Stoughton, WI and The Stoughton House Inn Bed & Breakfast

After we left The Dells we made our way south to Stoughton by way of Madison.  We decided that we were going to cheese hunt while in Wisconsin, who wouldn't, there's wonderful cheeses to be found around every corner it seemed. Mitch had done some research about a Wisconsin Cheese Trail, on the list was Formagination…the tour said that it was definitely a wonderful stop not to miss!

fromagination

This wonderful shop did NOT disappoint!

This place was not only a feast for the pallet, but also for the eyes. 

Good Lord this place was just full of beautiful goodness.

We decided that we would sit outside on that chilly day, and take in the sights of downtown Madison. 

I seriously thought this was the best marketing tool for those little bits of cheese that might be left over.

We were also sucked in to adopt a cheese orphan! Actually I think we took home two.

I took this photo for Molly! These cookies seriously looked amazing. I'm used to seeing Molly's wonderful work with sugar cookies, and these gave hers a serious run for their money!

If you'd like to see more about Molly's talents, please check out her blog:

channelyourinnerawesomeness

After we left Madison, we had a reservation at a great B&B called The Stoughton House Inn. The house was built in 1856, and offers every comfort to any traveler. This place was AMAZING! You know how old houses have a "feel" to them. Some houses have a super creepy feel, some just feel old and broken down, this beautiful old house felt AMAZING! It was a peaceful house, where if the walls could talk, they would tell such a great tale of all of the wonderfulness that happened under that roof. If you are ever in the Stoughton area this is the place to stay. I've included the link below.

stoughtonhouseinn

 We were lucky enough to be the only guests there that night, so we had the whole house, and it's grounds to ourselves to run amuck as we do. After going in town, which is just as lovely as the house by the way, we took a walk around the yard which is just beautiful in the summer with all the flowers in full bloom!  The bees buzzing, and you know how I like my bees, it was just a perfect setting!

 We went downtown Stoughton for a walk, to check out the town, and get a bite to eat. We had the best time at some of the shops about town. Some of my favorites were AmundArt Hus you can find it on Facebook here: amundart & the Nordic Nook which you can find here: nordic-nook

Also as we walked down the street, I was looking everywhere trying to soak it ALL in, and in between two buildings were a set of stairs, and a tiny sign that said Bead Shop. I looked at Mitch, told him to go get a beer at the bar we had just past, because I was going upstairs to investigate! This little detour off the beaten path DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I walked up the stairs, turned to my right into a huge room full of awesomeness! It was beautiful! It was filled to the brim with beads, gemstones, and metal bits of goodness. I walked into diakonosdesigns and was in heaven. Mitch had to come pull me out of the fray after who knows how long. He was hungry, had finished his beer, and wanted to eat. I could have stayed there for HOURS, and still not seen everything they had to offer. It was a treasure trove, and just one staircase to heaven. I've never been disappointed in bead shops I've found at the top of a stair case.

Next it was dinner time, and we had been told to go to Wendigo.

wendigostoughton

Now in all honesty, we had arrived after the 4th of July weekend, where I'm quite sure they were slammed more than normal. Both Mitch and I worked in restaurants so we get it, you run out of things. It got comical actually after every drink we ordered they had run out of…including ice tea. BUT, because they were out of my favorite wine on the list (14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon) I had to go with something different besides water. I decided on the Rhuby Can't Fail. I have to admit, it definitely lived up to its name! So much so that I came home, and decided to make my own Rhubarb Gin so that I can have this fantastically refreshing summer drink again! The Basil in the drink really made it perfect!

This is the picture of this beautiful concoction! 

 I love this man and the sign behind him:

Love Wisconsin

Eat Cheese

the rest I can't read….

We went back to the Stoughton House Inn after dinner, and decided to do something we haven't ever done before…we found a deck of card, and decided to play Rummy. I haven't played Rummy in over 25 years or better. We had to look up the rules again. 

We loved this card deck! It was great! We would play, and read these cards aloud to each other. We learned a lot about wine history, which was great because the next day we went to a winery, which I'll share that all with you in the next post.

This is Mitch trying to explain something to me…I don't remember what it was, but it probably didn't matter because I won by a lot. If memory serves I won four hands, lost one and we tied one.

This face… ahahahahahahahaha!

Our room was beautiful, we stayed in the Trulson Room. It's the middle size room out of the three rooms available. It's the happy medium size. If you want to really stay in high style go for the bedroom facing the front of the house! OMG! It's GORGEOUS!

This is a small panoramic of the backyard. 

Breakfast the next morning was fantastic, the proprietors were super sweet!

Again, seriously, this is the place to stay if you are driving thru Stoughton, and need a place to stay.

More trip posts to come…Next post will be about Trillium Farm in the heart of Amish Country Wisconsin.

Happy Traveling! <3

The Wisconsin Dells

Travel brings power and love back into your life.

I love to travel. If I had loads of money I'd travel the world, and experience so many beautiful moments I'd never be lonely when I get older. I believe that traveling is good for the soul. Those experiences you get when you are traveling are priceless! Like getting an education, it's something that no one can take away from you.

We decided that this year on our vacation we'd do it differently. In years past we'd get up at 

O'dark 30 to drive the 12 hours north to Cold Comfort Farm. Every year as we pass Madison, WI where Mitch would always comment that we should stop at The Dells to swim, and relax before crawling back into the car to drive another six hours north. I won't lie, I was reluctant. I don't like crowds, or crowded places. I just wanted to get up to the farm so that we could relax, and stopping at The Dells wasn't my idea of a good time. As I get older, and I watch my children grow, I've come to this very hard conclusion...they aren't getting any younger. With that said, my moments with them as children are getting less and less every year, plus I'm always telling them that it's not always about THEM, so I needed to take my own words into consideration, and realize it's not always about what I want either.

Loved the T-Rex!

Mitch was right, by the way, and I tell him this all the time, this WAS a good idea! I mean COME ON.

 A T-Rex?! This was a good omen to start off our trip. I'm a girl that believes in signs. THIS was my sign to relax because this was going to be GOOD! 

We made reservations with a hotel that gave us four passes to Noah's Ark Water Park plus our one night stay at their hotel for a little over $200 total. Now if you have ever been to The Dells tickets per person are in and around $40 a piece. So right there just for the four of us it would have been around $100, Claire being two she would have gotten in for free. So our hotel, if we paid full price for our tickets, was about $100 a night. That's not a bad deal for this family of five. When we decided to have a third child, I asked parents of thirds, what changes should we expect between having a second, and a third. I heard two things, you wait in line longer at restaurants, and you pay more for group activities. This has proven to be very true.

We arrived safely, checked in, and suited up! Mitch, Roo, and Soph wanted to go ride all the fun rides, so that left Little Ms. C and I chilling at the baby pool. I didn't mind too much. I must say that the people watching was FANTASTIC! The best part about this place was that NO ONE CARED what they looked like. Most of the employees were European, most of the water park goers were European too. It was a Mecca of "who gives a rats ass if you have cellulite, lets swim!"

I was digging on this place. Out of the thousands of people there I noticed ONE, yes ONE, woman who seriously cared about her body image. She didn't need to given the population that day, but Lord knows she cared. Poor Sugar, but to each their own…

Little C fitting right in at the bar.

So while Little Ms. C and I were having a grand 'ol time at the kiddy pool she spies the BAR! She's totally my kid, I can't disown her if I tried. Not that I'd want to she's so blasted cute! (She knows it too)

Sidles right up and orders herself a drink.

Poor little Sugar was too short to crawl up the bar stool, so mommy helped, but once she was up there, she was jabbering on in toddler talk to the bartender. I love this place…it seriously serves alcohol! Best water park EVER! If you are ever in The Dells you need to go to Noah's Ark!

www.noahsarkwaterpark.com

Gives Zero Fk's that she's totally underage.

What can I say she is her mother's daughter. The bartender thought she was so cute that she got her little drink for free. (Yes, it was non-alcoholic) She's two, and she's totally scoring free drinks at the bar! O.o

Mitch, and the girls finally came back for us after leaving us at the kiddy pool for almost an hour. I can tell you how much I wanted to drink after that… NOT EVEN JOKING. So we decided to walk around, see the sights, and ride some rides. This is how the conversation went:

Mitch: Lets go on some rides, I found some that Claire can go on.

Me: All of us?

Mitch: Sure. We can go over there which was the ride that took us almost an hour to stand in line, or we can do this one. *pointing upwards*

Me: O.o (in my best Penny voice) Oh, okay, what the hell.

Before we went down the slide of DEATH!

It's all fun and games before the slide of DEATH! Photographic proof that we were up for the challenge. You didn't want to see the photographic proof of what I looked like afterwards. Hint: It wasn't pretty I can assure you. Poor Little Ms. C, she was SO SCARED! She now knows the word scared now AND what it means to be scared. We've probably scared her for life from big water park slides.

Lucky to be alive, she's checking out her Peter Pan shadow.

Mitch, Roo, and Soph went down in one raft leaving Little Ms. C and I to go down in a raft with a very large couple. The guy had to be 6' 6'' or 6' 7'' and his lady friend wasn't much smaller. Physics really wasn't on our side. Between the big guy, the big girl, and myself with Claire, we made a pretty crappy triangle. Good news was we made it down in one piece though, so that was good. 

My parents had agreed to drive the six hours south, and meet us at in The Dells for dinner, stay the night, then whisk the kids north to CCF the next morning, giving Mitch and I some much needed alone time. We had a hard time deciding exactly where to go to dinner, but I must admit, if you have children, or have a train enthusiast, like I do (Mitch) this is a great place to eat! 

Awesome place to eat!

It really isn't too expensive, plus it distracts the children. There is also an arcade attached which is quite helpful if the food runs long. We had a great waiter who we had to guess his age. Roo guessed he was 36, Dad guessed he was 22. The poor fella was 21. Way to go Roo! This all started because I called the waiter, "Son." Which then started the conversation about age. So in all honesty it was all my fault.

Trains!

So back to the trains! When there isn't food to be served the train rolls around with little stuffed animals, and toys to play with for the little ones. It's quite an ingenious idea really, plus the decor was FANTASTIC! I was in love with all the log cabin like features. 

Bringing precious cargo…beer!

So after dinner we decided to go visit the arcade. Seriously they had a Zoltar machine. I wanted to play it, but didn't want to get any bigger than I was feeling already. See what I did there? 

You know it's a wicked cool place when you've got this!

So Little Ms. C is like two going on 16, and all she wanted to do was drive this double decker bus! We had the grandest time jumping in, and jumping out, pretending to be her passengers. It must be awesome to be the littlest sister.

She's driving!!! EVERYBODY MOVE!

The next day my awesome parents took the girls north so that Mitch and I could have some down time where we didn't have to worry about diapers, naps, feeding schedules, Buddy's, stuffed animals, crying, fighting, or whining. It seriously was the best vacation I'd been on EVER I think! Even better than Ireland when we went in 2000.

Our first stop was The Dells Mining Company to sift for goodies! I've included the link.

www.dellsminingco.com

We ended up getting two buckets. We had a good time sifting thru the sand, putting the sifter thru the water, and just watching what gems were coming to the surface. This is like rock hound heaven for me. It was such a great way to relax!

Some of our loot!

This picture above was after the first bucket. 

The rest of our glorious haul!

This was what we ended up with, lots of Amethyst, Garnet, Rose Quartz, regular Quartz, Labradorite, Green Tourmaline, Topaz, and Citrine just to name a few. I think we might get a rock tumbler for Roo, and tumble these for her. She's a rock hound too just like her mama. 

Next we tootled around The Dells in search of goodies. We found huge candy shops, and cheese shops too! We also found chocolate, and tons of HUGE caramel apples! If you want to gain like 10lbs on a vacation this is the place to do it. I'm telling you I probably gained that on this trip...

CANDY! Chocolate Mint & Birthday Cake!

I totally should have bought some of these. Just saying!

Chocolate SHOES!

After the touristy things we decided to go exploring. Mitch noticed the Dam, and wanted to take some pictures. So we stopped, got out, and I went exploring. There was a tiny beach on both sides of the dock so off I went. I'll tell you what, my favorite beaches have pinecones on them. 

Dam…Dam Dam

Happiness is Exploring!

I'm in my element when I'm exploring. I'm at peace looking around for things that other people might miss. I like finding little treasures in the sand, under a rock, next to a bottle cap. I think I might be my happiest when I'm out in nature just being in the moment.

The better half doing what he does best.

To say "we" took a lot of pictures is probably the understatement of the year! Seriously, I'm married to a photo teacher, and after almost nine years of marriage, I've picked up a camera, and a lesson or two.

Crazy huge grove of trees!

We stayed in The Dells for two days, and hit most of the things we wanted to hit. It was a nice time, and I was wrong, I admit it, stopping in The Dells was much better than I ever expected it to be. For the record, it was a GREAT idea. One we might have to replicate in the future. 

If you are ever close to Madison, WI, and you have children, it's worth the extra drive to The Dells. 

I wasn't disappointed.

More posts to come from WI and MI!

Stay tuned.

Interview Series: Interview with Ariana Bauer

I met Ariana when she was still in grade school. She and my sister, if memory serves, were in the same class. Her parents ran their own computer company in our home town, and I remember they were paramount in installing computers into our school system. Now a days computers are everywhere, and run almost everything.

For as long as I've know here, Ariana has always been UBER talented, and I'd love to share one of her many talents with you today. Please join me on our interview.

Me: Who are you and what do you do?

Ariana: I am Ariana Bauer and I am a mommy and maker. More specifically, I create amazing couture designs and fun clothes inspired by vintage clothing. I often times use vintage and upcycled fabric to create new modern looks. I have an ever growing stash of amazing fabric and am avid collector of vintage patterns. I also spin, knit, weave, crochet, and program software.

Me: Why are you passionate about the work that you do?

Ariana: I love making clothing because it makes people happy. Seeing women who have never felt good about themselves light up when they see how truly beautiful they are in clothing that truly fits makes me so happy. Women today are taught that they should fit inside of these horrible ready to wear sizes that only truly fit a small selection of women. I believe that clothes should fit you, not you should fit your clothes. All women are beautiful and deserve to enjoy fashion in a way that makes them happy.

Me: What’s your background?

Ariana: My grandmother put me behind the sewing machine at age 6. She taught me how to cut patterns and fit clothes and make the best out of any sewing machine I used. I made most of my clothes up through my teens, where I took a small break from sewing. After college, I picked up the needle and thread again and pushed into more advanced techniques. I have trained under Susan Khalje and other teachers to learn couture. I have also trained online with Hand & Lock in London to learn traditional couture tambour embroidery. I also worked in bridal tailoring for some time where I head lead in fitting.

Me: What’s integral to doing the work that you are passionate about?

Ariana: Details, details, DETAILS!!!! It is said that Charles James once spent 7 days working on just one seam in his gowns. He eventually drove himself mad and broke over the details. The tiniest little changes can change how a garment fits, how it hangs, how it moves. For me, every little detail is important, every stitch. That means that much of my work is done by hand with means I put a lot more hours into my work.

Me: What has been a strong influencer in your experience?

Ariana: Haute couture. I adore haute couture. Thousands of hours in just one dress, every bead sewn by hand in the same way it has been done for 200 years. I love the intricacy, the details.

Me: Explain what you do in 100 words.

Ariana: I create garments that make women of all shapes and sizes look and feel beautiful. Whether it is a simple suit for work or a bridal gown, every garment I make is created to make women feel their best. I create custom gowns, skirts, tops, jackets, and more made to measure and fitted specifically for each woman. I also alter and re-make old clothing into amazing new creations. I sew, embroider, and most of create one of a kind garments inspired by the women who wear them. I love the old and the new and it shows in my style.

Me: How has your practice change over time?

Ariana: I used to worry more about how the outside of the garment looked. As I have learned more and more about couture, I have begun to understand that the internal parts of a garment that no one really sees are what makes couture special. It is what makes a garment look truly amazing.

Me: What art/writing/people/traveling do you most identify with?

Ariana: Hmm, this is a hard one. I think in some crazy ways I relate to Frida Khalo a lot. I often times look into myself to create. I am also a big weird, so I identify with that. I am not sure I identify with most of my fashion icons, maybe in some ways Diane von Furstenberg comes to mind. She is an amazing mom, designer, and person.

Me: What work do you most enjoying doing?

Ariana: Bridal. I adore bridal and evening gowns. It is where my skills really shine. I also love that I get to take my time and have more budget to fuel my creativity.

Me: What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?

Ariana: My Jiddo (which is Grandpa in Arabic) sitting at the table and telling me stories. I could listen to him for hours. He lived with us growing up when there was war in Lebanon, and every day I would sit by him after lunch in the summer time or after dinner on school nights and talk with him. He taught me so much, I wish he was with me today to see what I have done with my life.

Me: What themes do you pursue?

Ariana: Vintage, most specifically the 1950s. I am obsessed with the New Look and the shape created in that era. It was a time where women looked so feminine.

Me: What’s your scariest experience?

Ariana: My youngest son accidentally stuck an ear thermometer into my older son's ear. We had to get straight to emergency surgery for a graft on his ear drum. We had to wait three months to find out if he had hearing in his ear. Thank God everything turned out fine and he has perfect hearing in both ears.

Me: What’s your favorite work whether it be art or writing related?

Ariana: I love Monet. I know it is cliche, but I do. I don't have a specific work, its just the style. I am often times fuzzy about my work and just let my work happen naturally. His paintings feel like that, like they just happened without thought.

Me: Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?

Ariana: I am not sure I have one. My boys inspire me to do more with my life, including my art.

Me: What’s your most embarrassing moment?

Ariana: A girl must have her secrets, you know.

I totally agree with her on this one!

Me: What jobs have you done other than being an artist/writer/traveler?

Ariana: I am programmer in my day job. I also do marketing and graphics arts.

Me: What memorable responses have you had to your work?

Ariana: I made my brother's fiancee (now my sister in law) her wedding dress. She is from Korea and her mom got here just a few days before the wedding. Her mom was here for her last fitting. She put on the dress and they both just started crying. It was so amazing to see them so happy. Her mom thanked me one thousand times for making a dress as lovely as her daughter. That made all of the work so worth it.

Me: What food, drink, song inspires you?

Ariana: Songs inspire me a lot. I love Lady Gaga, pretty much everything from the ArtPop album. I know, cliche, right? I am my own little universe.

Me: Is the artistic/journalistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?

Ariana: I never feel lonely in my art because I work with people. Creating clothing for people is such an intimate process, you get to know people very well. I also work in my living room so I am never alone when I work.

Me: What do you dislike about the art/journalistic world?

Ariana: I hate the way people compete sometime. It seems like so petty how some artists deface other people's work. I just wish we could appreciate each other for our unique talents and let the clients decide what they like. I am guilty of that behavior myself in my younger years. I have learned that it is just silly and to let my work speak for itself.

Me: What do you dislike about your work?

Ariana: It is never perfect enough for me. I am a terrible perfectionist. I doubt anything I do will ever be truly perfect, but I keep trying.

Me: What do you like about your work?

Ariana: It is fun. I love doing what I do. I love seeing the smile and spin when a girl tries on her dress for the first time.

Me: What makes you angry?

Ariana: Being compared to fast fashion, like Forever 21, both on workmanship and prices. I want people to understand that the clothing I make is comparable to Chanel Haute Couture, not Forever 21. No, I will not pay myself $2 and hour just because you can what you think is the same dress at a fashion store for $20.

Me: What brings you profound joy?

Ariana: My children. I adore my boys, they make my life complete.

Me: What research to you do, if any?

Ariana: I am always researching. I watch all of the latest runway shows with a focus on couture weeks. I also have a huge library of vintage images and fashion magazines. I constantly research new techniques. There is always more to learn, my journey will never be complete.

Me: What superpower would you have and why?

Ariana: I would love to time travel. I don't want to change anything, I just want to get a chance to see all of the amazing era's of clothing first hand.

Me: Name something you love, and why.

Ariana: I love flowers, all flowers. I love their colors and size and shape. I love how fragile they are and so beautiful at the same time. They are my favorite inspiration for embroidery and always make me smile.

Me: Name something you don’t love, and why.

Ariana: I can't stand dead things. I don't know why, but they disturb me to the core.

Me: What is your dream project?

Ariana: A couture wedding gown with a massive budget so I could work with handmade lace and silks, fabrics I would not be able to afford otherwise. A girl with an eye for classic beauty and worksmanship.

Me: Name three artists/writers/travelers you’d like to be compared to.

Ariana: I am seldom compared to other designers because most of my work is custom. I would compare myself to a young Dian von Furstenberg, Zac Posen, and Elie Saab.

Me: Favorite or most inspirational place?

Ariana: Paris. I am in love with Paris. After that it would a lovely yacht just sitting on the open ocean, just at the edge of where you can see the shore in warm waters.

Me: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Ariana: While I was training with Susan Khalje, I was nervous and worried my work would not be up to her caliber. I took my jacket to her and showed her a seam, very sheepishly. She looked up at me said "Why do you doubt yourself, you don't need me, you are amazing." It threw me a bit, I had never realized how much I had learned over the year. I learned to believe in myself more so than I had before and I gained a new confidence that day.

Me: Professionally, what’s your goal?

Ariana: To to do couture full time and support my family doing something I love.

Me: What couldn’t you do without?

Ariana: My husband. He keeps me sane, he makes me laugh, he makes me happy, he helps me clean up at 1 AM when I am too tired to move. He is what keeps me going every day.


Many thanks to Ariana for taking the time for this interview. I hope you've enjoyed our interview today. I hope that Ariana inspires you all to go out and hone your craft and pursue your dreams! Here craftsmanship is absolutely beautiful! She truly is amazing! I hope you all will get to stop by Rabbits and Rags in Columbia, IL in the near future. Ariana showcases some of her vintage pieces in this shop from time to time. Everything she makes is seriously divine!