I am so glad this recipe is here! Also Anne of avonlea autumn!!!!! I’ve been so behind on reading Substacks. Thanks divorce, sick mother, teenager I chauffeur around, best friend with cancer, working in the ER.
Hello, lovely people! First of all, Erin, the tweets were spot on. :)
My treasures for the week have been:
-The Governerds' Third Semester Fun Book Club! We are reading 'Just Mercy' by Bryan Stevenson, and you all, I was not prepared for the levels of anger, sadness, and conviction that this book brings.
-I am also reading 'Jane Austen, The Secret Radical' by Helena Kelly. I came across this book while researching for my political philosophy paper last winter but didn't have enough time to read it in January. I got it from my local library (another treasure) and Miss Austen has some things to say!!! I will never look at Pride and Prejudice the same way again (in a good way).
-IG pages: @foldingmylaundry Rebecca has my dream wardrobe and her thrift store is a delight. @bethanyjoyful is such a sweet spirit and her dyes and garden are helping to cultivate so much creativity in me. @chainstitch (Dhara) makes beautiful embroidery magic.
-My first bake sale! So many generous local people have bought cookies to raise money for my friend who is fighting cancer, and it gives me all the feels. <3
A game that I like to play with myself is scrolling through my twitter feed and seeing Erin liked a tweet and going "that's gonna make it in the Friday newsletter" and then seeing if I'm right. I'm 3/3 this week hahaha
Treasure of all Treasures this week is that I book my trip to Madrid in October. I got sick a couple years ago (where my autoimmune peeps at) and this is the first trip I am planning that is not to a family/family location since. SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! Give me all your solo girl traveling tips and recommendations for Spain.
Spicy Erin must have curated the tweets this week and I'll be honest- I had much joy over all of it :D
I'm in the process of making Bri's Easiest Paleo Roast recipe (found here: https://oursavorylife.com/the-easiest-paleo-roast-recipe/) because yesterday while on my way to Denny's for an impromptu goodbye 39 girl's dinner for my aunt, I went to my old grocery stomping grounds and was reminded I do in fact really like how easy that recipe is. Also - we had Little Caesar's pizza for both lunch & dinner on Wednesday so while I had grand plans to make some delicious Creamy Chicken Poblano Soup this week (or really, last week), realistic me finally gave up and started looking at 5-ingredient dinner recipes.
I've officially replaced my driver's license due to having lost it & not because it expired, so I feel a level of 'grown up woman' I didn't realize I was missing until it arrived hahahaha.
Hubby has spent the weeks since we closed on our new house dreaming & scheming of ways to set us up for financial success & we start the first active step (aka signing more paperwork) tomorrow, so good vibes would be appreciated - it's a 2+ year long path but at the end we'll be able to look toward retirement with a little more financial stability which, considering we both do manual labor (creative labor, but still) for work, is something that weighs on my mind regularly.
TW: infant loss
We got the photo proofs back from the newborn shoot of 'our' rainbow baby this morning & watching my niece be snuggled by her dad, when the last photos we have of him holding a baby were of the baby we buried did something to me in a profound way & I'm weepy.
Hope you all have the best weekend available to you <3
Very embarrassing confession. I've been very confused about why they cast a middle-aged woman to play a 15ish-year old Ariel but ok, whatever. But then I just discovered a few minutes ago that no, honey, it's not Halle Berry, it's Halle *Bailey*. 🤦♀️
I love that poem by Brad Aaron Modlin. I first heard it on Poetry Unbound. It is a treat to listen to Pádraig Ó Tuama read it and give his commentary alongside those beautiful words.
Just stopping by to say I’m the happiest Marylander in the whole comment section. That tweet was perfection. Where is the Maryland flag emoji already?!?! 🫡🦀
This week has been rough with a cold slowly working it’s way through the four of us then me tacking on a UTI at the end. 🙄
But, I do feel like all the work I’ve been doing around body acceptance and embodied living is finally starting to pay off, because although my first response was “My stupid body is betraying me!”, I was able to follow that up with a gentler, kinder “My body is telling me I need to rest and take extra care of her today.” Progress.
Also, the big big treasure is that OUR COOKBOOK LAUNCHED TODAY! My husband and I poured our hearts and souls into this, and I’m super proud of it. If you want some unfussy recipes for seasonal gatherings (there’s a whole chapter just for fall potlucks and tailgating!) this is the place: https://neighborfoodblog.com/cookbook/
Happy Friday! It's been lovely and cool here in NC this week, and I love it. My apartment has two sliding windows that open onto a screened porch, and leaving them open at night is just glorious.
The tweets this week were excellent! I'm firmly in my cozy early bedtime era and plan to keep it that way.
A big treasure this week was committing to walking 2x a week with a friend. She's got 4 kids, so it's hard to have time where it's just us, and we both know we're better people when we move our bodies, so it's nice to have a set time and a partner to keep you on track.
I recently discovered Sheila Wray Gregoire and her podcast Bare Marriage. Y'all, she's amazing and such a good post-purity culture truth-teller.
I finally read Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow this week. It was delightful! I don't think I liked it better than Jane or A.J. Fikery, but it was a good read.
Have a great weekend friends, look forward to catching up in the comments!
My grandparents owned the fist taco restaurant in our small southern OK town. It’s been shut down for over 30years and my grandparents divorced for just as long and my grandpa has been dead since before the twin towers fell, but my grandma FINALLY told my mom the recipe for their taco seasoning and the heavens have parted and bestowed me this gift.
I’m still not privied to the full recipe but when my mom is out of special seasoning packets I try to replicate it by adding a few squirts of tomato paste and a small glug of vinegar to regular taco seasoning and it mostly does the trick.
I also make really good Rotel dip. No real recipe, I just brown some hamburger meat, then in a pot melt a thing of Velveeta, then add the beef, 2 cans of Rotel, 1 can of corn, and a bunch of chopped pickled jalapenos and some jalapeno juice. You can just keep adding stuff until it tastes perfect to you. My husband thinks it's the best thing in the world and makes me feel like an actual chef when I make it.
If you are wanting a dip with some veggies, I also make really good Spinach and artichoke dip. The secret is to start with store bought spinach and artichoke dip. I get the real big one from Costco, so if you get a regular size one from the grocery store, just do less of the other ingredients. Pour the dip into a casserole dish, mix in at least 2Tbsp of whipped cream cheese, mix in half a bag of shredded Italian blend cheese. pour the rest of the cheese on top. Top with cracked black pepper (this part is actually important, it needs to be cracked black pepper, not the really fine stuff you use every day, you can get it for like $2 at the store). Then bake in the oven at 350 for like 20 minutes or until it's bubbly on the sides. This one really impresses people and you don't have to tell them that it's store bought.
Turds:
- the weather. I think 2 weeks ago I said we are DONE with 90 degree weather here in Alabama and I feel like Boo Boo the Fool now. The highs next week are 95. I'm v depressed about it.
- I had my performance review at work and it went SO WELL. My career has been turned upside down several times over the past few years, but I'm really happy about the way things are going right now.
- Mornings here have been in the 60s and I've been able to sit on the porch while I have my coffee and not want to die!
- I read My Lady Jane this month and it was so cute and fun. And then I found out that there are other books like it about other historical ladies, and I can't wait to get into those as well!
- A few weeks ago I asked y'all if I should watch Lord of the Rings and y'all said yes, so I did. I watched the original 3 and the three Hobbit movies and loved them all. Now I'm watching Rings of Power and it's so good! I'm happy that I understand it and I finally understand all of the LOTR memes that have been circling the internet for the past 10 years. And also, Legolas is V V V hot and can totally get it, but don't tell my husband.
- I'm part of the Sharon Says So book club and we just finished Just Mercy. This was one of the best books I've ever read. I've heard other people say how good it is, but I just never got around to it. I want to tell all of you, if you haven't read this book, READ IT NOW!!! It's only about 314 pages, and the story is so compelling you have to know what comes next, so it was easy for me to finish in a couple of days.
Okay, I think that's it. I love y'all so much! Can't wait to catch up in the comments <3
LISTEN, this white chicken chili (https://www.cookingclassy.com/white-chicken-chili/) is magic. Everyone I make it for is obsessed. The first time I made this recipe, I ate some the next morning for breakfast. That's how good it is.
My treasure for the week is that for our 15th wedding anniversary, my husband and I are doing the tasting menu at my bro in law's restaurant (https://www.elviesrestaurant.com/), and I'm pretty excited.
I'm still new to this whole commenting on the swipe up thing. Are we allowed to ask questions? Because if so, I need help! How do you make friends in the south? I have had no trouble making friends quickly in the last two places we've lived (Burlington, Vermont, and State College, PA), but we just moved back to Mississippi (where we are originally from), and when I tell you I have almost no friends, I am not exaggerating. What am I doing wrong?!?
🦀 Lil Treasures #144: The Maryland National Guard and Cookies with Bacon
I am so glad this recipe is here! Also Anne of avonlea autumn!!!!! I’ve been so behind on reading Substacks. Thanks divorce, sick mother, teenager I chauffeur around, best friend with cancer, working in the ER.
Hello, lovely people! First of all, Erin, the tweets were spot on. :)
My treasures for the week have been:
-The Governerds' Third Semester Fun Book Club! We are reading 'Just Mercy' by Bryan Stevenson, and you all, I was not prepared for the levels of anger, sadness, and conviction that this book brings.
-I am also reading 'Jane Austen, The Secret Radical' by Helena Kelly. I came across this book while researching for my political philosophy paper last winter but didn't have enough time to read it in January. I got it from my local library (another treasure) and Miss Austen has some things to say!!! I will never look at Pride and Prejudice the same way again (in a good way).
-IG pages: @foldingmylaundry Rebecca has my dream wardrobe and her thrift store is a delight. @bethanyjoyful is such a sweet spirit and her dyes and garden are helping to cultivate so much creativity in me. @chainstitch (Dhara) makes beautiful embroidery magic.
-My first bake sale! So many generous local people have bought cookies to raise money for my friend who is fighting cancer, and it gives me all the feels. <3
Have the best weekend available to you! <3
A game that I like to play with myself is scrolling through my twitter feed and seeing Erin liked a tweet and going "that's gonna make it in the Friday newsletter" and then seeing if I'm right. I'm 3/3 this week hahaha
Treasure of all Treasures this week is that I book my trip to Madrid in October. I got sick a couple years ago (where my autoimmune peeps at) and this is the first trip I am planning that is not to a family/family location since. SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! Give me all your solo girl traveling tips and recommendations for Spain.
Turd- Headache of headache months
Spicy Erin must have curated the tweets this week and I'll be honest- I had much joy over all of it :D
I'm in the process of making Bri's Easiest Paleo Roast recipe (found here: https://oursavorylife.com/the-easiest-paleo-roast-recipe/) because yesterday while on my way to Denny's for an impromptu goodbye 39 girl's dinner for my aunt, I went to my old grocery stomping grounds and was reminded I do in fact really like how easy that recipe is. Also - we had Little Caesar's pizza for both lunch & dinner on Wednesday so while I had grand plans to make some delicious Creamy Chicken Poblano Soup this week (or really, last week), realistic me finally gave up and started looking at 5-ingredient dinner recipes.
I've officially replaced my driver's license due to having lost it & not because it expired, so I feel a level of 'grown up woman' I didn't realize I was missing until it arrived hahahaha.
Hubby has spent the weeks since we closed on our new house dreaming & scheming of ways to set us up for financial success & we start the first active step (aka signing more paperwork) tomorrow, so good vibes would be appreciated - it's a 2+ year long path but at the end we'll be able to look toward retirement with a little more financial stability which, considering we both do manual labor (creative labor, but still) for work, is something that weighs on my mind regularly.
TW: infant loss
We got the photo proofs back from the newborn shoot of 'our' rainbow baby this morning & watching my niece be snuggled by her dad, when the last photos we have of him holding a baby were of the baby we buried did something to me in a profound way & I'm weepy.
Hope you all have the best weekend available to you <3
Very embarrassing confession. I've been very confused about why they cast a middle-aged woman to play a 15ish-year old Ariel but ok, whatever. But then I just discovered a few minutes ago that no, honey, it's not Halle Berry, it's Halle *Bailey*. 🤦♀️
I love that poem by Brad Aaron Modlin. I first heard it on Poetry Unbound. It is a treat to listen to Pádraig Ó Tuama read it and give his commentary alongside those beautiful words.
https://onbeing.org/programs/brad-aaron-modlin-what-you-missed-that-day-you-were-absent-from-fourth-grade/
Just stopping by to say I’m the happiest Marylander in the whole comment section. That tweet was perfection. Where is the Maryland flag emoji already?!?! 🫡🦀
This week has been rough with a cold slowly working it’s way through the four of us then me tacking on a UTI at the end. 🙄
But, I do feel like all the work I’ve been doing around body acceptance and embodied living is finally starting to pay off, because although my first response was “My stupid body is betraying me!”, I was able to follow that up with a gentler, kinder “My body is telling me I need to rest and take extra care of her today.” Progress.
Also, the big big treasure is that OUR COOKBOOK LAUNCHED TODAY! My husband and I poured our hearts and souls into this, and I’m super proud of it. If you want some unfussy recipes for seasonal gatherings (there’s a whole chapter just for fall potlucks and tailgating!) this is the place: https://neighborfoodblog.com/cookbook/
Also, these Apple Cider Floats are my favorite summer bridge to fall recipe. Get all the fall vibes without turning on the oven. https://neighborfoodblog.com/caramel-apple-cider-floats/
Happy Friday! It's been lovely and cool here in NC this week, and I love it. My apartment has two sliding windows that open onto a screened porch, and leaving them open at night is just glorious.
The tweets this week were excellent! I'm firmly in my cozy early bedtime era and plan to keep it that way.
A big treasure this week was committing to walking 2x a week with a friend. She's got 4 kids, so it's hard to have time where it's just us, and we both know we're better people when we move our bodies, so it's nice to have a set time and a partner to keep you on track.
I recently discovered Sheila Wray Gregoire and her podcast Bare Marriage. Y'all, she's amazing and such a good post-purity culture truth-teller.
I finally read Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow this week. It was delightful! I don't think I liked it better than Jane or A.J. Fikery, but it was a good read.
Have a great weekend friends, look forward to catching up in the comments!
My grandparents owned the fist taco restaurant in our small southern OK town. It’s been shut down for over 30years and my grandparents divorced for just as long and my grandpa has been dead since before the twin towers fell, but my grandma FINALLY told my mom the recipe for their taco seasoning and the heavens have parted and bestowed me this gift.
I’m still not privied to the full recipe but when my mom is out of special seasoning packets I try to replicate it by adding a few squirts of tomato paste and a small glug of vinegar to regular taco seasoning and it mostly does the trick.
Beloveds, I had originally left the ground ginger (it's in the title!) out of the recipe, but it has now been added 💛
Good morning, sweet swipes!!!
I hope y'all have had a wonderfully peaceful week, and if you haven't I'm praying we all find a way to relax this weekend.
One of my favorite easy side dishes to cook is this honey butter skillet corn. It's very comforting and only takes minutes: https://togetherasfamily.com/honey-butter-creamy-skillet-corn/
I also make really good Rotel dip. No real recipe, I just brown some hamburger meat, then in a pot melt a thing of Velveeta, then add the beef, 2 cans of Rotel, 1 can of corn, and a bunch of chopped pickled jalapenos and some jalapeno juice. You can just keep adding stuff until it tastes perfect to you. My husband thinks it's the best thing in the world and makes me feel like an actual chef when I make it.
If you are wanting a dip with some veggies, I also make really good Spinach and artichoke dip. The secret is to start with store bought spinach and artichoke dip. I get the real big one from Costco, so if you get a regular size one from the grocery store, just do less of the other ingredients. Pour the dip into a casserole dish, mix in at least 2Tbsp of whipped cream cheese, mix in half a bag of shredded Italian blend cheese. pour the rest of the cheese on top. Top with cracked black pepper (this part is actually important, it needs to be cracked black pepper, not the really fine stuff you use every day, you can get it for like $2 at the store). Then bake in the oven at 350 for like 20 minutes or until it's bubbly on the sides. This one really impresses people and you don't have to tell them that it's store bought.
Turds:
- the weather. I think 2 weeks ago I said we are DONE with 90 degree weather here in Alabama and I feel like Boo Boo the Fool now. The highs next week are 95. I'm v depressed about it.
Treasures:
- I've never seen the movies, but I think the HSM fans will like this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChjBJHRDkMl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
- I had my performance review at work and it went SO WELL. My career has been turned upside down several times over the past few years, but I'm really happy about the way things are going right now.
- Mornings here have been in the 60s and I've been able to sit on the porch while I have my coffee and not want to die!
- I read My Lady Jane this month and it was so cute and fun. And then I found out that there are other books like it about other historical ladies, and I can't wait to get into those as well!
- A few weeks ago I asked y'all if I should watch Lord of the Rings and y'all said yes, so I did. I watched the original 3 and the three Hobbit movies and loved them all. Now I'm watching Rings of Power and it's so good! I'm happy that I understand it and I finally understand all of the LOTR memes that have been circling the internet for the past 10 years. And also, Legolas is V V V hot and can totally get it, but don't tell my husband.
- I'm part of the Sharon Says So book club and we just finished Just Mercy. This was one of the best books I've ever read. I've heard other people say how good it is, but I just never got around to it. I want to tell all of you, if you haven't read this book, READ IT NOW!!! It's only about 314 pages, and the story is so compelling you have to know what comes next, so it was easy for me to finish in a couple of days.
Okay, I think that's it. I love y'all so much! Can't wait to catch up in the comments <3
The spaghetti appt tweet 😂😂
I’m not great at the baking (or the cooking for that matter!) but I’ve been eyeing these and I’m going to attempt this weekend: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/zucchini-banana-muffins/
The tweets were the BEST! These Paleo Brownie Muffins are a staple around here! Here you go: https://www.realfoodwithjessica.com/2018/04/05/paleo-chocolate-brownie-muffins/
LISTEN, this white chicken chili (https://www.cookingclassy.com/white-chicken-chili/) is magic. Everyone I make it for is obsessed. The first time I made this recipe, I ate some the next morning for breakfast. That's how good it is.
My treasure for the week is that for our 15th wedding anniversary, my husband and I are doing the tasting menu at my bro in law's restaurant (https://www.elviesrestaurant.com/), and I'm pretty excited.
I'm still new to this whole commenting on the swipe up thing. Are we allowed to ask questions? Because if so, I need help! How do you make friends in the south? I have had no trouble making friends quickly in the last two places we've lived (Burlington, Vermont, and State College, PA), but we just moved back to Mississippi (where we are originally from), and when I tell you I have almost no friends, I am not exaggerating. What am I doing wrong?!?