Traverse Northern Michigan, December 2024

12.2024

NATURE’S EMBRACE THE SIMPLE JOYS OF

F O R E S T B AT H I N G

Gimme Some Sugar

A Northwoods holiday cookie how-to PLUS

A chocolate-lover’s wish list

DECEMBER 2O24

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$6.5O

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4-PACK GIFT SETS WE TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF PAIRING Fustini’s knows what pairs well together and we’ve combined some of our most popular oils and vinegars and presented them in a packaged, ready-to-gift set.

Choose from Sweet Italian, Coastal Crush, or Taste of Michigan.

Let’s get together and cook!

141 E FRONT ST • TRAVERSE CITY • 231-944-1145 P E TO S K E Y • A NN ARBOR • H OL L AN D • F U S T I N I S . COM

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Building and Renovating Northern Michigan’s Finest Residences

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215 N Main Street, Leland Build this Storybook Cottage in downtown Leland with J. Peterson Homes. Located just steps from the beach, shops and restaurants, this classic features a main floor primary, open living space, and a large screen porch to listen to Lake Michigan on warm summer evenings. The second floor offers two bedrooms and a bath while the daylight finished lower level brings a family room, games area, bedroom and bath. Pricing includes a one stall garage off from William Street and landscaping.

MLS:11925680 $1,600,000

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features 12.24

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

/ 31 / SPECIAL SECTION:

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Northern Home & Cottage

Nature’s Embrace Deep in our Northwoods, a forest bathing sanctuary awaits. To find it, you’ll need to slow down and unplug from the digital world in your pocket.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY A L L I S O N JA R R E L L AC O STA

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All He Needed

Dad spent his life as an outlier, but each year he found solace and connection among the pines of a seasonal Christmas tree lot. photo by Allison Jarrell Acosta

EXCERPT BY C H R I ST O P H E R J . M U N DY

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Anything but Cookie-Cutter

Step into the oven-warmed, sugar-dusted kitchen of Danielle Reeber.

BY CA R LY S I M P S O N / PHOTOS BY T I M H U S S E Y

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departments photo courtesy of Boyne Mountain (top) and photo by Dave Weidner (bottom)

07 | Editor’s Note 09 | Up North

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Whimsical woodland-inspired ceramics; what we’re reading; Traverse City’s year-round film fest.

15 | Travel

Spectacular holiday light displays for a festive family day trip.

53 | Culinary North

Meet Mike Davies, a fantastical chocolatier in Petoskey; plus, coffee shop picks according to your zodiac sign.

59 | In the Kitchen

A decadent cocktail for cozy nights at home.

60 | Love of the Land

Snowy strolls on Lake Cadillac.

Follow Us On Social Media facebook.com/mynorthmedia instagram.com/mynorthmedia pinterest.com/mynorthmedia

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ON THE COVER

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The North’s snow-covered woods.

Photo by Youra Pechkin

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Animal Park

A MyNorth Media Publication

Vol. 44 | No. 7

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Cara McDonald

MANAGING EDITOR

Carly Simpson Allison Jarrell Acosta

4807 River Road Frankfort, MI 49635 231 - 920 - 7085 2nd retail location at The Grand Traverse Commons

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Closed Sundays & Holidays ART DIRECTOR PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Sweaters, socks, hats, mittens, wraps, blankets, stuffed animals, and so much more!

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ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR, SPECIAL SECTIONS

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

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Ashlyn Korienek Kayla Kennedy

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EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES

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

Food&Drink Newsletter Dig into Northern Michigan with us and find out where to eat, drink, and taste!

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Editor’s Note

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COOKIE LOVE

very christmas without fail, for nearly 60 years, my mom has made Christmas cut-out cookies. Her recipe for sugar cookie dough is delicious and a pain in the neck—more butter, less flour, prone to getting melty and spreading in the oven, sometimes resulting in bloated Santas and deformed Rudolphs with swollen legs.

But when chilled enough and rolled out just right, this tricky recipe yields cookies that are marvelously crisp, buttery and light—no frosting, no thick cakey crumb, just a one-after-the-other kind of treat that’s hard to stop eating.

As kids, we’d sneak into the dining room, where the Christmas cookie tins were stacked, and try to silently pry off their metal lids. They’d always open with a clanging pop that immediately resulted in my mom calling, from some distant corner of the house, “Girls, stay OUT OF THE COOKIES.” While we were growing up, the cut-out cookies appeared at most major holidays. Pink and red sugared hearts, green shamrocks, orange pumpkins. They’d travel with us in school lunches, wrapped in a fold-over plastic sandwich bag; they often didn’t survive the trip, breaking into sugary pieces that we’d shake out of the bag into the palms of our hands.

As girls, we hated the task of rolling and cutting the dough. We’d be coated in powdered sugar as the dough ball got smaller and stickier, wiping our cheeks with our sleeves while our sticky fingers adjusted the pastry sleeve on the rolling pin.

But we loved the decorating. My mom would set us up at the kitchen table with these cut-out blank canvases and we’d dip paint brushes in a mixture of egg yolk and food coloring to create tiny masterpieces.

Nothing too flashy—we only had four colors, so the result was a lot of red and green, with the occasional blue-striped candy cane, for variety’s sake.

I could marvel at our creativity and focus like it was the product of some bygone era, but we’ve seen the cookie painting work its magic on our own children.

Each year, my mother makes batches of dough in advance to freeze. A few days before Christmas, my nieces head over to my parents’ house to roll the cookies out.

They tie on cheesy aprons (a long-ago HomeGoods find) and select the shapes— stars, boots, bells, candy canes, gingerbread men and some very tricky poinsettias. They fill and stack tray upon tray like a slippery high-stakes Jenga game, piling them in the cold garage until the younger cousins arrive to paint, sprinkle and bake.

Of course, the little kids are all in. But it makes me smile to watch the teens hunch over their cookie trays, painting with their favorite football team colors or layering wild sprinkle combinations on the same nostalgic shapes I used to paint as a child—the angel with the too-large halo, the slightly bent holly sprig. They laugh, spill, compare, get reprimanded for over-sugaring, and someone always puts the blue painting brushes in the yellow color dish, resulting in too many shades of green.

The cookies are nothing like the ones we feature this month, the exquisite creations of baker Danielle Reeber, a.k.a. “The Cookie Lady” of Interlochen. Her Up North– inspired designs are next-level, certainly something to aspire to. But the perfection of a sugar cookie isn’t in the artistry, but in the love that’s poured into them and the traditions they hold. With each one that’s pulled from the noisy metal tin, I see the familiar smile of the old angel, the careful design sensibilities of my little niece, the taste of a recipe as familiar as home.

Try Mom’s Recipe: link.mynorth.com/sugarcookie.

Cara McDonald, Executive Editor cara@mynorth.com

DECEMBER 2024

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One Bedroom Apartments Available for Immediate Occupancy

We’re at the heart of what matters and we are welcoming new residents!

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Up North

local buzz · nostalgic finds · travel inspo

“

I have a deep love for all of our gorgeous seasons and the nuances that make them special.

—ARTIST RACHEL LIEBLER

WHIMSICAL WOODLAND CERAMICS photo by Aaron Peterson

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Lower Harbor Ore Dock, Marquette

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SWOON-WORTHY DISCOVERIES P. 11

MAGICAL HOLIDAY LIGHT DISPLAYS P. 15

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Up North Local Maker

WILD WHIMSY These woodland works of art are on our wish list this year.

by ALLISON JARRELL ACOSTA

For a behind-the-scenes look at Rachel’s work, follow @coldcreekarts on Instagram and Facebook.

photos courtesy of Rachel Liebler

F

or beulah potter rachel Liebler, art imitates life along Cold Creek.

Liebler, a 35-year-old mom and potter of 17 years, is crafting whimsically wonderful porcelain ceramic pieces in her Beulah home studio, nestled along a trickling tributary that feeds into Benzie County’s Crystal Lake.

It’s this idyllic Northwoods setting that provides endless inspiration for Liebler. So much so, that after leaving her job to focus on being a full-time mom back in 2017, she decided to turn her passion for pottery into a small business: Cold Creek Arts.

Liebler’s hand-thrown functional art is a direct reflection of the beauty found among Northern Michigan’s flora and fauna. Think mossy mushroom coffee mugs, dandelion candlestick holders, wild strawberry-studded plates and trillium trinket dishes.

“I have a deep love for all of our gorgeous seasons and the nuances that make them special,” Liebler says. “All of my work is greatly influenced by these changes and what they bring, so you will see different animals, plants and themes depending on a collection’s release date. This summer, I was heavily inspired by blueberry picking and fishing with my family.”

Hiking, gardening and reading fairy and folktales are also sources of joy and creativity for Liebler. While she loves all of the North’s creatures, she admittedly is drawn to the animals she observes by Cold Creek and in her own backyard— chipmunks, chickadees, owls, rabbits, toads, foxes and deer.

“We live in a very special part of the world, and I hope my art can remind people to find the magic and peace in it,” Liebler says. “Hopefully our children will, too.”

You can find her one-of-a-kind treasures at Nature Walk Studio in Empire and Oliver Art Center in Frankfort. Liebler also does small-batch releases through her Etsy shop (ColdCreekArts), and her next update is slated for late November/early December. After that, she’s planning a spring release in April 2025. We can’t wait to see what kind of woodland beauties she’s been dreaming up.

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Up North Curiosities What We’re Reading: Story of a Marriage on christmas eve in 1968, jim mccormick wrote a letter to his wife, marilyn.

It was their first Christmas together, and he had forgotten to buy her a gift.

“I did the only thing I could do,” he says. “I poured out my heart in as beautiful a letter as I could muster about our life together that year.

“To my surprise, she wept, kissed me, and begged me to compose such a letter every Christmas season for the rest of our lives, which I did. The good years. The lean years.

Raising kids and growing old.”

After fifty years and fifty letters, Marilyn became ill. Before passing, she shared that the letters were saved in a box. Rereading them was an emotional journey for McCormick as he recalled their days as newlyweds, the strains on their marriage, the apologies—the depth of their love.

The decision to publish their letters didn’t come easily, he says. “They were written for her eyes only, but our family, friends and readers have told me that Story of a Marriage has something to say to lovers, young and old.”

Published by Mission Point Press; available at local bookstores and via bookshop.org.

GET TICKETS The Nutcracker

THIS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE

by the Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre is a favorite holiday tradition, sharing a Christmas story from a time gone by. This year, in addition to shows in Traverse City (Dec. 7–8), the cast will transform The Cheboygan Opera House into the Land of Sweets on Dec. 14.

MyNorthTickets.com

Carly’s Swooning Over: TCFF Tuesdays TUESDAY NIGHTS ARE THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY WEEK

thanks to the Traverse City Film Festival’s yearround fest at the State Theatre. I look forward to putting on my comfiest sweatshirt, buying a box of Junior Mints and being whisked away to other worlds, both real and imagined.

The lineup has run the gamut, from documentaries to dramas, inviting moviegoers to experience the beauty and despair of Appalachia ruled over by King Coal; travel to Bhutan, one of the world’s youngest democracies; see Tehran through the eyes of Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died at the hands of Iran’s “morality police.”

photo by Dave Weidner

I’ve cried, laughed and gasped in awe.

Winter season passes go on sale in early December, just in time for gift giving. – C.S. Swoon! See what our editors are loving each month: link.mynorth.com/swoon

DECEMBER 2024

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The Keweenaw is calling...

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Up North Travel

THAT HOLIDAY GLOW

by CARLY SIMPSON

These spectacular displays light up the night and lift our hearts.

SkyBridge, Boyne Falls

SkyBridge Michigan’s immersive experience, Lights in the Sky, features more than 150,000 twinkle lights (150,000!!) that cascade like luxurious dripping gemstones from the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge. SkyBridge stretches an impressive 1,200 feet, and at its highest point rises 120 feet off the ground. Lights in the Sky is open from November through March.

The afterglow: Snag a basket of pierogies and kielbasa at the SkyBridge food truck.

photo courtesy of Boyne Mountain

Lower Harbor Ore Dock, Marquette

Local history and modern technology merge in this dramatic laser light display on the north side of Marquette’s iconic ore dock. Each week (November 28–December 28) features a different theme. Catch the festive show every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6–8 p.m.

The afterglow: Round out your visit to Marquette with German comfort food at Steinhaus (jägerschnitzel, spätzle, warm pretzels) and a cocktail at the Crow’s Nest, perched atop the historic Landmark Inn with views of Lake Superior and the Ore Dock.

Herman Holidays, Suttons Bay

Head to the end of Murray Court for a truly one-of-a-kind holiday display. Hundreds of wondrous pieces—penguins in a sailboat, Santa piloting a plane, a scarf-clad squirrel up in a

tree, playful otters with presents—fill Dale and Sandy Herman’s front yard, dazzling tens of thousands of visitors over the last four decades. Be sure to sign the guestbook, and follow Herman Holiday’s Facebook page for visitor information.

The afterglow: Plan ahead and reserve an igloo at nearby Hop Lot Brewing Co. Family Day Sundays are especially cozy with free s’mores and hot cocoa.

Boss Family Christmas Display, Charlevoix

The angels in the story are both the mother who started the tradition (some years writing the names of every neighborhood child somewhere in the holiday display) and the family members who have kept her legacy going on Pearl Avenue for 41 years and counting. The Boss family lights up their neighborhood near Mt. McSauba (a fun stop for sledding and snowshoeing) with indoor and outdoor displays of Christmas trees and characters. Check the family’s Facebook page for updates.

The afterglow: Outside, snow swirls over Round Lake, but inside Bridge Street Taproom, diners marvel at a heroic grilled mac ’n’ cheese sandwich with Plath’s bacon, sliced avocado and sriracha aioli.

Central Neighborhood, Traverse City

Victorian beauties drip with icicle lights, nutcrackers guard elegant entryways and sleighs parked in front yards look right at home. Wander between Sixth and Eleventh streets and find the city’s finest glowing gingerbread houses.

Christmas Alley (near Tenth and Pine streets) is a favorite.

Visitors are encouraged to drive through the luminous lane from west to east.

The afterglow: Make it a date night at Forrest, a Food Studio. The tiny eatery and natural wine shop does a single seating on Friday and Saturday nights serving a multicourse menu that rotates monthly. Reservations are released a month in advance and fill up fast.

DECEMBER 2024

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by Traverse Magazine. This award is determined by popular vote from readers of Traverse, MI area. Readers can vote more than once. The award is not specific to financial services and does not imply an endorsement, recommendation, or reflect the performance of the advisor.

Visit https://mynorth.com/the-red-hot-best-ofnorthern-michigan/ for more information.

Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, a Registered Investment Adviser.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

Tax-Savvy Giving 4 smart strategies for high-net-worth families.

by KIRSETIN K. MORELLO

M

ichiganders are known for their generosity; a 2021 study found that more than half of us give to charity annually. If you’re among them, a little planning can ensure your generosity has the greatest effect.

“When charitable giving is a priority, there are strategies that allow the charity to receive more, while you also benefit,” explains Holly Gallagher, CFP®, founder and president of Horizon Financial in Traverse City. These strategies are essential to high-net-worth families who are charitably inclined, because they can help them itemize more on their tax return and do proactive tax planning with their CPA. “If you don’t itemize, you cannot write off your charitable contributions,” Gallagher adds. Here are four tax-smart giving strategies—and a few surprising benefits and facts you may not know about them.

DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS (DAF)

A DAF works like a charitable savings account. You contribute, get an immediate tax deduction, and decide later which charities to support. In the meantime, your donation grows tax-free.

“This is particularly useful for business owners after selling a business,” Gallagher says. “We’ve helped clients use a DAF to donate significant amounts while enjoying greater tax savings than a direct donation.”

Generally, a donor-advised fund is a separately identified fund or account that is maintained and operated by a section 501(c)(3) organization, which is called a sponsoring organization. Each account is composed of contributions made by individual donors. Once the donor makes the contribution, the organization has legal control over it; however, the donor, or donor’s representative, retains advisory privileges with respect to the distribution of funds and the investment assets in the account. Donors take a tax deduction for all contributions at the time they are made, even though the money may not be dispersed to a charity until much later.

What You Might Not Know 1. Once you donate to your DAF, it’s irreversible. “Only contribute what you’re sure you want to donate,” Gallagher advises.

2. You can donate non-cash assets, securing tax advantages by avoiding capital gains. “Stocks, real estate, sports memorabilia and even art can be contributed,” explains Gallagher.

QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION (QCD)

For those ages 70-and-a-half and older, a QCD allows direct donations from your IRA to charity. This can satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) without adding to taxable income—a win-win for reducing taxes while supporting your causes. Check with your Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) for up-to-date rules regarding the RMD.

What You Might Not Know 1. A QCD can only come from a traditional IRA, not from 401(k)s or 403(b)s.

2. You don’t pay taxes on QCDs, but you also can’t claim a charitable deduction for the same amount.

3. QCDs currently have a $105,000 annual limit per person, which will increase to $110,000 in 2025.

NAMING A CHARITY AS A BENEFICIARY

Another powerful tool for charitable giving is naming a charity as the beneficiary of your qualified accounts, like a 401(k) or 403(b). “It allows estates to avoid income taxes on these funds,” Gallagher explains. “Charities don’t pay taxes on withdrawals from these qualified accounts, but heirs do.”

What You Might Not Know Many people assume their heirs will benefit most from a 401(k) or traditional IRA, but since these funds are taxed on withdrawal, leaving them to charity may offer more value. By giving taxable accounts to charity and tax-free accounts like Roth IRAs to heirs, you can maximize the benefits for both.

THE VALUE OF FAMILY MEETINGS

A family meeting with your CFP®, CPA and estate planning attorney can ensure your loved ones understand your charitable goals, while fostering a culture of giving across generations. Gallagher and her team often begin by asking each family member to identify their core values, then find common ground. “We want everyone rowing in the same direction,” she says.

Why It Matters Without clear communication, misunderstandings about charitable plans can create friction. A family meeting offers the opportunity to explain your decisions and involve your children or grandchildren in your vision. By using these strategies, you can ensure your generosity benefits both your family and your favorite causes.

DECEMBER 2024

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ALL HE NEEDED

by Christopher J. Mundy

Dad spent his life as an outlier, but each year he found solace and connection among the pines of a seasonal Christmas tree lot.

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rowing up I loved Christmas like most kids ... believing in something magical, the unknown, a man who, if you were good, rewarded you with presents. A time to celebrate faith and reflect on religion. Though for most kids it is about the gifts and presents, and I get this.

Now as an adult with the holidays approaching, I think of Christmas trees. They hold a fond place in my heart and stir memories of years past. A connection between me and my father. This story is about my first job and one of my father’s last jobs.

I was raised in rural Northern Michigan, and Wexford County was Christmas-tree country. The Helsel family was known in Lake City and Manton for the largest farms, the most trees and the best place for a teenager to get their first paying summer job trimming DECEMBER 2024

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those trees. A job that started at six in the morning in the dew-soaked fields along country roads. Rows of little Douglas fir trees that seemed to go for miles. You would get paid per tree, 25 cents for the smaller trees. As the trees got larger, you got paid hourly, and more skill and detail were required. The larger trees would soon be painted, pruned a final time, cut, bound and shipped downstate and across the Midwest for sale.

My high school buddies would pile into my station wagon at 5:30 a.m.—brown bag lunches, coolers and gallon milk jugs filled with water in tow, plus our razor-sharp machetes, ready for a quick six-hour shift in the fields. The days had an early start, but you were done at noon because of the summer heat—free to go fish or hang out at the local watering holes, find mischief or even an afternoon nap. Yes, these were the summer days of my youth.

Risks of the job that I remember were hitting an unforeseen hornet’s nest in a tree or swinging recklessly with your machete, in a rush or from fatigue, and gashing yourself. No medics or onsite nurses in these fields. When boredom would set in, an honest wrestling match among the teenage workers would usually ensue. Fridays were pay day. A few hundred dollars cash for a teen in Northern Michigan might as well have been a million dollars to me. Well-earned and well saved.

I HOPE the words he shared with those he loved

and those he crossed paths with resonate today. Live an honest life, simple and pure; love and respect Mother Earth; and love and be role models for our children.

My father was an intellectual, born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. The oldest of seven siblings. A blue-collar family. Dad worked his way through high school and college. He was a competitive swimmer at Stevenson and earned an academic scholarship to Michigan State. Gerry Mundy Jr. would go on to receive his masters degree at Wayne State University and was close to completing his Ph.D. Dad decided not to turn in his dissertation in protest of the politics of higher education, academia and most likely the American political environment at the time. This was the late sixties and the height of the counterculture.

My sister would inform me years later of the acronym ABD—all but dissertation. A well-written thesis that now sits in a box in my garage that, if turned in and defended, would have resulted in my father’s successful completion of his Ph.D. He was a man of great virtue and principle, so much so that he would do things like this to turn up his middle finger at the establishment.

Driven by his values, his life was shaped by such acts; and our family’s lives, for that matter. This is what led him and my mother to Northern Michigan. A 40-acre organic farm, a dirt road, a collection of animals, no neighbors,

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apple orchards and alfalfa fields, running water, but no cable TV. Pure, clean and good living.

My father was a dreamer and an entrepreneur, started many things but possibly finished even fewer. Dad brainstormed revolutionary ideas daily on the back of a napkin and on his yellow legal pads. I can find many a list: how to market, start-up costs and who would be the best collaborators and clients. Wind, solar power and alternative energy were some of my dad’s favorites. He literally designed and wrote about an electric car in the early ’80s, only for Elon Musk to launch Tesla in 2010. My dad once visited an IKEA store in western Pennsylvania in 1984 and wrote in his notes, “revolutionary—game changer, beautiful design.” The IKEA store opened in the Chicago suburbs in 1998; cars and people were lined up for miles.

Swedish design. Go figure. Hemp and marijuana. Don’t even get me started. This was Dad’s vision and dream, now commonplace.

My father would never have a formal job: never punched a timeclock, never wore a suit and never had a company car. Free and happy living, his virtues. I used to say if Dad had a $20 bill in his pocket to make it through a

day, he was happy. Some days I am not sure this was even the case. I don’t know if he ever had a bank account.

In 1995, my father was in his early 50s.

Jobs were somewhat tougher to come by and I could see Dad scrambling in some senses, possibly desperate, although he would never show it. The holidays came, and he leaned on a close friend from Mesick for a seasonal job selling Christmas trees at his lot in Livonia.

My dad was Santa; not exactly, but he looked the part, a long beard (although not white) and glasses, and a puffy brown coat and winter cap. He lived in a small trailer on the tree lot for the month of December.

He loved seeing the families come, celebrating their annual post-Thanksgiving tradition of picking a tree and kicking off the holiday season. Dad loved kids. Ask any niece or nephew or family friend—Dad had that innate ability to connect. Make them feel special. Ask questions. Talk sports, music. Giggle. Laugh. Give them his undivided attention. This, we know, is all kids really yearn for.

My sister and I visited Dad at the tree lot one season, and I left very sad and distraught. How could this be the life my father had chosen? With my biggest concern being, isn’t he lonely?

I would never get the answers to those questions. My father passed away the next fall in Kingsley. Out in the woods, in a small trailer, with no running water, electricity or even a cell phone. “Off the grid,” as Dad liked to say. As tough as it was for me those many years to try to come to terms with his life and lifestyle, I only have the utmost respect for a man who let his actions and life be a symbol of his beliefs.

Actions did speak louder than words. And I hope the words he shared with those he loved and those he crossed paths with resonate today. Live an honest life, simple and pure; love and respect Mother Earth; and love and be role models for our children. Life is that simple.

How ironic that my first job and one of my father’s last jobs are tied to Christmas trees. I do believe in the magic of the holidays—that for a month or even a day, everyone can take time to reflect, be kind, show appreciation and give thanks for the gift of life and the precious relationships we have within it. ’Tis the season.

Excerpted from the family memoir Forty Acres, in which siblings Christopher and Meaghan Mundy share memories of their Northern Michigan childhood— farm life, simpler times, lessons in love and what it means to suddenly lose a parent. © 2023.

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Anything But CookieCutter

by CARLY SIMPSON

Step into the ovenoven-warmed, sugar--dusted kitchen sugar of Danielle Reeber.

T

o many, Danielle is known simply as The Cookie Lady. It’s an accurate title. Her booth at the Interlochen Farmers Market teems with dozens of intricately decorated confections: Dainty sugar plum fairies, playful kittens, space-bound rockets. Danielle’s imagination, and her impressive collection of cookie cutters, know no bounds.

How impressive? The latest cutter count was upward of 1,000, but it’s a number that constantly grows thanks to Danielle’s 3D printer and her mechanical engineer son who creates custom cookie cutters for special orders.

A former physical education and health teacher, Danielle hasn’t always worn an apron. After school DECEMBER 2024

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DANIELLE TEACHES COOKIE DECORATING CLASSES FOR GROUPS AND CAN MAKE YOUR CUSTOM COOKIE DREAMS COME TRUE. FIND ORDER FORMS AND INSPIRATION ON HER INSTAGRAM PROFILE, @DANIJOSCOOKIES.

Carly Simpson is managing editor of Traverse Northern Michigan.

Tim Hussey is the art director of Traverse Northern Michigan. He is also a fine artist and photographer. thusseyphoto.com

layoffs and a health diagnosis, Danielle and her husband, Paul, kept their chins up and moved from Oregon to Michigan with high school–aged triplets in tow.

When the kids went off to college, Danielle wanted to send care packages for Valentine’s Day. So, she baked a batch of cookies. And then another. And another.

She kept experimenting, honing her recipes and doing blind taste tests with family and friends. A few months later, she started selling at the farmers market and attended CookieCon, the largest gathering of cookie artists in the world.

Nearly four years and thousands of bakes later, Danielle has created some truly beautiful bites. She uses edible ink markers and a projector for hand-drawn fonts and finishing details; obsesses over shades of icing and discusses color theory with her daughter, a Parsons School of Design grad; and dabbles in painting with gel food colors that are mixed with a few drops of vodka to create a watercolor-like medium. She has rarely, perhaps never, recreated the same exact design.

For this story, Danielle shared a platter of Northwoods-inspired holiday cookies. As someone who has tried to wield a bag of icing at home (and been quickly humbled by the resulting mess), I’m in awe of her textured evergreen boughs, delicate snowflakes and the tiny polka-dot curtains hanging in a retro camper.

And I’m in awe of her quiet courage. To give herself permission to try something new; to move cross-country; to rethink her career; to create even when insecurities creep in; to keep moving forward—one batch of cookies at a time.

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Holiday Cookie HowHow-To Danielle recommends online recipes by fellow cookiers Lila Loa and Arty McGoo. She turns to The Cookie Countess for supplies like culinary stencils and meringue powder. Etsy and Ann Clark have a fabulous selection of cookie cutters.

Vanilla Sugar Cookie

by Lila Loa

1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 3 ½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

2. Cream the butter and both sugars together in a large bowl. If you have any brown sugar lumps, you should crush them up or pull them out. They will make dents in your baked cookies.

3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

4. Add the salt and baking powder and mix again.

5. Altitude and humidity affect the amount of flour you need. Start with 3 ½ cups. You may need to add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time (no more than 4 cups total) until the dough is no longer sticky, and pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl.

6. If you want to roll out and bake your cookies right away, add another 1/2 cup of flour so it will be thick enough to transfer from your counter to your baking sheet. If you’re going to chill the dough overnight and bake the next day, your dough is ready to go in the fridge.

7. Bake at 350°F. If you roll dough to ¼-inch thick, bake cookies for about 7 minutes. If you roll to 3/8-inch thick, bake for about 10–12 minutes.

The Icing on Top The key to achieving the cookies of our Pinterest dreams is royal icing, which uses egg whites or meringue powder to achieve a smooth finish. This is Danielle’s go-to recipe.

Royal Icing To frost 2–3 dozen cookies, depending on size 2 pounds powdered sugar 5 Tablespoons meringue powder 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (or flavoring of your choice) 2 Tablespoons corn syrup Food coloring gel, optional 1/2 cup warm water In a large mixing bowl, add powdered sugar and meringue powder.

Mix together with a whisk. Add flavoring of your choice, corn syrup and food coloring gel. Mix on low to medium speed for about 3 minutes. Don’t over mix. It should be smooth and shiny. Tip: To achieve a bright white icing, you’ll need to add white food coloring gel.

Add water a little at a time to thin down to desired consistency.

This is a personal preference and depends on what you’re using the icing for (thinner for flooding or thicker for piping). Tip: A spray bottle is helpful for adding small amounts of water at a time.

I think it’s easier to add a little more water instead of adding more powdered sugar to thicken your icing back up.

Start Decorating While there are tons of cookie decorating tools out there, you really just need a couple of tipless piping bags for icing. First, outline the edge of your cookie with your thicker, piping icing to create a border. Then, using the same color icing, “flood” the cookie—you’re simply filling in the area you outlined to give the cookie a smooth finish. Let the icing set for a few minutes so it firms up, and then pipe your details. Tip: Have two icing bags per color, so you can have a thin icing for flooding and a thick icing for piping.

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ALLISON JARRELL ACOSTA STORY AND PHOTOS BY

N A T U R E’S EM BR ACE

DEEP IN OUR NORTHWOODS, A FOREST BATHING SANCTUARY AWAITS. TO FIND IT, YOU’LL NEED TO SLOW DOWN AND UNPLUG FROM THE DIGITAL WORLD IN YOUR POCKET.

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As

I breathe in the crisp forest air, the buzz of to-dos, deadlines and intrusive thoughts begins to fade. The clutter is gradually replaced with whispers of woods and wildlife: bird calls, snapping twigs, the trickle of flowing water.

I exhale a fleeting, misty cloud and smile as I watch it dissipate; as a kid, I loved becoming a fearsome fire-breathing dragon as soon as the weather cooled.

When was the last time I thought about that?

On paper, today’s snowy trek isn’t out of the ordinary for me. I’m an all-season, nature-loving hiker. And a slow one at that. Family and friends who have been out in the woods with me know that I’m keen on stopping—a lot—to obsess over weird new-to-me mushrooms, to lie on the ground and photograph wildflowers from an ant’s POV, and to search endlessly for forest ephemera—leaves, acorns, rocks—to stuff into my camera bag.

I stop for fuzzy caterpillars and swirly-shelled snails. I pluck violets and dandelions and nettle. I make up silly hiking songs to pass the time …

And did I mention photos?

I stop and take a lot of photos.

A 30-minute hike can easily turn into hours of getting just the right angle on a sunlit leaf, or a bee curled up in a flower. (With plenty of nerding out and hyper-fixating in between.)

Today, though, feels different. My phone is off; my hands empty. And my camera is sitting at home instead of hanging from my shoulder.

My Fitbit is the only one documenting this hike. And I tell myself that that’s all right. I can focus on being present.

But, if I’m being honest, I’ve only been walking for a few minutes into the snowy woods when I first feel it—the familiar urge to check my phone.

To swipe it open and snap photos and videos and post.

To pick up my camera and click away.

I feel mounting pressure to extend this moment, rather than just live it.

But, strong as they are, those impulses begin to dwindle.

And I happily push them back. Today, I’m trading that instant gratification for a much deeper, lasting serotonin rush.

We’re here in the woods to unplug and reconnect with nature—with ourselves. To find peace of mind among the trees.

To breathe in and bathe in the forest.

MAPLE BAY NATURAL AREA

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Known originally as shinrin-yoku, the term forest bathing was first coined in Japan in the ’80s; the direct translation: “being in the atmosphere of the forest.” It’s a practice that involves meditation in nature—walking slowly through a forest and soaking in the atmosphere with all of your senses. A therapeutic act that reduces stress and boosts your mood.

While the concept of seeking healing in nature isn’t new, Dr. Qing Li—an expert in forest medicine, professor at the Nippon Medical School Hospital in Tokyo and president of the Japanese Society of Forest Therapy—says the term was invented in 1982 by the thendirector general of the Agency of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Tomohide Akiyama.

In Li’s book, Into the Forest: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness, he writes that Akiyama felt “the people of Japan were in need of healing through nature.”

“The idea was also part of a campaign to protect the forests,” Li continues. “If people were encouraged to visit forests for their health, they would be more likely to want to protect and look after them.”

Li estimates that humans spend about 90 percent of our lives indoors; eight hours a day, on average, looking at screens.

And that lines up with reports specific to the U.S. In 2017, The Nature of Americans National Report found that more than half of adults spend five hours or fewer outside in nature each week. And the Outdoor Foundation reported that while 2022 saw a record number of people participating in outdoor

MAPLE BAY NATURAL AREA

recreation, the number of outings per person declined for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.

This surprises me—we’re on a decline, despite study after study showing us that spending time in nature can improve mood and mental health, reduce stress and improve attention, focus and memory. And when it comes to forest bathing in particular, Li’s research has found it can help reduce blood pressure, improve energy levels and boost the immune system.

Needless to say, I was all in when I was invited on a forest bathing excursion by Julie Den Uyl, an outdoor educator and founder of Sleeping Bear Tour Co., which offers guided forest bathing tours. She’s a passionate advocate and says it’s a practice that “transcends location and invites everyone to find solace wherever they may roam.”

For our outing, Uyl took our group deep into the snowy woods of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in February.

We left the parking lot—bundled up, with cellphones on silent— and walked along a burbling Platte River. She pointed out small observations. The sound of a kingfisher chittering. The abstract pattern on a tree trunk left by pileated woodpeckers.

These sights and sounds might not seem so different from what you’d notice on a regular hike. But experiencing the woods with all five of your senses is key to forest bathing: sight, sound, touch, smell, even taste. And I found that slowing down to enjoy those last three made all the difference.

We ran our fingers over craggy bark. Rubbed balsam fir boughs that released bright, citrusy essential oils. Stopped to pick wintergreen, an edible plant with a refreshingly crisp flavor.

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ACME BAYSIDE PARK

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ACME BAYSIDE PARK

I found myself tuning into what’s normally white noise: the soft crunch of fresh, powdery snow compacting under my boots; the small, scattered sounds of chipmunks on the run.

“In the quiet embrace of nature, one finds a sanctuary from the chaos of the world, where the soul can find peace and rejuvenation,” Uyl says.

From beginning to end (which included a post-hike tailgate of hot tea and treats), our forest bathing trek was a much-needed escape—a true retreat from the daily swirl of pings and reply-alls.

While you could (and should) try the art of forest bathing in all of Michigan’s seasonal splendor, I think winter is the perfect time to really slow down and immerse yourself in our Northwoods. Sure, the weather’s a touch unpredictable, but that just means each day offers a new experience … perhaps a river studded with snow-dusted stones, or the wake of a lake that’s newly thawed.

Whether you’re joining Uyl for a guided tour, or just venturing into your own backyard, take a few moments this season to slow down, look around and listen to the trees. Smell the pine. Feel the bark. Catch a snowflake on your tongue. Just exist.

Your body, and your mind, will thank you.

Note: Our forest bathing guide—Julie Den Uyl of Sleeping Bear Tour Co.—encouraged us to be fully present in the moment by silencing our phones and refraining from taking photos. As such, the images for this piece are not from our Sleeping Bear trip, but rather, subsequent hikes across the North. (Find more info on these hikes below!)

3

FOREST

BATHING

HIKES

Acme Bayside Park: Nestled off a busy thoroughfare, this may not be your first choice for peaceful forest bathing, but it’s a perfect pit stop and only takes a few moments of meandering to find quiet along the coast of East Grand Traverse Bay. This gem has more than 900 feet of waterfront that, under a fresh blanket of snow, transforms into a serene landscape.

Maple Bay Natural Area, Williamsburg: This 425-acre Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy property features 1.75 miles of forested trail, which can be extended with a walk along a secluded beach. Watch snow fall from towering cedars while you make your way to a dramatic dunescape.

Hartwick Pines State Park, Grayling: If hiking beneath snow-dusted old-growth pines sounds like your winter wonderland of choice, this is your spot. The 9,700-acre park is home to 21 miles of trails, including the accessible Old Growth Forest Trail. Towering red and white pines—one of the last stands in the state—will leave you in awe.

Allison Jarrell Acosta is associate editor of Traverse Northern Michigan. allison@mynorth.com 30 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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I

n the early 1980s, Jim and Jan Norris purchased a hundred-acre wood in the center of Leelanau County with views that roll out over forested hills all the way to Lake Leelanau and miles down the Lake Michigan coast. The couple took their time deciding when and what to build, enjoying the property for hiking in the meantime. Finally, around 2000, they turned to MAC Custom Homes to design and build a summer home situated to take in the sublime views from the top of the wooded ridge. Back then, Northern Michigan’s luxury custom-home scene was in its fledgling stages, but the company, founded by Mike Collings, was already breaking out as a leader.

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Eight years later, after deciding to move their family to Northern Michigan full-time, the Norrises once again hired MAC Custom Homes to remodel and expand the house. This time they added two other Northern Michigan design teams to the mix: Mike and Angela Goodall, founders and principals of Kitchen Choreography, and Dorina Rudd of Design Strategies. In 2014 and again in 2018, the couple turned to the same crew for further home refreshes.

The Norrises were more than satisfied with their rustic farmhousestyle home when, on the first cold day of October 2020, Jim lit a fire in the great room hearth that ignited a chimney fire. The couple called the local fire department, and after scouring the home with detectors, firefighters pronounced it safe. Several hours later, however, the smoke alarms began screaming—and the couple opened the bedroom door to find the great room filled with smoke.

Looking out the bedroom window, Jim could see the orange glow of the roof burning. The couple, their three dogs and pet bird made it out safely—just hours before the roof collapsed. What turned out to be a

Above: The custom-glazed white-oak kitchen cabinetry was all made by Symphony, a division of Kitchen Choreography.

The black hood was custom fabricated by MAC Custom Homes.

The countertops are Brittanicca Block Cambria Quartz.

Previous pages: The serene color palette allows the wooded view to take center stage. MAC Custom Homes constructed the stone fireplace and floating white-oak shelves. Interior Designer Dorina Rudd chose the classically modern furnishings.

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Not only would the couple need to rebuild with winter coming on, but also they’d have to do it amid the shutdowns and slowdowns of the pandemic.

“It was not the time to build new relationships,” Jan says; they immediately contacted Kitchen Choreography, Design Strategies and MAC Custom Homes for their rebuild. Sadly, Mike Collings had since passed away, but the company is run by his former employees, Executive Builder (and now owner) Joe Colgrove and Executive Assistant Marcy Hurst. As for the other team members, the Goodalls of Kitchen Choreography and Dorina Rudd and her Design Strategies—their résumés brimmed with some of the finest designs in Northern Michigan.

The busy team worked seamlessly together to rebuild the home within the same footprint, but this time with a new classic modern look.

Above: The table in the cozy dining nook stretches to seat 20.

Below: Citron-colored bar stools make a playful color statement.

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Above: Kitchen Choreography designed the handsome maple wet bar with its Villa Black finish.

Below: Storage in the foyer matches the maple/Villa Black wet bar in the next room. The porcelain entry is perfect for muddy boots and paws—the Norrises have three dogs.

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Gone was the dark woodwork and rustic peeled beams, and in came the soothing tones of light oak and maple in the flooring, beams and cabinetry, coupled with a leathered granite hearth, soft gray walls and furniture, and pops of citron green upholstery. In the kitchen, marble-veined Cambria countertops, black appliances and a handsome black custom range hood added more contrast. The monochromatic palette is the perfect backdrop for the Norris’ new art collection—one that has been carefully rebuilt since the fire.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the execution was its efficiency.

From top to bottom, the Norris’ new home was ready to move into in 20 months. “They all did an incredible job under very stressful circumstances,” Jan says. “The best part of the rebuild was the quality of craftsmanship, the teams we worked with and most of all: being home again.”

Above: The only change the couple made to the home’s former footprint was to knock out the bathroom wall to make more room for a soaking tub. The white-oak cabinetry is by Symphony.

Below: Both Jim’s desk (shown here) and Jan’s are custom made from white oak by Symphony.

resources Builder: MAC Custom Homes Kitchen and Bath: Kitchen Choreography Interior Design: Design Strategies

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R

ick Turchetti has fond memories of spending time on sprawling, sparkling Crystal Lake as a child. When he and his wife, Kathy, began searching for a cottage Up North, he naturally gravitated to the Crystal Lake area. One July day in 2014, a listing popped up on his phone for a home on Platte Lake. “To be honest, I didn’t even know this lake existed because there’s a hill between Crystal Lake and Platte,” he says. He was intrigued—by both the 3.3-mile-long lake and the photos of the cottage on the listing. While it was clear the cottage had drawbacks (it wasn’t winterized and there were holding tanks), Rick was impressed by its extensive original woodwork.

As luck would have it, he and Kathy, who live in Grand Rapids, were visiting friends in the area, so they decided to pop by that day.

From the get-go, the cottage hardly looked promising. A mouse skittered across the floor as they entered, and once inside the tightly shuttered interior, Kathy spied another dead mouse on the fireplace mantel. “It was just stinky, dirty and claustrophobic,” she says.

Nevertheless, Rick found the woodwork was even more stunning than the photo had shown. The walls, ceilings and rafters were clad with clear (meaning completely free of knots) Douglas fir that was as smooth and unscathed as it had been when the cottage was built in 1927. Enamored as he was, Rick was pretty sure his wife would hate it. But Kathy has her own eye for vintage finds, one that began focusing through the dim light on original wicker furniture, Art Deco lamps and sconces, a cupboard full of

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Depression glass—all in time-capsule condition.

Indeed, it was as if the Ohio banker who built the cottage a century ago had simply locked the door behind him on his last visit. In reality, however, the cottage, which stayed in the same family all those decades, had been used for at least several weeks a summer. But almost unbelievably, none of those descendants had ever changed anything, right down to allowing the small maple trees on the lakeside to

Top: Kathy’s one caveat for the small dark kitchen was that it needed to be brighter: “I have to have color,” she says. To that end, the couple installed the large window over the sink and Kathy picked out the bright period-correct Art Deco color palette.

The range and lighting came with the cottage.

Below: The Turchettis’ eye for curating shines in the circa 1930s/40s covers of nature magazines the couple found in the cottage, had framed and then hung on the staircase wall. With its original wicker, woodwork and lighting, the cottage looks much as it has for a hundred years. It takes a sharp eye to see how the original casement windows are enclosed by new energy-efficient ones on the exterior.

Previous spread: The yard is cleaned up, the deck replaced and the old overgrown maple tree removed to usher in a view of Platte Lake—nevertheless the cottage looks as though it has changed little over the last century.

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Right: Rick built the bunks for the couple’s grandchildren, staining them an antique blue.

Below: The vanity table in the primary bedroom is original to the cottage.

While the Turchettis were able to use most of the standard beds that came with the cottage in other bedrooms, the old-fashioned double beds weren’t going to work for the 6-foot-tall Rick, so they replaced it with a new period-style king.

grow into monstrous specimens that, by the time the Turchettis toured the home, completely blocked the lake view—although the cottage is set just steps from the water.

The couple knew they had found a diamond in the rough and bought the cottage turnkey. And then began two years of clearing stuffed closets, opening boxes and cleaning, sorting and curating the seemingly endless array of contents. Gross stuff (and there was plenty) was tossed into a dumpster. The Douglas fir woodwork paneling was scrubbed with Murphy’s Oil Soap until it gleamed, as was the original one-inch-wide tongue-andgroove maple flooring. The windows— all original glass—were polished until

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they shone. The Depression glass got a bath, too, before it was put back into its original cupboard. The couple culled the mountains of old tools in the garage and walk-up attic, then carted away what they couldn’t use.

The wicker was cleaned up and kept, the Art Deco lighting re-wired and rehung, and the fireplace and chimney refurbished.

Along the way, the couple unearthed surprises both small and, well, huge. Among them, two Limbert (the once-upon-a-time competitor to Stickley) chairs, fishing gear dating to

the 1930s, and antique toys including a rare wind-up car sporting passengers Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd—tin versions of Edgar Bergen’s famous puppet pair. Exciting, but nothing matched the thrill of finding antique Navajo rugs on the floors, stacked in boxes and one still rolled in its original wrapping bearing its very vintage price tag of $380. The rugs were recently appraised for around $60,000.

The Turchettis more than appreciated the historical value of their new cottage. The problem: How could

11/6/24 12:02 PM

Scott Norris believes building a new home should be a deeply rewarding experience.

Scott Norris has been building breathtaking homes in the Greater Grand Traverse Area since 1984.

231.946.6848 • ScottNorrisConstruction.com • 5111 Cedar Run Rd, Traverse City

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Top: Serendipitously, the parlor sofa, which was the first piece of furniture the couple purchased after they were married, works perfectly in the cottage. The original cottage fireplace (not shown) sits across from it.

Bottom: The ingenious envelope of new construction over the old cottage means that the new exterior is almost identical to the original.

they winterize it and bring the electrical and HVAC up to modern standards without totally gutting it?

After some head scratching and consulting with contractor David Kwekel of BDD Construction, Rick, an engineer, came up with the ingenious idea of framing it out and insulating from the outside and then covering it with an exact replica of the original exterior. Not only did this solution allow them to save all of the cottage’s interior woodwork, but this also meant the original windows and casements could remain intact. The new casement windows were simply installed over the old ones—the old ones still open in, while the new overlays open out.

Now finished, the home blends perfectly with the neighboring cottages, which date from the same era. It isn’t hard to imagine that old Ohio banker pulling up for a visit. Rick would offer him a cigar and then they’d get into all that vintage fishing equipment and probably some bourbon (Kathy would serve it in the Depression glass, of course) and who knows in what century they’d all end up.

resources Contractor: BDD Construction Cabinets and Countertops: Century Floors Windows: North Star Windows & Doors Paint: Benjamin Moore

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SPONSORED

GIVE NORTHERN MICHIGAN

VOLUNTEER LIKE A PRO Tips on how to pick the right nonprofit and make the most of your gift of time.

AS A POTENTIAL VOLUNTEER, ESPECIALLY A FIRST TIMER,

it’s important to think about the work you want to do. It might be worth writing down some answers on paper to help sort out your vision for how to spend your time. It helps to be clear and honest about your hopes and expectations for volunteering.

Here are some questions to ask yourself: 1) How much time do I want to spend volunteering?

2) Do I want to spread it around or focus on one organization or project?

3) Do I want to go all in on one project, or give a set number of hours to the organization as a whole?

For example, do you want to put in a single 40-hour week to help build a new bike trail, or do you want to put in a half day every month to maintain a trail?

4) Indoor work or outdoor? How physically strenuous?

5) What skills can you offer—data entry, physical labor, fundraising support, graphic design?

6) Do you want to meet folks and work in groups?

7) Do you want to travel to a site to volunteer, or do you want to offer solitary work from your home office?

8) Are you hoping to learn something in particular?

231-938-6519 20fathoms.org 231-938-2990 acmechristian.org 810-701-7790 afsp.org/michigan 800-242-8721 heart.org 877-243-2528 communitychoicecu.com 231-305-6511 eaglevillage.org Traverse City, Interlochen, Elk Rapids edwardjones.com

231-922-4805 goodwillnmi.org

231-275-7329 lakeanncamp.com

231-941-0960 natureiscalling.org

231-252-4148 HabitatMatters.org

231-929-7911 gtrlc.org admin@gtyounglife.org grandtraverse.younglife.org 231-882-9510 growbenzie.org 231-941-6669 horizonfinancialtc.com 231-276-4400 interlochenpublicradio.org

pnntcmi@gmail.com pnntc.org 231-866-6199 powerbookbags.org 231 398-9770 ramsdelltheatre.org Subscribe to MyNorth e-newsletters: mynorth.com/newsletter Subscribe to Traverse NORTHERN MICHIGAN: mynorth.com/subscribe

52 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 2 0 2 4 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5

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The Cu l i nary North local restaurants · craft drinks · seasonal cuisine

“

… it’s all for the love of chocolate and the stories it can tell as it makes its way from the farmer to the bar.

photo by Danielle Charles-Davies

—MIKE DAVIES, OWNER OF CROW & MOSS

COFFEE SHOP RECS FOR YOUR SUN SIGN

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P. 56

WONDROUS CHOCOLATE P. 54

A BOURBON COCKTAIL FOR THE HOLIDAYS P. 59

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The Cu l i nary North Destination Eats

THE NORTH’S WONKA Inside a renovated factory in Petoskey, Mike Davies is crafting fantastical chocolate bars.

T

he vibrant packaging will catch your eye first—abstract patterns with rich colors like seafoam green, mustard yellow, deep plum and burnt orange. Then, the flavors. Banana cardamom brulée. Apple and honey oat crumble. Passion fruit sesame. Vanilla smoke. All entwined in sumptuous bars of chocolate.

“My list of failed flavor combinations is crazy long, but every once in a while, something works from the get-go, or you see a glimmer of how it could work,” says Mike Davies, the owner and mastermind behind Crow & Moss.

The four-year-old chocolate factory in Petoskey is a magical intersection of passion and creativity, with a pinch of obsession.

Inspiration struck on a car ride home at a time when Davies was searching for his next chapter. In 2018, he and his wife Danielle (the brilliant graphic designer and photographer behind the Crow & Moss brand), made the difficult decision to sell a business they’d started together five years prior, a café and pastry shop called Dripworks, to focus on health complications that Danielle was facing.

Davies knew he wanted to continue working with food and started experimenting in his basement at home with some basic equipment, including his wife’s pink hair dryer for winnowing cocoa nibs. “I just fell farther and farther down the rabbit hole,” he recalls.

At the heart of it all, Davies honors ethically sourced heirloom cacao in single-origin bars made simply from

cacao and organic cane sugar. Currently, Crow & Moss offers bars from four origins: Ecuador Camino Verde, India Anamalai, Dominican Republic Zorzal and Honduras Wampusirpi.

“Much like coffee, cacao is a plant that has such potential to enrich people’s lives on both ends of the production process, farmer to consumer, when sourced sustainably and responsibly,” he says. “Equally, it can cause a lot of harm when profitability is the only focus.

“Craft chocolate is a labor of love, full of daily problemsolving and seasonal challenges,” Davies continues. “No one is getting rich doing it, it’s all for the love of chocolate and the stories it can tell as it makes its way from the farmer to the bar.”

Carly’s current obsession: The banana cardamom brulée bar. Davies first roasts the bananas until they caramelize and sear to the pan to intensify their sweetness, then blends them into velvety dark chocolate laced with fragrant spice.

Gift this: The Honduras Wampusirpi drinking chocolate got a shoutout from Food & Wine last year (best hot chocolate for dark chocolate–lovers). I taste-tested and can confirm: it’s Decadent with a capital D. New: Davies recently began offering baked goods like brown-butter pistachio chocolate chip cookies, pear gâteau Breton (a rustic French butter cake), and his favorite, pecan pie blondie bars. “I love adding depth of flavor with components like brown butter, something you can’t necessarily detect on the surface, but underneath cranks up the complexity.”

photos by Danielle Charles-Davies

by CARLY SIMPSON

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“

Craft chocolate is a labor of love, full of daily problem-solving and seasonal challenges.

—MIKE DAVIES, OWNER OF CROW & MOSS

DECEMBER 2024

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The Cu l i nary North Bite

CELESTIAL SIPS

by CARA MCDONALD

Our indie coffee shop picks to suit your sun (or rising!) sign’s personality.

Aries: Espresso Bay

Gemini: Horizon Café

Taurus: Third Coast Bakery

Cancer: Good Harbor Coffee and Bakery

Optimistic, passionate Aries will love the vibe at Espresso Bay, set in the heart of the Front Street/downtown scene.

The bustling crowd and a cheery fireplace seating area match Aries’ bold, straightforward energy.

With their grounded nature, love of beauty and a finerthings palate, our Taurus friends will feel at home here. The vegan, allergy-safe café delights with scratch-made treats (all gluten, dairy and soy free) and a fireplace to eat them ’round.

Whimsical, cerebral and people-centered Gemini knows that heaven is coffee, treats and books. Horizon Book’s in-store café lets you thumb through your new purchases at the coffee bar while you enjoy the people watching on Front Street.

This OG of the TC coffee shop scene has a cozy cluster of tables, devoted clientele and a soul-warming pastry case (the scones!!!) that make for a natural fit for homebody Cancer’s sensitive and nurturing nature.

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“

Leo: Mundos 305

Leo’s big energy requires a big stage for look-at-me meetups; Mundos’ Front Street location, with soaring windows and minimalist décor, is expansive, “scene-y” and stylish— perfect for a morning meeting.

Virgo: Higher Grounds

The exacting pour-overs, flawless house-made syrups and quality roasts will delight detail-oriented Virgo. The indoor seating is no-nonsense, but that suits Virgo’s practicality fine—and the outdoor patio is heaven in warmer months.

Libra: NoBo Riverside Food & Drink

The concept behind NoBo appeals to Libra’s sense of balance, harmony and justice. The café, which serves locally roasted coffee and farm-to-table fare, lives in the co-operative Commongrounds building, home to co-working spaces, teaching kitchens and community housing.

With their love of all things unconventional, creative and intellectual, Aquarians are drawn to their namesake Water Bearer Coffee.

Scorpio: Cuppa Joe Westside

Bold art, playful music and a way-more-than-nibbles menu are a fit for Scorpio’s emotional energy. Bonus: Cuppa Joe’s setting, in the revitalized former state psychiatric hospital at The Commons, dovetails with Scorpio’s planetary energy (Pluto) that governs transformation.

Sagittarius: Hexenbelle

Tucked in the Warehouse MRKT, Hexenbelle is a welcome escape, especially if you pair your coffee with the Arabicinspired comfort food menu—an irresistible match to Sagittarius’ curiosity, passion and wanderlust.

Capricorn: Mundos West

Our goat friends are patient, dedicated and ruled by time, living by the motto life is short: too short to skip coffee, but also too short to wait in line or hang out endlessly.

Mundos West’s tiny storefront caters to walk-up orders and gets you in and out fast. If you want to linger a bit, grab a seat at the window or head to the inviting outdoor table down by Kids Creek.

Aquarius: Water Bearer Coffee

photo by Allison Jarrell Acosta

With their love of all things unconventional, creative and intellectual, Aquarians are drawn toward their namesake Water Bearer Coffee. Credit the astrological vibe, rich blue décor and its walk-through connection to Darling Botanical, a boutique plant shop with witty offerings.

Pisces: Outpost

Kind, creative and adaptable Pisces craves experiences that appeal to the senses. The newly imagined Outpost is a sister biz to The Mill in Glen Arbor, known for its soothing and sophisticated environment. Sustainably sourced coffee from Brooklyn’s Parlor is legendarily smooth, plus treats by a former Zingerman’s baker crackle with goodness.

Water Bearer Coffee

DECEMBER 2024

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Thank you God for the gift of

1913

111 years

2024

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation

Eph 2:8-10

~ Unique Gift Giving ~ World Famous Smoked Pork Loin, Whole Smoked Turkeys, Hams, Bacon, Sausage and Smoked Fish.

Nationwide Shipping Available at Plathsmeats.com 2200 East Mitchell Rd. at the corner of Mitchell & Division Roads PETOSKEY 231-348-8100 116 South 3rd Street ROGERS CITY 989-734-2232

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

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WITHOUT USING VACATION DAYS. Subscribe yourself or someone you love now for a full year of Traverse Northern Michigan for $39.95 and receive 6 issues of Northern Home & Cottage, the Vacation Guides and 10 other special sections.

MyNorth.com/Subscribe

Publication Title: Traverse Northern Michigan. 2. Publication Number: 10713719. 3. Filing Date: 09/30/2024. 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: Josh Trust, 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: 10/24. 15. Extent and nature of circulation, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: a. Total number of copies (net press run):10997. 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): 9398. (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 include sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 10. (4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0. c. Total paid distribution [sum of 15b. (1), (2), (3), and (4)]:9408. 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): 9408. g. Copies not distributed: 1589. h. Total (sum of 15f and g): 10997. 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):10795. 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): 8900. (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)]:8909. 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):8909. g. Copies not distributed: 1886. h. Total (sum of 15f and g): 10795. 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:799. b. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 10207 c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 9477. 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 12/24 issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Cara McDonald, Executive Editor. Date: 9/30/24. 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).

58 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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The Cu l i nary North In the Kitchen

BE OF GOOD CHEER

by CARLY SIMPSON

Forget cookies. Santa wants a cocktail.

T photo by Dave Weidner // styling by Sarah Peschel

he jolly crew at iron fish distillery knows a thing or two about merrymaking.

During the holidays, they turn to this decadent, cocoa-inspired cocktail to impress guests, pairing bourbon and chocolate with a spicy splash of Mexican chile liqueur. And that salted caramel rim—the bow on top.

^ Hotter Daughter Recipe Serves 1 1 ¼ ounces Iron Fish Bourbon 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.

DECEMBER 2024

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photo courtesy of Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau

Love of the Land

get there KEITH MCKELLOP WALKWAY Hugging the eastern shore of Lake Cadillac, the Keith McKellop Walkway is a onemile pathway perfect for taking a snowy stroll and soaking in the lakefront scenery.

The path is part of a 5.5-mile trail system that connects to parks, a memorial and other points of interest around the lake, accessible via several parking areas along the route. On a sunny, shimmering morning, walk this winter wonderland and then head across the street for a cozy brunch at After 26 Depot Café. –A.J.A.

60 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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