No Egg in my Cream

For someone who's iffy about eggs, an egg cream sounds... well.... iffy. But an egg cream contains neither eggs nor cream*. The famous New York drink consists of milk, carbonated water, and chocolate syrup. 

Carbonated milk still sounds a little odd. But here's a creamy variation that this Michigander can get on board with.

Dubbed the Detroit Egg Cream, you can probably guess what I'm about to suggest....
– 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
– 1/3 cup ice cold white milk
– 1 can Vernors 

Again, milk... ginger ale... part of me wants to scream out that this is a horrible idea, but it actually turned out to be a fantastic blend. I think it was a little heavy on the chocolate syrup, I'd probably pull back on that, and maybe try caramel syrup instead...!

*historians speculate that it is possible the original version of this drink in the 1880s may have contained both egg and cream, and that due to economic down turns, the more expensive ingredients were removed to keep the price of the drink below a nickel. 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....

We took a quick excursion to Frankenmuth today. And to be honest, I somewhat expected the town to be completely over-the-top with holiday decorations. But it really only seemed slightly more Christma-fied than it did during our July trip. And the crowds actually seemed down—shocking for a 50 degree December day.

Two weeks before Christmas, I anticipated Bronner's (CHRISTmas Wonderland) would be chaos, but I was shocked (and pleased) to find it wasn't bad at all—aside from a long line for Santa. We spent a remarkably long time reviewing the acres of ornaments. For two people who never put up Christmas trees, we were quite enthralled.

If you recall from my July post, on my last Bronner's visit, I went gaga over the S'more Ornaments. So what were my favorite ornaments today? The space themed ornaments really struck me as neat conceptionally.

Along with a set that I continued to refer to as the Peacock Palette. I daresay the turquoise tree must be trending!

With such mild temperatures and the lack of snow, it's hard to remember Christmas is just weeks away. But it seems I enjoy looking at ornaments regardless of the season. Perhaps I'll even get inspired to have a tree of my own some day!

Belle Isle" Halfway to Canada

Sitting peacefully between Canada and Michigan, in the Detroit River, sits a 982-acre island that has the potential to become the gem of Detroit. Connected to the city by the Macarthur Bridge, Belle Isle is a City Park that is currently managed as a State Park and run by the Michigan DNR as part of a 30-year deal enacted in 2013.

Once a private estate, the island has long been a site of frivolity and parties and picnics. It officially became "Belle Isle" in 1845, and in the 1880s, the designs for an urban park were created.

When I last drove across the island it was 2006, and it was basically ruins. In 2011, the Grand Prix put millions of dollars into the roads so the island could host racing events. In 2013, with the city in bankruptcy, the state took over the park, promising to make up to $20 million in improvements over the next 3 years. 

During this most recent visit, it felt like I'd stepped into the site of a former World's Fair (it never was one), with ornate buildings dating back to 1904. 

Clearly money has been spent recently to restore some of the island's highlights, including the James Scott Memorial Fountain, the Casino (not used for gambling, but rather public events), and a Conservatory with beautiful gardens. I was particularly impressed with the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, which has to be one of the most well designed and interesting museums I've ever been in, including the front bow of a boat that extends out into the river. 

There's also an Aquarium (BEAUTIFUL building from 1904 in need of a patron sponsor for some necessary tank renovations), Skating Rink and Boathouse, Nature Zoo (there used to be a full zoo on the island), municipal Golf Course and private Yacht Club.

The island was bursting with activity the afternoon we were there. Birthday parties, and company picnics, bikers and runners. It was so different from the place I saw 9 years ago, and there is so much potential to turn this into one of the state's top destinations. And it is right near downtown Detroit.... 

It reminds me of Central Park in NYC, right in the middle of the city, yet a world all it's own. And what would NYC be without it's parks?

Pinkies Up at The Whitney

Sometimes  a girl just needs to put on a dress and drink tea. 

So last Friday, I did just that, visiting The Whitney in Detroit for High Tea*. It was a dignified affair with ladies in hats, scones, and tiny ramekins of chantilly creme (I would kill for some chantilly creme right now). Everyone was putting their best lady act forward. 

The tea was delicious and smooth — perfect for the rainy day it was. In fact, it was the tea that had brought us there in the first place. A local tea master, Mary (working as Intutea), provides the house teas for The Whitney. We had met Mary and discovered Intutea on our recent trip to Eastern Market. Fascinated by the robust aroma and rich flavor, we followed the tea to the Whitney. 

The presentation, the meal and the service were spot on during tea, but we were in for the real treat following tea (which is really more like a 3-course lunch) when we were able to actually tour the mansion. And the home was definitely the star of the day. 

The Whitney home was built from 1890 to 1894 by Detroit lumber baron David Whitney, Jr. On the corner of Woodward and Canfield, the 21,000 square home is made of solid pink jasper** and cost $400,000 dollars to construct ($10 million today). To build this home from scratch today, with the same materials and detailing, would cost $83 million. An additional $250,000 ($6.2 million today) was spent on decorating/furnishings and $300,000 ($7.5 million) on artwork from around the world. 

The home is a showman of craftsmanship with Tiffany glass***, extensive hand laid tile, acres of intricate woodwork and, of course, embossed leather wallpaper. Built to last and meticulous restored, it stands as a beacon of what Detroit used to be. I'm glad the Whitney has endured and hope it continue to be a reminder of the dignity the city once honored. 

David Whitney Jr. only lived in the home for 6 years, before passing in 1900. His family stayed in the home until 1917 when his second wife died. Their estate tried to gift the home to Wayne State University. The University declined****, so the building was used by the Wayne County Medical Society, and eventually the Visiting Nurses Association (even keeping patients on site) until 1979.  

After an extensive restoration in 1986, the Whitney became a restaurant, and it has been run as such since. 

If you're interested in checking it out for yourself, The Whitney is doing a haunted high tea***** on October 16th and 30th, as well as a special parade watching brunch on Thanksgiving Day. The Ghost Bar has a Witching Hour every night,

*Actually a special event called City Cider where the tea was brewed in hot apple cider. 

**Pink Jasper is found exclusively in North Dakota. Whitney bought a mine in ND and built a railway to transport the stone to Michigan.
***Which may be worth more than the house itself. 
****There is something like 2600 lightbulbs in the house, operating costs are INSANE.
*****The Whitney is famous for being haunted, hence the name of their Ghost Bar on the third floor. 

One Man's Museum in a Mega Mall

About a decade ago, 3 girls drove up to Interlochen in Northern Michigan to see their favorite band (Guster). Upon arriving, they asked, "Who are these kids that they've got opening up the show?" But by the end of the opener, they were enamored with the kids in their silly, matching colored ties.

The "kids" were actually Tally Hall, a band out of Ann Arbor. Well read college students with a vast vocabulary and a knack for witty lyrics. Their first album was called Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, and it's based on a place that several of the band's founding members used to hang out at as teenagers.

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and it is one of the World Almanac's 100 most unusual museums in the US. Owner Marvin Yagoda began collecting games and oddities in the 1960s and opened MMMM in 1990.

I'm sure you've realized (if you know me at all) that it became a personal mission to find this place. And ten years later, after a couple failed attempts, I made it there!

I was surprised to find that the place has a large mall built around it — If it wasn't for the Marvelous entrance, it would be completely eclipsed by California Pizza Kitchen and Buy Buy Baby.*

The place is small. And it is CRAMMED full of games, every inch, representing decades, and centuries — I actually got to use a view finder from the 1890s. It was loud, and I experienced sensory overload, but it was mesmerizing, and nostalgic, and fascinating.

It wasn't as I expected, it wasn't quiet like a museum. And there was no absent-minded man behind the counter distributing quarters and telling us about the games. The place was full of life and kids (of all ages)  playing and loving these old games. Everything from Pinball to Skeeball to Fortune Tellers and a Chicken that plays tic-tac-toe!

It was Sunday afternoon, and it was really crowded, but I liked seeing parents sharing these treasures with their kids.  I'd really like to go back when it's less crowded and I can  look around thoroughly. There's enough to see and do that it's worth a second trip.

I really hope, that when Marvin retires he has a passionate prodigy that can keep operating the museum as the beloved spectacle that it is!

*Back in the '90s I understand it was a simple stripmall, not the commercial mecca it is now. 

My 24 Hours in Detroit

I intentionally didn't plan an out-of-state vacation this summer, so that I could kick back and enjoy the season in Michigan. Summer is Michigan's gift to the residents that survived its winter. This summer has been filled with trips to West Michigan's pristine beaches, visits to the dunes, and camping, and sailing excursions.

So this weekend, I took 24 hours to explore a different side of the state, the East Side. And I packed a lot of Detroit into those 24 hours....

The Detroit Zoo: You don't have to have a kid to make a trip to the zoo... we had our own adult fun meandering with the kangaroos and playing peek-a-boo with the prairie dogs. What struck me most about this zoo was how cage-free it all felt. Wide moats around each exhibit mean they can ditch the fences. It all was significantly more vast and less depressing than the John Ball Zoo. The only animal's whose habitat broke my heart was the penguins, and they are moving into a 30 million upgrade next year!

Oh, and the giant Anteater is the most under-celebrated animal — I mean seriously, check this guy out ^

Dinner at Inn Season: I more than satisfactorily stuffed myself on a stuffed Carmen Pepper, Corn Chowder, and an incredible house-made Chai Tea during dinner. Inn Season has been in Royal Oak since 1984, and I am devastated I didn't know about this vegan/vegetarian gem when I was a resident there—it has one of the most incredible menus I've had the pleasure of obsessing over in a long time.

Drag Queen Bingo at Five15: Not your grandma's bingo.... An alternative to your typical Friday at the bar—Drag Queen Bingo is actually hosted in a coffee shop/gift shop in downtown Royal Oak. Angel Sheridan entertained us — while insulting us. Who wouldn't pay for the chance to be made fun of on stage!

Before leaving Royal Oak, we fueled up with breakfast at Café Muse. Muse was one of my favorites when I lived in Roak, but since then they have moved and expanded significantly. It was as tasty as I remembered.

Eastern Market: Eastern Market is the largest, historic public market district in the United States. And midday on Saturday, the market was bustling. Music, food trucks, flowers, veggies, specialty and traditional food items, and curiosities filled the streets and stalls. I stocked up on pierogies and even popped into a legit butcher— Mr. Food.

And while in the Eastern Market district, we stopped into the Detroit Mercantile.
The gorgeous shop was perfectly curated with Made in the U.S.A. products and focused on Michigan themed items.

Dutch Girl Donuts: Since 1947, Dutch Girl has operated on Woodward near 7 Mile. The donuts are still made by hand in the front window, but are now served from behind bullet-proof glass. 

And while we were passing through, we took a quick tour or Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest, where I believe the phrase "Architecture Porn" was used to aptly describe what I was experiencing. 

It was a whirlwind, but Detroit won me over, and I've already planned the itinerary for my next journey East!

Sugar Coated Christmas (in July)

This weekend's trip across the state, included a stop in Frankenmuth – Home of Bronner's – "World's Largest Christmas Store." 

It was here that I fell in love with this little s'more man.

We were about to go camping, we were at a giant Christmas store— this seemed like the perfect embodiment of the weekend ahead!

I turned the corner, to discover a whole army of s'more men! From skiers to fisherman, bakers to ballerinas. They were adorable, and boy, did they know it!

I was completely smitten with the talking s'mores. I'm wonder if I'm having a subconscious reaction based on my love of the Calvin and Hobbes snowmen. 

There's something about marshmallows that immediately sends me to a happy place. Sugar. That you can roast over a fire. 

And clearly this is what Christmas is about. Sugar. With a sense of humor. 

I don't put up a Christmas tree, but someday. Someday I will have my own army.

Breakfast with a Side of #PureMichigan

Years ago, after a Guster concert at Interlochen (with an amazing surprise accompaniment by the campers), we ended up at a nearby German brewhouse called Hofbrau. 

Fast-forward to just a few months ago, as someone recapped the amazing all-you-can-eat buffet they had at this adorable place up North. They pulled a picture on their phone to show me. "Hey," I said, "I've been there."

My curiously would not be pacified till I went up North and tried this Sunday buffet, which includes carved prime rib, an omelette station, chocolate Belgian waffles, biscuits and gravy, German potatoes, and hand-dipped chocolate strawberries, myself.

It was pretty basic fare, and alone not worth the drive. But we added to the trip with a pass through the Sleeping Bear Dunes scenic drive and a stop in Glen Arbor for a Cherry Republic wine tasting and sandwiches at Art's Tavern.

The sky was blue and the lakeshore was beautiful. All-in-all a wonderful Pure Michigan day. 

Michigan State Pride

There's a lot of Mitten State pride in Michigan (though with the winter we're having, we're all beginning to wonder why we still live here). I just made these little ornaments to celebrate that Michigan Love .

I used a Michigan cookie cutter for the shape and outlined them with a blanket stitch. They're quite adorable in their various colors and stitched hearts.

I've just posted them here on Etsy. More color combinations to come!
 

Travel Talk in the Land of Delight

Check out this documentary from 1949, called Roaming through Michigan. The 8 minute film was paart of a James FitzPatrick's "Travel Talks" series. It includes footage of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Mackinac Island, Traverse City, Leelanau and as well as other places.
The film is full of fun Michigan history, here's some of my favorites:
• Native Americans named the northern Michigan region Leelanau, meaning Land of Delight
• The 5 mile stretch of dunes on Lake Michigan were the World's largest moving sand dunes
• Glen Lake was considered one of the 4 most beautiful lakes in the World because of the constantly changing colors

James FitzPatrick was an American director specializing in travel films from the 1920s through '50s. These short documentaries were often shown on Turner Classic Movies channel prior to the broadcast of movies. His Travel talks series is notable for preserving city and landscapes before they were swallowed up by chains and skyscrapers.