America, Come Home to St. Maries, Idaho

The way America was-northern Idaho-the true "gem of the mountains".  Add quality to your life by selecting northern Idaho as your next vacation destination.

Four seasons, fresh air, clean water, un-crowded-this is the magnet that draws people to our area.  St. Maries is amidst this paradise-cradled within the arms of majestic mountains, surrounded by lakes and rivers and towering forests, and bordered by the fertile Palouse farming area.  Winter snow and the smell of wood smoke, summer days and the sound of gentle breezes through the pines-every where you turn satisfies a hidden yearning. Add to that the best outdoor recreation opportunities in America, and you'll begin to realize why we cherish this little slice of heaven called home amidst the pines, firs and pungent cedars.

Our recreational offerings run the entire gamut-from leisurely walks along the tranquil waters of the St. Joe River, to the nature walks at nearby Heyburn Park, or the more challenging Marble Creek walking trail system.  Family bicycles rides along the Hiawatha Rail Trail.  Cruise boat rides from Heyburn Park or inner-tube floats down the Shadowy St. Joe or St. Maries River.  Any age, any interest-Enjoy!  There's summer fishing and fall hunting-one of America's largest elk herd resides nearby.  Duck, turkey, pheasant, grouse and geese abound for the bird hunter.  Add to this the hundreds of miles of accessble groomed snow mobile trails-and yu have a full year. Join the many bird watchers from throughout the northwest who find our area  a source of satisfaction for their hobby.

White swan, blue heron, osprey and eagle-The nations largest concentration of nesting birds is located seven miles away.  Or you can just sit on the patio and watch the hummingbirds feed.  the metropolitan area of Spokane-Coeur d'Alene is less than an hour drive away from St. Maries. 

Find out more about our beautiful area on the St. Maries Chamber of Commerce website, who by the way wrote alot of this article.  Thank you.

A Walk Through My Thoughts

For the better part of a year I have realized that we have been "missing the boat" when it comes to seizing the whole "social media marketing" craze.  Only as recently as November of this past year did I really realize how the market was passing us by and we were in no way, shape, or form ready to grab ahold without getting drug through some mud while we were trying to catch up.  For those of you who have been business owners for the past 30 to 35 years and think you can do things just like back in the good old days, I have news for you.  It ain't going to happen.

I have been using the excuse that I am an artist and my artist brain just does not think that way.  Well, I realized my artist brain just needs a huge portion of "technical bootcamp" if we hope to let people know just what a beautiful part of the country we live in and what an amazing home we are willing to share with the people who pass through our doors. 

North Idaho has got to be one of the places that you can truly say is a little piece of heaven.  Yes, we have had our share of rain these past few months but how do you think the magnificent shades of green are captured on our hillsides?  Just taking the time to appreciate the river as it flows swiftly downstream headed for the Coeur d'Alene Lake is enough to say "Thank you God for allowing me to live here".  The snow pack always allows a grand show this time of year as it melts away and the level of the river rises higher and higher. 

See what I meant by "a walk through my thoughts" as my thoughts can start wandering here and there.  Back to my social media predicament...I met a wonderful gal who has been walking me through this jungle of social media.  Everything from facebook to blogs, from Aweber to Dropbox, new websites needing to be built, SEO and Google Analytics.  For those of you who learned to play on a computer at age 3, this most likely sounds silly but for those of us who just want a phone that rings so you can say "hello" or a TV that just has 4 channels so you don't have to ask your 5 year old grandson how to change the channel, this has been QUITE a challenge.

I would like to highly recommend the person who has taken on the job of being my bootcamp commanding officer, Christy Ruffner.  She has helped pull me through the mud when I have fallen down and keeps on encouraging me--even after the 5th time that she needs to explain something -yet once again.  I know this whole endeavor will be well worth the final outcome but like anything else, when you are right in the midst of the storm you cannot see the safety of the shore.  Her patience and professional manner are appreciated and if you are a small business who needs help with Web Design or Internet Marketing Support just contact her at http://www.organicmarketingsolutions.com/. 
P.S.  She taught me how to add this link and I am VERY proud of myself!

Hidden Treasures in North Idaho

There are so many beautiful places in North Idaho that I think as a native from this area we tend to forget just how much natural beauty we are surrounded by.  I find it very interesting that as a travel agent I have spent 35 years sending people AWAY from our area so that they can catch a glimpse of other parts of the world that show up in travel brochures as something real spectacular. 

Many times we don't appreciate what we have in our very own backyard.  It has become very evident to me just how gorgeous North Idaho is due to the amount of people who actually arrange a vacation to visit our part of the country.  I absolutely love their pictures that they so graciously share with us upon returning to the B&B after another day of exploring.

I must ask myself, when was the last time I put my camera in my car as I take a leisurely drive around the Coeur d'Alene Lake or head up the St. Joe.  If all these pictures that our clients click were put into a glossy 6- color brochure I think they would go out of our travel agency lickity split. But one of the nice things about our area is that most people don't even realize just what is in store for them when they visit Northern Idaho.

I hope to share some of these beauties with you so that not only you can appreciate them but that I can start appreciating what I have within a 60 minute drive.  And at the price of gas now days, that will be a real treat!

13 Cooks in Our Kitchen

Last Thursday evening our kitchen at the bed and breakfast was filled with lots of laughter, fellowship and fun as the first night for our new small groups Bible study gathered.  There were 13 gals who signed up for the Women to Women Mentoring/Cooking class.  We are doing a 7-week nurturing program based on the book Apples of Gold by Betty Huezenga. 

I was so pleased at how many older women are taking their Titus 2 verse to heart and are willing to be mentors to the younger women.  The younger women are eager to learn not only lessons regarding kindness, loving your husband and children, hospitality and more but they were very excited about the cooking part of the evening.

I had decided to have the first class be on "comfort food" and thought of fried chicken and mashed potatoes.  My husband loves to cook and added his own thoughts as to what he thought I should teach.  By the time we had the menu done, I was taking the fried chicken to the next level by offering Norwegian Chicken, then decided to show not just one way to prepare potatoes but three, and I even threw in homemade Thousand Island Dressing and Ranch. 

We started the evening out fixing bruchetta that had olive oil slathered on both sides, baked for 20 minutes and the fresh garlic rubbed over the tops.  Then we put carmelized onions and mushrooms over the bruchetta.  Yum, it was a great appetizer and had to tide everyone over until their study was done.

The gals not only learned how to make garlic mashed potatoes but homemade french fries and stuffed potatoe skins.  Now one of the secrets  to good mashed potatoes is that you put in about 6 cloves of garlic while cooking them and then after you drain  the water off you put back on the heat to pull out any excess water.  DO NOT mash with an electric mixer....not good.  Just use  the old fashion masher.

The homemade fries also have a few secrets to be great.  After cutting the fries into the correct size, rinse repeatedly to get all of the starch out.  Then drain and let totally dry on paper towels.  Coat potatoes with about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, sprinkle with some Sea Salt and bake on aluminum foil in a 350 oven for 30-35 minutes. 

The potatoe skins were microwaved for about 6 minutes then cut in two.  Scoop out the potatoe, mix with sour cream, butter, Johnnies Seasoning salt, and minced green onions.  Refill the potatoe skins and place those in oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile we had the chicken frying, added a can of cream of mushroom and a can of cream of chicken soup, about 1/2 container of sour cream, salt and pepper and covered the chicken to slowly simmer for about 1 hour.  You can also put this in a crock pot in the morning and be greeted by the wonderful smells when arriving home after a long day. 

Green salad with red and yellow bell peppers and the homemade dressings were put on the tables to complete this meal.  As all these dear women sat together to enjoy the feast it was evident that this was a comfort food meal being shared by new friends. I am excited for our next class which will be "Italian Night".  Stay tuned for the recipes for homemade lazagna, marinated greens, homemade bread and other goodies.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Celebration

It is March 17 and although I claim to have alot of Irish in me from my great grandmother, on this day every year I shout it even louder.  I have always loved to celebrate any occasion, it makes life so much more exciting but being of Irish stock I love to do this one up right!

Things change over the years yet some things ALWAYS remain the same.  Because our 4 children no longer live in our home I don't get to turn all the milk green, cook up green mashed potatoe paddys and add a little green food coloring to the eggs but I certainly hope they are carrying on this tradition for their own children.

I start our celebration by dragging out all of our decorations from the big green shamrocks for the windows to the Happy St. Patricks sign by the door, along with draping the chandeliers with green sparkles and more shamrocks.  Then I start baking my favorite sugar cookie recipe which calls for LOTS of butter and make them into shamrock shapes.  The final touch is to pile the green frosting on and they are sure to get gobbled up!  We had a darling couple last night who really enjoyed them so will serve our next guests tonight with those darling little cookies.  A glass of green milk would compliment them very nicely.

I can smell the corned beef and cabbage cooking as I am typing and it smells awesome!  The Irish soda bread has been baked, green beans are waiting in the colander and I have turned some butter into a soft green....Of course after participating in the New York City's Parade I also must have my Irish coffee as a perfect ending to this great day.  Thank goodness for leftovers as we will have reuben sandwiches tomorrow and I carry over the "green  theme" with green mayo.  I know I may get a little carried away but once again, this is what makes an ordinary day extraordinary!  I even pulled out the green treats for our dog JayJay as he needs to feel special too.

Our next celebration will be Easter but I have learned my lesson and will NOT repeat my mistake of painting our coffee table with purple, green, blue, yellow and orange dots, nor will I have our daveno recovered in these colors with stripes and circles.  It was great for about a week and then it was down right embarrassing.

Bridal Fair at Brickw.a.l.l.

Last night I participated in the first Bridal Fair at the Brickw.a.l.l. Spa in St. Maries.  It was a lovely event, even though there were not tons of future brides lining up at the doors to get in.  Lacy St.John is one of the owners of this new establishment and may I say, it is a classy place and a great addition to the St. Maries businesses.  I was there to represent the St.Joe Riverfront Bed and Breakfast not only as a honeymoon option in either of our beautiful suites, River and Roses or Provence which offer larger rooms, king beds and many amenities, but also as the picture perfect setting for the actual wedding along the riverbanks of the St. Joe.

We have held some absolutely gorgeous wedding events in the past and looking at some of the photos reminded me of just how perfect the backdrop of the river actually is for that special event.  Cary spends so much time on his yard and his talent and patience for this hard work speaks for itself.  The colorful flowers, vivid green sprawling lawn down to the waters edge, and the fountain with the impressive water sprays, makes it  just a fantastic place to "tie the knot".  We can handle up to 100 guests for a wedding, but have also had some awesome intimate ones with as few as 25.  It just depends on what the couple envisions for their big day.

Some of the other local businesses who were represented there were The Paperhouse for your invitation needs, Linda Appel with catering and cakes, Harvest Foods for specialty trays (they sent home some wonderful goodies), Lia Sophia Jewelry to compliment the gals attire, Speelman Photography to capture all the memories, Lasting Promises to handle all the wedding and event planning (plus guaranteeing that all things will run smoothly), and House of Travel for the most important part of the wedding...the honeymoon!  Since I have owned and operated the travel agency for 35 years it is so much fun to visit with these excited couples about the much deserved vacation after all the hustle and bustle of the wedding.

As mentioned before, it was not largely attended as this was the first one to be held, but I truly think it was a huge success.  The networking was absolutely wonderful and meeting other business owners who we can work with in the future to ensure a successful and beautiful wedding for the bride and groom was well worth the time and energy put into the event.  I hope every other business felt the same way.

Having a "Spa Day" is the Perfect Birthday Present

This past week we hosted four gals at our bed & breakfast.

The plan for the day: To help celebrate a birthday for one very special gal by giving her an afternoon of well-deserved relaxation, friendship and total pampering. However, this was not going to be enjoyed just by the birthday girl but all four of the gals!

This party kicked off with a round of mimosas and hors d'oeuvres while our in-house massage specialist offered a fantastic foot soak with peppermint oil for tired feet-followed by a tantalizing foot massage, sea salt scrub to remove any dead skin-more soaking-and then a de-stressing peppermint lotion massage.

While some were soaking their little footsies, another would be in the calm, soothing room relaxing on the massage bed listening to soothing spa music and enjoying a lavender exfoliation treatment-AHH-the rubbing of the skin releases any rough and dry particles making the pores ideal for soaking up the lotion for maximum retention.

A quick rinse in the double-headed 5'shower will take away any residue and the opened pores welcome the pomegranite/fig non-oily hydrating massage creme used for this much needed body massage. Did you know that "falling asleep" while enjoying a massage is actually a very nice compliment? ? So don't feel bad when Kirsten has to wake you up; it just means that you are TOTALLY relaxed and enjoying immensely.

The final part of this most memorable afternoon is a paraffin wax hand dip that leaves your skin feeling like it is 18 all over again! With the gentle river to observe from the Great Room, soothing music and relaxed atmosphere, along with friendship and good conversation-this is just the type of afternoon of pampering that could lift anyones spirits in the middle of winter and make you wish that birthdays came around more than just once a year.