Kitchen House Surprises and Delights

Last summer I heard the stirrings of a new restaurant in Richland. I heard the news from my hair dresser who works in a small strip mall in town. The Kitchen House would open soon a couple of doors down in the mall. I have to confess, in my mind that is not the location I expect to find a nice restaurant with great food. BOY WAS I WRONG!

Sarah had suggested the new restaurant as she had heard good reviews. Unfortunately, she was unable to join us as she cared for her husband who was recovering from a recent illness. The drive from the lake shore at night is dangerous with deer darting across roads so we all understand that Elizabeth will join us on occasion, but not as regularly. Anna made it to Florida and will enjoy the winter there with family.

Kitchen House advertises that it is locally focused and Italian inspired, serving up rustic American food that celebrates Michigan and the culture of breaking bread. The menu has a variety of appetizers followed by a number of bowl and main course options. The portions are generous to share with a friend. 

The Kitchen House won an area poll in search for Michigan’s best Mac and Cheese earning 24 percent of the votes with a mascarpone mac and cheese. Reservations are a must. The place is bustling with excitement of friends meeting to eat a meal and share life!

The night we met, Miriam and I shared the chicken and mushroom pasta penne bowl while Rebecca had a grilled Caesar salad bowl. The servings were very generous. Scrumptious only begins to describe the meal! Sharing a meal is a bonus to what really takes place at our gatherings. We share life and God is present and God is praised!

Matthew 18:20 New Living Translation (NLT)

20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Love and blessings,

Ruth

Breaking Bread at the New Aubree's

At our last meeting, "Girlfriends Breaking Bread" tried a new restaurant called Aubree's Pizza and Grill on Gull Road. This is the 9th and newest location for this group of restaurants that started out in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1972. 

The restaurant was extremely busy and after a bit of a wait, we were seated and our experienced waitress started us off with some beverages and a tour of the menu pointing out her favorites.

After some deliberation, we place our orders. Among entrees chosen were Mac 'n Cheese, B.A.T. (Bacon, Avocado, Tomato sandwich), fish tacos, salads and pizza. The food was delivered pretty quickly, considering the newness and business of the restaurant, and looked and tasted great!

I really enjoyed my shaved brussels sprout and kale salad, which included quinoa, grape tomatoes and feta cheese, tossed in a light lemon-dill vinaigrette.

Our service started out fine, but as time went on our server was so busy and pretty overwhelmed. We all felt bad for her as some customers were not very happy and didn't mind letting her know!
 
 
After finishing our entrees, we celebrated Anna's birthday and caught up with her plans as she prepares to head to Florida for the winter. The cupcakes from D&W were yummy and adorned with these cute fall rings!



All the girls were able to make it to this dinner, even Elisabeth, who drove in from South Haven!

As usual, we all shared news of our families and had lots of laughs.

It was a great night of friendship. I can't wait until our next meeting. 

Happy fall!

Rebbecca

Out of the Wilderness

Much like the Israelite’s journey through the wilderness, I find myself in the wilderness these days.

In our never-ending quest for sanctification, God leads us through the wilderness on our way to our destination. I have some tough lessons to learn and I am learning a lot about myself. It’s not all bad though. I think that God takes us through the wilderness to protect us from what would be much worse if we went in the direction that we chose ourselves. I am finally learning to relinquish control, I am learning to recognize my many blessings and I am learning to find peace in the middle of chaos. Sometimes it is in the midst of the wilderness that we see and hear God the clearest. He uses our wilderness to draw us closer and sometimes takes us to a place where our only choice is to depend on him.

I think we all find ourselves in the wilderness from time to time. It is exhausting. But – we have a good God!! While on the journey through our personal wilderness, God never makes us go too far without finding an oasis – a moment of peace and rest. Time to refresh!!

A few weeks back He led me to a perfect oasis – dinner with my Christian sisters! What a perfect opportunity to be refreshed! We met in the tiny village of Augusta, close to where we all live, at a relatively new restaurant called Canal Street Café. As we each pulled into the parking lot that Wednesday evening, we all thought that the café would be as packed as the parking lot but were pleasantly surprised to see some empty tables when we walked in. 

The Canal Street Café claims ‘farm fresh’ and has a small but interesting menu with a nearly equal number of nightly specials. Atmosphere and service were good. We all enjoyed our meals and a few of us also enjoyed a glass of wine.

Elisabeth has recently relocated to South Haven and couldn’t make it in to Augusta for dinner with us. We missed her but we know that she loves her new digs and promises to continue to join us now and then. Miriam, Ruth, Anna and I were joined by Rebbecca, a mutual friend that we have known for a long time. She slid into her chair, beamed with a big smile and instantly fit into the group. We look forward to spending more time with her. What a blessing!

The conversation was much like the others we’ve had – never anything earth-shaking but always heart-warming. It was a pleasant rest along the road through my wilderness. Thank you, girlfriends! I am refreshed, renewed and ready to continue my journey.

Pricilla Shirer in her study entitled ‘One in a Million’ says this: ‘We must synchronize our primary purposes with God’s. No matter how well-prepared we think we are, we must realize that we can neither accomplish abundant life with God nor overcome the Enemy’s advances without the Lord’s help. While we often want the easiest and least challenging route to abundant life in Christ, we must acknowledge that God wants to take us on the path that fosters a deeper relationship with Him. He wants us to lay aside our determination to do life our way and follow Him. Only when we do this can we truly become ready to face what lies ahead.’

Let’s prepare for what lies ahead, Ladies! 

Blessings until next time,

Sarah

An Eventful Couple of Years!

Hello, loyal blog readers. Elisabeth here, reporting in on what has been quite an eventful couple of years! 

First, my husband and I bought a condo in South Haven, which is situated right along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline, about one hour west of Richland. Soon after, I retired from a lifelong career with a Kalamazoo company and within a few months, we sold our home near Richland and moved to South Haven full time. Whew!

You may have noticed that I've missed the last few Girlfriend's dinners and now you know why!

I'm happy to report that after all these changes, my husband and I are doing great and loving the peaceful atmosphere along the lake shore and the slower pace of life.  

Everyone is happy here, and people actually talk to each other face to face, or greet each other on the street - even complete strangers!  It's so refreshing.  

I've met some wonderful, funny, intriguing ladies in South Haven through a golf league at a local course. They have been an organized league for over 50 years, if you can imagine that!  Within the league there is a great diversity of age, socioeconomic background, locals, seasonals, and all levels of golf expertise.  They have readily accepted me into their club, and now I actually see some around town and I'm really enjoying getting to know them better.  

I've been delegated the official golf league photographer and I'm having fun with that.  Additionally, I'm officially launching my photography business in the next month and working on my portfolio. (That's one of my shots above.) I love the creativity and being able to capture special moments on film.  

Hubby is thinking about working part time this winter/spring at the local Menard's a few hours a week to get to know some of the local guys and earn a little extra fun money! Not sure what the winter will bring for us, but we are keeping our options open and may travel south, hoping to find some warm weather, at least for a few weeks.

Although dinners in Richland will be difficult to make this winter as the days get shorter and the deer more active, I do miss my Christian girlfriends. I'm hoping to schedule some lunch or coffee times with these dear ladies who have supported me through all my BIG life changes!

I am blessed!

Elisabeth

Talking Trio

On a beautiful evening, a bit too warm to sit outside, Miriam, Sarah and I met at the Mission Pointe restaurant for our once monthly girl’s night out. We were small in numbers, but mighty in support of each other while discussing our latest updates on parents, work issues, and family trials. It seemed as though each of us had experienced a trying week and it is always so refreshing to know great Christian friends are there for you praying for you daily.

Mission Pointe is a nice setting and we were directed to an inside table near the fireplace. It becomes excitedly loud as the evening progresses and seating is reaching capacity. We chatted over chips and house made garlic dip while deciding on our meals. Miriam and I ordered Tilapia in a Mediterranean sauce while Sarah chose the Chicken Cobb salad.

The food is fairly tasty, although we all remarked that it was never outstanding and we were not overwhelmed with praise for the chef’s mediocre presentation. 

Miriam is soon to be going on a journey of a lifetime in Europe and we excitedly listened to her plans. Sarah updated us on the condition of her family members injured in a horrible auto accident; we are continuing to lift them up in prayer. We all remarked how we missed seeing Elizabeth regularly, but we are thrilled for her in her new adventure in her life! Ruth is traveling and doing some family visits this week and we all certainly know how precious time is with Grandchildren. We miss the other half of our group as always when they are not with us.

Miriam had kindly brought yummy cupcakes to celebrate Sarah’s birthday, and we devoured them as desert. Of course they were chocolate! It was great to celebrate with Sarah her special day- even our server got into the action, and we offered her a cupcake for later.

We decided upon the next date and location for our meeting and really look forward to having the group together again. It is our prayer that everyone enjoys the remaining few weeks of sunshine and warm summer days as cooler fall ones are around the corner.

Blessings to all until we meet again,

Anna

Mad Dogs and Englishmen?

It was an overcast, somewhat chilly evening in July when the girlfriends last met for dinner and a chat. Our dining choice was the North End Deli and Spirits, located just across from the boat launch on beautiful Gull Lake.

The NEDs location used to be a convenience store, in and out of business over the years, but sometime in the last couple, it morphed into a lively little restaurant featuring grinders and pizza with BBQ on Sundays.  NEDs does a big take out business and will deliver your meal right to the boat landing as well! 

Bicyclists doing the loop around Gull Lake stop here to refuel their bodies or wet their whistle - over 100 flavors of bottled beer lay in wait in the long wall of coolers. Shermans ice cream, offered in a couple dozen flavors, also makes NEDs a destination for the sweet-toothed crowd.

We arrived at 6:00pm and they were already busy and continued to bustle as we dined. Some of that business on a sleepy Wednesday evening was no doubt related to the upcoming Mad Dogs and Englishmen Car Faire at the world famous Gilmore Car Museum. This 90 acre historic campus is said to feature over 300 vintage cars, motorcycles and memories and on the upcoming weekend it was to be invaded by hundreds of British made vehicles, some offered for sale or swap.

Tonight, we were missing Elisabeth, who was in the final hours of preparing her home to turn over to new owners - a bitter/sweet day for our dear sister in Christ.

Cheeseburger and Tater Tots

After a quick menu perusal, we settled on grinders and burgers to quiet our tummies and the conversation began to roar.  

Mediterranean Chicken Grinder

Topics were widely-arrayed. Job concerns, aging parents, summer fun, retirement joy, upcoming trips, grandchildren and pets all found their way into the conversation. 

We prayed together for the concerns on our hearts and found comfort in God's presence.  ("For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20)

We laughed, cajoled and carried on like a bunch of school girls for a couple of hours, then feeling loved and blessed, we gathered our belongings and headed home. 

As I drove away, I thanked God for the gift of friendship and these amazing women who choose to be my sisters in Christ. 

May you be blessed with the gift of good friends, 

Miriam

Sittin at the Dock on the Bay

Warm sunshine blessed us as we gathered at the Dock for dinner. It was so wonderful to have our whole group back together and “catching up” was the first order of business. 

Conversation always flows freely with the common topics of family, activities we have been involved in, and the usual concerns and stresses with work. Everyone seemed so happy to see better weather and spirits were raised immensely. 

Shrimp Basket for me and Elisabeth

We ordered drinks and meals.

French Dip for Ruth

Fish Sandwich for Miriam

Grilled Chicken Breast Salad for Sarah

 





All meals were acceptable and tasty, but the central focus is meeting with friends and fellowship with Christian women. It is refreshing and renewing for all of us to know we are being lifted up in prayer especially during our most trying times. Prayers are being answered; we all feel stronger in unity with one another.

Proverbs 27:9
The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. (NLT)

"When we consider the blessings of God—the gifts that add beauty and joy to our lives, that enable us to keep going through stretches of boredom and even suffering - friendship is very near the top."—Donald W. McCullough, Mastering Personal Growth

With the reassurance that we have wise counsel in the company of friends, each one of us leaves renewed and better equipped to face what lies ahead. Praise God for friends! 

Summer begins soon and life just seems easier. If we get through the rainy season without having to float a boat, we will all be blessed! 

Looking forward to our next adventure in July, 

Anna