The weekend migration—cabin (or is it cottage?) owners know it well. While timing is everything (scoot out of town as early as possible to beat the traffic), loading the car with just the right amount of food, sundries and clothes is equally important for well- (not over-) stocked lakeside respites.
Local moms Jodi Young and Jill Emmer have been going to the lake with their respective families enough times over the years to have developed tried-and-true packing tips, including what to bring, where to get it and how to pack it.
Meet Our Moms: Jill Emmer + Jodi Young
As owner of Shine On Photos and director of Art of Edina, Emmer clearly has an eye for detail, even packing for her family—husband, Patrick, and sons, Cy, 9, and Arlo, 5—for trips to the family cabin an hour northwest of Green Bay, Wis.
Young and her crew—husband, Jim, and daughters, Kate Grannon, 29 (and husband Ben), and Leia, 27, plus a boatload of family members—have roots in the Crosslake area north of Brainerd. Young, who works with Rebound Hospitality, understands how to bring out the best in any setting.
Groceries
Vacationers would rather troll fishing spots than grocery store aisles. Young purchases most of her groceries in Edina at Jerry’s Food, Lunds & Byerlys, and Whole Foods Market. A trip to the Centennial Lakes Farmers Market (through September 28) for fresh produce is also on her shopping list.
Don’t forget the bread. Young visits Breadsmith for chocolate babka for breakfasts and bread for hearty sandwiches.
For those particular about their percolating, she recommends bringing a favorite coffee blend, as specialty coffee shops can be few and far between in vacationland.
Young suggests coordinating with other family members or guests about who is bringing what, to avoid packing too much or duplicating food. Bringing too much food means hauling some of it back home once the weekend or vacation is over.
The nearest grocery store is about a half hour away from Emmer’s lake home, so she is intentional about stocking the pantry. While the bulk of her food is purchased at the lake, Emmer shops Trader Joe’s for snack-packaged Spanish cheese and meat sets and dark chocolate truffles to share with her husband after the boys are tucked in for the night. “It’s such a treat because they don’t have specialty items up there,” she says.
Emmer also packs healthier car-ride meals for the family—with the promise of a dessert pit-stop along the way. Her go-tos are Target-brand lunch packs, with meat, cheese, fruits, veggies or hummus.
Premade frozen meals from home also help save time and effort at the lake. At home, Emmer makes and freezes pasta sauce, taco meat and the world’s best lasagna (find the recipe in our Digital Edition, page 30, or the online article) and brings them to the cabin for ready-made meal options.
The best thing about the cabin is having unplanned, unstructured days. –Jill Emmer
Cocktails and Shopping
The Youngs entertain family and guests (Jim is known to make a lovely Mai Tai cocktail), so they come prepared with wine and craft beer from Edina Liquor. “They’re very helpful there,” she says, noting shoppers should look for discount flyers and case pricing.
Keep every cocktail hour or mealtime festive with colorful napkins (a red, white and blue combination goes well with Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day celebrations). Beach-themed napkins from Caspari Napkins at Lunds & Byerlys add a touch of fun, Young notes.
Young enjoys creating a relaxing, resort-like vibe at the lake by featuring specialty hand and dish soaps and lotions from Cabin 9 Design. She’s a fan of the Into the Woods line. “While you go up there a lot, it still feels like vacation,” she says.
Speaking of lotion, before packing sunscreen (enough to share), Young reminds to check the expiration date. Her go-to sunscreen lotion is from Beauty Counter.
Bags and Pets
Be sure your pets are up to date on their flea and tick treatments before taking them to the cabin. Proper car restraints and animal lifejackets are also a good idea.
From food to clothes, all items need somewhere to ride. “Coolers are a big thing for us,” Young says. Bringing food back and forth from the lake, to the beach or on the boat requires proper cooling. Young recommends Yeti coolers from Jerry’s Hardware. They last forever, she says.
Cute and practical can coexist with bags and totes from KT Designs. Young likes to pack them for the beach and the boat.
Emmer prefers using soft-sided luggage, including duffel bags, for easier packing and stacking in the car. Once at their destination, the bags are easily folded down and placed under beds for storage. Part of her packing routine includes designating a duffel bag for each traveler, one for everyone’s footwear and another, weather dependent, with coats, hats and other cold-weather outerwear.
Emmer recommends bringing a waxed roll-top pack from the Sanborn Canoe Co. She says it’s ideal for taking to the beach, on a hike or in the boat. The waxed material doesn’t get damaged when exposed to sand, dirt or water.
For the four-and-a-half-hour ride to the family cabin, Emmer brings along her “carry-on,” an ocher-hued Fjällräven Kanken backpack from Live, Laugh, Love. She fills it with reading material, a movie-loaded iPad, Beats by Dre headphones, wet wipes, pain reliever, travel-size sunscreen, tissues and Lärabars.
Don’t forget to pack pet items, too. Wally, the Emmers’ rescue dog (named for the well-known Wally’s Service Station), is a cabin regular. Emmer packs food, a leash and a collapsible water dish. “The most important thing for Wally is keeping him up to date with his flea and tick meds,” Emmer says, noting she packs NexGard chewables and has Wally vaccinated against Lyme disease.
Young makes sure the family’s miniature goldendoodle, Murphy, is boat-ready and water-safe by packing a hot pink animal life jacket for safety and flair.
Clothes
“It’s not a fashion show at the lake,” Young says. There are, however, some must-have items on her list. Since lake weather can be fickle from day to day, and even morning to nighttime, she recommends packing a heavy hooded sweatshirt and rain jacket. Pants, socks and shoes also go a long way in keeping mosquitos at bay around the campfire.
“You almost never need to dress up,” Young says, but she always packs a sundress (with a sweater for chilly evenings). Young also brings a swimsuit and its trusted companion—“For women of a certain age, it’s all about the cover-up,” she says. Long- and short-sleeved T-shirts are a good bet, too. Young recommends items from Athleta, where shoppers can find “things that move with you very well but have a sense of style,” she says. Her favorite cabin outfit features Athleta capris with an elasticized ankle and matching T-shirt. “It just moves and breathes and looks good if you go into town,” she says.
Whether hiking, running or swimming, Young reminds to pack the right shoes, including durable slippers for taking the dogs out for early-morning or late-night visits to the great outdoors.
Emmer is a formula packer—as she packs for each person, she parks in front of the dresser, moving down each drawer, grabbing four of everything. No matter how many days they are at the lake, everyone gets four outfits; done and done. Since their cabin has a washer and dryer, it makes it easier to pack light. “I don’t like bringing home things that weren’t worn,” she says. “To me, packing for the cabin is different from packing for any other trip,” Emmer says. “Everywhere you go is casual. Leave high heels and expensive clothes at home.”
For those “just in case” moments, she grabs a sundress from Evereve. Emmer’s wardrobe of choice is simple—“Everything from Athleta,” she says, and her clothing must work in concert with cabin life alongside two young boys. “It’s inside. It’s outside. We’re at the lake or in the woods,” she says. “You need something you can get dirty and brush off.”
Whether swimming, hiking, riding bikes or boating, Emmer requires clothes that are lightweight, breathable, dry quickly and are easy to launder. While Athleta fills the bill, she also recommends items from prAna and a Madewell above-the-knee sweater. “You just want to put it on and read a book or sit on the pier at night,” Emmer says.
Let the Fun Begin!
Those last few miles to the cabin are excruciating and exciting all at once, but when all is said and done and unpacked, it’s memory-making time. Young recalls watching her children learn to water ski, bobbing in the water in their Snoopy lifejackets. “We have all these memories coming back,” she says. Their daughters love it, she says—“It’s their memories, too.” Young relishes knowing there’s much more fun in the offing.
“It’s pretty exhilarating,” Emmer says of pulling up to their cabin. “The whole family bursts out of the car.” While the duffels may be stowed and the fridge stocked, there’s one more item to unpack. Emmer always brings her “bucket list”—one or two must-do vacation excursions. Fish for trout. Visit a waterfall. No more, no less. The rest is left up in the crisp, clean air. “The best thing about the cabin is having unplanned, unstructured days,” Emmer says.
The World’s Best Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 LB. sweet Italian sausage
- 3/4 LB. lean ground beef
- 1/2 C. minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 12 oz. tomato paste
- 13 oz. canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 C. water
- 2 T. white sugar
- 1 1/2 t. dried basil leaves
- 1/2 t. fennel seeds
- 1 t. Italian seasoning
- 1 t. salt
- 1/4 t. ground black pepper
- 4 T. chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 t. salt
- 3/4 lB. mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 3/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until well browned.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 T. salt, pepper, and 2 T. parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley and 1/2 t. salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Arrange six noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1-1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cover with foil.
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Emmer’s alterations: Use 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup red wine, fresh basil and no-boil noodles. Her secret ingredient: “I add in a teaspoon or so of cinnamon, sometimes more, because I love it,” she says. “I usually double the meat sauce recipe,” she says. “Then I freeze half of the sauce to serve over pasta later. It is so good.”
