Friday Things #464
1. I hope you all have had a wonderful two weeks! We enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with extended family for the first time in three years and it was such a lovely day. The kids had so much fun! We all reveled in nearly a week off from school and schedules and enjoyed relaxing days.
2. One morning over Thanksgiving break, my husband and I got up around 7:00 to all three kids snuggled in Dominicโs bed reading a book together.
The three of them bicker and fight like any normal siblings; it can be frustrating and exhausting, but boy, moments like these make my heart just absolutely swell and melt at the same time โค๏ธ
3. I asked this on Instagram last week โ do you have a Christmas morning breakfast tradition? If so, Iโd love to hear what it is! Share in the comments below ๐
4. So interesting! >> The Unsung Women of the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens
5. This video of Chris Prattโs acceptance speech from the 2018 MTV Movie Awards popped up in my Facebook feed last week. I had never seen it before and thought it was great:
6. I am working on completely revamped gift guides for you this week! Be on the lookout for an email when they are published (likely over the weekend); I hope they provide some ideas and inspiration for your holiday shopping!
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7. I finished It Ends With Us a couple of weeks ago and really liked it. Iโm not sure what it is about how Colleen Hoover writes, but I absolutely fly through her books. I just began Code Name Helen; I will keep you posted on how I like it! What was your favorite book from the year?
8. Love this from James Clearโs newsletter:
9. We started watching Tulsa King (Paramount+); made by Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone. Iโve never been a huge Sylvester Stallone fan, but oh my gosh, we LOVE this show! Also looking forward to 1923 later in December; we werenโt huge fans of 1883 (even though I adore Tim McGraw and Faith Hill), so Iโm hoping we enjoy 1923 more.
10. TGIF!ย These two kept a very close eye on Thanksgiving preparations ๐
My favorite book of the year was Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult. I read it the first week of December and after that I had a string of so-so books.
Iโm concerned that there hasnโt been a new Friday Things for two weeks. ย Is everything okay?
Christmas MorNing tradition food wise? We always love an egg cheddar and sausage strata that my mom used to make multiple 9x13s of. Five siblings we went through two or three of them as a brunch after opening gifts. Both parents have been gone for a while but we still do it, just at a higher volume. After all, there were 5 of usโฆโฆ.at that time.
For the Colleen Hoover fans, the New York Times had a great article about her life in October.
We make a double batch of the Pioneer Womanโs cinnamon rolls in early December for gifting (just made them last weekend), and I put two pans in the deep freeze. I put them in the fridge on Christmas Eve afternoon to thaw and heat them up in the oven on Christmas morningโthey still taste fresh and make the house smell amazing. I also make oven bacon, which I pop in as I first hear my daughter stirring. To that, I add a bowl of berries, OJ and sparkling wine for mimosas and brew some seasonal flavored coffee, and weโre good to go. Easy, and special enough as these cinnamon rolls only get made once a year.