Get the Scoop on Hudsonville Dairy Free Ice Cream

Grab a spoon, because Hudsonville Ice Cream just released seven dairy-free vegan pints of ice cream just in time for summer.

If you don’t already know Hudsonville is a made in Michigan brand, and is also my personal favorite ice cream company (shoutout to orange pineapple). Hudsonville always makes sure that they do things right and that’s why they spent two years refining their non-dairy recipe.

Hudsonville recently released seven vegan-friendly pints that can be found in a freezer section near you. Each of the seven flavors is made with a combination of coconut cream and oat milk. The seven flavors include: Birthday Cake, Caramel Cookie Dough, Cherry Fudge, Chocolate, Mint Fudge Cookie, Peanut Butter Truffle and S’mores.


Make you sure you make a stop in the freezer section the next time you’re at your local Meijer, to check out Hudsonville’s lineup of dairy-free ice cream. These vegan pints will be available in all 240 Meijer stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. 

I recently gave each of the seven flavors a try and here’s the scoop on Hudsonville’s Dairy-Free Ice Cream line….


Birthday Cake is blue colored ice cream with some sprinkles in it. As someone who always goes for birthday cake flavored things and loves vanilla ice cream with sprinkles I felt this flavor missed the mark. This ice cream reminded me more of maraschino cherries than Birthday Cake. This was a flavor I wanted to love, and just couldn’t.

Caramel Cookie Dough has a light hint of coconut with a delicious caramel twist. I really enjoyed the flavor of this ice cream, and especially enjoyed the delicious pieces of cookie dough throughout.

Cherry Fudge taste just like Michigan cherries, which makes me think that they used Michigan cherries in it since they have such a distinctive flavor. Cherry Fudge is very close in taste to traditional Traverse City Cherry Ice Cream….yum. I could not taste the coconut cream in this flavor.

Chocolate, I wanted to like this one however I found the coconut cream flavor to be very overpowering. This ice cream tastes more like a coconut ice cream with a slight chocolate taste. Like the Birthday Cake ice cream, I definitely felt like the chocolate missed the mark.

Mint Fudge Cookie has a delicious mint flavor, and resembles original mint chocolate ice cream almost exactly. The flavor profiles of this one were so spot on it make me want to made vegan cookies and use the Mint Fudge Cookie Ice Cream as a delicious filling.

Peanut Butter Truffle is one of my favorite flavors in this line of dairy-free flavors. This ice cream you can’t taste the coconut flavor at all which made me enjoy it more. Definitely has a delicious chocolate and peanut butter flavor. If you love peanut butter and chocolate you’re going to love this one.

S’mores are a a summertime favorite, and are now in the form of vegan ice cream. This flavor is one you’ll wanted to get excited about as it is filled with everything you would expect of a s’more – delicious pieces of graham cracker, chocolate flavor with a slight hint of coconut, and light marshmallow swirl. Personally I would like a little more marshmallow, but overall it was delicious and will definitely be a summertime staple at my house.

Overall I think Hudsonville did an amazing job with these non-dairy vegan flavors. Some of the flavors have a stronger coconut taste than others, so if you are not a coconut fan you may not love some of these releases. Out of all the seven flavors Chocolate and Birthday Cake were my least favorite, however I was a huge fan of the other five flavors of the group with Peanut Butter Truffle and Caramel Cookie Dough being my favorite. Have you tried any of these flavors yet? If so what are your thoughts?

The Secret Life of Pets 2 – In Theaters June 7

photo from The Secret Life of Pets 2 Facebook page

You\’ve all seen my dog Jack, crazy energy, doesn\’t ever stop, has an obsession with his ball… the list goes on. As a pet owner, I always wonder what Jack does when I am not home. Sometimes with how tired he is when I get home, I feel like he\’s been partying like the characters in the first Secret Life of Pets. To be honest, I wanted to know what Jack was up to while I was away at work, and that is when I decided to get a Furbo Pet Camera and let me tell you when I leave he HOWLS. Literally howls until he no longer has a voice anymore, I had no idea he even knew how to do that! I haven\’t seen him off on adventures yet, but I am sure that\’s on his agenda. The Secret Life of Pets 2 that comes out this Friday, June 7 – and I am so excited to see what adventure Max, Snowball and Gidget get into this time!

Illumination’s tenth feature, The Secret Life of Pets 2, is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2016 comedic blockbuster that had the biggest opening weekend ever for an original film, animated or otherwise.
Packed with Illumination’s signature irreverence and subversive humor, this new chapter explores the emotional lives of our pets, the deep bond between them and the families that love them, and answers the question that has long intrigued every pet owner: What are your pets really doing when you’re not at home?
Terrier Max (Patton Oswalt) is coping with some major life changes. His owner (Ellie Kemper) is now married and has a toddler, Liam. Max is so worried about protecting the boy that he develops a nervous tic. On a family trip to a farm, Max and mutt Duke (Eric Stonestreet) encounter canine-intolerant cows, hostile foxes, and a terrifying turkey, all of which only elevates Max’s anxiety. Luckily, Max gets some guidance from veteran farm dog Rooster (Harrison Ford, making his animated-film debut), who pushes Max to ditch his neuroses, find his inner alpha, and give Liam a little more freedom.
Meanwhile, while her owner is away, plucky Pomeranian Gidget (Jenny Slate) tries to rescue Max’s favorite toy from a cat-packed apartment with a little help from her feline friend, Chloe (Lake Bell), who has discovered the joys of catnip.
And crazy-but-cute bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart) gets delusions of grandeur that he’s an actual superhero after his owner Molly starts dressing him in superhero pajamas. But when Daisy (Tiffany Haddish), a fearless Shih Tzu, shows up to ask for Snowball’s help on a dangerous mission, he’ll have to summon the courage to become the hero he’s only been pretending to be.

Can Max, Snowball, Gidget and the rest of the gang find the inner courage to face their biggest fears?

Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! Engines roared, and all attention was on the city of Detroit when the Grand Prix came to town this weekend. Racers and fans from all over headed to beautiful Belle Isle for the race. Belle Isle is one of my favorite places to visit and bike around – if you’ve never been I highly recommend visiting. As someone who loves cars, and anything fast I have to admit I have never attended the Grand Prix before, however this year thanks to Cadillac I was able to attend the Detroit Grand Prix and the island in a whole new light. The Detroit Grand Prix brings so much more than just some of the best racers in the world, it brings a fun time for the whole family and race lovers of all ages. This event allows you to walk through Pit Row and get face to face with the drivers and vehicles that rush past you, there is even opportunity to get their autographs.

This year the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear is celebrating its 30th Grand Prix event in Detroit’s history – how cool is that! The Meijer Fan Zone featured plenty of family fun as well as a Heritage Exhibit where you could check out historic vehicles and artifacts that commemorate the history of the race in Detroit.

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix started on the streets of Detroit in 1982 as an event that featured the International Formula One racing series. That year Detroit joined Long Beach and Las Vegas Grand Prix as events in the United States that year, which marked the first time that one country hosted more than two Formula One races in a season. During the seven years that Formula One races took places in the streets of downtown Detroit the race featured five different winners including legendary driver Ayrton Senna who won the final three races from 1986-1988. In 1992, the Detroit Grand Prix transitioned to the temporary street circuit on Belle Isle, and just as it is today the event became the first race on the CART schedule after the Indianapolis 500.
 Many legendary IndyCar drivers have competed at the Detroit Grand Prix and won including Dario Franchitti, Alex Zanardi and Helio Castroneves. This annual event continued on Belle Isle through 2001, after that an agreement between the local promoter and CART could not be reached – which resulted in Detroit not hosting the Grand Prix for SIX years. In 2006 Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL, and that’s when the revival of the Grand Prix in Detroit came to life. In 2007 the Grand Prix was back in the Motor City, however in 2009 the economic recession forced Detroit to say goodbye to the Grand Prix from 2009-2011, but thanks to the support of General Motors with Chevrolet coming on board as the title sponsor the Grand Prix returned to Detroit in 2012 better than ever. Each year Detroit works to host a bigger and better Grand Prix and this year definitely proved it. Detroit definitely did an amazing job hosting the Grand Prix for the 30th time.

If you’ve never been to the Detroit Grand Prix I highly recommend going. The Grand Prix gives you a chance to watch your favorites go racing past you, see their cars close up, learn about the companies that represent them, see some awesome cars, get some great food, listen to good music at night, hang out in the fan zone and more.

Have you ever been to the Detroit Grand Prix before?

Cadillac Teases Future of V-Series

{pictures courtesy of Cadillac, video is my own.}

Cadillac teases two new V-Series prototypes at the Detroit Grand Prix and I think I am in love. Yesterday, I had the honor of attending the Detroit Grand Prix as Cadillac\’s guest, and we were all pumped to watch the V-Series prototypes go for a spin around the road course at Detroit\’s Belle Isle. The camouflaged versions of what are likely 2021 or 2022 models of new track-ready CT4-V and CT5-V sport sedans looked and sounded like the kind of sedan V-series fans and owners have come to expect. The CT4-based sedan is wearing the blue camouflage and joined a red-hued CT5-based prototype on the track. Cadillac is definitely is keeping quiet with all the details of these with all the hot rides, by simply saying these two vehicles \”represent the next step in Cadillac\’s V-Series performance legacy.\” So looks like we\’ll have to wait, in the meantime checkout my video of the cars heading around the track.

Alphabet Dating: Summer Date Ideas From A-Z

Do you ever feel like you’re stuck going on the same date over and over? Coming up with dating ideas can get downright annoying – “what do you want to do?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” – ugh! That’s when the idea of alphabet dating came to mind. Below you will find 60, yes 60 dates in alphabetical order that will help you beat the “what should we do?” funk. Without further ado here is my A to Z summer date ideas list for you to give a try. Let me know if you think I should add anything to this list.

A – Aquarium

B – Beach, Bike Ride, Backyard BBQ, Backyard Movie Night, Bonfire, Baseball Game, Boat Ride, Batting Cages

C – Camping, Convertible, Carnival

D – Driving Range, Downtown

E – Explore a New City

F – Farmer’s Market, Fishing, Frisbee Golf

G – Go-Karts, Garden

H – Hiking, Hammock Hangout, Hot Air Balloon Ride

I – Ice Cream

J – Jeepin’

K – Kayak

L – Live Show

M – Mini Golf

N – National Park, Nerf Gun War, New Restaurant

O – Outdoor Movie, Outdoor Concert, Off-Roading

P – Picnic, Progressive Dinner

Q – Quadruple Date

R – RZR Ride, RV Getaway, Roller Blading

S – Stand Up Paddleboard, S’mores, Stargazing, Sunsets, Skydiving

T – Tubing, Theme Park, Tennis

U – Unplug

V – Vineyard Tour, Volleyball

W – Water Balloon Fight, Waterpark, Walking Tour

X – eXplore, eXhibits 

Y – Yoga, Yard Sales

Z – Zipline, Zoo