Brett and I now have a tradition where we go to Union Pier, Michigan in the dead of winter 🙂 You can see photos from our first trip here and a post about our second trip here. This time around we were pros…we even had a packing list 🙂 We usually eat a cozy meal in one night and go out to dinner another night. We like to spice it up a little though and try something different each time. Last year we went to the casino and spent most of that time in the kid’s arcade area 🙂 This time we enjoyed a trip to a really cool distillery in the area. Here is more about our weekend…
Brett and I really like this small, 2 room cottage that we have rented for the past 3 years. It has everything that we need for a cozy and relaxing, Michigan weekend
Usually we unpack the car, make a quick run to the local grocery store, and get back to our 2 room cottage to rearrange the necessary furniture to set up a Brett worth media area 🙂
the pups run around and start getting comfortable in their new, weekend space
and we start using the small kitchen 🙂
finally some relaxation begins!
For breakfast this year we used a new pancake mix that we bought over the holiday break with our families. They were sooo good! I think I’ll have to go ahead and figure out how to make sweet potato pancakes from scratch now 🙂
One of my favorite parts of the weekend are our walks in the snow 🙂 Champaign has had a lot of snow this year too but there is something really delightful about walking through the small community in MI in the snow!
Since the weather has been so dreadfully cold, the waves on Lake Michigan were frozen for at least 100 feet off of the beach! We spent some time each day exploring the frozen water until someone started shivering and we needed to go back to warm up 🙂
Once back to the cottage, Brett made sure that everyone was roasty-toasty warm! 🙂
Lunch was usually fun snack/healthy items.
While in Michigan, we try and buy at least part of our groceries locally
We usually eat one dinner in, another dinner out, and then decide on that third dinner when the time comes
That tiny kitchen has most of what we need for cooking for the weekend. There isn’t an oven though, and this year I decided to experiment with cinnamon rolls in a skillet (more to come on that soon…eep! Teasers!)
This year our new activity was to visit a local distillery. The Journeyman Distillery was really fun, the atmosphere was great, the tour was awesome, and we got to taste all of the yummy liquors that they distill 🙂
Back to the cottage for more snuggles
and more snow walks!
we even found a lost pair of boots in the snow!
Brett and I like playing board games too during our relaxing weekend. This year we played Agricola 🙂 This is my favorite board game at the moment…it takes a bit of time to set up until you have memorized all of the rules but Brett and I figured it out and played a few games over the weekend. Such fun!
…and you just can’t have a cozy, snow filled Michigan weekend without a few cozy fires 🙂
On the drive back we experienced really cold temperatures (the car thermometer later showed -1 but I don’t have proof of that haha), lots of wind…
…and evidence of the winter storm that has been occurring over the past weeks
We all made it home safe and sound though. I absolutely love this tradition of ours…I hope we make it up north next year too!
