Sneak Peaks, Beach Views, and Weekend Scenes

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I have been posting scantily lately, and I feel like a bad blogger. There's something about moving into a new house in a new city and meeting new friends and doing new things that makes it hard to keep a regular schedule of photographing, editing, writing, and posting new blog items...

I'm not going to lie to you: I'm not exactly sorry.

In fact, it's quite the opposite. I'm very pleased to be enjoying my new city so much that I've hardly the time to write.

Meh. You'll forgive me.

This past weekend kicked off on Friday with some afternoon productivity. By that, I mean tea.

That's a sneak peak into our new home. We're mostly set up, and I'm pretty stoked to share more pictures of what we did with our 1910s American Foursquare. To keep tabs on what we've done so far, click here and scroll down to GRAND RAPIDS "MY AMERICAN FOURSQUARE."

After my impromptu afternoon tea, productivity ensued. I had already cleaned and worked on my book most of the morning, but suddenly I became convinced I needed to put together some art for the guest bedroom (we have guests coming the next two weekends). Can you guess what I was doing in the image above?

On Friday night, we also forced ourselves to finish cutting and painting the trim for the upstairs bathroom renovation. Many posts on that hellhole project coming soon, but we are putting the finishing touches on now (trim is up, needs to be nailed in, and waiting on our marble for the counter). 

 

On Saturday morning, we headed over to Holland for some beach time and an early Father's Day celebration. We had our eyes on the forecast, and Saturday looked better than Sunday, so we decided to take it upon ourselves to change the official day.

I may have started out in jeans, but it didn't take long for me to head inside and change into my swim suit. High 70s and low wind equals a fabulous day for sunning and family time. (P.S. Did you catch that photo on instagram? If not, follow me!)

Did I mention I have a bad habit of getting sunscreen on my phone? It ends up with what I call the "Florida Filter," aka everything is blurry. I'd say it's artistic and I did it on purpose, but... well, it's not and I didn't.

Toward the end of the day, we had a fabulous waterside dinner, complete with grilled meats, fresh salads, and of course, wine. My husband and I had to get back to the city for a neighbor's birthday bash, so we left before the sunset cruise. 

We may have missed the sunset cruise, but I couldn't let you miss the view those who stayed had. Stolen from my soon-to-be SIL's instagram (thanks Meg). Swoon.

Sunday morning, we wanted to try out a new church, so we got ready and headed out. Here's a pre-church #sundayselfie in my pretty much fully decorated white-on-white office. So many sneak peaks in this post (and here you almost didn't even read it!).

After church, we did a bit more work on the bathroom and then headed out for a long walk east, away from the city. We had a nice walk in the sun, appreciating the gorgeous old school houses, and eventually stopped at Derby Station for some food and beer.

I ate at least half of that plate of nachos, which I justified based on our extremely long walk. As if I need justification for nachos.

We continued our walk around Reeds Lake. One of my favorite things about this area is that it's fairly easy to get anywhere you want on foot. Whether you're looking for a brewery tour in an urban environment, a gorgeous lake view and boat ride on the water, or a series of nature trails in the woods, you can make it happen.

We walked on the floating paths that enter the lake, and had a sun-and-serenity-filled adventure.

The night was ended with, of course, frozen yogurt - FOR DINNER. We're adults now, you guys. That means we can do what kids really want do and act responsible about it.

Between nachos and froyo, let's just say I was still full the next morning.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What is your favorite thing about your city? Clearly I've already blabbed on and on about this for mine...
• Do you enjoy walking around in your town? What's your favorite attraction?
• Favorite froyo flava? I love turtle flavor!

Mom's Cake Batter Frozen Yogurt (with ViSalus)

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My frozen yogurt habit has gotten out of control.

I don't know when or why it happened, but lately, I have been hitting up Forever Yogurt about twice a week. I can't get enough of my two favorite flavors: Mom's Cake Batter and Salted Caramel Popcorn.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with this addiction. First, it costs money. No, it's not expensive, but over time, who knows - it could add up. Second, it's very high in sugar, which, on its own is fine every once in a while, but when you're going back more and more, it becomes a bit of an issue.

My solution? Make my own. Less money. Less sugar. More protein. 

I made a chocolate protein frozen yogurt a while back, and was pretty satisfied with that. When ViSalus contacted me and asked me to develop some recipes using their product, I immediately knew that this would be Stop Number 1 on the ViSalus Train. I'd tried their shake powder before and thought it tasted deceptively like cake batter. So, this was pretty much the perfect storm.

Mom's Cake Batter Frozen Yogurt (with ViSalus):

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup 0% Plain Greek Yogurt (I have used Fage, Chobani, and Oikos)
• 2 scoops ViSalus Powder (or 1 scoop regular protein powder - the ViSalus scooper is itty bitty)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine ingredients and mix well, until all powder pockets have disappeared. You should be able to do it with a spoon.
2. Freeze for at least 2 hours. (You can skip this step if you don't mind it not being "frozen" yogurt -- if you do skip it, move on to Step 5).
3. When you're ready to eat it, take it out of the freezer. Let thaw for 10 minutes.
4. Pop it in the blender and pulse on low setting until it reaches desired consistency.
5. If you want to be fancy, you can pipe it into a bowl using a plastic bag to make it look like it came from the machines.
6. Top with add ons of your choice! I used blueberries and maple syrup.

Notes:

• I used Greek Yogurt, but you can feel free to substitute any plain yogurt, if you'd like. 
• I also used ViSalus Shape powder, because it seriously does taste like cake batter, but you could use any vanilla or sweet cream flavored protein powder if you'd like.
• You don't have to freeze it. In fact, if you're impulsive like me, you might just want to eat it right after mixing. No shame in that... :)

**I was contacted by ViSalus and asked to develop some recipes using their product. They provided me products to work with in this process. Stay tuned for more recipes!**

Chocolate-Cheesecake Protein Yogurt (Pro-Yo?)

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The flavor of rich, delicate chocolate cheesecake. The texture of smooth frozen yogurt. The health benefits of protein powder. It's a triple threat. It will soothe your soul, delight your taste buds, and cool your body. What's not to love?

It's a hot one, folks! I'm one to make an extra stop at Chicago's frozen yogurt shops when the temperature climbs this high. 


But, as with everything in life, there's an equation for frozen yogurt procurement. Here's mine. Getting frozen yogurt from one of the local shops requires:

1. that the place be open -- which it often isn't, and that's just depressing...
2. that it not be pouring rain -- because God knows I'm not walking 8 blocks in the rain to get anything...
3. that I spend money -- which I hate to do...
4. that I spend calories -- which I also hate to do...

Most of your typical frozen yogurt shops are slightly deceiving. They not only give you so many topping options that it's easy to add at least a hundred calories in toppings alone... but they also tend to add a lot of sugar to the flavors they have. Trust me, friends, there's a reason it tastes so darn sweet.

At the end of the day, maybe you're trying to avoid paying. Maybe you're trying to avoid calories. Maybe you don't want to walk in the rain. Or maybe you're just too lazy to leave the house. But you know what? I've got you covered. Here's some Chocolate-Cheesecake Protein Yogurt. 

Let's start a new thing. Instead of Fro Yo, let's call it Pro Yo. Ya dig?

Chocolate-Cheesecake Protein Yogurt

Servings: 2 per recipe
Calories: 115 per serving
Ingredients:

• 1 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt
• 1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
• Optional: Freshly sliced strawberries

Directions:

1. Combine yogurt and protein powder and mix well.
2. Top with strawberries.
3. Serve!

Protein Packed Chocolate Frozen Yogurt with Berries

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May I Have Your Attention, Please: This Just In! Ice Cream Is Finally HEALTHY For You! Go ahead, eat as much of this creamy, rich chocolate frozen yogurt... it will melt in your mouth, but only after wowing you with its sweet chocolatey ways.

Ummmmmm, froyo is the bomb. I first developed an addiction during my Senior year at Rhodes College, when a local Memphis froyo joint called "YOLO" opened up less than give minutes away from my apartment. I was a goner. So were my friends. Pretty much everyone I knew. (Sidenote, if you work at YOLO, you're welcome... we probably single handedly paid your operating expenses that semester).

I have to be honest with you here, this was sort of an accident. It all began with a lack of milk (sounds like the opening line for a hilarious book). You see, this workout-a-holic needed her post-workout protein shake. But how's a girl to nom some protein shake sans milk? 

Suddenly, I thought... I could make yogurt! And then another light bulb... and a scream... FROZENNN YOGGURRRTTTT! Imagine Justin's face as I stood in the middle of the kitchen, screaming about frozen yogurt. What a lucky man. ;-)

Have to give some mad props to my friend Monique over at Ambitious Kitchen for this one... After making this frozen yogurt as plain chocolate a few times (and eating it up before I remembered to snap a pic), I finally got a few shots of it con blackberries after I caught a glimpse of her Blackberry & Chocolate Greek Frozen Yogurt Cones and was truly inspired. Seriously. I actually ran back into the kitchen to make this again and add blackberries (after all, my favorite ice cream from Graeters is Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, which seems fitting).

Protein Packed Chocolate Frozen Yogurt 

Servings: 4

Calories Per Serving: 145

Grams of Protein: 23g per serving

WW Points: 3

WW PointsPlus: 3

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Greek Yogurt, Vanilla (I used Chobani)
• 2 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder
• 1 heaping handful of Blackberries
• Optional (for thinning): 2 tbsp Coconut Milk

Directions:

1. Stir Chocolate Protein Powder into Greek Yogurt. You can either stir it in completely or leave it swirled. Up to you!
2. Freeze for 2 hours. 
3. Remove from freezer and let sit for 30 minutes, or until you are able to stir it a bit around the outside. 
4. To mix it up (which gives it the smooth texture), either pop it in a blender or add 1/2 tablespoons of Coconut Milk and try to stir until you're able to stir it up with a fork.
5. Add blackberries and serve. :)

Notes:

• You can make this with any flavor of protein powder! If you're looking for Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, stir in some vanilla protein powder. I've also tried Cookies and Creme protein powder, which would be wonderful in this treat! 
• Are you going to make this? Send me a pic! I'd love to share it with readers, whether you follow the recipe exactly, or add your own twist! Email it to carly@createliveblog.com or post it on my Facebook wall!

P.S. if you're a fan of ice cream-like desserts, but not into greek yogurt, try this recipe to make ice cream using bananas, this recipe for brown sugar tapioca and ice cream, these chocolate mousse filled edible cups, or this recipe to make a twist on Chunky Monkey Ice Cream... using pudding!