"Innkeepers from New Ulm, MN proudly competed in the Morgan Creek Vineyards annual Grape Stomp Festival, wearing BedandBreakfast.com robes. Dubbing their team "The BedandBreakfast.com Babes", Shannon McKeeth of Bingham Hall B&B was joined by fellow New Ulm innkeepers including Bobbi McCrea from the Bohemian B&B, Ramona Sonnenberg from the Auf Deutsche Strasse B&B and Peggy Beyer from the Beyer Haus who all competed for the grape stomping champion. Able to leap tall grapevines in a single bound, and stomp out more than just muffins in the morning, the BedandBreakfast.com Fab Four took home a second place title, showing the world once again that innkeepers are jacks of all trades." Thanks Marti for the mention!

BOO!

Halloween Spooktacular - Absolutely Ghoulish!

Join the Historic Inns of New Ulm for their Annual Halloween Spooktacular weekend. You’re guaranteed to have a hair-raising good time!
Arrive Friday evening and join in “scary hour” complete with ghostly appetizers, wine and beer. Please come in costume since prizes will be awarded. A list for Saturday’s scavenger hunt will be handed out during cocktails as well as pumpkins and rules for the carving contest. Dinner that evening will be a private party at one of New Ulm’s fine dining establishments, followed by a “session” with the renowned medium Mary Kay Jansen.
Saturday morning you will be treated to a 4-course gourmet breakfast at your chosen Bed and Breakfast and then you are free to enjoy the sights and sounds of beautiful New Ulm. Wander the city with your scavenger hunt list and see how many items you can collect.
Saturday evening you will be wined and dined with appetizers and beverages. After happy hour your horse drawn carriage will arrive and take you on a quick trip around New Ulm ending up at George’s world-renowned steaks and spirits. A gourmet four-course meal is included. After dinner your carriage will be waiting to transport you on a guided cemetery tour to learn about some of the famous past residents of New Ulm.
Sunday morning you will be treated to another wonderful breakfast where prizes will be given out for the costume contest, scavenger hunt and the best carved pumpkin.
The cost for this fun-filled weekend is $125.00 per person in addition to the room rate at your favorite local Bed & Breakfast.
Reservations must be made by 10/24/08
Please call for more info 866.499.6870

Fresco Found

Fresco technique seems to be what is lurking under all the white paint here at The Bohemian. Recovery has not yet started, but really, this is gonna be big! Scott, Ty and Elenor from the Minneapolis firm Scott's Faux Design Now if we find out it is Anton Gag's work that would really be something! It could happen. And really it could. Anton Gag completed interior decorative painting with his partner Chris Heller at the time this home was constructed (1899). The records are sparse and incomplete, but I know Wanda's first journaling efforts where on her Father's ledgers! Those journals are secured in Pennsylvania. To anyone's knowledge they haven't been reviewed for anything but Wanda interest. I'm on it. Heller & Gag: "These gentlemen have made themselves illustrious by their art and though they are not appreciated as they should be their work is none the less admired." The Journal 1902/08/27.

New Bohemian

Announcing Orelia Mary Slavik, beautiful daughter to Nick and Amy. For those of you taking Notes from the Iron Mangle, Nick recently painted The Bohemian. I had the pleasure of watching Nick and Amy's graceful dance of pregnancy and expectation, a very true mid summers night dream....here she is "Come True"!

Being a casual practitioner of Feng Shui, the landscaping project here at The Bohemian became somewhat of a personal event. As the old nostalgic shrubs, bushes and plants were wrenched from their foothold both of the earth and my sentimental soul, it became instantly apparent that we invent reasons which prevent us from moving forward. This can be reflected with our houses and the environment surrounding them. Just as a house may require painting for example, a great deal of work needs to be done causing the majority of us to postpone such tasks, silently restricting us from moving on. In my case, to remove the vintage spirea, or bridal wreath (even the name evokes beauty) was a daunting hurdle to overcome. The second they were gone, taking minutes balanced against the 6 years I have pondered about them, I knew it was the right choice. Instantly I felt a reprise from regarding life, joyful as it is, as an occasional uphill struggle. The overgrown unmanageable maintenance, which I incurred every spring and fall was a constant reminder of what I was not able to successfully accomplish, and frankly, not welcoming, however majestic, original and true to the original landscape. For years I have walked around the yard visualizing classically formal gardens interspersed with whimsy that guests might enjoy and a colorful style that would showcase the integrity of the house. I thought often 'instant landscape' as much as I wanted to do it myself. That law of attraction is no secret, so what we have now at The Bohemian is pretty much as close as one can come to what I have been hoping to evoke throughout the last several seasons. The gentle beauty of gardens long lost, the kind with blossoms and surprises that create a sense of space in which you want to linger and breath easy again. I am happy to be the recipient of another of life's graceful gifts, meeting Heather & Lynn Hacker, who with their honorable crew whipped up a delightful outdoor wonder I invite all to enjoy.

Full Meal Deal

This past weekend was like a smorgasbord for me, I didn't even eat with the guests and I am stuffed! Lasagna gardening?!? which doesn't have anything to do with being Italian, but it certainly added to the fun that someone in the party used to have a pizza joint. Since half of what I do here is all about food, this layer technique for the garden sounds right up my alley. I've got the first draft of landscaping plans, from A to Zinnia, and I am going to embed this carefree breezy style into the earth around here. Where else can the enchanted garden I am envisioning spring from? A lot of ideas served up here over the weekend,including dessert, on the menu?: Cakes by Barb, we even plated a side of sitcom: a slice of life from a guest job: "The Regulator", hey, we figure it could air along side 'World Championship Poker' (and it ties nicely to all the sugar running, cat house piano player antics my Great Grandpa Bockus was involved in when he ran the New Ulm Grocery Company, which is still around, as is The Still, pushed in the Cottonwood River by the old prohibition regulator.) Real History Reality TV, right here in New Ulm. Good Morning America, History Detectives all just in August, all for your viewing, but why aren't YOU here?

Savvy Birthday

Last year on this date I was still manuevering my girth around tables. Thank goodness I am tall, as the unborn and I were still able to clear the chairs. Just like everyone else, I fret, and wondered what I would do with 'an infant' here at the B & B. It has been a piece of cake, in no small part to all of you, and I now look with magnificant wonder at this beautiful child who miraclously belongs, right where she is. Just like all of us. Savvy Grace indeed: how one smile, small kindness or act of comfort can bring peace to our restless souls. Happy Birthday to all who have been part of The Bohemian this year.