When hello there and happy Friday!

It’s been almost a year since I’ve written a Friday Five, which hardly seems possible. If you’re new here, Friday Five is where I step away from recipes for a moment to share five things from real life lately.

Over the years, these posts have given me the opportunity to share parts of my life that don’t always fit in-between easy chicken dinners and chocolate desserts! I’ve missed these posts, and missed sitting down to write like we’re catching up over coffee or having a FaceTime conversation.

So, grab a cup of something good. We have lots to catch up on!

1. Life Lately – the Gift of Ordinary

The last time I wrote one of these, Miles had recently finished chemotherapy. I remember feeling so much relief and gratitude, but I also knew that everything wouldn’t immediately return to normal. Major life changes and challenges can take time to recover from, and boy, was that the case here!

Over the last year, especially the last month, life has gradually started to feel more ordinary again, with the usual sprinkle of chaos.

It would take all day to catch you up on the entire year, but here are a few highlights of normalcy lately:

• Miles turned 12 and started sixth grade. Sixth grade! How did that happen? Wasn’t he just a little baby? Now I’ve got a full-blown middle schooler. Our mornings are filled with alarms, reminders, breakfast, making sure ALLL the things are packed in the backpack.

• Costco Midwest Golf Classic: we attended this event benefiting Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and it was such a fun day filled with incredible people and raising money for a wonderful cause!
• Pool days, time with friends, a trip to Six Flags Great America, and our annual Michigan trip. Ahhh sweet summer!
• I’ve spent as much time as possible on the patio watching the hummingbirds visit the feeder. They are simply the best and always one of the best parts of my day! Do you see the one here?



• I watched episodes of Ted Lasso and Abbott Elementary. Both have short episodes and the perfect combination of humor and a cute storyline. If you have any other lighthearted shows to recommend, send it my way!
• My comfort meal: a snack plate lunch. Cheese, crackers, veggies, turkey, fruit. A snack plate lunch is my favorite kind of lunch!

2. Finding My Way Back Here…

Another big part of this season has been finding my way back to work. CenterCutCook has been part of my life since 2011, which means it turns 15 in December! I know some of you have been around since the beginning. Can you even believe it?

When I started sharing recipes online, I never could have imagined how much this little corner of the internet would grow or how many people it would reach. I also underestimated how much the entire concept of sharing recipes online would change.

For many years, most readers discovered my recipes through a Google search or while scrolling through Facebook. Today, search engines and social media are increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence — from the content appearing in our feeds to the answers displayed before we ever click through to a website. There is more AI generated content competing for our attention than ever before.

It has become harder for independent creators like myself to know whether the recipes and stories we share will actually reach the people who want to see them.

Don’t get me wrong, I use new technology in my work too, and AI can be helpful. But, it can’t replace the real people behind the recipes and the real people looking for dependable, tried-and-true recipes to make for their families.

Thank you for being here!

That’s why this community matters to me more than ever.

When you visit CenterCutCook, make a recipe, leave a star rating in the recipe card, write a comment, share a post, or send me an email, you remind me that there are real people on the other side of the screen. After 15 years, the connection with all of you is still my favorite part of what I do.

This feels like a good time to remind you that CenterCutCook has a free email newsletter. Subscribing is the most reliable way to make sure we stay connected without depending on Google or Facebook to decide what you see. I’ll send you my latest recipes, along with useful tips, tricks, and ideas to make mealtime a little easier.

Thank you for being here, for supporting a real person behind these recipes, and for being part of this community. It means more now than it ever has!

As I consider how I can better serve you with the recipes that I share, I have a few questions:

1. Which older CenterCutCook recipes are you still making and loving?
2. What kinds of recipes would make your life easier?
3. Have you subscribed to my newsletter? You can do that here!

3. Learning Something New

After spending time out on beautiful golf courses over the years for hospital fundraisers, I decided I wanted to learn how to golf. I knew nothing about it, and up until my first visit to TopGolf a few years ago, had never even swung a golf club.

I consider myself a fairly competitive person and most sports have come pretty easily to me… except golf!

As it turns out, golf is an incredibly hard sport (for me!), and apparently hitting the ball is only half the challenge! The other half is learning approximately 147 rules of etiquette! 🙃 I digress…

It’s been fun to learn something new, and slowly acquire clubs from the secondhand sports store, although, as a woman and a lefty, the selection is slim.

I just ordered my first golf bag and can’t wait for it to arrive. I think my next purchase will be a cute green and white checkered golf towel. Maybe something like this one? It’s classic!

I’m still working on my swing, and I could really use a lesson, but I am having fun being a beginner and learning something new.

4. Love, Life and Adventures…

Life with my boyfriend/partner/person continues to be one of the best parts of this chapter.

If you’ve read my previous Friday Five posts, you might remember when I first started writing about dating at 40. After losing my late husband and spending years focused on raising Miles, putting myself out there felt terrifying. I had never dated as an adult, and the entire world of apps, profiles, swiping and first dates was SO foreign.

Thankfully it was all worth it.

There was a time I couldn’t even imagine this chapter and I didn’t know if I would ever want to date again.

I have loved having someone to experience new adventures with. We just spent a few fun days in Nashville, but even more than that, I appreciate having someone to share the ordinary parts of life with. The everyday conversations, running to the grocery store together, sitting out on the patio laughing about something only the two of us would understand and find funny, and the companionship.

The new adventures and fun dates are great, but the everyday parts of life with him are what I value and appreciate the most.

Allowing my heart to expand and find love after loss has been a beautiful life lesson. The heart really does expand and it’s simply beautiful.

Back to Nashville – It was so nice to step away from mom-life for a couple of days and explore Nashville. It was SO hot, but that didn’t stop us from getting out and about and having a great time eating delicious food and listening to wonderful live music!

5. What I’m looking forward to…

• Cooler mornings while continuing to hope that the humming birds stick around for a while longer!
• Football season – I’ll be cheering for my Chicago Bears, and Iowa State Cyclones of course!
• Chili, soup –especially this one, and slow cooker dinners!
• All things pumpkin, apple, and cinnamon!
• Getting back into a consistent work routine
• Continuing to make room for fun!

I have several projects I am excited about for CenterCutCook, including new recipes to make weeknight dinners a little easier. I’ve also been digging into the archives to refresh older recipes that deserve a little love and attention.

That’s my five for this month! Now I’d love to hear from you:

What has changed in your life over the past year and what is bringing you joy right now? Leave a comment or send an email. I truly love hearing from you!

Have a great weekend!

❤️Ashley