Among many of the specials and packages that we host here at our bed and breakfast in West Michigan is the murder mystery dinner package.  Tonight we have one such of these fun filled events here at the Inn.  Sometimes these groups of participants know each other and other times they do not.  Tonight’s bed and breakfast murder mystery will have a mixture of both, which always makes for a fun filled time.  And with a snowy forecast for the evening, an in-house event here at the Inn is definitely a good idea for our guests.

Some of the breakfast dishes that we serve the Inn guests are prepared the evening before, making our lives a little easier in the morning so that our bed and breakfast guests can have more of the Innkeeper’s time in the morning as well.  One such dish is our Orange Cardamom french toast.  The flavors of the orange peel, orange zest, lemon zest and cardamom are a great combination that our Inn guests absolutely love.  We just finish preparing this dish for tomorrow morning’s breakfast and we look forward to it as well because it produces a wonderful aroma in Inn during the morning hours.

One of the things we pride ourselves on is how well we keep the Inn in tip top shape.  Today began a three-day project of touching up, spackling and painting of the Duchess chambers.  One of the more popular rooms at the bed and breakfast because the bed is actually in the four-story turret of the Inn, this room has always been bright and cheerful in it’s bright yellow cream color with the pink and pastel green accents.  Not to mess with “something that works” we are asking the painters to use the same paint colors in this project.  In a couple of days the Duchess will be bright and new with a well-deserved face lift.

I always enjoy the drive through the Allegan state forest just a mile from the bed and breakfast on my way over to Allegan Michigan where our chocolate shop of choice is located.  Something Sweet is a great find of a chocolate and sweets shop owned by a local resident where she takes every effort to take good care of her clients.  Today I picked up a number of boxes of painted truffles for a romantic getaway package that I am currently offering my bed and breakfast guests.  Typical of Dianna, she sent me home with a little sample treat “on the house” which is another reason why I like going there so much.  🙂

The end of the day today was a nice chance to catch up with a good friend of ours over a late bite to eat in the Grand Rapids area.  Just 40 minutes from the bed and breakfast Inn, Grand Rapids is a booming Michigan city that has grown tremendously over the past years and has gained a great deal of recognition for a lot of the great things it is doing to make the economy strong.  So we do like to patronize the Grand Rapids area as much as possible.