Last weekend, Kevin and I had the privilege of having a few nights away to celebrate our 9th anniversary. My parents came into town and we literally high-fived them with a 'tag you're it', jumped in the car, and got on the road. Now, we love our babies and missed them and talked about them almost the entire trip, but travel is our love language and we were excited.
We headed to Madison, Wisconsin, which is about a six hour drive from our house. Honestly, I didn't have high expectations for Madison, because I really didn't know much about it (it was Kevin's choice). I'm not sure how this happened, but I was literally planning our itinerary on our way out in the car. I was pleasantly surprised to find all kinds of fun things to do in and around Madison.
There were so many cute little towns with shops and outside parks as well as some beautiful biking and hiking trails. Kevin and I ate some fantastic food, tried a few brews, and reconnected. Road trips with my man are THE best.
This week I'm sharing some of my favorite items that made our road trip just a bit sunnier.
I have mentioned a few times how I L-O-V-E Jamie Ivey's podcast. She has mentioned The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom several times and I just had to order it. I started it on the trip and it is so good. It is a nineteenth century novel set on a tobacco plantation and follows the life of a girl from Ireland who works in the kitchen house and how her story and the story of the people on the plantation unfold. I am about a fourth of the way in and I am already sad, but can't seem to put it down.
We took a little journey to New Glarus from Madison. New Glarus is a sweet little Swiss town with so many fun shops, restaurants, a brewery, and a trail that runs through it. After renting bikes and riding on the trails for a few hours, we headed back to walk around and do a little shopping. The Bramble Patch was a gift shop that had unique pottery pieces as well as many other knick knacks. I usually don't shop much when we are traveling, but I have started to try and pick something small up when we are on vacation to remember our time in that place. This cup jumped out at me and I thought it would be perfect as a little vase to display flowers in. Isn't it the cutest?
After our journey around New Glarus, we headed back to Madison. On our way back, we couldn't help but stop off at the tiny town of Paoli, Wisconsin. Guys, this place was magical. There was a plant shop, brewery, bakery/restaurant, and gift shop in this big park area where live music was playing. I ordered an ice cream and Kevin got a smoked something sandwich while we browsed around and had a mini picnic.
I couldn't help myself at the plant shop. There were hundreds of succulents planted in small sections of branches. I found three I loved and I could have bought a whole lot more. Kevin said he could make me some (bless his heart), but he has a long list of to-do's all the time, so why add one more? Besides, I didn't want to wait until next summer to get them...
The shop also had air plants. I have never had one, so I thought it was time to take the plunge. I have seen them sold on Amazon (what?!), so I thought I would give them a try. Isn't that little guy just awesome?
We couldn't go to Wisconsin without picking up some cheese curds to bring back. While we were in Paoli, we went across the street to a little local grocery store. This place was nothing like I have ever seen before. It was all natural, all organic, all anything that isn't bad for you. The man running the shop was a character and there were shelves and shelves of homemade canned goods. To give you an idea, the shelves included canned grape juice, canned pickles, canned jams and jellies, canned peaches. When we asked him who does all the canning, he said he does...and he grows it...and he runs the shop...and he raises animals. I'm not sure when the guy sleeps. We picked up the cheese curds there, packaged in a little plastic baggie with no label. #nolabelmeansnocalories
Our little road trip was short and sweet, but oh so good for our marriage and our souls. I hope you have a Sunny Saturday wherever you are...treat yourself and go pick up some cheese curds. But please, don't tell me how many calories I have eaten this week.
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