The Corner Bakery Cafe...not your Grandmother's Cafe!!!!!

 

 

When you hear the word bakery what comes to mind?  Cupcakes, brownies, cookies…..what about the word café?  Maybe some lite sandwiches, a few seasonal soups and that is all…..Well, not at the Corner Bakery Cafe, this is not your grandmothers bakery OR café!!!!  Recently I was invited along with a few blogger friends to visit a new Corner Bakery Café in Middletown, RI (right near Newport, RI) for a sampling of several menu choices.  Upon entering the Corner Bakery and Café I noticed how bright and airy the Café was, with plenty of seating you and your bestie could certainly catch up or they could accommodate that company luncheon you have been meaning to schedule!!!!  After hearing a little about their philosophy and their commitment to fresh and tasty food our sampling began!!!!!

                                                                     They can cater your next event too!!!!

Who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner occasionally?  At Corner Bakery Café you can order breakfast at any time of the day, not just during normal breakfast hours!!!!  The pancakes that were served to us were so lite and fluffy, not to mention they melted in your mouth!!!!  Oh, did I mention that they are served with bacon also?? The children in your life would love an order of their chocolate chip pancakes I’m sure??

 

Once we were done with our breakfast next came some lunch!!! We were given what is known as “The Trio”, a smaller portion of three favorite menu items.  Ours had the DC Chicken Salad, Lemon Orzo Soup, and Quinoa Tabbouleh.  The chicken salad was perfectly dressed, and tasted fresh and lite with just the right amount of crunch.  Lemon Orzo Soup was refreshing, tasty and filled with not only chicken but fresh vegetables, it quickly went on my list of items to order the next time I visit.  It was not over yet, we were also given the Spicy Asian Pork sandwich to taste, as taste we did.  I could taste the freshness of the vegetables, the crunch of the “slaw”, and the softness of the bread…well the bread alone could have sustained me for days.

 

By the time our “dinner” was served I was beginning to get full!!! But once I saw the Pesto Chicken Cavatappi I quickly decided I had enough room!!!! As a pesto fan I love the chance to taste anything that has pesto as an ingredient.  This dish didn’t let me down, the pesto taste was not overwhelming the way some pesto can be, it was very lite tasting and the creaminess of the dish blended perfectly with the pasta, think of it as an adult version of macaroni and cheese.  The pieces of chicken were plenty and cooked perfectly in order to hold the creamy pesto sauce.

So, are you hungry yet?  You are probably thinking “what about the bakery”?  Well, they did not let us leave without taking a few of their yummy cupcakes to share with our families and judging by the reaction from my children they were as tasty as they looked (I think I had a small taste).  There are currently a few of these restaurants across the state with more planned as the year goes on, but this location in Middletown is certainly a nice family alternative to the hustle and bustle of Newport. 

Did I mention that they gave me a gift card for a giveaway to a lucky reader so you can sample some of the delicious food that Corner Bakery Café serves anytime of the day!!!  All you have to do is leave a comment about what your favorite breakfast food is and 1 winner will be randomly chosen on August 7, 2015!!!!!

A Photo Session for Me

Having a neighbor who is a professional photographer has its advantages. Like when she wants to practice some new techniques and asks you to be her model, this is exactly what happened on a recent evening.  Stephanie is the owner of StarLight Photography which is based in North Kingstown, RI. She specializes in weddings, but also does a variety of photography including family portraits, children’s photo sessions and glamovers.  She is very professional and will offer you different suggestions so that your photo session goes smoothly and the pictures come out beautifully. 

On the particular evening she photographed me she did what I called a “mini glamover”.  She did my hair and makeup in such a way that made me still look like me, just fancier.  I wore my own clothes so I was comfortable and natural looking.  Stephanie photographed me outside as the sun was setting, which gave my pictures a glow and look that I like.  Now for the actual pictures, I will let them speak for themselves….

 

                                          This is one of my favorite pictures, I love the way
                                          the sun is just setting, and gives off the glow that I
                                          mentioned earlier.

 

                                        I love photographs taken by the water.  All of the photos

                                        in this post were taken right outside of a residential
                                        community in North Kingstown, RI.

Happy Birthday Zoe!!!!

As I sit writing this I have a five year old, when it is published I will have a six year old….six how can it be?  Wasn’t it just yesterday I was waking my husband up at five in the morning to tell him I was pregnant, wasn’t it just yesterday I was figuring out my due date, making sure it want going to be the same as my first born?  On May, 14 2009 at 12:56 we went from a family of three to a family of four.  We went from having one car seat to two, from a single stroller to a double, from one crib to two all this happened six years ago.  From the moment I found out I was pregnant I knew I was having a girl, I knew her name was going to be Zoe Elizabeth, that is until Mr. O suggested we change her middle name to Laura after my grandmother.  This change made her the fourth generation to carry the name Laura in my family, the initial “L” was also after my recently deceased grandfather, and his middle name was Leo.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that we decided to take both children on vacation when she was just 3 months old, or that we were fighting with our then pediatrician to get to the bottom of her constant crying and belly troubles?  That first year was tough; we were struggling to find our new dynamic, struggling to afford the new formula our daughter had to be on because of her milk allergy, struggling through my postpartum depression.  That first year went by too fast, and the subsequent years have gone even faster!!!

The past six years have been filled with laughter and tears, achievements and disappointments, love and loss, struggles and achievements.  There have been vacations, dance classes, fights over clothes, painted nails and skinned knees.  Zoe can dress the part of a dainty little girl, but don’t let that fool you; she is a child who knows what she wants and will argue a point with you until she is blue in the face…..reminds me of someone else I know.  She loves to dance and twirl, but she will also climb on top of a rock like all the boys do, she will ask for me to paint her nails and then go dig for worms in the mud with her dad.  She has gone from a child who didn’t care for books as a toddler to a child who will “read” to herself or her dolls.  Often times you can hear her before you ever see her, she will notice every car that drives by or when the neighbor walks their dog which has earned her the title of “Mayor” in our little neighborhood.  Everyone wants to be her friend, but she will only play with a few children that she chooses.

She is the reason I have more gray hairs, more laugh lines, and more silliness in my life.  Recently she has begun calling me princess as in “Let’s go princess it’s time for ballet” when asked who the queen is she says “me of course”.  She can bring a room of adults howling with laughter, which has prompted her own hashtag #thingszoesays that I started as a way to keep others laughing along with us.  Often times I will preface a statement regarding something she has said or done with the phrase “I couldn’t make this up if I tried” and it’s true.  Recently when she realized that her brother keeps a magazine or books that he is reading under his pillow she began doing the same thing only she keeps a book, crayons, paper dolls, and even a pair of children’s scissors amongst other things.  Every day as her mother is an adventure.

I don’t know what the future holds for her or me, or anyone for that fact but I do know that whatever she decides to do with her life she will ROCK at it.  Zoe has an unbelievable spirit that makes her who she is, she is the best of everything Mr. O and I possess in us.  So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE, as I said on Facebook yesterday, the world is yours go out and get it!!! xoxo Mama

 

                                                                        May 14, 2009

                                                                    May 2012

May 14, 2015