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Garlic-Parmesan Hasselback Zucchini + Adventures from Wisconsin to Colorado

How is it already over half way through July?! I feel like a broken record saying this, but summer is seriously flying by. I feel like I need to catch you up a bit on what we’ve been doing the past few weeks as it’s been awhile since I posted. Where to start…we’ve been doing a lot, hence the lack of posts coming your way lately.

Over the 4th of July weekend, we took our main summer vacation to Colorado to spend time with Philip’s family. We crammed in as much as we could during that short, extended weekend! And boy, did we live up our #yearoffun on that trip! So many good memories were made.

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Currently…

Hello, hello!! Don’t worry, I’m still here! Sorry for the crickets you’ve been hearing lately from me over here in my corner of the blogging world. Two words: It’s summer! I have no excuse other than the fact that, well, summer is here, the weather has been gorgeous, and I just want to be outside!

For those of you who live in the Midwest, you know that we have to take the nice days while we can get them! I’m still not to the point where I’m willing to take these nice days for granted.

In all honesty, life has just been busy! For some reason, I always think that with summer should come back laid back evenings sitting out on the porch and free weekends to enjoy downtown Madison or long bike rides with my hubby. While we have been able to do all of those things (for which I’m very grateful), I feel like their occurrences are few and far between and our days definitely haven’t slowed down any! Plus, what’s with all this #adulting that gets in the way of these fun activities? Shouldn’t that just kind of come to a halt during the summer, too? If only that were the case…

That said, it’s still another gorgeous day today, so I’m only popping in to say hello and to tell you that I will be back! I’m still cooking up some delicious meals (I’ll be sharing some of them soon!), Philip isn’t starving, and I’m not abandoning my loyal readers. Unlike the past two summers, though, (how have I been doing this blog for more than two years already?!) this summer I’m freeing myself of the guilt if I happen to not post in a week — or, gasp, even two weeks. And you know what? I’m absolutely loving it.

Since I work full time during the week (and on Saturdays a couple times a month), Sundays are my “blogging day.” While this usually works, it makes it hard/stressful when we have had a busy weekend or the weather is nice and Philip and I are itching to get out for a long bike ride (we’re doing the Door County Century Ride in September, so we need to really kick it into gear. Eek!) or any other activity that sounds fun on a Sunday afternoon. Basically, I’ve decided I have too many hobbies. What a problem to have, right? So this summer, I’m living up my Word of the Year — Fun — and taking it outside to join the rest of Madison.

Let me fill you in on what’s currently been filling up our time…The month of May, in particular, seemed to go by especially fast (as I feel is always the case for people). Two weekends ago Philip and I took the opportunity to go on a marriage retreat, which was wonderful. The retreat was in Madison, so for a date night, we headed to State Street and ate at Fresco, a rooftop restaurant and lounge that serves excellent, fresh and contemporary fare. If you’re in the area, I’d highly recommend making a reservation and checking it out! The ambiance is great, the food and drink flavorful, and the views are incredible.

After our meal, we walked along State Street to the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union to enjoy an evening on the Terrace with cups of ice cream from Babcock Ice Cream Shop. Everybody else seemed to have the same idea and the 20 minute wait for the ice cream was totally worth it. This is also a must-try if you find yourself in the Madison area!

Memorial Day weekend was also a great one — my parents were in town! Our house we moved into a year and a half ago, while it has a spacious backyard, had no trees of any kind in it (it used to be a field like almost every other newer development in our area) and the previous owners never bothered to plant any, so we took it upon ourselves to create some shade and privacy…with my parents’ help. :) Parents are the best aren’t they? A week later, the Autumn Blaze Maple and the two pines we planted are still standing and looking green, so we have our hopes up. ;)

This is my dad. Isn’t he the cutest?

Red Rover, Red Rover? We’re capturing what our trees look like now…let’s hope we can see a difference in a couple years from now. :)

Besides the planting, we visited Wollersheim Winery and enjoyed the great weather with my parents, met up with friends, and biked to (and through) the UW Arboretum and enjoyed a simple picnic on our extra day off on Monday. And it was all lovely. I wish every weekend was a three day weekend!

Whew, and that was just the weekend! The weeks and weekends ahead look just as busy and fun and I absolutely can’t wait. I’ll keep checking in, giving you updates on my #yearoffun, and sharing some of our favorite summer recipes! Thanks for reading (I truly appreciate it, whether you loyally read every post or are just stopping by for the first time). What are your summer plans and adventures ahead? I’d love to hear!

What I Ate Today

Remember way back last year (2015 seems so long ago now, don’t you think?!) when my husband graciously tracked what he ate for a day and took pictures of everything for my series of “What I Ate Today?” And remember how I said I’d be doing it next? Well, thankfully I never said when I’d be doing it next, because it’s been…awhile. I finally remembered to set my camera out on the kitchen table as a reminder, and committed to track what I ate last Monday. So here’s what my Monday looked like: (continue reading…)

The Start of a New Year + Trunk Club Review

Can you believe we’re already a few days into the new year?! 2016 — how did that happen?! So far, my new year is off to a fun start. I’ve unofficially declared fun as my word of the year. I think after spending so much time working on our new house for the first half of last year and being injured for the other half, I’m ready to get outside, be adventurous, and just enjoy myself this year…well, as much as I can without completely ignoring the fact that I have a full-time job and am trying to be a responsible adult.

With only four days in, I’d have to say 2016 is looking up! Philip and I had a quiet New Year’s Day that I absolutely loved. It included a little productivity with plenty of relaxation. I was able to join the rest of them at the gym and go for a swim in the morning, clean the house after all the Christmas decorations had come down (while sad to see them go, it’s nice to have all the pine needles gone and things back in order), get groceries, and do laundry all with plenty of daylight left to relax and enjoy the day. That doesn’t happen ~~very often~~ ever and I can’t tell you how happy it made me feel to start the New Year that way.

With chores checked off our list, Philip and I tested out our new snowshoes on snow covered trails right outside our house and cozied up on the couch to sip on tea and read with the afternoon sun streaming in through the windows. It’s the simple pleasures in the life, right? And yes, this is what I call fun. :)

All of our resting up on Friday prepared us for a fun early-birthday trip to Chicago for Philip on Saturday! I loved taking it all in — the hustle and bustle of people walking up and down the streets with shopping bags in hand, the lights, restaurants, and store fronts.

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Holiday Pear-Pomegranate Salsa + [How-To Remove Pomegranate Seeds] + Sneak Peak at our Kitchen Updates

Holiday Pomegranate-Pear Salsa

Philip and I are now entering our third Christmas season together as a married couple and have, as of this weekend, completed our second annual Hoerr Family Confectionary (est. 2013) candy-making extravaganza! We pull out all the stops with labels, candy boxes, and as much candy as we can squeeze into a day. It’s fun to then be able to share that candy throughout the Christmas season with neighbors, family, and friends.

Candy Collage

While we may have thrown out more caramel than we actually were able to use and had a couple too many mid-candy-making grocery runs, the rest of the candy was success on the first try. I feel like we are officially stocked until Valentine’s Day. #dietitiansworstnightmare

Caramel Making

But you know what was the best part (well, besides taste testing far too much of our final products)?! Fully putting to use our new, updated kitchen! It was our Christmas present to each other this year, and exactly one year after we closed on our first home, we were able to enjoy it to the fullest. Now…what’s on our Year Two list? ;)

Kitchen Before & After

I know I hinted at giving you a full glimpse at our kitchen awhile back (sorry, the time has gotten away from me!), but I’m happy to show you the finished result now! (continue reading…)

The Best Chewy Gingersnaps Yet

The holiday season is officially in full force! Can you believe that Christmas is now less than 3 weeks away?! Somehow it’s already the second week of December and I can sense the flurry of activity going on in the stores as the holiday quickly approaches. Flour and sugar are left empty on the grocery store shelves and everybody is pulling out their yearly, favorite cookie recipes. What are your favorite holiday cookies and desserts?

For me, I grew up on soft sugar cookies with icing dripping down the sides. Nothing pretty or perfect about them, but somehow they seemed to melt in my mouth with every bite. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

You know what else makes my mouth water, though? These chewy gingersnap cookies…The Best Chewy Gingersnaps Yet, for that matter. :) I feel like all things ginger and gingerbread are the forgotten flavor around the holidays. Sure, peppermint normally gets all the attention, but I have a soft spot for the warmth and richness of gingersnaps. Every time I make up a batch of gingersnaps, it has me thinking of my aunt who doesn’t leave the flavor of ginger just to the holidays — she makes gingersnaps all year round. Can you see already why I love her so much?! When I lived close to my aunt and uncle during college, it was a safe bet there’d be a container of freshly made gingersnaps on her counter when I came for a visit.

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A Thanksgiving, Birthday, & Christmas Weekend Celebration

Hi again, friends! I hope you had a tasty and relaxing Thanksgiving! Did you get out to shop and hit up the good deals? Feast on leftovers all weekend long? Put on Christmas music and decorate for the upcoming season? Whatever you did, I’m sure we can agree that the weekend went by too quickly and now we’re back to another work week.

I feel like our family did a mix of everything this past weekend! It was such a fun weekend, too. Philip and I enjoyed a quaint and quiet Thanksgiving with my parents who drove to Madison to be with us. But do we know how to throw a good Thanksgiving feast!

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What We Ate Today: What a dietitian’s husband eats

While I was out galavanting around NW Iowa this weekend with my two closest girlfriends from college (what a fun weekend I had!), my husband was back home working the whole weekend on house projects, cleaning up our kitchen from our kitchen demo project (sorry, no pictures…yet! It’s almost done!), and even taking care of my blog for me. Isn’t he great?!

While I was exhausted each night from chatting late into the night (well past my bedtime), my husband was exhausted from working late into the evenings. To add even more to his work list, I asked if he’d be willing to write the majority of today’s blog post for you all. You’re in luck, he said yes!

I’m starting a new series entitled: What We Ate Today. As a dietitian, people often think I must eat perfectly all the time. And this means my family (husband) is roped into eating “health foods,” too. Let’s be honest, this is real life. Our meals and snacks are not always the picture-perfect diet. While we try to eat healthy most of the time, we follow my rules/guidelines I base my blog off of.

So, without further ado, my husband, Philip, is first to show you what he ate one day last week (I’ll be up next, don’t worry):

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Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats + Weddings, Colorado, & Family Time

Whew! What a whirlwind of a week I had last week and we’re already moving into the start of another week. Things need to sloooow down! Yesterday I mistakenly checked out REI (that store gets the best of me every time I walk inside…it all goes back to help my membership dividend, right?) and walked out with a new winter coat and boots. While exciting to purchase when it’s 80 degrees outside, I’m not looking forward to when I actually need to wear them.

This past week seemed like a catch up week after having a blast in Colorado last weekend. Philip’s brother found himself a beautiful girl and got hitched last weekend at a venue nestled in the mountains outside of Boulder. Everything about the wedding was gorgeous and perfectly planned. So happy for the new couple! (photo creds go to Jenna, Philip’s sister)

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Smoked Sausage & Kale Alfredo

I’m starting to embrace fall and everything it has to offer. I have decided I’m fully ready to put away my shorts and summer tops and bring out the cozy sweaters (let’s be real, my sweats are what’re really calling my name). Of course, it helps that the weather has been gorgeous, the sun shining, and I’m not yet hustling to and from my car due to the sharp chill in the air. Nevertheless, fall is at its finest here in the Midwest.

In fact, on my day off this week, for some reason I woke up with this great need and desire to make my life surrounded with all things fall. So, our house has been switched for the seasons with fall colors, pinecones, and fall leaves positioned decoratively throughout…never mind the trees with green leaves still prospering and doing well outside…

Naturally, no fall is complete without the smell of pumpkin in the air, so to top it all off, I made up a few mini loaves of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread from Erin at Well Plated (amazing!) to send off to our new neighbors. If I enjoyed PSLs, I’m sure one of those would be in my hand as well.

The one thing I really love about the change of seasons, though? The change in food! Fall, to me, is when comfort food starts coming out, pots of hearty soup are simmering on the stove again, and all things pumpkin and apple abound. This Smoked Sausage & Kale Alfredo is right up there with the best comfort food. It’s creamy, rich, and warms you right up — both from its warmth and the little bit of kick it has.