It turned out to be one of the most beautiful days we’ve had in Michigan so far…(it has been in the 40′s almost all of April!) But this past Saturday was 70 degrees and sunny…God sure did shine His sunshine down on Emily’s celebration day! I hope you enjoy the pictures of this magnificent day!

Here Emily (the future bride) is with my family…

and Emily with her future in-law’s (including the 2 wonder women who put on the amazing shower!)

For brunch we had fruit to start…

Followed by a strawberry spinach salad (which I had the pleasure of preparing), a scone, and an english muffin, which was later topped with an egg, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce.

After eating we opened gifts.

It was so fun to see her open everything, especially her new kitchen gadgets! ;)

I made her a towel cake! :)

I also made her a basket of ‘my favorite kitchen things’ which was an assortment of my favorite kitchen gadgets, etc. Talk about a fun gift to shop for and give! :)

One of the most creative gifts she received was from our good friend Dayna, who made her a box of ‘date nights’…One for every month after they were married, (they were in envelopes, and she was told not to open them until the date night for each month!) How sweet is that!?!

After opening gifts we had dessert. My Aunt Lorrie made the most adorable wedding cake sugar cookies! I told her she could have her own cookie making business! How cute are they!?!

Brett’s mom, Gerri made everything on the dessert table, including these adorable cake pops…

Beautiful macaroons….

And a wide assortment of cupcakes!

Everything came together beautifully, and we had a great time celebrating Emily and Brett! I hope you enjoyed the preview of this special day! :)

The wedding will be here before we know it! I can’t wait to share pictures of that amazing day with all of you!

I remember feeling this way when I was in nursing school, (and that was when I was only cooking for myself!) It wasn’t long after I got married that I realized that cooking every meal on the spot was not easy, especially if I was going to stay on track with healthy eating.  (Let’s face it… sometimes when you  are overly hungry or busy it’s easy to grab anything in sight, regardless of how healthy it is!) If that sounds familiar in any way, don’t worry… there is a solution!

I have found that the best possible way to live a healthy lifestyle and have healthy and delicious meals all week long is by meal prepping once for the whole week.

There are so many benefits to having one (or two) meal prep days during the week, but some of the best things about it is that it saves me time, money, and stress, all the while allowing me to stay on track with eating healthy.

Sound intriguing?!? Well… Let me show you how it’s done in just a few simple steps!

STEP 1: PLAN & SHOP 

I begin meal planning by making a list of recipes on my “Favorites Board”. (This can be found under the membership section of Dashing Dish.) I create a ‘favorites’ list each week based on what I want to have for breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners.  

From there I write down the ingredient list for each recipe. (I generally divide the ingredient list by 2 if I plan to prepare it for my husband and I and it is a recipe that calls for four servings or more). After writing out my grocery list I double check that I don’t already have something in my fridge or pantry. Then… I’m off to the grocery store!

If this step alone overwhelms you, this is where my meal plans come in! I have done all the work for you! They are broken down into the recipes, shopping lists, and even meal prep ideas for each week, based on the servings you need!

STEP 2: PREPARE THE FOOD

When I get home from the grocery store I generally don’t put any of the groceries away, (unless of course they are frozen and will melt quickly)…I simply take everything out of the grocery bag and set it out on the counter, putting things in organized piles according to each recipe. I then pull up my favorites list and get to cooking! I generally start with the breakfasts and move on from there.

Throughout the week I typically have a protein shake for breakfast, but I find that many of my breakfast recipes are great for mid-morning snacks, and/or if I am in need of a breakfast on-the-go. If I don’t end up eating them I simply freeze them for a time that I am in need of a quick and healthy snack!

This week I made my PB & J Protein Pancakes.

Some hard boiled eggs, (my husband loves these as a breakfast side and snack!)

Strawberry Baked Protein Oatmeal, (recipe to come!)

And for a snack I made my Protein Blueberry Muffins (recipe to come!)

For lunches and dinners I generally prepare big batches of veggies and lean meats to use in my recipes.

I like to cook my veggies in big batches either in a sauté pan or on a big roasting pan. That way they are ready as sides, snacks, or to add to a recipe.  I use this method of cooking in my Zucchini Chip recipe and Parmesan Green Bean recipe, but you can do this with any veggie.

One of my favorite ways to prepare chicken is in the crockpot! I make big batches and use the shredded chicken in my recipes for the week! If I am making Crockpot Shredded Chicken to prepare my recipes, I generally pop some frozen chicken in the crockpot and set it to high heat the morning of my meal prepping day. (That way it is all ready when I am ready to start meal prepping!)

If the recipes call for sautéed chicken or lean ground meat, I will cook it in big batches in my biggest pan! That way I am only prepping chicken and/or lean ground meat once for all the recipes!

STEP 3: PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER TO MAKE THE RECIPES

For lunches I typically make something really simple such as a couple big salads and wrap sandwiches and put them in Tupperware containers or wrap them in foil individually. (Leftovers from dinner are also a great option!)

For dinners I typically make a few different main dishes and a couple of side dishes. 

This week I made my Three Cheese Stuffed Peppers…

My Baked Mac & Cheese…

and my BBQ Chicken Sweet Potatoes!

STEP 4: PUT IT ALL AWAY! 

After all the food is prepped and the recipes are made, I put everything in Tupperware containers and place it in the fridge! That way I have something to throw in a cooler if I am heading out for the day or to pop in the microwave and/or oven to heat up and have a delicious dinner on the table in minutes!

This whole process from start to finish takes anywhere from 2-3 hours. I typically pick a block of time on the weekend to get it done. I hope this post helps show you how easy it can be to prepare meals for the week in just one day. If you are still scratching your head, don’t let it discourage you!!! It can take time to learn and get in the swing of things. And if that’s you, a great place to start may be my meal plans…But before you know it, it will become a part of your routine and you may even find yourself loving it!!!

This cruise was actually a Christmas present from my amazing in-laws to my husband and I, (well, actually to the whole family…My husband and I, his 2 brothers, and my mother in law. My father in law couldn’t come unfortunately  due to work, so my husbands aunt came along instead!) I feel so blessed to have married into such a loving family! They are truly a blessing in my life!

My husband is the middle of three boys, just as I am the middle of three girls! :) They are all really close just as I am with my sisters, which makes it a ton of fun to hang out with them!

We ported the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Ship out of Florida…Just when Michigan was having a huge snow storm!

The ship was simply beautiful inside!

We spent the first day exploring the ship and all the different shops, researching the entertainment and dining options, and of course checking out the pool deck! My first stop was the cupcake decorating shop!!! How fun is that!?

The ship had a beautiful fitness area! I didn’t spend much time there, as our excursions were very early (and pretty active), and it was pretty rocky when we were out to sea, making it hard to run on a treadmill, do weights, or much of anything without getting sea sick. Not all cruise ships I’ve been on were this way, but the seas were particularly rough this trip.

The main deck was gorgeous! It had lots to do, and had everything from shopping to a theatre and even a Ben & Jerry’s and Starbucks!

We checked out the events for the week, and I almost convinced my husband to participate in the ‘sexiest man competition’ ;) Although, this was as close as he got to participating! :)

My husband was pretty adventurous this trip, and tried yoga with his brothers! I knew I would of been too sea sick to hold a pose for any period of time, but he did great! I was pretty proud of him! :)

I did manage to walk the track a few times on the top deck really early in the morning. It was so peaceful as I listened to worship music and watched the sunrise! There is nothing more powerful that seeing God’s artwork take place in the sky~ So beautiful!

Eating healthy can be challenging on any vacation, (especially on a cruise)…But healthy options are always around if you go looking for them! I allow myself to enjoy treats and meals I wouldn’t normally try back home when I am on vacation, but I always like to start my day with a healthy breakfast, or else I feel funky the rest of the day! For more tips on eating healthy on vacation check out this post! 

We spent the days either laying out by the pool….

Going on an excursion (we went hiking and kayaking!)

Or visiting a beach!

The weather was beautiful!

And lunch was either authentic Mexican type food or a big salad from the salad bar!

For dinner we had a nice three course sit down meal with the family, and I always ordered something different~ which was fun to try new things!

My favorite dessert on the trip was by far the ice cream sundae bar! I am most certainly an ice cream girl! They even had sugar free peanut butter cookies to go on the side! Yum!

The evenings were spent enjoying the ships many entertainment options! We went ice skating…

Watched shows…

And witnessed some of the most beautiful sunsets!

I hope you enjoyed some of the highlights of the cruise! Thank you Farrell Family for the most amazing trip! Cruises are an awesome way to see the world and travel in my opinion, because you really don’t have to think too much about entertainment, food, or much of anything! You truly do get to enjoy time with family and make awesome memories!

It was a great time, but I sure am glad to be back home and chatting with all of you!!! xo

Now, keep in mind, every day is a little bit different…For example, some days I go grocery shopping for DD, some days I spend almost entirely on meal plans, or recipe trials…Or even different ‘projects’ I’m working on for the future of DD! However, in this is what a typical day is like for me!

I always start my day in the Word…There is nothing better to me! It renews my mind, encourages me, and shows me the way to go! I’m telling you, the Word is alive and active…God is SO faithful to point me to scripture that is applicable to what I need for each day! I guess that’s why it is called our “Daily Bread”~ It truly does nourish and satisfy like nothing else! I also love to journal what the Lord spoke to me that day, it’s great when you look back and see His promises fulfilled!

I also love my “Power of a Praying Wife” book! I got it shortly after getting married, and it has some seriously powerful prayers that have honestly been such a blessing to my marriage! The prayers are based on the Word of God, so they are POWERFUL!

I also work out most days of the week …Either doing an exercise video, doing my own workout at the gym, or going to a group class! (I always make sure to take at least one to two days of rest…which is just as important!) I also love to take walks, but Michigan isn’t exactly the ideal ‘outdoor’ workout weather these days! :)

After working out, I get ready and have breakfast, (while watching Andrew Wommack or Joyce Meyer on TV…Again such an encouraging way to start the day!) For breakfast I have to say, there is nothing better than a Dashing Dish Protein Shake in my opinion! I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of them! :)

(Please note…I DID NOT post ALL of the food I ate in one day…Please do not use this as a guide of how much/little to eat in one day! I just wanted to share a few pics of some of my favorite meals!)

I then get to work on my post for the day! If I know I’m having a super busy day, I try to do this the night before, as it takes about 30-60 minutes to edit everything, figure out the nutritional values, and plug everything in.

Then, once the post for the day is up, I get to work in the kitchen! I either start a recipe from scratch, and type it out as I go, or re-do a recipe that I may have made the day before that isn’t quite perfected yet. I try to do two recipes at a time, but there have been times where I have done 4-5 in one day…and phew..those are busy days to say the least! :)

Because I post around 10-12 membership recipes a month, and 4-8 free a month, I try to develop at least 5-6 recipes a week, or more if I am developing recipes for a company.

And of course I always have my little ‘helpers’ in the kitchen! :)

After getting everything in the oven, I generally take a moment to eat lunch! Lunch is generally something quick and easy, such as soup, a wrap sandwich, or salad with a side such as fruit, veggies, or almonds…Or leftovers!

After lunch, I typically start to set up the recipes I’ve created for that day to be photographed! This is the fun part for me, but also a lot of work, as I generally go through lots of different ‘set ups’ trying to get it just right! (Can you tell this was a Christmas set-up!?) :)

After getting the set-up the way I want it, I generally have my husband come take the pictures, or if he’s really busy, I will take them myself and get his final approval! ;) I have learned a lot when it comes to taking the pictures, but I have to say, he is much quicker at getting the picture ‘just right’ than I am! :) I think it’s the designer in him!

And then to tackle the huge mess I always make! :)

And let’s not even talk about the dishes I go through! :) Let’s just say I generally do 2 full loads a day. I try to listen to worship while doing them to keep my joy flowing through them! ;)

After cleaning I generally sit and have a much needed snack!

I then sit down at my desk next to this amazing man! (He is a freelance graphic designer, so he keeps very busy at his computer all day every day!)

Our desks are side by side…Which helps, as we can discuss future Dashing Dish workings if we have time that day!

The first thing I do when I sit at my desk is answer e-mails for the day, which is honestly one of my greatest joys! I consider it the greatest part of my ministry, and it is such a blessing to be in contact with so many amazing women each day! I generally spend about 1-2 hours a day on emails, then I start to work on health coaching materials, writing them up for each individual. Once that is completed, I start to revise, edit and clean up the recipes I jot down while doing recipe prep.

Some days I also do different things such as conference calls, speaking engagements, or teach classes! I love this part of my ‘job’ as I get to meet so many amazing people, (and hopefully teach them how fun & easy healthy living can be!)

And then before I know it…It’s dinner time! Isn’t it funny how quickly some days go by!?! I generally make one of the dinners off of my site or eat one of the recipes I made that day! {Oh, and in case your wondering what I do with all of those recipes I create…I end up giving a lot of food away to my family and friends! It is a bit much for just my husband and I sometimes!} :)

Because my husband and I work from home, many people may imagine that we spend ‘so’ much time together, but we quickly learned that just because we are home together, it doesn’t mean in any way that we actually spend time with each other…So, we have learned that we need to set a ‘cut off’ time where we make time for each other. We aren’t perfect at this, and at times we have more work than others, but I truly do feel that it is important to keep everything in balance, so we always try to make time to do something together. Sometimes this is attending a small group, doing a devotional together (love and respect has the most amazing couples devotional), or just watch a movie!

Like I said, each day is different, for example I always have daily household chores to keep up with, and some days I work with like minded-ministries, and every Tuesday night I have a girls bible study which is AMAZING…But this is what a typical day/night would look like! Reguardless of the day though, I feel BLESSED and excited to be a part of what God is doing through DD! I look forward to each and every day, and am beyond thankful for the ways that God is using DD to impact women’s lives and set them free!

We kicked off the Christmas season doing one of my favorite things…Making Christmas cookies! We gathered in my mom’s kitchen and made Dashing Dish Skinny Sugar Cookies!

They were just as much fun to make as they were to enjoy!

I hosted a gingerbread house party, and served these cookies and a festive veggie tray! It’s proof that you truly can enjoy healthy yet tasty food around the holidays! :)

One of my favorite moments of the Christmas season was our annual gingerbread house decorating party!

Sean and I were a team, and we constructed the house from the movie “UP”…So fun!

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom & dad’s with tons of family, and tons of food as you can see! :) I made my Mashed Cauliflower, Sweet Potato Casserole…

And for dessert my Peppermint Brownie Trifle!

The best part of the season however was spending time with my best friend and husband! He has been working so hard lately, and it was wonderful to take time away to spend together!

I also felt very blessed to have family joined in one place…and I am so blessed to say we truly all joined together to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

One of the best traditions of our Christmas Eve party is our ‘white elephant’ gift exchange…It’s always so much fun!

I can honestly say that a part of me still feels like a kid when I go to bed on Christmas Eve!

We woke up on Christmas morning with my sisters, (and their husband and fiance), my husband and my parents. It was a beautiful white Christmas here in Michigan!

My sister Emily and I got right to work in the kitchen preparing our Christmas breakfast!

We prepared Dashing Dish Monkey Bread,  Frittata, Egg Nog Pancakes, and Coffee!

I also made cinnamon made french toast for the boys!

My mom always sets the table with our special “Christmas Mugs”!

The day after Christmas we went to my Aunt’s house, where we got to see my cousins that live in California! It was a special time, as we only see them about once every few years!

As always, it felt like we blinked and New Years was upon us! For New Years Eve my husband and I went to a sushi restaurant with my sisters and their boys! I am not a huge fan of sushi, so I generally just get teriyaki chicken with a side of veggies! We went back to my sisters house where we spent the night afterwards.

On New Years Day we spent the day scrapbooking! Every year my sisters & I spend New Years day scrapbooking the best memories of that year. We do one or two pages per year in a book that narrates our life! It’s a really fun way to look back and see the best moments of that year captured in one place!

I pray you all had a blessed holiday season…but even if it wasn’t as you’d hoped, know this….the King of the World LOVES and cares for you…and in every season Jesus Christ is still savior! Because of that we all have a reason to sing, and a reason to worship! :)

Now on to January, and a new year! Have you made any resolutions!?! I plan to spend the next few weeks praying about what the Lord would have for the year to come…In me personally, in my marriage, and of course through Dashing Dish! I’m excited to see what He has in store! xo

Then my sisters, mom and I  got in the kitchen and started preparing the food while the guys watched the football game!

This was the first Thanksgiving we spent in my parents new home, which was truly a blessing!

My aunts and uncles (my mom’s sisters and their husbands) also joined us, which made for seven women in the kitchen! It’s a good thing my mom has a big kitchen! :)

I feel so blessed to have family that loves the Lord! It always makes gathering together wonderful, as we share about His goodness & faithfulness!

I made some of my favorite Dashing Dish recipes…We started off with appetizers, which was my Dashing Dish Spinach Artichoke Dip! 

Of course we had a turkey! :)

And for sides I prepared my Sweet Potato Casserole…

Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower…

Skinny Green Bean Casserole…

And my Cranberry Sauce!

I also made my Golden Sweet Cornbread into muffins this year!

We set the table, and were ready to give thanks! After dinner we have a tradition to go around the table and give thanks to the Lord, and say one thing we are particularly thankful for! It is so wonderful to take time out and reflect on all the Lord has done!

For dessert we had my Pumpkin Cheesecake…

and Mini Pumpkin Pies!

The day after Thanksgiving was my husbands 27th birthday! We went to our favorite restaurant Mongolian BBQ to celebrate with our families! The next day my sister tried on wedding dresses and found her dress! It made for a busy, but fun couple of days!

I pray you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and took time out to enjoy family and friends! The Christmas Season is now officially upon us…It’s truly the MOST wonderful time of the year as we celebrate and ADORE Christ our Lord!

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the fall! Michigan is just beautiful this time of year, with the trees all shades of reds, yellows, and orange! It is also a very busy time of year for me, as there are so many family birthdays and celebrations! But, it’s certainly a good kind of busy as these… I’m convinced, are the highlights of life! :)

Here we are celebrating my sister’s new fiance’s birthday, (yes she just got engaged…more on that in a minute!) We went to one of our all time favorite places, Mongolian BBQ~ So fun and yummy!

Of course we went to the cider mill! :) It was chilly this year, so we found a little ‘house’ in the kids play area to enjoy our cider in! :)

I love fresh cider! I don’t really enjoy fruit juice, so this is just about the only time I enjoy something other than water!

The apples were pretty slim pickings this year because of the drought this summer, but the pumpkins were still plentiful!

So…as always, we picked some pumpkins out for carving!

We also spent the day walking around downtown enjoying some pumpkin spice flavored coffee!

Speaking of…I don’t generally get flavored or sugar free coffee creamers, but this stuff was too good to pass up as a once a year treat! Have you tried it!?! SO good!

I had some friends over and made some of my favorite fall treats like my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes….

And my Skinny Sugar Cookies…

And we carved pumpkins! It has become a wonderful tradition that we do with friends every year!

We made it a friendly ‘competition’ out of it this year…

So we all got pretty creative!!!

And even a little dangerous! :) My friend Matt brought an electric carving knife! Haha..yes it was that hard core!

I carved a pumpkin bear…My sister said I always carve a ‘cute’ pumpkin! I guess i’ll have to change it up next year! ;) But seriously, how cute is he!?!

Competition and all…we had a blast!

And, on to the most exciting news…My little sister Emily (25) just got engaged!!! Her fiance Brett is an amazing man of God, and I couldn’t be happier for her!

What’s even more amazing is my sisters testimony of how she patiently waited for the right man that God had for her! She wouldn’t even date a guy until she knew that it was the guy that God had for her, because she didn’t want to give her heart away to the wrong person, and she truly trusted that God would make it clear to her when it was the right time…Boy did He ever!!! I couldn’t of picked a more wonderful man for her if I tried! :) He treats her like a princess….the way all girls should be treated!

We were all ecstatic for her, and had a family celebration afterwards! :)

I pray you are blessed and taking time to enjoy this beautiful season as well! It will be gone before we know it and on to winter! :)

I also want to share an awesome opportunity that God brought my way… So, here we go!

Here is a picture of our one bedroom apartment that we have lived in for the past three years! It was hard to say goodbye, as it was our very first place as a married couple, but I knew it would be so nice to have more space! (It was getting to the point where I was running out of places to ‘hide’ things. I even had food stored in my laundry room!)

It looked so strange being empty…We had so many good memories here!

Zoey was sure going to miss it too, although I know she won’t miss those steps! Haha!

My husband and I said our last good bye’s to our very first ‘home’ together…But we certainly are looking forward to the future God has in store for us as well!

Moving was a lot of work to say the least! Although, it helped that we hired a company to move our big furniture!

Here is our home for the next year…and the AMAZING thing about it is…It’s my old house where I grew up in, and where I lived while I dated my husband for the 8 years before we got married!

It’s a crazy story, but totally a God thing! My parents moved out this home the same time that we were moving out of our apartment, so they let us rent it while we were looking for our future home! Talk about a blessing and God’s perfect timing!

Here’s our kitchen and family room we will get to enjoy for the next year. It is soooo nice to have an actual pantry!

And here is my DD props all set up!

Our Pomeranian Zoey likes the new space too! She also enjoys having a backyard to play in! :)

So, not only did we move, but like I said, my parents did as well! They moved about an hour North, (which is quite far compared to the 15 minutes that I’m used to!)

We went to visit their new place on the weekend, and had an amazing time…Here is a picture of their new home!

It’s on a beautiful lake, which can’t get any better during the summer!

We had some awesome family time hanging out in their new backyard!

And of course…It wouldn’t be summer without a BBQ!

Shortly after moving, my parents got word that there was one of ‘the worlds greatest’ ice cream places, called Uncle Ray’s in their new town! We went to visit, and it was nothing short of AMAZING!!!

What makes Uncle Ray’s so special is the people…(So Friendly), but even more so…Their homemade frozen yogurt maker!

We got a tour in the back to see how the frozen yogurt was made! They have a very unique machine that allows you to customize your frozen yogurt with tons of different kinds of fresh fruits, chocolate, and even peanut butter! :) Here Dave (one of the owners) showed us how he made a raspberry banana frozen yogurt!

Here he was putting the frozen yogurt machine to work! :)

And the finished product was out of this world good!

My cute hubby enjoyed a customized chocolate brownie frozen yogurt!

Oh….Speaking of this amazing man, I have been married to him for exactly 3 years yesterday! Best decision of my life after choosing to make Jesus Lord of my life! ;)

And now on to the BIG announcement! I am so thankful and blessed to announce that a few weeks ago I got a call from the 700 Club after they watched my video testimony on Dashing Dish! (If you’ve never heard of the 700 club, it is a live television program that airs weekdays before a studio audience from The Christian Broadcasting Network’s (CBN).) They asked me if I would be interested in sharing my testimony on a video interview for their show! Of course I said yes….and on August 7th they came out to film me!

The most amazing part by far, (and it brings tears of joy to my eyes to even talk about it)…Is that hundreds of thousands of people will see this interview, and hear about Jesus and His goodness! The 700 club is aired on over 200 television networks, including ABC Family, so think of all the people that will get to hear the Good News of Jesus!!! :)

I truly believe that the Lord set me free to tell of His goodness to others, so they too can be free in the area of disordered eating, and weight issues…and find their true identity, beauty, and worth in Jesus Christ!

It was such a blessing, and a wonderful experience that I will never forget!

The crew was just amazing to work with as well…They prayed with me every step of the way! Talk about working for the Lord…they had such a heart for Him! We had tons of fun! :)

I am so thrilled to have had this opportunity, and and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it really isn’t about ‘me’ at all…It is all for His Kingdom! I can only imagine all the women that hear for the first time that Jesus cares and wants to be involved in every area of our lives!

It brings me so much joy to share what the Lord has done in my life! I can’t wait for all of you to see the interview as well! I will be announcing when to watch as soon as I get word! :) So stay tuned!

God Bless You Guys! xo

My husband, sister, and I started off the celebrations on Saturday by going to plum market where we found Zevia and Artic Zero! Zevia is a soda sweetened with stevia, and Arctic Zero is an amazing protein packed ice cream that has only 150 calories per pint! Both can only be found at specialty stores, so these really were special birthday treats!

From there we went strawberry picking! It’s been a birthday tradition that we started a few years back, and is always so much fun!

Even Sean enjoys it!

I was working hard to find the good ones!

Here’s the final product from all the ‘hard’ work! :)

Sean is always very good at finding ‘only the best’ ;)

For dinner we went to my favorite place to eat in Ann Arbor, Mongolian BBQ!

I opened a few gifts from my sisters boyfriend….Someone knows I like coffee and tea!

We spent the rest of the night in downtown Ann Arbor at the Summer Festival! There were live bands and all kinds of fun events, and the weather was just perfect which made for a wonderful evening!

The next day, (on my actual birthday), I started the day off right with a birthday cake protein shake with cone crushed on top…And of course a candle!

For lunch we went to Jimmy Johns and then we shopped for a while…

Of course we stopped by Biggby, my favorite coffee place! I asked for a ‘cup of whip’ which my sister and I were going to share to put on our coffee, (hey it was my bday), and the girl gave me an overflowing cup full! Haha…All we could do was laugh!

And we finished it all off with my other favorite treat,  fro yo!

For dinner, I went to my parents house where my mom set the table beautifully as usual!

We had my favorite meal…shish kabob!

We also enjoyed some of the strawberries we picked…

As well as a side salad and baked parmesan chips!

And Of Course My Birthday Ice Cream Cake! (Recipe coming this summer!)

The neat thing was, it was also fathers day, so my dad and I got to celebrate each other! :)

The cake turned out amazing!!!

Then came gifts! My husband got me a wedding picture blown up on a canvas…It was a very special gift to me!

I received tons of amazing Dashing Dish stuff…

But my favorite thing by far was the engraved DD cutting board! That was such a special gift from my sister!

I hope you all enjoyed this Birthday Edition of the Daily Dish! I am going to leave you all with another big announcement! My husband and I are moving!!! We are moving July 10th to a home that we are renting! We are still saving up for a home, and are trying to wait on the Lord’s direction as far as where we should live longterm, so we are going to rent for at least a year! We are only moving about 20 minutes away from where we are now, so hopefully it won’t be too big of a move, although I know every move is a lot of work, so please keep us in your prayers these next few weeks!

Hope you all have a blessed rest of your week! XO Katie

Ashley moved away when we were about 7 years old to Virginia, but we never let the distance pull us apart, and we have remained the best of friends through the years!

Needless to say, I was THRILLED and blessed when I heard she was getting married, and she asked me to stand up on her special day! To make it even more special, my whole family made the trip out to watch my best friend get married! It was such a wonderful and special time to share with a lifelong friend, and to top it all off, her new husband Justin was so very sweet and wonderful, and it was obvious that God put them together!

I don’t know about you, but I love looking through wedding pictures…There is just something so amazing about watching two people that you know God has brought together to become one….So I thought I’d share some of the pictures from the wedding with all of you!

Ashley got married in the cutest little old-fashioned chapel! Here they were practicing for the rehearsal.

Here Emily and I are enjoying the rehearsal dinner that night.

And here’s Ash and I at the rehearsal dinner, it was such a blast!

The next day we all got ready in a bridal cottage right by the church! It was so cute and cozy, and a great way to spend the day getting ready!

I got a half up style that the stylist did beautifully!

After a full day worth of primping, us ladies were ready! :)

Before we knew it, we were off, ready to watch Ashley walk down the aisle!

Here everyone was anxiously awaiting the beautiful bride…

And moments later…Ashley and Justin were officially Married!!!

Ashley was such a beautiful bride! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, and certainly not on my end!

After pictures we headed into the reception hall that was beautifully decorated with silvers and ivory!

And I joined my family to dine, dance, and celebrate the NEWLYWEDS!

My husband Sean and I danced the night away… We’ve always loved to ‘boogie’ down, ever since we were 16 at school dances!

Ashley and Justin were simply RADIATING the Love that God creates between a husband and wife! It was so wonderful to celebrate! :)

We finished off the night with a sparkler ‘exit’ for the bride and groom! It was so magical!

Ashley and Justin…I wish you a lifetime of happiness and God’s Blessings! Thank you for letting me share in your special day! Love you both!