November/December 2021

This month, we celebrate family, food, wine and upcoming celebrations. So, set the tables and send out the cards, the holidays are here!

Read the digital edition.

Having lived in White Bear Lake since the age of 2, it’s safe to say that I’m a fan of this town. My Canadian-born parents built their first and only home here in the ’60s, a singular house sprouting up in an expansive, open field.

 
Day at the Beach (Memorial Beach in Winter)

On a sunny winter day, Lauren Meyer, who placed first in our 2020 Lens on the Lake Photo Contest, snapped her winning photo. We spoke with Meyer about Day at the Beach (Memorial Beach in Winter), to find out what inspired her to get this shot.  

 
White Bear Center for the Arts

The White Bear Center for the Arts has expanded its space. Stemming from an initial need for more parking and additional square footage for the popular clay classes, the center has added to its atrium space, gallery and created two rooms dedicated to clay classe

 
High-end wine cellars

Hearing “wine cellar” might conjure old movie images of a candlelit trip down dark, musty stairs to a crumbling stone cave. That was then; this is now. Hagstrom Builder has been building custom homes since 1962, and it’s seeing a fresh, new trend in wine cellars.

 
turkey from the oven

  You know it’s coming. Grocery stores are already battling to offer the lowest price per pound on turkey in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday.

 
Chef Adam Johnson and Lisa Stonehouse

Lisa Stonehouse knows her way around the kitchen. Her mother’s cooking skills, or lack thereof, forced Stonehouse to learn how to make meals her and her brother would enjoy at a very young age.

 
Dueling Grandmas Shortbread

Cookies and grandmas. They go together like peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, and cake and ice cream.

 
Fig&Bleu charcuterie

Local businesses owner Samantha Bonnett readily admits that she’s still fairly new to the charcuterie scene. “I didn’t really have too much experience with charcuterie before I got the idea of starting my business,” Bonnett says.

 
Anchor Coffee House

Bradley and Heather Atkinson, store owner and operators of Anchor Coffee House, began their business as a mobile coffee shop back in 2015. 

 
The Olive Branch Oil & Spice Company

It was their culinary experiences while traveling abroad that inspired Bruce Bushey and Janet Richards to open The Olive Branch Oil & Spice Company, where they offer international olive oils, Italian balsamic vinegars, spices and seasonings. 

 

At EAT! Kitchen and Pantry Store, there’s something for everyone. Spouses and co-owners of the little corner café and kitchen store next door, Shawn and Barbara Smith provide the White Bear Lake community both American-style lunches and hand-picked kitchen tools.

 
Napa Valley Brussels Sprouts

I don’t mind turkey, ham, etc., but these traditional holiday offerings are just never as exciting to me as practically anything else on the table.