‘Tis the season for gift-giving (and receiving:). An upside of our down economy is that many of us have scaled back our purchases re-learned the joy of handmade gifts. This is especially true in our small island community with so many creative, resourceful people choosing to live a simpler, less materialistic life.
A gift from the heart conveys so much more meaning than the gift itself because of the time, effort and forethought involved. Money is tight, but time is universally more precious! A truly personal, one-of-a-kind gift will be cherished forever.
I’m excited about a few gifts I’ve made for Christmas this year (will save for a future post so as not to spoil the surprise.) In the meantime, here are some images from the archives. If you’ve given or received a gift from the heart that had special meaning, we’d love to hear about it!
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Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
This past Friday, after our holiday “Shop the Rock” excursion in Eastsound, Bob and I decided to have dinner at the Rosario’s Moran Mansion. We hadn’t done this in years, a consequence of lazily living on the opposite end of the island. Wow, am I glad we did!
Arriving at the mansion you're greeted by the "Festival of Trees" decorated by local non-profits as a fundraising event.
It was hard not to give all our tickets to The Funhouse tree -- each colorful ornament was handmade by a child.
At the end of December, all voting tickets will be entered in a raffle to win round-trip tickets for two to Seattle on Kenmore Air with hotel, dinner for two in The Mansion Restaurant and a two-month spa pass!! Hmmm…. somehow I’m feeling extra “charitable” this evening.
On top of the cozy ambience of the festive historic mansion, our dinner was absolutely superb. I chose the Filet Mignon served with Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes and Carrot Puree. Even though I ordered it medium well (I know, I can hear the gasps), it still cut easily with a butter knife. I combined my plate with Bob’s melt-in-your-mouth Wild King Salmon and we both enjoyed a delightful surf and turf.
The Living Room is my favorite place in the Mansion. Next time I will ask to take our dessert by the fireplace, like this couple did.
For dessert we shared a chocolate souffl’ee with vanilla bean ice cream and salted caramel sauce. This alone would be worth driving an hour for. Pure ecstasy.
After dinner we leisurely toured the upstairs mansion on our own, marveling at the exquisite construction and trying to imagine what it would’ve been like to live here – a luxuriously large yet intimate space, warmed by mahogany throughout and a fireplace in every room, and a drop-dead gorgeous view down the sound. No wonder Robert Moran outlived his life expectancy by more than 30 years after moving here. I feel so thankful that this historic gem has been preserved and re-opened for us to enjoy. We will definitely be coming back!
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
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