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Yesterday, CD and I spent the afternoon with our friends, Travis and Jessica, at Empire Beach on Lake Michigan.
A lake? Again, I think not.
I mean, check out those waves…people were surfing!
Being from the South, going to the beach involved an 8-hour drive down to the Gulf of Mexico, and as much as I love the Grayton and Rosemary beach areas of Florida, I have to say I think I might like Lake Michigan a little more. The water is beautiful, it’s not so hot, and there are no jellyfish. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stung by jellyfish! 
After some beach time, we went to Joe’s Friendly Tavern for an early dinner.
Empire is a tee-tiny town with a bit of a hippy/surfer vibe, and I got the impression that an eclectic mix of people live there based on the restaurant’s menu. For instance, CD ordered the following:
A 1/2 pound burger with bacon and Bleu cheese dressing. It was huge! He ended up scraping off the dressing and just eating the meat sans bun.
Meanwhile, I ordered the grilled vegetarian cake on a wheat roll with sweet potato fries. The homemade veggie burger contained dried cherries and was held together with hummus.
Delicious!
After dinner, we walked down the street for one last glimpse at the beach.
Lake Michigan, I’m going to miss you!
There was of course dessert, but you’ll have to stay tuned for that. 
In other news, beginning today, Mara from I Made Dinner is donating all of her blog proceeds for the month of September to the A to Z Literacy Project. A to Z is a charity spearheaded by a coworker that sends thousands of books annually to needy children in Zambia. So, if you get a chance, please stop by I Made Dinner and click around a few times.
Also, I was interviewed by Trenia from Plus Sizeology, and the interview went live today. If you’d like, you can click here to read it. Thanks so much, and I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
{ 76 comments… read them below or add one }
That veggie burger looks great! Held together with hummus and dried cherries inside? Fantastic! As always, you look great with little HEABlet there! : )
Those shots of the lake are gorgeous! I wish I was still there.
I’ve been lovin’ the burgers myself lately – both veggie and beef
I usually throw some eggs or chicken on the side too 
.
Um, so CD kind of looks like Jimmy Fallon ?
Um, so CD kind of looks like Jimmy Fallon ?
In that picture, totally!
Eatmovelove,
Haha – CD has been told that before. He also get’s a lot of Jon Cryer.
They don’t call it the Great lakes state for nothing!
your dress is SO CUTE! where’d you get it?
Heather, I love that dress too. It’s so comfy, and it’s currently on sale: http://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=46838&vid=1&pid=757713
Yeah, I remember being amazed by how ocean-like Lake Michigan is the first time I saw it!!
And I hear you on the jellyfish/gulf thing. I have scars from our summers spend in Perdido Key!
A veggie burger with sweet potato fries is my favorite combo of all time!!
The veggie burger sounds amazing! Never thought of hummus as a binder – that is a great idea they had!
Wowowow, you look great for someone who’s preggy
And that non-lake looks amazing. The thought of jellyfish though? Not so much.
Enjoy the rest of your vacay, sweetie!<3
That veggie burger sounds amazing! I’m always so happy when a restaurant offers an eclectic menu – there are still so many places that don’t offer enough selection (in my humble opinion).
I love the Great Lakes (I’m in MN, so they are my “oceans” — the water is so beautiful, and you are right, no jellyfish and no sharks (yes I’m terrified of sharks!)
That burger looks amazing, dried cherries? Yum.
I just had a debate with myself as to which burger I would choose. I determined that I’d go with the veggie burger, but steal the bacon from CD’s burger
Gracie,
Haha – I thought about pilfering some bacon, but I was too busy shoving sweet potato fries in my mouth.
ohhh being from the south as well i ned to make a couple hour drive to gulf shores, AL to see WAVES…. the coast is one thing but its oil filled and blocked off now and i LOVE WAVES haha. mostly skim boarding, but the sound and everything i love it!
Serioulsy I can’t get over how beautiful the water is there. I can’t wait for the beach next week.
You just look so cute…almost makes me want another baby…almost!
Joe’s Friendly Tavern! My family and I LOVE that place! We vacation near Frankfort, MI every year and we always make a trip up to Empire to go to Joe’s. We are actually going up there in a few weeks and your picture of that veggie burger has me so excited. I’m glad to see that you found this awesome little place!
Michelle,
Joe’s was great – we’ll definitely go back!
Holy crap, that veggie burger is making me drool!
That “lake” is beautiful!!! I can’t believe it- much prettier than the oceans I’ve seen around here!
What an interesting veggie burger combo! I can’t wait to heard how you recreate it.
glad you are enjoying Lake MI…I absolutely love Michigan’s beaches.
Your veggie burger sounds amazing…especially bc it contains hummus!
OMG that burger looks fantastic! Was it dry at all? I am so envious of your babymoon! A friend told us that we should do that, and now I am wishing we had , but I have all but demanded a vacation this fall lol
As always you look absolutely stunning! <3
Thanks Sonia, and no the veggie burger was not dry at all. Moist and delicious – perfect!
Lake Ontario is the same way…I have to remind myself that it’s a lake! The only problem is that every time we go up there it’s freaking COLD!! Dennis keeps telling me he’d like to move back up there (He went to school in Rochester NY) and I tell him he’s crazy
BTW I need to figure out how to bind my homemade veggie burgers with hummus…
Nicole,
Yes, you do!
Fortunately, the water wasn’t too cold yesterday. Once I went under, I was fine. We had so much fun playing in the waves.
WOW! That certainly does not look like any lake I’ve ever seen before!! GORGEOUS! And so are you, of course
That grilled veggie cake/burger looks sooo good! held together with hummus? I’m sure it was perfect.
XO.
Thanks Sami, and yes, the veggie burger was perfect.
That veggie burger looks/sounds fantastic! Hummus is sooo yummy, so to use it in a veg burger just makes my heart melt! I hope you figure out how to recreate it, I’m dying to know! I’m always in search of a good veggie burger!
Susannah,
I’ll be sure to share if I ever perfect the recipe!
That veggie burger looks awesome. If you find the recipe, please share! xoxo
Jennifer,
Will do!
Burger and fries look amazing.
Wow that lake looks really like an ocean!
“The water is beautiful, it’s not so hot, and there are no jellyfish. “–
AMEN to that! Ok so I just booked our winter Aruba tickets and posted about it on my blog and I have pics of beaches up with crystal blue waters and sand and honestly the pics of Lake Mich and Aruba are pretty much interchangeable based on the 2 sets of photos we’ve both got going…which is lovely for anyone who can’t make it to Aruba but the Lake is in reach!
East Coast and Fla. beaches are great but the crowds and the jellyfish, yeah, not so fun.
The pic of you and CD at sunset on the beach…omg you are just glowing and so blissfully content looking. The heablet is vibing from some calm, lovely energy…I can just sense it from your pics and Im sure so can she
Keep these pictures somewhere safe. You will LOVE To look back on these in even a few years…or in 10 or 20! The pregnant you on the beach. That’s a keeper
Averie,
I know, my mom hardly had any preggo pictures, and I think it will be fun for her to look back on all the photos from my pregnancy…which reminds me I need to backup my hard drive soon! Won’t it be fun for Skylar to look back on your blog and see herself when she was so young? It’s like an online journal of your lives together, and I bet she’ll love it!
I LOVE that you’re doing more than one post a day now Heather! And I’m going to start saving jars for musical jars…
Ilovefeta,
Oh good – I don’t plan on doing it everyday, but sometimes I just have a lot to say, and I prefer keeping my posts short. Please tell me if it ever gets overwhelming.
The pics of the lake are beautiful. I love Flordia beaches and Myrtle beach. Never been to Lake Michigan but these pictures make me want to go.
The veggie burger looks sooo good. If you recreate it, please post the recipe.
Michelle,
I will – promise!
look at you beach babe! wind blown hair, not a care in the world
that burger is HUGE!! and i have never been stung by a jellyfish yet but i hear they are quite painful!
Love the interview! Beautifully said! I love towns like that. Small and eclectic. Sewanee, TN is like that. It is so beautiful there too. We looked at moving there, but it is so expensive! Anyway, you both look so happy and relaxed. I am really happy you got the time together. You will cherish it forever.
Your burger looks so good. So, have you ever used chickpea flour before? If not, we need to talk. You will LOVE it!
Enjoy your afternoon!
Sarena,
No, but I’m dying to try chickpea flour. More recipes for my Sarena folder?
Please move to Sewanee – you’d be so much closer to me, and I’d love to meet you there for a hike. It’s so beautiful.
Feeling a little homesick after seeing your Lake Michigan pictures. I remember spending many saturdays there laying in a huge innertube and riding the waves. I love Lake Michigan. I live in New Jersey now and we have the Ocean but it is so hard to just enjoy the water due to the waves.
That burger looks amazing. If you figure out how to make it I would love to hear. Love the pictures. You have such a beautiful pregnancy glow.:)
Thanks Jennifer
Yes, Lake Michigan is wonderful – I had no idea, and I’ve fallen in love with this area! Oh, I promise to post the veggie burger recipe if I ever perfect it!
That veggie burger sounds and looks delicious! What a great picture of you and CD on the beach
I love the great lakes!
whoa – a burger held together by hummus, why didn’t I think of that
Morgan,
I thought the exact same thing!
Meaning, why didn’t I think of that…not why didn’t Morgan think of that?
You’ve been stung by a jellyfish?? I never have! Not that that’s on my bucket list of anything but still, it seems like an “experience”, you know? Anyhow, you are so right about the Great Lakes. I’d never seen them before we moved here and they are fantastic! Gorgeous and as big as the ocean (practically) but with a lot less people;) Glad you are having fun!
Charlotte,
Yes, many times. They are everywhere in the gulf. If I ever saw one near me while in the water, I would run back to the beach as fast as I could. Those things give me the Heebie-Jeebies. Lake water is much better!
That veggie burger looks good, but that lake is spectacular!
Wow, that really doesn’t look like a Lake, at all! And those are some very nice pictures Heather, the water is so blue and clean!
Love the idea of using hummus to bind the veggie burger, which by the way looks delicious!!
I made a black bean burger I saw on The Front Burner blog this week and it was amazing, we all loved it here – including the husband who had two!
Today I am making one with chickpeas and curry. I am into the legumes these past few days, I love beans and lentils!
I read your interview, so true what you said in the end, loving yourself is key and at the end it all resumes to that!
Ana
Ana,
I knew your hubby would start coming around. Just keeping making him the good stuff!
Thanks so much for reading my interview…and finally, a use for sugar in my life!
Ohh, and if you ever get stung by a jellyfish again rush and put some sugar on it as soon as you can (old plain granulated sugar). This was a tip given by a beach guy to my dad once when my sister (then 5 years old) was stung by a jellyfish on top of her foot. Her foot was all red and starting to swell and blister when this guy told us to enter any establishment and ask for some sugar. We did just that, poured some sugar right on top of the red area and brought her some relief quite fast. The blisters didn’t even form and the redness was gone by the next morning, and she didn’t have any marks/scars or anything left. It was a pretty bad looking sting and the sugar seemed to really help.
Or there is the pee thing… but I am sure you know about this one. I like the sugar idea better though!!
Ana
WOW times 10000! That water looks absolutely beautiful! Seriously! And the omission of jellyfish is ALWAYS a good thing. I’ve only been stung once..and it was under my armpit of ALL places….how on earth it got there, i really do NOT know……however it was painful!!!!
That veggie burger does look delicious! I’ve never heard of cherries in a veggie burger..but it certainly looks delicious xx
Laura,
Your armpit? That sounds awful. So sorry.
I would be all for a beach with less creatures. I love the ocean but can never get over some of the things in there. My sister was stung by a jelly fish once and my ex boyfriend had to pee in a cup for her to pour on her leg. Quite awkward. LOL
Tina,
I’ve heard about the pee thing, but another commenter told me that white granulated sugar works as well…something to keep in mind for your next beach trip.
I’m so glad you had such a great time at the Lake! I live in Chicago and there are very few bodies of water I’d rather live near. No one believes us when we tell them it looks more like the Mediterranean than a lake.
I had no idea Lake Michigan had waves! I live on the Atlantic Ocean and we don’t get waves that big here in Portland!
Laura
Laura,
Neither did I. I was shocked to see people surfing.
Plus, no salt water up your nose at Lake Michigan! The surfers on the lake were actually featured in a surf movie called Riding Giants (I think it was that one…). I watched it when I was living in Hawaii, and I was all – that’s my lake!!!
Dried cherries and hummus burger?!?! Must make…
Katie,
I think the veggie burger would be great with mustard as well. I told CD about your homemade Vita-Mix mustards, and he can’t wait for me to start making some once we get back to Nashville.
Whoa! That veggie burger does look amazing! It’s not often you come across a veggie burger with some fruit or hummus…YUM!
Heather,
You look absolutely amazing in all of those pictures. I hope that I will eventually meet a guy and be able to have a baby. I struggled with Anorexia for so long and I am so scared that I will not be able to have children. I cant wait till you have the Heablet, I am sure she will be beautiful!!
Lindsay,
Your time will come – I know it will. Truth be told, CD and I had a hard time getting the HEABlet here and please never hesitate to email me should you have any questions on that topic, okay?
I LOVE black bean burgers with sweet potatoes…as evidenced by my dinner last night:)
Okay, a veg burger held together by hummus…uh WHAT?! How have I never heard of this! That sounds simply divine. Hope y’all are enjoying your last bit of time in gorgeous Michigan
Kayla,
I know, I thought the same thing. Why hadn’t I ever thought of putting hummus in my veggie burger? I often use it as a topping, but next time, it’s going straight in the mix!
wow that veggie burger looks amazing and the sweet potato fries even better!! They are totally my weakness…I could eat them everyday! Looks like such a fun trip
Wow that veggie burger not only looks great it sounds amazing. I would have never thought to put hummus into a burger, I am intrigued > I will have to try that!
I need to visit Lake Michigan. I have enjoyed watching your travels there, looks beautiful.
Pure2Raw,
Thanks so much – we’ve loved Michigan, and yes, I would love to see a Pure2Raw veggie burger creation!
Recreate the veggie burger! I want a HEAB recipe to follow. :-p
I had to tell you – I tried my very first gum-filled smoothie for dinner tonight. Not the perfect proportions just yet, but it was so fun! I think too much guar gum and not enough xanthan… it was a little too springy. But so good. Thanks for all the explanation on them!
Kristen,
Re. the veggie burger, I’ll do my best, and I’m so glad you tried the gums. Yes, sometimes they take a little experimentation, but when you hit that sweet spot, no smoothie or blender ice-cream will ever be the same again without the gums!