Friday Things
1. This is the first year that Joseph is really โgettingโ Santa Claus, and it just SO MUCH FUN. Weโve asked him many times what he would like Santa to bring for him, and his answers are always one of the following: snow, vanilla ice cream, or chocolate ice cream. His innocence and delight in the simple things makes my heart nearly explode.
2. I bought Isabelle cable knit leggings in both gray and cream, and they are so soft and feel so cozy that I wish they made them in my size. I would seriously live in them!
3. Dominic continues to be a super sweet and totally FUNNY child. His new โgameโ is heโll turn pages in a book and find something that catches his eye (a car, a door, etc.) then page away from it to โhideโ it. Heโll say, โhuh! whereโs the car?!โ followed by a sly, sweet smile and โIโll find it!โ. Then he pages back to it, exclaiming, โthereโs the car! I found it!โ I just want to scoop him up and smother him in hugs and kisses.
4. Today (12/14) is Free Ship Day! LOADS of retailers are offering free shipping today, so if you havenโt finished your shopping yet, today is a great day to hop online! The website freeshippingday.com has a list of all the stores that are offering free shipping.
5. Speaking of, Iโd love to knowโฆ What is your favorite gift youโve bought for someone else so far this season?
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6. The boys have been LOVING helping in the kitchen! Last Saturday they made sugar cookie cut outs with my mom, this week they made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at my in-laws, and yesterday we made dough for gingerbread cookies; weโll cut them out and decorate this afternoon. So excited!
7. What is on your Christmas baking list? Iโd love to hear what youโre making over the next couple of weeks!
8. This made me so sad for kids today, and so grateful that I made it the whole way through college and nearly to 30 before social media even existed >> Middle School Misfortunes, Then and Now (2008 vs 2018): One Teacherโs Take
9. As we wind down this year and start looking ahead to 2019, I would love to know how I can help you in the coming year! Do you have any resolutions or goals you need help with, something you want to master in the kitchen, or anything else youโd love to see in this space? Please share below! :)
10. TGIF! I hope you have a cozy weekend!
I really splurged this year and bought my husband ย tickets to see The Rolling Stones. He never does anything for himself and works so hard for everyone else.ย
P.s. in the year ahead would love to see a few shortcuts that you recommend..or new food products that you loveโฆeven a casserole recipe on occasion would be great too๐
Such a beautiful family. Your blog..pictures of your beautiful babies and doggies just help lighten the load of life some days. I love how you end Friday things with a pic of the furry babies..so amazingly sweet. What an example you are on loving your kids..family and dogs tooโฆamazing person you are
There is adult size cable knit leggings on Amazon. Have a great Christmas
An Italian bakery where I used to live makes a pastry/cookie that Iโm sure is Sicilian in origin. ย It contains ricotta, citron, and chocolate shavings. ย I donโt get there often and they wonโt ship the cookies. ย I recently found a recipe for cannoli cookies that is as close to those from the bakery as Iโve ever seen. ย Iโm eager to try the recipe. ย
https://snappygourmet.com/cannoli-cookies-recipe/
The favorite gifts Iโve bought are a Le Creuset gravy boat for one daughter and Bombas socks for the other. ย
Favorite gift- Microsoft Office 365 for my husband. It has dictation capabilities and he can dictate and enter is own research into Word without me!! Actually, itโs more of a gift for ME! Anyway, weโre both happy with it.
I would love to learn how to make doughnuts โ specifically maple bars. I actually had it on my goal list for 2018 and I doubt I will get to it. Thank you for all of your recipes! My favorite so far is your cornbread. It really is the best.ever!
Oh my ! ย I love all your recipes! ย So, we had a Christmas party last weekend and I made your Lofthouse Cookies and peanut butter fudge- delish.
Wanted to tell youโฆ.made a chocolate peppermint cake from OurBestBites.com and White Christmas Fudge from DearCrissy,com. ย Check them out! ย Iโm sure youโll bookmark! ย Love your kids and doggies โ they are all adorable. ย Keep up the recipes- canโt wait!
Oh my gosh, that article on social media was totally depressing, yet all so true. I am SOOOOO grateful to have grown up without it, but my child is in the thick of it. It is scary stuff and honestly just sad. Whenever you see kids out (and actually a lot of adults), they are just staring down at a phone and not paying attention to the world around them. Hold off on phones as long as possible for your kiddos. I am going to attempt making thumbprint cookies because I have never tried them before. Kind of old school, but what the heck? Havenโt decide what else yet. Happy Friday!!!
I love your friday things blog posts. I love all the links of things youโve discovered and like. Stuff like that is always so helpful to read!!
My favorite gifts that I bought this year for all my granddaughters, my boyfriend and myself is The Comfy. Costco had two for $50. Here is the website.ย
https://thecomfy.com/products/the-comfy
Almost done with Christmas baking, grandkids coming over tonight to decorate the sugar cookies, and my daughter and I will finish up tomorrow and box up our treat boxes. Friends have already been asking if weโve been baking. They are a hit with many of the recipes coming from you Michelle.
My favorite gift this year will be for one of my daughters who commented on a blog she follows that she LOVED every single item that the gal was modeling and since the blog is about shopping, all the links to each item were posted, VOILA, clicked away and everything came within a couple of days. Canโt wait to see her face when she opens her gift.
Have a fabulous Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.
We are making sugar cookies, peppermint bark, Kiflins (like snowball cookies), cake balls and homemade cinnamon rolls. I LOVE this time of year and always host a sugar cookie decorating party at my house. My Christmas sprinkle collection is out of control! I have a problem :-)
Dear Michelle,
Just adore your family updatesโฆlike a far-away aunty once removed. Each child so different but set in a loving circle and growing and โbecomingโ. (Your recipes are GREAT TOO!)
Looking at the dogsโฆlast photo was like the perfect shot of โan old married coupleโ!
My favorite gift this year is for my brother who lives in small town across the country. I have arranged a โperfect dayโ. I found out his favorite places and got gift certificates for his favorite breakfast spot, the bookstore he likes to visit, where he gets his hair cut, and a fun dinner place. Heโll have a full day in town and end up with a gift card for Netfilx to wind down at home. Iโm hoping he enjoys it as much as I enjoyed planning it!
You make such beautiful cakes. I would love some tutorials.
Just wanted to say when I got to the end of Friday Things this morning, & saw the picture of your dogs cuddling together it made my day! Just made me smile!ย
Itโs great reading your stories, and recipes are great with some old favorites too ,looking for scottish shortbread a for the new year.
Happy holidays!! Im making cannoli pound cake (a recipe from Smitten Kitchen Iโve tweaked) and chocolate crinkle cookies (that are made with unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate and semi sweet chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder). Iโve already made rugalach, and Iโm still looking to make something using the bourbon barrel aged honey I bought from a distillery in FL. (Omg, writing that out it now seems like a lot, lol).ย
So far my favorite gift is for my adult son: I bought him a leather belt ย making kit from Man-Crate. Unfortunately he didnโt wait for Christmas but opened it when it arrived. He made the belt the next day and it is gorgeous. He is so excited about this gift.ย
I am 100% certain that you can find adult-sized cable knit leggings. Nordstrom had them, but they sold out. ย Muk Luks has them in 4 different colors. I didnโt check Amazon, but Iโm sure they have them as well.ย
Boy do they look comfy.ย
Would love a recipe for prime rib/beef tenderloin/rib roast.
If I may, I would like to make a second shout-out to the BEB because she is the baking pro that the Chicago Bearsโ official baker (yes, there is such a person), turns to for inspiration. If you want to hear her give praise to Michelle, you can listen to WGN: https://wgnradio.com/2018/12/12/baking-for-the-holidays-with-chicago-bears-baker-sarah-tuohy/
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Iโm super excited to give my mom some nice skin care goodies, she doesnโt pamper herself at all. ย For dad, iโm coordinating a family portrait. And copious amounts of treats and toys for the doggies. :) ย
I always look forward to Friday Things! The favorite gift Iโve bought so far is a metal detector for my son who is 12. We love to go on treasure hunts in the woods and heโs outgrown the one Santa brought him when he was 7. ย Who knows what we will find?ย
Lots of baking planned this weekend with traditional Spritz cookies up first. Inspired by the Great British Baking Show, Iโm hoping to make a Yule Log for Christmas Eve.ย
Iโm sooo excited for Christmas!!