Bed and Breakfast By the Lake

Ciao tutti!

If you follow me on the gram, you may have seen that I went on a loooovely little weekend getaway to Michigan last weekend.  My boyfriend and I stayed at this adorable bed and breakfast in the Douglas/Saugatuck area called The Kirby and we had the most fun and relaxing weekend away from Chicago.  In today’s post I’m taking you through the activities, eats, and relaxation that this little slice of Michigan has to offer.

The Bed and Breakfast

First up is the most important part — in my opinion — which is where we stayed.  A hotel can make or break your vaca, and The Kirby delivered!  This became especially important when we had a bit of bad weather and didn’t have much else to do than cuddle up in our room and stay dry and cozy.

The Kirby is a super cute boutique hotel in Douglas, Michigan with a restaurant and wine bar inside.  It has a very homey feel with its all white exterior and wrap around porch.  The comfort continues in the delicious menu options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The owner herself, Mindy Trafman, has over 30 years of experience in the wine and food industry and the dining environment expressed that with flying colors.

I learned that The Kirby has had a long and diverse history including serving as a house and then a hospital at one time.  For the last three years, it has been run by the lovely Mindy, and is now complete with seven rooms and a large dining area with a strong old world meets new world vibe.  Mindy and her staff were beyond accommodating and set us up with a number of fun activities for the weekend.

Eats

On our first night, Saturday, Mindy sent us to a super cute wine bar in Saugatuck called Borrowed Time.  It was rainy but we sat out on the porch there and enjoyed a couple glasses of red wine and some small plates of appetizers.  The place was packed even for a rainy night and we could see people walking around the main strip of little shops from the porch.  We met the super nice owner Kim, who gave us some tips on where to hit next but we eventually decided on a little bar right by the hotel to play a quick game of pool and call it a night.

On Sunday morning, we came down the stairs of the Kirby to grab a coffee and maybe a quick pastry.  What I didn’t expect to see was the enormous, ooey gooey cinnamon bun that appeared on my plate shortly after sitting down.  As someone with a serious sweet tooth, I was pleased to accept the challenge.

We enjoyed our coffee and sweets there before taking Mindy’s next suggestion of stopping by Grow, an adorable diner in Saugatuck.  Here, I tried to balance out all that sugar I had eaten for breakfast with some greens, and ordered the carrot and lentil salad while my boyfriend got the fish tacos.  Then, the amazing owners there, Alec and Lindsay brought us out a plate of their buffalo cauliflower salad and carrot cake pancakes.  I secretly was eyeing those pancakes but couldn’t bring myself to get them after breakfast, but they managed to come to me! They were AMAZING along with all of the other dishes we got and we had a phenomenal experience overall there.

What we did

Sunday was our big day to explore so after Grow, we hit Butler Street next door which is the main shopping street in Saugatuck.  We went into a bunch of different boutiques and though I didn’t find anything for myself, there were some adorable little Michigan inspired housewares and decor.

By this point after driving a bit through Douglas and Saugatuck, we had seen some incredible homes on Lake Michigan.  We took a little time just to drive through some lake side streets and admire the neighborhood and the views.

Then, again per Mindy’s suggestion, we headed about 15 minutes away to a little town called Fennville to do some apple picking!  We found Crane’s Orchard and taste tested a bunch of apples before choosing which ones we wanted to go after.  With about 15 pounds of apples in tow, we headed back to Douglas, stopping at some cute vintage shops and farmer’s markets on the way.

We hit the little stretch of shops in the Douglas town center and then spent the rest of the afternoon warm and cozy at The Kirby.  This is where I had the best time during my weekend — soaking in a giant clawfoot tub!  I spent a nice little chunk of time in this beautiful tub which felt perfect after a chilly day of bopping around town.

We relaxed in our room for a while until dinner and then enjoyed a lovely meal at The Kirby on our last night.

---

As someone living in Chicago, this small town getaway was the perfect relaxing and cute way to spend a weekend.  I’d recommend it to anyone in the Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cleveland or Detroit areas looking for a little break from city life.   Has anyone ever been?

A presto,
Amanda ❤️