I feel blessed to have been able to spend another holiday at home with the ones I love most! Dave and I hung out for a few days around Thanksgiving with my family in Wisconsin.
2 days after Thanksgiving, Dave and I headed to Milwaukee along with a list of recommendations from my brother of places to check out. My brother knows the city and Dave and I well so I was stoked to see what he thought were must see places for us. A few of the places I had been to before but were great to check out once again!
First stop, MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MARKET.
It is always crowded and bustling but still has this cozy, comfy, personal vibe. All the different vendors offer delicious food and you can find pretty much anything you want served here.
We went for a chilly walk in the surrounding historic third ward district and went to 2 of my favorite stores nearby: Anthropologie and Mod Gen MKE! Mod Gen MKE has a swoon worthy collection of succulents + teeny tiny indoor plants that should not be missed if you are ever in the area.
We headed back to the Public Market for a SEAFOOD BLOODY MARY which came with smoked salmon and shrimp on top and was insanely delicious. We also had some oysters and clam chowder and everything was perfect.
Afterwards we walked to the nearby Downtown Books and ended up getting lost in so many good books that I have no clue how long we ended up being there for! The selection of books at this place was epic and the friendly store cat was a nice addition to the overall vibe of the place. I cannot wait to go back once I finish the books I picked up! It is for sure my new favorite book store. 
Next stop was a fun antique store. We didn't stay long since we were ready for dinner!
We then drove to Beans and Barley for dinner. Instead of going into great detail about what I didn't love about this place, I will simply state that I do not recommend checking it out. We had high hopes for this place but nothing about the atmosphere, service or food impressed us. This is the only place my brother has ever recommended to me that I failed to love and it also got a bunch of great reviews online - so maybe we just checked it out on an off night? Regardless, I won't come here again.
Before heading home to play Bananagrams with my parents, brother and his girlfriend we stopped at one of the coolest coffee shops ever - the lakefront location of Colectivo!
What a great way to wrap up a simply splendid trip to Milwaukee.
