Real Milwaukee | November 11, 2026

As the holidays approach, people who typically host their family get togethers are admitting what actually dampens the fun. So a new Talker Research survey found six in 10 people view hosting for the holidays very stressful. Nearly half say they spend more time cleaning than enjoying time with family and friends. Preparing food stresses out 37% of people. 62% would host more holiday gatherings if the pre and post event cleaning was lighter. Yeah, I feel like This is the case for any time I'm hosting anything. That's why I don't host. I'll happily go to somebody else's, bring some stuff with me. I cannot have people over. It's too stressful. Well, I know. Like, I talked a real big game, like, in August about this Christmas party. I did. I can own that. And because it seemed like a good idea in August. I just had my apartment painted. I'm feeling great. It's clean. And now I'm like, man, that's a lot of work. Well, start easy. That's what I feel like. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just start easy. Make it even like a potluck. Do, like, the basics. Okay, fair. You know, drinks, tapas, things like that. Okay, you're going to kill me. I'm not a big potluck guy because, you know, I don't know how everybody... It could be wrapped. Okay. It could be wrapped. It could be a big store-bought. Okay, see, that's fair. Wait a minute. I think when we've had communal stuff here, you dabble. In certain ways. It depends who's cooking it. It depends who's cooking what. If it comes from Erica's house, I'm able to enjoy it. I think you've got to give... I feel like you... Can't ever complain about a host because it's like it's, they're doing it and not you. You know what I mean? They are. So it's, it's, it's, uh. A job, to say the least. Tis the season. Yes, it is. Should we start the bubbler? How does that sound? Okay, so it's Veterans Day. Of course, this is a day where we honor the men and women who have so bravely served our country. And just in time for Veterans Day today, a really big announcement from our friends over at the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Program. This is so exciting. Organizers have announced expanded eligibility for their flights. So, their flights. Moving forward as of Monday will now include veterans who have served in the Cold War as well as those who served in the Desert Shield and Desert Storm eras. Organizers say that they will still prioritize older veterans who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. These newly eligible veterans will be scheduled for after those groups. When I was first told I was eligible to fly on my honor flight, I was conflicted. I asked myself, was my service good enough? Was it worth the gratitude of my community and my country? These are hard questions to answer, so I reached out to my military brothers and sisters and realized that this conflict that I feel was the same feeling so many veterans that flown before me may have experienced with their own flight day. On one side of the conflict coin, there is the knowledge that I simply signed up and I did a thing. It's hard to accept that honor and thanks because I did that thing together with a family that was curated for me through camaraderie, dedication, and teamwork. It is incredibly hard to accept thanks and celebrate my service knowing that other warriors returned home scarred or not at all. But on the other side of that conflict coin is joy, humility, and the realization that I did this thing with my warrior brothers and sisters. It is noble and it deserves to be celebrated. That we deserve to be celebrated and to celebrate with our community So this past weekend, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight completed its 90th mission, flying 110 veterans to D.C. and then back home. It's kind of like a whirlwind day trip. So that brings the total number of veterans that have flown from Wisconsin to nearly 12,000. This is so wonderful. So, yeah, you know, I love the Honor Flight. I think that they really do God's work. Just to see the veterans, how they even change throughout one day, from when they take off to when they land. They're just, it's like they're different. There's something that, I don't know if it's closure, if it's healing, if it's community. All of the above. Especially for the Vietnam veterans, because I feel like they did not get the recognition that they deserved when they came back. So to have a day that's like all for them is extra meaningful. So anyways, yeah. Really exciting. So if you know a veteran who served in the Cold War or in the Desert Storm, Desert Shield eras, definitely apply online. Yeah, sign them up. Yeah. All right, well, speaking of veterans, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held today in Veterans Park. So this is happening in just about an hour from now. It's celebrating the restored Southeastern Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial. So for 35 years, the memorial provided a meaningful place for veterans, their families, and even visitors to honor those who have served. However, after decades of harsh Wisconsin winters, the memorial required significant restoration. Today's ceremony and tribute will take place at 11 a.m. AM. I love the refurbishment of that, you know. But it has, it's good traffic, you know, that has been out there too as well. So it's nice that that'll get cleaned back up and have that tribute. Thank you. Oh, sure. Noticing for the last several weeks or months that they've been working on that. So it's like all these things take maintenance, but that costs money. So I'm glad that the War Memorial Center was able to get that done, make it happen. Excited to see the unveiling of it, if you will. Well, a lifelong veteran and a 28-year-old volunteer at the VA hospital in Madison is turning, you guys, 103 years old. What a blessing this is. So back in 2024, Mrs. Mae Bryant was the only female veteran to take on the Badger Honor Flight. And yesterday, the VA hospital gave her a birthday party. Oh, I love that. So she was sent to Germany to be a physical therapist for soldiers in World War II. She's volunteered more than 6,000 hours there, which is the equivalent of 250. 50 days. That's okay, keep it going. My cell phone just did that. I'm so sorry. Just a push alert. Just a, yes. We should point out that she doesn't want you to ask her what her secret is for a lifelong journey on this earth. I wish nobody would ask me that because I don't know. Oh. I always claim that it's because I have oatmeal for breakfast. Oh. Okay, it's always so good for your heart too, it's hearty. Yes, well happy birthday Mrs. May, wow, I'm sure her family is loving having her around to tell the stories of what she's been through, what it was like. 103 years old, all of the wisdom, all that she's been through, I love to talk to people at that age, you know, and just to see how life has changed, what they're envisioning for the future and just kind of what they've done in their role to help get us to where we're at now, you know. The things that they consider and she still volunteers every week is clearly so active. And I get the why she's that would get like kind of annoying to always be asked, like, what's your secret? What's your secret? At some point, it's like, you don't know. You're just every day is a gift. Yeah. Just keep her. Just keep on living. Right. Totally. So in honor of Veterans Day today, we are very proud to make camo our cause. Fox 6 proudly salutes those that serve the nation every day to show our support. We're making camo our cause in support of the Honor U.S. Vets campaign. to donate and learn more. And how you can help U.S. vets not only prevent but also end veteran homelessness. Just scan that QR code on your screen or visit go.fox slash U.S. vets. All right. All right. You know who else we're celebrating today? Pat Murphy. Our guy. All right. So Pat Murphy made history last night. The Brewer-Skipper won his third straight manager of the year award. Winning the honor three years in a row is something no other major league manager has ever done. Well, Murphy is recovering from hip surgery. And get this, he accepted the award from a hospital bed. Here's what he had to say about being the manager of the year again. Because you have so much success in the field, because the players do so well, it makes you look like you know what you're doing. But you've got to guard against that. You've got to really honestly be able to look in the mirror and say, how do I get better at this? And that constant self-evaluation, some people think it's like, well, God, give yourself some credit. No, this isn't about credit. All right well Murph's resume obviously speaks for itself. He managed the Brewers for three years and his teams have gotten better every single year. Well this 2016 set a new franchise record for regular season wins with 103 and of course all that culminated with the Brewers first ever World Series title. Oh that's awesome. Coming up for him another thing to celebrate his birthday November 28th. Oh let's go. Yeah so good for him. A little fun connection here. Just honestly, during the World Series coverage, I was just looking up his past. He started out as a football coach, I believe, but at Maryville College, which is in a suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee, where I'm from. So, I was like, oh, my God, I got a connection to Pat Murphy in that way. He spent 25 years there, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Back in 1983. I'm going to say three. No, that's pretty cool. Born in New York. He lives, actually, in Arizona. Look at all those connections. New York one there. I love it. You know. That's pretty cool. He seems like a nice dude. And I love how he's always, like, bringing his kids to all the press conferences. They were on the back of that car with him in the parade. They were in the parade. Which I also loved his float in the parade because, you know, being, like, he was, for a lot of people, the main event. Yeah. He wasn't on some big fancy, it was like the flatbed and a lawn chair. I love his personality, though. I think, I forgot who it was, was asking him, like, oh, what are you wearing to the parade? He's like, does it look like I care about what I'm wearing? You know, right, he just wants to be there and be excited about it, so. I love that. We're proud of him. We sure are. Well, speaking of MLB, awards season keeps rolling for the World Series champions. Tonight, the winners of the Cy Young and the Reliever of the Year awards will be be announced. Two Brewers are among the finalists. We're talking The Miz and Trevor McGill. They're both up for this award, respectively, for different categories. Of course, The Miz being for his pitching, as well as Trevor McGill. The winners will be announced at 6 o'clock tonight. I think it's crossing. So much to celebrate. So many accolades. I know. Such a fun time to be a Brewers fan. It didn't end with the World Series. Yeah. All right, well, coming up, engagement season is here. Some know it as cuffing season, but engagement as well. We're going to be checking out one of the area's hottest venues coming up next. That's how you get to the engagement. Cuffing season, oh, yeah. You got to get cuffed before you get, I don't know, whatever verb you can throw in there. Hitch. Hitch. There we go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Cuffed beforehand. All right. Welcome back everybody. So the holidays are prime time for engagements and couples may want to get a jump on their wedding planning. Come on now. Brian Cram joins us from the St. Kate, the Arts Hotel, getting a look at the venues. Brian, not for you, but for some people who want to be in your shoes. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. You know what, that's funny you say that, Donovan, because I said the exact same thing to Holly. Now, when we're talking about this, I'm just like, Holly, it's not for me. I already did this. But what I say, we can plan for other occasions, and you guys do that really well, don't you? We do, we do. We're here for anything you need. I love it. Anything you need. So if it's a retirement party, which is still a ways away, corporate events as well, larger life celebrations, I guess you can do that. We're outside the studio right now. It's holiday parties. Thank you, Nicola. I love the studio and cocktail lounge. place to go to eat, to drink, to be seen as well. And as we walk over here, one of the things you guys might not even realize that Holly just kind of like showed me and reminded me of today is that there's a bookcase. But Holly looks behind a bookcase. Oh, I love that room. Look at this. Yes. You've been in this room before? Who's been in this room? Was that Nicola? Did you say you've been in this room? You know this room exists? I see an open door sometimes and I go right through it, Cramp. Yeah. It was different though than it is now. So this is... Yeah, it's a totally cool room. What do you guys use this for? We use this for really anything. We could do small ceremonies in here, rehearsal dinners, corporate holiday parties, really a versatile space for anything you need. I love this. I mean, this is an area that has so many options when it comes to booking a party or some part of the party. Let's get down to it. You've been with Marcus for like eight years or so. It's got to be fun. Like helping couples book their parties. For you, I guess, where do you start when you do this? Is it the dining, is it the rooms you're staying in, is it the ballroom, where do you start? Right, well I mean here at St. Kate we make it pretty easy for you. We are pretty much a one-stop shop for everything you need for your wedding weekend. So we try to encourage guests, you're not just booking a venue, you're booking the experience. So here it starts with the guest rooms. Now you're checking into the guest floors. You're having your rehearsal dinner here the night before Yeah. Moving right into the ceremony, moving into the dinner, even the post-wedding brunch the day after. Oh my gosh. I mean, we really keep it all. Is that where the post-wedding brunch is, too? Is it in the studio? Or no? We have so many different spaces. Yeah. We actually have the flexibility. You can have each of those events in a different space than at the hotel. Yeah. Well. So it's really exciting. And the good thing is there's the same culinary team that's behind all the great food that you're already eating. Correct. And the drinks and all the mixologists, too. So this is one space. I don't even know how I would use it. What do you recommend for a couple that's having their wedding here? Here, how would they use this? Yeah, I mean, the darkroom in specifics, it's really great for rehearsal dinners. Oh, yeah. It's a really nice, intimate, moody space that kind of sets the feel for the wedding weekend ahead. Yeah. You can always do a post-wedding brunch in this space. If, you know, guests are checking into the hotel, they can walk right upstairs to be kind of greeted as a farewell brunch. Even a smaller wedding ceremony itself can be held in here. When you said post-wedding brunch, I thought you were going to say poker game. Poker game. That too. I mean, hey. But you never know. It could be a poker game for the grooms, right? Absolutely. Or maybe. Some other things for the ladies in here as well. So when we're booking, though, how far out in advance do we need to book? Because I know a lot of people are concerned about that, especially now. Yeah, I mean, it never hurts to get a head start and really try to book far out. We do have openings that pop in even in the year sometimes. So really there's no limitations on when we can start bookings. And we can do this on a Thursday, Friday, too, because some weddings are actually happening that day. Yeah, it's more common now. Because they're open and different schedules and everything. We're actually seeing a pretty big trend in Friday. What's going on right now? Is there? Okay, so you heard that, guys. Friday wedding is big in 2027, so if you're booking, let's do this. I love this space, but also I kind of get the vibe of what's happening here. Let's go out and remind people about the studio and the fact that there is something else over here. Wait, Graham, I have a question. It's a great place to dine. Oh, hold on a second. Yeah, yeah. Nicola, what do you got? What do you got? This is going to sound like it's for me. It's not by any means. I just like when couples are coming in, like they probably should be engaged first, right? To be like, I just feel like, well, or not necessarily. I know. Okay. That's. I'm just thinking, if you want to be taken seriously. Have you ever encountered a couple coming in to plan that has not been engaged first? Because I've heard that that's a thing now. Personally, I have not. I know some people book their wedding venue before they even know they're getting engaged. Props to them. But I have not personally. Well, you know what we can do, too? We could close the door. We could create a space for the couple, right? And somebody's going to surprise with the ring here. There you go. Maybe deck it out for something special. Yeah. Oh, can we have more questions? I love it. What do you got? No, because I love that it's, like, one place that you could have the guests stay. You could do the rehearsal dinner the next day for brunch. What about, like, the team? Do they have a team that also helps with maybe, like, florals and things like that? Because, obviously, you know, the chef there could do all the meals. But, you know, what's the team like? Yeah, so Holly, we were talking about the all-inclusive idea of the wedding, and you guys have that team here, you know, from culinary to the planning side, so it's not just you doing all the planning. Can we do floral? Can we get, you know, everything ready to go just with the help of you guys? So we do work with a lot of outside vendors for things like florals. But we design our wedding packages to be pretty all-inclusive to what you need. So we like to include things like personalized his-and-hers cocktails, butler-passed hors d'oeuvres for the cocktail hour, you know, course of dinner menus. Photographer? We do not supply the photographer. Artist? Because he had a lot of art. You never know. Can there be a live artist? Honestly, we've seen it all. We've seen magicians. You know, I'm sorry to cut you off, she said something guys, that my wife and I, we had a drink as well. And I don't know, Derricka, if you had a drink with your husband, but we had the bristie. So we put Brian and Christy together, so we had the bristie. Don't remember what was in the bristie. But it was a tasty beverage. When we come back, guys, we're going to see some more of the space here. As you can tell, this is the dark room, so we've got to close the door in the dark room. Holly, come on. I'll close the door. It's back to a bookshelf, but we're going down the hall to the ballroom to see more of what they offer here at St. Kate the Arts Hotel for your wedding and or celebrations. Thanks, Holly. Who loves a space? Such a beautiful venue. They could do so much there. I love that it's all-inclusive, too, that you can curate your own wedding experience, you know? As a guest, I like going to weddings. weddings where I can stay at the venue because it's like you don't have to worry about your transportation. If you need to like go freshen up you can go upstairs. It makes it easier. Agreed. All right well from wedding season to holidays Thanksgiving is right around the corner. We have fun and inexpensive ways to get the whole family in the celebration coming up next. All right, welcome back to Real Milwaukee everyone. We know so many families want to make those memories right around the holidays and sometimes finding the perfect activity is kind of like the hardest part. That's right. Sarah Rushford is here from Ebenezer Child Care Centers with some simple ways to celebrate Thanksgiving with your kids. This looks like so much fun and we're like learning a little bit too. Absolutely. So don't we want to have the kids disconnect? Like at Thanksgiving you have the party and all the kids are on the couch on phones and stuff, right? So this is a great way not only for kids but us as adults to participate. Okay guys, so if you're having a small gathering or big gathering, this is a great way to kind of engage and have fun with the holidays. So the first thing we're going to talk about is this really awesome book called Turkey Trouble. Turkey Trouble. Okay, this is really fantastic. It goes with the craft that I'm going to have you guys working on. I have two samples for viewers at home to see as well. Basically, this book is fantastic. The little turkey in the barnyard realizes its time is up. It's Thanksgiving. So the whole story is the turkey goes from barn to barn, disguising itself as a horse, as a cow, as a rooster, as a pig. But all the barnyard animals call it out. And it's like, no, you're not. And then it's like, okay, I'm going to do it. So then finally the wife, the farmer is like, where's the turkey, honey? And he goes, I can't find it. And she goes, well, the rooster is out there in the last. It dressed up as a rooster, and it goes, oh, no. So the turkey has a great idea. It's going to dress up as a pizza delivery guy and orders a pizza and delivers it, and they have that instead of turkey for Thanksgiving. So he got out of trouble. Oh, that's cute. So the idea is this craft that you see here is disguise a turkey. Viewers, you can get these on home. There's free templates at home that you can print off and have a really cool little, you can read the book at Thanksgiving and then maybe have a station for the kids to create disguise a turkey. And they can get creative. If you have like remnant crafts and things, you can do that. We have templates for you guys that you can, you know, put on there. And then the idea is the kids to talk about what they disguised their turkey. Yeah, this is great. I also feel like this is when you have like your cousins over. Oh, absolutely. It's a good craft that they can all do together. Oh, this is awesome. Yeah. And it's a hilarious book. Really great, colorful graphics, illustrations in the book. So it's a good laugh. Yeah. And then it'll... It'll be fun to see what the kids actually come up with and disguise their turkeys. And then they can go and showcase everybody maybe at dinner, after dinner, show everybody what they came up with. As we're doing this, if you don't mind, I just want to show what we're coloring on. Because in all of my mommy years, I've never done this. And I think it's wonderful. We're coloring on a paper plate. On the paper plane? No, because I think it's genius. Because this way, if I colored out of the lines or something, I didn't get it on the table. I didn't get it on the tablecloth. Right, truth to be told, Sarah. Erica, you guys are going to be using a glue stick to affix your thing on there, and I thought, well, you know when you're using a glue stick, it gets all over, so I thought, hey, the paper plate would be a great idea, right? Love it. And then you could throw it out, and there's no mess. Perfect. And then I could get a little bit out of the line, and I don't feel so bad. Exactly. Exactly. And nobody will know. Yes. Now, along with Disguise of Turkey is, you guys may have noticed these fun little balloon creations. There is another book that you can introduce to your Halloween, or Halloween, oh my gosh, I was just here for Halloween, your Thanksgiving party. is how, it's called Balloons Over Broadway. This is a true story about how, you know, the big Macy's Thanksgiving balloons came about. It's all about this gentleman. It's really easy read, really fun illustrations to teach the kids all about this gentleman, Tony, who was an immigrant who came here. He was a marionette builder and had shows, and Macy's hired him to create a display in their store, and it led to him creating As an adult, I feel like I want to read this, too, because every year, my brother calls me, come on, come on, you know? And look at this, like, in the middle of the book, they have, like, see these beautiful, fun illustrations to teach that. Oh, sweet. Now, to extend that, you guys. You're going to make your own Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons. That seems complicated, Sarah. It's not. You get some balloons. We have, look it, we got construction paper. We have little googly eyes. We have some leftover sticky, like, eyes and stuff like that. And packing tape. We use glue dots. You can just find whatever. Have the kids come up with whatever creations they want. I love that. And even the adults, right, get involved in it. And you can either have them as a display on your tables. Now, I would say that maybe floral foam. Yeah. It could be another way to fix and keep them in place. But the idea is later on, maybe after dinner, have your own balloon parade and have everybody go around and show the guests who didn't participate their balloons as their creations. I like this. And the kids can take them home as a giveaway, a little souvenir of Thanksgiving. I love the glasses on there. I know, right? Well, speaking of creation, let's get to the food. Oh, my gosh, you guys, we have this book, The Very Stuffed Turkey. You guys may understand. Understand, you've been invited to five Thanksgivings. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you're trying to figure out, well, Turkey says, I'm going to all of them. He stuffs himself so full when they go do their own parade, he actually falls over and falls asleep and wakes up and says, I'm sorry, guys. It was just all the food was fantastic. We can all relate to that. The itis. Yes. So, you guys, we have here an idea for you to have the kids, the adults have cooked all day in the kitchen, have the kids make dessert. This is pumpkin pie in a cup. No bake. All it is, is you take graham crackers, put them in a bag, kids mush it up, right, and then we'll take vanilla pudding and pumpkin pie filling, and you mix it together, you can add some spice, you layer it in the cup, and now, Derricka, you guys are going to add your whipped cream when it's time to serve, and then we can sprinkle some cinnamon on it. There we go, yeah, this time it's a whole new turn. They didn't catch it. You're about to get one. You're about to get one. All of you did. No, no, no. This is the adult part. We'll just put that one aside. Oh, my God. No, but this is so fun. And I feel like they're contributing. Absolutely. And it's super easy, and every age can get involved in making this, to be honest. So it's a really great way to involve everybody and have a really good, memorable Thanksgiving. Oh, Sarah, this is cool. Well, let's see before we go. Yeah. Oh, what did you guys come up with? What did you do this, guys? What did you come up with? Oh, what do you have going on? Look at his red lips. Oh, look at that. I love that. This is fun. Thank you. Yes, you're very welcome. And great books, too. Where can we find this one? Oh, yeah. These are all on Amazon, you guys. Okay. And then I encourage viewers to go to ebenezerchildcare.com. We are enrolling and we are hiring. So check out everything that we have. You're going to see this in centers as well. Sure, thanks. You're very welcome. You're always a lot of fun. Back to the whipped cream party. Oh, yeah. All right. We'll be right back. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And you guys feel free to take those if you want. I don't know. Keith is like. I don't. Welcome back to Real Milwaukee. We're at St. Kate the Arts Hotel looking at some delicious hors d'oeuvres that you could have and enjoy. Your guests should enjoy them if you so choose to have your wedding or your big party here. Holly's joining us again. Holly, as the events manager I know that you've probably sampled some of the food. How good are those though? These are my favorite ones. They are delicious. Whip me up my favorite. Absolutely. He knows. He already knows. Yeah, he already knows. Whip me up my favorite so we can show everybody what some of the hors d'oeuvres I love that you have such a great We have a great team, a culinary team here in-house. You don't have to outsource for the food, you don't have to arrange for it. You know that it's going to be fresh, it's going to be warm, and we can come here and try it any day. Correct. Alright, let's go to the event space as we're walking around here. Talk about the experience that you guys offer here at St. Kate the Arts Hotel for... Like a wedding. Absolutely. So we try to make the planning process as seamless as possible. Our wedding packages are designed to include everything you need for your wedding, in terms of cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres, his and hers personalized cocktails, course dinner menus, even including things like a dance floor, staging for the DJ, I mean we really try to make it as seamless as possible. I'm so glad that you brought up a dance floor as well as staging for the DJ because in the space that we're going into, which is the Simone Ballroom, you can see there's a partition set up there, but last time I actually stepped foot in here, I saw a band perform in here and it was quite the occasion. So you guys can have live music in here and you can bring basically the party. Yeah, you can bring the party. When it comes to the lighting in here, what's the vibe that you guys can create? Do you do, like, up lighting? Do you offer any colored lighting? Because that's a big deal for a lot of wedding parties. It is, absolutely. I mean, we have adjustable dim lighting in here with our beautiful chandeliers. We do offer different up lighting and things like that, too, to really just set the scene. The best thing about St. Kate is, if you notice, there's art all over the walls. I mean, there's really not a whole lot you need to do to make the space come to life. Yeah, and I like the fact that, too, you have an artist-in-residence. We do. That downstairs in the main lobby, which is a beautiful lobby. I mean, one of my favorite lobbies in all of downtown when it comes to, I guess, The approachability, you feel like you're kind of special walking in, you have the valet parking, you have parking on site, all of those accommodations I think a lot of people think about when people are coming in from out of town as well, plus the overnight stay. It's not just one night, it can be two nights. And we talk about that too because it's a wedding party usually, but then, you know, guests, parents. So, it's really, really nice for us, especially if you have guests coming from out of town. We do offer discounted room blocks, so you can reserve a block of rooms just for your wedding party here at the hotel. What's the max capacity for rent for a little bit of, I mean, can you do... A sizable amount, but enough to make sure. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we pretty much ask the couples out front, hey, you know, is there how many guests are coming from out of town? How many guests do you think will stay over? And we customize each booking for the specific guest. I would imagine you have a line of questions, too, that you ask. What are some of the big ones, the big questions you ask them to make sure that they have and need, assume and get everything they need? Right. I mean, I think the biggest question that I ask my couples is, what is most important to you? Yeah. You know, what's your priority? Is it, you know, a great dining experience? Is it, you know, your guest comfortability? Is it a swanky cocktail hour? Everyone has different priorities. You just said three things that I would check. Yes, yes, yes, yes. You know, good booze at the bar, you know? No, the space, there's that partition there. It doesn't go, is it the same size room behind that wall? It's about the same size. It's probably another panel, so maybe another third of that space there. Yeah. But also then this room can be split in half too because I can see that this, so you can do large, small. Absolutely. Yeah, I mean as large as what number would you say for a wedding? Yeah, I would say roughly 300 guests or so we can fit in here. Just depending on what you need, you know, the size of your dance floor, the size of your stage, it's a little customizable on what your needs are. What would you say this size would be? 125 at ours, is that about that? Yeah, I would say about 150 or so for this size here. Now in this space too, would you set up tables? Would it be the dining that happens here and then the party also happens here? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah, so the best thing about this is no weddings really have to look the same, whether you have your cocktail hour in the art gallery downstairs or up in the foyer here, we provide all the staging, all the tables, whether that's round tables, square tables, we can really be customizable. Different shapes of tables. What do you think is most important about the experience? I would say just having fun, honestly. Well, if you're setting it up, I think you're going to make sure that the couples have fun. Of course. Am I missing anything? I haven't planned a wedding in like, you know, how many years? This is the problem that I get kicked in the shins. Brian, you don't know when you were married? In like 15 to 16 years, we haven't planned a wedding. I mean, there's so many new elements to weddings nowadays, too. We try to make it as easy as possible. I think it's just about, you know, finding a venue and team you trust to really help you see your vision and bring it to life. Well, it's cool that you're able to do that. And I know working with the company for eight years, you definitely have that capability, too, as events manager. Who should we, how should we contact? Absolutely. I mean, there's many ways to contact us. You can call the front desk directly. Quickly, you can email us at our website. Really, anyway, we'll get it to the right hands for you. Yeah, there you go. Well, these are yours. These are your favorite. Those are in your hands now. They're my lunch for today. They're your lunch for today. Fox Local, for more information, guys, I'll tell you what. If you're celebrating, maybe you can do it here, right? Or if you're planning for something bigger in life, like a wedding, get engaged first, though. Get engaged first before you plan. Thanks, Holly. When women are like, hey, can you walk me to my car? It's late at night. Can you stand here with me? I feel unsafe. Can you protect me? Right? We're not scared of the boogie woman. I'm a woman. Oh, I love her so much. I do, too. Sure. Janelle James' debut, hour-long stand-up special, is now on Netflix. All right, so, Gino, you had a chance to talk with her all about it. Derricka, I'm not objective when it comes to Janelle James. I'm a huge fan of hers. And, in fact, she even tweeted something out about it. And in the special, she talks about that a guy came up to her and said that they dated for five months and she didn't remember him. So I thought she might not remember me. Oh, hey. Okay, you don't remember me because you didn't remember the guy you dated for five months as I saw in your special. Oh, boy. Oh boy. I interviewed you before and you tweeted a picture of the two of us saying, this man must be my biggest fan and this man is your biggest fan. First of all, Gino, I do remember you. Don't tell me what I remember. I remember you. Thank you. Do it. I'm doing great, and in these troubled times, we can't say anything. I just have to say, you are so beautiful in this. You look amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much. You can say that. Yeah, I'll take it. Okay, good. So take me back. Take me to the first time you stepped on stage to when you did this special. I see you on stage confident at the top of your game, owning that room. Oh, thank you. You mean the very first time I did stand-up, period? Yes. Okay, yeah. First time, a bar, biker bar. Maybe 12 people in the room. I had a notebook. I had everything written down. I do have a video of it. I was looking at the ground the whole time. I never really looked at the audience. I was talking very low and monotone. And then now, like you said, this special, I think it was 2,500 people. I think I felt and looked pretty confident. Yeah. And was happy with every aspect of it, which is a new thing for some people. Stand-up that I've released I've always usually have something that I would have changed or done differently or looked differently in this one I'm really happy with it all around. So well, you almost lost one of the audience members I was watching that woman in the front row. She was gonna throw her back out or do Do you have her? That be so hard. Well, that's so funny. You say that because um I did two shows back-to-back, and we taped both, and the only cut that we have in the special is that a guy fell out of his chair, like, literally, and so we had to cut that and use a second show for that joke because I had to stop, we had to make sure he was okay and everything like that. So, yeah, people were having a good time, and that makes me happy. If we lost that guy, you made a guy die from your comedy. How funny. That's what I said. I didn't kill, but I maimed. I love her laugh. I love that she can make people laugh. She has a joy about her. And we talked about her on Abbott Elementary. Every line she does is killer. She's amazing. Oh, my God, yeah. I mean, her laugh is contagious to you guys' point. And, yeah, as they briefly mentioned, too, she's also part of Abbott Elementary, an award-winning show. So I guess the big question is, how does she find time to, like, write and be a part of this special here? Yeah, it amazes me that anyone can come up with a strong 45, 50 minutes. And she did find the time to do it, but listen to how long it took to finally get to this final stage. To put this strong special together called How Romantic, by the way, on Netflix, how long does it take to get to that strong amount of time that you did? So, okay, so I only usually do stand-up period when the show is on hiatus. So we're on hiatus usually from March to... All to July. So was that three months, three months or so? And so I got this deal three years ago. And that's when I started working on it. So so three, six, 12 months, basically a full year to build the hour. And then this hiatus, I did 30 shows, basically back to back. And then we shot the special. So yeah. Yeah. Well, it's like three years thinking about it and a year actually performing it. Yeah. Wow. But also living it because you're talking about things that have happened to you. Yeah. Yeah. And then. Yeah, of course. And then it it changed as I went on. So I was I've been doing it for, you know, practicing it for three years. But the material grew and changed as as the shows went on. Yeah. You know, I'd love to talk about specifics, but I'm not going to give anything away. I want people to watch this show and enjoy it and see it like I did. Did you enjoy? Wait, I think you know. Your face. You can see I'm my biggest fan. You're like beaming. I appreciate it. And if I'm honest, I fell out of my chair. Awesome. It's cool to see in the process, though, because obviously when things would still be relevant, she was moving along with it. And I will say this. If you watch Abbott Elementary with your kids, maybe your kids shouldn't be in the room in this one, but they will hear you laughing and wondering what you're laughing about. Also, I'm a member of the Critics' Choice Association. We have our awards every year. Janelle James is hosting in January. Oh, that's special. Coincidence? I don't think so. Nope. Yes, and of course she remembers you. Who could forget T&L? A lot of people would like to. No, no. Thank you. All right, coming up, getting ready for game day. Von Maur is here with ways that you can support your team and still be very stylish. That's coming up next. Well, from touchdowns to tailgates, there's no doubt. You're going to be wearing your team colors during football season. Especially since our teams are so good. We've got Ryan Nichols, store manager at the Corners Von Maur. Here with some of their looks for game day. You've got the whole family covered here, Ryan. We've got them all covered. Head to toe. Head to toe. Yeah, for sure. So we have some cute ideas here for men, women, kids. Babies. The whole family. Family photos. Everything that you can think of for those. For the guys, we have, it's all about layers. I love the material of that, too. It's almost like a corduroy, but not really, but, like, lined on the inside. That's beautiful. And it's not a jersey, which I appreciate, because I think for a lot of dudes, they think they've got to wear a jersey. You really don't. You can kind of dress it up, you know. We've got some stylish shoes that you can put with it, super comfortable, which can be dressed up, dressed down. We've got a nice pair of brown pants that we can pair it with, have a nice, super stretchy feel to it. So comfortable, very movable while you're at the stadium. A little dressier. Yeah. Yeah. And again, you could dress it up, dress it down. For the ladies, we have a couple options here. Again, it's all about layering. That's cute. I love that. We've got our nice kind of sherpa here jacket for sporting our favorite team there. It looks comfortable too. Yes. Speaking of comfort, you know, you can pair it with some nice pants here. A nice elastic waist. You can have extra dip for wings or whatever you want. You got some movement there. Again, comfortable, lightweight. And those launders are so good, too, that fabric. That's really good. That's so cozy. And those are Nikes, right? With the elastic? Yeah, those are good. Nice flare bottom there. And Badgers, obviously. Got to talk about the Badgers. So again, layering here, any bottoms, very versatile. We've got our kind of infinity scarf here that you can wear as a lightweight scarf option there. Nice sweater to go underneath it, supporting your team's colors. Oh, go ahead. I was just going to say, I really appreciate that you're thinking outside the box because so often I feel like I'll, you know, even like for Brewer's stuff, we were trying to dress in Brewer's colors leading up to it, but you've got to think outside. Yeah. You don't need to be wearing merch. It doesn't have to be matchy-matchy. Yes. No. Yeah, yeah. And then you also, I like that we're layering up because you can go from obviously tailgating outside to a party inside. How many parties are we going to inside that are watch parties for these games? You know, that you want to still rest. Or to like a nicer dinner or something after. It's not too casual, which I appreciate. I'm in love with these pants, though, because this is what people are doing now. They're going away from, like, your regular leggings, and these are what... If these were black, you could wear them to work. I know. Those are good. And we do have black. We have multiple colors in them. So, yeah, and again, very versatile with that. All right. Oh, you're going to the baby. We can't forget about the littles. You know, you've got a couple, uh, you know, options for the littles there to support your favorite team. You got to show the bow and the legging on the back. Look at that. Yes. Yes. Super cute. Nice little bow. Again, it's all about the accessories. We got to start them young here in Wisconsin. There you go. Got a couple options. And again, if it's, you know, um, if the Packers, which I don't know why it wouldn't be your favorite team, but you can always just kind of, you know, root for your, you know, just the football. Where you can support any team. We were also talking earlier about deals with the holiday coming up, too. And you said that you're going to have some good Black Friday deals. Now's a good time to also buy for gifts for the holidays. Stocking stuffers. Yes. Yep. We have a lot of Black Friday deals that we're going to be having this year, which is exciting. So more to come on that. You can always check our website. Vonmar.com for that. But yes, we will have a lot of deals. For folks at home, when do y'all start your Black Friday? Because I feel like now it was like Gray Thursday. I'm seeing some Black Friday stuff already. Yeah, I will say most of them are probably on Black Friday. It kind of depends on the vendor. Purest. Yes, yes, exactly. All right, so let's go to the accessories, too, because I know a lot of places you're going to have to do the clear purses and things like that. But you still want to be stylish with it. Yeah, so definitely. So we're sporting, you know, again, our football teams here. What I love about it is it does come with a cute strap. But it's also interchangeable, so we carry these separately here that you can change as a strap. Oh, that's cute! So, again, nice football theme here. I think you can wear that to Summerfest, too. You can put this in your hair, too. You can make this in a belt. You can use this as a scarf. It's got a little whistle on it, Derica! Look! And then the back... And then the back. It says, tackle me, which is a little sassy. I love, okay, and this obviously red is perfect for like a badger game or something. Exactly, yeah, if you lose your voice there, you got your whistle. Again, we've got, you know, a game day option strap here. If you were wanting to interchange it, this comes in a couple different colors. I see sports moms all over this. You know what I mean? Like, go into the games. I'm here for it. That's wonderful. Yes. And this is good stuff for parties as well, like this entertaining type. products you have. Yes, yeah. So we have some tailgating ideas here. We've got, you know, the cornhole. You can, you know, if you're hosting parties at home, you can, you know, have some fun with that. Or you could take it to the parking lot at the stadium, you know, before you head in and, you know, have some fun there. Look at this. This is cool. So these are. Football ice mold. You know how guys are doing like the big one. Yeah. Yeah. All that block ice block. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. And the purpose of this sphere is it helps with the water not melting. Yes. Quick and watering down your drink. So that's colder. Let's talk about the shoes. Yeah. So super comfortable again for the guys. You know, you can dress it up, dress it down. But I love that shoe because it also has a removable inserts so that if you needed to Put an orthotic in there. True foam. A little rust. You know, I like how men's dress shoes are getting a little bit more practical. You know what I mean? Like, these I feel like would be comfortable. You can wear those to a football game, something else. Yeah, very versatile, very flexible with that. Yeah. All right, I want to do the outdoor right now, too, with the hats and Yeah. So we have a couple beanie options here to be able to support your favorite team here. Again, we've got just the game day there. As far as accessories go, I love these gloves. So these are your touch, you know, these are your text-friendly gloves. Those are hard. Do you mind if I was... You read my mind, right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh! Wait a minute. They're so fuzzy on the... Oh, are those the finger ones? Yeah, you can wear these. Oh, that's cool. They're so soft. And again, you can text while you're at the game. You can send those messages while you're at the game. Take photos, selfies. Really quickly, before we go, Frost Buddy. This is perfect. What's that? Yeah. This is for, like, your slims. Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah. For your beverage. Instead of walking around with a koozie. Yeah. That you feel like, can it fit? Can it not? You know, this is perfect. Yep. That's amazing. I love that. And it keeps it cold, too. Mm-hmm. So. Oh, and you've got socks over there, too, Ryan. We do. We have quite a few different options. Ryan, you have it all. We have it all. Gosh, you've got everybody covered. We have several hats to choose from. So from entertainment to going to the game during, Wait. What's this? Oh, my gosh. before, after, you name it, Your dip mix. Von Marr has you covered. We're shopping, Ryan. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. She finds a hat. Thank you very much. Yes, thank you. You can find Von Marr, of course, at the corners of Brookfield, one of my favorite places. We'll be right back. Oh, this is cute. No, I like that. All right, guys, results from a study in October are shedding light on our most regrettable purchases. OK. All right. The top items include unworn clothes, slow juicers and shoes and high heels. Juicers. Yeah. They seem like a good idea at the time. They sure do. They they found the average adult spends around one hundred and fifty dollars a month on Oh, that's a lot. Send it back if it's still within the month. I would return it if I didn't use it. Well, can you think about it? That's one pair of shoes for some people, one shirt. Or multiple. Or multiple, yes. Bargain hunting. The one thing that I found, and so you guys know I love to go antiquing. I need to be a little bit better at getting a light to that, inspecting it. You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. Right. Sometimes you can't return. Once you get home and you're like, oh, no. Because you buy it kind of already. Yeah, I'm in full fire. It's always fun in the moment until you get home and the reality hits you like, did I actually need that? No. It's just normally no. You get the rush of whatever. Did you need that cough drop before talking? Thank you. Thank you. I don't know. I got caught. I'm like, dang it. I got caught. I got caught. Oh, my God. See you tomorrow. Tomorrow.