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Since I was only in WI for a limited amount of time my friend and I decided to jam pack Saturday full of Milwaukee exploration. We woke up moderately early so that we could get a quick visit to the gym in before heading out. I love being able to workout when traveling, even if it’s not an intense workout, so I always bring along my workout gear. It takes up space packing wise but it’s totally worth it! Traveling usually means lots of sitting and going out to eat so it’s good to get in a bit of exercise when time allows. After 30 minutes on the elliptical/treadmill we headed back to her place, showered quickly and were on our way to the brew city. After a driving tour and some boutique browsing in Tosa we decided to head to the Third Ward for lunch.

There were plenty of cute eateries to choose from but we settled on Swig, a little place Britt had been before and enjoyed.

The atmosphere was nice….

and more importantly cozy….

I loved the fresh flower on the table.

Britt and I both ordered the organic baby greens salad with mandarin oranges, feta, walnuts and roasted red pepper dressing. I added the garbanzo beans for some protein.

It was really tasty and perfectly sized for lunch.

After filling our bellies we decided to do some shopping, although technically we didn’t buy anything so I guess you would consider it browsing. I love the styles at Anthropologie but I simply can’t justify spending $60-$80 for simple tops, most of which were sleeveless. It’s just annoying.

So after poking around at a few shops we decided to grab a hot beverage at Alterra, a local coffee shop that I really liked.

I ordered a small soy cappuccino.

Per a readers recommendation I requested that we stop at the Milwaukee Public Market to check out the goods.

Britt bought quite a bit, but I wasn’t super hungry and I knew I couldn’t bring a ton of food home so I just bought a mini sausage for Isaac. To be honest there was a juice bar and I wanted so badly to order the Carrot Cake juice, but decided to forgo the expense. I think I’ll try to replicate it this week sometime. Check back for the recipe.

We also stopped by Whole Foods to get some local beer and breakfast items. It’s crazy- I have been to 4 different Whole Foods this month- each one in a different city (Richmond, San Fran, Chicago, and Milwaukee). I think it’s so fun to see the different set-ups and food options. I really like checking out the locally produced items they sell! In Milwaukee I got some chocolate banana granola that was locally made and is out of this world good!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE Whole Foods??

We picked up a locally brewed beer that Britt really wanted me to try. New Glarus Brewing Co – Organic Revolution.

I am so happy Britt introduced me to this beer- it’s a hoppy golden ale made with organic pilsner and caramel malt, organic German hallertau hops, and nothing else. It’s also one of the few beers that is 100% naturally carbonated in the bottle. Britt and I spilt one before dinner and I loved it! Too bad I’ve never seen it in the VA specialty beer stores because I’m sure Isaac would love it as well.

For dinner we went to Mi Cocina. The table side guacamole was by far the best part of the restaurant.

I had my fair share of the warm tortilla chips with guac and spicy salsa while perusing the menu. It was surprising to me that the menu only had two vegetarian items- a spinach stuffed chile reano and a mushroom quesadilla. Typically Mexican restaurants tend to have a whole vegetarian section, but it worked out because I do eat seafood and there were quite a few fish and shrimp dishes on the Mi Cocina menu.

I ordered a shrimp salad with mushrooms, jicama, and nopalitos, which the server explained was prickly pear cactus. Now I’ve never had cactus before so I asked him what it tasted like and he said kiwi. After tasting the dish I would say that the cactus tasted more like green beans or green peppers and nothing like kiwi at all (it wasn’t sweet) but that’s just me.

The salad ended up being pretty oily, but the shrimp was good and I ate a quite a bit of it.

The fun didn’t stop here as we ended up having birthday cake to celebrate Britt’s soon to be brother in law’s birthday. It was a cookies and cream ice cream cake from Baskin Robins and it was delicious.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Feeling stuffed we headed back to Britt’s place and watched a chic-flick before hitting the sack. Twas a fun little evening in Wisconsin.

This morning I woke up to Yogi Granola Crisps and Stonyfield Vanilla Oikos. Britt and I tried a sample of the strawberry Yogi granola crisps at Whole Foods yesterday and were enticed to buy a bag. We thought we’d try the baked cinnamon raisin. It’s good, but we both agreed that we liked the strawberry better. The strawberry flavor reminded me of a strawberry flavored Smart Start cereal. As a cereal snacker I really liked these crisps- they’re a nice little snack. They also have a blueberry flavor so I’d be interested to try that one out as well.

After having a bite for breakfast, a cup of coffee, and chatting with Britt, my time in WI was coming to an end so I had to pack up my things and get ready for my flight back home. I’m currently in the air as I type and this will post upon my arrival. It’s sad my trip is over, but I am eager to see Mr. Isaac and Ms. Olive. Also, the coming work week is going to be a short one for me so I’m excited about that as well.

I hope you enjoyed my brief recaps of Chicago and Milwaukee and I also hope you are having a lovely lovely weekend. I know I did.

- Brittany