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!

And the winner is ...

Percy is just busting at the seams. He wants to reveal the name of the winner of the Susan Branch autographed book.

So, without further ado...

Laura Jenkins! You are the winner of the Susan Branch autographed book. I used the trusty random number generator to pick a winner.

Congratulations Laura, please email me your address. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Susan Branch's birthday and a blog giveaway

Today is Susan Branch's birthday. If you read my blog often you will know I am a big fan of Susan's. Susan and I have much in common. We both love animals and we have lookalike cats. Her Jack really looks like my Oscar. We are both foodies, love England and tea, and then of course there's Martha's Vineyard. She lives there and I would love to have even a Summer home there.

 

I met Susan twice at two book signings. Last Summer, I met her in Sandwich, Massachusetts for the signing of her book, "A Fine Romance".  Here's the original book with Susan's handwriting. Susan's husband let me get a peek at it.

So since it's Susan's birthday, I thought I would celebrate by giving away a copy of this book. I bought an extra copy at the book signing and I told her I was going to give it away on my blog.

So, here's what you need to do. Leave a comment on this post. I am not going to make you follow my blog but I do hope you will come back. I'll draw the winner on April 15th and I may even throw in a few extra goodies!

The Subject is Selfies

Percy fancies himself a model. So when I caught him with my phone in his paw I knew I needed to teach him proper selfie technique.

First, I told him to find your light. Your face always looks better in the light.

We decided to go with a soft filter on Instagram to soften our wrinkles.

I think he's got it! Just a little more to the left.

Oops, I think we moved. Practice will make perfect and I am sure he will get his whole face in the shot very soon.

I decided selfies are fun. When I met a friend for coffee, we took a selfie.

And tonight at my sister's art reception, we went all out and did our best imitation of the famous Ellen selfie. Ellen I hope you are reading this.

So how about you? Do you selfie?

Sailing The High Seas- A Sunset Lighthouse Cruise

A sunset lighthouse cruise has been on my bucket list for a while now. So when I realized there was one happening just over the border in New Hampshire I jumped on it. By jumped on it, I mean I emailed my sister and strongly hinted that a ticket to the sunset lighthouse cruise would make a really nice birthday gift.

Luckily she agreed and she bought a ticket for herself as well.

 I left work early to beat the Friday night traffic heading north. I packed a small dinner for the two of us and some extra jackets. I am definitely glad I had the extra layers with me. It was quite chilly out on the open seas.

The boat left Rye Harbor around 7:00 on a picture perfect night. There was a nice breeze that was not too strong. The weather was what I call sweater weather. We seriously could not have asked for a better night. My sister was saying she hoped the sunset cooperated because there was not much cloud cover. Sunsets are so much more interesting with clouds.

We cruised along at a good pace and were at the Isles of Shoals in no time. Our first lighthouse of the evening was the White Island Light. And we had clouds!

My sister was already wearing her extra layer of clothing. She was thoroughly enjoying the view as I snapped photo after photo.

The texture of the water was stunning. I loved seeing ripples in the water. They are more defined at sunset. The colors are enhanced as the sun does not wash them out at this time of night.

A lone boat added to the feeling of peace. I am always at peace when I am on the ocean. I felt cradled by the boat as it rocked from side to side. It was a gentle rocking, nothing to worry about really.

We passed by the mostly uninhabited Appledore Island. I wonder if the men caught any fish.

See what I mean? Peaceful scenery all around. Could it be more relaxing? It doesn't take long to switch to vacation mode. This trip was just a 3 hour mini vacation.

There were no words for the beauty surrounding the boat. We had a nice cloud to sky ratio, making for a beautiful sunset.

Here's a view from the edge of the boat. I did not venture out for too long. 

The photographers were lined up as if they were the paparazzi. We were all looking for that perfect shot.

We cruised along and made our way out to the next lighthouse. We had spectacular views from every seat on the boat.

Lighthouse number 2 was called Whaleback. I think this one was my favorite. I love that it's made of stone.

The sunset was very dramatic at this point. I wanted it to stay this way forever.

The boat changed positions several times so everyone got a good look at each lighthouse. The tour guide was obviously a photographer as he stopped talking a few times to take photos.

This woman in the red coat made for a nice contrast to the blue scene. I often try to find an interesting subject for the foreground of the shot.

Goodbye Whaleback. You are a spectacular lighthouse!

Our next stop and last stop was Portsmouth Light. The beacon was green. Very interesting. Our photographer guide had the boat positioned so we would have some nice orange color behind the lighthouse.

Indeed, it was spectacular and the light was starting to fade. That meant photo opportunities were limited.

The colorful cloud brushstrokes were becoming smaller and smaller.

One last look at Portsmouth Light before heading home.  I left with a headful of sweet memories of yet one more beautiful New England experience.