Hello & Happy Wednesday!

This month is / has been a bit unusual for me with more travel during October than is typical for me… two weekends ago Alec and I were on Mackinac Island for our annual fall color trip which was fabulous!! The colors weren’t actually *that peak* on most of the island, but it was still a phenomenal weekend nevertheless.

This week I am out of town in Florida with family for my mom’s (delayed) 60th birthday trip. For the past several years most of my vacation time has been either long weekends or trips with more of an itinerary, so this time I am really looking forward to a lot of relaxing with mostly no plans for an entire week!!

Beach, reading, walking/running, unstructured time, eating out for dinners… will (likely) report more next week with a food recap!

Posting may be a little less frequent in the coming months, as I am in the middle of some work transitions & projects, including a website revamp that is coming in mid/late January! Be on the lookout for a new look!! I’m aiming to continue w/ monthly food recaps and whatever else I have time for as far as usual Wednesday posting goes, at least for a few months here.

This was our favorite spot on the island that we ended up returning to 4 different times. We went on a morning walk/loop that we really liked the first morning (that included going to this overlook) and did the same route the next two mornings. We also went back one evening as it was a perfect spot to watch the sunset! The above spot is right by where the Somewhere in Time gazebo is.

More life updates, Mackinac eats, & October food favorites:

First, a Mackinac food recap before getting to the rest of October.

We arrived on the most beautifully sunny Thursday early evening, checked into our bed & breakfast, and headed to Kingston Kitchen for dinner. My friends Aaron & Kelby from Juicy Kitchen had recommended this spot (and this salad in particular) and everything did not disappoint!!! If I were to rate the food on the island *overall* I would say it is only okay, BUT we hit up the best places and everything we ate was oustanding!!

The above salad was a delish cobb-like salad with THE BEST jerk bacon. It is actually unpictured / on the side since I’m not usually a huge bacon fan, but I’m so glad I got it still because it was the highlight of the salad! Amazing.

I was really hungry heading into this meal and very satisfied afterward. Happy to be on vacation on a Thursday with a full weekend still ahead!

The next morning we headed out for a perfect day of biking all around the island! I’ve been to Mackinac a lot of times and we went to several spots and areas I hadn’t been to before which was fun.

Fun fact: we even boated here 2 different times as a family when I was in middle school! (All the way from Grosse Pointe, near Detroit). #PureMichigan at its finest.

For dinner #2 we were trying to decide where to go and ended up deciding on Patrick Doud’s Irish Pub. The above sweet potato burger (w/ tomato jam, caramelized onion, white cheddar, & garlic aioli) was, again, absolutely incredible!

For breakfasts the first two mornings we ate at our bed & breakfast. I liked the egg frittata muffins! Since we eat gluten-free, we couldn’t eat the tasty-looking baked goods that were offered each morning. So I was a little not-totally-satisfied by the above breakfast. We had plenty of snacks from home in our room so I supplemented the above breakfast w/ some granola or a muffin each morning.

I made these chocolate chip muffins to take as one of our snacks. Sadly I only got to eat a couple of them because I set them on the DirectTV box in the bed & breakfast room and didn’t realize the box was turned on the second day… so they got all warm and nasty and I needed to throw them out! Fail. As if you wanted all that detail!

We didn’t want to spend the extra money eating out for lunches and/or take the time to go out again, so I brought a bunch of non-perishable snack-lunch options to keep in our room since we didn’t have a mini fridge. We’d pack up a large ziplock bag each day and enjoyed our lunches while we were out and about biking/hiking. Options included snacks like trail mix, beef sticks, fruit & veggie pouches, apples, crackers, bars, and energy bites. Also plenty of dark chocolate for evening desserts!

We also spent some time relaxing on the Grand Hotel porch which was fun. I had never been inside so that was cool to see!

The morning of our second full day we headed over to Watercolor Cafe right by the marina before heading out to hike some of the trails. I wanted to try their lilac latte, which I got iced w/ almond milk. **Clearly** all very natural by the color! Lol. Tasty and fun to try nonetheless!

For our third and final dinner, I had made a reservation months ago at The Woods. We went here last time we were on Mackinac 5 years ago and definitely wanted to go back again. It is the perfect fall restaurant, inside a dark and cozy hunting lodge!

We split the most delish simple garden salad to start. We then had an unexpectedly tasty black cherry sorbet palette cleanser. *Not my typical mode of dining but I’ll take it!* 🙂

In other life news, Alec is starting a new job on November 1st so we were also celebrating that! (Still with GM but a new role with a better commute – PTL!)

The gluten-free options on the menu were a little limited, so I ended up ordering lamb chops which is something that I do really like but not necessarily something I would typically order. BUT. THEY WERE SO GOOD. AS IN 10/10. The potatoes were a little less than exciting (not bad, but I’d rather save the stomach space for more lamb chop…), but the combination of the lamb chops + sauce was one of the best restaurant dishes I have had!!! Also a tasty root veggie hash on the side.

After a fantastic time at dinner we walked down to get ice cream near the Grand Hotel. If you have never been to The Woods, it is tucked away higher up on the island. Most people take a horse carriage to get there, but we wanted to walk the 2ish miles to and then from where we were staying. I suppose I should also mention for any non-Michigan readers that there are no cars on the island!!

I had THE BEST Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream along with butter pecan. I have never ordered butter pecan but was randomly feeling it along with my other choice, and apparently it is “award-winning!” Both were good, but man, was the Mackinac Island Fudge amazing! I suppose one should expect nothing less?? Alec (a non-Michigan native) reported to me that Mackinac Island Fudge is typically only an ice cream flavor found in Michigan. To me it is normal to see at any and all ice cream shops. The verdict is still pending for confirming how far and wide the reach of this ice cream flavor typically is.

Our last morning on the island we ended up going to back to Watercolor Cafe since the bed & breakfast was serving more of a biscuit/egg main (as in, not GF), and we were already thinking of going here for breakfast anyway. We had three sunny mornings in a row which was amazing and also unexpected given the forecast!

I got GF toast w/ melted brie cheese + almonds + maple syrup + cinnamon and some really good coffee.  The toast was only okay and somewhat satisfying (I feel like it needed some sliced apple or pear and maybe some almond butter), but the ambiance of being right on the water and going out for breakfast still made it a great morning!

OVERALL, lots of praise for our island food adventures! Again, I don’t think most of the other restaurants are that exciting food-wise IMO, so consider the above choices my recommendations if you make a trip there anytime soon! 🙂

BACK AT HOME (pre-Florida) I’ve been enjoying my usual breakfast bowls… this morning above was topped w/ Costco’s mixed nut butter, drizzle of agave syrup, chopped red pear, + dried cranberries. I love the organic unsweetened dried cranberries that they sell at Trader Joe’s!

More fall salads w/ delicata!

Another simple salad for lunch inspiration that I was making for Alec’s packed lunches one week… greens w/ random veg (this one was chopped cuc + celery + leftover broccoli) plus salted pistachios, dried cranberries, and hard-boiled egg. Drizzled w/ our usual homemade balsamic vin.

Have you made my fudgy cacao energy bites?? I eat one of these every morning right when I wake up, washed down by some almond milk. I posted the recipe several years ago but actually need to update it since I now make them with 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup unsalted cashews, since this makes them even fudgier than using almonds! Usually I will make 3 batches at a time.

Favorite roasted veggie bowls w/ tahini honey mustard for a make-ahead dinner. I usually make the tahini honey mustard x2 since it is delish and good for other things too. We had the leftover sauce drizzled over salmon the next week.

One last dinner to share! Sweet potato + peanut soup — one of my favorites! I put everything in the crockpot, let it simmer for ~6 hours, then stir in the peanut butter and kale. Eaten topped w/ cilantro. I went down to FL before Alec gets here tomorrow, so I doubled the recipe so he could eat it for dinners while I’ve been gone!

Everyday Enjoyment: 

Beautiful moons & fall colors! //

Last week when I was out running right before sunrise there were the most beautiful full and near-full moons for a few days! I also love watching the trees change color this time of year. While Mackinac wasn’t at totally peak color for most of the island, a lot of northern Michigan was at peak or near peak, so the drive to and from was amazing for colors!

Some recent fiction reading //

Recently I’ve been getting back into some more fiction. I read The Secret Book of Flora Lee by Patti Callahan Henry which I really liked overall. This was the first book of hers that I have read. I’m now reading another one of her novels, Surviving Savannah, that I just started but am liking so far! Good, imaginative historical fiction.

Getting into more of a work routine //

Over the past couple of years of starting and growing my business, it’s been tough to get into a solid work routine with as much consistency as I like and crave. But I am finally getting into more of a groove with all things business, work, household routines, etc.

If you would like to work w/ me as a client, and experience LASTING healing and freedom in your relationship with food, I invite you to reach out! I currently only have space to add another client or two right now. I am seeing clients ages 18+ located in Michigan, Idaho, & Arizona, with soon-to-be additions of New York & Texas!

If there are any post topics you would like to see, feel free to comment below with a suggestion or message me directly.

Wrapping up…

What are you currently enjoying about fall?

If you live where the seasons DO or DON’T change a whole lot, what do you like/not like about that?? 

Have a great week!