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This summer Chelsa and I were running down to the Good Hart General Store to grab some milk only to find out they were closed. So we drove the extra 15 minutes to the gas station in Cross Village only to get a phone call from out mother n’law that there was an amazing garage sale, 20 more minutes in the opposite direction. Problem- the kids were at home waiting for milk and we’d already been gone 25 minutes..but of course we couldn’t pass up a good garage sale.
Good thing we made it cuz I would have never known that on January 1, 1937 there was “Snow Storm, NE Wind..and Leo left home, was to town, got cold PM” then on January 2-3 “Snowing, all got sick”, and January 4 “all sick in bed, snowstorm, last milking of cow no. 6″.
What a find is that? Every time we come up to Good Hart I flip the page to the current date. I feel like I kinda know this lady. It’s certainly a lady cuz I can tell by her handwriting.
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And for so many reason I am excited for the Spring 2013 line…so many. One, I love designing for Spring. I mean who doesn’t love pretty pinks, lavenders and every other springy color. Two, I feel like we are in a great place at MJC to make this the best season ever. We’ve got lots of new Trunk Keepers on board to help you schedule your shows, a few new faces at the office, and ha, a funny one, new packing bags that I think are so cute. Three, Good Hart is just a great place. When I am here, and hopefully when you see the line, there is this comfort, this freshness, this feeling of friendship that makes you want to be surrounded by it. If that makes sense?
We’ll have to have a get together some day this summer with all you girls who live in Northern Michigan, or come up here. Cuz you all know the feeling that happens once you start seeing the pine trees and big blue skies. Ahhhh….Yup, I got that feeling right now and man, if I could only stay here forever. Those of you who know are up here or summer up here you must leave a comment to share why everyone needs to come visit Good Hart!!
I loved that calendar! It’s my New Years resolution to do one just like it!! Couldn’t believe you got it at a garage sale. I so need to go shopping with you!! Happy New Year! Miss you:)
I Googled Good Hart the other day after reading one of your posts … I’m pretty sure I could respond to this post … and I’ve never, ever been there! But I sure do want to go! I think I’m pretty well traveled, but “oh, the places I haven’t been and the places I want to go!” Good Hart is one of them. And I want to go to Africa with you guys – I’d like to meet K-la’s Gordon and your Linda! Heck, I want to come to Ft. Wayne (I have a plane ticket just ready to be re-booked)!
That writing looks exactly like my grandmas! That’s spooky but cool
What an amazing find, that calendar, SO cool! I love that someone saved it all these years & actually put it out at the yard sale instead of just tossing it. Such a treasure!
So excited for the spring line, I totally agree with you, the spring lines are always my favorites because they are so fresh & happy! Good Hart sounds like a delightful place & a perfect name for the collection!
Just the other day we were going through some stuff of my grandparents, stuff that hadn’t been looked at in over 45 years. I box of cards and stuff from when my mom and aunt were born. The cards where so amazing, I never knew that cards where so well made 57 yrs ago. I also had never seen a picture of my grandma in her homecoming royalty dress. My grandma passed away when I was very young and my grandpa when I was 14 so I never got a chance to really talk to them or get to know them.
There is a different smell, a cleanliness of fresh air. You feel rejuvenated just standing in the openess breathing in the northern air. The sounds of tree branches swaying, birds chirping and children playing about. We as a family love going to northern Michigan. We have a cottage with 80 acres, it’s our little piece of paradise.
I hogan Born and love it. Northern Michigan is beautiful. A slower pace, pine tree time!
That should be I was born…darn auto correct!
It is so exciting that you named your next line GOOD HART. I don’t know how to exactly describe that Northern Michigan feeling even after living in NM for SO many years. It’s an overwhelming taste & smell… especially thinking about growing up here with so many fresh water lakes and streams… endless woods and trails to roam… and the simplicity of small towns and general stores with a familiar face greeting you year after year. ahhhh… so refreshing indeed. Miss you much! Ali
With my husband being in the military we move often… We both are from Michigan and there is nothing better then returning to the small towns we miss so much where complete strangers are so sweet! Makes me miss home! I can’t wait to see the new line
I love the start of your blog today. My best friend, Nicole Mihalas (who just so happens to be your new Waunakee, WI Ttrunk Keeper)and I are constantly getting ourselves into that kind of trouble. So impossible to pass up a garage sale–even if it is 25 minutes away and there is never a guarantee of a find. Aaah, it is the call of hope and good luck whispering in your ear! Good Hart sounds like a great place and enough of a good reason for a girlfriend road trip!
That calendar is SO cool! It brought back a random memory: I used to spend a part of the summer with my grandmother at the cottage when I was little. It was on Lake Huron in Canada right on the beach. Very rustic 100 year old place – the insulation was old newspapers!!! We used to try and read the dates on them up in the ceiling. Anyhow, I am getting sidetracked….she used to write down the weather on a calendar every single day and I remember as kids we used to sit and read about all the wonderful storms that brought water up to the edge of the cottage and all the cool finds that were left on the beach. It was really neat. She lived to be 97.
There is something magical about growing up Up North. Every time I go home and pass over the 45th parallel (at which pont you must raise your feet up in the car as if you are jumping over it) I am excited for the beauty and seasonal activities that lie ahead. Whether its swimming, hiking, skiing, or “playing Fudgie” I am always grateful I have this refreshing retreat. It is funny how at times people are surprised I grew up in Northern Michigan, almost a reaction of amazement, like people actual LIVE there year around?! I enjoy enlightening them of the best kept secrets, such as Good Hart and the Tunnel of Trees, the fabulous beaches in Mackinaw City, and the majestic Mackinac Bridge and how it swings over to Mackiac Island ever other hour, hahaha. There is more to Up North than fudge, skiing, boating, etc. I think the local people are the charm. Among the physical treasures, they are there are each season with open arms willing to lend a hand, share a tow rope, and share their lives as if time between visits had not been as long. If I could find a way to move back I would, but for now I will take advantage of my parents who still live there. I am very lucky to have grown up Up North!
Denise, I so know that feeling- it’s like your “happy place”! Every summer as a child I spent weeks in Harbor Springs and we would venture into all the neighboring towns, Good Hart being one of them! We always went to a tiny secluded beach there that was hidden behind this little church. It was so beautiful, peaceful but full of energy! As an adult I now share this “happy place” with my own daughter and husband, we all LOVE it there! Can’t wait to see the spring line! Enjoy your time at Good Hart!
Somewhere around Clare, West Branch or Cadillac… Depending on your route, you enter a new state of mind. No matter what’s happening Down State, you’re on your way north… To your true home. You breath deeper, relax a little more and feel yourself start to giggle again! Be it the lakes, the trees or the crisp skies… Something about Northern Michigan always calls your soul!
Thank you for honoring our precious places with this season! I so look forward to sharing our joy with my friends I’ve met around the country… Thanks to you!
Oh, how that handwriting reminds me of my grandmothers. She passed a few years ago, but I recently was given one of her daily note journals – priceless! Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year!
I live in the U.P and know exactly what you are talking about! Love that General Store. Hope to see you on a trip to Michigan!
I am a native Michigander as we like to call it! I always thought I would leave Michigan, but went to college here and ended up staying in MI. For me, Northern MI is a place of beauty. I love the fact that at every corner there is water, and pine trees! The sky is so blue and truly the air is fresh. Knowing that I can get in the car from our place in Gaylord and in a half an hour (Gaylord has great lakes too) be to some of the best places in the country is so special! On my way back up to go skiing…the summer is amazing, but when there is a lot of snow up north IT ROCKS. Would love to visit with some MJC loving girls this summer!
One more thing – Denise, I love that you named the spring line “Good Heart”. It is such a perfect name for a spring line….I know already that it brings a big smile to my face because I love that town and the General Store! Happy New Year.
There are lots of places in the USA that I would so like to visit. Thinking that Good Hart has moved up and hoping it will happen before I am too old to travel. Denise, you and the others sure make it sound like a very very special place.
You are spot on – there is something about northern Michigan that is hard to describe! There is something about going north, it changes your whole disposition, you relax, you breathe more deeply, you notice the beauty all around you. I’ve lived in Michigan the majority of my life and of all the places I’ve traveled, Up North is a place I regularly return to and love!
Denise, this is funny for two reasons- 1. I save all my calendars bc someday when Im not so busy I want to remember what filled my days, and I want my kids to remember too:) 2. isnt it always the best things that come from the string on the sweater?:) little spontaneous happenings are the spice of life:) I would love to see Michigan someday:)
I’ve been going up to Indian River since I’ve been a little girl. I think you summed it up perfectly about the feeling that the pine trees and blue skies evoke. And then you see the sparkly water!! I can’t wait for this summer. It’s a blast getting to rediscover it with my little kids.
Central Park