Michigan Gift Baskets That Beat The Heat

It's really cooking here in Michigan and across the Midwest now that we're into the middle of summer. I always like to write a blog post at this time of year to remind folks about what the heat will do to baskets containing chocolates when the temperatures hover above 70 degrees - they WILL melt. We offer a Insulated Shipping Box, but that needs to be paired with 1 or 2 Day shipping in order to work. The freezer packs included in the Insulated Shipping Box are only good for up to 48 hours and possibly less when it is 90 degrees or hotter.

So, what can you do if you don't want to spend $5 on an Insulated Shipping Box and an extra $40 or so for 1 - 2 Day Shipping?

Well, we have a great line of gift baskets that won't melt - no matter what the temperature.

No-Melt Michigan's Best - $115

No-Melt Staff Favorites - $77

Detroit Tigers Gift Basket - $64

Detroit Gift Basket - $60

No-Melt Tastes of Michigan - $54

Detroit Gift Box - $30

Michigan Heat Wave - $30

Thank You Box - $30

Five Fun Things to do in Michigan This Weekend 6/3 - 6/5/11

The weather is heating up and summer is upon us. Here are five events across the state of Michigan that look like fun this weekend!

1. Antique Gas Engine and Tractor Show - Hudson Mills Metropark - 6/3/11 - 6/4/11. Admission is $5 to see tractor pulls, arts and crafts, petting zoo, sawmill display, and tons of activities for kids.
2. 4th Annual Breeze on Tawas Bay Kite Festival - East Tawas - 6/5/11. Free family event features stunt kites, kiteboarding, a candy drop, kite flying workshop, and more.
3. Do-Dah Parade - Kalamazoo - 6/5/11 at 11am in downtown Kalamazoo. This wacky and goofy parade has been entertaining parade goers for many years.
4. Mancelona Bass Festival - 6/2/11 to 6/5/11. Contests, carnival, crafts, games, and of course - a bass fishing contest.
5. Taste of Ann Arbor - 6/5/11 from 11am to 5pm. Local restaurants serve up their tastiest creations along with many fun things for the whole family to enjoy.

What I did this summer

Well, today is the first day of school for kids here in Michigan and with that in mind I thought I would give a report on "What I Did This Summer" just like we used to have to in grade school. The Summer of 2008 went by entirely too fast as do most summers. While we had wanted to get away for a vacation - we didn't. The end of summer caught up to us from behind and surprised us. We are planning a vacation to the U.P. for next summer though. Don't worry, I'll let you know far in advance when we will have the gift basket store closed ;).

We started off the summer with a bumper crop of strawberries from our garden. A lot of time was spent harvesting berries and getting the rest of the garden up and going. Unfortunately, we had another dry summer here in southwest Michigan so that meant watering the garden on a daily basis. I missed watering the raspberry canes too often and we lost quite a few of the new plantings.

We took lots of walks with the kids amongst many visits to the local library. I finally took the time to take some photos from around White Pigeon. I had been wanting to do that for a long time and was always too busy or had another lame excuse. I finished up that photo walk with an excellent chocolate soda at the neat old soda fountain in the Tasty Nut Shop.

Blueberry picking was fun, eating Michigan cherries and peaches was tasty as always, and just plain having fun as a family. It seems that I mention food a lot. Well, I don't know about you, but a lot of my memories of summer seem to revolve around food. There's always barbecues, homemade ice cream, 4th of July parties, and evenings in front of a campfire.

My only regret is not getting away and heading up north. We'll remedy that next summer. Now we've apple picking to look forward too and all the pies, apple sauce, and apple crisp that goes along with it.

There I went talking about food again ;).

Top 10 Regrets from Summer 2006

Most everybody gets to the tail end of summer and thinks about things they should have done or wished they had done. I know I had planned on getting more projects finished around the house, but I certainly don't regret that ;). Here is a list of 10 things that I thought about when I looked back at this past summer. I know there are still a few weeks of summer left, but my wife has gone back to school teaching and we just don't have the freedom to do everything we want now. For me, the spirit of summer is pretty much over.

Here is the list of 10 Things I should have done (or done more of) this summer:

1. Ate more ice cream (remember, there is ALWAYS room for ice cream)
2. Drank more lemonade and less water
3. Watched more sunsets
4. Sat on the back deck and enjoyed the evening
5. Gone to the beach more
6. Spent an afternoon reading a book
7. Gone to a Detroit Tigers game
8. Gone camping more
9. Spent more time relaxing in the yard and less time mowing it
10. Slowed down and enjoyed those lazy summer days

Happy Summer!

Today, June 21, marks the first day of summer (officially). This is the longest day of the year (as far as daylight hours go) so you better get out there and enjoy it :). Looking for something to do? Head on over to the Travel Michigan website for lists upon lists of things to do and see. Look under the Events tab and search by month to see what might be going on in your area today and this weekend.