"bee, I love you AND

...the toilet is overflowing."

ah. the life of a restaurant owner.
As I watching the most fetching janitor mop up the overflowing water while I plunged, I told her the story of how back at Roast & Toast every time something like this happened, we had to go talk to the bookstore that (was awesome! go McLean & Eakin...) expanded their office directly below our bathrooms. Ouch.

So while overflowing toilets, breaking down coolers, water heaters from hell, plumbers from outer space, raining apartment ceilings, flash flooding, slippery stairs, creaky doors, broken tiles, drippy valves, shaky legged sinks, and the al capone/abu ghraib basement room are without much charm, at least there isn't a bookstore underneath me.

that day also started with the first-ish guest walking in and immediately informing us that this was her first and last visit; before she even talked to us or tried anything. Like Bob Keedy used to say: "at least you don't have to be her".

just don't ask me about the day I made eye goggles from poblano peppers. No, it wasn't intentional, but you aren't gonna ask, so we won't talk about it. And floor muffins. Cunningham muffins hasn't even made those.

I spent 93% of my day in bed today. forced laziness was necessary. it's been nonstop since two days before the doors opened way back in November. And in the last 2 weeks I had an "extra" day off, I spent those days moving in to my apartment finally; unpacking boxes from the July move (that coincided with the lease signing for Washington St.) and cleaning up (on so many levels)...

oh, and you know adding several unconventional hours to my week with the breakfast buffet; which in turn inspired several more hours of brainstorming (oh, just wait, ypsilanti...) and popcorn brain... and beezy's was WAY busier than I could've hoped with 4 less staff on schedule. And I went and got smitten besides. And drunker on NYE than I've been since my 21st birthday.

yes yes, the glamour, the glory!

and to the 2 anonymous people who said I shouldn't use 'ass' when referring to recipes: suck it. As a person who's very particular about the words she chooses, a certain level of crASS is very important when referring to some inspired moment. Lighten up. I also ordered a bunch of this ass milk for lattes.

Besides, the health inspection was FINE.

Those are kale flower stalks holding up the caution tape. They were not used in the soup.

Seriously though, I take asses and food safety very seriously, and while I appreciate the concern... food is sexy and asses are sexy and while ass food, okay.. I'll stop, just had to get it out of my system. Nothing if not inappropriate is a tagline I've not been able to shake and I don't see that changing any time soon. I always thought it was part of my charm. But I'm also delusional. So there's that.

Other things we've experimented with the last couple of weeks sans recipe and with extra supplies (fortunate how when a freezer breaks you're loaded down with 4 bags of once frozen berries and cinnamon roll dough and cookie dough and... not wanting anything to go to waste, inspired moments and creative refrigeration and utilization become inspirationally mandatory- nothing like crisis to motivate)

• housemade blueberry jam, blueberry sauce
• raspberry jam and sauce
• cinnamon roll bake off- then soaked in egg happiness for 2 different baked french toasts:
  cinnapear crunch and apple crisp baked french toasts
• banana mash and calder yogurt, peanut butter and omanhene single origin Ghana chocolate becoming happy banana french toast
• sugar BUTTer cookies filled with raspberry, blueberry and happy peanut butter sauce (that also filled peanut butter cookies....)
• Chula Vista flashbacks of higas/chilaquiles; frying corn tortillas with eggs and refried beans
• smittenfest corn chowder for a new friend and who doesn't want a soup dedication? really!?) that combined a mess of roasted poblanos with potatoes, roasted garlic, roasted corn, sour cream, toasted cumin and love... then upon reheating it started to scorch (New Year's Day at breakfast- thanks to my crew of best customers ever being a posse of 18?) while kicking breakfast ass (there I go with ass again) like some breakfast ninja with a wicked hangover... still, my little 4 burner range took it's aggression out on the poor chowder which was repaired with the magic of bacon and cheese and more more more poblano peppers. It started vegetarian, but ended in bacon. (like most things should)
• a rippin' delicious vegan mushroom veggie barley
• a slew of delicious vegan entrees of fun for the VG Kids Christmas party all with recipes I conjured (is that more appropriate?). I was especially pleased with the sweet potato and wild rice casserole- roasted sweet potatoes (man, I am SO hawt for sweet potatoes! orange vegetables in general...) wild rice, celery, roasted pears, dried Michigan cherries, hickory seasoning from Alden Mill House and topped with housemade sourdough croutons and drizzled and baked with maple syrup... and the vegan mushroom and spelt noodle stroganoff was fun too; using no 'substitute' ingredients like margarine or fake sour cream: red wine, mushroom stock, coffee and almond milk are magical...
  

and probably three hundred other things.

did you know:
buff wizard calendars are available at beezy's? [19.99]
growing hope calendars too? [12.95]
erin kelley's [of tarte.] handmade groovy owl, heart and bird ornaments [11.-24.] are for sale?

a note to all of you fantastic guests and supporters: thank you SO SO SO much for your feedback, your help, your bits of delciousness you share with me- I wish I could sell everyone's everything and probably eventually will; it's just [excuse time] there is so much to do, and so little is working equipment wise that logistically, until I can afford 2 new reach in refrigerators (one just for desserts so they don't reek of leeks and roasted poblano! and another to run our ever busier breakfast days that will replace the [broken] freezer) I just can't take anything else on. Unless it's dry, easy to store and virtually indestructible :D

other things in the works that need work/visioning/writing/future blog posts:

• the milkshake buffet in 18 (18 is the room behind the curtain- where I play wizard {priestess} of Oz) as soon as the floor is laid and the lights are installed
• the soapbox saturday shindig leading into the...
  
• the late night beezy's events (hoping jonathon will dj, BZ will move back to ypsi and help host sweet ass indie folk rock in an alcohol free venue)
• more tables, more chairs, community table and benches
• finish painting, the tin ceiling, and finish finishing in general
• sami's fashion club
• the record player will work
• secret benefit breakfasts, dinners, brunches, etc.
• the mystery machine catering van (think A Team, but with beezy's flair; think Velma baking with cocaine laced flour)
  
• tables and chairs and permits, oh my, for spring & summer outdoor seating
• the grrls of beezy's calendar to benefit alex's change the vu project

damn, see what resting does?

more soon.

all my love,
yours in service-

bee