Weekend Getaway: Marquette, Michigan – Fall Edition
Marquette is my absolute favorite place in Michigan\’s Upper Peninsula (UP), in fact it is also one of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan\’s most visited cities. I fell in love with Marquette while attending Northern Michigan University. Marquette is situated on the shored of Lake Superior, and filled with countless outdoor activities, good food and all the small town vibes you could hope for.
Everytime I leave Marquette, I wish that my trip was at least a week longer – or I could stay in Marquette forever. From the best food, hikes and adventures I am sharing the best things to do in Marquette during a fall weekend getaway.
Things to do in Marquette, Michigan
Presque Isle Park
You have just arrived in Marquette – what is your first stop? My first stop is always Presque Isle Park. Presque Isle Park offers scenic viewpoints. Take a trip through the park and make a stop to take in the views at the famous Black Rocks. Black Rocks is a highly known spot for cliff jumping into Lake Superior.
If you\’re looking to hike in Marquette, Michigan
Sugarloaf Mountain
If you\’re like me and always looking for a hike head to Sugarloaf Mountain. The hike may be easy, but it is my absolute favorite hike in Marquette, because of the stunning fews. If you take the easy trail you will be heading up and down a series of steps that can be hard on your knees. I prefer the difficult trail, which isn\’t actually difficult it\’s just more rugged.
Phils 550
Along 550 on your way to Sugarloaf Mountain you will come across Phils 550 store. While Phil may no longer be alive, the shop is still run by new owners. The sign out front of Phils 550 always has something funny, and this is a great stop to grab some drinks before heading out to Sugarloaf Mountain.
Dead River Falls
If you\’re looking to chase waterfalls head to Dead River Falls. Follow the trail to see some spectacular waterfalls. The hike is definitely for more experienced hikers and is very difficult after it has rained. However if you can make the hike you\’ll get upclose and personal with some of my favorite waterfalls.
Ore Dock
A must-see in Marquette is the Ore Dock located downtown. It makes for the perfect photo opportunity. The Ore Dock is located in Lower Harbor and is reminisent of Marquette\’s rich Mining history.
Lake Superior Sunrise
Wake up early and head to Lake Superior to catch a sunrise – trust me, you do not want to miss a Marquette sunrise!
Mountain Biking
Not only is Marquette home to some of the best hiking trails, it is also home to some of the best mountain biking in the country. If you are looking to hit the trails I recommend:
NTN (North Trail Network) – Beginner to Intermediate but scenic and loads of fun
STN Trails (South Trail Network) – Advanced and very fun
Kayaking
With plenty of lakes around Marquette, there are plenty of opportunities for you to grab a kayak and adventure around to checkout the color changing along the shoreline.
Fall\’s Best Kept Secret
510 Bridge
While Marquette is filled with a ton of different places you can leaf peep, my favorite is actually at the 510 bridge. You will get the most gorgeous view of trees, water and of course a bridge. If you are looking for quintessential fall foliage pictures, I highly recommend heading to the 510 Bridge.
Where to eat in Marquette, Michigan
Breakfast
Babycakes Muffin Company – If you\’re looking for something sweet, I highly recommend heading to downtown Marquette and grabbing a muffin or two from Babycakes. They have the best muffins that I have ever tasted.
Third Street Bagel – If you\’re looking for something savory, Third Street Bagel is for you. I love their bagel sandwiches and typically get the Village Veggie and Veggie Delight on a 9-grain bagel.
Donckers – Eating out with kids or just want to get the cutest pancakes in the universe? I recommend Donckers in the heart of downtown Marquette for moose pancakes.
Lunch
Vangos – Vangos was my go-to place to dine when I attended Northern Michigan University. Located just outside of downtown Marquette, Vangos is known for their waffle fries and ranch – trust me, you need them in your life.
Togo\’s – Looking for a sandwich? Skip Subway and head to Togo\’s for the best sub sandwich you\’ve ever tasted.
Border Grill – If you are looking for something quick and easy, Border Grill is serving up the best Mexican food. I love their Veggie Bowl with Mexican rice.
Jean Kay\’s – Don\’t forget to grab a pasty while you\’re in town visiting. Jean Kay\’s serves up my favorite pasty\’s in town.
Dinner
The Vierling – The Vierling is one of Marquette\’s oldest restaurants located downtown and is known for their blueberry beer and white fish recipes.
Iron Bay – Iron Bay is serving up some of the best desserts (I had slice of chai pumpkin pie that was unreal) and delicious white fish meals. Don\’t forget to get their white fish chowder, guaranteed to be the best soup you have ever tasted.
The Delft – When I was in college The Delft was actually a movie theater and was our rainy day hangout. Today The Delft is serving up American Fare meals in the converted movie theater right in the heart of downtown Marquette. The coolest thing about The Delft is they still utilize the movie screen and fun movies while you enjoy your meal.
Dessert
Babycakes Muffin Company – Babycakes offers muffins, macarons and other various desserts. I am addicted to their muffins and could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
231 West Patisserie – 231 West is one of the newest establishments in the heart of downtown Marquette. They\’re a patisserie, which means they\’re serving up some delicious recipes including macarons and crossiants.
13 Budget Friendly Ways to Upgrade the Exterior of Your Home
13 Budget-Friendly Ways to Upgrade the Exterior of Your Home
Give your house numbers a font upgrade. A simple change from serif to sans serif font or vise versa can make a world of a difference.
3. Frame your door
Painting the trim and adding matching molding you can get at the lumber store will add class and character to your front door.
4. Add a new porch light
Take a step in your local Home Depot or Lowe\’s store and look around at the porch lights they offer. Sometimes you can even find the perfect ones at Sam\’s Club or Costco.
5. Add tile to a plain entryway
If you want a simple update to your home, why not lose the plain cement entryway and go for something more decorative like tiles?
6. Add dimension to your porch
Adding dimension to your porch is a cost-effective way to upgrade the look. Think about a variety of plants and a doormat that is on a simple woven rug.
7. Camouflage ugly electrical boxes
Paint your electrical boxes the same color as your house so they will blend in.
8. Faux shutters
Upgrade the exterior of your home with faux shutters. Not only will it completely change the look of your house, but it will also give you a cost-effective change.
9. Repair torn screens
You can easily bring your screens into your local hardware store and have them repaired.
10. Pressure wash everything
Give everything a good cleaning with a pressure washer. You can pressure wash bricks, wood decking, concrete, stucco, windows, vinyl, plastic garbage cans, metal, grills and more. Let\’s face it everything looks better with a little scrubbing.
Weeds make your home look trashy, once you remove them they\’ll instantly upgrade the aesthetic of your home.
12. Create a flower bed
You can easily make a raised flower bed in your backyard using lumber.
13. Porch swing
Complete the look of your porch with a porch swing if you\’re able to. I know sometimes this is not feasible if you do not have a front porch, but if you do have one, you\’re doing yourself a disservice if you do not add a porch swing.
Let me know if you have any budget-friendly ways to upgrade the exterior of a house!
Five Things
Happy Plaidurday. Here in Michigan the first Friday in October is known as Plaidurday and we celebrate by wearing something plaid! Will you be rocking plaid today?
This week has definitely been a fun one for me. I actually got to do something with people. A friend and I headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for some adventures. I got to see a friend I haven\’t seen since college and her and I went kayaking which was a ton of fun. I also got to go to the Hocus Pocus open house at Lottie Mae which is my favorite little shop. I highly recommend visiting Lottie Mae if you are looking for gifts.
31 Things to Do in October (Quarantine Edition)
Gather around ghosts, goblins, and ghouls, in today\’s post I am sharing a list of things you can do (safely) in October. From trips to a cider mill to scary movie marathons and DIY projects, I am giving you 31 things to do this month.
1. Head to your local farm or farmers market to pick up some beautiful fall mums for your front porch.
2. Visit your favorite apple orchard and pick your favorite apples. I personally love honey crisp.
3. Give yourself a fall-themed manicure. I am loving Zoya\’s 2020 fall nail polish collection.
4. Take a trip to the pumpkin patch. Grab some cinderella pumpkins to stack and the perfect pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns.
5. Today is Do Something Nice Day! Bring donuts into work or drop them off at a friend\’s house or buy someone\’s coffee in line. No matter how small the gesture is, it will mean the world to someone.
6. Go for a hike in the woods.
7. Head out for a leaf-peeping drive.
8. Buy some fall squashes and create a meal out of them.
9. Head over to your favorite cider mill for some donuts and hot cider.
10. Halloween-themed dessert. I love making different novelty treats for each holiday, and these adorable cupcakes might be my favorite.
11. Discover new local businesses and do some shopping. My newest and cutest shop discovery is Lottie Mae.
12. Make an apple pie, apple butter, caramel apples, or apple sauce with the apples you picked.
13. Go kayaking or canoeing to check out the local color.
14. Buy a new fall candle.
15. Make a quick and easy chunky blanket.
16. Whip up a batch of those pumpkin zucchini muffins you\’ve been seeing in the Hallmark Movies lately.
17. Happy Sweetest Day. I know, it\’s a \”Hallmark Holiday\” that is only known in some states. Even if you\’re single you can still celebrate by sending some girlfriends some fall-inspired goodies.
18. Pumpkin spice season is in full swing if you\’re looking for a delicious recipe to make I highly recommend my pumpkin spice oatmeal cream pies.
19. Adventure through a corn maze.
20. Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
21. Go for a drive to a new town and see what restaurants, shops, and activities they have to offer.
22. Why not give ATVing a try?
23. Make some pumpkin fluff – it\’s way too good not to!
24. Go support a local restaurant when you grab dinner from there tonight.
25. Blanket scarves are my favorite way to stay warm when the temperatures drop. Why not make your own this fall?
26. Make your house smell just like fall.
27. Sugar cookies are my favorite for any season. I especially love these quick and easy sugar cookie leaves.
28. Take a trip around town and check out the Halloween decorations. In Michigan, there is a street called Tillson that goes all out for Halloween.
29. Looking for a simple Halloween treat to make? Why not give these Rice Krispie treat mummies a try?
30. Have a movie marathon. Since I don\’t like scary movies, you can typically find me watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and of course Hocus Pocus.
31. Happy Halloween! Today is the perfect day to rock out to Monster Mash!
9 Apple Picking Tips to Know
Picking season is here. Apple picking is always high on my autumn priorities list. Every year since I was itty bitty my mum and I would set off on an apple picking adventure, and this year was no different. A couple weekends ago, my mum and I ventured on our yearly road trip out to the country. It was the quintessential autumn day. There was a cool crisp in the air, the sun was shining, and the field had just the right about of dew that the night left behind.
Since I go apple picking every year, there are some things I have learned along the way. To help you have the best apple picking season I am sharing nine insider tips for apple picking. If you have any tips you\’d like to add, please leave a comment and let me know!
9 Insider Tips for Apple Picking
1. Find an Orchard
The first step is to find a pick-your-own orchard nearby. The apple varieties available for picking, as well as the peak time for apple picking season, will depend on where you live. For the most part, September and early October are prime pickings.
The easiest way to find an apple orchard near you is Google \”apple orchard in [your city, state].\” You can also visit pickyourown.org and orangepippin.com has a similar database but will also flag organic orchards.
Pro Tip: Different orchards will offer different varieties of apples.
2. Go early
Getting to an apple orchard right when it opens will mean fewer people. Going to an orchard earlier in the picking season—September instead of October—will also give you a better chance of getting perfectly ripened apples.
3. Pick from the outside in
Apples on the outer branches ripen first, therefore you want to work your way inward as the season progresses.
Pro Tip: Once you pick an apple it stops the ripening process. For the best taste make sure the apple is ready to be picked.
4. You can shake your booty, but please don\’t shake the tree
To properly pick an apple, roll the apple upward off the branch and give a little twist. You will know the apple is ripe if the stem is easily removed from the branch. Do not pull the apple straight away from the tree, and never, ever shake the tree. Even the slightest shake can cause a heap of apples to fall to the ground, creating bruises and unnecessary food waste.
5. Each apple variety has its own mini-season
The general pattern for apples ready for picking are as follows: McIntosh and Honeycrisp tend to ripen during September, while Golden Delicious and Red Delicious are usually ready to pick by the end of the month. In October you will find Fuji and Granny Smith.
Pro Tip: Different states offer different varieties of apples, this is just a general idea of what will be ready.
6. Avoid bruising your apples
Most orchards provide a plastic bag, be sure to gently place your apples in the bag. Bruised apples rot faster and will cause the other apples to rot as well.
7. How to store your apples
Apples keep best in a cool dark place. I typically store mine in an apple basket in the shed as well as in the refrigerator.
Pro Tip: Remove the stems from the apples to ensure the apples do not bruise each other.
8. Different apples are best for different recipes
Apples Best for Pies & Baking: Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Courtland
Apples Best for Eating: Honey Crisp, Fuji, Gala, and Mutsu
Apples Best for Apple Sauce: Jonagold, McIntosh, and Golden Delicious
9. What to do with your pickings
Aside from eating the apples, you can also make applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, apple crisp, caramel apples, and more.
Fashion meets Food 