Coffee

Remember when I said I found a great little coffee shop that served the 'best' cup of coffee when I visited the opposite coast a few weeks ago? And that I thought it was funny to discover a small local (to my area) roaster all the way over there? Well...thank goodness I've found a similar place nearby that uses the same beans and makes the same good coffee! I met up with a friend there yesterday to catch up and here's what else I found: baked goods and gelato, wooden furnishings with character, a variety of seating options, a lot of windows (love that), friendly local owner. Great!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Margaret

Sustenance......Boston

These are a few places we picked up nourishment around Boston this week. We stopped by Thinking Cup for seriously great coffee and baked goods three times in two days......it was that good. It was funny to me that they use Stumptown Coffee which is roasted in Portland and Seattle. I traveled all the way across the country to taste it for the first time and now will definitely look for some closer to home. We also had an amazing lunch at the Blackstone Grill: homemade chicken pot pie and a cold beer. Again.....delicious. Flaky pastry on top with a filling that TASTED homemade. Both places are close to the Freedom Trail. Good thing we walked a lot......

The frame detail  and plaque is from the mezzanine of the Omni Parker Hotel. The plaque says:

Mirror from the rooms at the Parker House occupied by Charles Dickens 1867 & 1868. Authenticated by the Boston Branch of the Dickens Fellowship.

"Look closely and see reflections of Dickens as he practiced 'A Christmas Carol"."

This was where he gave his first American reading of A Christmas Carol, one of my favorite books. Marc took me to the ACT theater in Seattle on our second date to see it performed and we've returned many of the years since. When I looked around there were references to other writers that either visited or stayed here: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe. I need to go back and find out more.

Sustenance: Food, drink and other necessities of life......

Have a wonderful weekend.

Warmly,
 Margaret

Food and Snow Days

It was a short work week so Marc and I revisited Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe, one of his old post-soccer breakfast places. Check out the homemade cinnamon rolls. And Huevos Rancheros, my personal favorite almost anywhere. Finally got my computer back yesterday and while waiting...... enjoyed every single thing about the recent cold and snowy days. Logan, too! Have a great weekend.

Warmly, Margaret

Everyday Finds

This week I had a self-imposed photography assignment to find beauty in everyday objects. Ordinary things I work with, pass by and use often while moving about my space. The ones that are practical, commonplace, necessary and an organic part of my day. I thought it would be good to see them as more. To give them a second look.

What I found were colors and patterns that at some point I've made a conscious choice to bring into my home. Tones of blue and green and gold and red. Patterns that echo nature and organized stripes. Ones that spoke to me, or better yet......ones that someone else chose because they thought I would like them. It became easier to find items to photograph and more difficult to decide which ones. The lesson was in narrowing down the field.  So I focused on an area where I spend a lot of (most of?) my time: 

mmmm......morning coffee, cream, syrup......

  

 The hardest workers.

Each of these aprons was a gift. I love that someone thought of me in this way. Knowing how I like to spend my time......and that a pretty apron makes a difference......

The bowls that sit on the counter next to the food processor. The ones used for almost everything. I realized how often I look at their colors, stripes and specks. There is a little flower shop in Missoula that sells the work of Montana potters. I hope they're still there.....we haven't stopped in for awhile.

Hope you enjoy your day! It's so sunny here that most everything outside my window is showing up vibrant blues and greens. No overcast grays skies to mute the colors. If it weren't for the bare branches on the maples I would probably be fooled into thinking it's spring already. Love that sun streaming in and the few crocus blossoms popping through!

Love and Chocolate

On this Friday before Valentine's Day what's on my mind is, of course, love and chocolate. How Marc and I were engaged over a cup of coffee. There was no fanfare or anticipation or even a split second's thought about it in advance. Just a couple of mugs filled with fragrant dark roast and a good conversation that led somewhere. The great thing was that by the end of it we were both surprised. It certainly wasn't the plan on that morning or even anything that had been discussed up to that point. And isn't that the best kind of surprise......one that someone else becomes aware of with you? The dual realization that good and real and true make complete sense to integrate into the very next moment.

I'm feeling pretty happy that the sun warmed my kitchen, laundry area and office this week. It made the sorting and the washing and the folding so much easier. And anyone who knows me knows that laundry is my least favorite way to spend even a minute. And bill paying.....

  But put me in a sunny kitchen scooping, measuring, leveling, mixing......and I'm good.

  

   There is no better way to spend a morning. Listening to music, the mixer, the timer, the dishwasher. Lost in thought. Adding chocolate. 

  Rolling. Flattening.

Frosting.

  Happy Valentine's Day boys. This is how I spent my time thinking of you.

Check your mailboxes.

Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Warmly, Margaret