A Weekend at Crop Utopia Scrapbook Retreat
by Rebecca Ludens

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Location and Amenities: Crop Utopia is located on Pickeral Lake in Newago County, Michigan (about 45 minutes north of Grand Rapids). In Spring of 2000, Sandi and Meredyth Parrish partnered together to renovate a lodge on the lake with the express purpose of creating a scrapbooking haven. They, along with family and friends, transformed the home into a beautiful vacation retreat. Each of the spacious bedrooms in the lodge has been lovingly decorated by theme. One of the scrapbookers who attended the same weekend that I did said it best, "The lodge has a wonderful 'Up North' cottage feel with the comfort and cleanliness of a nice hotel."

The cropping room has a bank of windows all along the back offering splendid views of the swan filled lake (see picture above). Another cropper said that the surroundings were "beautiful, woodsy, and fun!" The most important aspect of the hard work that has gone into making the lodge a retreat is the "at-home" sense that has been created. "I felt right at home the minute I arrived" was a sentiment that was expressed by more than one of the guests. When scrappers need an inspirational break from their task, the hot tub beckons from the back patio.

To improve the lighting, the scrapbooking tables are surrounded with additional swing lights as you can see in the photo of the croppers shown here. Also available while cropping is a nice supply of templates, punches, and other tools of the trade. A small scrapbook store is set-up allowing purchase of items such as paper, stickers, paper dolls, and die-cuts.

Food: The menu at Crop Utopia has been selected from recipes used by select Bed and Breakfasts across the country. The meals are prepared on site by the hostess allowing scrapbookers to feel waited on and pampered. The weekend that I attended we had a wonderful chicken dish that left me wanting the recipe. It was accompanied by a new menu item for Crop Utopia, a delicious fruit compote. The guests especially enjoy the treat of waking up to hot homemade breakfasts. "Delicious, home-cooked comfort food" and "the food was fabulous, well-prepared and well presented" are two of the comments that were turned in by the scrapbookers.

The time spent at Crop Utopia is best summarized by one of my fellow scrapbookers that weekend:

This is a treat beyond belief for a dedicated, busy Mom. Our jobs as Moms include the seemingly overwhelming task of recording our lives as we are living them. It is so healthy for our families to be able to look back in love on our lives and accomplishments. It is awesome to come to a place that understands this, and supports the process wholly.

I thoroughly enjoyed a very relaxing weekend at Crop Utopia and look forward to being able to return again soon. Thank you, ladies for having me!

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Happy Scrappin'
Rebecca