Wow...It's been a LONG time since I have posted. Life has been busy.
I got the opportunity to stop in at a great little cafe on Main St in Waupaca called Cronies. It is a specialty coffee bar and soup/sandwich/salad etc kinda-place. I've eaten here a few times before but was so impressed with my lunch today that I decided to snap a picture and blog about it. Besides...I NEEDED to revive my blog again!
Today I ordered their special: Egg salad with tomato, provolone and pesto. Side were cream of mushroom and wild rice soup (delish!) and a cucumber/tomato and feta salad.
Presentation was beautiful and the taste was divine!
Today I stopped at one of my most favorite gift shops in Waupaca - Main Street Marketplace. I've been in a few times because I wanted to blog about this wonderful shop, but could never catch the owners Bernadette and Kent Pegorsch. Well, today I got to meet Bernadette! she was busy hanging new merchandise in her shop when I approacher her.
Taken directly from their website... "Main Street Marketplace opened its doors in 1984. Originally the store was primarily an antique store with some gifts and gourmet foods. In the following years, more and more gift lines were added and the candy and gourmet foods sections grew. In 1997, we purchased the entire Beadleston Building and immediately renovated the exterior of the building. The building had been painted in the 1940's and we felt it was important to restore the paint as it had become apart of the history of the building. As over 90% of our customers are local residents, we feel it is important to offer new items and lines as well as support the quality products that our customers have become accustomed to."
I have been in a few times to pick up gifts for family members over the past month...mostly jewelry and scarves - but they have so much more it is hard to choose sometimes. Also, their prices are really affordable which isn't always so common for a gift shop.
Here are a few pictures of their shop:
Walk in and be greeted by fudge...oh ya!
Fudge Flavors
Chain O' Lakes Chocolate
Chocolate Walnut
Snow Turtle
Striped Turtle
Turtle
Crystal River Rum
Vanilla Walnut
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Vanilla Chocolate Swirl
Mint Chocolate Swirl
Amaretto Chocolate Swirl
Maple Walnut
Heath Bar Crunch
This jewelry is really cool - MAGNABILITIES. I picked one of these up for my sister's birthday. You can change the magnet design...awesome!
Gourmet kichten items.
Adorable sleepwear!
Woodland and nature gifts...
Intoxicating candles!
Loads of accessories, scarves, purses and....
more beautiful jewelry sets.
Be sure to stop in at this gift shop next time you are in Waupaca....and if you already live in Waupaca, I am sure you already appreciate this local treasure!
Main Street Marketplace Open Seven Days a Week Monday through Friday 9 AM - 5 PM Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM - Sunday 11:30 AM - 4 PM Special Longer Christmas Hours-please call.
103 N Main Street Waupaca, WI 54981 Telephone 715-258-9160
Last week I went to visit Bethany Home of Waupaca. I had an appointment there to meet with the HR representative. Bethany Home was voted Best Nursing Home of 2011 in Waupaca...and it truly is a wonderful place. Here is how they describe their facility on their website:
Bethany Home is a faith-based organization with a long-standing tradition of providing service to our community’s seniors and disabled residents. Bethany Home, Inc. offers a full continuum of care and services for seniors, including skilled nursing and rehabilitation, assisted living apartments, independent living duplexes and a community outreach program. Our facilities are located on a beautiful 30 acre campus bordered by Shadow Lake and the Crystal River.
I received a short tour of the main lobby and building area and was very impressed. They had a lovely sitting area with a bird aviary. Some of the residents seemed to just enjoy sitting and watching the birds. Their hallway has a timeline of old photos from when the facility was actually an orphanage before WWII.
The grounds are actually quite extensive. Here is an arial view that is from their website:
Their property contains the main building, assisted living quarters and independent living condos.
Bethany Home also encourages volunteers for the following activities:
Visits
Reading
Playing cards
Taking walks
and much more
I am actually contemplating having my 9 year daughter go there to play harp for the residents some time this summer.
For information or to plan a visit and tour, please contact
I had the pleasure of visiting a wonderful little bookstore on Main St called Dragonwings Bookstore. This children's bookstore is filled with not only books but also puzzles, toys, games and puppets.
The owner, Ellen Davis said that Dragonwings has been in the Waupaca Community for 16 years. Children love to come to the store to play in the huge tree trunk centrally located amongst all the books and also for summer fun workshops and classes featuring projects in art, science and even a grandparent series.
Dragonwings Bookstore is a member of the American Booksellers Assn. and IndieBound (Independent Booksellers Recommendations. Their winter publication called Kids Next featured a book review by Ellen. She reviewed the book Bluefishby Pat Schmatz. She said this book was a great read for a middleschooler, so I picked up a signed copy for my 6th grade daughter.
Now, my middle school daughter is not one to read all that much. Some kids love to read and are total bookworms...my Margaret?...not so much. I asked Ellen what she suggests a parent could do to entice a middle schooler to read more. She suggested picking books with interesting characters that appeal to the appropriate age group. Then read the first chapter (s) aloud to your child. This is a great way to get the whole family involved and also a great way to introduce the main characters of the story. She also stated, "Be sure to leave off at an exciting point of the story so that to entice the child to want to read more!"
Dragonwings Bookstore also has a Buyers Club Card. When you spend $100 you will receive 15% off your next purchase.
There are roughly about 2 months of school left. Keep your child's reading level up and imagination flowing by getting them into a good book this summer!
As we all know the taxman calleth! What you might not know is you may be eligible to have your tax returns done for FREE through the Volunteer Income Tax assistance Program (VITA).
The VITA program provides low-income households (less than $57K) with assistance in filing their income taxes, and applying for any eligible tax credits (homestead, earned income tax, child tax credit). Services are offered in many Wisconsin counties including Waupaca ,Waushara, Outagamie, Winnebago and Brown (just to name a few) from early February through April 15th.
Sounds like a fancy place with fine china and tinkling crystal does it not? Actually it is a local hangout and restaurant right by the Crystal River in Waupaca owned by Julie Javorosky and frequented regularly by many.
Today I was invited to have lunch with a past co-worker, Wayne Knutson and his lovely wife Pam. Wayne used to run the office I am at, but now works for the Waupaca County VA office. I am always amazed how EVERYONE knows Wayne in town.
Julie's Crystal Lounge was really clean and comfortable with a nice lunch/dinner menu selection. We ordered burgers and fries, salad, wraps and even a chicken quesadilla which looked amazing.
Some of Wayne's colleagues from the VA office joined us as well. Below are Alice and Cindy.
Alice recently retired from the VA and knows a great deal about Waupaca and the local businesses. She said that Julie (owner of Crystal Lounge) hosts numerous parties, events and benefits such as a Firemen's Benefit coming up in March.
If you do, be sure to purchase a Waupaca Discount Keytag!
Shop Waupaca Area 1st Keytag gives you access to many great offers from area businesses. They offer free or discounted products or services when you present a keytag at the checkout. For example, a local restaurant will discount the entire check by 10% with a keytag. Other discounts include food & beverage, health & beauty care, recreation, hotels and entertainment.
A keytag can be purchased at the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce office for $10. The keytag has a one year life and is good January to December. Stop in today to start saving!
Click the following link for a list if the businesses who accept the Waupaca Area 1st Keytag:
Today I had the pleasure of visiting The Feminine Touch on N Western Ave in Waupaca. They specialize in better women's apparel and accessories. Of course, the moment I walked in I absolutely loved what I saw...
I especially loved the incredible Vera Bradley displays and variety.
I met one of the sales persons. Her name was Heidie and she informed me that the store has been in business for 27 years! The owner is Mary Jo Shambeau. When I asked Heidie what the store is most known for she said, "Unique clothing and accessories are what most people know us for...but we also carry a wonderful selection of formal wear, such as mother-of-the-bride dresses...
Browsing the store was really fun. The clothing was beautiful, but the accessories were really something special. I enjoy jewelry...a lot...and was thrilled when I saw some whimsical jewelry on sale! I couldn't help myself and picked up a few items...
My photography doesn't do it justice...
If you are ever in the Waupaca area or are looking for great gift ideas or upscale and unique clothing, be sure to stop at
Today I decided to try lunch at The Waupaca Woods Restaurant. It is located inside the Waupaca Wood Mall off of Fulton Street.
I entered into a very nice atmosphere and decided to pick a spot near the fireplace...
The waitress who served me was very pleasant and when she handed me the menu I was amazed at how many choices there were! I decided on the haddock fillet and a side salad. Some restaurant's fish fillets are left with a bit to be desired: square, pressed-together, and deep fried HOWEVER - The Wood's fillet was wonderful! It was lightly breaded and the haddock was tender and flakey and delicious!
They even added a lovely garnish of oranges which paired nicely with the fish.
Here is my side salad. It was much prettier before I put the dressing on. Loved the presentation with the sliced green pepper on top. Look how big this is!...and this was a side salad!
Here is Patty, my wonderful server. She told me she has been with The Waupaca Woods Restaurant for 18 years! I am sure that the owners Dan and Marsha Johnson are pleased to have her! I talked with Dan breifly to tell him about my new endeavor in Waupaca and the blog. When I asked him what he would like to people to know about his restaurant, he stated, "We are family oriented and known for our breakfast, seafood and daily specials."
I was also able to share with Dan what I did at my place of work as a budget and credit counselor. I hope he shares the information with his employees too!
When I checked out at the back of the restaurant I noticed all the plaques they were awarded for BEST Breakfast, Fish Fry, Lunch, Soup and Kids Menu!
I took a piece of chocolate chip date cake home to share with my family, ahhhh, maybe :) - and noticed how many pie, cake and dessert offeringings they had. About 3:30 this afternoon I decided to sneak some of the cake. I unwrapped the container and could not believe the pretty sight I saw, all deocrated with whip cream!
TGIF everyone! Today I drove to the Waupaca office for work and started to take a little stock about how I can make the office my own. As you can tell in the picture....it is in desperate need of a woman's touch!
I think a few nice wall hangings, a lamp and some potpourri ought to do the trick! :)
While I was browsing through the store today my place of work is located inside of Goodwill) I thought it would be fun to catch a photo of a couple of the Goodwill employees and ask them why they like to work at Goodwill. Here is what Abigail and Vincent had to say...
Abigail: "I really love that Goodwill is an organization that helps people with barriers to employment find a good job. I also like the cool clothes you can find so inexpensively priced. It is fun to see Good Looks on the Goodwill website for fashion ideas."
Vincent: I am glad I was given the opportunity to work for Goodwill. This is my first job. I appreciate the flexible hours and I have made some really good friends here!"
So there you have it. The Waupaca Goodwill store is full of wonderful merchandise at bargain prices. I myself picked up a very nice pair of sunglasses for only $3.99. Stop in today and say "Hi" to Abigail and Vincent!
I am very excited about the transition to the Waupaca office. The future's wide open - nothing's written in stone...
So I thought I would create a blog to help me along with some networking I would like to do in Waupaca, WI. I have been trying to think of a catchy title for days now....but nothing comes to mind. I figure The Waupaca Blog is just as good a name as any. (and easier to remember)
My name is Dana and am about to embark on a new position in my job which is located in Waupaca.
One of my goals I have for this new endeavor is to network with the area businesses. I thought it might be fun to visit a business or two each week and blog about the services or products they offer. In exchange, I can share what I do at at my job in an attempt to better familiarize myself with the community.
Wow...It's been a LONG time since I have posted. Life has been busy.
