My family came to visit Milwaukee a few weeks ago, and we had the best time. One of our adventures was heading up to Port Washington for lunch and exploring the town. I love Port Washington's pier and lake front. Looking through these pictures again makes me smile :) I wish they could visit every weekend. Aren't my parents the cutest?
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The Brewcity Bruisers are one of Milwaukee's greatest hidden entertainment gems. I discovered them through a friend a few years ago (after watching Whip It), attended a few bouts here and there, and have since progressed to a season ticket holder and a derby rec leaguer. I'm officially hooked!! This weekend I attended the Brewcity Bruisers' championship bout. The championship bout comes at the end of a four month season of monthly "bouts" or games.. I've attended almost every bout this season and as has become our tradition, I got a couple of delicious slices of pizza before this bout with my friends. The championship bout was battled out between the four lteams that make up the Brewcity Bruisers local league. [The Brewcity Bruisers also have two travel teams called the All Stars and the Battlestars that compete regionally.] The first match was between the Shevil Knevils and Rushin Rollettes who competed for third (and fourth) place, and the second between Maiden Milwaukee and the Crazy 8s who fought for first (and second). These games were so intense!! The Rushin Rollettes (the orange team) hadn't won a game yet this season, and they seemed extra inspired to bring it all to the track (that's derby talk for "worked really hard"). Their hard work paid off and they "rushed" to first place. (Too much??) For those of you new to roller derby, here's a quick intro to how the game is played. Each bout is made up of two minute jams with five skaters playing from each team. The two jammers -- the skaters who can score points -- line up behind the eight blockers. The whistle blows and each jammer tries to fight her way through the pack (the eight blockers). The jammer that breaks through first is named lead jammer and has the right to call off the jam whenever it is best strategically for her. The next time she breaks through the pack, she'll score one point for every player of the opposite team she passes. If the second jammer is getting close to scoring points by breaking through the pack a second time too, the lead jammer will call off the jam as quickly as she can by doing a tapping movement on her hips. I've learned over the past few years that roller derby is a highly athletic, competitive sport. I've been working hard to learn all the basic derby skills, but it's been a really big challenge. The skating move you see above is the skill I'm trying to perfect right now - the crossover through the track apex. You have to learn to shift your weight from skate to skate while crossing your right leg over the left and pushing your legs out to gather speed. It's hard work!! The big bout, the championship, the one for all the marbles -- had me sitting on the edge of my seat for about an hour. You could compare the rivalry to the Boston Red Sox (Maidens) playing the New York Yankees (Crazy 8s). The Crazy 8s have won the championship the past four years and seem to be unstoppable. Since my friend was drafted by the Maidens, I had to cheer them on (while wearing my pink!!). This bout was soooo fun to watch because each team had to keep adjusting their strategy and each player was clearly giving it everything she had. The Maidens lost to the 8s by just a few points in the first overtime I had seen. It was super interesting and pretty similar to penalty kicks in how quickly and dramatically the winner is decided. No bout is complete without ice cream!! Clearly roller debry has become my favorite sport. It's the only sport I've ever bought season tickets for, and the only sport I'll go out of my way to watch. It's also the only sport I know of that people can start as adults and have a decent chance of making it on a team that people will pay to watch. I've never felt stronger or more empowered in any sport I've played. So who knows, maybe someday I'll be blogging about how I competed with my roller debry team in the championship!
For more info about the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, click here. This past weekend I attended a friend's guitar recital at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. I jokingly told him that I would have gone to see him play anyway, but having a chance to visit the Conservatory was a really nice perk. The Conservatory is located in one of Milwaukee's old mansions overlooking Lake Michigan, and it is gor-ge-o-so inside. Here is a little history of the Conservatory/Goodrich Mansion building, borrowed from the Doors Open Milaukee site: This Neo-Classical Revival style mansion, built in 1903, was home to industrialist Charles L. McIntosh; then linseed oil businessman William Osborne Goodrich and his wife, a daughter of brewing magnate Captain Frederick Pabst; and finally the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in 1934. The McIntosh|Goodrich Mansion exterior features dark red Galesburg paving brick, a monumental four column Corinthian portico, Michigan raindrop brownstone trim, and copper cornices. Interior highlights include stained glass attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany, mahogany trimmed fireplaces, and grand curved glass bay windows overlooking the lake, among many others. Do historic buildings make anybody else super excited?? Just me? My friend performed in this first floor room with rose detailed windows and ceilings. The sunlight was streaming through the windows and my life was basically complete while I sat in here. One of the manions's masterpieces is the grand staircase leading to the central Tiffany windows. A friend of mine claims they're valued at over $100,000, but I couldn't find anything to back that up. A room of rich mahagony overlooking Lake Michigan. There was a parking lot (guessing not original!) in between the lake and the mansion, so the scenery unfortunately very photo worthy. You'll just have to take my word for it, that this building has a premo location. And this is the room that reminded me of Versailles. Probably because it has a frozen in time feel to it. Not because it was full of thousands of tourists. I love discovering and appreciating interesting places in my city. Being a transplant to Milwaukee, I've been surprised by how many cool places I've found here. I think being a non-native has helped me to be open to exploring all this city has to offer. Love acting like a tourist in the city I live.
I had a lot of fun with yesterday's April Fools Day joke - thanks for bearing with my love of the holiday. Each year I get a bittersweet reminder of the meaning behind April Fools Day. This time of year really does trick you. One warm day has you thinking you're done with the cold and breaking out your swimsuits and sandles, and then bam! Another snow fall hits. One of my friends compared it to opening herself to love after a bad heartbreak. She keeps telling herself she won't be fooled again, but then she just falls back into the same bad habits. Fortunately, there are signs that Spring as arrived even if the weather is really taking its time warming up. Like the weeping willows turning yellow. Did you know they did that this time of year? I just learned that nice little fact from my local ecology center. Other signs of early Spring I love: the blue skies, the break in the frigid temps that actually allow you to take your time outside, watching ice on rivers and lakes break up, hearing birds chirp again, seeing buds popping up, embracing the promise of growth and possibilities. When leaving the art museum over the weekend, my friend and I took our time walking back to our car - enjoying the view of Lake Michigan, the frozen lagoon, the red-winged black birds, the feeling of long awaited sunshine on our faces. It was glorious. And then 30 degree temperatures returned again. April fools!
Remember when I shared our 36 hours in Milwaukee challenge? It was basically forever ago (last month). I'm sharing part two of our adventure here today, so before you begin you might want to check out part one for a little refresher. The 36 Hours in Milwaukee challenge was to follow the New York Time's 36 hour guide and visit some top sights in Milwaukee in a 36 hour period. Part one included the Milwaukee Art Museum, Bryan't Cocktail Lounge, Blue Jacket, Mitchell Domes, Usinger's, and Wisconsin Cheese Mart. And here comes part two! 11:30 Mader's German dining at it's finest, Mader's is one of the most well known restaurants in Milwaukee. Everything on their menu has a "schnitzel" sound to it, and all of their decorations look like they were borrowed directly from old Germany. If you're looking for a place to experience Milwaukee's old German traditions, look no further than Mader's. Because we had already decided we wouldn't be closing a bar Saturday night, we thought we would be really cool and open a restaurant. So yes, we were waiting at Mader's three minutes before it opened. We were those people. This photo gives you an idea of Mader's decor. Check out the gorgeous bar, the beer steins, the stained glass, the ceiling, and the strange old weapons on the wall. This place has style. Milwaukee doesn't have much of a celebrity scene (shocking I know), but if you were to see someone famous, it would probably be at this restaurant. The back hallways are lined with photos of celebrities who have visited Mader's, many with autographs and personal messages. My favorite was the John F. Kennedy photo (followed closing by Justin Bieber). We even sat at the table that Paul Newman had sat at many years before. Like I said, Milwaukee isn't big in the Hollywood scene, so we take what we can get. 1:00 Purple Door and Clock Shadow Creamery We fought off a potential food coma from Mader's by going right back out in the cold and driving to Purple Door ice cream and Clock Shadow Creamery. Both are located in one of Milwaukee's greenest buildings, though Purple Door has plans to expand into its own location soon. Clock Shadow Creamery is the only cheese factory in Milwaukee's city limits, and it supplies delicious, fresh made cheese to Milwaukee's southside. Since we opted out of doing a brewery tour, we each paid $3 for a simple cheese factory tour and learned all about the cheese making process. Did you know that it's the bacteria added to the cheese making process that gives a cheese its flavor? So a cheddar bacteria makes cheddar cheese while a brie bacteria makes a brie cheese. We washed our cheese down with some tasty ice cream from Purple Door. I'm just going to put this out there: Purple Door might be the best ice cream in Milwaukee (please note I said ice cream, not custard. Don't want any custard lovers biting my head off!). I got a single scoop that was half almond half vanilla. And it was like heaven in a cup. I always say that to tell the quality of an ice cream or custard you need to start by tasting their vanilla. If you can get the basics right, your specialties are going to be out of this world. If you can't, the specialities are just trying to hide a mediocre ice cream. Does that sound harsh? I guess I just take my ice cream and custard very seriously :) Eating ice cream while wearing all of our coats inside. Must be Milwaukee! 2:00 Anodyne Coffee Though not an official stop on the NYT's list, we decided Anodyne needed to be included in a best of Milwaukee tour (plus it was right down the block from Purple Door and the Creamery). I loved how bright and open and airy Anodyne's space was. You could pass a lot of time here reading, working, or playing board games with friends. I plan on coming back for some live music this month. Apparently their coffee is the best in Milwaukee, but being a strick tea lover, I know nothing about coffee flavor. At this point in the day, we needed to take a rest from all the festivities because we were all feeling old and tired. Plus our pups needed some attention. In the usual NYT 36 Hours, a brewery tour would have taken place at this point in the afternoon. If you're looking for a good tour in Milwaukee and are following our guide, a Milwaukee Brewing Company tour would fit perfectly here as would a Lakefront Tour. Both are excellent and both will give you a great taste of the Milwaukee beer scene. 7:00 Zaffiro's Pizza One of the best pizza places in Milwaukee, Zaffiro's is a local pizza institution. I especially love it because it reminds me of my favorite pizza places from The Hill in St. Louis. The checkered table cloths, the tiny seating space, and the thin crust pizza make for a very authentic Italian style dining experience. It was a very affordable experience too: all six of us ate for about $10 each and had a huge salad and plenty of pizza to fill us up. 9:30 Wolski's What follows a good pizza better than a cold glass of beer (or giner ale in my case)? After Zaffiro's we walked a few short blocks over to Wolski's, another East Side institution. Wolski's epitomizes the local neighborhood Milwaukee bar. Plenty of beers on tap, lots of interesting things to look at on the walls and ceiling, and a very friendly, low-key atmosphere. One thing especially makes Wolski's stand out among the dozens of bars in Milwaukee: their tradition of passing out bumper stickers saying "I CLOSED WOLSKI'S" to anyone who stays up late enough to close their bar. Unfortunately, we didn't join the club during our challenge, but you can bet that we'll be going back (since it's one of my 29 before 29 goals). On the wall just to the left of us is a sign saying that any person at Wolski's is an honorary resident of Kokomo, Indiana. Don't ask me why. S U N D A Y 11:00 Sobelman's Arguably the best burger joint in Milwaukee, Sobelman's was so busy at 11:00 on a Sunday morning we had to go to their expansion location by Marquette's campus. Jeesh. We thought we would be beating the crowd ordering burgers before noon! Apparently everybody had our same thought. Walking into Sobelman's, you get the feeling you're about to have a great burger experience. It's a no frills joint, where the waitstaff wears Sobelman's t-shirts, the tables have plastic menus that are stored by the napkin containers, the chairs and tables are simple, Greenbay Packers decorations line the walls, the TVs have sports on at all times of day. In addition to good burgers, Sobelman's also offers a great black bean burger (and I've tasted enough to say that this one was excellent) and an out of this world bloody Mary. Do you see that thing Paul ordered? It came with celery, asparagus, green onion, shrimp, cheese, a brussel sprout, a lemon wedge, something red, and a mini burger! They do not mess around!! 1:00 Leon's Frozen Custard What better to finish up a tour of Milwaukee than a cone of custard on a freezing cold day? We rolled our bodies out of Sobelman's to stuff a few more delicious calories in our bodies to finish up our Milwaukee weekend of fun. Each area of Milwaukee tries to lay claim to "best custard shop." Leon's is located on the southside of Milwaukee, and as far as I'm concerned, it wins the best Milwaukee custard award (though Ted Drewes will always hold the ultimate number one spot in my heart). I love the old sign, the white hats the staff wears, the connection to Happy Days - and the flavor. So creamy and delicious. We all got the butter pecan flavor, and it made our tastebuds and bellies so happy. And then we all went home and slept for the next 36 hours - because, dang, what a weekend!! What a fabulous weekend! Having lived in Milwaukee for three and a half years, I loved that this challenge showed me that there is still so much of the city left for me to explore. It was a great time to do this challenge since winter can be such a dreary time here. I feel like I have a new found love for my adopted city.
Here is a summary of all the places we visited during our 36 hours in Milwaukee: FRIDAY 7:00 Milwaukee Art Museum 8:00 Bryant's Cocktail Lounge 9:00 Blue Jacket SATURDAY 10:00 Mitchell Domes 11:00 Usingers 11:15 Wisconsin Cheese Mart 11:30 Mader's 1:00 Purple Door and Clock Shadow Creamery 2:00 Anodyne Coffee NAP or brewery tour at Milwaukee Ale House, Lakefront, or Miller 7:00 Ziffiro's 9:30 Wolski's SUNDAY 11:00 Sobelman's 12:30 Leon's Ready to book your ticket? Come soon before you miss the Polar Vortex of Fun! If you're like many people I know, you probably rarely visit some of the top attractions in your city unless you have visitors from out of town. The same is true for me in Milwaukee. When the New York Times came out with their most recent 36 hours in Milwaukee guide, Paul and his coworkers decided to turn it into a challenge of sorts. They would follow the guide with a little tweaking and get to know their city better (and I would come along because it sounded awesome). The 36 hours concept is simple: most people have about 36 hours in a city if they're visiting just for the weekend. So each guide helps you prioritize your time so that you see the best of what the city has to offer in the time you have there. We did the 36 hours in Milwaukee challenge over the MLK weekend, and I'll be sharing the highlights here in two parts. Get ready for some Milwaukee amazingness!! F R I D A Y N I G H T 6:00 Milwaukee Art Museum: While I was eating pizza, the rest of the crew started the weekend at a Museum After Dark event. Once a month, the Art Museum has an evening event tailored to the younger, hipper crowd. This month's theme was salsa, so apparently there was lots of salsa dancing and lots of salsas to try with some fish tacos to go with them. Next month's theme is Cocktails and Crafts which sounds amazing! (These pictures are from past visits to the museum. It is one of my favorite places to go, and seeing the front entrance, the Chihuly sculptures, and the Georgia O'Keefe paintings never fails to lift my mood.) 7:30 Bryant's Cocktail Lounge (not pictured): While I was watching roller derby, the rest of the crew continued on to one of the most fun bars in Milwaukee (or so I'm told). The NYT says this about the bar: After-dinner cocktails await in the historic Mitchell Street neighborhood at Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, a dim, lushly upholstered time capsule of a bar inside a nondescript two-story house. On a recent evening the soundtrack was Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin playing over a vintage McIntosh stereo system. 9:00 Blue Jacket (Third Coast Cuisine): This is where I joined in! The Third Coast refers to the Great Lakes region, America's coastal area that borders lakes instead of oceans like the first two coast regions. Blue Jacket serves Third Coast cuisine with flare in a seasonal menu that sources local ingredients. I noticed their menu included very simple items, most of which were known by their main ingredient (fish, brussel sprouts, soup, etc). Since I had already enjoyed pizza and derby, I ordered a Summer Mule (a summer version of the Moscow Mule that sounded tasty) and some ice cream. The rest of the group caught me up on the previous two stops, and we made a plan of action for Saturday. The day would include Mitchell Park Domes, Usinger's, Mader's, Clock Shadow Creamery, Purple Door Ice Cream, Anodyne Coffee, Zaffiro's, and would finish with a drink at Wolski's. S A T U R D A Y M O R N I N G 10:00 Mitchell Park Domes: These domes offer Milwaukee residents a horticultural respite from bad weather and a beautiful place to visit in nice weather. Each dome houses a different environment, and the main dome has exhibits that change seasonally. During the winter, the Domes house a farmer's market on Saturday mornings (which meant free admission!) and a really neat train exhibit in the main dome. I was in love. Luckily the main dome also had a coffee station, so all the 36 hours participants could gear up for our busy day. After taking some photos and buying some produce, we took stock of our day. Because Mitchell Domes took less time than anticipated, we pushed lunch back and decided to check out Usinger's and the Wisconsin Cheese Mart first. Flexibility is really the name of the game when completing a 36 hours challenge (it also helps to have someone who actually knows the city to help you plan your weekend as they will have a better idea of how to get in free or at reduced cost to the sites - this really helped us when we were making our schedule since it wasn't as affordable to do it in the way the NYT set it out). Usinger's, Wisconsin Cheese Mart, and Mader's are all located on Old World Third street, just north of Milwaukee's downtown area. The street is home to some of the German-iest bars and restaurants in the city. Across the street is Pere Marquette Park which hosts concerts, political speakers (I saw Bill Clinton there last year), Christmas lights, and other events throughout the year. I've also seen a few river tours leave from the park - it's tough to see in this photo, but the river is just behind the park. 11:00 Usinger's Fine Sausage: walking into Usinger's feels like walking right into Germany. The walls are painted with murals of "sausage gnomes" enjoying the process of making sausage (not quite as creepy as it sounds), and all the writing on the murals is done in German. Even this mostly-Vegetarian enjoyed a trip here for the smells and history. NYT says this about Usinger's: Usinger’s is Milwaukee’s oldest, greatest temple of sausage. You can buy the 133-year-old, family-owned company’s smoothly textured bratwurst and piquant beef summer sausage all over town, but nothing beats a visit to the downtown store, with its hand-painted elf-themed murals and knowledgeable, no-nonsense veteran clerks. When we had our fill of sausage, we walked down the block to the Wisconsin Cheese Mart. We were two thirds of our way through the Wisconsin trifecta of sausage, cheese, and beer. 11:15: Wisconsin Cheese Mart: Not included on the most recent list, the 36 hours sticker in the window tipped me off that the Wisconsin Cheese Mart had been included on the 2008 list. So we must have somehow knew that we were supposed to go here even though the 2013 guide didn't include it. Cow butt! The Cheese Mart, founded in 1938, sells hundreds of varieties of cheeses, and the staff will be able to point you in the right direction to find something to fit your taste. There's always samples out, and we even managed to find a few tasty cheese on sale! I've been to a happy hour here before and was really impressed with the food menu and the selection of beers on tap. Definitely worth adding to a trip to Old World Third! Ready to book your ticket to Milwaukee yet? It might be cold if you decide to come now, but as you can see, it didn't stop us! In Milwaukee you just have to bundle up and go for it, otherwise you wouldn't do anything for about six months. *If you checked out the original NYT article, you'll notice that we've taken some liberties with the schedule. I like to think we stuck to the heart of the challenge if not the exact timeline. After tomorrow's post, you'll also see that we cut three locations and added others in their place. We decided against a brewery tour in lieu of naps since we were tired and had all done tours multiple times. We cut the bookstore (much to my chagrin) and a burger shop, but added the cheese mart, a coffee store, and another burger shop in their places. Again, flexibility was key :) Check back tomorrow for part two of 36 hours in Milwaukee!
My months' long wait for the Brewcity Bruisers roller derby season is finally at an end! I'm a season ticket holder this year, so for the next few months if you can't find me, look for me at the U.S. Cellular Arena (or actually probably don't, the bouts only happen once a month so odds are I'm somewhere else). If all of that wasn't exciting enough, this year I also know one of the Bruisers personally!! My friend Mary has been practicing and training hard for the past two years and was drafted on to the Maiden Milwaukee team! Congrats Mary (or Mary Mother of Quad as she's known on the derby track)! I was so happy for her and so excited to watch her play. My friend Meghan and I continued our pre-game pizza tradition. We weren't skating so we didn't have to worry about what we were eating. After the pizza, we walked over to the arena to get good seats to catch all the action. Here are the Maidens! Mary is in the bottom left corner. It was a repeat match up of last year's season end battle: the Crazy 8s vs the Maidens. The 8s came out ahead again this weekend, but the Maidens are ready for the next match up! If Friday was any indication, we've got a good season in store for us. ---- This is a picture of us from last year before one of the bouts (games). I love it because Mary is taking a picture with her future teammates - with no idea that she would be in their spots in less than a year! -----
P.S. I might be going to a roller derby boot camp this weekend, but don't tell my mom! Don't want her worrying about me breaking any bones. But I don't even have a derby name yet, so it doesn't really count. beautiful night views of our city
when Paul takes the dogs for walks (when it's my turn) paid sick time the approaching holiday season candles that make our house smell comfy and cozy new warm and fluffy socks community field trips to Costco making plans for 12 dates of Christmas rockstar yoga classes lavender scented bubble baths I am very excited and surprised to report that I have completed one of my four simple goals. This weekend, I visited Amaranth Bakery and Cafe, one of the local bakeries I've been wanting to try. A friend of mine used to bake bread for their bakery, and I had heard lots of good things about Amaranth's atmosphere and food. Paul and I rode our bikes a quick five minutes there and picked out lunch (Paul) and dessert (me). I loved the decorations and design, loved the owner (who asked me if I was from Homeland Security), and loved the food and casual atmosphere. Amaranth exceeded my expectations, and I can't wait to go back. It doesn't hurt that it gives me a great excuse to ride my bike! Do you have a favorite local bakery?
This felt like the perfect summer weekend. This weekend I appreciated that I can admire beet leaves while I patiently wait for them to grow... felt awed by the beauty of pea plants (the white flowers may be the main reason I grow them)... remembered how pea plants love to attach themselves to anything and everything... decided my soil might be too nice to grow nasturtiums (those leaves are huge!)... enjoyed several salads made with my beautiful freckled lettuce... ate strawberries right off the vine... and ate berries right off the bush... did I mention my sister (and her friend) were in town? Because they were, and it was awesome. We did a little wine tasting at Cedar Creek Winery... bought a bottle of Cedarburg Spice to make the first sangria of the season... ate LOTS of tasty cheese and crackers... visited Port Washington and ate fish sandiches in honor of our Papa who loved coming here (he loved sitting on the dock and telling stories with "the old men")... soaked in the sun and the beautiful Wisconsin summer weather... enjoyed catching up and getting to be present with each other. Not pictured here but very important to mention: we saw LL Cool J and Pitbull in concert at Summerfest. They might have been some of my favorite concert experiences. P.S. Isn't my sister gorge-ee-o-so?
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