How To Have A Romantic Weekend Not Too Far From Home

This is the time of year when many couples jump on a plane and fly to someplace warm and exotic, but not everyone can do that for many reasons such as financial, work, family obligations, etc.  But with a little clever planning, you can enjoy your own winter getaway without going too far from home or for too long of a time.

I have lived in the same area for over thirty years and every time I think I have seen it all, I discover something new that I never knew was there!  My husband found out about Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center  from a magazine put out by our electrical cooperative.  But I have also discovered new places to visit by just following Facebook pages and local event calendars.  Once you start searching for events on FB your algorithm will know what you're interested in and starting flooding your feed with places and events to follow and visit.  That is how I discovered the Eagle River Cranberry Festival.

Unlike a lot of couples who say "We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day" (party poopers you all are)  my husband and I LOVE Valentine's Day.  It is one of our most favorite holidays of the year and we take the time  to plan something together.  It could be as simple as dinner and a movie or a weekend getaway.  This year we decided to do a weekend getaway as there has been a lot of stress in our lives lately and thought a relaxing weekend away would be a great stress reliever.  When hubby discovered that Norskedalen was doing a Candlelight Hike we thought that sounded absolutely perfect.

The drive to Norskedalen was beautiful, but absolutely terrifying to drive in the winter.  It's located in a valley, but GPS took us up some high hills and death-defying curves on snow drift covered rural roads.  All I kept thinking was "How in the World are we gonna get out of here in the dark?"  Thankfully, I talked to two locals at the site once we arrived, and they instructed us a much safer way to get home.  GPS can be a wonderful tool, but sometimes they take you on a much more dangerous route just to get you there quicker.

Norskedalen is a nature and heritage center dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and sharing the natural environment and heritage of the area surrounding Coon Valley in Southwest Wisconsin.  I don't want to share too much about the place now because we plan to go back in the summer to tour the old homestead and hike their trails, so I will do another post then.  Today's post will focus on the Candlelight Hike.

The Candlelight Hike took place on the Troll Trail and the Ophus Farm Trail so we got to see the outside of all the farm buildings and houses plus a bit of the landscape.

They did a very nice job lighting the trail up so it was impossible to get lost in the dark.  This was our second candlelight hike my husband and I went on.  I absolutely love them.  They are so romantic.  There is nothing more peaceful and beautiful than walking in the woods on a cold winter night with someone you love. 

The old farmhouse looked so pretty all lit up.

There was quite a bit of snow on the ground which made hiking difficult at times, but I had my poles with me to help.  Lots of people had snowshoes, but we don't own any.

They had some fun large fires burning for extra ambiance and warmth.

After our hike, we went back to our hotel for the evening.  The people that I met that evening were right:  the route they recommended was not hilly or scary at all.

We stayed at The Luxury Charmont Hotel in La Crosse.  Normally, this hotel would be in an uncomfortable price range for me, but in the winter you can often find great hotel deals on places that are usually very pricey.  

Fun fact:  In 2024 and 2025 the hotel earned a prestige Michelin Key for exceptional, high-quality, and unique guest experience.

The hotel used to be an old chocolate factory.  In fact, they give you two free chocolates when you check in and they were the best chocolates I ever had in my life.  The hotel still has all it's original floors and brick walls.

We absolutely LOVED our room!  It was so romantic!  My favorite spaces are always when they blend the new with the old;  a mix of modern and antiques.  

The bathroom was to die for!  I've never stayed in a place where there double sinks before and just look at the size of that shower! You could fit a family of six in that shower! 😄

The attention to detail in the room was spectacular.  I loved the old beams, the hardware, and all the electrical fixtures.

In addition to two free chocolates, you also get free valet service, a ten dollar token good at the bar, restaurant, or coffee shop, and two tokens for two free coffees at the coffee bar.  I really appreciated all the freebies and thought the tokens were a great idea because they encourage guests to eat at the hotel instead of going elsewhere.  

We chose to use our ten dollar token and eat breakfast at the hotel.  The restaurant was gorgeous with beautiful views of the Mississippi River.  We had so much fun looking out the restaurants large windows and watching all the eagles hunt for breakfast.

Whenever I eat out, I like to order something I usually wouldn't make for myself at home.  I decided to try Stuffed French Toast and it did not disappoint.  The restaurant is farm-to-table style so their brioche was homemade and stuffed with cream cheese served with Amish maple syrup.  The fruit topping is always seasonal and on the day I was there it was Pomegranate.  It was so delicious, but very sweet and rich for me so I was unable to finish it.  Hubby finished it for me and he said it tasted like cheesecake 😀.

After breakfast I used my coffee token to get a second coffee to take on the road.  

The coffee shop was so beautiful.  I loved the big arched windows.

 It was a wonderful weekend and we came home so happy and relaxed.  It is so important to take the time regularly to reconnect with your loved ones.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more ideas on Candlelight Hikes see this post:

A Candlelight Walk in Interstate Park

Outerwear for all Seasons with Ageless Style

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages.   Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.  This month's theme is "Outerwear" and was picked by Me!

This month it was my turn in our Ageless Style group and I chose "Outerwear".  All the ladies in our group are from all over the United States and Canada, so we experience many different types of weather and thus should have many different types of outerwear to show you.

I have gone through many different coats in my lifetime.  Some I have had for decades, and others I didn't keep long, but here are some of my favorites.

  

WINTER

You can't survive the winter in Wisconsin without a parka.  A couple of years ago I purchased this white parka and boy is it a head turner!  Everywhere I go someone comments on it.  I usually wear it when I have a lot of dark colors on already because all my other parkas are black, so rather than look like a column of black, the white parka provides a nice contrast.  Now you might wonder if it stays clean and my answer is "yes and no".  The collar always gets my make up on it (unless I wear a scarf) so I always have to spot wash the collar after every use.  Other than that, yes, it does stay remarkably white.  It is machine washable, I just have to remove the collar and belt.

This long parka is down-filled and I usually save it for the coldest weather or occasions, like hiking in the snow!  

My last winter coat is the classic red pea coat.  Honestly, I hardly ever wear it because it's just not warm enough for a Wisconsin winter and when it is warm enough, a lighter jacket is more suitable.  However, I hang on to it because it is super cute and it's nice to have on hand to create a special look.  

SPRING

I probably have more spring jackets than any other type because our springs in Wisconsin can be on the chilly side.   My favorite spring jackets are usually white like this white faux-leather jacket pictured above.  I love white jackets in spring because they go with any other color, especially the pastels I normally wear this time of year.

Denim jackets are the perfect spring add on to keep the chill at bay.  I have both a classic blue denim jacket (pictured above) and a white denim jacket (pictured below).  Denim goes with just about anything, and it's such an easy way to dress-down a outfit if it's a little too fancy for your occasion.

And lastly is the classic trench.  This should be a must-have coat in every woman's closet.  Mine doesn't get much wear as I feel it is too dressy looking for my lifestyle, but I will never get rid of it because it never goes out-of-style and I will never know when I need it.

FALL

For the fall, I like to wear darker or earth-toned jackets.  Pictured above is a brown faux leather jacket.

This camel colored jacket is a great transitional piece because it's lightweight for those hotter fall days, yet the color and style scream fall.

And finally, don't be afraid to use heavy shirts as jackets.  I purchased this thick weight brown denim shirt last year, but I've never worn it as a shirt, but as a jacket!  It's too thick for me to wear as a shirt.  I just sized up to a Large so it's big and baggy to wear over anything.

I didn't list any summer jackets because "Who wears a jacket in summer?" 😁. I usually just keep a kimono, scarf, or lightweight cardigan in my purse/car for those chilly air-conditioned buildings.

What are some of your favorite coats and jackets?  Do you have a huge collection or just a couple of tried-and-true pieces?  I'd love to hear from you.

And now be sure to check out what type of outerwear the other ladies in the group are wearing and link up with us as well.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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What I've Been Cooking Lately and My Favorite Kitchen Appliances

It's been a while since I've shared what I've been cooking lately, so I thought I'd do a post.

Two years ago I purchased a KBS Pro Stainless Steel Bread Maker because I wanted the ease of baking my own bread in my home without the fuss of kneading, setting to rise, etc.  I also wanted to control the ingredients that go into my bread:  no preservatives for me!  This bread maker is one of the best investments I ever made.  It's so simple to use and it makes large enough loaves for the whole family and each loaf comes out perfect every single time. 

The bread maker comes with a recipe book of many different varieties of bread from classic honey white to rye bread.  We have enjoyed every loaf we tried in the book.  If you've tried a bread maker before and have shied away from them since, let me reassure you that bread makers have come a long way from the ones in the past.  First of all, they make full size loaves;  remember those tiny little loaves the old ones used to make?  They were pretty much single-serving only.  And the ease and simplicity is amazing!  I just put in the ingredients in the instructed order, pick the right setting, hit start, and wa-la, about three hours later I have the perfect loaf of bread!

I slice my bread with this Bamboo Bread Slicer, and I keep it fresh with this Bread Box.

I've never been one for kitchen gadgets but with all the time consuming food processing I do I've been finding that investing in kitchen gadgets has been a great convenience and time saver.

Another kitchen item I invested in was a food sealer.  I purchased it at Menards but unfortunately can't find it on their website.  There are lots of options on Amazon if you're interested.  I love this product mostly because it saves me a lot of freezer space, but also because it really does keep food fresh.  It is so easy to use too.  Just place your item in the bag, insert into the machine, press "wet" or "dry" and "start" and the machine does the rest.

I had some opened Apple Butter in my fridge that really needed to be used up so I made this incredible Apple Butter Crumb Cake.  Oh my goodness, is this delicious.  I love the crumb topping too.  And the Apple Butter in the center makes it moist so it's not as dry as most coffee cakes.

It is such a pretty cake standing alone, or when sliced because of the Apple Butter in the center.  It's the perfect cake to serve when having tea with friends!

After I enjoyed one serving of the cake, I froze the rest.  I used my vacuum sealer to freeze the cake and I am happy to report that when I took it out of the freezer and popped it in the microwave it tasted as fresh and delicious as the day I made it!

I always label anything that goes in the freezer as it's sometimes hard to tell what it is after it's been frozen 😃.  I also date it so I know how old it is.

A couple of other kitchen items I invested in was a food dehydrator and a spice grinder.  When you grow your own food and there are only three people in your household, even with the best planning you end up with more produce than you can possibly use.  I found if I dehydrate a lot of my veggies, it makes them smaller for freezer storage and some veggies even taste better dehydrated!  My favorite vegetable (or fruit) to dehydrate is cherry tomatoes.  Oh my gosh, in the heat of the summer I can pick a huge bowl of cherry tomatoes a day!  We couldn't possibly eat that many cherry tomatoes.  But if I dehydrate them, I can enjoy them all year long.  I purchased the Cosori Food Dehydrator and it is still going strong two years later.

Spices are so expensive and the organic ones in the store are even more pricey.  But with a dehydrator and spice grinder I can make a lot of my own spices.  One year I accidentally bought chili pepper plants.  Oh my goodness, I had so many chili peppers! I didn't want to waste them so I dehydrated them first using my Cosori Food Dehydrator and then I ground them up using my spice grinder and created a chili pepper seasoning.  I purchased my spice grinder at Menards, but it doesn't appear to be available anymore.  There are plenty of options on Amazon, and did you know spice grinders aren't just for spices?  You can also grind whole coffee beans with them!

Here are what my red chili peppers look like after they are dehydrated.

And here is what they look like after I grind them in my spice grinder.  Amazing isn't it?  You can do this with any herb.  I make my own basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano and more using the same process.

One more new item I purchased was rice cooker.  I always thought rice cookers were unnecessary because you could just cook it on the stove in a pot.  But I kept having issues with the pot boiling over if I took my eyes off it for a second.  I also couldn't cook brown rice to save my life.  So I finally decided to try a rice cooker and boy! What a lifesaver this has been!  I purchased the AROMA Digital Rice Cooker and couldn't be happier. You can cook white or brown rice with it plus steam vegetables.  This has made cooking meals so much easier;  I simply put the water and rice in the bowl, push two buttons and walk away!  I don't have to stand there and watch the pot to make sure it doesn't boil over plus it makes perfect brown rice every single time.

Finally, I have last recipe to show you.  If you don't already follow Half Baked Harvest on Instagram, you should.  She has the most amazing, easy, clean ingredient recipes with super fast fun videos to watch.  I've loved every recipe I have ever made of hers.

These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Honey Butter were AMAZING!  And they were a great way to use up zucchini from my garden too!

 I hope you enjoyed this cooking/kitchen appliance post.  What about you?  Do you have any kitchen appliances you could not live without?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!