Michigan-derings Part II, Traverse City

My second stop in a recent trip to Michigan was to Traverse City (if we were conversing in person, I would be showing you where this city is located on my hand). Known for its scenery and its cherries, Traverse City is a very popular destination for Michiganders seeking to spend time “Up North.” I think it’s funny that seemingly every state has a designation for weekend and/or second home destinations. In Oregon, you head to “The Coast”; in New Jersey it is “The Shore”; and Massachusetts has “The Cape.” But I digress…

While in Traverse City, I was able to convince my mother to hit up some antique stores with me. We went to the Wilson Antiques store in downtown Traverse City where I made a couple of big scores. The first was a midcentury modern starburst wall clock. These are becoming increasingly hard to find and more expensive as people continue to renovate and restore midcentury homes. I will be putting this clock in my Etsy store, although it is still sitting in Michigan at the moment since it’s kind of hard to pack a big spiky thing like this in your luggage.

I’ve also recently become interested in Chinoiserie décor. A main staple to good Chinoiserie vignette is a fretwork piece of furniture. I found a beautiful writing desk hutch that appears to be redwood, hand engraved, and has intricate fretwork detail. I’m not sure this piece is going to make it to the store anytime soon as I may end up keeping it for myself; which is a big occupational hazard of owning an Etsy store.

In addition to antique stores, there are also a lot of cool places where you can find non-preowned items in Traverse City.  One of my favorites was a spice store, Spice Merchants on Front Street which was a smorgasbord of bulk spices and teas. I am particularly excited to try a Korean BBQ spice that I bought there. I will let you know how it turns out…

Michigan-derings- Ann Arbor

I may live in the Pacific Northwest, but I am still a Michigander at heart. After 8 years in Oregon, I still don’t drink coffee and I despise microbrews, which basically means that I have no business living in the Northwest. During a recent trip home to the Mitten State, I found myself getting a more than a little nostalgic over signs and t-shirts that declared Michigan to be “America’s High Five” and saying that Michiganders “Always have a map on hand.” The trip started with a couple of days in Ann Arbor, my hometown. Not only was it move-in week for the students, but the first football game of the season as well (which I happily but so not soberly attended with my two brothers). Thus, Ann Arbor was in its purest form.

If you’ve not yet experienced a football game in the “Big House”…you should seriously consider adding it to your bucket list. There is nothing quite like the moment you realize that you are belting out the lyrics to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” Be prepared to stand for the whole game if you are in the student section. If (like me) you are getting to be too old for the students, you can actually sit during the game…but you will only have about 3 inches of real estate for your tush. It is all worth it however, to those of us who knew of legends like Schembechler, Ufer, Harmon, and Howard before we were even out of the womb. For those of us lucky enough to be from or have spent time in Ann Arbor (i.e. “The Deuce”) football Saturdays will always be a sacred pastime.

Go Blue. May the winged helmets prevail over the Domers tonight under the lights.

And if you are looking for some awesome t shirts…

http://shop.undergroundshirts.com/collections/moe-sport-shops

http://www.michiganawesome.org/

Look for more Michiganderings from Traverse City soon…