June 19, 2014 by Pointes of View

The Homes of Grosse Pointe

Lots of weathervanes, a feature that I love.

The homes of Grosse Pointe are super different than the homes in San Francisco. For all I know the houses here are typical Midwestern homes, but all this is new to me, so nothing here is truly “typical” from my point of view.

A summer cottage back in the day. Photo credit: GP Historical Society

Initially (and without getting into all the nitty-gritty history, which can be found via the Grosse Pointe Historical Society), Grosse Pointe was first a French colony. After the Civil War, the upper echelon of Detroit started vacationing in Grosse Pointe, taking over farms and building summer homes. In the late 1800s, according to the GP Historical Society, the first year-round residence of Grosse Pointe was established. Huge estates started to pop up all over the Pointes – homes that took up full city blocks and have since been torn down, making room for several more modest homes.

Typical Grosse Pointe brick home.

More brick. And those trees!

So, here we are, present day. For sure there is a lot of brick going on. I don’t want to go as far as saying that most homes are brick, because I’m not sure that would be entirely true. Lots of red brick, of course, but also white-washed and sand-blasted brick, both of which I quite like.

There are also a good handful of farm houses (which I would love, love, love to live in) and craftsman-style homes (also, if you haven’t noticed, I’m not an architect. Some of the terms here I’m using are probably not actually correct architectural terms. And I’m okay with that). A wee handful of stone homes, lots of siding, loads of columns…

and a bunch of homes built in the 50s and 60s with some midcentury modern homes stuck in there (I used a correct architectural term! I think.).

Typical decoration items are weathervanes, mostly over garages, with mounts ranging from ducks to geese other birds to dogs. There are also many colorful front doors here, a favorite being bright red.

Shutters are also extremely popular and colorful shutters seem to also be “in” (particularly dark teal-ish and mauve). Other popular decorations are the American flag (don’t see much of that in San Francisco)…

…and stone statues flanking the porch or front door or driveway. For example, two crouching lions or two regal dogs, or perhaps one dog holding a basket in its mouth, etc.

photo credit: trulia.com

Something I really love here are the trees and plant life. San Francisco had trees and Golden Gate Park was gorgeous, but the trees here are enormous, reaching way up to the sky. And summertime trees are so full (and full of life) and bright. And they are everywhere. On every block. It seems like every house, big or small, has some kind of garden going on. Almost daily I see people working in their yards – weeding, putting mulch down, planting new flowers. It’s nice being part of a community that cares about nature (well, except for the pesticide thing. sigh).

So there’s your short (and hopefully sweet) tour of the neighborhood. Coming soon in a future post, I’ll take you inside some of the homes we visited (and some we didn’t) on our house hunt. Helloooo, wallpaper!

June 13, 2014 by Pointes of View

Twelve More Things I’ve Learned (about Grosse Pointe).

Lake St. Clair

A few weeks after we moved here, I made a list of twelve things I’ve learned about Grosse Pointe. Now that another two months have gone by, I’ve learned a few more things:

Wow. Your bedspread matches your curtains. In every room. (More on house-hunting in another post.)
The electric oven is eons better than the gas oven. There, I said it.
Everyone I’ve talked to has warned me about the vigilant and prominent police presence. Above all, do NOT speed, they say. Police are everywhere. Okay, done. So why does everyone ride so close to my bumper? Stop tailing me. Where are you even going? I would say that every time I get on the road, someone gets all up on me at least once. Some old guy in a Jaguar actually passed me the other day on a 25 mph road.
I knew produce was going to be sad. Still. My one girlfriend here (also a California transplant) said to me with a shrug of her shoulders, “I hate to say this, but you really just have to…you know, lower your standards.” Now when I buy avocados, I buy at least five at a time, in case the first two I cut open aren’t usable.

benchpark
5. Lazy summer evenings are easily one of my top five most favorite things in life. Oh how I’ve missed you, Summertime! Contrary to popular belief, San Francisco does not have a true summer. Certain pockets of the city might, but much of the city is covered in fog and cold during the months of June, July and August. Which is why tourist stores display their “I heart San Francisco” sweatshirts at the front of their shops in summer. And why I continue to see Facebook photos of my friends wearing parkas.

6.Kids live here! Sure, kids live in San Francisco, too, but you don’t really see them. It’s hard to explain. In Grosse Pointe, kids are everywhere and they’re made to feel like part of the community. Often kids are unaccompanied or even alone. I’m talking about little kids… five- and six-year olds taking their dog for a walk around the block or riding a bike up and down the street.

7.Running along the lake is just as great as running through Golden Gate Park. Although the dirt paths in the park were a little easier on the knees – yikes.

8.Seriously, stop tailing me already!

9.I may never eat good Chinese food again (unless I’m in Hawaii or San Francisco or London. Or maybe China).

10.Trader Joe’s is the only store that sells organic milk that is not ultra-pasteurized. I’ve looked everywhere. If you don’t know the difference between pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized, you can check out this explanation at Musings of a Housewife.

11.What’s that smell? Oh, it’s just pesticide. You know, a bunch of chemicals that are harmful to people and animals. It is pretty much on every front lawn. sigh

12.When all else fails, go for a bunny walk. This has helped stave off many a meltdown at our house. We haven’t actually seen any bunnies on these walks (although oh my gosh you guys, I saw a little baby bunny in our backyard last week. It was sooooo cute!) I’m sure the huge, black dog has something to do with that. But we have seen many from the car on our bunny drives.

I’m enjoying these lists. I may just make it a regular thing.

June 5, 2014 by Pointes of View

Weekly Photo Challenge: Split-Second Story

This Week’s Challenge: To document a moment in through a single image.

Watching the thunderstorm.
Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan

May 9, 2014 by Pointes of View

Letter to the Editor: Let’s Get Rid of Styrofoam

As a follow-up to my Burning Questions post, here’s a first step at public awareness for environmental issues that I care about: a Letter to the Editor of On Pointe magazine (also publishers of Grosse Pointe Magazine. Both periodicals are delivered to all Grosse Pointe residents free of charge). I would use the word “passionate” in place of “care about,” but then I would be holding myself accountable to bigger things, which I’m not really prepared to do at the moment. Baby steps.

Dear Sir,

I was so pleased to see that the Spring issue of On Pointe was focused on going green. As a new resident, it was great to read about the many steps the Pointes have taken to make our cities more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, and I’m proud to be part of such a community.

But I think we can do more. I was shocked to find out that restaurants and cafes in the area mainly use Styrofoam (or part-Styrofoam) for carry-out and take-home orders. Styrofoam is one of the worst products in our environment. One of the reasons being that its chemical byproducts leak into food, which can then harm our reproductive systems. And there is strong thought that food and drink consumed out of Styrofoam containers causes cancer (it’s classified as a possible carcinogen by the EPA).

I think it’s a perfect time to start the conversation (or pick it up, if it’s been started) about asking our businesses to consider alternative means of carry-out storage (paper-based, recyclable plastics, compostables). The Pointes have shown that they care enough to embrace change in order to better our communities.

And who knows where the conversation might lead… reusable bags in every purse and car trunk, the preference of water bottles to bottled water, recycling receptacles next to trash bins in shopping districts and parks, home-composting (which could eventually lead to a city-run composting program). We’ve come so far, but can go further. The possibilities are endless. Go Green!

Very Best Regards,

Lani Martin
Grosse Pointe Farms Resident
www.pointesofview.com

May 6, 2014 by Pointes of View

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring

Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan

April 27, 2014 by Pointes of View

In Search of Coffee Part I: Josef’s European Pastry Shop

Josef’s

I love a good cup of coffee. Rephrase. A good cup of espresso. Regular drip coffee makes me too shaky (if you haven’t heard, drip coffee actually has more caffeine than espresso. true story). Specifically, a cappuccino if it’s done right, a dry cappuccino if it’s done mostly right, or a macchiato, if the barista doesn’t know how to make a proper dry cappuccino.

I was pretty spoiled in San Francisco in that regard. The city has an abundance of independent cafes to choose from, many of which are snooty about their bean varieties (which, although annoying, does make for a good brew). It’s unusual for a restaurant not to offer espresso drinks, and you can often get your cappuccino fix at non-coffee establishments. For example, Fraiche, the frozen yogurt shop, offers the highly regarded Blue Bottle coffee (Oakland), along side their organic yogurt, homemade bread and chocolate chip cookies.

Peet’s in the Village. If only the inside were as inviting. (photo credit: http://www.peets.com)

Finding a perfect cup in the Grosse Pointe/Detroit area wasn’t going to be easy, I knew, from my previous trips here. There used to be a chain in town called Caribou Coffee, which made a decent cappuccino, but it was hit or miss. One of their Grosse Pointe locations was taken over by Peet’s (Berkeley), which I’m sad to say completely turned the cozy cafe (fireplaces, armchairs, community table) into a sterile space with boring furniture (and no fireplace).

The local Starbucks. (photo credit: http://www.starbuckseverywhere.net)

The other location was taken over by Starbucks. All things said and done, I’d rather not do chains. Although, as mentioned in my Top-Twelve post, I have to admit that the Starbucks in town makes a better cappuccino than any San Francisco Starbucks (confounding!).

Morning Glory (photo credit: http://www.morningglorygrossepointe.com)

Oh, Morning Glory. How I want to love you… Nestled in a small shopping district called The Hill, this newish (2012?) coffee shop’s interior is inviting and eclectic and fun (and they have a lovely outdoor patio for warmer days). The baristas are really sweet. But… the coffee. As one Yelper reviews, “the latte was drinkable, which makes it good for this part of town (where the options are Starbucks and stay home).” Hysterical and pretty much spot on.

I don’t know where they are getting their coffee beans or what they are doing to them, but the taste is bitter (in a bad way) or burnt and the foam lasts about two seconds. And forget about getting a cup to go, which is served in styrofoam (eeek!), which ruins the flavor even further. To their credit, their blueberry scone was buttery and fresh tasting, and their country eggs (scrambled with cheese and bacon) was excellently cooked (not overdone in the least, which is often the case at a place like this).

Josef’s (photo credit: http://www.josefspastryshop.com)

One morning while I was driving around with the girls, I spotted Josef’s and made a mental note to check it out. My online searching told me that the shop has been around since 1971 and that the original owner sold the place in 2008 to two brothers from Montreal. I took the girls there on a Friday afternoon. We were the only ones there when we walked in, and the woman behind the counter was warm and friendly. There was a loooong counter filled with pastries, cookies, pies and cakes. I asked if all of them were made in-house. She said yes. All of them? Again, “yes” with a nod and a smile.

The girls chose a smiley face sugar cookie and a sugar cookie dipped in chocolate and filled with jam. I opted for the almond croissant, telling myself to enjoy it, even if it wasn’t La Boulange. I was thrilled to spot their espresso machine and ordered a cappuccino. It was perfect – success! And the croissant. Delicious. It was flaky and buttery, and the filling had just enough almond flavor not to be overwhelming (and not too sweet, either). It wasn’t La Boulange, it was better. I was so happy, I started chatting with the woman about San Francisco, coffee, the kids (normally you couldn’t pay me to talk to a stranger. Not even a nice one).

So there you have it. The search for a good cup of coffee in Grosse Pointe is over. For now. I’m going to keep checking out places as I see them, but when I’m out and about and need a pick-me-up, I’ll head for Josef’s.

(Coming Soon: Part II of In Search of Coffee, featuring Detroit’s Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company)

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