Another bakery

Lincoln Bakery

Cookies,

desserts,

cakes, oh my!

If I was turning 7 again, 

my heart would beat fast for this cake:

That Barbie cake is a vision, 

and she knows it!

Mr. shows off his goods.

I do love a pretty white bakery box tied with twine.

We shared this pretty key lime tart.

It was good,

but not great.

Sweet enough but not tart enough.

And too much whip cream.

Still, that Barbie cake is in my mind...

Oldie but goodie

Pittsburgh is an old city.

Older looking than Cincinnati.

For example:

It is hard to imagine that Jerry Kitman 

can modernize your home

with such old signage.

He means modern furniture.

Inside I saw rockin' zebra print dining room chairs!

Even the cars are old!

Behind the main street

is this alley

filled with gardens.

All these tiny cement back yards

carefully fenced it.

The beds have to be built

and the soil trucked in.

These people are hard-working,

 and proud,

(one woman saw me taking photos, 

and ran out to show me photos of her lilies, which were out of bloom),

they remind me of my Polish grandparents.

They are doing the best they can with what they have.

What could I do,

if I really did the BEST I could

with all that I have?

I love all these garages

and you can see, nothing in Pittsburgh is flat!

Quirky narrow alley with stairs at one end

Texture even in the roads.

Two kinds of bricks!

Every inch is planted.

Makes me miss my grandparents.

Pittsburgh, for real!

Okay, now we live in Pittsburgh.

For REAL.

We took a break from the endless unpacking 

(and breaking things) to tour a little in our new city.

First stop:  the National Aviary

I'll bet you didn't even know we HAD a national aviary.

Neither did I.

This toucan was so exciting,

we didn't even notice the sloth sharing a cage with him.

Good thing we doubled back.

The sloth was so slow, 

we didn't miss much.

Most of the birds are in these lovely tropical gardens.

It looks like the Krohn Conservatory

but with birds.  

They are really approachable.

In the flamingo room there were owls in a cage.

It smelled in here.

Like birds.

Or rather, bird crap.

We didn't stay long.

Like I said, 

the birds were REALLY approachable.

I didn't even bring the big zoom lens.

Hello cutie penguin!

You can stand on a big rock and look down on the penguins.

There is a sign that says 

"Penguins bite".

So, I climbed up on the rock to get a good photo.

I guess the lens hanging down reminded the penguins of herring,

and it was nearly lunch time for them.

One shimmied right up to me

and SCARED THE CRAP out of me.

Mr. laughed.

But I am a rule follower

and I took the "Penguins bite" advice to heart.

Don't worry, no penguins or people were harmed during these photos.

That's because there is a big, safe clear tunnel 

to stand inside.

Lucky for us, this penguin was happy to pose.

Imagine how dumb these photos would look

if no penguin was nearby.

He looked RIGHT at me.

I felt like the penguin whisperer.

See, approachable.

I have never seen a bird like this.

This is a Kookaburra.

From the children's song.  

Mr. sang it.

The whole rest of our visit.

Except the Kookaburra never once laughed.

I guess we aren't that funny.

Aren't we just a bunch of

bird brains!

French Bakery

Well, you knew it wouldn't be long

before we found a French bakery

in Pittsburgh.

They have macarons.

The French kind.

And they are delicious!

Beautiful and fragile,

just like in France.

Be still my beating heart!

Drooling over the goods.

I think opera cream cakes are too rich.

I know, you think someone else is writing the blog today...

but it's me.

Too rich.

So, I LOVE the pieces you can get here.

And I love the elegant script

announcing what you are about to indulge in.

For those of you wondering,

this broken window is NOT due to 

Hurricane Irene.

But the board on the window is perfect

given that we can't seem to get that song out of our heads!

Sister chose a delicious danish.

Not me!  

French bakeries make the best croissants,

and I chose the chocolate one.

For medicinal purposes, of course.

French Laundry

I have found a beautiful place.

French Laundry.

It is a great restaurant.

And bakery.

And coffee place.

I want one.

But not to own.

Just to enjoy.

It was crazy busy there.

We were on a schedule.

So we could only get pastries.

Croissants.

Like in Paris.

Lemon scones

for the refined 14 year old pallet.

Can you see those buttery, flaky layers?

So we stood there,

hillbilly picnic.

Pitiful.

Even the flowers were lovely.

French Laundry, 

can you come to Pittsburgh?

I promise I will frequent you every day.

Well, at least every weekend.

And MOST weekdays.

Please consider it. 

Bay View...one last time

I thought I'd share a few of my 

favorite Bay View cottages.

I like the color on this one,

and the oval shape to the porch.

It looks a little moorish to me.

This one...the navy blue

and lime furniture

with a touch of periwinkle.

If our cottage wasn't pink, it would be these colors.

Wanna crack up?

This is Sister Too's favorite cottage.

It's huge.

And she just learned that it is owned by a large family

and it's not for sale.

No matter.

She has a plan.

She will be an orthodontist 

and sweet talk the family into selling it to her.

Ah, to be young and optimistic.

This cottage is always so festive.

I love the sunset in the background.

Another famous double porch.

This one is curious.

It looks old, but has a weird 50's addition

that doesn't quite seem to "go".

Aren't those doors beautiful?

As I was walking around, 

I saw this bride and groom walking through a tunnel of sparklers.

How fun!

Next time I get married, I am totally doing that.

Are you listening Mr.?

This cottage got a new paint job this summer.

I love the ever so pale grey

and the bold red!  

There is another door on the porch that is also red.

The geraniums set the whole thing off.

So clever!