Happy almost-Thanksgiving! How are you spending your holiday??

It’s hard to believe we are already at the end of November. Personally I don’t love having Thanksgiving so late in the month, as it then feels like there is hardly any time before Christmas!

For tomorrow, we are hanging out at home in the morning — I’ll go on some sort of run or walk to get outside. We will then head to my parents’ to watch the Lions game and afterwards will have Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle’s house. I’m bringing a big fall salad w/ mixed greens, roasted delicata squash, toasted pecans, pomegranate, goat cheese, and a maple cinnamon balsamic vinaigrette.

What is your favorite part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal? I absolutely love homemade cranberry sauce!

We’ve had such cloudy weather here in Michigan the past couple of weeks… gray skies upon gray skies, with little to no sign of that changing any time soon! We also had our first snow of the season at the end of last week!

On to some recent November eats! 

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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:

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I hope your Wednesday is going well so far! 🙂 I’m loving the start to fall and the leaves starting to change… I always enjoy this time of year!

One annoying thing lately is that we have this insane construction project going on right outside our townhouse, and it is now officially impossible for me to cross the road and get to my favorite everyday running/walking path. UGGHHH. (It also adds ten mins to ANYWHERE we go with having to go around it all). I’m so bummed to miss out on the fall colors and scenery on my usual path while we *eagerly await* the construction to wrap up! (They seem in no hurry…). So, I’ve had to adjust my route and make do for the time being. It is not very scenic and not nearly as exciting but that is okay. I will appreciate my old route all the more when I can get back to it!

Diving right in with some end-of-summer / beginning-of-fall recent eats! What is the best thing you’ve eaten lately??

I loved this tasty fall salad! Mixed greens w/ black rice, roasted sweet potatoes, feta, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and green onion. Based off of this salad recipe from Cookie & Kate. I did make the ginger dressing she includes in the recipe, but didn’t love it with this salad combination, so I ended up using my usual balsamic vinaigrette when I ate it the next few times throughout the week. However, a lot of people in the recipe comments say they love it with the ginger dressing!

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Hello & Happy Tuesday! I’m experimenting with posting blog posts more organically, as opposed to just Wednesdays — hence the unusual Tuesday post!

How was your weekend and start to the week? While my personal life doesn’t change too much with back-to-school, there has been a definite energy shift living in/near a college town with all the students back, as well as the younger students starting up school again. It’s crazy to me how summer is basically over already! I feel like it really flew by this year!

Alec and I usually do some sort of end-of-summer trip, but this year we are just doing a mini staycation (mostly Friday and Saturday, and somewhat on Sunday/Monday). Nothing too extensive in the works — a couple meals out, a bit of hiking, watching Michigan Football, seeing a movie… all fun and good and chill! Alec has some projects he is working on outside of that, and so I’ll probably read a lot, too.

What are your plans for the upcoming long weekend??

I’ve also been going on lots of sunrise walks and runs! This time of year sunrise is lining up with the time I’m heading out.

Let’s get to some recent August eats!

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Happy Wednesday, & farewell today to the month of July!

I hope you are having a good week getting outside, hopefully enjoying some sun, and eating lots of summer’s finest produce!

We are out of town this week on a family trip visiting relatives (Alec’s side) in Pennsylvania. I am off working with clients this week (M-W) and back to the regular work week tomorrow.

July has been a full, but not too full, month! 4th of July festivities, my friend’s wedding weekend, time with friends, navigating work dynamics, and now family time/trip at the end of the month.

August is generally one of my least favorite months, BUT, it does mean that Michigan Football is starting at the end of the month!! So we can all rest in that reality.

Recap of recent eats from July:

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This past weekend was filled with lots of family time between celebrating my cousin’s wedding and also my mom’s 60th birthday! It was crazy hot and humid for Michigan during the second half of June, and finally the extreme heat broke for the most perfect weather on Monday! My mom and I spent the day at the pool (Monday was her actual birthday) and it was fabulous.

Other weekend features included filet mignon two days in a row (with how the events lined up — probably a first for me? lol), the best strawberry shortcake (see below!), and the busyness of going to/from family events. And now July 4th is already next week! I’m not a huge summer person in general so I don’t really mind that it tends to go by fast.

How is your summer going so far?? How do you feel about summer??

What I DO love about summer is all the fresh in-season produce. Can’t be beat!

That being said, let’s get to plenty of June delish summer eats! 

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Happy Wednesday! We are back from our trip and getting back into the rhythm of the normal work week this week.

In today’s post, I have some trip highlights to share as well as lots of delicious May eats! (Mostly from the trip).

Can you believe it is already Memorial Day Weekend this upcoming weekend?? It is crazy to me how fast the year is flying by! I am going to my grandparents’ house on the lake on Saturday to help my dad with some different outdoor projects, and then we have a picnic with our church on Monday. Do you have any fun plans for the long weekend?

It has been so hot and humid this week in Michigan, it feels like it is well into summer!!

Recapping some tasty May + Idaho trip eats! 

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Hello and Happy Wednesday! How is your week going so far?

I love being well into spring and have been enjoying the sunnier days and brighter early mornings! It seems like the flowers on the trees have bloomed early this year — so beautiful lately!

We’ve had a full April so far, with various weekend plans, an eating disorder-related conference I attended, and celebrating my 30th birthday this past weekend. Crazy to be out of my 20s and into a new decade! 🙂

Lettuce get to some delightful springtime eats!

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Hello and Happy Wednesday!

I hope you are having a good week so far. I am looking forward to Easter weekend this week! Although it is throwing me off a bit how early Easter is this year!

Alec’s mom is coming in town this weekend and then we are doing lunch out after church in AA with my side the of the family as well. Avalon Cafe — which I’ve enjoyed in the past but haven’t been to in quite a while!

The past week or so it has gone from dark when I head out running to finally light again! So happy for this shift and to be able to go on my preferred route (which I avoid when it is dark out since there are little to no street lights…).

Hooray for spring and brighter mornings! I am into “spring cooking mode” and have on my mind to make my favorite spring asparagus pasta next week, as well as a spring veggie curry.

Recent March eats from the past several weeks! 

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Hello, everyone! How is your week going so far?

I have been loving the sunnier days lately and am looking forward to a couple of days in the 50s and 60s coming up!

We went to my grandparents’ house for a quick overnight weekend trip which was nice. A change of scenery can be so refreshing!

During our stay we went on the toboggan run at Pokagon State Park in Indiana. It was quite the thrill ride with the weight of me, Alec, and my parents all on one sled! I was somewhat paranoid we were going to go flying off the edge.

I feel like the winter is flying by and soon we will already be into spring!

What have you been up to lately for fun on the weekends (or whenever your time off is)??

Recent February meals & snacks for your own eating inspiration! 
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