Great Lakes Distillery Tour

So we took a little tour to Great Lakes Distillery today, the only (legal) distillery in Milwaukee! It was a pretty simple but cool experience. Basically the deal is the tour is free you just have to pay for your cocktails if you choose to have any. They have an awesome selection of everything from rum, gin, whiskey, vodka to even absinthe. Here are a few (crappy) shots from our adventure! Enjoy!

Spring Has Sprung.... Finally!

Yes, FINALLY! Woke up on a Saturday morning with a warm breeze blowing in the window and blue skies outside, first in a long time it seems. Took Giada on a nice walk and snapped a few picts along the way. Felt great to be outside, hope the rest of the weekend can be as nice!

Brews Day Review :: Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

The Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout is a beer that both Matt & I feel like we seem to always pass by but never have tried sadly soooooo Matt finally grabbed a bottle on his latest trip to the liquor store. From some research this beer was first brewed in the 1880's and the reintroduced in the 1980's. The flavor was great, a strong dark chocolate burst is what you get right away and then smooth yet rich and earthy roasted malts follow. Overall, great beer~ no wonder why it's been around for so long :-)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Matt & I aren't much for always celebrating smaller holidays (ie: Valentines Day, St.Patricks Day Flag Day... you get the idea) but we have been trying to a bit more because it does make an ordinary day a bit brighter and we can have something to look forward to. Plus one day down the road when we have kids I think little things like this could be really fun!

SO I thought Cinco de Mayo would be a good day to try out a meal that I LOVE to order when going out for Mexican but have always thought it would be too hard to make at home, which is Chili Rellenos, which I happen to turn into more of a Chili Rellenos cassorole. Damn, it was soooooo good! The husband said its one of the best meals I have made in a long ass time and I couldn't agree more!

The Finished product.

Basically Chili Rellenos is egg battered chili's stuffed with cheese & such. Well, turns out with a bit of planning I can make this awesome meal at home now!! Now I now Cinco de Mayo isn't really a big thing in Wisconsin (it REALLY was when I lived in Arizona of course) but hey, it's got cheese in it so thats Wisconsiny enough, right?! Here are the rest of the photos on how I made this fun dish!

The tools for some homemade guacamole Matt made.

Charred and blistered chilis before they were pealed.

The filling: refried beans, tomatoes, garlic, onions, spices and shredded cheese.

Starting to layering everything - oh and MORE cheese :-)

The egg batter topping.

Hot bubbly yummyness, strait from the oven!! So good!

Of course we washed it down with a tasty brew!

Wisconsin on Etsy

So I love Etsy... (who doesn't)!? Well for me one of the things I happen to enjoy most is the fact that their are so many truly inspiring/talented artists of all kinds featured that are local and proud of it. I found a few Wisconsin related items that I have added to my wish list and if you are from Wisconsin or just love Wisconsin you may like these as well~ Enjoy!

Link to Wisconsin Wood Hook

Link to Wisconsin Cutting Board

Link to Wisconsin Necklace

Link to Wisconsin Wooden Teething Toy

Wausau Sunset

Takin a trip Up North for the weekend and they sky's over Wausau, Wisconsin never looked so good! We were lucky to see an amazing sunset after a crappy drive with rain and dark clouds. Sadly my non iPhone/Droid phone camera did it NO justice.

Lapham Peak & Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive

Over the holiday weekend we tried to get out for a bit and so we headed to near by Lapham Peak State Park, hiked up the fire tower and enjoyed the view (though it was VERY windy!) I know I am looking forward to heading back to this near by spot to take the pup for a hike and Matt is excited to try out their bike trail, especially once the weather gets nicer! Here are a few picts from our time there, we'll have to get pictures too again when the weather improves and everything doesn't look so dead.

After Lapham Peak we weren't quite ready to head home yet so we continued on and took in some Wisconsin Rustic Roads and the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive. It was really relaxing and not too far from home so we didn't have to spend to much in gas considering it's over $4 a gallon here now~ UGH! Enjoy a few of the quick shots we snapped on the drive!

Happy Easter

Oh yeah, the Eater Bunny & I were not getting along to well this year, but don't worry, we made up!! Happy Easter 2011!

Lumber Inn

Since due to a crazy few weeks of work for both Matt & I for the first time ever I think we are not traveling for a holiday weekend but instead are just staying home (though for the record we are Northwoods bound next weekend.) We love breakfast though we don't go out for it all that often but decided today we would hit up one of our favorite breakfast joints, the Lumber Inn in Delafield Wisconsin. Tasty food, quick, priced right and diner style bar... you can't ask for much more!

It was only fitting to look the lumberjack part at the Lumber Inn...

I got what I am going to have to refer to as the "Michele Special" (after my sister who LOVES this). What it is, is a blueberry pancake with over easy eggs on top. I guess it might sound gross to some but it really hit the spot today- thanks Michele!

Enjoying a tasty cup o' joe!

Airstream Dreaming

So the weather here in good old Wisconsin has been pretty lame and all Matt & I can do is dream of well, not being here right now! One of our big goals in life is to own an Airstream and travel the country, particularly the West and Route 66. We've always been into retro type of things like Airstreams, Route 66, old cars and Tiki ANYTHING- I mean we got engaged at Hala Kahiki and Matt even has a Tiki God tattoo :-) but the real inspiration came from a great piece written in Sunset Magazine with an amazing shot of an Airstream overlooking the Pacific so thus my research has kicked into high gear. I've been reading many great and inspirational blogs about Airstream owners, lovers and full-timers, my favorite being Mali Mish- its just so light hearted and fun!

Photo Credit: Thomas J Story

Our dream Aistream is the new Eddie Bauer addition, NOT because it's Eddie Bauer but because the layout is perfect for us as well as the garage style door that opens at the one end.

Besides a sweet spot along the beautiful Pacific Coast Hwy we are also very fascinated with visiting cool spots that bring back the retro vibe we like and a place we have read about many of times is The Shady Dell in Bisbee Arizona, we just can't wait to go here one day- plus I think the weather would be MUCH better this time of year! Even if we don't own an Airstream like we hope, we can still visit and stay here in one of their on site rigs like the Tiki Bus!

Here's to hoping for better weather & future adventures!

Spring Hike :: Kettle Moraine State Forest

So after a Sunday of working for the last of my three "Easter" events (don't ask) Matt, the pup and I took a drive about 40min South to the Kettle Moraine State Forest where Matt has been hitting up the mountain biking trails for about 6 months but this time we took the Nordic route. It turned out to be the perfect day for a hike (and stress reliever) about 50 out with little wind, no bugs and not much mud. We were pretty much the only people there which was a huge plus too. I can't wait to see it once summer is in full swing as I am sure it will be a place we will be hitting up time & again!

Giada leading the way!

Matt, our tour guide tracking our progress with his new app!

Our navigator Giada, girl knew exactly which trail we needed to follow- so smart!

Wisconsin Spring Time

Yeah, this is the fun stuff we woke up to this morning, REAL fun... especially after we took our first spring hike which was perfect weather last night (more on that to come later...) The joys of living in Wisconsin during the transitional spring/fall months are always interesting!

Brews Day Review :: Great Divide Belgica

I discovered this fun gem while I was taking a quick weekend trip South of the Boarder to Chicago to a see a friend and had to make a stop at Binnys on my way home (as well as at Lou Malnatis but that is a different story...) Anyway! I heard about the Colorado brewery Great Divide as a former coworker of mine now works there and I thought I would check it out.

This is a really rich and tasty treat that is a Belgian-Style IPA which is a combo we have been really enjoying so I wanted to try their version and it's great! Both fruity & hoppy yet has a nice smoothness you could drink this on a hot summer day or as nice way to warm up in the winter at good 7.2ABV... overall I would recommend trying this out sometime! Enjoy!

Vegetarian "Meat" Loaf

This was my first attempt at a Vegetarian "Meat" Loaf or should I say "Mushroom Loaf". The weather has been still a bit hit or miss for a Wisconsin spring and as much as I have been trying to will spring into appearing by wearing bright cloths, nail polish and wearing sandals its not really helping... SO to help take the edge off the chill I tried making a dish I have been brainstorming about for awhile.

Overall it turned out really good in terms of flavor and texture however I think next time I need to improve on the cooking time and maybe add an extra to help it come together a bit better (and not be so mushy). Here it is!

OK! Its a few days later and after a few days in the fridge and an additional hour THIS is how the meal was supposed to turn out! Plus I made a side of smashed cauliflower and garlic bread- pretty damn good!