Monday, October 3, 2011

Date Night and Girls Weekend

09/30/11

Greetings, Stylenation.  I've had a busy few days since my last post!  On Friday (above), Fella and I had a date to see the Fleet Foxes play downtown at the Chicago Theater.  They're one of my favorite bands, and they definitely didn't disappoint.  If you haven't heard them before, they're described as "baroque pop," and have kind of a 60's vibe to me.  They're a band for music nerds like me - their music incorporates things like tempo changes, key changes, complex harp-like vocal harmonies and themes borrowed from gospel and folk alike.  So yeah, I'd recommend checking them out.

Top: Target
Cami and Earrings: New York & Company
Jeans: Old Navy
Scarf: Loft
Boots: Rampage

Chicago Theater

Fleet Foxes
(more pictures from the show posted here)

On Saturday morning, I drove to Frankenmuth, MI, a small city known as "Michigan's Little Bavaria," to meet one of my girlfriends, who currently lives in Cleveland, for a girls weekend.  We went to high school together and were roommates together when I first lived in Chicago, but now that we live 6 hours apart, we don't get to see each other too often, rarely without at least one of our boyfriends in tow.  We enjoyed a weekend of spa time, good eats, adult beverages, dips in the hotel hot tub, beautiful fall weather and outlet mall shopping.

Covered Bridge on the Cass River

This is the Covered Bridge over the river.  Next to the bridge is a shopping center, complete with a spa that we visited upon arriving to town to kick the trip off with some pampering.

Horse & Buggy on Main Street

The downtown tourist district, which lies along the Cass River, is laid out like a small German town, full of cute shops, markets and restaurants.

Say Cheese!

Getting cheesy.  I remember this cheese block from trips to Frankenmuth as a kid (because most kids growing up in Northwestern Ohio go there at some point).  And it's even older than me - my mom was able to drive up to Michigan to meet me for lunch today, and she told me about girls trips she and her sisters took to Frankenmuth before they were all married, and all of the goofy pictures they have with this block of cheese.  So that mouse is pretty well preserved.

Wine and Chocolate Tour

On Sunday, we took a wine and chocolate tasting cruise on the river.  It was amazing!  They paired 5 delicious locally made wines with all kinds of tasty treats.  I may have come home with 4 bottles of wine and about a pound of fudge.

Maypole fountain

All in all, it was a pretty great weekend.  And we're already looking forward to another girls trip next year.