I spent less than 48 hours in Michigan this weekend but the short time I visited was wonderful since it involved quality time with three of my closest friends.
Carrie, Leah, Michaela and I have all been best friends since our elementary school days and have remained close for 20+ years. None of us live near each other and now that we’re all a flight away, it’s harder to get together but we try hard to prioritize seeing each other at least once a year. We’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time which centered around celebrating Carrie’s engagement!
Carrie and her fiancé Aaron got engaged over the summer and Leah, Michaela and I booked flights to visit Carrie for a weekend of wedding dress shopping and festive fall activities! Leah and I arrived in Detroit in the early evening on Friday night and spent the next few hours getting a manicure with Carrie and touring her beautiful bungalow house in Royal Oak before meeting up with Aaron for dinner. We enjoyed a leisurely meal over drinks before we popped into into a local dessert shop for German chocolate brownies and peanut butter chunk cookies.
Before we knew it, we had to head back to the airport to scoop Michaela up around 11:30 p.m. and spend the rest of the night back at Carrie’s place, talking a mile a minute until close to 2 a.m.
Saturday
After toasted bagels for breakfast at Carrie’s house, our big plans for the weekend kicked off on Saturday morning with wedding dress shopping at The Wedding Shoppe!
I couldn’t wait to see Carrie in a gorgeous gown and once we had a few ideas about the style of dress she liked, we pulled a bunch of beautiful wedding dresses off the racks for her to try on.
It didn’t take long to figure out the style Carrie loved and watching her try on dress after dress was so much fun! Carrie was such a great bride-to-be and didn’t bat an eye at trying on at least 15 dresses. When she stepped out of the dressing room in what was likely her 15th or 16th dress, Michaela, Leah and I couldn’t hold back our excited reaction. There was something very special about this dress. The delicate neckline, feminine lace detailing and silhouette were all simply Carrie and she looked stunning! When Carrie slipped a veil into her hair, the whole look completely came together and she said, “I think this might be the one!” Such an exciting moment and I’m so, so happy Michaela, Leah and I were able to be a part of it.
The Wedding Shoppe then had Carrie sign a dress with her name and wedding date and snapped a couple of photos for us as we congratulated Carrie and shared in her excitement!
Lunch was next on the agenda and we made the short drive over to Vinsetta Garage, a quirky local hotspot known for their burgers, pizza and fried cheese curds. Naturally we couldn’t resist beginning our lunch with the fried cheese curds and I was quite tempted to order another round for myself for my main meal. Those bad boys were delicious!!
After lunch, we piled into Carrie’s car to make the drive up to Blake’s Cider Mill which was absolutely hoppin’ with people!
Everyone clearly wanted to take advantage of the perfectly sunny, slightly crisp fall weather and we didn’t waste anytime ordering cider, a dozen cinnamon sugar doughnuts and apple fritters to share.
I know I should probably be raving about the cider from a cider mill (it was delicious!) but the doughnuts at Blake’s were next-level good. We ordered a dozen to share and I’m pretty sure each of us easily ate at least two without batting an eye. I have a feeling I will be dreaming of those doughnuts for weeks!
We grabbed a table to sip our cider and eat our doughnuts before wandering around Blake’s for a bit. It was nearly 7 p.m. by the time we left and after a 50-minute drive, we were back at Carrie’s place. We had plans to head out and about that night but after a rather busy day, ordering pizza and doing face masks at Carrie’s house in our pajamas sounded a lot more appealing to all of us by the time we made it home.
Give me a cozy night at home in my pajamas with my best girlfriends any night of the week and I am one happy camper!
Sunday
Sunday was a bit of a whirlwind since it was a travel day and Leah and I had flights out of the Detroit airport that left at noon. Thankfully our morning was open and we were able to enjoy crepes for breakfast at a little French cafe near Carrie’s house before heading off to the airport.
Saying goodbye to Carrie, Michaela and Leah is always hard but thankfully this time we all know we have Carrie’s wedding to look forward to this spring so another reunion isn’t too far off! Still, it wasn’t fun to say goodbye and I left feeling that weird mix of emotions where I was so happy about our time together and so grateful for these three amazing friends I’ve had in my life for so long but also so sad we don’t get to see each other every day like we did when we all lived within a mile of each other in Palatine. They’re the best!
I arrived back in Charlotte around 2 p.m. feeling very ready to see my boys! I missed Ryan and Chase a lot while I was away and was happy to spend the rest of the weekend hanging out with my family.
I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoy the week ahead. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today!
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Sounds like a fun weekend! Trying on wedding dresses was one of my favorite parts of the wedding planning process and my dress ended up being the very last dress I tried on!
How fantastic you were able to be there when Carrie got her wedding dress! It must be so exciting to share all of these milestones with some of your closest and longest friends 🙂
Blake’s has some of the best donuts around! I love that you were able to visit a few hot spots in greater Detroit while you were visiting! And there is nothing better than friends you can talk to until the wee hours of the morning.
How fun to flight out just for a couple of days to see some girlfriends — sounds like a perfect fall trip complete with apple cider and cinnamon donuts 🙂 Home with pizza/girlfriends > out, anytime!
Too funny, I live in Royal Oak! Hope you enjoyed your time in Detroit 🙂
We had a great time!! It was such a cute area!
You are all so gorgeous! I think its so great how you’ve been friends for so long. That cider mill is adorable too!
I go to Royal Oak a lot & Vinsetta Garage has delicious food! It’s so cool seeing a blogger post about an area I know so well. Have a great week Julie!
Have you had the cheese curds!? They were so, so good!!! Totally lived up to the hype!
Such a fun girls’ weekend! I’m originally from the Detroit area and this makes me want to take a trip home!
So glad you had a great time in Michigan! The Wedding Shoppe is where my sister and I both got our wedding dresses. They just moved into a bigger location this past summer, and I just love the people who work there! Vinsetta is so good! I love their veggie burger! Cider mills are so much fun, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself!
I am so glad that you had such a good time in Michigan! I actually got my dress from The Wedding Shoppe earlier this year! I love that store. And Vinsetta Garage is one of my favorite restaurants – so good. My husband and I actually went to Blake’s yesterday, and you’re right – it was so insanely busy!
Looks like you had a great weekend with your girlfriends! What a fun time!
Sounds like you and your girlfriends had a lot of fun this weekend. I have a friend that I only get to see a couple times a year, but when we get together it’s like we were never apart.
Looks like such a fun weekend! Gotta love time with your besties. I love how you all have kept in touch through 20 years, that is a true testament to your friendship!
Oh fun! Blake and I used to live right next to Royal Oak and recently ordered a BUNCH of swag from Blake’s Cider Mill because of the name and we had some of their cider when we were last in the mitten state 🙂
Sounds like you had a fun weekend!! You are all SO beautiful!! I just love that you guys have stayed friends for so long! That is amazing! 🙂 Have a great week! Xoxo
Congrats to Carrie; she’ll be a stunning bride! Loved seeing a recap of your time with friends. Gotta admit, I was waiting to see a picture of the donuts you raves about. Haha. 🙂 Have a great day, Julie!
The 20+ year friendships, crisp fall air, and cheese curds has me missing the midwest! Looks like you had a wonderful time!! 🙂
What a great and special weekend! Best friends are hard to come by and harder the older we get I am convinced.
Oh I loved this recap! It’s so cute and charming and heart warming that you are so close to friends from grade school! Keeping old friends close is soooo important because as Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers once sang, “You can’t make new old friends.” (A song I’ve never heard but the sentiment is spot on!) I still have friends from when I was 12 and I still see them all the time, along with my college friends. And recently, my very 1st best friend EVER in life contacted me on facebook (we met when we were 1 year olds! And we were best friends until he moved away when we were 12. 🙁 )
Love the sound of your whole weekend, and you’ve got me craving the apple cider cinnamon sugar donuts from my own local orchard. Glad you had such a wonderful time. And I can’t wait to see Carrie’s dress! Glad you were well enough to make the trip.
Sounds like such a fun trip!!! So cool that your friend picked out her dress. I’m currently trying to do that 🙂
Hope you have a great week, girl!
You were in my neighborhood! I love Vinsetta Garage! I love the Wedding Shoppe since they moved to their new location! Such a great place! Looks like you had a blast!
Being from Michigan myself, you hit all the perfect spots for a quick visit! I love Vinsetta’s Garage and Blake’s Cider Mill is a ton of fun in the fall! Glad you had such a good time 🙂
So cute you’ve been friends for so long and get together for big moments like this! And omg fall doughnuts and festivals are my favorites, so much good food!
Two of my best college girlfriends are getting married this spring. And we all live in different cities too, so I can’t wait for all the celebrations and get togethers ahead.
We were in Minnesota this weekend and I tried fried cheese curds for the 1st time – those bad boys are good!!! I also had a cider from Blake’s at a local bar – I saw it on the menu and had to order it since my son’s name is Blake. 🙂 Boy was it good!!
Looks like a great weekend! Michigan was in peak fall foliage so I hope you guys got that on the east side of the state too! My drives around the west side of the state have just been beautiful!
I don’t know if you have ventured to any of the apple orchards in North Carolina, but many of them make apple cider donuts and fresh cider that are truly delicious. I usually make a point of stopping by every fall just for the donuts. Skytop is really convenient to the highway, but can also be pretty crowded on the weekends. We also have heard good things about Justus and Grandad’s, but there may be some closer to Charlotte.
Ohhh my gosh, apple cider donuts are my FAVORITE. We hit up Butler’s Orchard in Maryland this weekend, and it was so much fun and packed with my favorite fall foods! I also love that you’re surrounded by love, but I know all too well what it’s like to live away from your best girlfriends. I’m leaving DC for a weekend trip to New Orleans soon, and I cannot WAIT to be reunited with my favorite women for the weekend. And to also celebrate a wedding!
I love that you were in Michigan!! Blake’s and Vinsetta Garage are the best, you went to some great places! Glad you had a wonderful trip!! 🙂