Ann Arbor, Michigan is COLD

Tyler and I took a little weekend trip together (thanks to Tyler's mom for babysitting the kids while we were gone!) to Ann Arbor. It was pretty much the only place I hadn't been before that Tyler had interviewed at and seeing as how he really liked the program there I thought that I should probably check it out before committing (DISCLAIMER: no committing has been done yet; rank lists aren't due for a few more weeks; hold your horses).

So my feelings about Michigan? It's really cold. Bitter cold. And I'm guessing in the spring and summer it's green and gorgeous! It's cheap to live and really family friendly. Ann Arbor is like a midwest Berkeley -- quirky shops and restaurants with that college vibe but with a midwest attitude and super nice people (example: I left my purse at a restaurant hanging on a chair and was half way down the block when a guy carrying his little baby chased me down to give it back). There really wasn't much to dislike! Except that it's far from either of our families and it's bitter icy cold.

(If we live in Ann Arbor I WILL cross Frankenmuth's fried chicken off my bucket list).

Tyler did an amazing job planning our food escapades. He really does know how much I love trying fun little restaurants and worked hard finding the best in Ann Arbor! We ate AMAZING food (honestly, my biggest judge of any city is their food and I've found that where there is a University, there are cheap delicious restaurants -- except by UCSD).

The night we arrived it was already pretty late (like about 10pm -- Michigan is in the Eastern time zone) and we were starving but most places were starting to close and we were tired. We finally settled on this slightly ghetto looking place called Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger that had rave reviews on Yelp. And it was soooo good!! Ordering was kind of intimidating but the burgers were delicious -- super thin patties grilled perfectly with cheese and pretty much any topping you could want.

The first full day we were there we started off with a little Afternoon Delight -- a delicious breakfast place where we had, hands down, the best cinnamon raisin toast I've ever had in my life. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again.

We grabbed a snack in Kerrytown at  Kosmos and strolled the little farmer's market there. There weren't a lot of vendors because the wind chill made it feel like a knife was cutting off your face. But it was fun anyway.

We also stopped at the Washtenaw Dairy for some ice cream. Totally worth it. I'm pretty sure I've never eaten that much ice cream in once sitting but this was just so dang good I couldn't stop!

We checked out the Archeology Museum on the U of M campus and saw a mummy cat. For dinner we hit up Jerusalem Garden and had delicious falafel and humus. SO good!

On Sunday morning we went to church and, ironically, heard a kid speak who was about to leave on his mission to San Diego! He probably won't want to come back to Michigan after he's been here for two years.

We had breakfast at the Broken Egg -- very yummy. And then drove around checking out some of the nearby neighborhoods to get a feel for how everything looked. The houses were pretty and they had so much land! We also checked out the Botanical Garden which was actually a pretty popular place probably because it was so tropical and warm inside. Sunday was the day where it never got above 22 degrees and the windchill made it feel like 3 degrees.

For dinner we ate at Zingerman's Roadhouse and it was SOO good. The best EVER were the deep fried brussel sprouts. I'm still dreaming about them. Honestly, those could be what tips the scale in favor for Ann Arbor. They were THAT good.

Tyler and I had a great little trip together and some much needed alone time. It seriously had been way too long since we had even had a date let alone a weekend together. As cold as it was it was nice to have someone to cuddle up close with -- even if he couldn't be convinced to buy these sweetheart gloves so we could hold hands and still have mittens on. Something about them being too pink.