Although quite a bit of time has passed since the Christmas season, I wanted to share some of the amazing memories that the end of this year brought! This post is loaded with pictures from the beginning of December, all the way to January 1st! I pray each one of you had a blessed holiday season and you truly felt the Love of God, because that is what it’s all about….God loves us so much that He gave us Jesus!

In reality, my holiday season started November 1st, because to me, the season isn’t long enough, and our local radio station starts playing Christmas music the moment November hits! I just love Christmas music because most of it glorifies God, and they play it all everywhere including the mall, so it’s no wonder everyone’s in a good mood!

We decorated our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is the moment that it truly begins to feel like Christmas to me!

I was blessed to be able to go to a few shows this Christmas season, including The Nutcracker Ballet with my mom and sisters…It was beautiful!

We also saw Cirque de Sole’s Christmas show, called ‘Cirque Dreams’. I saw it with my whole family, which was so awesome! I highly recommend any of the Cirque shows!

I did lots of baking this season…Which is clearly reflected in my 12 Days of Christmas!

And of course we did lot’s of fun festivities like decorating cookies…

And we shared and enjoyed many of the Dashing Dish Delights!

I hosted a Chobani giveaway, which I must say is the perfect ingredient for healthy snacking and baking!

I did lots of shopping…(Yes I braved the malls, because I don’t trust buying things like clothes online!)

I scrapbooked with my friends…

And hosted 2 holiday parties. One of them being a gingerbread house competition party!

Here I was looking focused! Clearly I was in it to win it!

And the judging began…A very serious matter!

Sean and my house came in 2nd! Not bad if i do say so myself!

The second party I hosted was an ornament decorating party! It was so fun!

And of course the snacks were healthy (and delicious!)

One of the greatest highlights of the Christmas season was the gift giveaway at our church!

We gave gifts away to kids in the whole community! It was a truly tangible display of God’s great love!

Christmas Eve was spent with my family at my Aunt’s house….A Christmas Eve tradition that I always look forward to!

I was really lacking in pictures this year, I didn’t get any with my older sister Sarah, my dad or Sean!

But I managed to grab one of my Aunt Lorrie, such an amazing woman who has the biggest heart for Jesus!

She is also one of the most inspirational bakers I know! Look at her beautiful cookies!

I brought my brownie peppermint trifle..One of my favorite recipes of 2011!

We spent time with family catching up, and doing our yearly gift exchange!

Then we went home, lit the tree and went to bed in anticipation for the morning!

Honestly, the most exciting time for me is waking up  on Christmas morning and preparing breakfast before everyone wakes up! We were all so hungry I didn’t even grab pictures of the food! We had a french toast casserole, pancakes, bacon, and an egg frittata!

Then we opened gifts, and spent time watching old family videos…Oh what memories!

At about 4 o’clock we went to Sean’s family’s house to celebrate with them! My in-laws got me my all-time favorite gift…this beauty!

And before we knew it, New Year’s Eve was upon us! My sisters Sean and I started the night at an authentic Mexican restaurant!

I got Chicken Fajita’s! So good!

We then went to watch the ball drop (on TV of course…We are in Michigan after all!) and we went to this really neat place to do so, where they let 100’s of ballons drop at midnight!

I had my sweetie there to ring in the New Year…And now we are looking forward to the good things in store for 2012!

We made some long and short term goals for the year, and we are very excited for what God has in store! After all, He has plans for a hope and a future for YOU and ME! So let’s get excited…He’s a pretty awesome planner!

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a blessed Fall season so far…Before we know it, the holidays will be here! The past few weeks have been amazing here in Michigan I couldn’t of asked for a better fall!

Personally, it’s been a very busy but wonderful time for me. It was my mom’s birthday about a week ago, so my family and I went to celebrate at a neat little sushi restaurant that was actually in an old house! It was really neat, and this was my second time trying sushi, which I must say I really enjoyed!

If you live anywhere near the Detroit Michigan area, I strongly suggest you go check it out…It’s called Shiro!

The birthday girl in all her glory! How cute is my mom and dad by the way!?! They are high school sweethearts, (like my hubby and I, they met when they were 15), and they are still just in love today as when they got married!

We also spent the weekend doing fun ‘festive’ things! We had some friends over to carve pumpkins! I’m convinced you can never be old to do stuff like that!

I attempted to make a bunny!

I must add, please don’t mind my not-so-clear pictures on this post, most of them were taken with my new I-Phone! I was so excited to take pictures with my new phone that it pretty much ‘took the place’ of my camera the past few weeks!

As you all know, I’m prepping for my cookbook…Which has been a ton of fun!  Of course a bonus has been testing and enjoying all the yummy food!

My cookbook will have lots of quick and easy (under 10 minute) lunch ideas that delicious and are g0-to’s in my every day life!

Wait until you see what I did with these guys for my cookbook… Dashing Dish Mac and Cheese anyone!?!

I’ve been enjoying lots of walks during the beautiful fall days!

I’ve also been enjoying my new church so much! It’s been beyond amazing, and I truly look forward to going every week!

I’ve been enjoying lots of Fall-Inspired Treats~ of course!

Mmm…Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt might be my favorite treat of all!

I’ve also been helping out at my sister’s 3rd grade classroom!  This past week was her harvest party, so I came by to visit!

Of course I had to bring a treat with me, so I got to working on a healthy treat the kids would enjoy!

I came up with some festive Dark Chocolate Spiders, the kids loved them! (Little did they know they were healthy too!)

My sister also made my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for the teachers!

And speaking of my sister’s class…I got the cutest picture text from my sister this past week….A boy in her class made my Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls for the class! He was even late to class, (and forgot his backpack) because he was rushing so they would still be warm when he got to school! That made my week! (Sorry for the blurry picture, it was a picture text!)

My family and I also went to the apple orchard~ a MUST-DO-EVENT during the fall season if you ask me!

We got fresh cider, doughnuts, and apples.

And we went on a hayride!

I’ve also been busy health coaching a very lovely lady, and doing personal grocery store tours in the area, and hosting cooking lessons in my home! It’s been such a blast and a blessing at the same time!

I’m also going to be starting nutrition courses after the holidays to supplement my nursing degree with a bit more focus on what I love, nutrition!!! That way I will be both certified and qualified to help people how to eat nutritiously for their specific health needs!

All that being said, I do have some very disappointing news to break. As many of you know, I have been working very hard on getting my cookbook out for the holidays! It was truly my goal to get it out by then, as I think it would make a great gift, and I know a lot of people have been waiting on it patiently! However, as my husband and I began to speak with publishers, we realized that in order to get it published with TONS of pictures and all the features I want it to have, (some will even have step by step how-to pictures), then there is no way it would be ready by the holidays. I had to make the choice to either put out a cookbook that would be half of what I wanted it to be, or wait, and put out something I would be really proud of! I’m have to apologize to anyone who was hoping to get it for a Christmas gift!

That being said… I have a lot of really exciting things coming in the holiday season with Dashing Dish! I’m talking big announcements, and exciting Holiday recipes, and more….so stay tuned!

How amazing has this fall season been so far!?! I’ve been taking in the amazing natural beauty of Michigan right now, as the trees are turning different shades of colors! I have to say that we’ve had the best of both worlds lately, with 70 degree and sunny weather, and all of the beauty of the changing seasons!

In addition to the weather being amazing, I’ve been loving the return of pumpkin season! I’ve been baking up a storm  with it (in case you haven’t noticed) and I have come up with some of my personal favorites yet….One of which is my Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes!

I have also been enjoying an old favorite, my Pumpkin Pie “Milkshake’!

(Thanks again Laura for the Beautiful Photo!)

I’ve been spending a lot of my free time enjoying many wonderful “fall events”, such as the Women’s Harvest Event that my Aunt Lorrie put on! It was an amazing time of fellowship, and it all took place in an old-fashioned school house! It was simply adorable!

My Aunt Lorrie is one of the most loving and outgoing people I know, so it was no surprise that she invited tons of women, from all over, some of which she just recently met!

Over 50 women of all ages ended up attending and the school house was packed…It was awesome!

We spent the afternoon listening to a few different women speakers. My sister Emily and I were invited to speak, and we both chose to share our testimony about what God has done in our lives!

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after we spent the afternoon talking about the Lord! It’s amazing how God takes the broken pieces of our lives and makes a masterpiece when we let Him!

We also enjoyed some wonderful food, including my Pumpkin Trifle that I brought along! It was gone in minutes, so I’m guessing it was a hit which always makes me happy!

We also got to be a part of our church’s launch this past week!!!

It’s pretty incredible…The Lord led us to this church and He immediately led me to Jeremiah 3:15 when He was showing me that this was where He wanted us.

I have been so blessed to be a part of New Generations Church that launched on October 2! (Head over to the website link to listen to free sermon podcasts… So awesome!)

I got a chance to be a greeter on launch day! It was amazing to get to meet everyone that comes through the door for the first time!

My pastor Ken Hubbard is truly a man after God’s own heart! He speaks the Word so everyone can understand it, and he does it with the Love and Grace of God being the center of every message… This is so needed in our society today if you ask me!

Most importantly… 12 people gave their heart and life to the Lord that day!

Another amazing event that I recently got to be a part of was the Health Seminar at Washtenaw Fitness Center! I gave a presentation on healthy eating, which was a blast!

After this presentation I said that I’m convinced that our communities need to hold more outreaches like this one! So many people want to learn how to live healthy lifestyles and this was a really fun way to teach people!

I hope you’re all enjoying every moment of this beautiful season wherever you live!

Every day is such a gift from God, and I always find that the change of seasons reminds me how much He loves us! Just think…He took the time to create a beautiful change of scenery every few months simply for us to enjoy!

I was so blessed this past week to go to Los Angeles California with my husband on a business trip! My hubby works for a group of web designers called “Fixel”, and the awesome part is…They are all amazingly talented Men of God that use their gifts and talents for the Lord!

I was so excited about this trip for a few reasons… One being that I’ve never been to California, second being that I was going to meet the men my husband works with every day, (they are all based out of Oregon, but Sean does his work from home, and skypes with them), and last but not least, I was going to meet all of the wives of the Fixel guys!

We rented a home in downtown Pasadena, which was such a fun area! We were pretty close to all of the ‘main attractions’ which included Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, and the Santa Monica Pier…All of which we visited during the week!

As we were landing in California I was amazed at the natural beauty of the state, even before we set foot on ground! It’s a bit more ‘hilly’ than Michigan I’d say!

After meeting the gang, we were all really hungry so we hit up a restaurant we knew would be a quick ‘crowd pleaser’, Applebees!

I got the Grilled Dijon Chicken and Portabello’s, (on the under 550 menu), and it was amazing! It had a delicious chicken breast with asiago cheddar sauce, and sautéed onions and mushrooms piled on top~ I highly recommend it!

Anyways, let me introduce you to the Fixel team!  Of course my husband Sean is one of the web designers…

Here is Vin, who is another web designer, and his wife Kesha!

Matt is the project manager of the Fixel team, and here is his wife Angie!

Last but not least, here is Dan.  He’s the coder and developer of the team! He is only 18 years old, so he isn’t married yet, but I must say, he’s quite the mature and driven 18 year old!

After dinner, we were all searching for something sweet….so we went on a frozen yogurt hunt!

We were pleasantly surprised when we found a place called Menchies! It had so many flavors to choose from, and tons of fresh toppings! We enjoyed it so much in fact, that we literally went every night for dessert!  We joked that it was the ‘theme’ of our trip!

Here is The Fixel team together at Menchies! We had too much fun here!

While the guys worked on projects during the day, us ladies went out to shop… After all, what else is a group of ladies to do in California!?!

We made our way over to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and we were all pleasantly surprised by the new Skinnylicious Menu! It was amazing…The entire menu had so many of choices, all for under 600 calories!

There were so many good choices in fact, that I was overwhelmed! So ended up getting my usual favorite, the Asian Chicken Salad….But I for sure had my eye on the lettuce wraps, turkey burger, and red velvet skinny cheesecake for when I visit in the future!

I just loved hanging out with the girls! We were talking so much that it took us about an hour to finish every meal! Needless to say, we had a lot in common!

Every shopping area was beautiful, but this was one of my favorites~ the out door shopping area in downtown Pasadena!

The next day Kesha and went to Rodeo Drive, where we did some more shopping, and marveled at the beauty of the area!

We went to a little cafe, where we enjoyed one of the best Greek Salad’s of my life!!!

As good as the food was, what was even better than all of the food and shopping was the wonderful convo I got to share with this Lovely Lady! Kesha and Angie were both amazing women, and such an encouragement! It’s awesome to build one another up!

How beautiful is this view just outside of the cafe, and how beautiful is Kesha!?!

We got to hang out as a group (with the guys) at night, one of which we spent bowling! It was a blast, and quite the beautiful bowling alley I must say!

I totally stink at bowling, in fact…I’m not ashamed to admit I bowl the ‘grandma’ way. In fact, I love it because it gets everyone laughing and having a good time right off the bat!

Yeah…I’m pretty sure I was the worst bowler on ‘the team’ …but hey, at least I had fun!

On the last day, we went to the Santa Monica Pier! It was disappointing because the weather was pretty bad on the day we planned to go to the beach, but we still had fun going out to eat, and just hanging out!

We went to Bubba Gump Shrimp for lunch, which had a really fun atmosphere!

My salad was pretty rockin’ …It was loaded with fruit and feta, the perfect combo of sweet and salty in my opinion!

We went to The Coffee Bean and Dippin Dots for dessert!

We finished the day at the Arcade on the Pier…This further convinced me that boys will always be boys!

The next day we woke up bright and early to say goodbye to the beautiful sunny state~ California! Back to Michigan we come…Although, I have to say, we do have a beautiful fall season that I wouldn’t trade for anything!

I hope you are all having a beautiful week! Time to break out the canned pumpkin and get to work on some new fall recipes!

My family and I just returned from Traverse City a few days ago, and I’m already wishing I could go back! If I could use one word to describe my trip to Norther Michigan, I would call it RELAXING!

Northern Michigan is one of the most beautiful places because of all of the Great Lakes that surround the area. Speaking of beautiful, we also took a visit to what was just named “Americas Most Beautiful Place to Visit”, The Sleeping Bear Dunes!

We decided to take a four day trip to Traverse City after we had to cancel our original summer vacation, due to scheduling conflicts…so my older sister and brother in law weren’t able to join us on this trip, so we missed them for sure!

Now off to the Daily Dish~ A Week Spent in Beautiful Northern Michigan!

First of all, I had to share this application on Seans I Phone! It literally showed the route that we took through Michigan from Ann Arbor to Traverse City!  The drive that was only supposed to take us 4 hours ended up being about 5-6 hours after a flat tire on the way up!

Thank God for hard working men! I always say there is nothing more attractive than seeing my hubby work hard!  I know God put that in us women so we could spot ourselves a good man from miles away!

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It may have taken a while to get there, but when we finally arrived, we saw that it was worth the long trip up! Our rental home was on the lake, and had massive windows! The view was breathtaking!

I’m telling you… the huge windows MADE this place!

The beautiful lake didn’t hurt either!

As usual, I headed straight to the kitchen to see what supplies we had to work with for the week!

I tried my best to take in every moment of natural beauty! Life just seemed to slow down while we were there!

Our first stop was to Olive Garden for dinner! We were all starving after the long road trip, and Olive Garden has choices that we all love! I love the salad and minestrone soup~ although I’m always sure to ask for dressing on the side!

I got the Venitian Apricot Chicken~ The sauce is the perfect combination of sweet and salty!

Then we were off to the grocery store to stock up our fridge for the week! When we returned home we were all exhausted and fell asleep early pretty early that night!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was waking up early (I am a pretty early riser naturally), and going outside to spend time with God. It was so beautiful and peaceful to watch the sunrise! It reminded me how AWESOME our God is every time I saw the beauty of the sunrise on the lake!

We spent the entire first day being lazy and hanging out on the lake! We kayaked, rode the jet skis, and went tubing! It was a blast!

The also had a hot tub, which was the ultimate relaxation station!

For dinner, we went to a place someone recommended to us, The North Peak. It was a really cozy atmosphere, and the menu was filled with local favorites!

Sean enjoyed the bread basket as always! Haha!

Emily got this amazing Greek Style Thin Crust Pizza…She even shared a piece with me when she saw me eyeing it!

I got the Salmon with a side of Veggies!

We made it home just in time to watch the sunset! Just beautiful!

We hung around the lake again for most of the next day, and hit the bike trails in the afternoon! We were blessed with wonderful sunny skies the whole time!

Check out the view! Now that is a bike trail!!!

We spent the next day visiting all of the cute Shops in Downtown Traverse. There was a food and wine festival going on, so the downtown area was very busy~ but fun!

We also went to go see the movie “The Help”…One of my new favorite movies by far! If you  haven’t seen it yet, you have to see it ASAP! It was so inspiring!

We picked up 4 jars of this Cherry Salsa to take home with us after sampling it…It was that good!

We also got a little something to bring back to our dogs back home (who were staying in a kennel)…It’s so funny, we talk about our dogs so much when we’re on a trip…It’s like they’re our children!

One of the home-cooked meals we enjoyed was Chicken Taco’s!!! We added Bell Peppers, so they were sort of a mix between fajitas and tacos, so we got a combo pack that had both hard and soft taco shells!

The Cherry Salsa MADE this meal! It was the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and spicy!

One of the best times we shared while on vacation was gathered around the table! We enjoyed both the food and the conversations…Now that’s what life’s all about if you ask me!

We also played numerous rounds of Sequence. This game is awesome! It’s a card and board game In One! Emily and I played against Sean and my dad…Now, I don’t want to brag, but let’s just say the girls dominated!

The last day of our vacation was spent at the Sleepy Bear Sand Dunes. There are so many different natural attractions to take part in while at the dunes, but we chose to do the ’strenuous’ hike to Lake Michigan. We were warned that it was ’strenuous’…But I think that was an understatement!

This was just one of the many steep inclines we climbed, and let me just say that climbing in hot sand is just a bit more difficult than hiking on solid ground!

Where’s Emily!?! Oh she’s the little speck in the distance! I’m telling you…This picture doesn’t do the massive steep hills that we climbed justice!

We made it to Lake Michigan! Totally worth it! The view was beautiful, and it’s truly amazing to see a lake so huge that it looks like an ocean!

This view made it all worth it!

Our trip home was much simpler. We even did BodyPump that evening upon returning! We all agreed that it was nice to get out of the ‘gym’ setting for a few days and just be active outdoors!

Since returning, I’ve spent the past few days helping Emily get her 3rd grade classroom set up for the school year ahead! I can’t wait to get back in my kitchen and start whipping up more recipes! I have so many ideas I’m just itching to share!

I hope everyone has had a blessed week, and remember, even if you didn’t get a chance to ‘go on vacation’ this summer, you can always take a moment to slow down and appreciate the little things in life! Beauty truly does surround us on a daily basis~ I think we are often just too busy to take it in!

It has been an amazing, (and busy) past couple of days for me! It was my brother-in-law’s 30th birthday! My sister Sarah wanted to make it extravagant, because let’s face it, stepping out of your 20’s is a big deal! My sister’s love language is gifts, and party-planning, and let me tell you, she know’s how to make people around her feel loved!

We started Phil’s ‘Birhday Week’ with a surprise dinner at a really nice restaurant in Ann Arbor, Quarter Bistro.

Here is my side of the family…My husband Sean and myself, my younger sister Emily, Phil~ (Sarah’s husband, and the birthday boy), my older sister Sarah, and my mom and dad!

The best part of the night is when we went around the table and everyone said something they love about Phil…Which wasn’t hard to do!  He is by far one of the most friendly, outgoing people you will ever meet. He’s hysterical, and can make every situation a blast, but most importantly, he is an amazing Man of God!

For dessert we had a Dashing Dish Coconut Cake! (Recipe will be in my up-coming cook book!)

The next morning, Sean, my sisters and I, and Phil’s brothers woke up bright and early to surprise Phil yet again! We all met up at Zingerman’s Bakery in Ann Arbor, where Phil thought we were meeting for breakfast! Much to his surprise we were packed and ready to drive off to Chicago for a 4 day weekend!!! About 4 hours later we arrived at our hotel, the Trump!

Everything about this hotel was STUNNING, and it was right in the heart of Chicago, which I loved!

When we got to our Suite the first thing I had to do was look out of the huge windows..We had the most amazing view!!!

We even had a full kitchen! If we didn’t eat out so much I would have cooked a lot more, although we did have a Dashing Dish breakfast every day!

Every detail in this suite was so elegant!

The boys relaxed while us girls started planning for the night!

The first thing we did was take a walk to the infamous Millenium Park!

Of course we had to visit ‘The Bean”~ It amazed me how a piece of art could bring so much joy and entertainment to everyone!

We then went back to our hotel and got ready for the night, I was so excited because it was my FIRST time going to a Sushi Bar!

We went to a beautiful place called Sunda, (I highly recommend it!) Everything from the food to the atmosphere was amazing!

The Girls.

The Boys.

I let Sarah order the sushi rolls, because I had no idea what to get!  We ordered the spring rolls, the tuna rolls, and the shrimp rolls. I enjoyed the spring rolls the most, but everything was fantastic!

For dinner my sister’s and I ordered the Asian Chicken Salad! I loved this salad because it was filled with tons of sweet and salty ingredients such as crushed peanuts and thinly sliced red peppers!

The boys ordered steaks and more sushi rolls!

For dessert we got what else but Crystal Light Slurpee’s from 7 eleven!

And then we went back to the hotel and had the ‘real’ birthday dessert, some Sprinkle’s Cupcakes! The bumpy cake one was out of  this world!!! After the cupcakes were gone we pretty much all passed out from the sugar rush, and the loooong day!

We woke up bright and early the next day to hit the gym! It was one huge gym, so it wasn’t difficult to make up an awesome workout! I had so much fun designing a workout for my sisters and I…We did a total body weight workout one day, and a circuit workout the next! Either way, I really enjoyed doing something different and getting out of my gym for a few days! I always love to shake things up!

Then my sisters and I were off to shop the day away….

While the boys were off to skydive!!! Let’s just say I was praying all day!!!

For dinner we all met up at an Authentic Mexican Restaurant. All of the food, including the salsa, was homemade right at your table! I’m telling you, you have not had Mexican food until you have freshly made salsa!!! Mmmm!!!

I ordered a Tortilla Chicken Salad, which was out of this world! It had warm refried beans, fresh avocado, and tons of corn, beans, and chicken over a huge bed of lettuce!

After dinner we went to a well-known comedy club called Second City. It was nice to laugh the night away!

We came back to our hotel that night to another wonderful treat! Chocolate covered strawberries!

The next day we slit up in smaller groups and did some more shopping. Sean and I ate at a little cafe called “Corner Bakery” for lunch. It was a wonderful place with a lot of healthy options!

We also paid a visit to Hershey’s Factory… The perfect place to fix anyone’s sweet tooth!

We also found another wonderful ’sweet treat’ … self-serve Frozen Yogurt!!!

This Fro Yo was no-joke, it had about 10 different flavors, and I think I sampled all of them! I ended up getting a combination of Reese’s, Chocolate, and Cake Batter!

For dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory! Chicago has one of the most beautiful Cheesecake Factory’s around!

I knew without even looking at the menu what I wanted to order… It was soo good that I still remembered it from my 1 year Anniversary trip~ The Asian Chicken Salad! (Yes~ this was my second Asian Salad in Chicago, but can you blame me!?! Look at how wonderful it looks!)

After dinner we went to one of the best show’s I’ve ever been to.. Cirque Shanghi Extreme!

This show was no-joke! These people were almost super-human they were so flexible, strong, and just down-right brave! It was a breath-taking show, and not one that I will soon forget! But then again, I don’t think I will forget anything about this trip! It was truly once-in-a lifetime!

The best part in my opinion though, was just being with family! No entertainment, no shopping, no extravagant dinners could beat time spent with family! Although, if your going to spend time with family, Chicago isn’t a bad place to do it!

I can’t believe summer is finally winding down! Crazy huh!?! I hope you all took some time to spend with family this summer, and hopefully got to take a little get-away of your own!

I’m blessed to be able to say that tomorrow I’m off to one more 5-day vacation with my parents, sister, and husband! Stay tuned for the location to be revealed and the pictures to come!!!

Hey everyone! I’ve been soaking up these beautiful summer days here in Michigan, and yes…It’s usually humid or raining, but I can’t complain…It’s summer time! I thought I’d share a Daily Dish post that is filled with pictures of what I’m loving most about summer time! So Here We Go!

Making homemade Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream with my ice cream maker! (How cute is this apron!?! my friend had it made for me with the Dashing Dish logo embroidered on it! Thanks Dayna I love it!!!)

Summer get-togethers…This was 4th of July with family, (can ya tell!?!)

Time spent by the Pool!

Campfires with Friends!

BBQ’s!

Sitting outside enjoying the heat with my ‘Milkshakes‘ to cool me down!

Reading a Good Book~ (I’m starting this one now!)

Frozen Yogurt of course!

Reading the Word on my Patio!

Fresh Summer Veggies!

Frequent trips to Mongolian BBQ~ (Our favorite restaurant!)

Riding my new bike!

Getting together with friends from out of town~ (It was so Good to see you Toni!)

And of course, picking Fresh Fruits and Veggies yourself!

I am also looking forward to a much needed vacation with my family in August! (Stay tuned for pics!)

I hope you are all soaking up every minute of this glorious season, and that you’re taking time to enjoy some of your favorite things about summer! Now I’d love to hear…What do all of you love most about summer!?!

Hey everyone! So, after explaining the details about how I prep for my wonderful work days, I thought I’d show you how I love to spend my weekends, (when I have off of work that is!)

One of my favorite ways to spend a typical Saturday off is in downtown Ann Arbor with my hubby! However, before I’m off doing anything with the hubs, I always start my Saturday with an 8am Body Pump class! It’s a blast and a great way to get the muscles working so my metabolism is revved up for the day!

I love to come home and spend time with the Lord, watch a bit of Food Network, and have a ‘Milkshake’ for breakfast, (Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Flavor…Of Course!)

After spending some time relaxing at home, we get ready to hit the town! (Downtown that is!) We generally go to Mongolian BBQ (our all-time fave) or Jimmy John’s for lunch! If we go to JJ’s I always get an un-which, which is any of their sandwiches made one a giant lettuce wrap instead of bread! It’s DE-LISH!

Sean always gets his usual…Ham and mayo on white. (I told you he eats like a 2 year old, which is why I know if he likes my recipes, than they are technically ‘kid approved’!)

After shopping for a bit we usually go to our favorite ice cream place~ Amer’s, where they have self-serve frozen yogurt! It can be quite dangerous if you don’t keep ‘portion’ sizes in mind!

I always try new flavors, but this time I got strawberry, with a few M&M’s, peanuts, and a cone on top! I crushed up my cone to add a nice crunchy (and low calorie) topping!

Ann Arbor has a wide variety of cultural influences, (this is mainly due to the University of Michigan which is located in the heart of Ann Arbor.)

We always have a fun time, and you can almost guarantee that you’ll never be bored, (even if your not doing much more than people watching!)

Ann Arbor is also home of the State Theatre, a really neat old theatre, that generally shows anything from small independent films, to box office hits!

Did I mention I love to shop downtown? A Lulu Lemon showcase was recently opened, downtown, and I love it! It’s expensive, but hey… it’s always fun to have one or two workout outfits that you feel great in!

I also LOVE to hit up Biggby Cofee…I order a large coffee, and fill up on the flavored coffee, (cherry is my favorite), and if I’m feeling like a treat, I’ll get a cup of whip, (yes that’s right, a small cup of whip cream), I only end up using a scoop to put on my coffee, and give the rest to Sean, but it is quite delightful I must say!

This time of year there are also a lot of farmers markets around Ann Arbor, which I love!

Sean and I went exploring, and found some amazing produce for our family dinner!

We went over to my parents house and had a BBQ!  We made grilled Chicken Breasts…

Some of the fresh corn from the produce market, (it’s the best grilled in foil and sprinkled with parmesan cheese!!!!)

A salad with some amazing toppings…

And a fruit salad made from the fruit we got from the farmers market!

We then ended our night by going to a coffee shop with our laptops! We spent the rest of the night doing what we love, (side by side of course)…Me~ blogging and Sean~ designing (my hubby is an amazing graphic designer!!!)

I hope you all have an amazing weekend and great Fourth of July!!! I know I sure will…We are having family over, and I’m doing most of the cooking/baking, which means I will be ‘in my element‘ and trying out some amazing new recipes that I’ve been working on to share with all of you!!!

This past week was my birthday~ My 26th birthday to be exact! I must say, the years ‘fly’ by, and I hear it only goes quicker as you get older…Which is why i’m trying to remember to enjoy every moment in the ‘right here and now’.  Sometimes I think we tend to think about the past or future more often than enjoying the present moment. If we’re not careful, we could spend our whole lives waiting for what’s to come, or even dwelling on what was… And miss the joy of this present moment!

Speaking of the ‘joys’ in life, my birthday was a day FILLED with all of the wonderful pleasures in life…all of the things I consider special anyways!

I started off my day by going on a walk with my husband and dog Zoey. We enjoyed the sunshine, and talked about some of the wonderful memories of our childhood. I came back home to have a delicious peanut butter protein shake (and yes, if I could have ANYTHING for breakfast, that is what it would be!)

Sean and I met up with my sister Emily for lunch, (it was her last day of her first year of teaching!) We went to our favorite restaurant Mongolian BBQ!

Then we went strawberry picking!

And out to get frozen yogurt!

And Beaners cherry coffee of course! (I told you it was ALL of my favorite things jam-packed in a day!)

And what would a birthday be without shopping!?! To my surprise, my sister Sarah took me to the Coach store and told me to pick out anything I wanted! Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed…But I ended up picking out the most beautiful white leather purse! I felt beyond blessed!

Then we went back to my house for birthday cake! A Dashing Dish cake of course! It was a peanut butter cup ice cream cake!

We finished off the most amazing day with gifts! I already felt like I had everything I could ever want or need just by being with my amazing family!!! I was so overwhelmed when it came to my gifts…My family always puts in a lot of time and thought into everything they buy!

Sean bought me a custom made stamp for Dashing Dish!

I also got to open the amazing purse I picked out earlier in the day!

I also got some cute new workout clothes!

A new Anthropology apron!

And some Dashing Dish supplies of course! Oh…and a new mountain bike which I am in love with riding already!!!

It was an amazing day…And I truly believe it taught me to look forward to every single day, and to enjoy the present time! Because let’s face it…life is just a collage of everyday moments!

Memorial Day weekend marks the start of Summer, (At least that’s true in ‘my world’) ~ And I’m sure glad it does, because I am more than ready to let the summer begin!

To me, summer means days filled with sunshine, long walks with my sister, family BBQ’s, homemade ice cream (oh yes…recipes to come!), laying out by the pool, vacation, and bonfires at night!

This past Memorial Day was a great start to summer~ and it was spent just the way it should of been…With my family! My sister, husband and I all had the day off of work, so we started the day early with a ‘bootcamp’ workout at our gym.

We came home, and my sister and I enjoyed some coffee and a Peanut Butter Protein Shake together!

We relaxed for a while, took the dogs on a walk around the neighborhood, (it was a sunny 85 degrees here in Michigan that day), and began to prep the food for our BBQ!

We prepared a Huge Greek Style Salad, Corn on the Cob (we made it by covering it in parmesan cheese, butter spray, salt and pepper, and wraped it in foil before we put in on the grill), Greek Style Feta Turkey Burgers, Grilled Asparagus, a Pasta Salad (recipe to come), and a Strawberry Trifle for dessert!

I also brought along a batch of my Guacamole and Falafel Chips!

Then we got to the fun part…Grilling!

Everything was grilled to perfection and tasted like Summer!!!

The trifle was a delightful way to end the meal, being that it was simple, light, and fresh!

We spent the rest of the day laying out by the pool, and relaxing! We also went to Walmart that night to look at mountain bikes…And since my birthday is coming up I’m hoping I will be doing lots of bike riding this summer!

I hope you all enjoyed your ‘official start to summer’ as well! I also want to say a Special Thank You to all of the Men and Women who Serve our Country~ Providing the Freedom for us to Enjoy the Simple Pleasures in Life!

And speaking of Freedom, I can’t forget to thank our Lord Jesus Christ, who provided the Ultimate Freedom for Us…Not only in This Life, But in the Life To Come!