Our first stop was for breakfast at Lucile's. This seems to have become a tradition - and a yummy one at that!
This small, very charming, homey little cafe serves marvelous Creole food.
While waiting for our name to be called, I meandered around their gardens. These hollyhocks reminded me of my childhood. We had a LOT of hollyhocks in our Iowan backyard and my sisters and I would make "dolls" out of them. You just pluck off this bloom and then stick a toothpick in a round bud and poke it through the small end of the open flower. That makes a cute little flower doll with a very pretty gala-ball-like skirt.
Love the Lamb's Ear. It's so soft, fuzzy, and kid-friendly. I grew it in a pot our first year in KS but haven't since. Perhaps next year!
My favorite thing on the menu is Eggs Ponchatrain. It is a delicious trout topped with a poached egg (poached hard for me!). I get it with the grits. When I eat it I think of my Dad because he SO very MUCH loved fishing for trout in the Big Thompson River that runs through Estes Park and Ft Collins. Dad (and mom) would make "mush", which I have discovered is actually grits that they would cook until very thick and bubbly. Then they'd pour into pans to set. We sliced it very thinly and fried it on a griddle and ate it with maple syrup. Oh, how I loved it! Also served with the dish is the enormous, buttery biscuit you see. It's actually more like cake with a crunch top! Delicious!!
Our next stop (and usually follows Lucile's) is a stop at The Cupboard, a MOST MARVELOUS kitchen store in Ft. Collins. It is Carey and Nancy's store. It's a good thing we don't live there because I would have a difficult time staying out of this store!
This gorgeous fall display greeted us at the front door. Almost makes you want to make a pumpkin pie!
They carry a lovely line of Polish pottery. Since I'm a lover of all things blue, I just stand and gaze at all the lovely design and patterns. It's quite pricy, so I've indulged in just two pieces for my kitchen. They make me very happy!
I love Fiesta ware! My mom had these dishes when I was a small girl. I don't remember all the colors she had, but today she still has the cute dark blue salt and pepper shakers, a nest of three mixing bowls in yellow, blue and green, and a covered dish in green. Don't the bright colors just make you SMILE??!?!?!
This is what I bought. I went there looking for a glazed ceramic garlic keeper. This cute little white dish with the red silicon top is a garlic roaster and storer. I haven't used it as a roaster yet, but my garlic is staying fresher! The night we arrived Nancy showed me her new measuring cups and so I bought a set. They are very versatile, for both liquid and dry measurement, the small one cup, two cup and large 4 cup. They are flexible and so you can squeeze to pour. Our granddaughter, Isabel, helped me in the kitchen yesterday and she could handle the small one very well. Thanks for the tip Nancy!
We visited the Colorado State University Horticultural Gardens on the way home. We've walked through these before but they are so beautiful, they called for a second visit.
We all loved the contrast between the flower petals and the spiky grasses.
Loved these bright marigolds! We planted a border of them in our front garden before we went to California in April. When we came home they had been totally stripped by our resident rabbits. Those little "buggers"!
If I remember right, these are foxgloves. Can you find the bee?
Loved the coleus. Did you know it is in the mint family? That's what Webster's says, when I checked for spelling.
This bronze coleus was absolutely stunning! Loved the color variations!
A great first day in "The Fort", as Carey and Nancy call it.
Nice photos, Carolyn :) I don't remember the last time I was in Ft. Collins (I was probably a young child), but it looks like a place I should go to as an adult. Your Fiesta Ware dish photos makes me think of my mother. She has quite the collection of colors, and last week, she told me that next weekend, she and my dad are doing some traveling to buy some more colors :) So, our family dinners will indeed be colorful at my parents'.
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