la Madeleine Country French Cafe

30 years ago, in Dallas, TX,  a Frenchman named Patrick Esquerre decided to open a country cafe to celebrate his love of fresh food with the help of his mother, Monique.

Today, they operate over 60 locations around the country, and I had the opportunity to visit their newly re-designed bakery-cafe inside of NorthPark Center in Dallas. 





I need to let you in on a little secret...I was already a big fan of la Madeleine BEFORE today, but now I'm even more so after touring their new cafe, meeting the founder, Patrick Esquerre, and the CEO, Phil Costner, and tasting some fresh pastries. 

During our tour, I discovered that they set up their pastry station at the entrance to the cafe, so that customers can see their deliciousness being made right there!  I also learned they bake their own bread on location every day!  Talk about FRESH! (It smelled heavenly in there)





We were also given the opportunity to try some of their amazing pastries, and I considered it my duty to taste-test everything for the general public.  You know, to guarantee their freshness and all that.

They passed.  Trust me.  They PASSED.  DELICIOUS!!






We had an opportunity to speak with the founder, and he was just delightful. Hearing his story, his mission behind the restaurant, was inspiring. He shared a story that he and his baker shared an apartment in the beginning, and they took turns sleeping and baking. One slept, the other baked.  And vice versa. 

It's great to see how modern and gourmet the restaurant experience is now with their new modular kitchen and digital menu display yet it still retains that warm, quaint, country French cafe atmosphere. 


Did you know they are also up on all the current social media too?  I found them on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube...and they have their own BLOG!


Thanks, la Madeleine, for letting me see your new digs, talking to your peeps and the swag I got to take home.



(my goodies!)

Insurmountable?

I feel like a tiny spec at the bottom of this mountain.
And I need to be to the top of this mountain in less than 30 days.

And I don't have a lot of expience mountain climbing.
OK, I've NEVER climbed a montain.

I've hiked.
I've climbed hills.
But never a mountain.

What on earth am I talking about?
(I love analogies & symbolism)

I've joined National BlogWritingMonth (NaBloWriMo)
and
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

The blogging part I can handle.
The novel part...feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Every time I sit down to write, I get a little out...and then I think it's so horrible I restart.
I think I've restarted three times.
I can't committ to a story line.
What's wrong with me?!

In order to complete 50,000 words by November 30th, I need to write an average of 1.667 words a day.  And right now, as of Day 4...I'm way behind.

If I can get caught up this weekend, it may be hopeless.

Are you participating in any kind of writing challenge?
If you're not a writer, what's your poison?  What kind of challenges would you participate in?

10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Blog

I've had this blog for three years now. 

So, am I a veteran blogger? 

Not necessarily, 

but I have learned a lot in these three years.

And there are definitely reasons you should NOT blog.

1. You open yourself up to the crazies.

2. You realize you yourself are crazy.

3. You open your parenting to criticism.

4. You realize your parenting needs criticism.

5. Your family discovers things about you that perhaps you didn't mean to share.

6. You realize your family and friends don't even bother to read your stuff.

7. You realize you don't have much to say.

8. You realize you don't have anything good to say.

9. You realize no one cares what you say.

10. Your kids discover you're talking about them in an online forum and freak out.

That being said,

there are a ton of reasons you should blog, blog, blog

and never stop.

1.It's a great creative outlet

2. You can connect with amazing people

3. You learn more about yourself

4. You learn more. Period.

5. You can share your life with family and friends you rarely have time to communicate with.

6. You have something to refer back to, like a scrapbook, to remember events and moments in your life.

7. It's a great forum to make a statement or share a message.

8. You connect with the world in a new way.

9. It's fun, fun, fun

10. Did I mention it's fun?

Goose bumps

At first glance, it looks like today's post is about geese.

It's not.

What today's post is really about?

Don't run away, I'll tell you.

On this very day...

Exactly a year ago...

I started this blog.





To celebrate, I'll answer questions.
You leave them for me in the comment section,
and I'll work on answering them this week.




Oh, and by the way, this post also celebrates Camera Critters,
a fun weekend meme where you take photos of animals and post them online.

Join us.

Cha$e

As I lay next to my 6 yr old tonight, tickling his back to help him fall asleep,
I could hear the branches from our huge pecan tree in the backyard scratching against the windows. A cold front has been sweeping through north Texas this evening, and the wind heralds it's arrival with violent gusts. I love hearing it roar outside in the darkness, safe and warm under my covers inside.

I've in a phase of self-discovery and introspection. I analyze my every thought and decision. I've discovered I like dramatic weather. I love cold fronts that burst into the area or thunderstorms that rip through the silence. I like a little danger...but just a little.

I watched a new show today that I had never seen before. My older son recorded on the DVR for us to watch as a family. It's a reality show that just premiered this week on the sci-fi channel. It's called Cha$e.

They describe it as a real life video game. Ten contestants are being chased by “hunters" in a large park or wooded area. Throughout the game more and more hunters are released and the longer the contestants “stay alive” the more money they earn. The last person standing or reaching the finish line is the winner. Throughout the chase, contestants get messages on their phones about where they can find “power ups,” objects to protect them from the hunters (ex: invisibility glasses, which pretty much are glasses that make you invisible to hunters.)

It was exciting to watch. People sneaking through the woods, Hunters searching for them. Fun stuff. It reminded me of one of the times I played paint ball in high school. You are on teams, with guns loaded with paint balls. I remember being cornered by a few people from the other team, in the woods, just at the edge of a small cliff...and feeling like it was fight or flight...and I threw myself over the "cliff" and rolled down a hill to escape. It was awesome.

I realize I'm rambling now. But this show looked like fun. I always imagine myself on reality shows. If I was on Survivor, would I make it? Would I turn into a whiny biotch or be anti-social and homesick? Or could I fly under the radar and make it to the end? I'm not sure I could eat bugs...

Amazing Race appeals to me big time. Who would I partner with to race around the world? I imagine trying to do it with Texas Homeboy...would we be one of those annoying couples who bicker and aren't nice to each other? Could I do it with one of my sisters? I'd like to think I have a great traveling attitude and could make it far...

Forget Big Brother. That's more like a drama house full of twenty-somethings all trying to get laid or audition for acting careers. I'm not a great cook, so Hell's Kitchen is out, although Chef Ramsay is hot. Wife Swap and Supernanny don't seem right for me...

Anyway, you get my point. I like reality shows. I find the way people interact fascinating. I wonder if I could come up with a blogging reality show...stick a bunch of bloggers on an island but give us computers and see what we could find to blog about. Who lasts the longest? Who keeps the most readers? That would be interactive, yes? I'd tattoo advertisements on my body...

somebody stop me now.

What about you? Do you like Reality Shows?
What one would you choose to be on?
Who wants to join my blogging isolated island show idea?