Angle of Repose

Lego Synesso

This is Ryan on one of our date nights at our favorite place in Madison: Bradbury's. Owned by our dear friends Josh & Jill Makoutz, it's enjoyed a great reputation for their sweet and savory crepes made from local organic everything, as well as serving Kickapoo Coffee, winners of Micro Roaster of the year in Roast Magazine. Everything about their shop is done with the utmost attention to quality and creativity and I love going there because even if Josh & Jill aren't working, the place exudes their creativity and passion for good food and drink, and most of all, community. I think it's no accident that Bradbury's quickly became the place to go for a pre-Farmer's Market brunch and nothing could make Ryan and I happier than witnessing their success.
Which brings me to Lego Synesso, the title of this post. A few weeks ago, Josh & Jill hosted a birthday part at Bradbury's (after hours) to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the shop. What Ryan wanted to get them was quite expensive and we didn't have the time or money to put it together, so he and the boys racked their brains and came up with the idea of making a Lego model of the incredibly sweet and slick Synesso machine that makes the lattes and flat whites for all the good hipsters of Madison. I don't know much about these machines, but I know Ryan could wax rhapsodic for hours if you'd let him, and he and Sam and Oliver had a lot of fun pulling up photos from Synesso's website and creating the above model from the hundreds of spare Lego parts we have sitting around.
Sam went a step further and created a robot barista who has apparently rendered Josh, Jill, and all their employees useless, which I guess saves on payroll. He also re-created the handthrown coffee mugs drinks are served in, although in the end, they just gave Josh & Jill the machine.

So Happy Birthday Bradbury's and if you live in Madison or its environs or plan on visiting, make sure you stop in the shop right off Capitol Square.

Homemade Panera

I know the words "homemade" and "Panera" are not two words that would ever ordinarily go together. But that was before the entrance of Cydney in our lives. Through a set of circumstances that can only be called bizarre (that's me quoting Cydney's blog), Cydney has come to be a close friend of our family and comes over for game night once every few weeks, usually bringing dinner to give me the night off kitchen duty. Last week she brought her version of Panera's broccoli cheddar soup, which is Oliver's favorite. Somehow, she found Panera's recipe online and made the prudent decision to substitute real Wisconsin cheddar for the Velveeta called for, and adding a dash of nutmeg which is nothing less than an awesome addition to the broccoli/cheddar combo.

Bowls were downed, baguette disappeared and we cleared the table for a raucous game of Pictionary, Jr., the drawings from which are nothing short of inspired ("mirror!" "toilet!" "washcloth!")

Spring Hopes Eternal

I received so many beautiful flowers from friends at my birthday party this year and having them scattered around the house seemed to usher in Spring a few weeks before the snow started melting. I love making a few decor changes seasonally and this runner, which was a gift my aunt brought back from her latest trip to Grasse, in the south of France (where my uncle is from), enjoyed its inaugural run on the table before a glass of orange juice spilled by Felix swept it into the laundry.
It was fun to set up some vignettes with a bird's nest we found and saved from last year.

Daisies from Siv.

This Primula (above) is from the lovely Jill. It's been 17 days and I've managed to keep it alive!