Hi everyone! I just finished making this sign-up sheet for a Coffee Seminar I’ll be hosting next week (which also happens to be my last week of work before we leave for Japan!). I had a lot of fun making the flyer (like my infographics), and plan on printing it tomorrow. If you’re in the area, I would love to see you there 🙂
Talk to you soon!
xx Caitlyn
Hi friends! I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been busy crossing things off my summer bucket list, and that (in combination with work and everything else that comes up in life) has left me with little time to post! Hoping to get back into regular posting again now, starting with this entry today on a fabulous little deli in Grand Haven called Did’s Deli & Catering.
Did’s Deli & Catering is located just off US31, though it’s sort of tucked away off of the main part of the cross street (Jackson). The deli has a simple, charming atmosphere, along with a menu filled with sandwiches, salads and soups.
Chad tends to get their reuben, which has honestly got to be one of the best reubens I’ve ever had. But despite repeatedly enjoying tastes of the reubens Chad gets, I always get something else: a fantastic sandwich on sour dough heaping with ham, hard salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and an Italian sauce. I guess the sandwich isn’t called a Bigga John for nothing.
Most of the sandwiches offered can come in wholes or halves, but the Bigga John can only be ordered as a whole. Since the Bigga John is so big, I tend to eat part for lunch, and save the other half for later. I was super excited to have a Dog n’ Suds with my sandwich when I went the other day. I had been biking around town and the root beer was a perfect beverage for refreshment to go along with my hearty sandwich.
Did’s Deli also sells loaves of its bread, and I’ve been tempted to indulge in a loaf of that wonderful sour dough bread I always get. *sighs longingly*
Did’s Deli has been a family-owned restaurant for over thirty years. If you’re ever in Grand Haven, I definitely recommend stopping by to either eat in or grab a great sandwich for a picnic (or to bring to Odd Side Ales to have with a beer…!).
Take care!
xx Caitlyn
Yesterday night marked the end of a relaxing, love-filled three and a half-day weekend spent celebrating our sixth anniversary. We had so much fun lounging, going for a 4-mile run to Grand Haven’s beautiful beach, enjoying our niece Lydia’s fifth birthday party, and even crossing some things off my summer bucket list!
On Friday, we started the weekend by driving to Battle Creek and going to Binder Park Zoo. It was a nice, sunny day, so the ride was really enjoyable.
I really appreciated how much space the animals had at Binder Park. For the most part, none of the exhibits really surprised me (perhaps because we saw a lot of the animals abroad, sometimes even in the wild), but I was still really impressed with the giraffes. I got to touch one for the first time, and it just blew my mind how big it was. I also really liked all of the peacocks roaming around (though I failed to get a pretty picture!).
This llama was actually kind of terrifying. You can’t see it in this picture, but it had really huge bottom teeth and could swing its head around at an alarming speed. I suppose I do that sometimes at the prospect of chocolate or good beer, but that’s beside the point.
Mugs at Dark Horse Brewing Company hanging from the ceiling
Speaking of good beer, the next place we headed was Dark Horse Brewing Company. We enjoyed a beer in the beer garden.
This table looked nice from a distance, but it was really awkward to sit in because the top came up above our chests. We felt like little kids trying to reach above for our beverage, and so we moved to another spot.
The next place we were headed was Arcadia Ales, but we ran into Sweetwater’s Donuts on the way and (obviously) had to stop.
So many choices! 
They have a coffee club with mugs!
Chad helped me eat a New York cheese cake donut that tasted exactly how it looks: like SUGAR. (I’m not complaining…)
Nom, nom, nom
Finally, we made it to Arcadia Ales, where Chad tried a reuben:
I tried the Garden and Goat Quesadilla, which was fabulous. Pesto, tomato, red onion, spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese in a flour tortilla with a jalapeno salsa and sour cream on the side. *drools*
The next morning, we went to Starbucks and finished off a Turtle donut (above) from Sweetwaters that was delightful. We read and talked in the sunshine before heading around town to do some shopping.
Next up was lunch at a restaurant called Taste of India. We were a little worried at first because the diner was completely empty, but it was nearly 2:00 in the afternoon. We tried the buffet, and enjoyed the curry and other options. I had a yummy mango lassi, and particularly enjoyed the rice pudding offered.
After lunch, we headed out to see Godzilla at a Cheap Flix theater. I was glad the film only cost $3 to see as I wasn’t too impressed, but I was still filled with a longing for Japan (minus the crazy creatures, obviously).
Next up, we drove home, and biked around town (Chad ran) before getting some groceries for a picnic dinner.
We chose proscuitto, fresh mozarella, tomatoes, a warm baguette and fabulous Santiago Olive Oil.
We also prepared sliced pear, apple and plum.
It started thunder storming outside, so we decided to have our picnic inside on our living room floor. I reminded me of when we first bought our house and sat on the floor in the dining room with champagne.
Cheers! Happy Anniversary ❤
The next morning we lounged around the house, enjoying coffee and nutella croissants (which you know I love!)
These are just a few of the fun things we did over the weekend. I was so happy to have days devoted exclusively to hanging out with my sweetheart, who I am grateful for every day. Looking forward to so many more years with him ahead.
xx
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Good news! My long-time friend and sister-in-law Ariel will be joining me on Little Snail with occasional blog posts! She’s always up to creative and clever things, so I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us 🙂
I’ve been telling Chad forever now that I really want to paint some pottery at Your Plate or Mine in Muskegon,. Leave it to beer to be the answer to my plea: when we finally joined the Mug Club at Odd Side Ales in Grand Haven we got to paint our own mugs! (Yay for crossing off an item on my bucket list!)
We arrived at Your Plate or Mine feeling a bit nervous about making our mugs, but full of inspiration. I decided to go with my favorite character in the whole world, Rilakkuma, and Chad went with the creepy Kobito Dukan (pronounced “dzoo-kahn”).
The staff member at Your Plate or Mine was extremely helpful; she explained everything very clearly and was available the entire time we were there to answer all of our littlest questions. She even provided us with carbon paper so we could trace our designs if we wished (and as this mug would be getting a lot of use, we did wish to trace our designs–just in case!). 
I was really impressed with Chad’s artwork, as there was a lot of shading involved. I think there are two things that are really difficult about painting ceramics: ensuring your colors are the actual colors you want (since they look totally different once fired), and getting smooth lines.
It was super relaxing, and time just flew by. At the same time, after a particularly tricky section, you could hear both of us let out an audible sigh. Phew! 
Above you can see my mug before firing. At first I was a bit frustrated with the difficulty of getting my lines exactly the way I wanted, but I realized that this is an art in which you have to just “give it up,” so to speak. You have to go into it knowing you’ll make mistakes, and decide you don’t care. And, when it comes down to it, it’s pretty impossible for Rilakkuma to turn out as anything except kawaii. 
I painted a little suitcase on the inside of my cup, and on the bottom I wrote out “Nomichatta!,” which means, “I accidentally drank all of it!” (Story of my life.) **Edit: Apparently I need to start studying Japanese again! It should say “Nonjyatta,” but hey, perhaps by the time I drink it all I won’t remember my mistake… 😉 
On the bottom I wrote “Kanpai,” which means “Cheers,” though that Japanese has a translation right next to it on the cup 😉 In this picture you can also see the yellow birdy before firing. 
We could hardly wait to see how our cups turned out, but we had to wait a week for them to be fired. I am so in love with them! Chad’s turned out as creepy as we imagined, and I just want to squeal at the cuteness of my Rilakkuma.
Chad’s (left) says “Nonde,” the command for “Drink.”
Yay for fun mugs! We spent a few hours on them, and I had so much fun that I went back with my mom yesterday to paint some more. We spent over five hours working on our creations, and I am going CRAZY wanting to see how they look once they’re fired!!
In the meantime, I’ve got this precious mug to drink delicious beer in! 🙂
Have a good day darlings!
xx
Several years ago I received the book The Song of Hiawatha as a Christmas gift, and though I had read bits and pieces of the epic poem , a few weeks ago I finally got the chance to read the entire thing. It was difficult for me to decide what to make after finishing the book, but after much deliberation, I decided to put some of the text from The Song of Hiawatha over a picture from a recent walk at one of my favorite places in Michigan, Rosy Mound.
First, I chose my picture:
Then, I spent what felt like three years trying to put text over it the way I wanted. I still didn’t quite achieve the look I was looking to create, but I decided the text was going to have to be good enough.
It says:
“All your strength is in your union,
All your danger is in discord;
Therefore be at peace henceforward,
And as brothers live together.”
I printed an enlarged copy of the image at Walmart for about $6, and then modge podged it to an art board purchased for around $5 before a 40% off coupon at one of my local craft stores. Below you can sort of see how it turned out, though the lighting isn’t the best:
I am not necessarily in love with how the project turned out, but I do love where the photo was taken, and I really like the passage from The Song of Hiawatha. I often think about the power of human connection when I go on walks through nature, and about how to I can be kinder and more loving to others. A message about unity totally seems fitting for a picture taken at Rosy Mound.
Here are some other pictures I took on the lovely spring day last week: 
Hope you got to enjoy some beautiful weather like we had in Michigan over the weekend 🙂
xx
Last week I was spoiled with frozen yogurt not once, but twice! After talking about going for “FroYo” with a few of my friends for months, we finally made it to Wild Blue Frozen Yogurt in Grand Haven, MI.
This was my first experience in years with frozen yogurt, and I was really excited to sample some of the fun flavors that ranged from cheesecake, to salted caramel, to standards like vanilla and chocolate. As my sister-in-law explained, once you’ve sampled a few, you’re free to mix any favors you like before adding additional toppings, and then you pay for your treat based on the total weight.
Above you can see Chad, my sister-in-law, and my brother in line paying for their delightful cups of frozen yogurt, as well as a view of the 70 plus toppings offered to add to your yogurt.
I chose the White Chocolate Macadamia-flavored frozen yogurt, and I topped it with raspberries, Ghirardelli chocolate pieces, cookie dough chunks, a cherry, and waffle cone pieces. A couple days later when I came back after hiking with my friend Alex, I tried the same flavor, but perfected my toppings, choosing Heath bar pieces, a light sprinkling of the Ghirardelli chocolate pieces, and a cherry. *sighs happily*
Chad’s cup and my cup on the scale being weighed.
So many pretty colors amongst our four cups!
I really enjoyed my experiences at Wild Blue last week. The location is easy to get to, the shop itself is very open, clean and friendly, and the atmosphere felt very relaxed. I’ve heard that other Frozen Yogurt places tend to have more flavor choices, but that they also tend to be much busier and less inviting. I felt like Wild Blue offered a perfect set of choices: I wasn’t overwhelmed, yet I still had lots of fun choosing different flavors and toppings!
What is your favorite Frozen Yogurt place? And what flavors do you like the most?
xx
Spring!
It may still be cold, but I’ve been finding bits of springtime (or creating bits of it!) all around me 🙂 Firstly, I’ve been spying it outdoors…
Is that water? Oh my gosh, that’s water! THE ICE IS MELTING in Grand Haven! HURRAH!
This ice was melting from the inside out, creating a little cave!
Bright skies = happy days
Secondly, I’ve been creating a springtime atmosphere to “spy” indoors…!
Nothing like whipping up some Lemon Poppy Seed Scones for a nice spring day. I made my first-ever batch with a nice (cute!) mug of coffee nearby.
The recipe said to cut the scones into twelve triangles, but I chose to cut the twelve in half again because they were so big. The scones were fantastic!
I may not be able to start a garden just yet, but I was able to make a cute radish needle felting craft with one of my Whimsey Box kits. I had never heard of needle felting before, but now I’m in love with it. I can’t wait to show you a tutorial featuring the other needle felt cutie I made!
There was invigorating spring lemon scent in another of my Whimsey Box kits: homemade lotion and hand scrub.
I also decided to make some Vanilla Pistachio Cream Puffs because I thought the bright, pastel green color created a nice, light spring feel.
The cream puffs were yummy, too, so I decided it would be best to get them out of the house and bring them to work 🙂
Where have you spied spring?
Today I got to see the frozen lake at the Grand Haven beach first-hand. We walked from downtown all the way to the pier, and then walked straight out onto the ice. It was so amazing to see the way the lake froze, especially when we took a chance to look over at the lighthouse and see how far out on the water we actually were (admittedly, it was also a little scary!).
The sunset was gorgeous. Nature so often leaves me in awe.
Yesterday I made a little picnic lunch and went to Rosy Mound in Grand Haven. I had never walked there before, and boy was I in for a treat! It was a gorgeous day, and after eating lunch under the shade of the big, beautiful trees, I started my walk. I didn’t get very far before I heard a “thunk, thunk, thunk,” sound and saw hunks of bark falling from a tree beside the path. I looked up, searching for the culprit of the noise and the falling tree bark, and saw two pileated woodpeckers! I was so excited–I don’t remember ever seeing them in real life before. I laughed to myself as I saw them pecking away, reminded of the Woody the Woodpecker cartoons I used to watch as a child. A man came up behind and whispered excitedly, “A pileated woodpecker!” I said, “Yeah, there are two!” He told me that they usually travel in pairs, keeping the same pairs for life. He had seen them in Florida before, but never in Michigan. A nice surprise for both of us.
Continuing on the trail, I came upon a view of the beach. I always love it when you emerge from a wooded area and catch glimpses of the blue water in contrast to the green and brown of the trees.
As I continued on the trail, I couldn’t help but smile. I felt so much joy at the breath-taking sight of sunlight on water. Seagulls played together in the sand and in the air, I saw butterflies fluttering about, and I thought of a line from Anne Frank’s diary: “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” What an encouragement!
I sort of ate my share of some Peach Tarts I made before going on my picnic rather than taking them with me, but I’m sure they played a role in my lovely time. I didn’t have any pecans around, so I used some Hazelnuts instead, and they turned out great!
Below is the recipe for the tarts, sure to result in a happy mood when combined with a walk outside on a gorgeous day.
Peach Tarts
1. Place a rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
2. Cut peaches in half and remove pits. Place a peach half cut-side down on cutting board. Holding it together with one hand, cut 6 to 8 even slices through the stem end, then push gently to fan out. Combine sugar, nutmeg and pecans in a bowl.
3. Place one phyllo sheet on counter with narrow side facing you. Brush bottom half lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar-pecan mixture. Fold top half over bottom half, pressing lightly. Repeat, folding top half over bottom half. Repeat again, this time brushing and sprinkling left half and folding right half over. Repeat once more. You should now have a 3-by-4-inch rectangle. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 3 phyllo sheets. Place a fanned peach half in center of each phyllo rectangle, brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.
4. Bake until phyllo is golden brown and crisp and peach has softened, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Place on a wire rack to cool.
…I will never take for granted.
Little Snail 