Hello friends!

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! I’m closing out the year of blog posts with a 2023 year in review… sharing some of what’s been happening in my life this year in high-level, summary form! I find it useful/fun/encouraging this time of year to take some time to reflect on the year we are finishing before heading into a new one, and I would encourage you to consider doing something similar if you haven’t tried it before! 🙂

2023 Year in Review:

In January we took our annual trip to Scottsdale, AZ, with Alec’s side of the family. While we still enjoyed the trip, unfortunately it was unusually cold and rainy pretty much the entire time we were there! Alec and I did get out for a hike one misty morning on the Pinnacle Peak trail, a trail that I would definitely do again!

In February I started dealing with a lot of sleep issues, which was vastly helped by our wonderful sleep system that we got later that month. I always enjoy walking outside in the winter, going to yoga (feels especially nice this time of year!), and watching Michigan basketball. We also started watching All Creatures Great and Small which we enjoyed each week throughout a good chunk of the year. We are excited for the new season in January!

In March we went to my cousin’s wedding in Georgia which was a lot of fun! It was an absolutely beautiful day the main day we were in town. March was also a good month of business growth for me. Unfortunately Michigan Basketball didn’t even make the tournament this year so that was a bummer!

With April came my 29th birthday and I made a blackberry lavender cake to celebrate. We also went on more hikes at various nearby parks/trails as something to do on the weekends. Unfortunately I got sick a couple of times, started having terrible sleep issues again, and some other health challenges that were popping up! :/

I don’t remember how this came up, but a few weeks ago Alec and I were thinking back on the year and couldn’t think of one thing that happened in May. What was May??? Well, one positive was this dish that I absolutely loved. I made chicken shawarma over fattoush salad, along with some fresh sourdough bread. Other not-so-fun elements to May included continued sleep trouble, WAY TOO MUCH CONSTRUCTION NEARBY, some business stress, and stressful relational dynamics. I guess we now know why May had ceased to exist in my mind!

In June we fully paid off my student loans and went kayaking and out to breakfast to celebrate! YAY.

One of my favorite days in July was when we went to my grandparents’ house for the weekend and had the most amazing weather! We enjoyed the day waterskiing, playing cards, boating, and relaxing.

I also really enjoyed going to see the movie Sound of Freedom and cooking with lots of fresh summer produce!

In August we went to Iowa to visit family. Our time included a day trip to the Dutch town of Pella and some amazing Dutch pastries! Throughout August, we also had a lot of plans with friends and went to a fun Mexican wedding for one of my coworkers at Juicy Kitchen.

Early September took us to Holland and the Nordhouse Dunes for a stay at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast as well as some backcountry camping on Lake Michigan. It was so nice to get away and to disconnect for a few days!

We also went to a Jason Aldean concert with my family and my parents sold their house!!

In October we made our way up to the U.P. for a quick camping weekend at Tahquamenon Falls. We went on a long hike to/from the Upper and Lower Falls, and ended up finding a fabulous restaurant that I would for sure go to again if given the opportunity the future! You may recall Alec’s absolutely massive and delicious mac and cheese dish from this post.

We also enjoyed the fall colors around Ann Arbor (which seemed especially beautiful this year!), a visit from Alec’s dad, and Michigan Football’s dominance. We’ll see if we can win on January 1st!

Usually flying under the radar more in my mind, November was one of my favorite months this year! The weather was unusually sunny for late fall in Michigan, I enjoyed many early-morning sunrises, my business had its best month of revenue, and I started sleeping better / feeling better mentally. We had Alec’s mom in town for a long weekend and celebrated Alec’s birthday / Thanksgiving. We loved the chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting that we had for his birthday this year!

In December I said goodbye to my regular shifts at Juicy Kitchen! It was a sad day indeed but I am also happy to have more space to focus on my business full-time. Other elements to December have included having more energy for cooking/baking, enjoying Michigan’s win in the Big 10 Championship, celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary, enjoying Christmas, and relaxing with our holiday time off!

Some Favorite Reads & Eats from 2023:

Books: 

Permission to Feel, Chasing the Sun, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, Brave Enough, The Healthy Compulsive, The Hiding Place, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, Big Little Lies 

Recipes:

Broccoli peanut bowls, pistachio chicken, overnight oats, coconut cacao bars, roasted red pepper sauce, sourdough naan, sweet potato + peanut soup, homemade chai, beef + veggie chili, pumpkin hummus + veggie bowls, fudgy almond energy bites, burgers w/ green goddess dressing, chicken salad w/ fresh bread, peanut butter granola, raspberry applesauce, tahini honey mustard bowls

Grateful for you all. Wishing you a restful start to 2024!