Happy Hour: Vellum

Happy Friday!

My work day is almost done and I'm ready for happy hour! I'm always on the hunt for good specials downtown and Vellum fits the bill.

Nestled right on Main Street, they have happy hour every day from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Food and beer start at $2. I love stopping in here with friends and sitting at the bar for a few drinks. Order the fried beets (served with creamy goat cheese) and the Brunswick cocktail -- you will not be disappointed!

The rye whiskey cocktail is finished with some red wine, a combination I can't get enough of.

The rest of the menu looks great too. One of these days I'll make it past the bar and check it out. For now, I'm enjoying my fried beets and cocktail. Cheers!

The Lunch Room

There's nothing that can make you feel more like an Ann Arborite, than sitting in a vegan restaurant in the middle of Kerrytown. And after months of following The Lunch Room on Instagram and seeing all of their delicious animal product-free options, I finally got to stop in.

Their Instagram post about hot chocolate on a day when I was snowed in and losing my mind convinced me to get out of my apartment and head to Kerrytown. 

And what convinced me to come back? The adorable atmosphere, amazingly nice staff and this lunch combo.

This was gone in a matter of minutes...

I'm the type of person that can't order without asking a million questions and seeing if they can modify my dish just perfectly so. (If you've ever seen the movie, When Harry Met Sally, I'm Sally.) I know I'm being difficult, but I really appreciate when someone doesn't mind walking me through everything on their menu and explaining what's in the dish and how something is made. That's the kind of service you can expect at The Lunch Room.

I decided to order a lunch combo (which comes with two half sandwiches and a side) because it was so hard to pick one thing off of their menu. The mac and cheese and BBQ tofu slider were pretty good, but the tempeh reuben sandwich was my favorite! It had layers of sauerkraut, spicy "mayo" and grilled tempeh that was so briney and delicious, I wanted more! Plus the sauerkraut came from The Brinery, a local shop.

I had to get the hot chocolate (non-dairy, of course!) and it was the perfect finish on a freezing and snowy day. 

They also had the cutest table signs / decor.

I definitely need to come back for another reuben and to check out their brunch menu. Even for a non-vegan, the food here is definitely worth at least one stop in!

My Ode to Lululemon

When I moved back to Ann Arbor from Chicago I was a little worried I'd miss having all of my favorite stores close by. But the stores in the new Arbor Hills complex have helped (though they've hurt my bank account...)

My favorite store opening there? Lululemon, of course!

I have a slight obsession with anything Lululemon. The clothes are amazing, plus the stores are involved with local gyms / studios and they have fun events. My recent favorite was yoga at Crisler Center.

Last week Lulu unveiled a spring sneak peek and I basically want everything in the video:



And who wouldn't want to live in this sweater?

Just bought it in tan, but black seems like a justifiable purchase -- right?

I could write a novel about my love for all things Lulu (despite some recent PR mishaps), but I'll instead leave you with a little Detroit-themed love. Happy early Valentine's Day!

Monday Musings: I Just Wanna Sleep

Well I guess it's time for me to jump on the bandwagon!

I've toyed with the idea of starting a blog since moving back to Ann Arbor and now that we're in the middle of the worst winter ever, I have more time on my hands to experiment with this.

As my blog title suggests, a lot of my posts will be about Ann Arbor and things I'm rediscovering about this great town. I grew up in the Ann Arbor-area and graduated from the University of Michigan and after a quick two year stint in Chicago I'm back in the Mitten state for good (fingers crossed...) You can find more about me in the About Me section.

For now, I'll leave you with my Monday Musing. Here's to hoping I get enough sleep this week and make some nice things!

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