Five Gratitudes

Man-o-man, am I grateful it is Friday! Still working on finding my mind...and totally glad that now I have two days of weekend to seriously try and locate it:)

Here's what I'm grateful for today:



1. It's been raining here in the city all afternoon. And, while this has made for some pretty adventurous dashes to and from classes, I am grateful for the soft, meditative sound of rain.

2. I'm grateful for laughter. (I'm also grateful to Jo for her tip on this hilarious tumblr, a definite source of out-loud laughter for me today!)




3. I'm grateful for this beautiful look at the grace and precision of ballet.

4. I'm grateful for the da Vinci glow.

5. Last but not least, I'm grateful that my sister is hosting a little girls' night tonight--an excuse to try out this fresh, easy-seeming appetizer.

What about you? What are you grateful for this week?

Valentine's (or birthday...) in the Mitten

To kick off this weekend-before-Valentine's Day (and that big birthday), I thought I'd do a special "five gratitudes"--the five fun date-places I'm grateful (get it?) to live near.

1. I'm grateful to live near the Whitney--a beautiful mansion-turned-fancy-restaurant that would make for a pretty romantic dinner-date. 

2. I'm grateful to live near the Detroit Institute of Arts--among the top six museums in the country! A dreamy place to wander around and hold hands.

3. I'm grateful to live near the French Laundry--no, not the place in Napa...but this one is pretty charming in its own right. We had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding here, and loved it so much we celebrated our first anniversary here, too!

4. I'm grateful to live near the Detroit Opera Theater--so many cool cultural experiences to be had here! We saw Alvin Ailey's dance company one Valentine's a couple of years ago; breathtaking! I'd love to see the production of Swan Lake there this spring.

5. Gah! Now that I'm into this list, I realize how hard it is to only pick five great date-spots. But, this list would not be complete without a shout out to Iron Chef (and my Grandma's crush from the Chew): Michael Symon's Roast. We had one of the best meals of our lives there! I'm so grateful to live near this impeccable establishment.

What about you? Got any fun Valentine's Day plans? Do tell.