Impromptu Anniversary Weekend Getaway

Hubs and I got the opportunity to celebrate our anniversary weekend a little differently than we have the past couple of years since having Liam. Let me preface this by saying we have an AMAZING support system and very involved grandparents that practically froth at the mouth for the opportunity for an overnight stay and Grandma and Grandpas, but for the longest time 'one night' has been all this mama could emotionally take while he was still young. Now that he is almost two and a half years old, it as time to test the waters and see how he(I would, let's be real) would do for a weekend stay, and why not take a kid free weekend opportunity and jet off towards the lake? 

Grandma and Grandpa picked Liam up from baby school while Hubs and I packed our own bags after we got off work. We dropped off Liam's bag at the house and grabbed a few things that needed to be taken up to the lake, and then we were officially lake bound with a last minute addition to our party of two(we decided last minute to take our dog, Rey, so she wouldn't be home alone for the weekend). 

Honestly, the trip up was very relaxed because we figured we were in no rush to get there. We ended up stopping to get gas at a Flying J gas station and while I pumped gas, Hubs went inside to get our travel staples: BBQ Pringles, Air Heads, Sweet Tarts and a couple bottles of water. We're ALWAYS munching on Pringles whenever we go on road trips, what is your road trip/travel staple snack? 

By the time we entered Minnesota, we stopped at Albert Lea, so I could have a potty break. We had planned on getting McDonald's there, but the line was outrageously long to the point where I really didn't want to wait in line, and we really weren't hungry after gorging ourselves on Pringles and candy, so we decided to just hit the road again and this time it was my turn to drive. We ended up getting to the lake house around 9 o'clock at night after making a quick stop at a local store to get some 'mommy and daddy' drinks for the weekend. After we were all settled inside the house, we changed into some comfy clothes and made sure to turn on all the air conditioners to cool the house down. We ended up having a crazy late dinner of Kraft Macaroni and cheese(since there was nothing open by the time we got in) and sat in the living room watching Napoleon Dynamite on DVD. We ended up tucking in for the night at midnight, me personally barely to keep my eyes open since a little boy had woken me up at 5:30 AM that morning. 

Needless to say, mama was ready to get some much-needed rest and rest she did! 

I always joke that sleeping in for me now is about 8:30 AM. With a toddler, it's practically engrained in them to be early risers(at least in my experience). We managed to crawl out of bed around 9 AM, and I set to make my motor oil(my hubs endearingly calls it) to fuel me through the day.  

We really didn't have a lot planned that day, just take off in the general direction that we always did and see what Minnesota and Wisconsin had to offer. OF COURSE I insisted we had to go to Stockholm since we weren't able to really do so our lat trip up. So after showering, getting ready and making sure Rey was good to go we took out for our little date. 

Seriously, Minnesota and Wisconsin has this natural beauty that I have never seen before. They have these bluffs and meadows that almost feel like they should come out of storybooks instead of real life. I learned that they call these lands "The Driftless" because during the ice age, this area was left unscathed by the glacial drift, which is why you see those lush forests and bluffs in the Southwestern parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Who would have thought I would have gotten a geography lesson on vacation!

Hubs really came through, and we found a parking spot in Stockholm to wander around and check out the shops we hadn't been to(or seen) before. The little town with a population of 79(though the sign says 66!) was packed with tourist(us included). We wandered around in the boutiques, mostly window shopping to kill some time before we decided to grab some lunch in town, but first we wanted to check out this new shop(or at least new to us!) called Palette.  

Ugh! How do I even begin to describe how cute this place was!? It's literally a cheese monger's dream! The moment you walk in, it has a very chic atmosphere offering various varieties of wines, preserves and accouterments to take your charcuterie board up to the next level. They even have an open kitchen that literally should be in Better Homes and Gardens that they even host cooking classes for. They even offer outdoor seating that you can take your glass of wine(which they offer for purchase) and serve charcuterie boards. We ended up leaving Palette with two bottles of wine(Decoy: A Cabernet Sauvingnon and Bertrand Cote Des Roses....I'm a sucker for a pretty bottle). 

We dropped off our purchases in the SUV before going into the true reason why we love coming to Stockholm, WI. 

Drum Roll Please.....

That's right! Stockholm Pie and General Store! 

Seriously, this place is *chefs kiss* perfect. It has a very vintage atmosphere and even offers a variety of old-fashioned candies(salt water taffies, peppermint sticks, etc) on the general store side. Hubs and I decided to split a chicken pot pie and salad for our lunch, which we didn't get the chance to take a picture of before we completely demolished it. We also grabbed a couple of old-fashioned sodas and a pie for later(Hub's favorite, blackberry-raspberry). 

Tummies full, we decided to take off back towards the direction we came from to visit Ellsworth Creamery. The place itself was PACKED, so I didn't get the opportunity to take any photos, but we grabbed the much coveted Spotted Cow(if you're from the Midwest, you know), cheese curds and some cheeses/salami for something special I had planned for later that night. After Ellsworth, we headed home to go check on our dog, who had been such a good girl guarding the lake house while we were away. 

The weather was remarkable that weekend, we honestly couldn't have asked for a better weekend(especially since the weather was so hot and humid back home). I ended up grabbing one of my Barefoot Seltzers and took the book I was reading outside to read in one of the comfy lounge chairs we had out there; however, it was getting to the point where we needed to figure out what we were going to be having for dinner. 

We ended up heading over to the local grocery store, Fiesta Foods, to grab a steak and some asparagus for dinner. What better way to spend our anniversary weekend than with a steak dinner? Josh got the grill ready and I prepared our asparagus in the oven. The weather was so beautiful outside, we ended up eating on the patio and enjoying it. After dinner was cleared away, Hubs went out to start a fire for us to enjoy. We ended up popping open one of those bottles of wine to share and just talked by the fire about ideas for our house back home and ideas that would be neat for the lake house. All and all a lovely evening if I do say so myself. 

Remember that surprise that I eluded a little ways up? 

So it was kind of silly, and totally didn't play out how I wanted it to completely in my head, but we decided to have a sort of romantic picnic in the living room while we watched another movie. We laid down blankets and pillows and I brought out my simple cheese board for us to munch on while we watched our movie(Highlander....it did NOT age well).  

After our movie(that we honestly only made it halfway through) we cleaned up the living room and decided to head to bed if we wanted to head out at a decent time.  Which ultimately, we ended up sleeping in really late, oops! 

The next morning, after we finally were able to crawl out of bed, I made more motor oil, and we cut into that yummy pie from Stockholm for breakfast. 

Showered, packed up and ready to go, it was time to head home(of course not without swinging back to the house ONE LAST TIME because we forgot something that we needed back in Iowa). It took the first leg of the trip, stopping at the Trails rest stop(our half point that really isn't a half point) for a potty break for all three of us and some lunch. McDonald's was crazy busy(again) so we opted for a sandwich that honestly wasn't too shabby). 

All and all it was an amazing weekend where Hubs and I just got to enjoy each other's company, but needless to say I was ready to be back home and give my little boy lots of hugs and kisses(he was too judging by how his face lit up when we went to go pick him up).  It was a great way to spend seven years of marriage. 

-xoxo

Midwest Mommie