Home Sweet Michigan

I'm officially a Michigan girl again! You might have read the update on my big sister's blog awhile back, but I wanted to make it official on here too. After 5+ years in Chicago, I had started to contemplate moving back to Michigan. Once my family started talking about building on Lake Michigan, I knew I wanted to be back here! I loved my time in Chicago and am thankful for all the good times and friends there, but it felt like the right time to move to Michigan.
I listed my condo on the market and it sold in 21 days!! That pushed my move date up quite a bit! My Realtor gave me a number of good tips for getting my house sale ready. I definitely think the updates I made and staging played a big part in how fast I sold, so I will have to do a blog post on it soon!

Moving day

  I've been happy settling into Michigan so far, it's funny how quickly it felt like home again even though it was a complete 180 degree change. I went from hearing city sounds and ambulances every night to the sound of ducks quacking on the lake! Right now my sister and I are living on a little lake while we build the new house on Lake Michigan, we say we're in training for living on the "big lake"! It's so peaceful, I've slept like a baby every night since I've been home. And I'm definitely enjoying the view...

Luckily, the snow has finally melted and it's starting to feel like Spring around here now!

Grand Rapids Eats & Drinks: Reserve

I've decided to expand my Chicago Eats series to my hometown, Grand Rapids. My sister and I have a favorite place for wine and cheese that I wanted to share with you, Reserve. It's located downtown, right across the street from The Amway. Reserve opened two years ago in September, it started out as my sister's favorite place, but I love to visit when I'm in town too! They specialize in wine and carry something like 270 different kind of wines, including many selections from Michigan. Their food is always seasonal and often locally sourced.

The whole vibe in Reserve is very cool, it's definitely not a stuffy wine bar. I love the interior design, everything from the light fixtures to the chairs has a modern look. And I can't not mention the huge piece of art behind the bar, it was the winner from the very first year of Art Prize. It's so cool that the piece of art got to stay in Grand Rapids and be on display for anyone to see.

"Open Water" now hanging in Reserve, Image Via

Via reservegr.com

Chandelier close-up, Via reservegr.com

My favorite is getting a cheese plate to go with the wine, you can choose from a variety of ever changing cheeses and pick three or 5 to make a plate. The best part? The cheeses come with fresh Michigan honey and a chutney. The honey is To. Die. For. Oh my, the cheese, the bread and a little drizzle of the honey? Perfection. I think the honey deserves it's own post in the future, it is honestly the best tasting honey I have ever had. The honey is called Hasselman's Pure Michigan Honey. The cheeses come from the Midwest as well and no matter what kinds we get, they are always delicious.

The menu always features a few different tastings, one I had recently was all blended red wine. It's a great way to try a few new wines and learn a little about them too.

Oh look, it's a special edition wine from my favorite, L. Mawby, appropriately named "GR". Love the Michigan wines that Reserve carries.

There's one more thing to love about Reserve, they have an awesome outdoor roof deck. We don't have nearly as many roof decks in GR as Chicago, so I'm very happy Reserve has one. You can't beat sitting up there on a warm Summer night. Or even a Fall night like we did in October. They do have heaters so we can extend the outdoor season in Michigan a bit!

Reserve is a great spot for any occasion; happy hour, date night, dinner, wine tasting, girls night out or all of the above. And kudos to Reserve, they were mentioned in USA Today on Monday for their wine flights!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reserve GR
201 Monroe Ave. NW 
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
616.855.WINE
Website

Michigan Bubbly: L. Mawby Sparkling Wines

Around this time last year my sister, Mom and I took a trip to the Traverse City area for some wine tasting. I've been to Traverse City and beautiful Northern Michigan many times, but visiting old favorites is fun and you always discover something new up there too. I posted about our stop at gorgeous Sleeping Bear Dunes, we also hit Cherry Republic and lots of vineyards! My favorite vineyard is L. Mawby. I credit them with my love for sparkling wines. When we first stopped there several years ago I really fell in love with their wines.

They only make sparkling wines — and they are good at it! They have two labels, L. Mawby, made using the methode champenoise, it is slightly higher priced, but still very affordable.  I don't know all the details of what methode champenoise involves but it is the oldest and most traditional way to make sparkling wine and was supposedly developed by Dom (Pierre) Perignon, sound familiar?!


M. Lawrence which is made using the cuve close method, are given less aging and as a result less expensive. The great thing about the wine is that you can purchase it in different locations and drink at many restaurants throughout Michigan and even in Chicago! I was so excited to find a few M. Lawrence varieties at the Whole Foods here.


They have a great tasting room. After getting a few pours for free, you can decide what others you'd like to try and pick cheese or a pate and crackers for a small charge between $5 and $9, depending on what wines you select for tasting.

I had to stock up on lots of bubbly to bring back to Chicago!

They recently changed their labels, I'll have to stock up again soon and check out the new designs. My original favorite is from the M. Lawrence line and is call "Sex". Cute for a date night, no?! There is another one called "US" that would be equally cute for date night. I also love the special varieties named Grand Rapids and Detroit. And for a special occasion, the J'adore was fabulous.

If you are planning a trip to Wine Country in Michigan, make sure to add this to your list! Fall is such a great time to visit, the air is crisp and all the colors on the trees are starting to change, making for a gorgeous drive up.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
L. Mawby - Fine Leelanau Peninsula Sparkling Wines
4519 Elm Valley Road
Suttons Bay, MI 49682
231.271.3522
Website
Tasting Room Hours through end of October:
Mon-Sat, Noon- 6 PM
Sun, Noon-5 PM

Michigan Love: Sleeping Bear Dunes

A few weeks ago I took a trip back to my home state Michigan, for a wine weekend up North. You probably know by now that I have lots of love for Michigan. Moving away tends to do that to you. Never thought I would have such a soft spot for my hometown and actually want to move back at some point. Living in the hustle and bustle of the city, I ALWAYS appreciate returning to the open spaces and slower pace. Not to mention, Wine Country! If you've never been wine tasting in the Traverse City, Leelanau County area you have to visit! Believe it or not there are many award winning wines up there, and it just keeps getting better. Plus the scenery is amazing. It's about a 5 and a half hour drive up there from Chicago -- not too bad. You wind up the coast for most of the way so there are a lot of great places to stop off.

On our way back down (when we were all wined-out), we stopped at the Most Beautiful Place in America (as voted by GMA), Sleeping Bear Dunes! What a beautiful Fall day, it looked like Summer and I wanted to jump in Lake Michigan.

The water is the most gorgeous shades of blues and stretches on forever. I think I see Chicago across the shore.... :)

How gorgeous is this? Hard to believe this is all in Michigan, isn't it?

My cutie Mom, Hi Nan!

Mom & Big Sis

There are a few different lookouts suspended over the Lake, they offer some pretty spectacular views.

One of my favorites, the clouds were so cool that day.

 

Anyone feeling me on Most Beautiful Place? It's quite the title, but it's not hard to see how Sleeping Bear Dunes got it. Sigh, another great weekend in Pure Michigan. What about you guys? Any places you'd vote most beautiful in your state? Or did I tempt anyone to plan a visit to Northern Michigan? (Yo, Pure Michigan Tourisim board, some commission wouldn't be out of the question....haha )

Happy Friday!

Oh, Friday, I'm so happy you're here. I'm headed back to Michigan after work today for a wine tasting weekend in Traverse City with my Mom and sister. So excited! I haven't been in awhile and I definitely want to stock up on some Michigan made vino, cherries and good food! And of course we'll be stopping at The Most Beautiful Place in America, Sleeping Bear Dunes :)

From a 2006 trip up North...I forgot how long it's been since I was up there!

Mama D and Al @ Sleeping Bear Dunes

I'll be back with lots of wine reviews and pictures for you next week. And if you're in Chi this weekend, don't forget to stop by for the launch of the new Nike Chicago shoes!

This is my happy place

I don't know about you but this image just takes me to my happy place. I was sipping this bloody last month, hanging out in Saugatuck after a perfect beach day. ::Sigh:: I don't want Summer to end. I need just one more perfect weekend in Pure Michigan.

Summer arrived - pure michigan style

I know the official start of summer was Tuesday, but summer started June 11th for me when I spent a week on Lake Michigan with the family. Spending sunny days down at the beach with a book and drink in hand was pretty much pure bliss. We had a few cloudy/rainy days, but for the most part the weather cooperated. I found the cottage for us from VRBO, you might remember me talking about them here. I've had really good experiences every time I've used the site.

The cottage was right on Lake Michigan in Holland, MI. It's not too far from my hometown in GR, but we really liked the location because Downtown Holland is a cute area with shops and restaurants and you're only a short drive from Sagutack - an equally cute lake front city with more shops and places to eat. Here are a few pictures of the week...

Our perch on the beach, right in front of the cottage.

Sometimes I can't believe how gorgeous Lake Michigan is. If people aren't familiar with it, they often write it off as a typical small lake. Not the case, as we say over here, kinda like the ocean, but unsalted! I'm so lucky to live in Chicago right on the Lake and to have grown up 30 minutes away from the beach.

The beach the cottage was on was private and stretched on for miles. It made for some good walks. We headed up to the lighthouse, "Big Red" one day.

Me and the little bro.

For information on visiting Holland, MI go here.