Tag: Catching Up!

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Wishing you the best holiday ever!

Hello friends and Merry Christmas!  We have been busy getting ready for the holidays and meeting up with friends and family to celebrate the season. Here is a snapshot of what has been happening 🙂

 I was able to go to KJ’s Christmas party at school!  Such fun 🙂

 That’s me drinking my new favorite beer -St. Bernards Christmas Ale—amazing!


At Dave’s Christmas party there was a photo booth and lots of funny pics were taken. These are Dave’s peeps, they are so much fun to party with.

Dave surprised me with a Southern Tier evening- my favorite is the Pumking, his is Creme Brulee.  

Spent some time in Midland visiting Olivia and Zach- we had our Christmas celebration a little early due to schedules and created some wonderful memories.

The latest pic of little Ryan- I have spent lots of time with him lately- I feel so fortunate to be a grandma 🙂


Dave gave me my Christmas gift a little early and I have already been using it- a new camera.  Most of my recent pics are on the new camera and I have yet to figure out how to get them to my phone so I can dumped here on the website…I will figure things out by the next time I log on.  

Stats this week- 9 miles running, 14 miles biking in a spin class, I hit up 3 Orange Theory classes.  

Enjoy the hustle and bustle!!

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Catching Up!!

We hope your Thanksgiving was just wonderful!  Ours was a busy day as we ran the Turkey Trot again this year.  

We always enjoy our morning run in Detroit and the amount of people that show up for the race and parade grows each year.

It was cold so we used the new cold weather gloves we purchased in Holland a few weekends ago.  They are made by Manzella and are lightweight and water-repellent while also being windproof and breathable. They did the trick, our hands were toasty.  

 After the run we walked around downtown Detroit to take in the sights. 

 Detroit looks so inviting during the holidays.

 Ice skating rink was closed but one day we will have to try it 🙂

We had no real plans so we geared up for a relaxing meal at home and invited Dave’s brother over to share in the feast and watch the Lions game on TV.  On the menu was a turkey breast, Dave’s sweet potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce.  Everything was delicious and for dessert we shared a wonderful apple pie.  

On Friday, after a 3 mile run,  we ventured out but not to any stores.  We ended up seeing 2 movies.  We saw Can You Ever Forgive Me with Melissa McCarthy and  Green Book.  We really enjoyed Green Book and feel it will be an Oscar contender for best actor and best supporting actor.  Can You Ever Forgive Me was dark but very good and Melissa McCarthy gave a wonderful performance. 

On Saturday, after another a 3 mile run, we shopped at Lowe’s and took advantage of their 15% off custom orders and finally ordered the door for the newly renovated laundry room and the door that leads to the basement.  

We also ordered a ping pong table from Dicks at an amazing price (plus free shipping!!) and we ordered a chair from Art Van for someone special at a discounted price.  I can’t wait for the chair to be delivered!! I know the person will be super pleased with his Christmas gift.  

We order the light beige one.  It’s a rocker and recliner and soooo comfortable. 🙂

Saturday afternoon Costco delivery was at our house to install the new washer and dryer.  I am loving the look of the laundry room.  Here is a sneak peak-  I absolutely am in love with the new wallpaper.  I do a full review later this week.

New washer and dryer- after a long and extensive research process we ended up with a LG set from Costco. 

And on Saturday night we had the privilege of babysitting two of my favorite people in the world, Ryan and KJ.  They were so good and we loved the smiles and hugs they offer.  We popped popcorn and watched the Netflix movie Christmas Chronicles.  
Love his hair and his smile to so contagious.  We found ourselves just looking at him and smiling back.  So blessed to have these little people in our lives.  

We ran Sunday, after another 3 mile run, then headed to our new health club and worked out and then treated ourselves to a long soak in our hot tub.  

It was a great weekend with family.  We even had lots of alone time and finished most of our Christmas shopping!  Not so bad.  🙂

Ran 15 miles and took one biking class at health club.  I worked out at Orange Theory 3 times last week and I still love the workout it offers.

How was our weekend?  Are you almost done shopping or just getting started??

Karen

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Catching Up!!

Whew, another weekend has flown by.  We traveled to Holland this weekend and had a blast.  We try to visit Holland each year during their “Shop till you Drop” annual shopping event.

We usually stay in downtown at the Marriott Courtyard.  It is literally downtown and after shopping and drinking it’s nice just to stumble back to the hotel and not have to drive.  

This is how we kicked off the weekend!  We always start at Hops 52 on Main.  We love their selection of craft beer and their menu is delicious.  We settled on Brewery Vivant’s Love Shadow and a Griffen Claw Pumpkin and shared a small pizza.

Feeling pretty good as we staggered (not really, but we were feeling no pain) around trying to find great deals in the shopping event!  We did get some really good deals.  🙂


This sign is on my radar.  I love the simplicity of it the beautiful saying.  You can buy one for yourself here. 

On Saturday we drove to Saugatuck to eat lunch and shop some more.:)  We have tried a few places in the area but we always end up at Phil’s bar and grille.  Phil’s offers such good salads and sandwiches.  We also tried a new brewery in Holland on Saturday early evening.  It’s called Big Lake Brewery.  We ordered a few sample beers and were really impressed- we will make sure to spend more time there next time we are in Holland.  We sat by the fireplace on leather chairs and couches to sip our sample beers. 

 

Next, we headed to Grand Rapids for a tribute to Frank Sinatra.

But we first ate dinner at Roam by San Chez.  We loved the vibe of the restaurant and the food was delicious AND we couldn’t believe they offered Cedar Spring’s Hefeweizen on draft! We will definitely be going back.

Roam’s specialties are small plates from around the world. The idea is to order a few items off the menu to share.  We settled on the green beans served in a bread cornucopia and split a Cubano sandwich.  Yum!

The restaurant is across the street from the Devos Center where the Grand Rapids Symphony is located.

The Grand Rapids Symphony was such a treat to listen to.   The singer was Tony DeSare. Dave thought he sounded better than Frank.  

On the way home we stopped in Fenton to have lunch at the Laundry.  Seriously, they know how to make a sandwich.  We split a turkey club with avocado and bacon…so yummy!  They even brew their own beer now and of course we had to have one. We tried a wonderful Belgian Tripel called Sacred Executioner.  They now can their draft beer so we took some home with us! 

It was a crazy busy weekend but so glad to get away and yet so happy to be back home. 
Running stats for the week:  12
No biking- out door season is over 🙁   Let the monotony of the indoor season begin.

I joined Orange Theory and I LOVE it!! I can’t get over the workout.  Have you been bitten by the orange bug yet?

Till next time,

Karen

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Catching Up!!

Another wonderful Michigan weekend!  Today we awoke to rain but over the weekend we had pure sunshine.  Let’s get you caught up.  On Friday we had dinner with friends at the Brown Iron Brewhouse. We went to the Brown Iron to help kick off their Oktoberfest! 
BrownIronMug.jpg

We enjoyed so many good beers and great German food.  But we especially liked the German dancing 🙂

On Saturday we celebrated the Beast of a Ride bike ride at our house.  Friends came over early in the morning and we biked 50 miles from our house on the Macomb-Orchard bike trail.  

We were exhausted after the bike ride.  It took us a little over 4 hours to complete and all we could think about was the cold beer waiting for us back at the house.  Everyone brought a dish to pass, Dave made turkey burgers on the grill and I made the same pasta salad I made last month for Lauren’s Sip and See party.  I loved the casualness of this gathering- we sat around the table and talked for a straight 2 hours.  We planned more events in the future and really just didn’t want the day to end. 

On Sunday we ended up at Costco doing some grocery shopping.  They have this doll set for sale and I bought one for KJ for Christmas.  I know they will sell out fast so I am glad I picked one up.  I think I might go back and get another one for Toys for Tots, it’s $15.00 and it would bring a huge smile on a little ones face.


On the dinner front, I made a wonderful 3- Bean Turkey Chili last week that we ate for 2- full dinners and finished it yesterday for lunch. It was so good!  The recipe is from the Skinny Taste website and you know how much I love her recipes, always healthy and lo-cal.
This easy turkey chili uses lean ground turkey and a whole lotta beans! Make this in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, then pile on your favorite chili toppings and enjoy!

Dave informed me that he ran 36 miles in September and biked 337 miles, I ran 36 miles also, but only biked 299 miles.  We won’t have many biking opportunities left in Michigan before the weather changes, but we do run all winter.  We have the Detroit Marathon coming up and the Turkey Trot in November.  Lot’s of opportunities to get outside and enjoy the crisp, cool air.  🙂