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August 31, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Summertime Picnic

Labor Day is here. The close of summer brings mixed feelings. I love summer, but my favorite time of year is the Fall. I’m sad for hot weather to leave us, but I’m excited for what’s to come: the move to our ‘new’ house, Adelaide’s first birthday, carving pumpkins….it’s all good stuff.

That said, I’ll miss perfect picnic weather, and there’s not much better than a picnic with a view. We’ve visited Glen Haven several times throughout the summer to enjoy some grub with the company of good friends. Whether we packed a gourmet snack and some wine, or just trudged up there with some Riverfront Pizza, it’s always a beautiful time!

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April 6, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Re-Launch of Website – Coming Soon!

Great news! I’ve been working on an improved website and it’ll be published shortly. No worries, you’ll still find me at the same address (www.everythinggal.com), it’ll just be better!

I’m pretty amped about how it’s going to look. I decided to go this route because I felt just the blog wasn’t going to cut it anymore. I’ll still be doing blog posts, but the site will also give me a platform for showcasing photos of my professional work.

A sweet revelation today that furthers my new site design: my good friend Katy came up with an awesome name for the blog portion of my new and improved site. The name is golden because it incorporates both my logo (the bicycle) and my affinity for desserts, while still hinting that it’s a blog. “Sweetly Spoken.” I’m in love! Thank you, Katy!

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February 28, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Popcorn for dinner

When I was little, back when “French rolling” your jean cuffs was cool (please don’t let this ever come back into style!) and the Cosby show was on, my family had a Sunday night tradition. My mom would air-pop some buttery salted popcorn, bake up some brie and slice up some apples and pears. The whole family would gather upstairs in the loft around the TV. We’d toss popcorn to the dogs, fight over the last chunk of cheese, and watch whatever Disney had to offer that week. I can still hear the whir of the popcorn popper and smell the butter and salt.
A movie night meal (yes, I have a culinary degree – but sometimes you gotta cut a girl some slack!)

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February 24, 2012 by sweetly spoken

My favorite place

While moving up north has an infinite number of advantages, there is one small, but significant, disadvantage. A lack of Anthropologie.

 

I miss this store so much! On my last trip to the big city, in addition to visiting with family, I picked up these awesome mini prep bowls at my favorite place. I’ve been using them for everything! Find them here.
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February 16, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Standard Market

Last week Adelaide and I made a quick trip to Chicago. We stopped by to say hello to some former co-workers, spent time with family, and did some much-needed shopping at my favorite store.

The highlight of our trip, though, was perusing the most beautiful grocery store I’ve ever seen. Standard Market in Westmont, IL, a suburb of Chicago, is like a Whole Foods on steroids. If you live close by or are visiting the Windy City, make a trek to this place. The minute I walked in the door I felt a zen-like sensation akin to walking into a spa or a five-star resort. The perfectly stacked produce, the freshly baked bread….even the fish counter was remarkable. This is one thing Northern Michigan does not offer (although the summer farmers markets come close).

Read on for more fabulous photos of Standard Market. Read More »

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February 3, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Sports Morsel

I’m married to a sports fanatic. I try (not very hard), but I can’t seem to stay on top of all the sports ‘stuff’ to keep up with his (somewhat ridiculous) passion. Michael has spent years of his life watching Sports Center, trading professional sports cards (we have a whole Rubbermaid tub full of them in storage), and talking UK basketball. He has a crazy amount of space in his head for sports trivia: who plays on what team, where they played in college, who they trained with, what their stats were, and sometimes even where they went to high school. While I did play sports in high school, and intramural sports well into my third decade, the attic in my brain is now reserved for more interesting important pertinent topics like cooking and baking. Until now. Thanks to SportsMorsel.com, finally I can try to keep up.

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February 1, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Santa Fe Crock Pot Chicken

Here’s a great recipe to feed a crowd for this weekend’s big event. What event is that, you ask? It’s the Superbowl, of course! I wasn’t aware either, until my friend reminded me tonight. Just in case you need to know these things, the New England Patriots are playing the New York Giants. This Sunday. 6:30PM.

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January 18, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Northern Michigan Wedding Resource

I went to a networking event last night for wedding vendors in Northern Michigan. The event was hosted by Simply Blue Weddings at The Good Work Collective.

http://www.simplyblueweddings.com/ 

I was glad to meet so many talented, creative people. It is nice to get to know some of the area vendors, and to re-affirm that Northern Michigan is truly a wonderful choice for destination weddings and events.

Thanks, Alicia, and everyone at SBW for putting on such a nice evening! I’m looking forward to working with you all more.

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January 5, 2012 by sweetly spoken

Mom Brain Enchilada Pasta

 

Adelaide and I went over to our new friends’ house for a potluck. Michael was out of town, but I decided to bundle up Addie and brave a pretty fierce snow storm in exchange for some delicious food. Our new friends own and operate a farm, so the food is guaranteed to be great. That night, the roads were icy and snow was falling quickly. I even got slightly lost on my way there (even with the use of my iPhone!). I’m embarrassed to say that would even happen….I was born and raised here, after all! I’ll blame it on the whiteout from the snow and the fact that, as you’ll note later in my story, I have experienced a bit of a case of “Mom brain” now that Addie’s around. Read More »
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