A Leave of Absence

Well it has been exactly 3 months since my last post. And while generally I would find that extremely embarrassing (& still kinda do), things have been a bit crazy in the Cerulean life... well, more so than usual. 

To begin with, there has been much attention directed toward our new baby. And yes, I mean a literal baby... not Banks, not Lenny, not the restaurant... George Tennyson France. 

Born March 7th during one of the MOST beautiful weeks March has ever seen in Indiana... sunny, 70 degree weather, light spring breeze, birds chirping.... and plenty of opportunities to open the windows & let the fresh air breathe in on our new way of life. We could not be happier.

And yes, I could go on & on & ONNNN about the little man we commonly call, Tenny, but I will leave it alone for now in order to get all the other "babies" their fair share of recognition regarding their development the past 3 months....

For example, the bullies... other than a few attention deprived whines & bouts of rebellion with this new "thing" in the house...they have remained fairly consistent. Eat, sleep, poop, sleep, play, sleep. (and who said having a kid is any different) : ) 

The FANTASTIC husband (and yes, he has become even more fantastic if that's possible) turned the big 3-0 in the wake of Tennyson's arrival & while I did not feel he got the proper celebration in any way, shape or form- I think he considered it a good birthday. 

We continued the addition to our house- practically adding a whole other house worth to our property! And yes, they were pounding & drilling & sawing & beeping while I tried to manage a 1 week old baby. But no, he did not seem to mind... at all. 

The restaurant has progressed & changed in so many ways that I almost feel like an outsider going back to work.... One of the weirdest feelings I've had in awhile. We have turned over so many staff members that a server actually told a customer, who happened to be a good friend of mine, that she has never worked with me... ouch, kinda. I mean, wow, things have changed. The Garden is now open & in full swing & summer has succeeded in creeping upon us so fast that Bike Fest & Art Fair have already come & gone! Welcome to the summer! 

And yes, even though the Garden is only in its 3rd season, we did some renovating!

The Indianapolis location has taken off as well. Caleb has been back & forth quite a bit in the past few months. In fact, Tenny & I finally got to go with him this last trip! (And yes, we took the plane!) So I got to take a few pictures for myself of our new emerging space. 

The space will be delivered to us June 15th & then... hold on to your hats! We're moving in! 

So, I think that is the abridged, abbreviated, condensed version of all the new developments over the past 3 months. And yes, our hands are full.... 

but our hearts are even fuller. : )

Indianapolis, here we come

A little shout out!

Steel frame on the left is us!

Steel frame on the right- Next to the Alexander Hotel!

Right smack on the corner of Delaware & South!

a wee bit o' growth

On the restaurant front...

We are moving right along... the week(s) of confrontations & bad attitudes have finally ended & we are moving forward in this FOH development! Managers are starting to catch their stride & expectations have been set. I think we are on the up & up. Please God, let us be on the up & up. The absolute highlight & humble factor for yours truly was the result of February's financials. I have had a lot of guilt regarding having this baby & no longer being able to "pull my own weight" at the restaurant. A lot of that has stemmed from the fact that I had to move multiple people up in responsibilities to take over my work which also meant paying them all more. Of course I love that I have staff who are capable to take on those roles & I am happy to be able to pay them more... but my guilt came from the fear that I am hindering the restaurant financially or inhibiting some sort of growth. HOWEVER, for the first time in 6 years, Cerulean made money in the month of February. Wow! Ok Courtney, you can get over yourself now. What a humbling, encouraging step in the progress of this Cerulean life.
And in the meantime, the kitchen & the bar also continues to rock it out!

  

On the home front...

Holy moley we are going up fast! I can't even keep up in photos because this progression has been over the course of 3 days! The addition on the house has begun & although the power saws @ 7.00a are a bit obnoxious, it will be sooooo worth it. Sometimes I still can't believe it's happening... our little cottage house is becoming a home to grow in. 

On the bully front...

Banks has finally warmed up to the fact that Lenny will be in his life from here on out. In fact, I think he may actually be happy about it. 

And Lenny has only grown further in his love of Banks. His need for snuggles & hugs have intensified to the point where he is forcing himself upon Banks. He no longer minds. I mean, how could you not want a hug from this guy??

And on the baby front...

We are 2 weeks from due date & anxious, excited, curious, happy, overwhelmed, and mostly just.... ready. : ) The baby is growing & growing & therefore... 

...the belly is growing & growing...

...and growing.

Needless to say, this life is ever present, ever changing, ever growing, ever... real. 

(and yes, that is Lenny pinning Banks in the last picture)

It's a need a glass of wine day... alas...

There are days when life is frustrating. There are days when it feels like all I am doing is putting out fires & persuading others that a good attitude is a good idea. Ya know those days when it feels like everyone is just out to make your life more complicated than it really needs to be.... those days when it doesn't seem to matter what you do, how much you give, or how much you honestly care- people are just going to be cranky. Welcome to Monday, the 20th... I walked right into the remains of a disheveled weekend leaving repercussions that can only be described as exasperating... 

I can't complain about my life, I really can't. So the fact that today was a let down is just one hurdle in the marathon of owning a business & managing people. However, sometimes it is hard to be the "coach" all the time. Sometimes it is hard to not have someone pulling me up, helping me cope, giving me advice... It sounds so selfish to even type... but that was the kind of day I walked into... I pray for strength & I rest in the promise that God will never give me more than I can handle. I am glad that my hope is somewhere beyond here! 

Then, I get one small email... amidst the cynicism & the negativity & whatever else is going on in the water at this restaurant... and it gives me hope... and reminds me that there are always going to be bad days, weeks, months, seasons even... but there is never a reason to get bogged down & there is certainly never a reason to give up!

"The more I experience different cities the more I realize just how special and great the restaurant truly is.  From the food to the staff to the beverages.  

I went to a lot of different restaurants and cocktails lounges this weekend.  I truly believe our cocktails are hands down better and was actually excited to come home and enjoy one of ours.  I just wanted to send a little thank you and a pat on the back for building an environment that patrons and staff look forward to eating, dining, and working at. Each time I leave for a couple of days and get a renewed vigor and can't wait to apply what I've been thinking about and what I learned from the places I've seen and been to. Hope you guys had a great weekend." 

Hmmm, we really are given what we need, when we need it. 

The drama will still be there tomorrow. And yes, it will need taken care of... but if we can get at least one person to believe in what we do today- I will call it a game & be back to work harder tomorrow... 

1st ever Spirits & Food Pairing!

This past month we were able to hold our first spirits dinner. Now that we are able to serve the 'neat' stuff we thought we would kick it off with a fancy, schmancy dinner that involved 5 courses of food & 17 DIFFERENT TASTINGS OF SPIRITS to pair with it! Words cannot describe the complexity of this dinner so I will just show what we did with photos.... I mean there was nitrogen involved for crying out loud! : ) 

Cheers! To an exceptionally challenging yet rewarding night at the bar!

Opposite of barn raising

This past Sunday we visited an old farm in Ohio. It was our General Manager's Grandmother-in-law's farm.  (phew) We loaded up Nick, Jess, their toddler-sized daughter, Caleb & I into an old pick up truck & headed for the Buckeye country-side! The purpose of this trip was to reclaim some wood from the multiple barns that were about fall down on this particular farm. We will then use the wood in our next restaurant: Project Indianapolis! Nothing like a great deal! We were greeted by one of the sweetest 80 year old women I've ever met! She welcomed us in with Pot Roast & homemade pie... and then they went out to work! And by they: I mean, Caleb, Nick, & sweet 80 year old Mary!

The wind & snow picked up as the day progressed but nothing would stop Mary... Not even the truck getting stuck in the snow!

She whipped out her tractor- "easy problem" she says. 

Did I mention this lady runs this farm all by herself??

And of course, she pulled us out!

After all the food, and all the work, and all the fun... we drove the truck home loaded with lumber & memories. Thank you Mary for your hospitality & the chance to make this new restaurant really special!