Friday Things
1. We had a great holiday season with the boys; lots of time with family and playing with new toys (and Dominic has totally mastered holiday-ing, HA). We also discovered a work around to their usual early bedtimeโฆ both of them are typically asleep by 7pm, which is great on normal days, but having to be out and about for holiday stuff makes it a little bit harder. If we leave somewhere late afternoon, theyโre guaranteed to fall asleep in the car, probably too close to bedtime, and then itโs a disaster when we get home. Our solution (which is probably not new to anyone with kids, but it was the first time we did it) was to stay where we were (my momโs on Christmas Eve and my in-lawsโ on New Yearโs Day) until about bedtime, then change the boys into their pajamas before we left. On cue, they both passed out in the car, but it made it super easy to just carry them right into bed when we got home. SO. MUCH. EASIER!
2. How was your New Yearโs? We had a super low key night โ watched Netflix and went to bed when we normally do (around 10:30) โ there was no way we were going to make it to midnight!
3. Last year I threw around the idea of doing a monthly challenge for us all to tackle together, and Iโm happy to report itโs definitely happening! I plan to post them on the first Monday of the month, so be on the lookout Monday for the first one of the yearโฆ Iโm so excited to tackle new projects in the kitchen with you!
4. Iโm not going to lie, Iโm totally jealous of all the snow everyone on the east coast is getting; Iโd love a nice big snow storm here! That being said, I hope everyone in the stormโs path stays warm and safe. We have some crazy wind chill warnings here and every single school had already closed as of early yesterday morning. A good weekend to hunker down at home!
5. Since itโs bitter cold and snowy in so many places right now, you should totally whip up a big batch of my father-in-lawโs famous meat sauce and enjoy some good old comfort food, then freeze some for later!
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6. Totally want to try these slow cooker carnitas ASAP.
7. So apparently Oregon is a state that has traditionally not had self-serve gas stations, but they just changed a law where they are now allowed in some areas, and people are not happy. I guess Iโve taken for granted pumping my own gas since I got my driverโs license; Iโve never thought that it was crazy or not the norm!
8. I came across a new hair tutorial YouTube channel โ Fancy Pants Hair โ and love it. I need all the help I can get, ha!
9. I think Iโve mentioned it before, but have you watched Peaky Blinders on Netflix? We discovered it right before Joseph was born and LOVED it. The most recent season just got released to Netflix and we finished it in less than a week.
10. TGIF! I hope you have a warm and toasty weekend!
I live in the east side Cleveland snow belt, and we have WAY more than enough snow here โ Iโll happily send some your way! Lol. We went from -13 degrees on Friday, to heavy, wet thick snow and high winds on Monday, to much warmer but icy all over yesterday and today. I take public transportation to work, and itโs been a miserable commute every day. Ugh!! Spring cannot come soon enough!!
Love you blog and have been following it for years but never posted. I lived in Pittsburgh for 30 years and now live in Oregon, I so enjoy not pumping my own gas, very nice not to stand out in the rain! Oregonians are over reaction to this new law, it only applies to very unpopulated areas and only between 6 pm to 6am, for most people everything will remain the same.ย
I wanted to encourage you on your resolution to make a sourdough starter and make sourdough bread. I started making sourdough about 6 years ago and it is so fun and challenging, working with a live culture verses yeast is very interesting. I love that I donโt have knead dough or even use a mixer to mix my dough. I recently started using a very stiff stater with very good results. So looking forward to hearing about sourdough!
Iโm an Oregonian and not having to pump your own gas is great. You donโt have to get out in bad weather or smell like gas. You can also get gas when dressed in nice clothing. It creates jobs and our gas is usually the same price as Washington and California which have self serve. I do know how to pump my own gas, thanks to living in Idaho for college. I think New Jersey has a similar law.
Iโm also looking forward to the monthly challenges.
I love a good snow storm too and here in southwest Ohio we have only seen about 1 inch this season. ย Last year we had none! ย I keep telling my 3 kids it has to snow eventually. ย It is suppose to warm up a bit and rain next week so lots of mud in the future. ย Glad you enjoyed the holidays with your family!
Our winters here seem to be feast or famine too!
Iโm looking forward to the monthly challenge, esp the Sourdough Bread experience. ย Iโve only tried making bread twice, once using ambient yeasts from the air outside (it was a recipe)โฆit was not successful ๐. ย Love sourdough and itโs supposed to have a low GI (or something like that) so would love to try making it. ย I made spaghetti sauce recently and your comment reminds me that next time I should try your father-in-lawโs recipe. ย Iโm with you on the low-key NYE. ย I had a glass of wine with my neighbour whoโd just returned from Christmas with family and then made myself a nice dinner (lobster) with wine, watched Netflix and was also in bed before midnight. ย We have plenty of snow in SE BC (about a ft) and Iโm not enjoying shoveling it after 30 yrs of no snow in Australia! ย But I will adapt. ย HNY,
Your New Yearโs Eve sounds absolutely lovely!
The boys are so cuteโฆDominic definitely has the โholidayingโ down sigh! Looking forward to seeing the monthly projects. Itโs been really cold here for 2 weeksโฆreally hope it begins to warm up soon
Haha I know, Dominic knows how to pace himself lol.
Think your boys enjoyed the holidays but wondered if they were happy be dressed up. Have seen many people in Oregon this week who had no idea how to pump gas.
Happy 2018.
Hi Linda, being dressed up didnโt seem to both them at all!
Hi Michelle,
We just started Peaky Blinders around Christmastime and already finished the first seasonโฆlove it!
Started Sneaky Pete this weekโฆalso good :) Are you into documentaries? Just watched The Last Magnificent about Jeremiah Towerโฆvery good. Happy New Year!!!
We do like documentaries, Iโll check that one out, thanks!
Your comment about pumping your own gas in Oregan totally brought back a memory for me. I live in Canada but in my teens our family took a road trip down the west coast of the US. It was a BEAUTIFUL trip with gorgeous scenery but what stood out the most was the time my dad exited the car to put fuel in our van. A man from the gas kiosk started running at him full tilt while shouting and screaming! We were so confused until we realized that itโs illegal to pump your own gas, haha! What a weird law! I guess change is hard for anyoneโฆ.if youโre use to things being a certain way.
Oh my gosh thatโs so crazy and funny! The town I grew up in here is pretty rural and there are two full service gas stations, but just about everywhere else I know of you pump your own!
TGIF! Michelle, the boys are so adorable! It looks like they had a great Christmas season! The little ones just make the holidays so special.
BTW, I now have grandchildren and I must confess, I never thought of staying until bedtime, getting them dressed for bed then hitting the road, what a great idea! Iโll share this idea with my daughter.
Thank you so much Lucy! And I agree โ so much more special now with little ones!
Isnโt Pennsylvania East Coast? You didnโt get snow?
Philadelphia is East Coast, but I live in Pittsburgh, which is the very western side of the stateโฆ weโre definitely more midwest than east coast (I think technically weโre bordering Northeast, Midwest and Appalachia regions), BUT to make a long story short, no snow at all here!