Our vintage barn used to have 1 large light at the top, but we decided to switch that off and light it up with bulb lights in the tree instead. What do you think? Be sure to take a peek next time you're driving by the Hop & Vine Inn on 68th Street in Fennville, Michigan!

 Mom Genzink introduced me to the awesomeness of Countryside Greenhouse today! Hanging baskets for dayzzz. We made out like bandits shopping their dollar plant section. Excited to get these babies in the ground around the Hop & Vine Inn, but they'll be living in our sunporch until we're sure this Michigan spring is going to stick! It's gonna stick, right?

We are totally impressed with the zoo-themed sack supper bags that our littlest guests have been working on to donate to Kids' Food Basket! Kids' Food Basket is a non-profit with a whole lot of awesome volunteers in Western Michigan which donates over 8000 healthy & delicious meals per day to children that may not otherwise have supper when they go home. (Incredible, right!?)

What's your favorite animal? We'll drop it in the suggestion box...er, BAG, for the next creations!

We thought new windows might be a pane, but Schippers Construction has made it a hole lot of fun. Am I framing my puns correctly? ;) 

Three fireplace suites (2 with hot tubs) and the B&B's main kitchen are getting a facelift! The window below is in our kitchen, which we use to cook breakfast for our guests each morning, and it will now also be available for those family chefs during family reunions, and any guest with a love of cooking/baking with a large group reservations of the entire inn for company retreats, Church groups, women's retreats, and other big group events!

In preparation for our new windows in our fireplace & hot tub suites at our bed & breakfast, we're looking for ideas to put these old windows to work!
Can they be transformed into unique Michigan themed artworks? Could they be cold frames for growing herbs & veggies? Should we paint the frames and hang them up with dry erase as whiteboards? These are some of the great ideas we've received on our Facebook & Instagram posts, but we'd love to hear YOUR ideas! Please drop them in the comments!

Today, we got to celebrate the one and only, amazing Dan. If you're looking for him, he'll be the one in a Pure Michigan or Hawaiian shirt. He'll also be the one making jokes , making smiles, and making the eggs. His hot breakfasts are one of the highlights around the Hop & Vine Inn. (If you happen to be looking for ME (Amber), I'll be the one looking at Dan adoringly or giving him my best eye roll - depending on the circumstance.) 

So, what'd we do for Dan's big day? We had some errands to do in Holland, Michigan (just 20 minutes up the road), so we took the party up there. Does the city name sound familiar to you? It's the location of the huge Tulip Time Festival that takes place the first 2 weekends in May. First stop was Butch's, where we discovered their current deal of a delicious pork taco & beer for $7! It was hard not to get a second round after finishing the first, but our goal for this birthday tour was to never be hungry, and never be full, so we kept moving. 

Next, we walked down Holland's darling 8th street to the famous New Holland Brewery. Home of amazing beers and bartenders, and a beer garden patio that you've GOT to take advantage of when the weather warms up. Since it was January 105th (also known as April 17th), we stuck to sitting at the indoor bar. First up were a couple drinks (including their brand new & super flavorful Tangerine Space Machine) and this tasty Dixie Luau pizza.

Remember I mentioned the amazing bartenders? They don't just pour beer. Taylor whipped up this one of a kind frou frou drink upon request from a patron.
​​Note to self: Start ordering flowers in drinks.

The last stop of the night was over at Our Brewing Company, just another block or so down 8th Street. It's a popular spot for the local Hope College students, but lucky for us, they're a happy bunch that accepts you even if the last syllabus handed to you was 10+ years ago. 

This is the point in the night that my phone died, or I'd show you our flight of 6 very different beers/ciders and the crown jewel on the night (for me, who was the DD): A caramel, pretzel, cashew artisan ice cream bar from Ice Box Brand Ice Cream Bars. Our Brewing is a BYO food joint, but has a legit ice box full of these awesome ice cream bars ($2 for a small) along with free popcorn.

I'm not saying you will see me, but I'm not saying you WON'T see me in Holland getting another bar today.