top 10 things we'll miss most about madison

we thought it would be appropriate as we wind down our last month here in madison to reflect over our last couple years. madison has been a great place to live, to work, to go to school, and even to start our family. there are more things about madison that we'll miss than a top 10 list could ever cover, but here goes:

10.) Miller's Grocery Store in Verona - Miller's is a great, family-owned store that still manages to have a small town feel in the midst of verona. all the employees are friendly, and very respectful! while we do look forward to byerly's, we will definitely miss the local touch of this quaint store.

9.) Bad Dog Frida - when we first got brinkley, the wonderful ladies at BDF were fantastic resources in helping us find a vet, obedience classes, and even pick the best dog food for him. our dog network as a whole is going to be sorely missed when we move back to the cities!

8.) State Street - 'nuff said...

7.) Farmer's Market - while the cities have plenty of markets to offer, the capitol location of the dane county farmer's market is impossible to beat. combine that with the annual cows on the concourse and weekly recipes for the varying produce, it makes it pretty tough to beat!!!

6.) The Union Terrace - this is one of our favorite places to sit, hang-out, grab a beer, play cribbage, and any other great summertime activity you can think of...

5.) Verona Dog Parks - okay, this one was pretty much mandated to be put on the list by brinks, but we'll also miss having hundreds of acres where we can take him off-leash to burn off energy.

4.) Concert on the Square - one of the things we love most about madison is how the capitol and downtown area really serve as an inviting gathering place for so many activities! every summer, the madison symphony orchestra puts on a series of weekly concerts on the lawn of the capitol building, free of charge. we go almost every week, bring a picnic dinner, a bottle of wine, and enjoy the summer evenings. william will only get to experience one before we move back - so sad!!!

3.) Happy Bambino - this store has been not only a tremendous resource for us in our journey to starting a family, but has also become a place of friendship. co-owners lea and alison have been so helpful and friendly over the past year we have gotten to know them. we will also miss all of our newfound new parent friends that we have made through classes and groups at HB!

2.) Dining Out - okay, so this could easily be a top 10 list of its own, so we figured it would be easier just to group them together and list off some of our absolute favorite places to dine in madison, including: Oak Crest Tavern (awesome friday night fish fry), Sow's Ear Coffee Shop (in verona, and you can get your stitch on there too), Barriques (best chocolate chip cookies in town), Bagels Forever, Ians Pizza (where else can you get macaroni and cheese pizza???), La Rocca (best pizza in town, great pasta too), Lazy Janes (best breakfast in town), Lombardinos (fantastic Italian eats), and the Great Dane (madison icon, great microbrews).

1.) Our Friends - we never thought we would be as sad to leave madison as we are. hands-down, it's our friends here we are most upset about leaving. you will all be missed terribly, and we look forward to keeping in touch often and making several trips back. we do love this town, and you have all helped us to enjoy it so much more!