Dana Burland

Welp, this post is a little late! Last weekend Ben and I took our adventuring on the road—to Boston. It’s not your typical spring break destination, though we did get to laugh at the herds of pastel short wearers we saw waiting for flights headed to Florida. You know, when I say laugh I mean cry a little. I love Boston a lot . And since I was already headed to Beantown for a work related trip, it was financially friendly to have Ben meet me there for a couple’s getaway. Quincy Market On day one, I took him down to the north side of town to Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market and the Freedom Trail. We saw a museum exhibit exploring anatomy with real human bodies , we shopped and ate at Quincy Market and we had a beer at Union Oyster House—one of the world’s oldest restaurants. The normal clientele at Union Oyster House  Later we visited Fenway and the south end of Boston. We walked Boylston Street and imagined it packed with marathon runners instead of teenagers in anime cost...

Dear friends, family and internet lurkers, We’re gathered at this blog post today to pay tribute to my beloved hair straightener, Chi. Chi lived a long, long, lonnnnnnng life. In her seven years of service she lived in many bathroom counters and on many bedroom floors. She was indeed a great confidant and supporter with a style all her own. She kept me on the straight and narrow and was incredibly kind and warm—oh was she warm. So unreasonably good-God-I-have-a-second-degree-burn-on-my scalp-again! warm. It’s with this brief eulogy that I say goodbye to Chi. May you rest peacefully my dear friend.

If you’re looking for my life, you can find it on my Google Drive. There lives the shared wedding folder with a list of viable photographers, venue contracts and—my least favorite—The Budget. Then there are the dog documents with lists of spunky and lovable doggy names and—another non-favorite—The Doggy Budget. It’s organized yet happy chaos. I found the same happy chaos in the kitchen with my brother a few weeks ago. We were making sweet potato peanut soup—a recipe similar to a dish we tried at the Kenyan restaurant in Pennsylvania (R.I.P. Alando’s Cuisine). I was saving a similar recipe I had found for when he visited me again. Really, I was too afraid to make it by myself. At first, nothing is chaotic. Diced onions and chunks of sweet potato simmer together. Then you start adding what sounds less like a soup recipe and more like my doggy name and doggy prep documents—ginger and peanut butter. The combination of the sweet potatoes and peanut butter had the both of us...

West Michigan is trying very hard to hold on to winter. We’ll have a sunny day pushing 40, immediately followed by a snowy cold one. Yesterday it was beautiful and 30. Ben and I ran errands sans jackets just to celebrate. Yesterday was a good day, so to celebrate it. I made pancakes  this morning. Not only was the weather spring-like but I got a run in, too. I barely eked out two sweaty, labored and blister-starting miles. Minus the blister-starting, it felt great. After that I pestered Ben to come with me to the hardware store for a project I’ve been obsessing over for a few months now—hardware pipe candlestick holders. We were gifted beautiful candlestick holders from my grandparents as an engagement present, the kind too nice to leave out on the table all the time. I wanted to try my hand at an urban variety. The internet is full of photos of hardware candlestick holders, but lacking instructions. And I get it, making these is more of an art than a science. But s...

In January I downed every book I could get my hands on. Thanks to a few doozies, in February I moved a bit slower last month. Here are my good and bad books of February: Julie and Julia  by Julie Powell – 2 out of 5 stars Julie is a normal 30-something-year-old woman with normal friends, a normal marriage and a normal NYC apartment. She tries to elevate her outlook on life by cooking her way through a popular cookbook and—spoiler alert—elevates her outlook on life. I struggle with memoirs that paint normal or minimal stories as life-changing novels. I would have gotten a better story had I read Julia’s cookbook instead. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – 5 out of 5 stars Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl who forges an unordinary friendship with Will Traynor, the quadriplegic she works as an aide for. The story is a fascinating look at how Louisa’s life changes while working with Will—and how Will’s life changes with Louisa around. This is one of those so-good books it require...

What’s a spring break without a trip to the beach? My brother was in town for a few days to celebrate his last undergrad spring break ever. They grow up so fast! Tear. I was pumped that on his things-to-do list was to see Lake Michigan in all of its frozen beauty. I’m always up for a winter trip to the beach . We were a little late for frozen over lighthouses but still had plenty to see—like ice sheets. I have no idea how these formed so perfectly smooth and sticking out of the water like this, but everyone at the beach that day was impressed by them. I also love the frozen waves. You can see how they almost froze in time mid-crash, with more snow and ice building up on top of them. It’s wild to think all this will be water again in a month or two. I won’t say how far out onto the water we walked, lest my blog reading mom have a heart attack at her desk, but I will tell you none of these photos were taken of land, or while standing on land. Eek! Ice sheet Near the l...

Uh oh, look who we visited! Fuzz on fuzz Conversation: Dog has been ongoing for the last year and a half around our apartment. Within the last two months it’s picked up steam. Last week, on a research mission, we went to visit some pups. For so many more reasons than ‘aw the cuteness!’, now is oddly very good timing for us to expand our family by four paws. We likely won’t bring anyone home for a few months, but man is it exciting to think about.

WAIT! Don’t leave! I know I said Brussels sprouts , but please just give me a chance to explain. I’m new to the Brussels party. For a long time I couldn’t get over the smell, the cabbagey taste, the hard texture. But now I know how to roast them, and they’re ok. They’re good even. But based on Ben’s don’t-come-near-me-with-those aversion, I was about to write Brussels off as a lady food. They’re not for everyone, and that’s ok. Then, while for my birthday diner, my mom and I ordered a side of crispy sriracha honey Brussels sprouts. And, whoa. Ben tasted them. Ben liked them. My brother tasted them. My brother asked for seconds. My brother finished them. My dad kindly left them to us. Brussels aren’t for everyone, you know. This, I believe, is how Brussels are meant to be served—as individual, crispy, caramelized leaves. Like kale chips, with more substance and much more zing. No smell, no cabbage taste, no hard texture. I’m thrilled this recipe hasn’t been banished to the...

I read somewhere that in Australia it’s common for a birthday celebrator not to be celebrated, but on their birthday to pay the celebration forward and honor family and friends who make their life great. Last weekend I did a little both, being celebrated and celebrating. My family celebrated me in the form of my mom’s mint brownies, birthday gifts and dinner out. I sort of celebrated them too—in the form of a House of Cards marathon, a lot of laughter over Jimmy Fallon’s lip syncing videos and making grown up orange creamsicle drinks. Yes, ridiculously tasty orange creamsicles in a glass. On my actual birthday, Ben and I had friends over and celebrated some more. I celebrated them—in the form of popcorn, shared mint brownies and grown up root beer floats—and celebrated myself a bit too with my first Settlers win of the year. Oooh yeah, check out all my cit-tays! The grown up orange creamsicles and root beer floats are easy to make and taste like a celebration in a glass. T...