Category Archives: Michigan

Recipes: Week of 6/26 to 7/2

2023, Adventures in Cooking, Food, Michigan, Troy

I’m at a loss as to the best way to keep track of recipes that I find and that we like. I rarely go on Pinterest, I find it difficult to remember what the recipe was like and if we enjoyed it if I just save a link to a recipe in a Google doc, sometimes recipes are online but sometimes they are in a book or magazine, and I often will make my own tweaks to recipes. How does a girl account for all of this?! (Seriously, if you have a good system, please share!)

Now that our kitchen is (mostly) complete, we are setting up some routines. Generally on Sundays, we will sit down and plan out our meals for the next week. As we go, I will add items that we need to our grocery list on the Kroger app (we found a Kroger that we like, although we still miss Publix). The app lets me see if there are deals on certain brands and clip digital coupons as I place items on my list.

We make sure to add items that we have run out of (milk, creamer, eggs – we are always running out of these!), as well as any snackies that we would like. We try to have our planners/calendars out during this time, so we can accommodate for days where we will be away from home or visiting family, etc. Next, we (lately Donald has been going with me) will go to Mass and stop by the grocery store after (it just makes sense with where things are located for us).

While making out our meal plan, I like to write it all down on a sheet I can post on the fridge. As you can see from this photo, some weeks have a lot of edits to the original plan. 😉

Below is a table of what we actually ate during the week. Probably more for our record-keeping/memories than anything, but feel free to take inspiration if something sounds yummy. 🙂

DayBreakfastLunchDinner
MondaySausage CroissantSandwich, chips & salsaChicken Taco Voila
TuesdayPB Cap’n CrunchSoup and sandwichHawaiian pizza, potato chips
& french onion dip
WednesdaySausage/Greens/Tomato OmeletSandwichBurritos, chips & salsa
ThursdayIDKIDKSpaghetti w/meat sauce,
garlic bread
FridayEggy1/2 sandwichPepperoni pizza, salad
SaturdayIDKBurgers, corn, baked beansBeef stew
SundayPancakesSaladSalmon, cheddar broccoli
Rice-a-Roni, broccoli

I’ve included links to any recipes I’ve used for that meal, as well as product links, in case you are interested in what brands we used (none of these are sponsored or ads – just what we happened to buy – we don’t get any money if you click on the links).

And, of course, this wouldn’t be one of my blog posts without some gratuitous photos…
Here you go! Yes, I am one of those people who likes to take pictures of my food before eating….

Wednesday Evening in Plymouth!

2023, Adventures with Donald, City Parks, Exciting Adventures of the Everyday, Food, Michigan, Plymouth

Prelude

After work/school, I wanted to take Donald to a restaurant that I had been meaning to share with him for a while, but it was still a bit early. I decided to drive around UM campus for a bit and show him some of central campus.

We got a parking spot on State St. (summer semesters are always lighter volume, but some luck was involved as well), and first tried the Museum of Art, but it was closed. We walked across the street to the Michigan Union, poked around for a bit, and spent the last few minutes in the Tech Center dreaming of our next computing device purchase.

Outside, I introduced Donald to the Cube.

Dinner at Pizza e Vino

Next stop, Pizza e Vino in Plymouth!

I had gone to this restaurant about 10-15 years ago with my Alpha small group and remembered that it was delicious! When we came back to Michigan, it has always been my intention to take Donald here, but we hadn’t gotten around to it. Until today.

There was a wait for a table, but it ended up being a shorter wait than originally stated, and we were soon seated near the wood-burning oven. So, our spot was a little warmer than other places in the restaurant, but not uncomfortably so. Definitely the best spot in the house for chilly days!

Appetizer

We ordered the Spiedini, which is fresh mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto. So amazingly good!

I’m going to leave you lots of photos, so you get hungry. You’re welcome!

They come on skewers, so we pushed them off, cut them into bite-sized pieces and ate them with the bread. Yum! I wish all mozzarella sticks were like this.

Salad

Here’s where our order modifications started. Donald is a fan of goat cheese, so we added some on to our Mista salad.

There was plenty of salad to share, and everything was fresh and delicious!

Entrée

What pizza to pick? Ugh, this was SUCH a difficult choice! Everything sounded good!

We went with the Pozzuoli (Italian Fennel Sausage, Old-World Pepperoni, Red Onions, Fresh Basil, Portobello Mushrooms, Fior di Latte Mozzarella), and took off the mushrooms and onions, and added goat cheese and prosciutto.

It was amazing!

The crust is thin and foldable and made the pizza very light. You didn’t feel like you’ve just eaten a ton of bread or get over full. It really let the toppings shine. The best surprise for me was the fresh basil – it was so good!

It’s almost lunch-time as I’m writing this, and I am making myself hungry! I’ll add another photo of the pizza, so you can drool over the screen with me:

Kellogg Park

We generally enjoy going on a light walk after dinner, and Kellogg Park was just steps away from Pizza e Vino. It was a gorgeous evening: warm with a breeze. Lots of people were also enjoying the park and the fountain.

We really enjoyed our evening in Plymouth! Donald even tried to get me to agree to making Pizza e Vino a weekly event! If you are in the area, we highly recommend it!

Father’s Day Weekend 2023

2023, Food, Holidays, Michigan, Troy

Saturday, June 17

Father’s Day weekend started off deliciously! We slept in, then Donald treated us with the most amazing breakfast sandwiches. He basically make a sausage and cheese omelet that he put between two slices of toasted bread. Decadent and yummy! Even Acey wanted in on that action!

While we were finishing up breakfast, we could hear a great clattering outside … and traveling down our driveway. I knew what it was, but wanted to sustain the surprise for Donald. Once the delivery driver had left, we went out to take a look at his Father’s Day present: a new grill!

There was a whole SNAFU that happened (and which took most of the day to rectify), but by 3 pm, we had a brand-new, completely functional grill to use (and bellies full of Baskin Robbins sundaes)! Even better, we had already planned on having shish kebobs for dinner, so we had all the ingredients on hand! We made a quick stop at Mom & Dad’s to get a full propane tank, then Donald went to work!

The kebobs and grilled corn were delicious!

Sunday, June 18

Another leisurely morning and another delicious breakfast! Today, Donald made for us our “classic” breakfast burritos and served it with our favorite salsa in all the world: Desert Pepper Cantina Salsa (red) in Medium. During breakfast, we made sure to call Donald’s dad, Jim, to wish him a Happy Father’s Day, as well as message a few other friends and family.

We went to the 12 pm Mass at St. Anastasia, then had lattes and pastries at Street Sweet Cafe. We borrowed a pen and paper and did our meal planning for the week. We challenged ourselves to stick to ONLY those items which we had added to the grocery list, then walked over to the Kroger Marketplace.

We have been trying for months to find a grocery store here in Troy that we like as much as we loved the Publix in Tallahassee, but it’s a very hard act to follow! We love our Publix! Maybe I’ll do another post some time about our grocery store experiences. Anyways…. We thought this one was pretty good and we may start shopping here more regularly.

We came home and put away the groceries, then took a few minutes to lay down and relax before heading to Mom & Dad’s to celebrate Father’s Day.

They also had shish kebab’s on the menu! But also taco salad, potato (with sweet potato!) salad, and hamburgers, with ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

We helped Dad take the picnic table and grill off the deck (so they could have it re-stained tomorrow) and picked up a few items Mom has been holding for us while our kitchen was under reconstruction. Too soon, it felt, it was time to head home so we could get ready for the work week.

ALAS! There was still some work for me to do before bedtime! Dishes, laundry, shower, insulin pump and CGM sensor change…. I didn’t actually get to bed until well after 12 am.

It was worth it, though! Such a nice weekend! I hope all of the fathers, would-be-fathers, step-fathers, foster fathers, father-figures, and all had a fantastic Father’s Day and felt the love and appreciation that we all have for the love and support and guidance you give your families each and every day!

To my Dad: I can’t possibly thank you enough for all of the wisdom, support, and love you have given Clint and I over the years. I will always strive to be someone you are proud of and I will always think that my Daddy knows about everything and can fix any problem. I love you!

To Jim: Thank you for raising a wonderful son! And thank you for all of your support and encouragement and guidance that you have given us both!

To Donald: Thank you for being the best father to our stuffed animals (Acey and Zoey) and our plant-kids (Buddy and Sport)! You make life a fun adventure every day!

To my priest-friends: Thank you for all of your prayers and love! Thank you for being amazing role-models and staunch supporters. I hope you find particular joy this Father’s Day!

And, as always, my gratitude and love to Jesus and God the Father Almighty. The very definition of “a good father.” 🙂

Epiphany… Finally

2023, blessings, Home Life, Michigan, Troy

Every year, I like to do the Epiphany Home Blessing, a tradition in the Catholic Church.

Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We weren’t in Michigan last Epiphany, so the last time the house was blessed was 2021. It would be superstitious to say that it’s because it wasn’t blessed in 2022 that we had pipes burst and have to undergo major reconstruction, but…. 😉

This is the current state of our kitchen.

Today is the day we finally checked out of the hotel and moved back permanently into our house! Today, Donald also found the Epiphany Home Blessing card and chalk that we got from church. Together, we blessed the home for 2023.

We are so happy to finally be back home – really home! – and are looking forward to finding new local adventures!

Have a blessed day!

— Jenn & Donald

Stage Nature Center in the Snow!

2023, Adventures with Donald, Exciting Adventures of the Everyday, Michigan, Nature and the Great Outdoors, Troy

Donald is great at always keeping an eye on the weather for us, so we knew that it was going to snow Sunday morning. I thought it would be a lot of fun – especially for my Florida boy! – to go for a walk in the snow at one of our favorite local nature centers.

We had a nice breakfast at the hotel, then stopped by the house to grab our wet weather boots from one of our moving boxes. Next stop: the Stage Nature Center, where we had previously seen a mink playing in the Rouge River!

Our car parked next to the snow-covered trees
Our car parked next to the snow-covered trees! Poor car isn’t used to this cold weather!

The snow was so beautiful on the ground and coating the branches of the trees! It was really good packing snow, too!

After living in Florida for the past few months, this was quite a change for us and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. There were a surprising number of people who were also out this morning to take a walk in the snow. We decided to take the Blackbird trail today, and it ended up snowing the entire time.

I don’t think it is possible for me to overemphasize how often one of us would exclaim, “It’s SO PRETTY!” or “Wow! Look at this, babe!”

Even without leaves, the snow-covered branches made for interesting tunnels to walk through.
I made this for Donald. I will always give him my heart!

We saw deer, ducks, and birds on our walk, but we’re particularly entranced by the trees. There are a lot of older trees here. (Above, Donald is playing among some of the taller pine trees.)

We love taking photos and recognize the importance of capturing our memories. We are trying to get better at documenting our adventures (and taking more videos!), so we played a bit with slow-mo mode. The clip below shows Donald shaking a branch to have some snow fall on him. This is towards the end of our walk, and you might be able to tell that the branches now have a good couple inches of snow on them – much more than when we began our walk!

Just after seeing some deer in the woods, we came to a hilly section of the nature center. I wanted a photo of Donald in the field, to show the scale of the terrain a bit. I think I ended up making it look like he was tiny and standing on the fence!

There had been a group of kids in a group who were geocaching when we started our walk. We didn’t want to interrupt their program, but decided to catch a few caches on our way out. There are definitely more caches out there, but we just grabbed a quick two. They are not too difficult to find; it is a fun, little “extra” that families can do together while enjoying nature.

There was just enough snow on the ground for Donald to make a snow angel. I think he did a great job!

We were out in it for a good two hours, then returned to our hotel home to warm up. We were so glad to get back to some of the things we love to do: hiking, taking pictures, and seeing the local flora and fauna.

See you next time!
— Jenn & Donald

In Search of Fall Colors

2022, Fall/Autumn, Michigan

Since this is Donald’s first Fall in Michigan, I wanted him to get the best view of the trees changing colors as possible. I had always heard about the Tunnel of Trees at the north end of the lower peninsula, but I’d never made the trip at the right time to be able to see the leaves at peak color.

We are trying to do that this year! Most years, it seems as if it is nearing peak time, but then just before you go out to see the colors, it rains a ton and all of the leaves fall off the trees and you are left with bare twigs and brown leaves to look at until spring.

They are predicting that this year the colors should be more intense, since we are having a warmer than usual end-of-summer.

One of the ways we are trying to time our trip is to look at webcams near the Tunnel of Trees (which extends from Harbor Springs to Cross Village, MI). There is a YouTube feed of the Steeple Cam Live View of Downtown Harbor Springs, MI that gives us a good look around. It seems as if most trees right now are fairly green, but the colors can change fairly quickly. We will check again in a week to see how things are progressing!

Until then, let me know what your favorite spot is to view the fall colors!

— Jenn

Mémère’s House

2022, Family, Memories, Michigan, Pope John Paul II

For some reason, I woke up at 5 am this morning with some very vivid memories of my Mémère’s house. Mémère was my great-grandmother – my mom’s mom’s mom.

Her house was in Madison Heights, MI on a street called Harwood, if I’m remembering correctly. It was a brick house with an extra lot to the left side, where Mémère had a bunch of raspberry plants.

My mom and her older sister, Marilyn, in Mémère’s backyard.

When you went in the front door, the hallway would turn to the right to bring you into the living room, but immediately to the left was a low, rectangular curio cabinet. Inside, Mémère kept her collection of salt and pepper shakers. She must have had hundreds of pairs, in all different colors and shapes.

In the hallway, there was either some chairs or maybe a couch. I don’t recall this precisely, but I do remember seeing Mémère sitting down in that hallway area praying the rosary.

The living room, I think, was a light green color. On the far right wall, there were two large, oval black and white photos – each showing a portrait of a man. When I asked Mémère who they were of, she would answer “Pépé.” What I didn’t understand as a kid was that they were two different people, and that Pépé could have more than one meaning. One was our Pépé, her husband, who had passed away when I was about a week old. But the other one was Pope John Paul II, our Holy Father at the time. So, yeah, I grew up thinking that an image of the pope was my great-grandfather.

Mémère and Pépé

Once you turned the corner into the living room, the house went straight back. On the left were two fairly small bedrooms, and on the right just behind the living room was the bathroom.

The hallway ended in the kitchen. There was a small table on the left, the refrigerator straight ahead by the back door, the sink to the right, and the stove on the wall opposite the refrigerator. On the counter between the sink and the stove was a large toaster oven, which I thought was really cool; I had only seen the kind where the bread pops up from the top.

One of the things that Mémère was known for was always having tomato rice soup waiting for you when you came over. Mom says that it was very simple: just rice and water and tomatoes. I just remember that there was always a pot bubbling away on the stove and it was delicious. I think I added a bunch of salt to mine – I was really into a lot of salt in my food when I was younger.

Isn’t it interesting how places can leave their own imprint on you, even decades later? I could relay some of my memories of Mémère, but I think I’ll leave that for another blog post. If you have any specific memories of a loved one’s home or a special food item they made, please share in the comments.

Until our next adventure!
— Jenn

Stage Nature Center

2022, Adventures with Donald, City Parks, Exciting Adventures of the Everyday, Exercise & Fitness, Michigan, Nature and the Great Outdoors, Photography, Troy, , ,

It has been a little while since we have indulged in one of our favorite lunchtime pastimes: finding a new city park to explore. We tend to do this a little more in Tallahassee, but we have found that there are quite a few local parks in Troy which are beautiful and fun to explore – particularly in summertime. Today, we returned to the Stage Nature Center – where we had seen the mink earlier in the year – to see how it looks when everything has had a chance to green up.

This is the Rouge River, as it is here in Troy, a little more than a creek.

We only had about 30 minutes to spend at the park during my lunch hour, so we made a quick trip around the Sugar Maple loop. It was really neat to see the different colors of green in the leaves and how the sun lit up the trees. The part of the loop that we walked also had a display of the various stages of tree/forest lifecycle, with logs in various stages of decay and decomposition.

The nature center has programs in the winter/early spring where you can rent a tap for a sugar maple tree, then collect the maple syrup produced from the sap.

We spent a few minutes at this crossroads in the paths to watch some chipmunks. They are FAST little ones! One of them ran up a tree and started chittering very loudly for quite some time. At first, I didn’t know what was making that sound and ended up recording it on my Bird ID app. I’m not sure if he was mad or excited, but he certainly wanted everyone in the forest to hear what he had to say!

Just as we were about to move on from the chipmunk area, we spied four deer running parallel to our path. Donald’s phone has much better zoom on the camera and he was able to get this incredible photo.

A view of the Rouge River from the other side of the Sugar Maple loop.

We just did the short 0.4 mile Sugar Maple Loop today, as I only had an hour for lunch. It was really pretty and we want to come back after work one day to see what animals are active in the early evening, as well as spend more time in the back half to see if we can spot our mink friend again.

I love seeing all the different colors of green!

This was a very BIG bee on this flower. It’s in an area of the nature center which has been planted as a monarch butterfly migration station.

I love when parks make boards like this to help people know what kinds of flowers and plants are indigenous to the area, and to promote planting native plants in gardens. Sometimes, you will see a companion board, where they will inform you of invasive species in the area and ask people visiting the park to help remove the invasive species if they are seen during your walk.

This was just a quick out and back visit, but we had a lot of fun. It was great to take a break and get away from the house for a bit, as well as to enjoy the warm, sunny, non-humid weather while we have it!

You can now listen to our blog via our podcast! It is available from Anchor via Spotify, but we are also working to get it published to other podcast platforms. Don’t worry, we will be working on our audio quality as we go! Enjoy!

Quarton Lake: Lunchtime Walk

2022, Adventures with Donald, Exciting Adventures of the Everyday, Michigan, Nature and the Great Outdoors, Photography, Weekdays

It has been rather chilly in Michigan these past few days, and while the temperature was still on the low side, the lack of cold winds and bright sun made it feel good to be outside.

So, when lunchtime came, Donald and I decided to make a quick trip down the road to Quarton Lake for a walk around the water.

These bright blue flowers were blooming in yards surrounding the lake. Siri thinks they are called Scilla. 😀

The birds (mostly robins) were chirping away and foraging, and the squirrels (both black and red/gray) were having fun running in and around the trees.

Quarton Lake is in the middle of a residential area in Birmingham, surrounded by large houses of varying architectural styles.

There are so many different species of pine tree here in Michigan. This one reminded me of the Torreya pines in Florida which are very rare. However, the needles on this one were a lot softer than on the Torreyas.

On the Maple Rd side of the lake, there is a small park that includes this white fish sculpture. And, of course, the waterfall. 😀

The watershed from Quarton Lake feeds into the Rouge River (or so I would assume from the signage on the bridge 😜). Some of the houses in the neighborhood were lucky enough to have the river on their backyard.

I’m no nature expert, but I think these yellow flowers may belong to a Forsythia bush.

This pine tree had thin, delicate branches with soft, short needles. Very pretty!

At the south end of the lake, there is a grist wheel and a plaque to let people know that Quarton Lake used to be called Mill Pond and was the site of a grist mill which ground grain into flour for the Birmingham community.

Just a couple of the beautiful houses surrounding the lake.

Looking back at the park entrance and Maple Rd
Yet another species of pine tree. This one had cool pinecones forming.

This view is from the north side of the lake. Our lunchtime walk took us completely around the lake. It was great to get out of the house for a bit and enjoy the sun on our faces!

Love, Jenn and Donald