For our anniversary, we tried the newly opened restaurant, The Chapman House, with our good friends, Bruce and Nancy Chapman. You have to bring a couple of Chapmans to the Chapman House, right? This new restaurant is very close to where I work and I’ve had my eye on the renovation. The Chapman House was under renovation for 3 years, while the new owners stayed true to the home’s original finishes. It belonged to the president of Rochester Savings Bank, William Clark Chapman, and remained in the family until 1973, when it was sold and used commercially. It’s fitting that we… Continue reading ≻

We went to the new restaurant, Mabel Gray, with friends on Halloween night and I was charmed from the moment I walked in. First of all, 90’s Janet Jackson was playing and I wanted to start dancing plus high five the person in charge of the music. Instead, a big smile crossed my face and I took in the whole place. Warm and friendly smiles from behind the bar greeted us and some of the staff was dressed for Halloween. I noticed a few distinctive and trendy Hedley & Bennet aprons, too. Everything looked polished and organized. The restaurant is small, 42… Continue reading ≻

Last week I had lunch with Chef Wolfgang Puck! It’s all a blur now and I still can’t believe it happened. I received a short email on Thursday morning asking if I would like to have lunch with him and later I found out that I’d be one of 6 people. Whoa. The first thing I did was freak out a little. The second thing I did was text Megan to ask if she was going and SHE WAS. We made carpool plans and I tried to figure out what to wear to such an event. I ended up in… Continue reading ≻

Today we’re having one of those gray days you don’t mind because the fall colors are more vibrant against the pale sky. It seems like a good day to share another gray (but fun!) day I had earlier in the week with my sisters-in-law. My little nephew was baptized last Sunday, so the family gathered in Holland, Michigan to celebrate. I stayed 2 extra days after the weekend along with my sister-in-law Meg and niece Molly for a “sisters weekend” complete with theme song we made up. We went to the farmers market, shopped downtown, went to Target for necessities including… Continue reading ≻

Last week, my friend MyThy texted me that Bon Bon Bon had chocolate making classes available at their Hamtramck location. I looked at the schedule and of course, chose the first available class. We also asked Amy if she could possibly pry herself away from her adorable little babe for a few hours and she came, too! Alex and Margie set up six stations with the ingredients to make different bons and everyone partnered up. We had everything to make #2 High Tea – earl grey tea dark chocolate ganache + hemp seed nougat + smoke sugar + cornflower petals, #23… Continue reading ≻