How to Spend a Winter Morning in Detroit

Matt booked a spontaneous overnight trip to Detroit last weekend to watch a Red Wings game and as always, we had a blast on another one of our mini trips, but this may be one of my favorites so far. Even though we slept in Sunday morning, we packed in a lot of activities before heading back home.

Morning Coffee Stroll

There are so many great coffee shops in Detroit and whenever I return to the city, I try to hit up a new spot or new location of a shop I’ve visited before. We stayed at a Marriott hotel downtown and wandered through Campus Martius Park and Cadillac Square before making our way to Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters. I’ve visited their Rochester location a handful of times and I’ve been itching to check out their downtown Detroit location.

We started our walk just outside Cadillac Square, which is filled with glass pop up shops with local retailers for their holiday market. That scene with a giant Christmas tree and ice skating rink in the backdrop at Campus Martius instantly got me into the Christmas spirit.

After wandering through Campus Martius, we made our way to Dessert Oasis, just a couple blocks away. We grabbed a window seat and watched the scene across the street at Capitol Park which also had a mini holiday market set up with glass pop up shops and a Christmas tree vendor. Plus, the park had a spot for dogs and so I spent most of the time watching the dogs pottying on the grass while Matt googled the buildings by the park to read about their history.

We headed next door into City Bark, an adorable pet shop, where I found James the cutest new camo collar. I’ve been looking for a nicer collar in a fun print for James that fit him better than his current one–and I snagged the last one in his size. I wanted so much at the shop like dog jacket and leashes, but I found some self-control!

Brunch

We grabbed the car to drive over to Corktown for brunch at Brooklyn Street Local where there’s something for the foodie and something for me who enjoys a traditional breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast. Matt ordered the pork belly hash and I couldn’t help myself and ordered a vanilla scone too. So good!

More Shopping

Next, we drove over to Midtown to shop Carhartt. I was here a couple years ago when they first opened and I wondered how well it would do. And it was so busy! I got a new black beanie and Matt bought a cool hoodie. We didn’t do more shopping in this area like I normally would, but I love to stop at City Bird and Mills Pharmacy Apothecary.

Belle Isle

We ended our day in Detroit at Belle Isle since I had never been there before. Belle Isle is a 2.5 mile long island and had some great views of Detroit. We didn’t get out of the car since I was cold, but it was a nice quiet drive around the island observing the buildings, bridges and views across the lake.

Planning the Next Visit

I had so much fun at the Red Wings game and spending time downtown Detroit, I went ahead and booked another hotel downtown in December and hoping to snag a couple Red Wings tickets again! If you have recommendations on places to check out, let me know!

What I Wore

The weather was unseasonably wonderful–I could easily get away with only an oversized cardigan, just before the snow storm rolled in. I wore distressed jeans, a lived-in graphic tee I just got from CHRLDR and my favorite chunky cardigan that I got from Zara last year.

Wild tee c/o CHRLDR | jeans c/o Sparrow Boutique | boots by Steve Madden (similar) | cardigan from Zara | bag by Chloe | hat by Lack of Color

Photography by Matt Thompson