close-out.

the plan is to carve out more time for posts. for now, a glimpse into my winter travels: NC, VA, DC, WV, MD, PA, NY, OH, IN, and MI. lots of my favorite things.

1. my favorite dress on christmas--after a long-winded discussion on food stamps and food service wages with casey's uncle, fake lottery tickets, half a bottle of wine, eggplant parmesan, and candy canes.

2. a visit to bell's brewery in kalamazoo, michigan. we'd been to right proper brewery in DC and community brew works in buffalo and great lakes brewing in cleveland by this point. it was my first time in michigan--only 10 states left to visit!

 in order, that's a cherry stout, a black ale, trumpeter stout, a rye stout, a porter, a harvest ale, and a random guy in a beret.

3. my favorite lady and my favorite lady dog hanging out in south heaven (sic), michigan. what happens in south haven stays in south haven.

 4. but in holland, there's our brewing (slogan: men and women drink together) and new holland brewing (which also distills ryes and whiskys and other spirits). it's where we spent the afternoon of the last day of 2013. it was delicious. seriously. and so, so lovely.

 5. the long haul forward, complete with snow and concern from the lady dog (the gentledog in the backseat couldn't care less about the weather).

 6. the actual haul of beer home: 13 genessee cream ales (screamers), a corsendonk christmas ale (with santa covering), one howler (half-growler) of community beer works stout, one howler of our brewing dubbel, 2 bottles of great lakes (edmund fitzgerald porter and blackout stout), and 8 deschutes brewing black butte porters (my all-time, long-time favorite, brought to michigan from chicago by shira).

all the superlatives.