Paper Lanterns

The best kind of traditions are those that start organically - like our new family tradition of lighting paper lanterns off the dock at the lake.  The whole town took part over the 4th of July, and it was truly beautiful. 

Gift Guide: Your parents, who already have everything.

A fur throw: Even if they already have one, a second one really can't hurt. 

A wine club: You can find them from Williams Sonoma, the Wall Street Journal, many Napa Valley vineyards, or a local one from where your parents live.

Ideal Bookshelf 506: Cooking, by Jane Mount: This print from 20x200 would be a great addition to their kitchen, pantry, or mud room. 

A meyer lemon tree: What's more memorable than receiving a tree as a present?  It keeps on giving, too, with wonderful meyer lemons to cook, bake, and garnish with.

A silk pillowcase: Supposedly, silk pillowcases are better for your skin, slow the rate of wrinkles, and plus just feel so darn luxurious.

A cheeky spoon rest: This one's for the parent who inevitably puts her spoon all over the counter/stove when cooking, and needs a chic way to reign in the mess-making.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Friday Musings 8.24.12: Summer Traditions

One of our most treasured family traditions of summer is going to Tasty Treat, our local ice cream shop up north.  Pretty much anyone in our family would do almost anything for their black raspberry soft serve.

Some years ago, someone clearly not part of the town decided to open a Dairy Queen right across the street from Tasty Treat.  This is a town with 2 traffic lights, one McDonalds, one grocery store and that's about it, so the DQ really stood out.  It's remarkable that DQ is still open, however, because on almost every summer night there is a line outside of Tasty Treat that really picked up around the time the "other one" opened; around the 4th of July, the line goes down the whole block.  Rare is it to see a car at the rival.  Just goes to show that no matter what, some originals can never be messed with.

Summer Clam Bake

One of our favorite summer traditions is our family "clam bake", at which we actually serve no clams because none of us are clam fans.  We do go all out on seafood and fresh summer staples in this end-of-summer ritual.

This year was our first clam bake in our family's new lake house (we promise, we will actually do a tour soon! It's still a mess from moving!), as opposed to our prior cottage we have held at the center of our family's life for 17 years.  We are learning that change can be good, if not always easy, and in the midst of change you can find consistency in traditions that remain the same.  

Stephanie's homemade crusty bread

It's all hands on deck for our clam bake, sending people out to the garden for herbs, having something boiling on the stove constantly, and running around trying to time every dish perfectly to optimize warmth for serving.

Our menu always consists of mussels, crab legs, crab cakes, breaded shrimp, and corn on the cob.

Fresh Michigan peach and blackberry galette for dessert.

We did some good damage. 

And, as usual, we had our trusty clean-up help :)