Patisserie on Fourth

I took today off from work, using one of my precious vacation days to luxuriously spend it however I wanted. Baby went to grandma's house and I found myself alone, at last, with an entire day in front of me to spend however I chose.

And I had absolutely no idea what to do.

My days are so hurried, always working, cleaning, cooking, pumping, feeding, bathing, and/or parenting; always needing a little more sleep; always resigned to the fact that "leisure" is no longer in my vocabulary. And suddenly, for one moment, I don't have to do any of that, and I simply don't know what to do with myself. Away from the rush of my daily routines, my spinning top life suddenly stops, teeters, getting ready to topple...

So I spent an hour mindlessly clicking around the web (Jezebel, you will be the end of me) and then finally got down to business. I must not waste this day. I must get out of the house. I must treat myself. So where did I go? Patisserie on Fourth.

If you are a Bismarckian and have not yet visited Patisserie on Fourth, go. Now. Really. Leave all notions of calorie counting at home. These ladies know what they are doing in the kitchen and they are producing the best baked goods in town, hands down. The cupcakes are gorgeous AND delicious. The breads showcase the fact that the owners understand the importance of crust and crumb - something I haven't seen anywhere else in Bis-bang. And the scones are meltingly, crumbly, butterly good.

Of course, there is always room for improvement. They are still tweaking their set-up as it still doesn't feel cafe cozy. Last time I had lunch there, their beautiful quiche was served in styrofoam with plastic silverware, like a flat note at the end of a melody. And oh, how I wish they offered a full barista coffee menu. But you can see that they are working on these things with rearrangements of display cases and "green" paper coffee cups. In the end, it's all about the product, and the core of their business - the baked goods - is solid and I will happily consume their products if only to ensure that this place is around for many years to come.

After devouring my cranberry orange scone, I stopped at the library to stock up on enough reading materials to get me through the holidays. The book on the top of my pile:

Hopefully hubby will see the humor in it, too.

Now it's almost noon and a free afternoon stretches out before me. What to do next? A bath? A walk? A nap? Or how about a thick slice of this pumpkin bread with homemade apple butter?

A gal could get used to this.