Are you looking for some weekend updates? Find them below:

• Recap of Food Festival
• Thoughts on True Friendship
• I also got the next principle in the Intuitive Eating series up over the weekend. Check it out!

Since I know I like to take the time to skim through things I missed over the weekend (and I secretly hope you do too), I will leave you with an easy reading post this morning. A recipe adapted from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (adapted from Deceptively Delicious’ Chocolate Chip Cookies)

• 1c firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3/4c soft butter or margarine spread (I used Brummel & Brown with Yogurt)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 15oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 12 oz white chocolate chips
• 3/4c macadamia nuts
• 2 cups flour (I used a mix of all purpose and whole wheat pastry flours)
• 1/2 c old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and margarine together with a large spoon until smooth.

3. Beat in the two egg whites.

4. Use a food chopper to chop/grind the chickpeas until even consistency. Add the chickpeas, white chocolate chips, and nuts to the sugar/margarine combination and mix well.

5. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt and mix until a thick dough forms.

6. Drop the dough by the spoonful on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork. Be sure they are spread evenly about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes until a golden brown.

7. Cool and then either eat or store in an airtight container.

How were they? GREAT! When they first came out of the oven they were gooey and delicious. I’m actually sad that suddenly the next day they grossed me out and I couldn’t stomach them. That’s no fault of their own. Purely the joys of pregnancy and sudden food aversions. Peter is still eating them up though and I have to find another sweet treat for the week.

• What is the best “healthified” dessert you have ever made?
• White chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate? Bring me any and I will eat it!

How was everyone’s weekend? Ours was spent with some great friends. It was a fabulous time and just reminded me the signs of a true friendship. It also reminded me why the first trimester is typically the least enjoyable part of pregnancy, but I’ll reserve the glory of all those details for a future post…coming to your screens sometime this week. I would much rather recap the fun side of the weekend on a Sunday night.

We have to rewind back to Friday night. After Peter got home from work, we headed out to meet some of our best friends for dinner. This was the first time we’ve been able to go to dinner all together since the birth of their beautiful daughter 2 months ago. (Happy 2 month birthday C!) Things have been a bit of a rough start for them since C was born 6 weeks early, so now that things are a bit more stable they were excited to get out for awhile. I know the feeling! I was glad we got to be a part of it.

We went to the restaurant Olde Towne Tavern in a local area with shops, parks, grassy areas for play, water fountains, etc.

We spent about two hours there talking, catching up, and enjoying the good food. Makenzie made new friends with a little boy at the next table over and C slept like an angel. It was a good dinner. And the food definitely helped it out. I ordered a baked crab cake sandwich with sweet potato fries and had a garlic roll from the table’s basket. It was as good as it sounds.

Once we overstayed our welcome at the restaurant, we headed out into the night to go feed baby C and let Makenzie blow off some energy. She wanted in on a game of frisbee, but had to settle for being cute dancing around the grass.

The night didn’t end there. We had to top off the night by trying out some Rita’s frozen custard. I got the twist (chocolate & vanilla) with caramel sauce. Heaven.

It was really rich though. I couldn’t even finish it. But all in the name of intuitive eating. No reason to overstuff myself too much. It was time to say goodbye after that. I already can’t wait to spend time with them again.

Saturday night was spent in a similar fashion by hanging out with more of our close friends. We headed over to their house in the afternoon for the men to take the kiddos to the park while us ladies went to Costco to pick up some food for our trip to the cabin Memorial Day weekend.

We also picked up a pizza and some salad from Buckhead Pizza on our way back to the house. I had a small serving of salad and 1.5 of the super large slices. The pizza had spinach, mushrooms, onions, olives, pepperoni, and sausage on a whole wheat crust. It was goooood. Especially since carby, salty things sound amazing right now.

We had an enjoyable night in with great pizza, watching our girls play together, and then playing Taboo after they went to bed. Another perfect evening and we get to have more like it next weekend when we go out of town with them.

This entire weekend verified to me the thoughts I was having last weekend about friendships. As we get older and move into new phases in our lives it is normal for the friendships we used to count as our closest to change. My friend who is getting married is one of my oldest friends and I can't imagine not having her friendship. But I can’t deny that other friendships in my life fulfill me in ways hers can’t. Many of who I would consider my closest friends right now are friends I have much more in common with. Friends I go to church with, who also have children, or who share similar passions as me. I look forward to talking to and seeing these people on a regular basis. When I don’t see them for over a week I actively miss them. I can reach out to them, asking for prayers and knowing that they hurt for me the same way I ache for them when they are facing troubles. I feel so blessed for the numerous friendships I have already and the ones I know are going to grow by leaps and bounds (<---Emily!) I don’t plan on losing my old friendship, but I know I must accept the fact it is changing as we revolve in different circles and travel down different paths.

I have learned one important lesson through the many changing friendships I have had in life. The ones who count are the ones who stick with you for the long haul, through the easy and the hard. In that way, no one can compare to my friend “N”. I love her and will work hard to keep our friendship running deep like my others. You can never have too many true friendships, right? I sure hope not. I love being surrounded with friends…old and new.

• What was the best part of your weekend?
• Favorite pizza toppings?
• What do you think is the most important factor in a solid friendship?