What we've been up to at Cafe Chatelaine

Spending a relaxing evening at home on a Saturday. I love it. I love to have no plans and just unwind every once in a while, don't you?

Earlier I took photos of the Wyoming neighborhood in Melrose. The trees had flowered. So pretty!

The building ahead is so cool. Condos upstairs with rooftop decks and retail space below. The building is quite old.

The commuter rail station or the T station as it is called in these parts, is always gorgeous this time of year.

Has a bit of an Asian feel with the tree in full bloom and all the windows in the waiting area.

I used to watch the comings and goings at the station from the bakery across the street. Sadly the neighborhood bakery closed last year.

The area can be bustling depending on the time of day. Not so around 7 PM on a Saturday.

Apple blossoms were fragrant and plentiful near my friend's house today. I got a nice whiff as I walked by.

We gathered for a Kentucky Derby Party. My horse didn't even place or show.

Earlier, I watched people sitting in the sun outside Starbucks. It was exciting to see the Sun. It so rarely appears anymore.

The Sun was out on Friday morning when I took this shot from my dining room window.

I had lunch with my sister at Aroma Café on Friday and I discovered caramel cappuccinos. Bad, very bad!

Oscar was finally ready for his close up last week. I don't know why he is so shy around the camera, he is such a handsome boy!

Molly with her beautiful eyes and magnificent whiskers is happy to oblige the paparazzi.

This happened on Monday. It was cold and my upstairs neighbor's heat kicked on. Her radiator was leaking and the water came through to my ceiling. She has agreed to pay for the painting of the ceiling so I can't complain.

Percy inspected my new mug. I bought it at the Melrose Arts Festival last Saturday.

Molly pretends she is under a sun lamp. It was the only sun she was going to get pretty much all week.

I bought my cat mug from Julie Fox, a local potter. I really like her work.

Thom Ciulla, a photographer from Melrose, made this art piece. The base is an old wallpaper roller and he added vintage sheet music to ceiling fan blades. It is a steampunk dragonfly. I had a nice conversation with him about steampunk and photography.

My friend Lisa O'Connell of Snap Kick Studios had lots of cool items for sale. I bought a digital print of a Provincetown Shack from her. I love it.

My sister and I had been invited to our friend Jolie's for dinner. You may remember Joie as the person with the killer Christmas parties. She is a fantastic cook as evidenced by these cream puffs.

Poor Buddy was waiting for me to drop some of my dinner. Sorry Buddy, no chance I was sharing anything. It was too good!

Chicken with lemon extra virgin olive oil, panko, thyme, oregano. Mini raviolis stuffed with gorgonzola.

Oh my, oh my. Jolie said she just threw it together. I don't even want to discuss when I try to just throw something together.

This was the salad. This could have been the meal. Fresh and absolutely yummy!

I had friends over for dessert Easter evening. This has become a tradition for the last few years.

Everybody brought something for dessert. Mary made a cream cheese pie. To die for! My lustreware kitty pitcher made an appearance.

I bought a Easter Bunny chocolate pound cake and put him in a vintage crate.

Oh yeah, I served my favorite cheese, white stilton with mango and ginger. Everyone loved it.

 

Here's a shot of the tablescape. If I don't take a photo before the guests arrive, I often forget.

Oscar was preoccupied with the birds outside the window. That bookcase turned window seat works perfectly for the kitties.

Easter Mass was beautiful at Saint Patrick's Church in my hometown.

I've been using my Boston Strong wine bottle as a night light in my kitchen. The loving cup I bought a few years ago is a vase turned utensil holder.

Now you are all up to date with the goings on at Café Chatelaine. Hopefully the weather will turn warmer and drier and I can do a few daytrips. Then I'll really have something to blog about!

Dinner at Jolie's

My sister and I were invited for dinner at Jolie's house Thursday night. You may remember Jolie as the woman who throws fabulous Christmas parties. She graduated from high school with my sister and because of her connection with my sister,  Jolie has invited me to a few of her parties. Now we have become friends too.

I have to admit I was a little nervous about attending this dinner as Jolie very recently lost her sister Lori to cancer. I thought it might be uncomfortable. Let's just say I am the world's worst at comforting people who are grieving.

I remember Lori as a joyful, positive person who brought music to Jolie's parties. She was a gifted pianist and I always enjoyed listening to Lori's inhouse concerts at the holidays. Lori had many talented friends who entertained at Jolie's parties.

The above photo of Lori and my sister was taken in December 2011 at Jolie's Christmas party.

Well, the evening was actually amazing. Jolie, who said she wasn't on her game, certainly was very much on her game. She prepared an absolutely fantastic meal. It was beyond delicious and something I could not achieve on my very best cooking day.

We started with a mixed green salad with feta cheese and there was also fruit salad. Of course, I had both. In fact, I ate everything offered to me!

Then we had pecan encrusted chicken breasts. I am not sure what the sauce was but it was not a heavy cream sauce, It was deliciously light. We also had harvest grains, green beans and garlic bread.

Here's a closer look at the chicken. The dishes were so pretty too. Jolie thinks serving family style is not that pretty but I do.

My sister and I brought some Easter Petit Fours from la Patisserie bakery for dessert. Aren't they cute?

Jolie made cream puffs and she made the whipped cream immediately before serving them. They were so fresh and yummy. I had one but I clearly could have eaten more. I want these at my next party. Jolie sent us home with some of these beauties.

I should have mentioned that when we entered the house we were greeted by this little guy. Meet Buddy. He is a funny little guy. At first, we could not even look at him. If we did, he would run away. He was so frightened. It didn't take long before we gained his trust and he was sleeping at our feet.

Buddy was fostered by Jolie and her daughter Casey and then he went on to what was thought to be his forever home. The forever family had to give him up and now he is back with Jolie. He sleeps on Casey's bed at night, chews and steals her socks, rips up the bathroom rug and pesters his older brother, English Mastiff Morgan who is at least 8 times his size.

Despite his quirks, Buddy is a sweet, young dog and he is happy now. He has only been back a few weeks but he has settled in nicely.

Casey loves her puppy. She may act like he annoys her but you can tell when you seem them together that they love each other.

While Buddy was sitting in Casey's lap, my sister commented that she wondered if Buddy could fit in Casey's bag.

Casey brought out a bigger bag and sure enough Buddy fit in it and seemed to like it.  Don't worry no dogs were harmed  during this exercise.

We ended the evening with some chocolat. Casey made us a hot chocolate not unlike the drinking chocolate you find in patisseries in France. It was that good.

We had a wonderful evening. We had interesting conversations, we reminisced and we hatched some plans for the future. 

Thank you to Jolie, Casey, Morgan and Buddy. My sister and I had a delightful evening!

Christmas Festivities

One of the social events of the season is Jolie's Christmas Party. You may remember my post about her last year's party.  This year's party did not disappoint.  The food, the holiday decor, the company, was all superb.

Jolie's home is so warm and cozy.  She has an artist's eye for decor and her home especially sparkles during the holidays. I just drink it in and snap away, wanting to share it all with you. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing all the details of her home.

She has a collection of lighted buildings. It looks so gorgeous when it is the only illumination in the living room.

Greenery decorations on each window. And there are so many windows in the house.

Another view of the lighted village. There are some whimsical touches here like a flash of light illuminating Santa as if Santa is being photographed.

Jolie created this yule log complete with meringue mushrooms and real greenery on the tray. The outside of the log tasted like chocolate ganache. There was a "dusting" of snow on the top. It was crazy good!

 I mean really, these meringue mushrooms were so realistic! And tasted so fantastic!

All the food was so exceptionally presented. I vowed to try one of everything but there was so much to eat I could not eat it all.

See what I mean? This was so festive and delicious looking, how could one resist?

I loved this pot rack with all the copper pans and Jolie put them to good use. Jolie and her kids made everything for the party. The preparation is immense and takes days I am sure.

Red and green olives for Christmas. All so artfully displayed.  I am taking notes on all of this.

Lots of smiling faces on this night. The two people on the left travelled all the way from Sweden to attend Jolie's party! Only kidding, they were here for a few weeks visiting the US.

More great food to be consumed. The meatballs were delicious! So was the cranberry sauce and the tarts with cream cheese, goat cheese, parsley and peach jam. I lost count of how many of those mini tarts I ate.

The tree looked lovely and the gifts were already wrapped. Where does she find the time?

Back to the food, look at the bread selection. More than at Panera Bread!

Wait til you see all the main courses. There was a baked ham with sauce.

And a pork tenderloin and turkey with gravy and sauces to accompany them.

Guests were helping themselves to the meats from the stovetop. There was no room on the island for the big meat platters.

There were many generations of people at this party from kids to a woman in her nineties.

Those in the dining room were the luckiest of all as they were closest to the desserts!

More of the Swedish contingent. They were heading to New York after the party.

And last but not least, Morgan, the family dog. Morgan is a gentle giant and his space was invaded by all those party guests.  He was a good sport and did not make a peep at the party. I am sure he could not wait until everyone went home and he could attack the leftovers.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I was on my best behavior..  After all, I want an invitation again next year!