Monday, April 1, 2013

Weekend Musings........

I was supposed to have hip replacement surgery last Wednesday and so I thought I'd be laid up for the Easter weekend, and many weeks after! When it was postponed for other complications, I was left with one of those "now what do I do with myself?" moments.

I scrambled to get last minute Easter basket items for my granddaughters, husband and son. It is a childhood tradition that I indulge in every year now for others.

My husband and son both had Good Friday off so we decided to go out for breakfast to The Frog Pond on Park Ave in the city of Rochester. My husband is from New York City and says the Park Ave/East Ave./Monroe Ave. section of the city is the closest he will get to home.

There is a fabulous homemade chocolate store, Stever's, right across the street. Getting some Easter chocolates afterwards was definitely in the plan.

 
I was so happy when we pulled up and got a parking spot right in front of the restaurant (which is usually impossible) and then we got the window booth seats that face out on the Avenue as our table! The Frog Pond is a bistro/diner with the best selection of omelets, benedicts and other breakfast fare. They are known for their 1/2 pound burgers too.

I had one of their many chalkboard Specials, Crabcake Eggs Benedict........mmm


After all three of us ate every last bite of our breakfast we walked across the street to Stever's anticipating the strong, luscious smell of chocolate when we went in. Didn't happen. The line was out the door to the street and the wait inside to get around the store, pay and get out, was 45 minutes. That's what we get for going to the BEST candy store in the city two days before Easter!

Next stop was Archimage on Monroe Avenue, another funky, trendy area of the city. The store is a boutique full of  out of the ordinary gifts, jewelry, and fair trade items. I went in looking for a new Spring crossbody hobo bag and came out with a denim washed tiered skirt!

 
 
I had to see my granddaughters to give them their baskets so I had them come over on Saturday for a little while. It is becoming a tradition for my 7 year old granddaughter Cassidy to decorate cutout cookies each holiday at my house so she came early to do that. Chloe will be able to join us in a few years!
 

 
Chloe arrived in her Easter outfit looking so Springy! She had no idea what was to come but I had hidden their baskets so the two cousins could have a mini hunt together. The baskets in the pictures are the Easter baskets my daughters had when they were my granddaughters' age.
 
 
 
Hmmm, let me see what Cassidy got in HER basket......
 
I couldn't resist getting Cassidy those wax lips from MY childhood!


Sunday morning we attended an uplifting Easter service at our home church where we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior every Sunday. 
 
So since there was no Easter dinner planned and my girls already had their plans, the three of us decided to go out of the ordinary again and go to a small gourmet restaurant in the Finger Lakes, near Naples.

It was a long drive and the dreary weather made the scenery not as pretty along Canandaigua Lake as usual. The restaurant is located in a small, quaint house. My husband noticed the occupancy sign on the wall said 12!

The food was pretty good but pricey, the waitress called us "guys" so many times we lost track, and it just didn't "feel" clean in there. The best part for me was I got to wear my new skirt!

It's okay though. I had a pretty full weekend and I got to see both granddaughters again today. It was priceless to watch a 7 year old and a 19 month old play Fruit Ninja on Xbox with my 14 year old son.

Everyone loves sitting in my "surgery" chair!
The day was topped off with a scrumptious, easy dinner. Pasta Fagioli (which is a Weight Watcher recipe) and Irish Soda Bread. Not your typical pairing but I was craving both.


It was my first attempt at making the bread and the three of us ate three-quarters of it in one sitting!

Have you made anything that you've been craving lately?

AnnMarie :)

 

9 comments :

  1. Well, you know what they say...Things happen for a reason. You were meant to enjoy this Easter holiday, and it looks like you had a lovely time. Those cookies look gorgeous!
    ~Kim
    www.2justByou.com

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  2. I love the Frogpond too. The original owner (Charlie) was a childhood friend of my husband's. I love those window seats too. Same with Hicks and McCarthy's - the window seats.

    Sorry you have to plan that postponment all over again. It's not so bad. I had both done. Not at once, of course. Just can't ben down - so put everything on the counter.

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  3. Hi! Your littlest granddaughter reminds me of my own Jubilee... they're so precious at that age! Sounds like you had a lot of fun... so much to do up there, hrm? The restaurant in the old house sounds interesting, but I sure would've loved to have tried that chocolate store... geez, knowing me, I would've waited all that time! LOL. I rarely have time to COOK, but I have been trying to stick to salads and "healthier" stuff lately... I'm actually taking the Joyce Meyer's "Make 1, Break 1" challenge... pretty good stuff!

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  4. Wow, you made me hungry three times reading this! Craving those eggs benedict right now, but I think I'll settle for ice cream. :)

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  5. Great round up of your weekend. I'd love to see a photo of you in your new skirt though!

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  6. Anne Marie I'm sorry your having surgery, but glad you got to enjoy the holiday with your family. The crab cake eggs benedict sounds delicious. The chocolate sounds so yummy. I want chocolate!

    The orange cake is easy I purchase a yellow cake mix like Duncan Hines. I add 1 tsp. of orange flavor to the batter, then I get a fresh orange and scrap some of the peel to make an orange zest. I chopped it up, then add some to the batter, then save some for the frosting. To make the frosting with about 3/4 a c. of powdered sugar and a half a stick of butter or magarine, then mix it up until creamy. Add the zest. You can add a little orange flavor to the frosting as well. That's it.

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  7. Those crabcakes look scrumptious.

    The children are adorable.

    ♥♥♥
    Sue

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  8. Crabcake Eggs Benedict? Wow, my mouth is watering.
    Also your children are gorgeous!

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