Tree Envy

So there's this house across the street from us that foreclosed a little while back.  It's actually really sad, they were great people and the husband, James, was probably Cheese's favorite person in the universe.  And the really awesome thing was it was a totally reciprocal infatuation.  They were great people and it is sad that they are no longer on our little street.  After their house foreclosed it was put on the market and purchased by a company that flips houses.  The buyers (or rather their crew) have completely overhauled the house; gutted the inside, re-shingled the roof, re-sided the entire exterior and re-framed the front porch.  I'd say their probably about 70 to 75% done with the re-hab.  It's pretty impressive and I've been taking every chance I can get to tell my hlp how awesome it would be if she and her boyfriend left that crummy Cleveland and moved to Cincinnati and lived right across from us!  Like, I could walk over to their house in my pajamas!  No big deal.  Amanda, if you are reading this stop rolling your eyes!!

Part of the reason it'd be so cool if they bought the house across the street, besides having my best friend within walking distance, free pet-sitting for both parties, endless opportunities to grill out together, watch Dr. Quinn (imagine, Amanda, we could finally finish it!) and hang all the time, etc., is that this house happens to have three gorgeous, flowering trees that I am totally smitten over...

 It's no surprise that the tree I'm probably most in love with is this ENORMOUS and beautiful magnolia tree in the back yard.  It is seriously the biggest one I've seen of this kind in Cincinnati!  So naturally I've been sneaking over into the yard when the construction guys pack up for the night to snap some photos.  My neighbors probably think I'm nuts, but oh well.

In the front yard there are two other amazing trees, this cherry blossom (that promptly budded a couple blossoms and then receded after the frost/freeze we had)...

And then more recently this pink dogwood (also in the front) has come to life.  I am so obsessed with how the sunlight hits dogwoods and their petals just seem to glow...

Now I totally want to get a pink dogwood for our backyard! 

But in other news, our kwanzan cherry tree that we got for free through the ReLeaf program last year and planted in our front yard is starting to bloom!

It's still just a little guy right now, but I can't wait to watch it grow and get bigger and more beautiful every year.

Alright, so that's the last of my obsessive tree lust for now.  Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you have a great weekend!  I think we're going to hit up Crafty Supermarket this weekend, which I highly recommend you check out.  It's always a good time and the vendors are always so wonderful. 

Coquette Patisserie in Cleveland

After our blissful trip to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Amanda and I were in the mood for a snack.  She hadn't had any birthday cake yet so that was an obvious must!  She mentioned a little patisserie that had opened recently near by, we glanced at their website and we were sold!  Within a couple minutes we were making our way to the Coquette Patisserie.  It took us some time to find parking but it was totally worth it.  The shop itself is absolutely adorable...

 I mean, how cute is that!?

We decided to share a couple of their amazing looking cakes and a small french press of coffee.

 So pretty!  We ended up getting (clockwise from the top): the pear pinwheel, the Queen of Sheba, and the chocolate triomphe.

 We were both actually a little wary to dig in because it all looked too beautiful and perfect to eat!  The Queen of Sheba (with the fleur-de-lis) was this first one we tried and turned out to be our least favorite.  It was good, but once we tried the pear and the chocolate triomphe it was blown out of the water!  Amanda loved the pear the most, while I was absolutely crazy about the chocolate triomphe.

Look at that!  I was expecting a dense cake like the Queen of Sheba, but when I dug my fork in I was surprised to find a soft white cake covered in a fluffy chocolate mousse covered in a creamy, rich ganache topped with candied hazelnuts...WOWZA!  So good!

If you find yourself in Cleveland anywhere near the university or the museums I would definitely recommend you stop by and try one of their delicious and perfectly constructed goodies!  They also offer a cheese and a charcuterie plate, a selection of beers, and wine and champagne.  It'd be a great spot for an afternoon snack with your best lady friends or a sweet spot to stop for dessert on a date!

Well, with that, happy Friday everyone!  I gotta say this week felt both short and long to me; the first half of the week flew by but the second half seemed to crawl.  I'm very much looking forward to the weekend!  Antoine and I are heading to the Krohn Conservatory orchid show, which I'm insanely excited for, and then I'm hoping to spend a good deal of the weekend relaxing and maybe reading.  What about you?  Any fun plans in the works this weekend?

Cleveland Botanical Garden's Orchid Show

This past weekend I drove up to Cleveland to spend time with my best friend and celebrate her 30th(!) birthday.  I left the plans totally up to her, wherever she wanted to eat and whatever she wanted to do.  We started off with lunch at a pizza place, just down the street from her new house in Tremont, called Crust.  We decided to share a medium Spanakopita and it was delicious!  Good flavor and the crust was awesome (hence the name, I guess)!

Then when I asked Amanda what she wanted to do next she said, "I thought maybe we could go to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens [which I had never been to and she had only been once before], they are having their orchid show right now".   Umm, what?!  This sounded like an activity for my birthday, not hers!  But I wasn't going to say no to orchids, I mean, we know how much I like love orchids!  But I warned her just how much I was going to geek out...little did I know the vast quantity and variety of orchids the CBG packs into their orchid show!  I think my brain might have exploded from all the orchid-awesomeness.  Just see for yourself, but be prepared for an orchid extravaganza (and this is me editing myself significantly)...

Alright, so while my brain was literally on sensory overload and I couldn't stop saying "Ooh, look at this one!" and "Oh, I really like this one!" Amanda and I nearly poked our eyes/faces out...

In two different areas of their large glass house there were spiky/thorny branches growing out of the rocks right at eye-poking level, it was a bit terrifying!  Luckily we're nerds and wear protective eye-wear daily (and Amanda was looking out for me while I was geeking out over the pretty flowers!  Still, imagine a person holding their child right at their level and the adult looking left to the orchids...WHAM!! Thorn-stabbed!!  That does not seem at all safe.  

Seriously I have never seen so many different kinds of orchids in my life!!  It was magical!  But what made it more magical?!  Tortoises.

 Look at him snacking on that lettuce.  Isn't he so cute!?

Oh yeah, and there were cute, tiny little birds flying around and butterflies!

These were some of Amanda's favorites!  I couldn't really pick a favorite, there were too many!!

Most of the orchids above were scattered throughout the large glass house.  Inside the main building was a separate display of orchids in a variety of room set-ups, some of which were curated by fashion and interior designers.  They were all pretty cool, but I liked this simple display of orchids in ornate picture frames the best...

Whew!!  I warned you.  I went a little overboard, but I left in a euphoric state; blissed out on all the different varieties, colors, sizes, shapes of orchids.  The botanical gardens actually has several outdoor garden areas but since it was snowing we did not get to explore those.  I can't wait to go back sometime when the weather is nice to see the gardens and explore more!

A big thank you to my wonderful hlp, Amanda!  For suggesting the botanical gardens, for putting up with me while I have an irrational freak-out over flowers, and then for not leaving me there because I was acting like a giant dork and taking a photo of every orchid I saw!  Thanks A!  I do have a little more Cleveland goodness in store for you this week, so stay tuned.  And then this weekend I'll be going to the Krohn orchid show and unloading another huge batch of orchid photos on you all...you have been warned!

Favorite Moments (from Instagram)

Hi everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend!?  Mine was pretty relaxed, which was nice.  We finally saw Star Trek, it was fantastic!  The entire cast is just phenomenal and the movie felt like it was over in a flash!  Have you seen it?

The other day I was looking through my Instagram photos on my phone and I was struck by all the photos from this year so far and all the wonderful moments they brought to mind.  And how thankful I am for those moments and the great people (and furry creatures) in my life.  I thought I'd share some photos and reminisce a little with you since we're nearly halfway through what has been a great year so far.

My little furry babies make me so happy, even when they're driving me nuts!  Here's a photo of each of them being ridiculously cute and cuddly in bed.

I perfected my challah bread making skills around Christmas (using this recipe), so challah bread french toast was a delicious outcome.

This is from our trip to Montreal over my birthday.  We went to Fairmount Bagels and couldn't wait to try them out so we stopped by a bench and feasted on some in the freezing cold wind, it was heavenly.

 I adore it when Cheesy curls himself up into a little ball on cold nights.

A definite downside to this year was fracturing my ankle.  After a couple days in the house waiting for the swelling to go down so I could put I boot on I was going stir crazy, so Antoine took me to our favorite sushi spot.  I hobbled in on crutches and enjoyed some tasty sushi, but it tasted even better because I was out in the world and not stuck in the house.  Sushi never tasted so good. 

 Visits to Cleveland to see my best friend are always great!  But throw in a trip to Melt and I'm one happy lady!

I'm sure you haven't forgotten my slightly insane promise to myself that I would not miss the magnolias this year.  Well, it began with an extra long lunch from work to take as many magnolia photos as I could.  I fondly remember finding a little quiet spot in Spring Grove Cemetery and sitting in the sunshine, eating my lunch for a couple minutes in between taking pictures. 

Saturday mornings are for Guillermo.  It's his time to snuggle with me, while Antoine and the dog are still sleeping.  So sweet!

 I love weekends when Antoine and I have no plans and just run around town doing random errands and stopping at places here and there.  Like this time when we decided to drive all the way to Eastgate to look at plants and then we enjoyed some tasty soft serve in the sun together.  So simple, yet so lovely.

I think it's pretty well documented that ice cream is one of my favorite things about summer.  So are walks with my little family around our neighborhood.  Whether it's a short walk with Antoine and Cheese (Cheese gets tired easily and will just stop walking) or long walks with Antoine or my sister, it's always a good time.

One of my favorite things of this year so far has been our trip to Seattle and Olympic National Park, and of that trip Lake Crescent stands out.  The stillness of the lake and the beauty of it made me so thankful to be there with Antoine and share that with him.

I'm so looking forward to the rest of the year, making more memories with the people I'm crazy about!