Developing recipes, formulating story concepts and writing about food accounts for a large chunk of my day-to-day at work. That’s not to say the less glamorous aspects don’t exist. Budgets, schedules and scouring recipes for errors and misplaced commas also take up a good chunk of my day. But let’s not focus on that right now. The point is, I’ve become very familiar with recipe structure and formatting over the past four years, since the beginning days when I was … Read More

Today’s No Fat Talk Tuesday post comes to us from Iradis. She wrote her No Fat Talk story and sent it my way over a month ago, and I’ve been excited to post it ever since. A frequent commenter on Espresso and Cream, I feel as if I know Iradis personally. Her story about learning how to love and appreciate her body is something I think we can all relate to. -Madison Honestly, it has taken me a long time … Read More

The ‘craziness’ I’ve been talking about has actually been a good sort of craziness. Last Friday night, Joe and I hopped a plane and headed down to Arizona for a little spring break vacation with Joe’s family. We rented a house in Scottsdale for the week, and although the weather was unseasonably cool for Arizona, we managed to have a wonderful time despite the cooler temps and rain. And yesterday finally cooperated with us by providing temps in the upper … Read More

We’re going to mix things up for today’s No Fat Talk Tuesday! Regular posts will resume next week, but for this week my blog-friend Natalie of Thoughts by Natalie is guest posting. I’ve talked about Natalie’s blog before, but I can’t say enough great things about it and Natalie’s perspective on true beauty. She brings an uplifting, unique perspective to the topic that I think all of us following No Fat Talk Tuesday can appreciate. – Madison I read a blog … Read More

Good morning and happy Friday, everyone! Do any of you have fun plans for this weekend? One of my favorite parts of the weekend is grocery shopping. Call me strange, but I could spend forever at the grocery store, browsing the isles and checking out the new and quirky products. I also love seeing inside the fridges of strangers. Maybe it’s a bit nosy on my part, but I can’t help but love it! Today, I’m spreading the fridge-peaking love … Read More

Today’s No Fat Talk Tuesday post comes to us from Amanda of the ever-informative food and fashion blog, Slow Like Honey. I’ve been following Amanda’s blog for over a year now and am constantly amazed with how she manages to blog while working her full-time job in fashion. This girl is superwoman or something. Thanks, Amanda, for being willing to share your story! -Madison  Looking back, I can pinpoint the minute I started fixating on my weight and it was … Read More

{Cupcakes from our pastor’s wife, Karen. They were amazing!} {Our nephew, Baylen, hanging out with Nutmeg.} {Nutmeg went on a lot of long, muddy walks, meaning she also took a lot of baths.} {Dedicated dog washer: Joe!} {Self-portrait, camera-style.} Although our weekend was, undoubtedly, a sad occasion, we did have some wonderful time with family over the past four days. We took countless walks with Nutmeg and my mom around the golf course, ate a lot of wonderful meals with … Read More

Before I say anything else, I want to thank all of you for your kindness and support during this bittersweet time for our family. Although I knew the community found though blogging was supportive, I can’t begin to describe how supported I felt by the community created on this site. Through Tweets, Facebook messages, e-mails and blog comments, you made your support known. Thank you! Funerals and visitations aren’t really picture-taking affairs, so I only have a couple photos from … Read More

On Monday morning after almost 91 years of life, my Grandma Dorothy passed away after suffering a stroke the week before. To say she was an amazing woman would be an understatement. An educated woman and teacher by trade, my grandma devoted much of her life to being a wife, raising her five children and managing life on the farm – which from what I’ve been told was packed with hard, physical work. Dorothy’s greatest joy was, without a doubt, … Read More

{The day I felt the most beautiful I ever have in my entire life. Although I must confess, I had one flair up where secretly I was grateful wedding dresses are traditionally long. Doh!} I have been looking forward to sharing Laura’s story with you ever since she offered be a part of No Fat Talk Tuesday. Laura was a dear friend of mine in college, and when I first met her I was blown away by her joyful spirit … Read More

Sometimes I hesitate to give you a recipe for a sandwich. I mean, who really needs a recipe for two slices of bread filled with whatever you have on hand in your pantry, right? Then again, everyone loves  Joey and I were eating lunch yesterday after cleaning the house for two hours(!!) (that man is a master at cleaning bathrooms) and the sandwich I was eating had Joe scratching his head. Broccoli? On a sandwich? I say why not! The … Read More

This morning I caught myself walking down memory lane by sifting through old pictures on Facebook. Man, there’s really no better way to feel like time is flying by than to look at old pictures, is there? I feel like just yesterday I was beginning sorority recruitment at Iowa State. Time sure does fly! Here are a few (very old) pictures for a little Friday fun.  {Senior year school play. I don’t remember much about the plot, other than I … Read More