About Me

Welcome to With a Side of Hope!  My name is Hope and I am 28 years old.  I live in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia with my husband, Michael.  I graduated from college in 2006 with a Bachelors Degree in Communications and a minor in Theater.  I am also a certified Wedding Planner.

Mike and I got engaged on March 24th, 2011 (the night before my birthday!).  We just got married on August 17th, 2012!  We are happy newlyweds.  We were planning on a Disney fairytale wedding which was my dream wedding but we just were not able to pull it off.  We are hoping in the future to possibly have a vow renewal there or celebrate our first wedding anniversary there.

I absolutely love everything about cooking.  I am obsessed with the Food Network and have met Rachael Ray, Giada DeLaurentiis, Robert Irvine, Anne Burrell, Bethenny Frankel, Teresa Giduice, Walter Staib, David Burke, Geoffrey Zakarian, Katie Lee Joel, Wolfgang Puck and Ellie Krieger.  I am always researching new healthy recipes to try.  I also love trying out new restaurants.  I have a strong obsession with Disney World.  I have been there several times and always want to go back.  My favorite place to stay is the Polynesian Resort.  I cannot get enough of it!  I have been singing and acting my entire life and I would like to get back into that at some point, but for now my big interest is cooking and trying new restaurants.  I am extremely close with my family.  So I will most likely be talking about my family members a lot on this blog.  I am starting this blog as a way to organize my thoughts, share my healthy cooking adventures as well as share my new restaurant and product finds!  I am very excited to become a part of the food blogging community.  I am always ready to make new friends, so feel free to contact me!  :)

People Mentioned Often:

Michael

Mike and I have been together for 6 and a half years.  We got engaged on March 24th, 2011 (day before my birthday).  We started dating on November 18th, 2005.  We met in college and have been together ever since.  I truly believe that he is my soulmate.  We have been living together for three years and it’s been great.  I couldn’t ask for a better husband.  He is my everything.  We just got married on August 17th, 2012.

Melissa

Melissa is my younger sister.  She is 24 and lives with my mom and our family dog, Oliver.  Melissa is not only my sister but my best friend.  I am so incredibly blessed to have a sister who is my best friend.  She is such an amazing person.  I spend a lot of time with her and we talk constantly.  You can find me constantly texting her or calling her.  She is amazing.

My Mom

My mom is also one of my best friends.  She has such a good heart.  Our family has been through a lot recently and my mom has been so incredibly strong through everything.  I am so blessed to have such a great mom.

Oliver

Oliver is our family Bichon Frise.  He is 10 years old and still acts like a puppy!  He is very hyper and high-strung but we love him anyway!

31 Responses

  1. Stephanie, on August 17, 2010 at 6:04 pm said:

    Hey girl, welcome to the blog world! Sounds like you and I have very similar foodie interests and I can’t believe you met all those foodie stars – so cool!!!!!!!! Look forward to reading more :)

    Reply
  2. TheHealthyApron, on September 16, 2010 at 2:42 pm said:

    That is awesome that you are a wedding planner! How fun!!

    I too, love all things Disney!! Maybe it’s the dream of becoming a disney princess?? lol

    Reply
  3. Kace, on November 15, 2010 at 5:11 pm said:

    Hey, this is kinda crazy! I’m also from the ‘burbs of Philly, I am also obsessed with Disney (and my fam always stayed at the Polynesian when I was little!) and I always wanted to be a wedding planner but changed to teaching figuring it’d be less stressful (ha!) anyway wow… too funny!

    Reply
  4. fittingbackin, on November 30, 2010 at 2:05 pm said:

    Great ‘about me’! Love the people frequently posted about! I’ve randomly become EXTREMELY into food myself- not so much with restaurants but I LOVE cooking!

    Reply
  5. Shari, on December 30, 2010 at 12:17 pm said:

    Hi!

    I found your blog via Caitlin’s and had to comment when I saw how much we have in common – I’m also from the Phila. suburbs and graduated in 2005 with a Communications degree. Too funny a coincidence!

    Looking forward to reading your blog :-)

    Reply
  6. Natalie, on January 3, 2011 at 8:25 am said:

    Stumbled across your blog via kacy at low and behold and glad i did! I’m on the other side of the state and definitely look forward to reading more on your blog!

    Reply
  7. blissfulhope, on January 3, 2011 at 11:40 am said:

    Hey! I just came across your blog and I love it! I live in Philly too so I’ll be sure to check back for updates with restaurants and recipes!! Xoxo Maria

    Reply
  8. Ellie, on January 25, 2011 at 1:25 pm said:

    Hi Hope! Great blog title! :D Nice to meet you, and hope to see/hear more of you~ I just started blogging too, and I hope I get to meet Ellie KRIEGER someday as well! hehe. HOPE you have a blessed day and take care~

    Reply
  9. Jenna's Journey, on February 7, 2011 at 1:09 pm said:

    hey hope! i dunno if you checked out my blog yet but i would love it if you did :) i LOVE yours, can’t wait to keep reading!
    jenna

    Reply
  10. Krissie J, on March 1, 2011 at 11:10 am said:

    I live in the burbs outside of Philly, too! Definitely adding you to my blogroll! :D PS – your pup is ADORABLE!

    Reply
  11. lookingupwhileslimmingdown, on April 10, 2011 at 12:09 pm said:

    I came across your blog via the Healthy Living Blog site. Looks fun and look forward to reading more. Love all your recipes, too! I grew up in the Lehigh Valley…not too far from Philly. :) Feel free to stop by my blog sometime!

    Reply
  12. Time to toot. | Fervent Foodie's Blog :D, on July 29, 2011 at 9:29 pm said:

    [...] Hope from With a Side of Hope [...]

    Reply
  13. Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance, on August 22, 2011 at 8:12 am said:

    So glad that I found your blog through Caits :) You seem to have a great mindset and attitude towards life and I look forward to reading

    Reply
  14. Kiah, on September 14, 2011 at 12:08 pm said:

    Congrats on the engagement! I just celebrated my first wedding anniversary, but still look through my wedding pics all the time. :-)

    Reply
  15. Alicia, on September 23, 2011 at 9:55 am said:

    Congrats on your engagement! :-D I’m Alicia, just came across your blog and wanted to say hi! Can’t wait to see your awesome recipes!

    Reply
  16. Time to toot., on September 4, 2012 at 2:19 pm said:

    [...] Hope from With a Side of Hope [...]

    Reply
  17. jessiebearwhat, on April 25, 2013 at 10:16 am said:

    That’s so cool about all the people you met (especially Bethenny, I’ve always wanted to meet her!)

    Reply

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