Lovin' Life at Lititz House

2010-04-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

Go to our Lititz House B&B webpage and check out the 2010 Lancaster County "Hot Dates" link for all the amazing things going on this year. No matter how many times you visit Lancaster...there's always something new to do! Start making your plans!

Lititz Rocks!

2010-01-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

Billy Joel in Lititz! Read the link below from the NY Times and you will find there is more to Lititz than what meets the eye. One of our guest was thoughtful enough to be sure we knew about it. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/business/smallbusiness/28sbiz.html?8dpc

British Pub hits Main St.!!

2010-01-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Get your pint glasses ready...British pub "Bulls Head Public House" is scheduled to open February 12th on Main St. We can already taste the "bangers & mash"!! Stay tuned...

Did someone mention chocolate?

2009-04-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

In case we haven’t mentioned it…we like chocolate. This obsession makes living in Lititz ideal. First, there’s the Wilbur Chocolate Company. Having a 100+ year old chocolate company just two blocks away offers so many “sweet” advantages. Early mornings, we can wake to the pleasant aroma of chocolate throughout the house. Add that first cup of coffee and sneak a dark chocolate Wilbur Bud and we are ready to start the day! Consider a visit in October when Lititz holds its annual “Chocolate Walk”. Chocolatiers from all over are located throughout our little town and, for a small fee, you can enjoy samples of some of the finest sweets ever!

Another location to satisfy a chocolate craving is Café Chocolate of Lititz. This Main St. café serves a daily menu of organic and fair trade products and of course…chocolate. One of our favorites is Chocolate Strawberry Lush. The perfect drink for any time of day.

And finally, there is the “other” chocolate place that we are really not allowed to mention within the Lititz borough limits…Hershey (shhhhh). We recently took the 30 minute drive to “research” the new Hershey Museum on Chocolate Ave. This job of ours is so stressful. The new museum is an interactive experience for all ages. We couldn’t leave

without stopping in the Café Zooka for a little refreshment. Our intensive research required us to endure the Countries of Origin Chocolate Tasting. Six shots of warm chocolate from all over the world! Our research of chocolate has proven once and for all…there is no such thing as bad chocolate.

Major Award!

2009-02-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

2009 has already brought a great deal of excitement to Lititz!

Lititz, Pennsylvania was among 12 locations throughout the USA to receive the 2009 Dozen Distinctive Destinations award. This award has been presented annually by the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 2000 to locations that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation and revitalization. Our little town of Lititz, PA. is ranked among destinations such as Bristol, RI., Sante Fe, NM., and Santa Barbara, CA. What an amazing honor! We always knew Lititz was the ideal place…this award is an affirmation. But you don’t have to take our word or even the word of a national organization…just visit Lititz and decide for yourself.

Happy NEW Year!

2009-01-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

2009 is a new year for all, but a new year for us as innkeepers. We just surpassed our 1 year anniversary at the Lititz House…and what a year it has been! As we reflect upon 2008, we realize there are just too many moments to highlight. We are often asked “is it everything you expected?” Yes, and then some. We have met some of the most amazing people throughout the year. Our guests have become friends. From neighboring areas throughout Pennsylvania, to far away Australia, we have met every day people leading extraordinary lives.

We also have a hard time with the realization that this is REALLY ours. We sometimes think Pat & Jim will be walking through the door saying…“We’re back…thanks for watching the place for us”. They have been back to visit us, but they keep leaving. It was just a visit, which leaves us thinking…“maybe it really is ours”.

A resounding thank you to all who have shared the enthusiasm of this experience. We look forward to seeing you all, as well as meeting and greeting new ‘friends’ this coming year. Good health and happiness to you and your families.

Wow! It's fall already!

2008-10-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Where did the summer go??? Is it really October??

The summer seemed to have flown by-beside being crazy busy with guests, we’ve been able to sneak away a day here and a day there to explore the area. Among our newest favorite places is Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Longwood Gardens encompasses over 1000 acres of fountains, gardens, woodlands, and meadows. We especially enjoyed our time spent meandering in the magnificent 4.5 acre conservatory, one of the world’s greatest greenhouse structures. It’s about an hour’s drive from the Lititz House through the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside-we’ve been once this summer and again this fall. You can be sure we’ll be visiting again during the holiday season!

Happy Spring!

2008-05-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Wow! Have we been busy!! Our apologies for this late entry to our journal...

We've had many wonderful guests this past month from ALL over-Australia, Peru, Scotland, from all over the US, many family and friends from VA...plus we were part of an art tour for the month of April hosting open houses on Sundays and Wednesdays. And when we didn't have guests we had a few days off to do some spring projects (painting the upstairs common room and dining room, new kitchen floor, cleaning and mulching flower beds just to name a few...).

Wish we could take the credit for our beautiful yard and gardens-the credit belongs to the former owners, Jim and Pat. Everyday we discover another surprise in our gardens. Finally, the yard we've always wanted-lots of flower beds, plethora of tulips (one of my favorite flowers), fountains...

Our schedule did allow us some time to expore a few places. When Lauren was home for spring break, we toured the Landis Valley Museum, which is not too far from us-a wonderful recreation of life here in the early 1900's.

Heidi and some visiting friends went over to Intercourse to the Kitchen Kettle Village and went on an Amish wagon ride through the country side-absolutely beautiful! Be sure to ask for Elsie-she was a fantastic guide.

There is so much to do here! We highly recommend visiting the Lancaster Visitor Center website and visiting the center once you get here. Whatever your interests are, let us know and we will try to get as much information as we can before your visit.

Lunch at Lily's

2008-03-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Not your mother’s meatloaf…
Mary Lynn has proven to be an indispensable friend during the ‘getting to know the area’ period of our lives. She has become the go-to girl whenever we need to find the best of something. So when she invited us to lunch at Lily’s on Main (also known as Lily's American Cafe) in Ephrata, we knew it would be fabulous. The restaurant is decorated in the art deco style of the 1930s. Be sure to check out all the little art deco style lamps on the tables-I absolutely love them! The menu has some very creative selections, which made it difficult to decide. We chose to have the grilled Kobe meatloaf, and as the title says, it’s not your mother’s meatloaf. It’s a very sophisticated version (ketchup not needed-my mom used to put an inch layer of the stuff over the top!)-the meal of meatloaf with mashed gold potatoes and asparagus was beautifully presented in a tower fashion. Now this is comfort food! After savoring our food, we decided to just look at the desert tray-after all, this is research- we have to be able to tell our guests the lowdown on this place-Big mistake! Again, very tough decision. The one that got our vote was the ‘turtlemisu’-a very clever rendition of tiramisu with caramel and nuts. Absolute heaven!

Another cool note to point out is that the restaurant is adjacent to a very retro looking movie theater, showing first run movies. BE sure to check that out. Lily's American Cafe is definitely a wonderful place to send guests.

Our new Amish friend...

2008-03-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

Coming to this area, you can’t help but notice that there is another world living and breathing right beside the world ‘we’ live in. We're sorry to say that we don’t really know very much about the stoic people we now live amongst-the Amish. We’ve been a little uneasy about offering the ‘Amish dinners’ that is so popular among tourists for fear of exploiting the Amish. Before Jim and Pat left the area, Pat arrange for us to experience one such dinner and to meet one of the women she sends guests to. Her name is Amanda and was sweet as can be. It was a delightful time. Amanda was just as inquisitive about us as we were about her. We left her home with a greater understanding-she explained to us why she offers this experience. It provides her a little income to help take care of her family. Many of the Amish women do these dinners as a way to help the family with farm expenses. Sadly, many of the Amish are unable to keep their land.

Rachael is the other Amish woman that Pat spoke so highly about. She’s been taking a break (until March) from the dinners, as she recovers and adjusts after the birth of her sixth child. I really wanted to meet her and to see where I would be sending our guests. So Lauren, our little baker, made some big chocolate chip cookies for us to take on our visit. We had a nice time, getting to know each other, watching her interact with her older children when they came home from school, really not so different from us “English”. The children were very polite, as was Rachael’s husband Samuel. I knew right away that Rachael and I would become fast friends. This past weekend, we had several guests who requested dinner at Rachael’s, if she was up to it. Rachael said it would be great to do sort of a practice run to see how things went with the baby-I decided to join along. As we drove towards Rachael’s (it’s only 3 miles or so) the sun was starting to set low over the farmland-this perhaps is my favorite time to drive the country side. The land is so beautiful…

Rachael and her family welcomed us with great hospitality, letting us share a wonderful meal and fellowship, followed by a tour of the farm. Our evening ended on a sweet note-Shoo Fly Pie! Our guests couldn’t get enough of it and suggested that we should sell them at the inn for guests to take home… guests could order them when they make their reservations. Rachael and I exchanged a look of inspired partnership and agreed to meet soon to work out the details…
To learn more about the Amish way of life:
http://www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml

A sad time...

2008-02-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

We lost our brother David on February 6th. He was only 48-we are still stunned and heartbroken. We last spoke to him on Christmas Day-he called to say he was genuinely happy for us in our new adventure as innkeepers and was planning to visit in March. He, like John, had retired from the Coast Guard and had started a career with the FAA. We will miss him greatly.

We want to thank all who contacted us and helped us through this sad time. What a blessing we found in Marcia, the woman who inn-sat for us while we attended the service in Massachusetts. (She had to shovel snow and spread salt several times and then awoke to no power-she was still able to provide a bountiful feast for our guests.) And to our scheduled guests Fran and Jim, for their understanding-what wonderful people.

It is times like these that we are reminded at how unpredictable life can be, not knowing what tomorrow brings. It makes us realize even more to appreciate all that God has given us and to treasure our time together. A special friend once said that grief is the price we pay for loving someone. David’s phone call on Christmas Day was such a gift…our last words to each other were “I love you”. Remember that next time you are talking to a loved one-what will your last words be?

Lunch Date

2008-02-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

One day last week, Mary Lynn, a friend from our trivia team, invited us to lunch-she thought we needed to be exposed to a few places outside of Lititz, but really just a few miles away. The first place she introduced us to is a small restaurant that serves Puerto Rican food called The Home Plate Restaurant - Spanish Cuisine on Manheim Ave. in Lancaster. What a lunch! We had baked chicken with beans and rice. The chicken was so moist and seasoned to perfection. And you can’t beat the price-$5.00!

We then proceeded to another little find of Mary Lynn’s. La Dolce Vita Courthouse Bakery on Duke Street. It so reminded us of the great Italian bakeries back home in Rhode Island- full of glossy fruit tarts, éclairs, cannoli’s, every Italian cookie imaginable, gorgeous cakes, and in one case some fantastic looking antipasto salads and sandwiches so pretty, they should be in a magazine. We were still pretty full from lunch so we were able to walk out with just a small sampling of éclairs and cookies. And speaking of cookies, Mary Lynn broke out the pignoli cookies on the ride home- let’s just say we may never eat another store packaged cookie again. This is a soft cookie full of almond flavor covered in pine nuts. I think next time we should go to the bakery BEFORE we have lunch...

Our Big Night Out

2008-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

On the 4th Thursday of the last three months, we’ve been joining a group at a local watering hole, The Toy Soldier, to participate in a game of ‘trivia’. There are five rounds in which you work with your team to answer various questions based on historical and pop cultural facts. These rounds may consist of fill in the blanks, true or false, map locations, picture identification, etc… The prizes that are awarded are bragging rights, mardi gras beads, and a gift certificate to the above watering hole. We can’t tell you how much we have looked forward to this these past few months. Pat, the previous owner, is the one who introduced us to this and our little team. She must have foreseen that we, being new to the area and not knowing another soul other than the people at the bank and various utility workers, would be in need of some other entertainment/social interactions.

Kathy, the leader/hostess of the trivia night, does an excellent job at coming up with the trivia questions and keeping us all on task. Pat told us she is the go-to girl if we have questions about the town or where to find whatever. Kathy is a 'renaissance woman' in that she has so many talents. One of them being a writer for the local paper, The Lititz Record. We've enjoyed her reflections on life-very witty. She is also involved with the Lititz Historical Foundation, another great resource for us. Another place you'll find Kathy is at Wilber's. When you visit Wilber Chocolate, be sure to check out some of her creations behind the glass in the museum. Pretty amazing stuff. And if she’s working, she’ll be the one wearing cowboy boots.

Strolling down Main Street...

2008-01-25T13:26:00.000-08:00

Since moving to Lititz, we have been trying to do some 'meet and greets" with the stores on Main Street. Although it's been quite chilly here, it was a beautiful brisk day to take a stroll in this lovely town. Our first stop was to the hair salon 'apPIERences' to talk about possibly creating some mani/pedi packages to add to our 'Girlfriends Getaway' packages. The women working there are eager to help us with this-our packages are a work in progress so keep checking back! Our next stop was to a great little shop we found last month, 'Archeologie'. Here you will find an eclectic collaboration of antiques and home decor. We just wanted to check in with the shop owner, who is always so nice, and of course to look around. Some of her daughter's work, who is a young, up and coming artist, is on display. If you're in town for the next Lovin' Lititz Every 2nd (Feb 8th), be sure to stop by to hear a trio play some cool funky jazz.

We decided to check out 'A Perfect Blend', which is a tea room, gift shop, and cafe. We perused the gift shop, which has plenty to look at-cookbooks, tea cups, and of course, tea-lots of it! I can't wait to try them all! The smells coming from the cafe side of the building won us over. We hadn't planned on having lunch there but... If you decide to have lunch there, ask to sit near the windows on Main-it's a bright room and nice place to relax and watch the world go by. I had the crustless quiche and beef barley soup and John had the sour dough griller of different cheeses, bacon and tomato-yummo! The soup was reminiscent of my Mom's soup. I decided to be a little decadent and ordered a chocolate raspberry hot chocolate-it was probably the best I've ever had-so good. They also serve a 'high tea', which I will definitely try out-soon. If you decide to go for the high tea, be sure to make reservations or let us know and we will make them for you. To take a look at their offerings, go to www.aperfectblend.com.

Our last stop of the day was to 'The Main Street Peddler', a gift store of folk art and antiques. We could have stayed there for hours. There is so much to look at and we enjoyed the ambiance of the place. The lady working today was able to give us some great information about the area and was so pleasant to talk to, a common trait among the people we have met here in Lititz.

We're INN!

2008-01-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

That's right! We are finally in our Bed and Breakfast-it's only been a month and so far so good. We're hoping to use this blog to connect with our guests, friends, and family. What a blessing the previous owners, Pat and Jim, have been to us. They continue to remain in contact with us and have been so supportive. Pat said that we would meet the nicest people, and how right she is! In just this first month, we have met people from near and far. It amazes us how many people from the local area, come to the Lititz House 'just to get away and relax'. Other guests have come from NJ (originally from South Africa), NY, FL, MD, VA, MA,RI, and as far away as Wales. Our daughter Lauren was home for her college break and was she ever the little helper! She is quite the baker-she made all the muffins and cookies for our guests. We can't wait for her to come home on her next break. Our oldest daughter Jenn will be able to visit soon-we're hoping she has that 'baking gene' as well. Layla and Sally, our beloved canines, have adjusted nicely to their new surroundings. They give the guests their space but can work it to get a little attention. New Years' was spent with John's brother Rob and his wife Karin, and friends from Virginia. Karin and Rob were absolutely wonderful-they unpacked boxes and organized our kitchen. We were a little nervous cooking for Rob-he happens to be a chef and works for Johnson and Wales Culinary School. What an asset he has been! BTW, that's him reading the paper on the porch (on the website).

It's pretty quiet now (we were quite busy the first few weeks), but we're using this time to unpack, learn the area and the business, and to become familiar with a home built in 1904! We are still trying to figure out the heating and plumbing idiosyncrasies. Sure glad John received such quality training in the Coast Guard as a Damage Controlman! It's come in handy-especially the night a guest reported a 'small' water leak from the bathroom sink (her socks got wet when she entered the bathroom). John had it fixed in no time. There was an 'issue' with the garbage disposal one night-but I think I put in too many apple cores-oops. We also learned that the smoke (steam) alarm in the suite works great! Guests showering with the transom window open set it off.

So, we continue to plug on, our beautiful new home revealing a part of herself to us each day. Stay tune for more from Life is Good at Lititz House!