Be careful what you wish for, haven’t we been warned about that before? I wished for a nice gift shop and/or home store for La Crosse. We needed a little shop to grab a wedding gift or buy something new for the Castle. I never go shopping for anything in particular. I learned a long time ago if you head out the door in search of 6 dining room chairs, they will leave the planet! You will find four or twelve, but a set of six will duck and hide until you give up! We went walking the other day on a rare afternoon when guests were not arriving around 3:00 pm. It turned into a rather long walk too, several miles in fact. We made our way to the Pearl Bookstore and I found another Mark Twain book that looked fun. Ever since the Viking Cruise ship added a stop in Hannibal, Missouri and a tour of Twain’s home to their itinerary, he has been on my mind. I have been trying to read a couple books for fun and pleasure, then work in a book on business that I have to read. I didn’t get the Twain book, but I know where it is, I’m making myself earn it by finishing a project or two or ten. Back to the walk…we dropped into Curated, also on Pearl Street in La Crosse. What a find! Just what we needed, I’m thrilled. Luckily my eyes weren’t bigger than my budget, we picked out a few holiday decorations and I have a couple of gift ideas. We almost made it out the door of Curated safely when I spotted one of their imported goods, yes I have a knack for that. Down on the bottom shelf, after moving a couple other things, I pull out a wall hanging with feathers and wood. Trust me, it’s unique with a capital que! Then another, turns out they have a few, we have to figure this out! In the meantime, they have a design team, I need one of those. They have accent pieces that work with traditional or modern. We better become fast friends with those gals. Check out Curated when you are staying at the Castle this holiday season or the Spring! You’re welcome in advance! https://explorelacrosse.com/project/curated/
Project update: Well, so much for the storm window project. How many did I get done as of this writing, that would be zero. Things take time! I have a few painted, those can go to the glass shop and have glass installed, then I need to touch up the paint on the house portion of some of the windows. I know which ones really need to go up first and before winter hits, I’ll focus on those. They will look great, but again, things take time. Yesterday we got the big red light up wreath up on the front of the Castle, that might need a refresh next year, it’s been up a few years and taken a lot of weather. Another thing we saw at Curated was their flocked Christmas trees. That place was an idea factory! I’ll have to pace myself. Thanks to all that checked in on my progress with the storm windows, I’ll get there!
Lovechild is near and dear to our hearts, they are charming, hardworking people like us, doing their thing, like us, and we send a lot of guests who are always well fed and happy when they get back here. Lovechild has been getting a lot of mentions in articles and reviews, all well deserved. Please add them to your list of places you must see when you visit La Crosse, you will be glad you did! https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/order-one-of-everything-restaurant-wi/
Running to the Post Office has turned into a daily chore, but I like it! It’s a little old-school to package up our gift certificate orders and take them to the counter to get them off in the mail. It’s time to start thinking about those! Let us know, we can drop one in the mail to you to give to a loved one or friend!
We hope your holiday season is off to a great start! Be safe, have some pie and come see us soon
Billy
