Dana Burland

Dang did I get my read on this year. I don’t think I’ve ever devoured books so voraciously—ever. I polished off 26 books this year, not including a small stack I tried but didn’t love. Here are some of my favorites: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Don Tillman, a nerdy genetics professor creates “The Wife Project” as a technical path to finding love. That’s all well and good until Rosie Jarman finds him. She’s seeking his genetic expertise but both of them end up finding much more. The Rosie Project is an adorable, modern love story with a twist. Don and Rosie are relatable in both their unique reservations and confidence in love. This is a good fast read, perfect as a vacation book and not so light that it’s mindless or mushy. Bossypants by Tina Fey Tina’s book is a hilarious, short story structured memoir that proves her brilliance as a comic and a writer. My favorite chapters are the one dedicated to her dad—a most-interesting-man-on-earth meets 70’s strict, and the one...

Just like that, all three kids are college grads. I only teared up three times at my brother's commencement ceremony last weekend. Oy, I remember when you graduated high school . I'm such a proud sister. Congrats, Man of E--you did it, you hippo'ed . 

I established a few rules when I started doing genealogy research : 1. No creating relationships with distant ninth cousins twenty-five times removed 2. No use of Ancestry or Ancestry-like sites 3. No scammy DNA tests promising genomics history I didn’t want to meet more family, but uncover the past of the family I already knew. Then I met my super great, new-to-me cousin Elaine who knew more about my grandma than I thought possible. And Ancestry? A little birdie told me they often make false connections with randoms whose name or location of origin is kinda sorta like yours, but actually not. No thanks. The DNA tests? That was a no. I refused to mail a tube of my spit to some random lab just to hear I’m a hodgepodge of European decent. Stupid. Absolutely not. Except… About a month ago I got suckered into reading reviews of a genetic kit/site (23andme) and 20 minutes later ordered a kit. The site explained the X & Y chromosomes in men allow for tracking of both ma...

Nothing says “thanks for hosting my wedding shower” like a homemade lotion bar, right? I saw a blog post with the DIY “recipe” a few weeks ago and quickly ordered supplies. The ingredient list is short, the directions are simple, the pictures are flawless. Whatever could go wrong? Plenty, like: 1. Smelly beeswax The directions call to melt coconut oil, Shea butter and beeswax together and then pour into molds. I love myself some coconut oil and Shea butter, but the beeswax I bought was off. Forget the idea of lovely, deep-honey smelling beeswax, the stuff I ordered on Amazon smells like a thick forest of semi-dead flowers. 2. A tilt-y soap mold What could go wrong with a soap mold—this is what it’s made for! Mine came with two different shapes on one tray; lovely for variety yet awful considering the mold couldn’t balance on its own. 3. Stupid, stupid, dumb, fragile flowers I pressed flowers a week ahead of time thinking I’d simply push them to the bottom of the mold (or top ...

This year, like every other year , my family and I ran the Detroit Turkey Trot. Due to various injuries among all of us, my parents and I settled on the 5K while my brother ran the 10. Well, the 5K was the goal. We started an hour early with the 10K group with my brother figuring we’d duck out at the 5K course split. But, you know, when you’re an hour ahead of any other 5K’er, there’s no need to mark the course for the 5K split. So, even with the various injuries among us, my parents and I trotted an accidental 10K. This year, I’m thankful for nice weather that made walk breaks bearable and the entire race enjoyable; I’m thankful various injuries are all we’ve got as medical woes; and I’m ever thankful for an active family who makes late November running a fun tradition.

Ask me what I do and I’ll probably say “marketing”. It’s a nice catch all—but it doesn’t really catch all of what I do. Lately, I’ve been doing much more UI/UX (user interface, user experience) stuff. This means I take problems mostly from our product and customer service teams and figure out the best way to solve them for our on-site shoppers. Problems like opting for the larger size conference table means the package won’t fit through a standard doorway when it’s delivered—how do we explain that before someone buys? Then there’s testing. Does this link really get the attention we think it does? Are users moving in a clear path from browsing to checkout? Does anyone know what “merle” means? To be honest, it’s more fun than marketing; it’s like solving a new puzzle every day, in a web geek sense. The crispy black bean tacos I made last night reminded me of the good user experience I strive for at work. First, the ingredients of this recipe are simple and straight forward. The sp...

I have a strong feeling we’re in the thick of winter already , friends. It’s cool though—I’m bringing my A game and battening down the hatches early. I bought a new winter jacket that’s essentially an arctic parka. I busted out my trudge-through-the-snow winter boots. We put up Ben’s bike on the trainer for some indoor cycling. Also, I’ve altered my grocery shopping game. 'Tis the season for hearty, long lasting ingredients that will stay well past a week. It’s extra awful to go on a mid-blizzard grocery run. Have you ever pushed a shopping cart through 4 inches of parking lot slush? I’d rather ride the bike trainer in my snow boots and arctic parka. This soup recipe has a lot of ingredients, but most of them are items I regularly have on hand. The directions are simple, too. But to be honest, it had me at lentils. Lentils are my jam, yo. I’m also partial to curry and coconut flavors. They’re tropically soul warming in a way that I won’t be experiencing for a while. A lon...

DOH! I’m late with my Friendsgiving post! For shame I didn’t share how fun our night of hosting went. Will you ever forgive me? Good. Now on with the story of our dinner. Last year we did a small Friendsgiving with two other couples. This year, we, ahem, expanded. We had 12—tah-whelve— people at our apartment for a pre-Thanksgiing feast. I (again) roasted two chickens and made a vat of roasted vegetables to go with it. We also had pizza roles, cheese and jam crostini, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, tomato and basil and avocado salad, spinach pies, sangria, beer by the plenty, Oreo balls, apple pie and drunken gummy bears. Are you full just thinking about it? I’m 4 pounds heavier just thinking about it. The best part, I think, was the set-up. We hauled in a desk and office chairs to “extend” our kitchen table, seated two at the kitchen bar and set the coffee table and couch to accommodate more place settings. Co-zay. Post-dinner we played Catch Phrase (denoting team ...

Happy winter, y’all. We’re staying warm and moving slow under a blanket of 12-18” of snow. Since Sunday, weather radar maps have shown a consistent 6-10” circle around Grand Rapids. Since Sunday, it hasn’t stopped snowing for more than 15 minutes or so. We’re no Buffalo, but we’re in full lake effect snow mode just the same. As of November 16, I heard Boyne Highlands is open for skiing. Skiing! Before Thanksgiving! The horror! The fleece pajama pants have come out and the Christmas music has been turned up. Bring on the holidays—assuming we can get home for them.

Armed with a butter knife and a bottle of Goo Gone, Ben spent a few nights last week scraping stubborn labels off glass bottles and jars for me. Cleaning jars for centerpieces is one of several wedding related jobs I’ve tasked him with, and one of several he’s taken on with no complaint or questioning. He did most of the bottle cleaning work while I was in bed—reading my usual two pages from a bedside novel before I toss it onto his pillow and conk out cold. By 9 p.m. I’m drained from a big, huge, ginormous work project; wedding work (currently in the form of designing invitations) and household chores. But each morning I wake up recharged, my book magically relocated to his nightstand, my limbs tucked in to our warmest purple blanket and more clean bottles drying on the kitchen bar. It’s not entirely glamorous, but it's life right now. And on our fourth dateiversary, I'm relishing the simple and quiet moments of caring for each other that come far more often than the bi...

Per tradition , we had our friends Louis and Lindsay in town last weekend for a day of apple orchard visiting, spiked cider drinking, football watching, pumpkin carving fun. And please, how cute is Louis's snowman themed pumpkin with the tiny gourd hat and leaf arms? Sah cute! Also included in the weekend was our first visit to Harmony Brewing Company where the pizza--on par with recommendations I had heard--was indeed the bomb dot com. Our pumpkins are still on display on our deck, and attracting regular admirers. Every hour is feeding hour at casa de Blinder-Burland.

The worst part about wedding planning is sorting through details that aren’t closely related to the actual dedication of your life to the person you love. You know, the person who you love more than Wendy’s frosties and french fries. Last night was so not that. It was a post-work trip to the jewelry store where Ben quickly found a ring that met his must-have needs and where I made about zero wedding band progress but heavily enjoyed myself anyway. One day, we’ll give these rings to each other. One day, we’ll wear them forever. Until then we keep planning, and occasionally pause to enjoy each other—like we did post jewelry store with matching his and hers frosties and a shared small fry.

What do you get when you stack 11 people in 1 small house with a fridge full of beer and a box of Guesstures ? The funnest weekend ever. A whole slew of lovely, fun friends gathered at  Ashley's  parent's house up north this past weekend. The weather was lackluster but it hardly mattered. We had a family-style pancake breakfast, watched the MSU football game, went shopping downtown and played a beer and vodka gummie bear infused marathon of  Guesstures . Ari's slightly confusing impression of crutches and Ben's adorable acting of “balloon” were crowd favorites. Weekends like these—and plans for more in the future—fill my tank with fuel for another work week. Two mini scoops of vanilla ice cream in my coffee Breakfast with part of the gang Some of the boys. Not pictured: Brian, Ben2 and football. A quick break in the clouds

"How many people will be coming with you?” It’s a frequently asked question from wedding vendors when setting up meetings, and I’ve frequently answered “just two, thanks”. With our out-of-town wedding, we don’t always have a family or bridal party member we can easily grab to come with us. But as planning goes on, I’m recognizing the silver lining to that. When I couldn’t have my maids with me for dress shopping, I invited two girlfriends whose friendship—and style opinions—mean the world to me. The four of us, with my mom included, had a blast sifting through hangers of what seemed like big white sleeping bags and snapping photos for the girls who couldn’t be with us in person. It was special to share the first try on of the dress with them. When Ben and I found ourselves faced with a midweek cake tasting appointment this past week, we invited our good friends Andy (the best man) and Ashley . How horrible to burden friends with free cake on a random Tuesday nigh...

It’s been over two years since Ben and I moved to Grand Rapids together. With the huge exception of missing friends who grew to feel like family in Pennsylvania, it really has been lovely. I love being back in Michigan. We're two hours away from family which means more weekends and holidays together. We're 3-4 hours away from some of the state’s best scenery and character like the Sleeping Bear Dunes  that cut so deeply into Lake Michigan it shocks me every time. I love that there’s so much more to explore, too, like the wilderness of the upper peninsula . I’m so happy to call Grand Rapids home. Downtown is constantly challenging itself to be more sustainable, more charitable and more of a place to be — something is new  every year. The surrounding neighborhoods and farmland feel oh so Midwestern with their friendliness, too. And yes, even in the winter I’m constantly amazed at how beautiful Lake Michigan is covered in fingerlings of ice and frozen waves. ...

It’s live! What’s live? A project I’ve been working on for months and months. A project I took a secret trip to Boston for. A project that’s going to make Steelcase product widely accessible in a way its never been before. We’re selling office furniture through Staples ! My portion of the project was to work as the Steelcase marketing liaison to the Staples marketing team. Together we determined what our marketing plan would look like, how we’d measure it for success and how we’ll be agile as needed when reviewing performance. I also helped coworkers review designs of the online shopping experience of our product on the Staples site. Will people really use this functionality or that? Do we like how these options are displayed or would we prefer they be displayed that way? It’s fun, projects like these. I really like imagining the customer’s perspective and designing for it. It’s also a lot of work. It’s taken a lot of time and energy to get to launch confidently. And now it...

At the end of the summer Ben and I held a congressional apartment hearing on the state of the wedding budget. We’re just under a year away from the big day, but rapidly approaching a fiscal cliff. There’s no real need to panic—the majority of the budget has been spent on the majority of the big planning stuff. Still, this congress is in budget scrutiny. This is why I’m on a bridal high from my this “craft” project: our $20—card and envelope included—save the date project. Yes $20, minus postage of course because at $.49 cents a pop we’re gonna have to forego a Friday pizza night or two to send these suckers. Did you hear that, Ben? DROP THAT HOT AND READY. All it takes is a middle schooler's worth of knowledge in Microsoft Paint and access to a good drug store photo printing kiosk. You can print anything from a Kodak kiosk—you know as long as it's 4x6. Here are my tips for making this DIY invite/announcement/mini poster project happen: 1. Create your canvas I made a 12...

It’s ArtPrize season in Grand Rapids. This is the sixth year of the art competition that’s such a hit it draws in crowds by the masses for the three weeks the competition runs. My family (who came in last weekend) and Ben’s (on their way into town this weekend) always make a fall visit for the event. This year the best art was really off the beaten path. On Saturday we visited new-to-my-family venues on the north side of town—the Women’s City Club, Lifestyle Kitchen Studio, St. Cecilia Music Center and First Park Congregational Church. We made our way down to City Hall and the Calder Plaza too, but the closer to downtown we got the more the art seemed to peter out. This year’s downtown showing is just… lacking. Besides ArtPrize, we made homemade pasta together, took a driving tour of Heritage Hill’s huge houses, played a round of disc golf and even had time to tackle a few wedding crafts I needed extra hands for. And despite a little lackluster art seen Friday, by Sunday morning e...

Does anyone that owns napkin rings really use them? How about an ice bucket and tongs? Every holiday dinner I can remember included someone yelling from the kitchen “who wants ice?” followed by frozen red hands dolling out ice cubes straight into glasses. It’s part of that “family” feel, I think. This was the never ending conversation Ben and I had in Bed Bath and Beyond while reviewing their list of suggested registry items. Twelves goblets, 12 red wine glasses and 12 white wine glasses? Three sets of everyday dinnerware so we can “wash dishes less often”? Why? Nowhere to be found was the fine print I was looking for— Alter this list of suggestions to your lifestyle and you’ll be a-okay . After taking that unwritten advice anyway, registering became much more fun. I could picture using our serving platters to pass around my stuffed peppers and the humidifier Ben gun-scanned will help with dry Michigan winters tremendously. (I, rightfully so, was not trusted with the retail wea...

My former car, the Silver Bullet, was a great ride. It was dearly loved by its owner and moderately loved by its passengers—assuming they didn't sit on the passenger side with the wind whooshing due to lack of weather stripping. Although the Bullet was a modest car from the start, it worked its way across multiple states, winters and adventures with (mostly) grace, ease and charm. It was adopted at the Troy Motor Mall on May 24, 2007 at the tender age of four with 62,877 miles to its name. For years we bonded over trips to and from college, popping CD after CD into play rotation. The Bullet schlepped me to and from all of my internships , friend’s houses, up north and back again. Its belly was wide and wondrous, seemingly deepening as I continually filled it with all of my life’s possessions—including a bikes—for each of my 9 million apartment moves . As a seven year old, the Bullet and I embarked on our grandest adventure— to Pennsylvania . And even though it fought endlessly...

Two weekends ago I froze on a boat in Lake Superior ; this past weekend I nearly got a t-shirt tan while biking through Detroit. You know what they say about Michigan weather—we truly do experience multiple seasons in a day or week. Instead of doing this year’s traditionally chilly northern Michigan fall bike ride , we did a ride through Detroit. The 30-mile Tour De Troit was great. We had perfect weather, Ben’s family and mine in tow, and plenty to see along the race course. Detroit is a big city with big shambles. 90% of the ride was through falling down neighborhoods, abandoned factories and hotels, and miles and miles of graffiti. It might not sound that scenic, but it’s fascinatingly sad to see this city that if I were my 20-something-year-old self several decades ago I’d be proud to call home. The other 10% of the ride? It was Indian Village and the surrounding area. Old, OLD mansions that somehow are still surviving beautifully in Detroit’s shadow. There was a great e...

Yes, three times the pasta. Well, four if you count every dish we cooked and ate our way through at our pasta cooking class tonight. Our cooking class at the Downtown Market was such a blast. A great and, hello homemade sweet potato ravioli, tasty way to spend a Tuesday night.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has always fascinated me. Its densely wooded and deserted landscape shocks city lungs with fresh pine air, surprises with natural beauty and makes for a comically terrible place for car trouble. I sadly speak from experience. I offered to make the drive as my car’s last hurrah on our family vacation this past weekend. About 20 minutes after crossing over the Mackinac Bridge (which is terrifying) we were engulfed in forest. Just us, a little country road and dense trees. Well us and also the teenage black beer that sauntered across the road about 15 yards in front of my car. Dorothy, we’re not in Detroit anymore. We stopped in Paradise, Michigan and toured the upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls. Tannins from nearby trees that have leached into the water make the falls golden and amber (see photo slideshow below). So beautiful it brought out our excited faces. An hour and half west we stopped in Munising, home of the Pictured Rocks. We checked int...

If I saw cherry pecan chicken on a restaurant menu, I’d order it fast. I hoped the version I saw on a local catering company menu was as good as it sounded. Plump cherries, crunchy sweet pecans, grilled chicken—what’s not to love? Ben and I tasted that, plus a few more entrees, at our first catering tasting two weeks ago. Some dishes were so so; others—like the cherry pecan chicken—were spot on. So good I kept thinking about it days after our tasting appointment. So good I tried to recreate it myself. I didn’t have cherries or pecans on hand so I used cranberries and almonds instead. I added kale, onion and apple knowing they’d stand up to the balsamic vinegar well. The caterer makes it better, but my version ain’t too bad for a quick weeknight dinner either! Cranberry Balsamic Chicken Ingredients 2 raw chicken breasts ½ cup dried cranberries ¼ small red onion, diced ½ green apple, peeled and diced 1-2 stems kale, stem removed and leaves chopped ¼ cup sliced almonds, li...

You know those power walking, arm swinging, phone squawking ladies around your neighborhood sidewalks? That’s me. I’m dying to run, but I just can’t do it yet . My brain is ready for it (boy is my brain ever ready for it), but my leg just isn’t. So I’m walking instead. I go on long walks while talking to my girlfriends on the phone about work irritations and boys. It distracts me from my limitations, rejuvenates me with intentional catch-up time and yeah may slightly annoy fellow walkers briefly, too. Oops. Healing is hard and I haven't been entirely gracious (sorry, Ben). I’m thankful to have found a little peace in power walking. Wildflowers seen on a walk with a friend I battled in a similar way with a stuffed pepper recipe I made last week. I was ready to pass by a recipe I found online because of a long history of stuffed pepper failure: charred peppers, raw peppers, greasy filling, you name it. But this time I gathered my patience and gave it a whirl. And you kno...

Three bananas foster cupcakes. Those leftover wedding treats brought over by Andy and Ashley are all that’s left from their wedding last weekend. Sure, somewhere in this apartment there are two can koozies with their name and wedding date on ‘em, but I don’t even have a photo of us with the bride and groom for cryin’ out sideways. Watching our two buddies commit their lives to each other was too beautiful to witness from behind the screen of a camera. Plus I had to focus on controlling my emotional wedding weeping that has plagued me at every wedding since Chelsea’s . Talk about cryin’ sideways. Even their reception was too full of dancing, laughing, drinking and chatting to remember to take home the flowers gifted to me by Ashley’s mom. I was too busy sing/yelling Backstreet Boys lyrics on the dance floor with Ashley and her girlfriends who have become my girlfriends, too. Ben, Andy and their Troy gang were too busy busting out dance moves that would put Usher to shame—plus a f...

Grand Rapids may be well known for its breweries, but out in the 'burbs where we live it's much less about beer and much more about Jesus. I read somewhere that Grand Rapids has the most churches per capita—that's a truth to believe in. Ben and I were joking once while driving through town that Grand Rapids can take any building and make it into a church. It was silly at first, but the funniest thing was that every example we traded was a true one. “Grand Rapids loves their churches so much they can turn a gym into one.” Right near our apartment was an old school turned gym with a workout facility, indoor rock climbing wall and pool. Now, it's a church. You think the pastor preaches while suspended from carabiners and cords? “Oh yeah? Well Grand Rapids loves their churches so much they can turn a drive-in movie theater into one.” This is my favorite. There's an old drive-in theater parking lot tucked off Brenton and 28th Street that long ago was converted...

...and salads and cheese trays and dips by the dozens. And mushroom turnovers, mozzarella sticks and a platter of salami. And meatballs, hummus and Mexican bean dip. Plus beer, wine, iced tea and a Mai Tai punch that accidentally turned out blue. And cake. Two big, glorious cakes. One for the guy I've happily agreed to live the rest of my life with, and one for me. This was the scene at the beautiful family engagement party my mom threw for us last weekend. My grandparent's condo clubhouse was full of food, extended family, beautiful flowers and a lot of fun. Fun like watching my brother, who takes after my dad in his ability to befriend any living or non-living organism, re-tell the story of the passed out drunk man he found in a hospital elevator while at work last week. Fun like hearing aunts and cousins tell us they have trips planned to Grand Rapids soon and that we'd meet up on our side of the state soon. Fun like seeing all the people we love in a room togethe...

Next year I hope to celebrate my work anniversary  with a little less of a bang. On my one-year anniversary two Tuesdays ago I was in a rental van with coworkers headed to a cross-state meeting when we were rear ended on the freeway. Quite intensely. Everyone is fine; bruised and sore, but fine. I was in the back so I’m extra bruised and sore—but also fine. Because of the bruising and soreness (a.k.a. a muscle contusion), I’ve spent the last two weeks getting my RICE on. How much have I been RICE’ing? I’m resting so much Ben hasn’t gotten a seat on the couch since mid-July. I’ve been icing so intently that I found a thawed package of peas hidden on the floor under a bath towel. I’ve compressed my way through three rolls of athletic tape and made an embarrassing purchase of three more rolls at MC Sports last week. I’ve elevated my left leg high enough perform as a Radio City Rockette. I’m limping a lot, fighting an injured calf muscle that just wants to rest when so much of...

Alpena is just as charming as most northern Michigan towns—time ticks slower, wildflowers grow taller and even with its big ol’ cement factory on the shore, Lake Huron’s vastness is still beautifully impressive. But unlike other northern Michigan towns, Alpena is a humble working class city. On a weekend trip with my family we found out the locals, just like the city, are pure gems too. Like the older woman who owns an alpaca farm down the street from my brother’s apartment. Being the curious and audacious folk that we are, we wandered up to her property to oogle over Tuffett and Frosty the alpacas. In any other town you might be chased away by an angry, get-off-my-lawn kinda townie. In Alpena we were met by the friendly, may-have-some-screws-loose, Mrs. Alpaca Owner who would have pinned us up all dang day talking about the wheat based diet she’s got her seven alpacas on and how she’s trained her hens to raise baby peacocks. Ok then. Frosty and Tuffett We also met a...