the tasting room’s hours through the offseason. Look for hot mulled wine and small-plate items created with produce raised inside the farm’s 100-foot-long hoop house. Adds Business Manager George Brittain (who’s married to Marc’s daughter Alyssa): “We’re also going to plan some not-so-serious events—like a tiki party in the dead of winter—because there’s a fun side of wine that needs to be celebrated more. Plus, we’re working too hard to be that serious about stuff.”

Lucinda Hahn is a freelance writer living in Suttons Bay. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated and more.

Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer based in Northern Michigan. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @dzwphoto.

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Clockwise: Summer corn ravioli; Four Daughters and the 2021 pinot grigio have been popular among guests; The dining room at Gilchrist Farm Winery; Business Manager George Brittain.

DECEMBER 2023

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T he Cu l i nary North Bite

A BOWLFUL OF COMFORT

by ANNA FALLER

photo by Dave Weidner

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Cozy eats rule at Roast & Toast in Petoskey.

his must-visit café has spent three decades warming bellies with countless cups of houseroasted coffee and delish breakfast and lunch selections, but few things ward off a winter chill like a bowl of piping-hot soup. Enter: Roast & Toast’s Soup Flight. Inspired by wine and beer tasting flights, samples are served in seven-ounce cups and come in mix-and-match sets of three ($7.75) or four ($9.95).

Available flavors rotate daily—the café has a robust collection of 140 recipes—though staples like white chicken chili, potato bleu cheese and chicken noodle are popular picks.

Enjoy a flight alongside other menu favorites like the turkey

avocado club with Plath’s Meats bacon, or the Lake Street salad with mixed greens, toasted pecans and lemon-cherry vinaigrette. For the serious soup afficionado, prepaid “soupscription” cards are available. Also souper cool, Roast & Toast is ladling out the love by donating up to four gallons of soup per week to Brother Dan’s Food Pantry.

Roast & Toast Downtown Location: 309 E. Lake St., Petoskey McLaren Medical Building: 560 W. Mitchell St., Petoskey

roastandtoast.com

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11/7/23 11:26 AM

SPONSORED

THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN A taste of the North's craft beverage scene.

SNOWSHOEING & SMALL PLATES AT BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS One of 14 tasting rooms in the Petoskey Wine Region, family-owned Boyne Valley Vineyards feels like home. And the Mahaneys have worked hard to make it so. “There’s a reason why we put the sign up that says ‘relax.’ When we built this, we wanted people to feel like they were sitting in our living room,” says co-owner Mary Ann Mahaney, who works alongside her twin brother, Tom Mahaney, and sister-in-law, Christi Mahaney. The experience starts on a winding driveway that takes visitors past a frost-kissed vineyard to a soaring barn-style tasting room. Inside, groups warm up around the fireplace or settle in with thick blankets on the sofa and armchairs. Outside, several igloos and teepees (call to reserve) treat groups to a cozy setting on the wooded property. Bring your snowshoes (the winery has three sets that can be borrowed) and explore the neighboring 117-acre Postle Farm Preserve. Then sip mulled wine and order the spicy feta cheese spread. boynevalleyvineyards.com HOLIDAY FUN: Live music every day between Christmas and New Year’s.

COMING SOON: The Mahaney’s are adding a cigar bar inside the silo.

WOOF: Say hello to winery pups Tuck and Izzy. Leashed dogs are welcome outdoors.

Get Your Michigan Brewvine Passport

photo by Dave Weidner

An easy-to-use mobile passport packed with deals and specials at your favorite Michigan breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries. mibrewvine.com

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Publication Title: Traverse Northern Michigan. 2. Publication Number: 10713719. 3. Filing Date: 8/25/23. 4. Issue Frequency: monthly. 5. Number of issues published annually: 12. 6. Annual subscription price: $39.95. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (not printer): 415 Cass St.,Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, MI 49684.

Contact Person: Erin Lutke Telephone: 231-941-5976. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): same 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Michael Wnek, same as above. Editor: Cara McDonald, same as above. 10. Owner: Heritage Broadcasting Company of Michigan, 1 Broadcast Way, Cadillac, MI 49601. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: none. 12. Tax Status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication Title: Traverse Northern Michigan 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: 08/23. 15. Extent and nature of circulation, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: a. Total number of copies (net press run): 13630. b. Paid circulation: (1) mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541. (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies and exchange copies): 11525. (2) Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies and exchange copies):0. (3) Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 9. (4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0. c. Total paid distribution [sum of 15b. (1), (2), (3), and (4)]:13630. d. Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside the mail) (1) OutsideCounty copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (2) In-County copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3) Copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0. (4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers and other means): 0. e. Total free or nominal rate distribution (sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4)): 0. f. Total distribution (sum of 15c and 15e): 11534. g. Copies not distributed: 2096. h. Total (sum of 15f and g): 13360. i. Percent paid (15c/15f x 100): 100%. No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: a. Total number of copies (net press run):13794. b. Paid circulation: (1) Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541. (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof and exchange copies): 11243. (2) Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof and exchange copies): 0. (3) Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 9. (4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0. c. Total paid distribution [sum of 15b. (1), (2), (3), and (4)]:11252. d. Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside the mail) (1) Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (2) Free or nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3) Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0. (4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 0. e. Total free or nominal rate distribution (sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4): 0. f. Total distribution (sum of 15c and 15e): 11,252. g. Copies not distributed: 2542. h. Total (sum of 15f and g): 13794. i. Percent paid (15c/15f x 100): 100%. 16. Electronic Copy Circulation, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months. a. Paid Electronic Copies: 723. b. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 12257 c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f ) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 12257. d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c X 100) 100%. I Certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above a nominal price. Yes. 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership will be printed in the 12/23 issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Michael Wnek, President. Date: 8/25/23. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

DECEMBER 2023

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T he Cu l i nary North On the Table DINING IN

HYGGE HOLIDAY

by STACEY BRUGEMAN

There’s no better place than Cherry Country for this Scandinavian Christmas classic.

C

photo by Dave Weidner; styling by Sarah Peschel

hristmas: antidote to darkness,” reads the final chapter of The Cooking of Scandinavia. The book itself is part of the now-vintage Foods of the World cookbook series that Time Life published in the 1960s and ’70s, and was gifted to me by my husband. Every year, we draw a country out of a jar—a hot cocoa mug, to be exact—and honor the holiday traditions of that culture. The year we drew the fourcountry region of Scandinavia was a fan favorite. Our sons made red and white paper hearts; I draped straw garland over the mantle. We listened to the Swedish carol jul, jul strålande jul on repeat. My husband read Astrid Lindgren’s The Tomten to our then infant daughter at bedtime.

We served a literal smörgåsbord of regional delicacies such as pickled herring, and I tried my hand at dishes like Jansson’s Temptation (a decadent potato and anchovy casserole) for the first time.

This was also the year I was introduced to ris à l’amande— the Danish Christmas dessert. Rice pudding that has been mixed with whipped cream and sliced almonds is topped with a warm cherry sauce—perfect for those of us who live in Michigan’s fruit belt and might know a thing or two about freezers overflowing with summer stone fruits.

In this recipe, I’ve upped the Michigan ante by adding a barspoon of cherry liqueur, such as Leopold Bros. or Long Road Distillers. This holiday season, borrow from the Scandinavians’ wise hygge lifestyle by tending the flames in your fireplace and gifting yourself a little time in the kitchen with this comforting classic.

Stacey Brugeman is a 20-year food and beverage journalist.

Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, Eater and on Instagram @staceybrugeman.

Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer based in Northern Michigan. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @dzwphoto.

Sarah Peschel, @22speschel, is a stylist and photographer with an appreciation for all things local agriculture, food and drink.

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11/8/23 11:42 AM

^ Rice Pudding with Warm Cherry Sauce Serves 10 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise 5 cups whole milk 1 cup short grain white rice, such as sushi rice 1 cup sliced almonds 2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar, divided 1 ½ teaspoons salt Barspoon of cherry liqueur, such as Long Road Distillers or Leopold Bros. (optional) 2 cups heavy cream 2 cups water 2 pounds frozen, pitted sweet cherries 2 Tablespoons tapioca flour 1. Place half of one vanilla bean and whole milk into a saucepan set over medium-high heat.

Bring the milk just to a boil and add the rice, stirring to combine. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow to cook, stirring regularly to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook until much of the liquid has evaporated, the mixture is thick and sputtering from time to time, and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Remove the rice from the heat and discard the spent vanilla bean. Fold in the almonds, 2 Tablespoons sugar, salt, liqueur and the vanilla seeds from the remaining half of one vanilla bean, scraping the seeds with the back of a knife to release them into the rice. Stir to combine and let cool to room temperature.

3. Once the rice is no longer hot, pour the cream into a mixing bowl and beat for about 2 minutes, until it forms soft peaks. Fold into the rice, cover and refrigerate overnight.

4. The next day, make the cherry sauce.

Combine water, cherries, 2/3 cup sugar and the vanilla beans from the remaining pod in a saucepan. Cook over high heat until the mixture boils, then reduce to simmer and continue cooking until the mixture is deep in color and the foaming has subsided, about 15 minutes. Using a fork, mix 2 Tablespoons tapioca flour with 2 Tablespoons of water to form a paste. Pour the paste into the cherry mixture, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. Scoop a serving of cold rice pudding into a bowl, top with a ladleful of warm cherry sauce and serve. – S.B.

DECEMBER 2023

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Love of the Land get there SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE The park is a different place in the winter. There are few visitors and never more than a handful of cars at even the most popular destinations. Snow covers the scrubby dune plants, highlighting the elegant lines of the rolling terrain. Frigid winds bearing sharp sands rip across the open landscape, but the stark beauty is worth the exposure. If you’ve never seen the Lake Michigan Overlook at Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in winter, pack a hot drink and a good attitude. If it’s windy, sunglasses and something to cover your ears are extra helpful. You can hike right up the scenic drive, but you might prefer to wear snowshoes. It’s about two miles from the parking area to the overlook; you can turn around, or make a loop of it by following the ski trail signs the park sets up in winter (avoid stepping in the classic tracks). – HEATHER HIGHAM

photo by Heather Higham

@snaphappymichigan

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11/6/23 4:57 PM

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11/3/23 2:20 PM

SEEING YOU SOONER SAME DAY AND NEXT DAY APPOINTMENTS OFTEN AVAILABLE

McLaren is dedicated to increasing access to primary care, lowering wait times, and promptly connecting you to specialty care if needed. We are growing our network of employed primary care providers throughout Michigan and opening access to make more appointments available. This way, whether you are a new patient or have been with McLaren for years, our providers are available when you need them.

Below are selected practices welcoming new patients and with the best access to see you sooner.

820 Arlington Ave., Ste. 258 Petoskey, MI 49770 (231) 487-9355

560 W. Mitchell St., Ste. C70 Petoskey, MI 49770 (231) 487-7200

573 N. Bradley Hwy Rogers City, MI 49779 (989) 734-2171

1890 US-131 #4 Petoskey, MI 49770 (231) 487-2000

1249 M-75 Boyne City, MI 49712 (231) 582-1515

WALK IN MEDICAL CARE AVAILABLE Monday – Saturday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Med Center - Petoskey South

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1890 US-131 #4, Petoskey

(231) 487-2000

11/3/23 2:20 PM