February was loads of fun but it was also full of lots of hard work, so, we’re appropriately naming this post: Work Hard, Play Hard.
The January ski theme continued through the month of February with another family trip to Caberfea and a winter weekend away at Boyne Mountain with friends. This was our first time visiting Boyne and it’s very safe to say that we’ll be back again next year. We had a blast skiing the slopes with the kids (including some night skiing with fresh pow-pow!!), enjoyed the indoor waterpark, hit up the arcade and loved the indoor-outdoor heated swimming pool and hot tubs. The Grand Mountain Lodge is perfect for families with an extremely convent ski-in-ski-out location, adorable gingerbread looking bunk rooms for the kids and our suite came with a full service kitchen which was perfect for lazy breakfasts and crockpot dinners. We grabbed lunch one of the days in a Back Forty Igloo and it was wonderful! We had a fabulous time and look forward to a repeat trip in the future.
Caberfea continues to be a staple in our family ski agenda and for good reason too: it’s the perfect size for the kids, we’re always joined by friends and it’s only an hour and 40 minute drive north. And it’s cheap too (at least for another year anyway) with kids lift tickets pricing in at only $5 each. We’ve got one last Caberfea day left in us this weekend and after that we’ll likely hang up the skis for the season. Spring’s a come’n, my friends.
When we weren’t skiing in February we were busy eating cheese and drinking wine with neighbors. We hosted our Ottawa Hills friends for some neighborhood banter and cocktails and it was the party that didn’t wanna quit. We hung out until well past midnight and the recycle bin was quite heavy on the way down to the road the following Monday morning.
We also caught up with our old Rosewood neighbors for a super fun ‘board party’ at the Bordoli’s residence. Each couple prepared our own board to share with the group and the hosts provided the beverages. I put together a traditional cheese and charcuterie while others got creative with sushi, Thai, Mexican, salads and desserts. There was tons of food and plenty of great conversation. For many, it’s easy to sever ties with old neighbors and despite our new locations (which are still less than a half mile from one another) the additional blocks between our new homes still prevent those daily interactions we might otherwise have had. And so, these periodic and intentional gatherings with this solid bunch of old friends is something we continue to be grateful for because we know it’s not typical.
We also celebrated with family for my Mom and sister-in-law Rachels February birthdays. They’ve got back to back birthdays so each year we have them blow out their candles together after a big family dinner in Schoolcraft. Per usual I was assigned dessert and made a traditional cheesecake while my Dad owned the meal and prepared incredible prosciutto wrapped scallops on the grill - to die for! My brother and Rachel have two kiddos now which totals 4 grandkids for my parents: two girls, two boys. Each time we’re all together as a family I can see the joy in their eyes and it’s the absolute best.
Book Club continues this winter with my girlfriends from Watermark. It’s a fun staple in the off season to keep in touch with those who I typically see weekly for golf league. The club is mostly wine and snacks and less book chatter. But we DO actually read the book and sometimes we talk about it. This month was hosted by Ami who made a meal Martha Stewart would have envied.
Right now I’m toggling between a handful of books including Revealing Revelation by Amir Tsarfati (on audible), The Love of my Life by Rosie Walsh (a plane read I still have yet to finish) and The Bonjour Effect by Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau - in preparation for France later this Fall. And the fact I’m in the middle of three books right now is kinda funny because for the last two weeks I’ve made zero headway on any of them. Mostly, I’m distracted by our (mine and Jeff’s) interest in the Hulu docu series Welcome to Wrexham by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. it’s about their purchase of a professional soccer team in Wales and it’s consistently pulling our focus after the kids are in bed.
The ‘play hard’ aspect of our lives has certainly been countered by the work portion of our lives. Jeff’s work at DJs continues to grow giving him plenty to keep busy. He enjoys his work very much and from my vantage point… he’s having a lot of ‘fun’ in his role there. It’s a great fit for him, the company and for our family.
Steelcase has gone through even more change in the last few weeks affecting my team directly, yet again. One week after our annual team retreat (where I took the guys out for lunch and to get pedicures as part of our day) we learned we’d be going through another round of headcount reductions as the company continues to ‘right-size’. We said farewell to Sean last week (joining one additional team member who was let go just over three months ago) now taking our team from 5 to 3. Sean is pictured below - he’s the one with the long hair. At the retreat the guys gifted me my very own directors chair - it was the most thoughtful gift I think I’ve ever received.
In short, it’s a bummer to lose team members. It sucks for those who are let go and for those left behind who are working to figure out new ways to work without them. We’re feeling the ‘shrinking-pains’ for sure right now but remaining hopeful for the future.
And despite the ample amount of ‘bum-sauce’ being dished out at the office right now, the hard work continues. At the beginning of February both Mark and Jose joined me on a work trip to NYC to capture the newly updated Halcon showroom - one of Steelcase’s latest acquisitions. And back in Grand Rapids we’ve been shooting nearly every single day as we enter our busy season. Everyone loves video.
March is upon us and the kids are counting down the days until their birthdays and Spring Break. At some point this month I hope to eat a saucy Rueben sandwich in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and will probably go through the kids closets to see what still fits their growing bodies for summer clothes. Until next time!
POSTSCRIPT - Other things worth mentioning:
Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad from Hancock - SO GOOD. It’s very possible I’ve mentioned this before but the Kale Caesar from Terra can move over because the Hancock Brussel Salad is my new fav.
Matilda the Movie - We rented on Amazon Prime. This was recommended by one of my co-workers… the kids LOVED it. Giggled all the way through it and they both found Miss Trunchbull (the principal) to be quite scary and joked about what it would be like if Mr. Barkel from their school was like that. I also just found out that there is a brand new Matilda the Musical currently running in London. I hope it goes on tour soon or comes to Chicago - would love to go see it with the kids after watching the movie.
Franca’s Pizza for Takeout - We are big fans of this Italian style pizza spot in Eastown. The pies are super hearty and they offers a handful of really unique combos. My favorite it the Hawaiian.
