Lisa Van Laanen, who owns Sommer Stad in Egg Harbor has opened a new boutique just south of Shipwrecked on Hwy G. It is in an old blacksmith shop and is fittingly called Blacksmith Clothing Company. I have yet to check it out, but it is supposed to be a bit more upscale and young… I’m young, right?  Young or not I,  can’t wait to see it.

Ann Marie Kafka (John Henry’s sister… he owns John Henry’s) opened a sandwich shop in the Chocolate Chicken building called Whatcha Have?.  There are a couple of tables, but mostly it is a to-go restaurant with hot dogs, hot and cold sandwiches, Gyros, salads… you name it.  And the best part?  Cheap, cheap, cheap!  Her Miller Meal is a Chicago dog w/ choice of fries or chips & a Miller beer for 7.50.  Take it to-go and eat it in the park next door… perfect.

Liberty Square has completely remodeled their interior… not that it needed it.  It is really beautiful and the Bistro Bar and Grill offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and beginning Memorial weekend will serve until 10pm nightly.  PS… Their caramel apple scones are to die for. They also have their Gourmet Grab-N-Go Deli- the name speaks for itself.

This weekend, I plan on taking a little tour of the village to be sure I am not missing something!  Tonight though, Joe, our youngest scored some morels so I am going home to deep fry them.  When I asked where he found them, he was like Facebook…ignore.  My own son, keeping secrets from his mom!

Shopping – Egg Harbor shops are offering a variety of special
activities and sales. Everything from food demos, live music
and trunk shows to tours, wine tasting, and factory reps.

Tent Sale – Great deals on last year’s merchandise … 50% off
and more. Check out the big white tent at Something Fishy.  (My girls and I have the Egg Harbor Girl necklaces… too cute.

Trunk Show – Patricia Shoppe’s Troll Beads trunk show,
Friday-Sunday. Buy two beads and receive a third for free!
Troll Beads representative on-site all weekend.

Demos – Stop by A Decorators Gallery for a variety of
demonstrations. See custom matting and framing. Turn your
digital photo into fine art.

Segway Test Drive – take a demo ride on the Segway.
Call for full-blown tours of Peninsula State Park: 920-376-0256

On Saturday, there will even more to do…

SATURDAY, MAY 15TH
• 7 – 8 AM
Enjoy a nature hike – Birds and Blooms – with naturalist Kathleen Harris. Peninsula State Park – meet at park headquarters.

• 9:30 – 11 AM
Fashion Show Breakfast – Landmark Resort (Egg Harbor Room) Emcee Cami   Rapson – from WBAY-TV Channel 2 in Green Bay.   For this I will channel my inner Tyra and model for the Patricia Shoppe… hope I don’t break a heel.

• 8 – 10 PM
Pub Crawl - Door County Trolley pick-up at Carrington Pub & Grill ($10)
Board games/play time – Regatta Meeting Room

• 9 PM – 1 AM
Karaoke. Hosted by Cheryl Simon. Carrington Pub & Grill

SUNDAY, MAY 16TH
• 7 – 8 AM
Village Walk – Led by Karen Peterson (Maxwells House) – meet at Harborview Park

What are we doing at Egg Harbor Lodge you ask?  Well, margaritas and snacks of course…  either on our terrace or in the office if it gets too chilly-   Friday and Saturday afternoon from 4-6 pm.  I might possibly make  Jalapeno Poppers… yum.

I don’t have activities planned for the weekend at Egg Harbor Lodge but if you are looking for R&R, great sunsets from your private balcony and maybe a cocktail or two… we have it!  And remember, we are an equal opportunity resort… men are welcome this weekend too.

Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles

2 cans canned green beans drained  (yes, canned green beans!)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 bottle Catalina Dressing (personally, I had never tried this type of dressing before)

One pound thick cut bacon.  I used Nueske Applewood Smoked Bacon which made these super good, but took about and hour to cook.

Mix the dressing and brown sugar.  Cut the bacon strips in half and bundle about 6 beans with the bacon.  Secure with a toothpick and pour the dressing on top.  Candy cooked hers at 350 for a half hour, with the Nueske bacon I raised the temp to 400 and cooked them for about an hour.  They smell amazing!  Try it… you’ll like it!

Bruce and Gail Hill from the Lull-Abi Inn of Egg Harbor are coming tonight for dinner so I am going to see how they like my new fav.  Speaking of Bruce and Gail, they ate breakfast at the Rusty Tractor just north of Carlsville over the weekend and they loved it.  Lots of food, good prices and a bonus… they now serve on real plates and have  coffee mugs instead of Styrofoam.  We’ll have to check it out.  Darn, I am a huge fan of paper plates.

Nancy Nevins and her husband Jim Logerquist are here from Portland, Oregon.  Nancy’s parents owned the Mariner Resort and Nancy’s mom Pat died last year so they were trying to get things organized.  The Mariner’s cottages, Captains Quarters and houses will be open this summer, but the motel will not.  We have a lot of nice memories hanging out at the Mariner.  Back in the day, on the Fourth of July, Nancy’s dad would make a huge brisket on the grill and at night Nanc and I would shoot bottle rockets off their pier.  We would tool around on the golf cart around the property and hang out with her parent’s friends.  Those were the days!  Nancy gave me some old records from the Village of Egg Harbor when her dad was president of the village.  I am reading them now and then I will pass them on to Egg Harbor’s current president Nancy Fisher who coincidentally is on Egg Harbor’s newly formed Historical Society.  Most of the information is on the dock that Nancy’s dad Gordon Nevins help bring to Egg Harbor.   Nancy Fisher will probably find it interesting as she was  instrumental in Egg Harbor’s  brand new marina that is being built as we speak.

We had a burger at John Henry’s last night and afterward there was an Egg Harbor Men’s Club Meeting.  I decided not to stick around for it so I started walking t0 my friend Bernadette’s house when it started to drizzle.  No problem… Polly and Don Helm and daughter Hanna from Door County Nature Works drove by and gave me a ride.  Thanks Polly and Don!

Well, I had better get something done… we open April 30!

The Sawyer Family

I haven’t blogged in awhile… we were in Florida with our family.  All four of our kids and our two grandkids were able to come as well as the “significant others”  so we really had a special vacation.  Nellie and I drove down and spent a day with her friend Chris Saladin who was in Clearwater, Florida at the time.  He works for comedian Craig Ferguson’s stand up show so we got to meet Craig and see the show.  Chris was in the show as well so it was really a treat to watch it.  We then headed to our friend Ruth’s house in Lakeland for a couple days where she treated us like royalty.  After that we drove down to the gulf coast were we had rented a house and the rest of the family flew in.  Our friends Paula and Lou Osadjan who have a beautiful summer home in Egg Harbor and own a condo on Longboat Key had us over for cocktails and took us out for dinner which was fun.   The weather was great and the we all had fun in the pool.  It was relaxing to get away but it is always nice to get home.

Adi and Jaden

There have been a few new doings in Door County over the fall and winter… For instance,  when you go down the Fish Creek hill there are those cedars that line the road on the right.  Well, they cut a big chunk of those out which left a beautiful view going down the hill.  Our Egg Harbor Marina has had some setbacks (like a tug sunk!) but is progressing nicely.  The ice is out so when we begin our spring cleaning we won’t have a cold breeze blowing up the bluff at us.  On a controversial note, a developer has plans to build a Subway restaurant in Sister Bay and it is leaving a very bitter taste with many who live there.  There really isn’t an ordinance that says “no chains” as many of us always believed. We’ll see what happens.  Chef Andrew Mueller who was the head chef at Glidden Lodge for many years then bought The Nautical Inn Restaurant in Sturgeon Bay, has purchased the Hillside Inn in Ellison Bay which can only mean good things for Ellison Bay.  I love the Nautical’s food so I am sure the Hillside will be equally as popular.  Our friend and neighbor Bob Erickson of Door County Realty was named Realtor of the Year… congrats Bob!

Egg Harbor will host the YMCA’s Blossom Run May 8 and Egg Harbor will have its Girlfriends Great Eggscape weekend May 13- 15.  My friend Jeff Larsen from the Landmark Resort has tons of chick activities planned for the weekend.  Most of the festivities will be a the Landmark Resort although the boutiques in Egg Harbor will be having sales and there should be some restaurant specials as well as kayaking and a pub crawl.   Last year at Egg Harbor Lodge, we had Mexican food and drink at cocktail hour for our guests that Friday night so I am sure we will be doing something like that this year as well.  My margaritas were a hit and we have guys that also come that weekend so of course we had Mexican beer and snacks.

If you didn’t catch us on Living with Amy in the fall we posted the video on our video page… check it out.  Amy emailed me while I was in Florida to come cook on her show again, but obviously I couldn’t.  Hopefully a different time.

I am going to be blogging about some of Egg Harbor’s different boutiques and restaurants this spring so check back and see what’s new in the village.

After all,  Egg Harbor hosts the famous Door County Triathlon… and we have our own baseball team!

DC Triathlon

Egg Harbor Indians...2009 Champs!

Egg Harbor is also the home of Door County’s largest festival… Pumpkin Patch!

Egg Harbor's Pumpkin Patch Festival

Egg Harbor has great boutiques and restaurants…

Egg Harbor is a great place for couples…

for families…

and Egg Harbor has it’s very own girls getaway weekend in May…

Egg Harbor boasts two beaches, a beautiul marina, the best grocery store in Door County, cherry orchards and farms…

Egg Harbor is well known for it’s love of music too…

Egg Harbor's Peg Egan Pavillion

And don’t forget, we Egg Harborites LOVE a Parade!!!

Egg Harbor's New Years Day Parade

Egg Harbor's July 4th Parade

But most of all, it is the people who live here that make Egg Harbor truly the Coolest Small Town in America!

Yes, Egg Harbor is definitely a pretty cool small town…

The Landmark in Egg Harbor is offering specials for the weekend (including Karaoke!) as are other lodging places and restaurants.  Mike’s Port Pub and Innlet Motel in Jacksonport is offering a nice special which includes lodging, dinner and drinks on New Years Eve for $175.00 (and no driving!).  Jacksonsport is also serving up a New Years Day breakfast at the fire station before the famous Polar Bear Plunge at noon.  Our friend, JR Jarosh of Jacksonport is the founder and along with his family, has turned the “plunge”  into an annual event that attracts thousands of people each year either as participants or spectators.  It really is a fun Door County event that shouldn’t be missed.  Trust me… we have done the plunge as well as witnessed it and there really is no equal. If you have never done the plunge, it is an invigorating way to start the year… especially after the crazy year we had this past year.

At 1:00 in Egg Harbor, is the Annual New Year’s Day Parade.  I  believe it is the only parade in Wisconsin on New Year’s Day.  It is a fun, quirky parade that is pretty much thrown together in the morning.  We (meaning my family) are in it every year… usually with the same float.  We aren’t original, but we are consistent. Here we are last year in our hot tub float…yes, there is really water in the cherry pallet we are riding in.

Sawyer chicks

Almost all the boutiques and restaurants are open in Egg Harbor for post-holiday sales.  After the parade,  we head to Mojo Rosa’s where Kimmy has complementary hors d’ oeuvres and music.  Our friend and neighbor, Bob Erickson (Door County Realty) celebrates his birthday on January 1 and we help him celebrate at Mojo’s each year.  The day isn’t complete without checking out Egg Harbor’s other haunts, John Henry’s, Casey’s and Shipwrecked.  PS… the new C & C in Fish Creek has reopened under the new name Cooper’s Corner (same owners as Shipwrecked and Peninsula Winery).  More on that later after I scope it out.

My niece Jennifer will turn 21 on New Year’s Day as well. Happy Birthday Jen!

Have a safe and Happy New Year everyone and we look forward to a fantastic 2010 in  beautiful Door County!

For those of us not in the Black Friday state of mind, Egg Harbor is the perfect place to be.  No lines or huge crowds, no malls, just quaint boutiques, nice restaurants and plenty of things for the children to do… Breakfast with Santa, Elf Hunt , caroling and best of all, a tree lighting.  There really isn’t a nicer place to be than Door County during the holidays.

After dinner we checked out Double Delites (just down the road) for some Italian ice cream otherwise known as Gelato.  The owners Julie and Jeff Perley hand make the gelato and gourmet popcorn right in their store.  (Jeff is the brother of one of the Trio owners, Ron Perley.)  During the summer, Mark talks our niece Annie (who works for us) into running down to buy herself some Gelato… as long as she bring some back for him!  Double Delites also ships their popcorn which would make a perfect Door County gift!

Trio and Double Delites make for a perfect Italian evening… Egg Harbor style.

Sue Moneypenny manages the gourmet deli

Recently, we dined in the Board Room for their Paris Nights which was really lovely.  Our four course Julia Childs inspired meal was paired with four different wines.  The main course was Osso Bucco… one of my absolute favs.  The dining room is very warm and tastefully decorated.  We were at kind of a communal table I guess you would call it and at first I was like whoa… wait a minute but it was actually really fun as everyone got to know each other and discussed each course.    Paris Nights is offered again on August 20 and again October 17.  It made for a really fun and different evening and the food was great.

The Board Room at Liberty Square

Liberty Square should definitely be on everyone’s to-do list when visiting  Door County.  In fact, I am heading in there today to buy  new patio table umbrella… they have lots of different colors.  I hope they have red.

 Last year we were able to launch our kayak at the beach off the old boat launch that’s down there. Before that Emily and Cindy from the Alpine used to let us use their boat launch.  Don’t forget we have three kayaks at Egg Harbor Lodge that are no charge to our guests.  I for one am a huge beach fan  and the walking trail will make the jaunt to the beach much safer for everyone.