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A Month of Vegetarian Meals: June 2018

June 4, 2018

While there’s plenty to get excited about when it comes to changing seasons, one of the things I always look forward to the most is shaking up the kinds of foods we eat. In the summer, it’s all about lighter fare and fresh produce! ...

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Meals, Recipes Tagged: meals, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Simple Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 25, 2018

I’m not exaggerating all that much when I say that I’ve tried probably a hundred vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years. When the craving strikes, it strikes hard. And while many of them have been delicious and hit the spot, none of them have that truly genuine, original Nestle Toll ...

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes Tagged: desserts, recipes, sweets, vegan, vegetarian

14 Springtime Pie Recipes

March 14, 2018

Happy Pi Day, friends! The one day a year when it's totally acceptable to eat approximately 3.14 pieces of delicious pie, right? ...

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes Tagged: desserts, recipes, roundup, sweets, vegan, vegetarian

For the Love of Cake: Some of Our Favorite Tried + True Recipes

February 9, 2018

Give me the option between choosing something savory and something sweet, and I’ll pick the something sweet almost every time. And if I had my way, that something sweet would almost always be cake. Cake has always held a special place in my heart, and likely always will. ...

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes Tagged: desserts, recipe, recipes, sweets, vegan, vegetarian

A Month of Vegetarian Meals: February 2018

February 1, 2018

It’s hard to believe I’ve been a vegetarian for well over a decade now. Growing up in Indiana’s farmland, it certainly wasn’t a popular choice to stop eating meat, especially in high school, at such a young age. There are several reasons I made the decision to go vegetarian and continue on with it, ...

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Meals, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged: meals, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Cookie Exchange + Craft Night

December 17, 2017

Christmas is right around the corner and to kick things off, my (practically) mother and sisters-in-law and nieces got together last night for a cookie exchange and craft night. ...

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Crafts, Desserts, DIY, Gatherings, Holidays, Recipes Tagged: crafts, DIY, holidays, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

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Welcome!

Hi! We’re Aly & Jeremy, a wife and husband based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We use this space to share about our adventures at home, around the world, and in life.

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Life Lately

alyhess

I never could’ve imagined the kind of duality 20 I never could’ve imagined the kind of duality 2025 would hold. The highest highs braided in tightly with the deepest lows.

A year of celebrating friendships old and new, engagements and weddings, pregnancies and births, and quiet personal wins—while also learning how to carry the still-fresh grief of my dad’s death, mourning a friend lost to suicide, navigating major shifts at work, and relentlessly advocating for long-unanswered health questions.

I juggled new side projects and passions while spending countless hours closing an estate. In April, I took a whirlwind trip to Waco to see family and rerouted to Vegas instead of home at the last minute for a work conference. And in August, found myself alone in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains (except for the night a bear came knocking).

Hosted a few gatherings. Baked many cakes. Took tons of photos. Got back into reading. Grew a garden. Gave extra snuggles to a newly, nearly-toothless Rosie. Learned how to stop taking myself so seriously. Forgot how to sleep.

I’ve never cried more. Never laughed more. Never been so social, yet so isolated.

It was a year of progress and growth—and also of bone-deep exhaustion. A year that tested my limits in every direction.

But we made it.

And I’m endlessly grateful for the friends and family who met me with patience, kindness, and unwavering love along the way. As someone who tends to disappear to rebuild and recover, the time spent with you was just as healing, and what got me through.

Every favorite memory from 2025 lives here—rooted in the people I love—and I can’t wait to make even more with y’all in 2026. 🫶🏼
Happy Christmas Eve, friends! As I spent the last Happy Christmas Eve, friends!

As I spent the last couple days baking holiday treats with only my thoughts as a soundtrack, I reflected a lot on how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many incredible people in my life—and how grateful I am to have been invited into so many meaningful moments in yours.

This year was full in the very best way: engagements and weddings, babies and promotions, anniversaries and sweet sixteens, graduations, big moves, bold leaps, new beginnings. Being trusted to bake the treats, capture the photos, and help plan the celebrations for these chapters is something I never take lightly. It’s an honor beyond words, and I’m endlessly grateful for it.

And if your greatest accomplishment this year was simply making it through—please know I see you, and I’m celebrating you, too. Some of the most life-changing seasons are the quiet ones. The heavy ones. The years that stretch us, soften us, and ask us to begin again. I’m always here for those chapters, too… whether that’s sitting with a listening ear or in shared silence, or supporting you from afar.

Wishing you all a gentle, joyful holiday season and a year ahead filled with exactly what you need. Thanks for being here. 🤍
December’s been a blur—as has the entirety of December’s been a blur—as has the entirety of 2025. Slowing down a bit to soak up what’s left of the holiday season and reflect on the past year. I hope you’re able to do some of the same, friends. 🕯️ 

#cottagechristmas #holidaydecor #christmasathome #dachshund #rosiepoesy
“In this autumn town where the leaves can fall O “In this autumn town where the leaves can fall
On either side of the garden wall
We laugh all night to keep the embers blowing

Some are leaping free from their moving cars
Stacking stones ‘round their broken hearts
Waving down any wind that might come blowing

Mice move out when the field is cut
Serpents curl when the sun comes up
Songbirds only end up where they’re going

Some get rain and some get snow
Some want love and some want gold
I just want to see you in the morning” 🍂

#ironandwine #november #wanderfolk #peoplescreatives #indiana
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Who is behind Beard & Bloom? Hello! We're Aly Hess and Jeremy Weiks, a wife and husband living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with our sweet miniature dachshund, Rosie.

Adopt, Don’t Shop!

Hey there! Looking for a garden helper and companion like me? Consider adopting from your local animal shelter or animal rescue programs! Click here to learn more about the organization that rescued me!

♥, Rosie

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