Doing lots of baking in our house these days. Spring can't come soon enough!
Big news was announced last week at Steelcase, where I work, on our new partnership with Microsoft. The past few months have been busy for the marketing team getting lots of tactics in place in time for the public announcement that went live Monday. This winter at lot of my time and attention has been devoted to the creation of the partnership video which was a collaboration between both companies and shot here in our Work Lab on our Grand Rapids campus.
Also in work news, we're adding an assistant video producer to our team and are currently in the process of interviewing. Ideally we'll have this person selected before my maternity leave (just over a month away now) so they can keep things rolling while I'm away and then eventually manage the projects here in the Americas market freeing more of my time to further develop our resources in our Asian and European markets. I'm looking forward to some more international travel upon my return later this summer.
And while things aren't quite tidied up and ready for me to leave work quite yet, it's the complete opposite at home. The new baby's room is completely ready for his arrival. I think having been through the process once before is leaving me feeling really prepared. Last week I even bought the Cadillac of double strollers, the City Select Baby Jogger, second hand, off our neighborhood resale site. And so, yes, I'm feeling prepared, excited and strong (and round) as we move (roll) into this last month.
Last weekend we checked out the newest neighborhood restaurant addition, Matchbox, and loved it! A few Rosewood neighbors and us stopped in for dinner Friday night and I was impressed by their food, ambiance and was totally thrilled they are within walking distance to our house. Eastown just keeps getting better! Jeff ordered the fish entree which was very tasty (um, butter) while I had a salad that was giant and super fresh. We also shared fries and a mushroom app with the table that were also great. They serve breakfast all day long and also worth mentioning, they have prosecco AND Old Style on tap (Old Style = $1.50!). I'm returning with girl friends this weekend for brunch so it's safe to say we totally recommend it.
Photo Credit: matchboxdiner.com
The butterflies are blooming! at Fredrick Meijer Gardens and last Monday we had a family date night at their member event. While there weren't near as many butterflies flying around as we expected (thinking many of them were still hanging out in the caterpillar hut just yet?), Natalie had as good a time as any walking around the indoor gardens. There were kids crafts, face painting, a live steel drum band which captivates the toddler in anyone and snacks (donuts!). The visit has gotten us excited for the announcement of the full concert schedule hosted there this summer.
Lent is upon us and we're holding true to one of our new years resolutions by adding more intention to our faith practices. Mars Hill is offering 6 Vesper (which simply translates to evening or night) services each Sunday through Lent hosted at St. Cecilia Music Hall. We attend the last two Sundays with a group from our church followed by discussion together over dinner and drinks after the service. If you're looking to push your boundaries in faith practices, it's a great opportunity. You can register HERE, it's free.
Saturday we got 'seriously funny' and supported Laughfest and attended Joel McHale at DeVos Performance Hall. Preceded by sushi at Maru before hand (so good), we laughed through nearly 2 hours of solid comedy. Joel catered his routine to us as a city including ones about our local beer culture, Amway Corporation and he even gave us some crap on how if we were to have built our city on the lake shore we could essentially be Chicago right now. And damnit, now all I can think about is how sweet it would be to look out my office window and see Lake Michigan.
Last, as we prepare to add another member to our Grand Rapids family I've decided to commit a few more posts to the blog that is curated family content. The new GR Family Series will cover everything from lists of family friendly restaurants to the best parks and even pointers on where you might get your kids swim lessons. With a first hand experience of what it's like to raise a family here in GR, we figure... why not share what we're learning?! We'll begin with our top 5 Grand Rapids locations to get coffee with kids. Keep an eye out for that post soon! Have a great week everyone!
POSTSCRIPT:
- Quick 'thank you' to Jeremy Gonsoir for including MCL in his 'Top 5 Grand Rapids Bloggers to Start Following Now' post last month.