A Few of My Favorite Blogs …

Posted on by

0

I thought I’d share with you where I get my inspiration from and who’s pages I’ve been creeping on lately, as I have some recent new faves:

  • Tammy from Lemons, Avocados and the Bay is one of my new favorite finds. She resides in San Diego – one of my hands-down favorite parts of the entire state of California and is a constant reminder of the beauty that I miss on a regular basis. Seriously, I think my heart is partly left in California.
  • John + Sherry from Young House Love are part of my daily must-read routine. I discovered this quirky couple a few years ago and have been hooked ever since. Their roadtrip to Dallas video? Best thing ever. You’ll instantly want to be BFFs with them and then want them to redecorate your house for you. And with their adorable 3 year old Clara and furbaby Burger, you won’t be able to get enough of their adventures. Plus, they’re hysterical.
  • Roo from Neon Fresh. Need a pick-me-up after a bad day or just because it’s Monday? Roo provides hysterical commentary and cute stick-figure drawings to keep you clicking throughout her entire site.
  • Kylie, Lisa + Megan from Traveling Triplets will have you itching to fill up your passport with stamps from places around the world! If you love multiples and love travel blogs, this is the one for you! Not only are these identical triplets GORGEOUS but the gals travel on some pretty neat adventures and take some awesome pics along the way!

And because we’re talking favorites today, I have a new favorite that’s been on loop on my iTunes …

So cheery, and summery and I love all of their music videos basically. Mkay, it’s verging on obsession. Happy Monday!

Eat Michigan: Pumpernickel’s Eatery

Posted on by

0

Whhaaaat! A weekend post? Enjoy!

Ahhh! This is the last in my vacation re-cap of Michigan and we close up with a food review of Pumpernickel’s Eatery in the heart of Saugatuck! On our last morning in Michigan, we woke up in our bed and breakfast and wiped the sleep out of our eyes and wandered downstairs to the eating area about 20 minutes after breakfast had “officially opened.” We found another couple sitting in the foyer area and the breakfast nook packed with people we didn’t even realize stayed our our B&B! With open rooms on our floor, we were actually shocked to see so many people. Needless to say, we didn’t want to wait around forever and decided to head back up to our rooms to shower and tackle the morning.

We found some breakfast places in the area and decided to back into downtown Saugatuck and check out Pumpernickel’s which is right on the corner in the main drag on Butler St. It’s an adorable little cafe with bright colors and small sit-down area on the main floor, and a larger eating space on the second floor and additionally an outdoor patio. You place your order at the register, have a seat and then they bring out your meal to your table. Pretty easy-peasy.

JP went with the flap-jacks which are served with syrup and butter and I went with The Ordinary which is two eggs, served with your choice of meat (I picked bacon), a buttermilk biscuit and potato casserole … and we both grabbed coffee!

The Ordinary

The Ordinary

All meals are served in a skillet, which is adorable. JP liked her pancakes and said they were really delicious. My meal, on the other hand, was less-than-fabulous. It was kind of cold. The biscuit was microwaved so it definitely didn’t have that fresh, flaky taste to it.  The eggs had little taste to them and the potato casserole was a bit strange – it was like a Mexican Scramble and hashbrowns. The bacon was good, though!

Definitely wasn’t my favorite meal of the trip and I don’t think I’d return here. They seem to really focus on their lunch and dinner menus and have tons of choices of sandwiches to pick from. If I did return, I’d try out their lunch but it wouldn’t be my first choice in breakfast! I hope you enjoyed my re-cap of our trip to Michigan!

What trips have you taken recently? What was your favorite trip to blog about?

Eat Michigan: Everyday People

Posted on by

0

When we checked into our bed and breakfast, one of the first things our innkeeper asked was if we had plans for dinner.  Whoa whoa! But she wanted to provide some information on an amazing restaurant in the neighboring town of Douglas where we’d for-sure experience the best food around. She guaranteed we’d love it. After venturing around Saugatuck for the afternoon, we grew hungry and decided to head over to neighboring Douglas (literally a 3 minute car ride) to check out her recommendation of Everyday People Cafe.  Nestled in the main area of Douglas, and across the street for a cute little ballpark area, we arrived to brewing rain and dropping temperatures. We were able to find a perfect parking spot right on the street at the corner – and all parking is free (Dorothy, you are not in Chicago anymore!).

Walking into the restaurant, you enter right into the bar area with a long dark wood bar, and high top tables and chairs scattering the area. It’s dark, and trendy. We were greeted by a hostess who led us to our table in the dining area of the restaurant to the left of the main door. It looked like it used to be a 1950s diner but was transformed into a quaint little area with dark wood booths and white linen lined tables. When I went to the bathroom, I noticed there’s an even larger back area of the restaurant with a cozy fireplace, which you see when you visit their website. They also have a cute outdoor patio area in the back of the restaurant – so it’s a ton more bigger than it looks!

We were greeted by a friendly waiter who was very efficient in his knowledge of the menu and for a second I felt we were under-dressed for the place! It was dubbed as casual dining but it was definitely a little more “fancy” than we’re used to. We felt better when a girl walked in in flip-flops and sweatpants, after us. We weren’t the most tragic looking people in the place.

We skipped the appetizers because they gave us some warm delicious bread with oil to dip it in! But their menu looked amazing – they have a Farm Board with local meats and cheese which is perfect if paired with a glass of vino, as well as a Spanish tapas plate which had rave reviews when I checked in on Foursquare. When we got the entree portion of the menu, JP was torn between several dishes, as they all sounded pretty epic! She eventually settled on the beef tenderloin with “herb whipped Goat Cremery goat cheese, and the bessssst roasted garlic buttermilk and herb mashed potatoes with a demi-glace and steamed veggies. I had a bite of her mashed potatoes and they were drop-on-the-floor delicious!!

I skipped the menu altogether and went with the special for the day which was a pork tenderloin.  It was basically a “hot” but not-hot green chipotle sauce. The tenderloin was layed over a bed of risotto (yummmmy) and paired with a balsamic salad with a chipotle cream sauce on top. It was hands-down one of the best meals I ever had and you bet your life that I ate every single bite!

Pork tenderloin

Pork tenderloin

Although it was dubbed as a casual restaurant, we did find that if you decide to go – it’s best to dress on the “nicer” side of casual. Not that we were completely unfortunate when we walked in there, but a nice pair of khaki shorts and a nice top will help YOU not feel like you stand out amongst the other patrons. We heard that a bachelorette party was arriving a bit after we left, and with the back patio – I could completely see how it would make a great venue for a large party or celebration. The food is amazing…like AMAZEBALLS amazing … and it’s a bit on the pricey side (think: $14-$34 a plate) but you won’t leave hungry and you won’t feel jipped. Definitely try to visit there if you’re ever in the Douglas/Saugatuck, MI area. You will not be disappointed!

Saugatuck Vacation Adventures Continued!

Posted on by

0

After our visit to Tulip Time Festival, we headed back to Saugatuck, Michigan to check into our bed and breakfast and scope out more of the downtown area of this small beachy-town. Saugatuck is a cute little area right on the lake, and nestled right next to it’s sister town of Douglas which has a very similar feel and separated mainly by Blue Star Highway. I seriously cannot get enough of this area and have begged JP multiple times to grow a money tree so we can purchase a summer home in this area. Wishful thinking!

We stayed at the Twin Gables Bed & Breakfast which has become a fast favorite of ours, and we were able to experience a new room, the Beaujulois! It was on the second floor and had a great view the harbor and a nice sitting room with a fireplace which came in handy as the temperatures cooled down over Thursday night and plummeted from 79 degrees to 47! EEEK!

After we checked into the room, we ventured to downtown Saugatuck and went window shopping and dipped into some of the cute little stores that lined the street. Because we visited in the off-season, there weren’t many people out and about, which was great for us because we could go at our own pace and actually enjoy ourselves. We stopped into all different kind of shops including two pet stores, a fair trading store with some cool scarves and jewelry, and even walked around in the small park area at the edge of the shopping area. We then decided to stop in a small bar on the water and have a beer before going back to the hotel and freshening up for dinner. Oh, and we totes stopped at Kilwin’s for some yummy fudge! We scored the sea-salt caramel, Kilwin’s marble and peanut butter fudge. Yum-O!

After an awesome dinner, which I have an upcoming review on, we headed back to the room to relax and prepare for our adventures the next day!

me in heaven ...

me in heaven …

The next day, we headed out to the Fenn Valley winery in Fennville, MI for some wine sampling! The vineyard is in the middle of nowhere, which you can imagine but as you drive up to the winery, you are immediately surrounded by fields of those awkward looking grape trees! We hopped out of the car and made our way into their large tasting room, which looked like it also housed dining for large events (wedding, anyone?) and were immediately hit by the scent of wine.  All of their wines were lined up by type (white, red, dry, sweet) and we were able to pick out 5 different types to sample for free! Eventually, we settled on three different types – one of them being a cherry wine that was sooo delicious!

The winery also boasts tours of the vineyards during the weekends where you can take an in-depth look at the wine making process and also walk away with some free samples and a nice glass. We visited on a Friday and weren’t able to participate. Boo! But I had a great time looking around and picking out a wine to take back with me. If you’re into wine or just looking for something to do while in the Saugatuck area – definitely check out Fenn Valley or many of the other 90+ wineries in Michigan! Make sure to head to the vineyards though for that unique experience, as many of the winerys have storefronts in the town we stayed in.