1KHO 692: Get Your Hopes Up | Danielle Kartes, You Were Always There

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Episode: 1KHO 692: Get Your Hopes Up | Danielle Kartes, You Were Always There
Host: Ginny “Jenny” Arch (Founder, 1000 Hours Outside)
Guest: Danielle Kartes (Author, Chef, “Next Level Chef” Contestant)
Date: January 27, 2026

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Episode Theme & Purpose

This deeply engaging episode explores the remarkable resilience and faith of bestselling cookbook author and chef Danielle Kartes, who, after experiencing significant personal and financial loss, rebuilt her life, career, and marriage. Drawing from her new memoir, "You Were Always There: Notes and Recipes for Living a Life You Love," Danielle and host Jenny Arch discuss the real and relatable messiness of motherhood, marriage, perseverance, and following hope into unexpected places. The conversation blends faith, practical encouragement, and humor, inviting listeners to believe that even in the hardest seasons, rebuilding and thriving is possible.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Saying Yes to Life's Surprising Opportunities

[04:40–06:03]

• Danielle shares her experience being cast on Gordon Ramsay’s "Next Level Chef" at 43, filming in Ireland under intense pressure.
  • She almost turned down the opportunity, doubting if it was “for her”:

    "That’s not for me because I’m old...chubby...I’m not fast. And the fact of the matter is God has a plan for us at any age." (Danielle, 05:03)

• Emphasizes faith:

  "I want to live a life that says yes to the Lord every single time." (Danielle, 05:52)

2. Losing and Finding Yourself in Motherhood and Adversity

[07:40–16:00]

• Danielle challenges the narrative that women “lose themselves” in motherhood, marriage, or career hardships.

  • "The truth is, you are still you. You just took a different route." (Jenny, 08:14)

• Shares about her restaurant Manola (inspired by the miniola tangelo), its rise, and painful closure.
  • Danielle and her husband filed for bankruptcy, almost divorced, lost their home—but experienced renewal through the birth of their son, Noah.

  • "God just really worked all that selfishness out of us...I decided that I would never cook again when we lost everything...and I started cooking again when Noah was around six months old." (Danielle, 13:17)

3. Faith as a Lifeline in Hard Times

[18:32–22:41]

• Five years at a makeup counter, scraping by, humbled Danielle but honed her spirit for perseverance.

  • "When I was in it, I didn’t have designs for fame, I had designs for survival." (Danielle, 19:29)

  • "My life was a shadow of what I’d always hoped for." (Jenny, 19:06)

• She emphasizes never being angry with God, always feeling loved—even when hungry and desperate.
• Provision arrives just in time (selling dinner parties, unexpected opportunities).

  • "God doesn’t promise our lives to be easy...but gives me a platform to share the realness of Jesus...It’s not perfect. I still fight with my husband. We still don’t see eye to eye on certain things, but at the end of the day, we love each other so much and that is what’s more valuable." (Danielle, 21:38)

4. Marriage, Motherhood, and Learning to Laugh Again

[26:19–33:41]

• Transparency and “fun” as keys to long marriage.

  • "Quit stirring the grievance pot. If we put that aside...and start to have more fun together, I think that’s the secret sauce." (Danielle, 26:25)

• Telling raw, unfiltered stories normalizes struggle.
• Touching stories, like her husband gifting his pillow during lean times, serve as anchors of healing:

  • "He had sacrificed his own comfort for me and I knew we were healing...We started laughing again." (Jenny, 33:17)

5. Learning Disabilities, Self-Doubt, and Unlikely Triumphs

[33:41–40:13]

• Danielle recounts her academic struggles, barely graduating high school, never fitting the traditional mold.

  • "I write stream of consciousness...No grammar, no punctuation, everything’s misspelled...My education has been lifelong." (Danielle, 35:52)

• Encourages differently-wired kids:

  "Just because he doesn’t do it the way we think he should or the world says doesn’t mean that God didn’t deposit the coolest story writing element into his life." (Danielle, 36:47)

• Even as an adult, some still doubted her. The encouragement from an English department dean:

  • "You are not stupid. The way that you write is brilliant. You just need a little help with the mechanics. And that’s what we’re here for." (Danielle, 36:57)

6. Food, Service, and the Power of Small Acts

[41:44–46:14]

• Danielle shares several moving anecdotes from her memoir:
  • Feeding a dying neighbor:

    "You don’t have to be healed to make a difference. ... Feeding people is so important. ... Feeding you is to love you in a real tangible way." (Danielle, 45:03)

  • The transformative power of food as love, memory, connection.

7. Messy, Funny, Real Life—Grace for Ourselves and Others

[46:36–49:42]

• Shares humorous stories (eating roommate’s sausage, obsessing over casseroles). Confesses, laughs at herself, embraces imperfection.

  • "We’re crying in Jesus. Plus, I’m a freak." (Danielle, 49:42)

8. Facing Self-Doubt & Perseverance

[49:46–54:35]

• Danielle talks about walking away from food after losing everything—and being pulled back by her son, Noah’s, love for her cooking.
• Underscores the importance of incremental progress:

  • "Sometimes we just need to put one foot in front of the other where our dreams are concerned." (Jenny, 54:38)

• Even a fly-covered chicken photo shoot became a stepping stone: that book eventually landed in Costco and launched her career.

9. Life Lessons: Asking for Help, Letting Go, and Trusting the Process

[55:12–62:00]

• Story of getting stuck in ice and not wanting to ask parents for help—when she finally does, the solution is simple.

  • "It was so simple when I reached out for help, but when I was doing it on my own, I was cold and crying." (Danielle, 57:20)

• The “burned caramel in the copper pot” parable: Sometimes, after striving and scrubbing, you just have to let things be.

  • "It just flaked away easily when I let it go and let it be. ... Sometimes you do have to just leave it alone. ... And God is so capable." (Danielle, 61:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On unexpected blessings:

  "You find wonderful things in pockets you thought were empty." (Jenny, 29:01)

• On God's timing:

  "Planting for a harvest I knew nothing about." (Jenny, 62:09)

• On identity:

  "You can’t lose who you are...There’s so much to be mined out of the hard stuff. That’s where the good stuff happens." (Danielle, 28:31)

• Key affirmation for parents:

  "Simply being the mom you are right now, you are shaping your children into great humans. The difficult choices you make now are setting an example for your kids that will mean far more than anything you can tell them. You are doing a great job. You are doing the best you can with what you have. And if you aren’t, then change it." (Jenny, quoting Danielle’s memoir, 64:03)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:40 | Danielle on saying yes to "Next Level Chef" | | 13:00 | The rise and fall of her restaurant and financial hardship | | 18:32 | Five hard years at the makeup counter—perseverance and faith | | 26:19 | Arthur C. Brooks’ advice: have more fun in marriage | | 33:00 | The pillow story: small acts heal | | 35:40 | Danielle’s learning struggles and triumphs | | 41:44 | Serving her dying neighbor—the power of food and kindness | | 46:36 | Funny story: stealing roommate’s sausage | | 49:46 | Doubting herself after losing everything, Noah’s impact | | 54:38 | Dreams: “just put one foot in front of the other” | | 57:16 | Getting stuck in the ice—lesson in asking for help | | 60:27 | The burnt caramel pot: letting go, letting God | | 64:03 | Affirming message for all moms | | 65:22 | The book’s discussion guide for reading groups |

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Tone, Language, and Atmosphere

Warm, hopeful, faith-filled, and honest. Both Jenny and Danielle are vulnerable and approachable—balancing emotional candor with laughter and encouragement. Danielle’s personal anecdotes, spiritual reflections, and confessions of everyday mishaps (and triumphs) are raw yet uplifting, offering real hope to listeners facing their own difficult seasons.

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Takeaways for Listeners (Who Haven’t Heard the Episode)

• Resilience is possible even when you lose everything—career, home, or confidence.
• Small, consistent steps matter: keep moving forward, even through discouragement or “ugly years.”
• Asking for help can change everything—in marriage, career, or family life.
• Your “flaws” may be your superpower: academic or creative struggles do not preclude brilliance or success.
• Faith and hope can pull you through—and sometimes, surrendering the struggle lets solutions emerge.
• Serving others in small, practical ways (like food) is transformative—for them and for you.
• Any season—no matter how hard—can be the soil for blessings you can’t yet imagine.

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Suggested Actions

• Pick up Danielle’s memoir, "You Were Always There," for more uplifting stories and practical encouragement.
• Watch Danielle (and cheer her on!) on Fox’s "Next Level Chef," debuting Jan 29, 2026; Danielle’s episode Feb 12, 2026.
• Use the book’s discussion guide for a book group or personal reflection.
• Embrace the hope that, “it’s not too late for good things to show up.”

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“You can lose a lot and still find your way back.”
—Jenny Arch (65:37)

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Transcript

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Oh, it's a beautiful world Ain't nothing on screen that's ever gonna be this view oh, it's a beautiful world and I just want to share with I just want to share with you this beautiful world Such a beautiful.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Hey, friends, I am so glad you're here today because our guest is Danielle Cardes. Yes, that Danielle, who just stepped into Next Level Chef. She filmed in Ireland under massive pressure with real stakes, and she is bringing the heart and the story behind that story. This episode is one part how did this even happen? And one part how do you rebuild when life knocks you flat? Because Danielle's story has real loss in it and real resilience. She's taken some hits in life and you'll hear what helps her keep moving forward. We're talking merit, money, stress, motherhood, faith, and what it looks like to keep showing up until the next chapter finally opens. Before we jump in, if you love conversations that make you feel more alive and more hopeful, hit follow on the show right now. So new episodes will drop straight into your feed. And Listen, I have 30 episodes in the hopper and they are stacked. There is so much coming to carry you all the way through February. You do not want to miss what's queued up. And one more thing. I think this episode is a share it immediately kind of episode. I'm such a huge Danielle fan. So while you're listening, if you think of someone who needs this kind of positive energy today and a reminder that it's not too late for good things to show up, then tap the share button and text it over. Okay, let's get into it. Here is my conversation with Danielle Cardes.

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[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Arch. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside, and I am sitting here slightly sick, with also a slightly sick guest. But I'm so excited that she's here. Danielle Card is welcome back.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Oh, my gosh. Thank you for having me. I was just telling you I. It's such a thrill to be able to be on your podcast. Not only once, but this is my second time. It's just. It's an honor. It's such an honor. I'm in a force. I'm always like, how get my kids outside? How many hours? This is so good for us. Look, we're clocking it off. We're healing our brains.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I want to have you on all the time.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Thank you.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Because, you know, we had this first conversation if people want to go back and listen to it. But you had someone that reached out was you or someone from your book publisher. Someone reached out and they were like, I got this cookbook coming out called the Best Kids Cookbook. And, you know, can we talk about it? And I have a hard. Sometimes have a hard time talking about cookbooks because I'm like, well, what are we going to talk about for an hour?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I said yes. It was like the best yes I've ever said because you came on, and I was like, I love this woman. So then I went on, I've got your book now. You have so many cookbooks. So I'm going to amass my collection. And I know you have a new one coming out in April. People can probably pre order that already.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I have the Meant to Share cookbook, which I love, because this is about, like, getting together with other people. But I also then read your memoir. I love memoirs. And I love that you wrote a memoir. And I took 10 pages on your memoir. It's called Notes and Recipes. Well, it's called you are always there. Notes and recipes for living a life you love, love. And also, since we talked, there is big news that on, and we're gonna time this so that it comes out right before you're on the Gordon Ramsay thing.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Yes.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Oh, my gosh. Next level chef, season five. Your girl in all her 43 years of glory, does a game show competition, stressful, crazy. Make it to the platform. I did participate in Gordon Ramsay show. We filmed in Ireland in 2025 between September and October. It was insane. It was absolutely one of the wildest things I've ever done. But I'm really proud of myself for saying yes, because sometimes we can get a little bit scared and set in our ways. Like, hey, I'm 43. I'm a woman of a certain age. I'm experiencing hot flashes. All the things and we can say that's not for me. And I fully know that no matter how this turns out, because I can't say that God really did provide this opportunity for me. And I almost said no. I almost said, like, oh, that's not for me. But it was for my own preconceived notions, like, that's not for me because I'm old. That's not for me because I'm chubby. I'm not fast. I'm not going to make it to that platform with young whippersnapper kids. And the fact of the matter is that God has got a plan for us at any age. Look at Sarah and Abraham. I mean, homegirl had a baby, and she was pushing 100. God just sometimes surprises us if we are open and willing. And I want to live a life that says yes to the Lord every single time.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Okay, so this kicks off. I'm, like, crying, but it's. It's mainly because I'm doused with peppermint oil.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

I love it.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

This is an incredible message. And this kicks off on January 29th on Fox. We're watching. I've never watched Next Level Chef, and our whole family is gonna watch, and I'm thrilled. And so the story was that, you know, the podcast people join in on 1,000 hours outside a lot of times around the new year. So I'm always like, well, who am I gonna have on on January 1st? And I was not. I didn't plan well. And it was like coming down to the wire, and I was like, if there's anybody I would want for January 1st, it would be Danielle, because you're just so peppy and you have such like. Like to kick off the year you kick off the year type person.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Thank you.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

So then I didn't plan it. And then I was like, well, someone canceled. And I was like, it's so last minute, but let me ask Danielle anyway. Maybe she can do it. But then I forgot there's a time change and it was going to be like 6am for you. And you're like, I'll do it anyway. But then kids were sick, which happens all the time. And you're like flying. I mean, you are all over the place. You're flying back and forth. You're like, I'm flying in from New York. I was on with Kelly Clarkson. You know, I'm doing all these things that.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Here's what happened, though.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

When it finally came down to it, and I hadn't planned this out, the January 1st episode was episode 666. And I was like, I don't really know what people do about that.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

We go right through it that we claim that back for Jesus. That's for Jesus. We're gonn.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Yeah.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Single signal sing. It's 18 now.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

So I did it. I was like, I'll just do it.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

It's going to be my own thing.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

But this actually works out really well because I'm so excited for people to watch Next Level Chef. Even though we're like, we're going to balance out screens, we're going to get outside and we're going to watch Next Level Chef. It's going to be wonderful.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Absolutely.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

This ties actually right in with your incredible memoir. Thank you. This is a memoir about falling in love with your life after you feel.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Like your world is falling down.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And I think it has such strong messages also for mothers.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

So one of the topics that's woven throughout this memoir, which is called you are always There, is about losing ourselves.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

And you say over and over again, in spite of what I believed at.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

The time, I have not lost myself in motherhood, you say. I've heard many women say they lost themselves. They lost themselves to a bad marriage.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

They lost themselves to a dead end.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Job, they lost themselves to motherhood.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

The truth is, you are still you. You just took a different route.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And it's okay to reevaluate and figure.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Out what you need to do to fix things up and pivot along with the lor Lord's guidance. You lost your restaurant, you feel like.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You ruined everything, and yet it takes time.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

But here you are.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

About.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

About to be on Next Level Chef. You already taped it. So are you able to even tell.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Your husband, you know what my Husband does know. He knows some things, but he's the only one. There is absolutely nobody else that knows like anything else. Like, I, I feel like we got the okay, like, so spouses are cool, but we all signed as a family. Our little say, like, hey, we're not going to give anything away for the show. And so that, that part I feel like super confident about. But it's so hard for me because I get excited. I'm like, I want to tell everybody all the things. But the. What I've been focusing on is just talking about the experience and then just letting people in on the why I said yes at this point. And then every single week, if I make it or not, there's going to be fun things to talk about during those weeks. And the neat thing about the show is it sort of has these auditions that happen for the first, second and third week of the show. And I'm in the home chef auditions. So my sort of show debut doesn't happen until episode three. So that's February 12th, which is really, really cool. You're going to see me in the show. But you're going to watch different groups. So you're going to watch the professional chefs perform and sort of audition to see if they can make it for a spot on the show. Because right away nine people get eliminated and you're hoping to just not be one of those nine people. But the pressure is so it's pretty, it's pretty wild experience.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Well, and you know what, it is kind of a cool thing in life to have some surprises in your own mind, like things that you know that other people don't know. Are you gonna do watch parties?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

You know what? I think I am gonna do a watch party. But here's the old lady and me. The show doesn't come on in the northwest until 8pm I think on the east coast it might be 7pm That's a little bit more doable. But it doesn't come on until 8:00 clock at night. And I'm like, there is school the next day and do I wanna be anywhere but in my pajammies at 8pm? So I haven't planned yet. But so many people are reaching out saying, do a watch party. Are you going to have a watch party?

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Watch party for moms?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

That actually would be, that would be super cool. Late night snacks. Watch party for moms. Come in your pajamas so you can literally get home and roll right into bed.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

That's right. That's right. And it just goes to show that you don't have to lose yourself. So when we talked before, I didn't.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Know your backstory, and I started to.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Learn it during our conversation. I just knew about this amazing cookbook you have that's called the Best Kids Cookbook and how to make all these amazing things. So we started to talk about your story, and I learned more about it in your memoir. But you had this restaurant that you opened, and it did Phenomenal.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

It did.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And I couldn't quite figure out if you ended up pronouncing it Manola or minoella or Manola. And this is. But this is off of a. A citrus fruit.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Okay. So everybody thinks of oranges that are bright and fun and lovely. And there is a miniola tangello. It's a mixture between a pomelo and a tangerine. It is absolutely delicious. My very favorite citrus fruit in the whole world. I always thought it was pronounced Manola. And so when it came down to it, we were naming the restaurant. I wanted to call it Manola. And it wasn't. And somebody said, well, that's Mineola. And I'm like, no, it's not. And then we go to Google, and I'm, like, typing it in, like, please say this word, and it says Mineola. And I was like, oh, no, I have to rename this thing then. And I changed the spelling so that it was Manola. Because for so many years, Manola was in my heart. And in the middle of Manola is Noel. And that means my gift. And I really do believe that that restaurant, in all of its glory, with all of its flaws, was just a gift from the Lord. And I can remember when we closed, standing and asking the Lord, like. And questioning him, like, God, you promised to take care of me through this place. I know that I was seeking after you. I know that I was following after you. And we lost it all. Lock, stock, and barrel, home, cars. My husband and I almost got divorced, but God used Noah, our child. I was pregnant at the. That's why. I mean, there's so many fun things to talk about, about our story, but just to kind of rewind a little bit, from the very beginning, Mike and I were newlyweds, and we decided to open this restaurant. And in the course of those three years, it got wildly successful, and we grew wildly apart. And we were both so selfish that we're like, okay, cool. Let's end it. I've got my little empire. You've got your job. We have no children. Let's just do this. I remember telling my dad and he cried, and he just said, this is just not. This is not what I want. This is never what I wanted for you. And there's no shame in divorce. I never my story to make anybody feel badly. If they have walked a road where they did end up in divorce, that happens, and that's okay. God chose for me in my life and our walk to really help us. And there was no abuse or anything. So I'm not saying, like, if you've gone through some things, you've gone through some things. But for Mike and I, we were just selfish. We just didn't like being married anymore. We were just not. We didn't want to answer to each other. And God just really worked all that selfishness out of us. And I decided that I would never cook again. When the restaurant closed and we lost our home and we filed for bankruptcy, I thought, gosh, cooking cost me everything. I'm selfish. I just want to be a mom. And I started cooking again when Noah was around six months old. We couldn't afford food. It was on, you know, government programs like wic, so you could get cheese and peanut butter and baby food, and Noah wouldn't eat the baby food. And I just remember thinking, gosh, maybe I'll try to cook something. There was a celebrity at the time that had these little squeezy pouches, and they were like roasted plums and zucchini, and they were very bougie, and they were like. I remember being, like, $1.99 a of piece. Piece. And Noah's 14 now, so that was, like, very expensive back then. Yeah. And it was just not in our budget. And I did remember buying one at Walmart and feeling like it was this little pouch of gold. And I was like, maybe Noah will eat this. And he slurped it up like he just couldn't get enough of it. And it was plums and zucchinis. And I thought, okay, if I buy plums and zucchinis, I can roast them like it says on the package. And I remember roasting them and blending them up, and Noah just loving it. And I was like, oh, Lord, I do love to cook. I want to cook again. Because I stopped cooking. I'm like, this cost. Cooking took everything from me. And it really didn't. Cooking saved my life, and it gave us a career. And cooking. God used cooking for me to tell. Tell them about his glory and his goodness when. I mean, that's so funny to me. Like, God's gonna use whatever he can in our lives for his glory. And I think if we're open and willing and open to share. Some people, like, gosh, it's so hard to hear you talk about, you know, your marriage struggling. Because I. My marriage is struggling, and I just. It's a little. It's hard for me. I can't believe you're telling people. I'm like, well, if we're open and honest, then the Lord gets in there, and the enemy doesn't get in all those little cracks and secrecy. If we find people that we can be transparent with, like, marriage is difficult, and Mike is my best friend. We're going on 18 years of marriage, and there is nobody else that I would want to do this with. But we almost called it quits 14 years ago. I mean, we were literally like, bye. This restaurant knocked our socks off. I don't like you, and I don't like being poor.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And what a.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

What a blessing of a baby.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You know, people say the opposite, you know, especially as it's a cultural message, you know, that it's going to make things harder. And yet your story is so beautiful because the baby brings you together, and now here you are, so many years later.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah. And the thing that's so cool about Noah is I know they say, like, don't have a baby to save your marriage, but God used Noah to save us. And I am telling you, my life didn't start till Noah was born. And that's not because, like, my children are my whole world, and they supersede everything. Like, I love my kids, but I have a beautiful career. My. The Lord comes first. And then my relationship with my husband and then my kids. And sometimes people hear that, and they're a little like, oh, but it. There's so much balance in that. I love my children. Like you would. I would lay my whole life down for them, do anything for them. I. You know, I'm up at night crying over them. There are. It's real. But God did so much in my heart when I started having children. They're a mirror reflection of us. I mean, our kids, they're gonna. If they're snotty, snarky, talk back, whatever. It's coming from me and Mike. I mean, they have their own little lower natures that they're working out. But I mean, talk about the healing that happened in my heart when I had my son over. Yelling too much, screaming too much, just having the wrong priorities. And then God saying, like, I want to heal what's broken inside of you so you can be a better mom. Because generational trauma and things that have been passed down for, you know, multiple generations. Just because your granny did it doesn't mean it's okay. God wants to heal it and break it. And so I love to tell people. That's why this book is so important to me. We do. I used to feel like I lost myself. I lost myself when that restaurant closed. I lost myself when I had a baby that needed me. And feeling touched out and, you know, trying to work full time and juggle. Mike and I would drive because I was a makeup artist, and we would. And he was coming from Bellevue, which is about 45 minutes north of us. We would drive and pass off a sleeping baby in a car seat so that I could get and work opposite shifts just so we could make it happen. And during those times when we didn't have anything but each other, God really showed up in my heart and showed me what was important. I mean, I. For me to go from these situations where my. My pantry's empty, we're packing, you know, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, to the Rachael Ray show, and. And trying to just share with people our books and the things that we're doing and we self published. The thing that's really neat about me is the part that says you can't do something is broken. It's always been broken. I mean, since I was a little girl, if someone said, hey, can you do that? Oh, you can't do that. You're not famous. You don't have any. You don't have the right connections. We have the biggest connection in the whole world. As the creator of the universe, the Lord orchestrate our steps if we are willing. And. And I don't pretend that it wasn't easy, but I never stopped.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, you never quit. That is actually a really, really big.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Part of the story.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And I think when people read memoirs, especially ones that are centered around someone's faith, you start to think, could I see you? You're like, could this be my story as well? It's such a powerful way to step into someone's life and then to start to imagine, could God do the same for me?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And this was a very long time of waiting.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You weren't at that makeup counter for five months.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Months.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You were at that makeup counter for five years.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, five years, Danielle and I just saw. That's a big message of the book too.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Not quitting has brought blessings into my life.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Resting and checking in with the Lord.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Often has brought blessings.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I don't think we ever arrive.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

I think we're meant to keep moving toward authenticity.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

But I. I really took pause at the five years at the makeup counter.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You call them your ugly years.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And, you know. You know, you made friends there, but, you know, you're with all these makeup artists, you don't know your story, and you just feel like, is this ever? And you're working these swing shifts and Mike's delivering bread. And you say, my life was a shadow of what I'd always hoped for. And it made me wonder, Danielle, like, if my life felt like a shadow of what I'd always hoped for for five years.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

That's so long.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Would I still press forward?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah. You know what's so funny about that? I have a real tenderness to the Holy Spirit. And I have never. I've been really fortunate. I don't want this to sound like I'm proud. I've never been angry with the Lord. I've always known that Jesus was on my side. Even when things were, you know, going completely awry. I have never been angry at God. I never shook my fist at the Lord and said, why did you do this to me? I hate you you for this. I get emotional thinking about it. I know that the Lord loves me beyond the shadow of a doubt. And I know that that's a gift. Not everybody feels that way. And I know that every single day. When I was in it, I didn't have designs for fame. I had designs for survival. And I remember there's one point in the book where I talk about how I ran out of pretzels because there was pretzels in my pocket. And just feeling like that was the last of my food. And I was at work, and I went in the bathroom and cried because I knew I wasn't coming home to food. And those vulnerable times made me press into Jesus. And I remember my mom telling me when she was early on in her marriage with my father that they were struggling with their bills. And she. I remember her saying that she held up her bills into the sky and said, you are my provider. You are my dad. Please pay my bills. Help me and my parents. I mean, my mom said from that day forward, things didn't change, but the provision started to happen in a different way. And I just remember thinking that, like, God, you are my provider. You are our provider. And when you run a business, it's not all hearts and flowers anymore. Like, my husband and I, we are. We're freelancers. And there's been times over these last 15 years where, you know, people have owed us thousands and thousands of dollars and the money isn't coming in. And we're. I'm right back to that provisionary God, you. You promised to pay our bills. I mean, a couple years ago our tuition bounced. And I'm like, it's Christmas time and my checks aren't coming in. And I'm like, God, what can I. What can I do? And I threw up some dinner parties And I sold 10 of them. They never sold 10 dinner parties in one, in one evening. I mean, just to think of that in the level of provision, like where God's like, hey, I have got your back. And knowing too that if an outcome doesn't happen how I need it to, or in my timeline that God wasn't listening to me or didn't hear my prayer because I'm writing a new book right now called don't mind if I burn your house down. And it's a really funny. It's a sequel to this guy and it really is like, it talks funny stories where I did a catering job and I almost did burn this lady's house down. But the flip side of that, the double meaning. The double meaning is that I'm in here to burn your house down. I want to burn down all those preconceived notions that we have about life and replace it with the truth. Truth with gospel truth. Like God doesn't promise our lives to be easy. And I'm grateful that me working for NBC and on the Kelly Clarkson show and doing these high profile cool things, I'm so grateful that it gives me a platform to share the realness of Jesus and the Holy Spirit and his designs for our life. It's not perfect. I still fight with my husband. We still don't see eye to eye on certain things, but at the end of the day, we love each other so much and that is what's more valuable.

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[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

We have fun. I was listening to Arthur C. Brooks talk about how to fix your marriage. Quit stirring the grievance pot. I have a grievance pot that is, you know, a billion miles long. But I'm sure my husband has a grievance pot a billion miles long with me. But if we put that aside because some things aren't changing and start to have more fun together, I think that that's the secret sauce. And so I was thinking about that this morning. Like, I want to be transparent in my marriage. I want to be transparent in my motherhood journey. I want to be transparent in my business journey. It's not all easy all the time, but sometimes we land some really great contracts and some months are lean and it keeps. Keeps me dependent on Jesus in a way that I'm grateful for. And I know now at the time I didn't. I never lost who I was. I kept thinking, if I could just get back to the girl that I was before I was on government assistance, if I could just get back to the woman that I was before my marriage was hard. If I could just get back to that, if my body could come back and my apron belly would go away. Now I have children. My husband said something to me about 10 years ago. He said, I'm like, does this bother you this, like, floppity stomach that just drops and he's like, absolutely not. You made our kids. I don't care what your body looks like, that you made our children. You don't have time. Like, maybe you should try to get this cut off. It's like, why you made our. You got. When you see that, you got to think about how you made our kids. And I think about that now. Like, I will take every wrinkle, every battle wound, every scar to be the woman that I am today. And I want that for other women. I want that for other people. I don't. I don't think we're supposed to go through life like wishing and hoping that it would have, should have, coulda. When I say my life was a shadow of what I always hoped it would be, I think that I really. I came to life in that shadow. There is nothing, no experience that I would change, no matter how hard and no humbling, that I wouldn't change. There is some things that happen. There's an anointing that happens in the pressing. And I want that anointing. Anointing. I want that relationship with Jesus. And so I want that for other people. I want them to laugh and cry and know that they are exact. Especially in Christ Jesus, you can't lose who you are. And now if you're walking against the Lord and doing some other things, I mean, maybe you could lose a little bit of who you are, but just to be real. But there is so much to be mined out of. The hard stuff. That's where. That's where the good stuff happens. It really is.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

People will love the memoir.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

It is a phenomenal memory. I just wanna talk about this one line because you talked about the pretzel story. There's so many good stories in here.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

But the pretzel story about how you.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Take this one bag of pretzels, you go to the makeup counter, your pretzels are gone. This is the end of your food. And you have this line, it's actually in the intro, where you talk about.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Finding wonderful things in the pockets we thought were empty.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And this is a story that God shows up. And you know, truly in the Bible, if you look at all of these stories, these powerful stories are these ones where God shows up in the very nick of time. That's kind of like the way he does it. It's like Shadrach, Meshach into bed to go.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

They're.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

They're in the fire.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You know, the fire that kills the guards or whatever that Even when they come close, it's that hot.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And, you know, it wasn't like they got saved before they got thrown in. They got saved when they got thrown in. Or Daniel in the lion's den. Or, you know, when Jesus comes to heal these sick people. You know, it's like he comes in.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

The nick of time, and then, you know, it's God.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You give him all the glory you have to depend on.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

And you see this time and again in your story.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

So I just want to highlight a couple of the stories that are in here.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Just a few.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Like I said, I have 10 pages of notes of your memoir, and I'm so excited that you're writing another one. So when you're talking about you're struggling.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

In your marriage, and then all of.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

A sudden, all of a sudden, actually at your restaurant, you start putting too.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Much garlic and everything.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And everyone's like, danielle, this is disgusting.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Burning. I wanted. I was. At one point, I was chewing garlic clove, just chewing them, and I thought, this is. I can't get enough garlic. And then I was like, oh, you can't even taste the garlic in the bruschetta. You can't even taste the garlic in the spinach dip. And dishes were getting sent back. They were like, this is way. This is so garlicky. It's like, you know how you get too much garlic? It's that burn on the tip of your tongue. And then it just. It's like this sort of bitter, acrid, way too strong. That's what I couldn't get enough of. And one of the gals was like, you're. You're pregnant. And I was like, there is no. Trust me, there's no way. It's not super happy at home. But then I was like, is there. There is a possibility.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

There we go. And, you know, I love this thread of. This has been a topic of conversation throughout the year here, that God uses our sensory experiences as memory, like memory triggers. So, like, you know, it's like, what do people. You're kind of like, oh, what do people do? Before there was cell phones and you.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Could take a picture of everything.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

It's like, no, you have these. And you talk about this all through the book. You know, different types of smells and terracotta strawberry planter that reminds you of your Auntie Charlotte and things that remind you of your grandmother. You know, she's making this glorious fudge. And then the garlic. This is reminding you of this time that you find out that you're pregnant. So you're struggling in your marriage, you're nearly divorcing.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

And there's a story about pillows.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes. This was really special. This is when I knew we were going to make it. So we had moved away, we're in a little apartment, we lost our house. We're through it, and we're still not happy, but we're making it. We're going through some things. And Mike would wake up at, you know, anywhere from one to three o' clock in the morning to go to work. And Noah's a toddler at the time. I don't even think he's 2 years old. And he not. I'm. I'm a big water gal. Always, always have water with me. So I've got my water on my nightstand and Noah knocks a giant jug. I mean, this is like 30 ounces of water over onto my pillows. And we didn't have extra pillows. And I remember like, like cleaning it up and there's water sopping everywhere. So we kind of clean it. And in this, you know, nighttime stupor, Mike says, here, I have an extra. I have an extra pillow. And I was like, oh, and you're not thinking of it because you know that in between time, you're toddler, you're waking up everything. It's. It's wild. I didn't think too much of what was going on. I just took Mike's pillow and I fell asleep. And the next morning when I woke up, I looked at Mike's side of the bed for some reason and there was no pillow, but I had one. And I remember thinking, like, he didn't have to tell me he had an extra, but he knew that if he said, oh, you can have mine, I would have refused it. No, I wouldn't do that. I'll just go without. I think women, a lot of times we go without, we would just be like, oh, I'll be the one to go without. And when Mike did that, it showed me that we weren't too far gone. And that did something for me in my heart to know that, like, God was working on him and he was working on me and we were gonna make it. And I. I love that Mike slept with no pillow that night, but I sat on the end of my bed and just cried at the possibility that we were going to be okay.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

I want to read what you wrote. This small, seemingly insignificant gesture meant more to me than flowers or a night out. He had sacrificed his own comfort for me, and I knew we were healing. I made his favorite spaghetti for dinner that night. I Made pasta and added olives and peppers. Mike loves spaghetti.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I mean, he really loves it.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

These small things helped us to appreciate each other, to knock down our walls. I stopped taking everything so seriously. We start laughing again.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

We are both weird and funny, and.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

I love that about us.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And at this point, he wrote today, we've been married for 14 years, and.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

He is my bright spot. So just.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I mean, the book has got wonderful stories. Wonderful, wonderful stories.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Wow.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Oh, it's so good. And you talk about how, like, you didn't do super well in high school.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

No, I barely graduated high school. I barely. I. I struggled with reading. I mean, I've never been tested for anything. I'm sure there's some little dyslexic things in there. I. I struggled to write. I didn't understand concepts. I read. Sometimes I'll naturally read a sentence from, you know, right to left instead of left to right. And these are things that I. I work through and struggle with still to this day. And to think that, you know, I bear. I flunked out basically everything. There was a teacher, Mrs. Fitzroy. If she didn't change my failing history grade to a C, I wouldn't have graduated high school. I had barely a 2.0 GPO. GPA, whatever you call it. And I remember going to Helen Fitzroy and saying, I'm not going to graduate, Ms. Fitzroy. And she said, well, we can work some things around it. And it wasn't that work wasn't turned in. It was that I struggled so hard. And, I mean, I went to High School 25 years ago. It was before learning disabilities and figuring out how to work around kids and what they need. And I tried, but I just. I couldn't cut it at that time. And then marrying Mike, who's like, this literature buff, and he's incredible, and I call him my own personal Gordon Lish. He's just an editor of all my things. He slowly started to teach me, in a way, how to write. And I write stream of consciousness. I just get everything all out. There's no grammar, no punctuation, everything's misspelled. And then for myself, I'll go through and I start fixing the words that are misspelled. And my phone really helps me. I write every single book within the notes on my phone, which is wild. People think I'm crazy, but it's a way that I can, like, say, oh, how does naturally feel like there's a science sentence break? So I still don't even know the principles of writing a sentence. And I write books For a living. So I want people to know that it doesn't matter if you were the smartest. It doesn't matter. I mean, the point, too, when I go to publish my books where I had. I worked with a gal, she was a paralegal, and she's like, oh, I'll edit your cookbook. And I'm like, this is wonderful. So I give her my little thumb drive with my cookbook on it. And she meets me in a parking lot two days later and says. Says, you're a really good makeup artist. I don't know that you should be a writer. And I felt so dumb. I just felt like, gosh, Lord, what am I thinking? I'm not a writer. I barely. I. I can barely string a sentence together. And I remember another friend of mine saying, I. I know a gal that works at the college. Maybe she'll look at your stuff. And I felt the Lord saying, like, you better go and do this. So I had Noah. He was a baby. And I go to have coffee with her. Turns out that she is the dean of the English department at this particular college. And I was so intimidated. And I. I looked her in the eye and I held up my thumb drive, and I said, against my better judgment, I'm here, but I'm not smart. I. I think I told her I could cry. I think I told her I was stupid. And she said, oh, no, no, no. That's not for me to decide. Like, you don't even worry about that. Finish your coffee. I'll just take a look at it. And I remember her calling me a couple weeks later, saying, you are not stupid. The way that you write is brilliant. And you just need a little help with the mech mechanics. And that's what we're here for. You get all that brilliance out on. On paper. You get it into your computer, and I will fix it. And she gave me the permission to know. I mean, this woman who's like the dean of English, like, in this department at this beautiful, prestigious school, tells me, you are not stupid. You're brilliant. And so I think that kids that learn a different way, sometimes it's just so important to find that brilliant thing, like my son. Now, he learns everything phonetically. So he spells out. You know, he spells Thanksgiving because he has a little lisp. He spelled it Fexgiving. So we kept it because it looks like the F word, but it's just how he spelled it. And I think it's so brilliant because he can write the coolest story with so much emotion and so much detail. Every single word is spelled wrong. But he's a brilliant writer, and so I want to foster that in him. Just because he doesn't do it the way that we think he should or that the world says, doesn't mean that God didn't deposit the coolest story writing element into his life and into his heart. So that's right.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

It's right. You know, I interviewed this man named John Muralaz.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

It was one of my first interviews.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And he's a nature journalist in a very. A famous one. You know, he like, draws pictures and he's. He does all these conferences. He's really influential in what he does. And he has dyslexia.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

He knew as a child that he had dyslexia, though. And so he.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I mean, he really did struggle at school. And now he has such a message for all the parents.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

He's like, these kids have superpowers.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

They approach life a very different way. That is an incredible gift. And he said, there's all sorts of.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

People that can spell check my work.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

There's all sorts of people that can come in and find where the comma goes. He's like, I don't have to be able to do that. And the people who like to do that, really like to do that.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

They love it. Mike's like, I could get into a discussion anytime about, I don't know, a college comma, and we're the placement. And he was like, like, you know, it was like all up in arms. And they got rid of the double spaces after the period. And now, I mean, there's so many funny things that these people that love English and love the mechanics of it, they were born that way. This is. I. I know I was born with no filter and. And I can cook. And cooking makes sense to me. And so God was able to use the thing that makes the most sense, that I have the most peace I can troubleshoot. I'm not afraid of a steak burning like these. These little things are the reason that it's one of my superpowers.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yes.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

And so me cooking has opened the door because I never. I couldn't get into college. Do you know that I applied to four universities when I was in high school, and I got declined by every single one of them. I had to take the sats again because they thought that something was malfunctioned on it. I got right around the same score. There was no malfunction. I could just barely figure. I just. It just. I just couldn't figure it out. And God's been so gracious because my education has been lifelong long.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Right.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

And I think that after I stopped thinking I needed to be a certain way, I was actually able to learn better and different.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And isn't it a gift that are holes? They provide some sort of glory for someone else who likes it. My mom, she bought a typo from a mile away. She found a typo recently in like a crossword puzzle book. And so she emailed the company, sent him a letter and they sent her a shirt, a free shirt about crossword puzzles. She wears it everywhere. So you're like, that's what it is. It's like we come together and it really is such an important message for anyone listening who has these deep seated feelings of unworthiness.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And for any child who's listening who feels like they're not measuring up to the standard of a school system, when.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You'Re like, no, you can learn.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You can learn in so many different ways and there are so many things for you.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

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[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And your journey. You know, it's like you're serving people through food. And at Manola, people are coming in and having their, you know, they're getting engaged, they're having their parties. They're having these incredible moments because you step out and you create this restaurant and you're serving people through food.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And you have another incredible story in this book.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

The book is called you are Always There.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

It is a phenomenal memoir. It will feel you with all the fill. It will feel. It will fill you. It will fill you with.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

It'll fill your rat up, girls.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

All right. Serving people through food. Can you talk about your neighbor tomorrow?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Okay. This is actually really special. So we were shooting the book, my first cookbook. And I had seen this neighbor multiple times. And I, I was like, oh, gosh, I haven't seen you in a while. And he rolled up one day and we were shooting short ribs on the outside of our porch. And I, this is so crazy. He was like, gosh, that smells good. But he was just a shadow of himself, just skin and bones. And his wife or girlfriend at the time, I actually can't remember. I think maybe in the book I call her her wife and I think I make up her name because I didn't her name. So I make up, but I knew his name was Tom. And they sit up and he kind of looks at the carrots and the pie and the pot roast and the short ribs and says like, wow, that smells incredible. And I was like, oh, yeah, you know, it sure does. And we finish up, and normally after we finish up, our little photo shoots because we wanted the natural light. And my buddy Jeff was over and we're doing this little shoot for our self published cookbook. I thought maybe I'll just go get. He said he thought it smelled so good. Maybe I'll just go give Tom and his wife their. This dinner. And I remember walking it up in the bowl just right as we shot it. And I knocked on the door. He's my upstairs adjacent apartment. And she opened the door and there was family inside. And I knew the gravity of the moment. When I was there, he was on the couch with a blanket. And they didn't say anything. And she said, oh, oh, this is so gracious, thank you. And I just remember not thinking much of it but leaving. And a couple of weeks later, I was in my closet talking to my mom. And I was crying just like our life was hard. We had no money. I was, you know, eking everything out for these shoots and I just, I didn't have any certainty. And there was a knock at my door. And I went to the door, and it was her. And she was holding the white dish against her chest. And instantly I knew that Tom was no longer with us. And she said that he enjoyed that meal. It was the last thing that he ever ate. And I was thinking about, like, sometimes if we feel so empty and so broken that we can't give to other people, if we can't put ourselves out there still in the midst of it. You don't have to be healed to make a difference. You don't have to have all the money in the world to share what you have. Knowing that the food that I created was the last thing that he ate to hopefully he went to heaven was really impactful for me. I think it solidified in my heart. And we held each other and cried on my front porch. I never talked to her again. I never saw her again. Um, we have these moments where we can be impactful for the Lord in other people's lives. It's so important to not ignore those feelings. If you have a feeling, like, pay for their gas. Oh, gosh, Lord, I don't. I don't have enough gas. Pay, Pay for their gas. Buy someone groceries. Drop dinner off. Do something. Tell somebody, you at the grocery store, I love your blouse. You have no idea. Maybe that was somebody's. Their mother's blouse and they're missing them. Maybe that person hasn't had human connection in a minute there. It's so important to not ignore these feelings. That's the leading of the Holy Spirit. And when you can get keen to those little feelings and you work, that's how God works. God, we're his hands and feet. So if I didn't. If I, you know, poo, poo that off, like, go give him your dinner. I was like, gosh, it was on our front porch. We were just, like, standing over it. This is so weird. Everything in me, if I was shy, I would have been like, ew. What? I like it. If someone showed up my doorstep with open short ribs. Open, open, not covered. Would I do it? Would I like it? So, I mean, these things just push it all out of your mind. Because her standing on my front porch, that was healing for her. Who knows if she'll ever remember it, but it was special and significant. And feeding people is so important. Feeding for me, feeding you is to love you in a real tangible way. Like this. I love you and make this for you.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yeah.

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[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You remember this says, Tom had passed away.

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She said she went on to tell.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Me that the food I gave him.

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Was his last meal. A meal he'd said was some of the best food he'd ever tasted.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I cried. That's why I'm telling you. You could grab this trifecta of books. You are always there as a memoir. The best kids cookbook.

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[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

It's phenomenal and meant to share here. And there's so many other cookbooks too. But, you know, like a little gift for yourself. And these will be life changing for you.

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They will really touch your heart.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Let's do a little lighter one. Talk about eating Lydia's sausages.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Oh, my gosh, you guys, I'm such a freak. I had this. I just. Roommate. Lovely, beautiful. She was a nurse. Just the sweetest, nicest little gal. And she was cooking Midwestern casseroles. And listen, I'm from the Pacific Northwest. I didn't know much about Midwestern casseroles growing up. We had pizza tacos, spaghetti, hamburger, soup. Those were like our basics. My mom would sort of venture out of the box every once in a while and she'd make like a creamy lasagna or a chicken divan. But we had these, you know, 10 meals. They were on the rotation all the time. Potato salad, barbecue chicken. Lydia made things like pork meatballs with grape jelly and ketchup. And I'm not joking. I was such a little junk food hound. I was like, this is amazing. Everything about everything she made was so good. So she made this casserole. And I'm not joking. I was the chokehold that this kielbasa and potato and creamy canned soup casserole had on me. I had just worked, like, all day. I was. I came home, I was starving. Lydia made the casserole, and I was like, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh. I don't have any food. I'm such a freak. Maybe I'll just open her lunch and take one piece of salt, one piece of kielbasa, out like a monster. And I opened it up and I was like, okay, that was good. You can't even tell. I kind of used a fork to, like, smooth it all around, put the lid back on. And then it was almost as if the casserole was calling me. And then I was like, just one more piece of sausage. I got through every piece of sausage over like a half hour period, like a drug addict. And I was like, oh, my God, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do. And so I just thought make sure there's no more sausage in it. And maybe, maybe she'll think, maybe she got the last of it. And there was no kill boss up the next day, text me fairly early and says, did you eat the sausage out of my lunch? And like a weirdo, I said, no, maybe Michaela did. Mikayla, our roommate that was, hadn't been there in a month. And Lydia went on to be so gracious to me. If I remember correctly, I feel like she made another one. She never ever said another word about it. She was kind, beautiful, smart. And we both knew I was lying. And that like really convicted me. I feel like it was like this the, you know, the elephant in the room for the rest of the time that she lived with me. But she taught through that situation, taught me number one, to be honest, to come clean. And that there is grace. Even I don't know that I would have any grace for a freak that got into my lunch and then lied about it.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Who?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

And then the fact that I'm saying it out loud, telling people now, 15 years, 2016 or 18. No, this was like 23 years ago because we. I wasn't married. She was my roommate. Oh my gosh, this is crazy.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

This is crazy.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

But yeah, that story is. That's one for the history books. Okay.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

That's a great one.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

I'm not all just crying in Jesus. We're crying in Jesus. Plus, I'm a freak. Okay.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

The power.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Power.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

The power of a good casserole. How about this story? You talk a lot in the book about self doubt.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And I think a lot of people, I struggle with self doubt.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Oh yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I struggle with like, am I on the right path? Am I doing the right thing? Should we made that decision? Should we have moved? Were we supposed to do this? I mean, this is like, you know, should we have had this many kids? I mean, I am struggling. Should we be entrepreneurs?

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Like on the daily.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And so you talk about self doubt. So the story is you walk away from food.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Because you know, you, you say you. Like you said you lost everything, even your two year old. There's a story in here where your two year old's like, they take D are mama. You know, like, yes, you're losing it all. And so you're like, I'm walking away. I'm clearly not supposed to do that. And then it starts to come back. Actually, my favorite line in the entire.

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Memoir, which is called you are always.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

There is Noah softened my heart toward.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Myself and he loved My cooking?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Oh, the power of like an eight month old.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You know, to like put that, you know, that.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Joyce, you've got this self doubt. Barely graduate high school.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You know, you're putting out these different manuscripts and some people are supportive and some people are not. And one of the times when you really doubt yourself is when you're making.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

These dinners and you're, you know, you're taking these photo shoots and your husband's doing some photo shoots and you're hiring.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

People to do photo shoots. You're trying to get something out there and you get all these flies all over your dinner. That's a story.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Tell us that.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Oh my gosh, this is the craziest story. So. And I had so much doubt at the time, like, gosh Lord, we can't even afford this. So I was trying to work my daily, my weekly groceries in into photo shoots. Like, okay, if I buy this this week, then we could eat this chicken for a couple of days. And I remember Jeff coming over and it was summertime and I felt so insecure. I was like, my hair didn't look right. We're supposed to take pictures of me for the book. And. And we literally moved my dining room table, my dining room table, a little, little round wooden table outside of my apartment complex to like the green belt. Not even a green belt, just behind the mailboxes. And it was like this, this greenery area where everybody brought their dogs to poop. So we put the table in the bushes and I'm like, okay, I have a baked chicken. I have this Greek and lemon baked chicken. And I remember opening up, it's high summer, it's like 100 degrees out and it's around 5 o' clock in the afternoon. And I open it up and I set the table and, and Jeff's taking these pictures. And I noticed the flies. I noticed them and I'm like, wait a minute, the flies are landing. That's. And all I can think about was that the flies are landing on our dinner. The flies are landing on our dinner. And Jeff was like, I was started panicking and I'm like, oh, the flies, the flies. And I was trying to shoom away and Jeff was like, who cares? Just toss it out when we're done. Well, my photographer had no idea what we were going through. He had no idea that I'm scraped and I'm having to pay him $125, which is all the money in the world to me for each of these shoots. It's so cheap now thinking about it, you know, 16 years later. But the thing that's so crazy is he's like, don't even worry about it.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Who cares?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

It's just a fly. Like, like, we'll just toss it. Go get, go get some Taco Bell. Like, like some people just think that. Like, oh, throw the chicken away. What was it, eight bucks? Like six bucks? And all I could think about is, I had so many plans for that chicken. I needed that chicken to be our dinner tonight. I needed the bones to be stock, and I needed to pick it off to be sandwiches for tomorrow. I had a whole plan. There was, there was six meals that were coming out of this chicken that now flies on. And I remember Jeff leaving and me just feeling awful. And I called my mom and I was crying and I was like, this is our chicken. It was our dinner. And she said, you go take that chicken and you crank the heat up to 450 degrees and you. And you get it in the oven and you kill anything off and you enjoy your dinner. And I was like, oh, oh, yeah, the heat does kill any germ. And I remember cranking that chicken up, thinking, like, this is what we have to do in our lives. You get that chicken in there, crank up the heat and keep living. We can't stop. We can't. I was literally ready to roll over and call it quits over that chicken and just seeing the flies, and I'm thinking, am I even doing the right thing? I have my dining room table out here, it's 100 degrees, we have no money, and I'm taking pictures of our dinner. Like, and this was before Instagram. This is before, like there's anything that I thought I could show anybody. I just had this weird drive inside me. I'm like, I know we have to make this book. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we're supposed to make this book. And I didn't, I didn't have a home for it. That book eventually got into Costco. That's what changed the trajectory of everything. My little self published work gets its way into Costco and it changed our lives. And that led to, you know, work on television and all kinds of crazy things. And we still ate that chicken. All my plans for it, it wasn't perfect. I was embarrassed to tell people this story for a while, and now I'm like, I love it. Hey, if something falls on the floor, brush it off and eat it. I was in a different place in my life now. I'm like, oh, it's fine. Crank up the human heat. I mean, now I. But I wasn't there at that.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Well, especially because that, because the photographer's like, well, yeah, of course you're not eating it.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

You know you're just gonna throw it out.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Right?

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You wrote this. Sometimes we just need to put one foot in front of the other where.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Our dreams are concerned.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And then you're talking about like, people are going to come alongside. There's going to be the people that can edit your book. There's going to be the person that you meet at the makeup counter. We talked about this last time. That is the Costco buyer.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And you're like, God shows up at the right moment.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And then there is a story of triumph and miracle and we can give.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

All honor and glory to God.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

I mean, these stories are just tremendous. I would like to hit one more before we wrap up.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Thank you. I love you.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

There is a story about getting stuck in the ice. And this is like, you know, you're.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Kind of embarrassed and you don't want.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

To tell your dad and you're like trying to get the car out from the ice and it's a beautiful story.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Can you tell us that one?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah. This is so good. Okay, so this story is called Boiling Ice. And you know, I'm an, I'm an 80s and a 90s kid and it's just very different. Like, my kids have way more open dialogue with me than I ever did with my parents. And so I just always wanted to like, make sure that they weren't mad at me or please them or make sure that I was doing things okay. And as a grown woman at my sister's house and it's snowy and we, we drive over there and I kind of park along the side. My sister and my mom, just to give a little context, they live across the street from each other. So my parents are down a little lower, my sister's up on a hill and there's a road that goes in between. So we park right by my parents mailbox and we're by their nice wrought iron fence and the kids are playing and sledding. And then I notice that my car is. Our car is stuck and we can't back up, we can't go forward. But what we are doing is just sliding closer and closer into my parents fence. And I was panicked. I don't know why this took such a hold of me, but I was like, my mom is going to be mad at me. Like I was 13 years old and I snuck out of the house. And I'm like, my mom's going to be mad. We're going to have to pay for their fence. I was just so worked up. So I'm walking up the hill getting. We're boiling water at my sister's house. Literally like we're teenagers. I'm a grown married woman at this point. Literally like we're teenagers. And I'm, we're walking the boiling water down. We're to trying, trying to get it underneath the tires. And then what it's doing is creating more of a sheet of ice. So the boiling water hits and then the ice. And then we're trying to do it over and over again. Finally I have to, I have to tell my mom where. I'm sorry my car is going to go into your fence. I'm, I don't know how it happened, but it happened. And here we are. And I remember my parents being so like, first of all, I was soaked and crying and they were both confused, like, okay, well why didn't you just tell your dad? And I'm like, because my husband couldn't fix it and Jenny's husband couldn't fix it. And there's no way, you guys, no.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

We'Re gonna ruin your fence. Yeah, you're all worked up. We're gonna break your fence.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

My mom, my dad's like, oh, hang on. He goes out to the garage, a couple pieces of carpet, he just puts them underneath the car and tells Mike to drive forward. And Mike just drives forward over the carpet. And I remember I can vividly see my mom standing in her doorway saying, I, you should have just told us, like, don't cry, I'm a freak. Just standing there in front of her. And it was so simple when I reached out for help, help. But when I was doing it on my own, I was cold and crying and my husband, we're literally passing pots of boiling water back up and down this giant drive down to go under my tires to make a real sheet of ice. And all I had to do was tell my dad, hey, I did this. And he literally had carpet scraps just in the garage because that's what men in their 60s have. I got a couple carpet squares.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

And he knew what to do.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

He knew exactly what to do. And my husband and my brother in law, they didn't know what to do. They, if either my sister had a piece of cardboard. My dad was like, yeah, if you ever get stuck, you should have some in the back of your car at all times.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Now you know, now you know. It's a good life lesson. But you say, I had no idea we could get out so easily, which had so many deep meanings to it. And you talk about being an asker in the book. You say, say, I want you to ask.

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Ask for the job. Shoot your shot.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Ask to come along. Ask a new friend to get coffee. Get up the courage to stick out, to show up, to be there in spite of your tight coat. That's a story about meeting Martha Stewart. So we got to pick up the book. That is a fantastic story about.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

So good, you guys. The Martha Stewart one is brilliant. And that's about asking to be at the table. If I didn't ask, you wouldn't have that story, and I wouldn't have a picture with Martha Stewart. Martha Stewart never would have snuggle into my little nape of my neck and ask if we got the photo. So, seriously, get the book. I'm sure this is like a dollar on Amazon. That's the coolest part about. I know they're all my publishers are like, don't just say Amazon. But I'm like, let's be real. It is probably. It's been everywhere from $3 to $15. So you're gonna get this easy read for very cheap and give it to you. Buy one for you and one for your girlfriend?

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yes, absolutely.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

And read it together.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You say, go anyway. There is more value in just living than in impressing the right people.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Last story.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Last story of a message of, you.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Don'T have to try so hard. Can you talk about getting the caramel out of the pan?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Oh, my gosh, this is so great. So I had made. I had copper pots that were sent to me from a client, and they were free. And I'm like, I had never owned a copper pot in my life. And these moviel pots are two to $300 each. This beautiful little sauce pot. And I burned the caramel into the base of the pot, and I ruined it. And I scrubbed it for hours, and I would pour it out and scrub again and just cry because I ruined the pot. And I remember feeling like this is kind of like my life right now. Like, I'm scrubbing and trying and trying to make everything work out, and it just wasn't. And I kind of decided, like, I guess this pot is garbage. Like, I guess we're gonna have to throw the pot away. And I think you're gonna have to remind me, because I don't. I feel. Feel like I. It was one of two things. I either needed to use the pot for Something. And I just decided to boil water in. In it. Or somebody told me that I needed to boil water. I'm like, remind me about my own book.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Okay.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You say, well, I know. That's how it always is. People are like, I read that book a long time ago. You're putting me on the spot here. You say, a few days went by and she, like, thinking, I'm gonna throw it out. I scraped and scratched with knives to chip away the thick blood. Crust burned to the bottom. I soaked and I boiled it and finally decided to give up. I drained the pan and went to set it in the garbage, but I just couldn't do it.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

So I left it on the counter.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

A few days went by. Hi, I'm cleaning the kitchen. I'm loading the dishwasher, and I looked.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

At the pot, and the gunk was crackling.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I swear, if I looked hard, I could see the bottom of the pan.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

I picked it up and touched the burn. It flaked away as if it were tissue paper.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. It's so funny. I'd forgotten about that. That's true. Because I boiled and boiled and scrubbed and put everything in it, and then it did. It just flaked away easily when I let it go and let it be. That story is ministering to my heart right now, too, because there's so much even now. I mean, our whole life and my whole job is like putting myself out there and talking about my books and being on shows and putting myself in front of people all the time. And sometimes I feel like, gosh, Lord, do you hear? Do you hear me? Sometimes I feel like that. And even thinking about that story now, sometimes you do have to just leave it alone. You just leave stuff alone. And God is so capable. And it did flake off. Oh, my gosh. I love that.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

That.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I love it.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You don't have to try so hard.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yes.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You have this sentence.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

God can cause you to have wonderful ideas, and he can favor you and cause the right opportunities to come along. Opportunities that have nothing to do with your performance.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

To cry out to Jesus is medicine.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

For a weary and broken soul. I believe he can work all our tragedy for his glory to be shown in our lives.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You have this phrase in here.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Planting for a harvest I knew nothing about.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Even still, you know, when you wrote this memoir.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You didn't know you're going to be on next level Chef?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

No, I didn't know. And that's the thing, like planting for a harvest you know nothing about. That's what having faith is. That's what following the Lord is like. And it's not going to be perfect, and it's not going to be easy. And I had no idea that five years ago when I was writing this or six years ago, that the Lord was going to do what. What he's doing with it. I didn't know that I was going to be on your podcast. I've been a fan of yours for years. I think that you. What you're doing is so cool and so exciting, and to. To think that I reached out. I literally. I think my publisher wrote you. And then I was like, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna write her on Instagram. Yep. And then when you wrote me back, I'm like, this woman with a million followers is gonna write back to little lowly old me with 60 at the time. And just because I believed, I'm like, I. I have a little message. I'd love to tell you about my cookbook.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

We get on this call, and I was like, wow, this woman. Why not just. I think about you all the time. I thought about you ever since. I was like. My dream guest for kicking off the year would be Danielle. Of all the 600 people that I've talked to, close to 700 people is you. And, you know, from this cookbook, and this isn't even your first one. It's your kids one. So it's been such a blessing, and I think that's what people are going to get from your memoir. You are always there, notes and recipes, and there are recipes for living the life you love. You have this prayer, which I think.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Is a really good prayer.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

God, close every door we aren't meant to open. Please open doors no man can shut.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

And protect my marriage and family. As you're planting for a harvest that.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You know nothing about, I want to read this one last paragraph. I mean, we scratch the surface. This book, you know, this book did a lot for me, a lot for my soul.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

I'm so glad I met you, and.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

I'm so glad that I read it. You write this simply being the mom.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

You are right now. You are shaping your children into great humans.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

The difficult choices you make now are.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Setting an example for your kids that will mean far more than anything you can. Tell them you are doing a great job.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

You are doing the best you can.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

With what you have. And if you aren't, then change it.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Amen.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Oh, Danielle, what an honor. I cannot wait to watch Next Level Chef. Oh, my goodness. Okay. It debuts January 29th. You will be on February 12th. You have a new cookbook coming out in April. And you have a ton of books and they are all, all, all phenomenal. I highly recommend every single one.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Thank you.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Thank you for saying yes. Thank you for reaching out and thank you for this incredible. It's a legacy that you're sharing publicly that you're allowing people to.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

To see themselves in your story and.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

To wonder if, would God show up for me too?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Yeah, that's what I want for people. When they read this or they hear my story, I never want them to look to me and be like, wow, I wish I was like her. I want them to know that God can do the same things for them in their careers, in their marriages, with their mother, their journey. God can restore every feeling of inadequacy. God can just restore it and rebuild it. We serve a mighty God of restoration and we forget that and rest. Read this with your girlfriends. There's also some questions in the back, like study questions. If you're going to have a little book club, there's questions in the back that you can ask each other, which is actually really kind of fun.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

Oh, there is. There's a reading group guide right in the back. Yeah, this is the one. Go get it right now and do it with your friends. Danielle, thanks for being here and I cannot wait to watch Next Level Chef.

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Thank you, Jenny.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Okay, if you love Danielle as much as I did, here's what I want you to do while the emotion is still fresh.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

First, share this episode, tap share and.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Send it off to a few people. This episode is a reminder that you can lose a lot and still find your way back. Second, make sure you're following the show of 30 episodes ready to roll, and February is going to be full of incredible conversations. Practical, hopeful, and exactly the kind of company you want in your ears when life is a lot. Third, if you've never left a review, would you do it today? It takes just a minute or two and it genuinely matters. Go to the show page, scroll down, tap 5 stars and write something.

[Jenny Arch (Podcast Host)]

It could be anything.

[Podcast Host (possibly Jenny Arch)]

Anything. This review came in a few days ago from Samwise, one of the most intelligent, well researched, charming podcasters. Her guests are exceptional, as is her interviewing. She is an absolute delight and such an encouragement to me as a mom, lover of wonder and low tech living. Thank you. Thank you for equipping me with every episode. I read every review and they make my heart sing and they help other families find the show. I'm really glad you were here. With me today. Let me know if you watch Danielle on Next Level Show Chef. I've never seen it before, so I hope it doesn't have cursing and that it is somewhat family friendly, since I'm encouraging you to watch it. Until next time. May you find extraordinary moments on ordinary paths.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Get outside, open your eyes? Feel that sunshine kissing your skin? Throw your worries out to the wind? Climb some trees?

[Danielle Cardes (Guest)]

Trees?

[Podcast Intro/Outro Narrator]

Skin your knees? Feel that grass on your feet again? Get out there and take it in? Oh, it's a beautiful world? Ain't nothing on the screen? Is ever gonna beat this view? Oh, it's a beautiful way? And I just want to share with? I just want to share with you? This beautiful world? Such a beautiful world?