Life Lately: Week 15 (Part 1)

 This is what the past week looked like.

A happy girl heading on vacation for a whole week.

First stop: Clam Lake Beer Company.

The Ahi Tuna bowl was magic.

Our room wasn't ready yet so we headed to Black Star Farms for some wine tasting.

The Sparkling Riesling was G's favorite wine of the entire trip.

Next up we went to Mari Vineyards.

It felt like we stepped into Italy.

We sat by the fire over looking the water.

Best seat in the house.

We picked up Thai Café takeout on the way to check in to our hotel.

We stayed in a suite at Cherry Tree Inn thanks to a 30% off coupon.

The views from our room weren't bad at all.

We loved the outdoor hot tub and had it to ourselves every day.

That view will never get old.

Bahaha.

Cherry Republic is a must for cherry sour candy.

We walked around downtown Traverse City and did some shopping.

Then had the most epic lunch at Firefly.

The Ahi Tuna Nachos were our fave thing we ate all week (and we ate some good food!).

We headed to Chateau Chantel and had the whole place to ourselves.

Our next stop was Brys Estate and Winery where we had this cool barrel room all to ourselves.

Wine tower.

I love vacationing with that man of mine.

I found it alarming to see the year to drink is the same year I graduated high school.

How has that been 21 years ag?!

Cheers!

At Chateau Grand Traverse we got to taste a 20 year old wine.

Ha!

Bonobo Winery is always a fun stop.

The pretzel bites with chardonnay cheese dip was FANTASTIC.

A beautiful sunset on the bay.

Meanwhile Manny was having the best time with his dog sitter.

Taco Tuesday at Mama Lu's was fantastic.

The potato taco had this incredible curry flavor that made me want to eat ten more.

The chips and gauc were some of the best I've ever had.

The champagne margarita was the best cocktail of the trip.

And the street corn! So flavorful and unique.

We heart TC.

Bubbly at 2 Lads Winery.

A wine tower on a sunny and warm afternoon is the BEST.

We played cards, drank wine and enjoyed the sunshine.

I feel seen.

Bowers Harbor Vineyard was our favorite winery visit because we had the whole patio to ourselves.

See also: PATIO WEATHER.

Old Mission views are spectacular. 

Pangea's Pizza is amazing.

We wished we grabbed one to go when we left town, ha!

Peninsula Cellars Winery is a fun spot in an old school house.

Coffee tastes better on vacation.

Did I mention how amazing the weather was?

Locals told us this was the warmest it's been all year long.

Picture perfect.

The Julienne (bombay sapphire, marschino, lemon, elderberry, simple syrup) at Artisan.

Delicious!

A Quibble (whiskey, maple syrup, cranberry, amaro).

It was very tasty and quite pretty.

The halibut was delightful.

This bench is made out of quarters.

So fetch.

The Delamar Hotel is stunning and we had fun exploring all the renovations they made.

Eerily beautiful.

Hello world!

“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.” - John A. Shedd -

Another day, another visit to Black Star Farms.

But this time on Leelanau.

Shining happy people on vacation.

Look up!

This is getting long so stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!