Friday Things
1. Duke is now three and a half months old, and we can’t believe that he’s only been in our lives for a mere month and a half. It seems way longer than that! He’s continuing to grow and is even playing some tug of war with Einstein now. He loves to take naps on the hearth of the fireplace and to run laps around the living room in the evening.
2. Confession: I am not into Halloween. By “not into Halloween”, I mean I greatly dislike the holiday. I don’t like costume parties, I hate scary movies, and I can’t even pretend to be excited about all things black and orange. Needless to say, you probably aren’t going to find creepy finger cookies and spider cupcakes here. BUT… I will provide you with tons of recipes for Halloween candy!
3. Speaking of Halloween candy, I used to be totally addicted to candy corn, however now I can’t seem to eat more than a handful before being overwhelmed by the sweetness. I have something up my sleeve that I think might help balance the sweetness… stay tuned!
4. I have always been a little fashion-challenged, so I really enjoyed this Favorite Wardrobe Basics for Fall and Winter post by She Wears Many Hats. Lots of great ideas for basic pieces that can be built upon for different outfits.
5. Earlier this week, I saw a Stanley Cup ring live, in person, mere inches from my face. It totally made my day! I’ve seen the Stanley Cup up close and personal, but never a ring.
6. I got my first hot chocolate from Starbucks yesterday, which makes me feel completely ready for the cold, dreary weather. There’s nothing cozier than curling up on the couch with a fleece blanket and a warm drink in hand. I’m ready for some snowflakes!
7. Last week, I made mention of buying some Valrhona chocolate, and a reader, Cynthia, suggested that I check out the website Chocosphere. How had I never heard of this before?! There is a HUGE assortment of chocolate from tons of different brands, and at very competitive prices. It will definitely be my first stop when looking for chocolate from now on!
8. Have you seen these organized desktop wallpapers? Such a genius idea if you have icons floating all over your desktop. These backgrounds allow you to label different areas and drag the appropriate icons into those areas. I love this!
9. I’m approaching that time of year when I evaluate my magazine subscriptions. Right now, I receive Real Simple, Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, Delicious, and Donna Hay. What magazines do you love? Any recommendations?
10. TGIF! What do you have planned for the weekend? Maybe a game of Simon Says?
I’m very late to answer your question, but I LOVE Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country! The latter is my favorite because I like the brighter photos and format, but I like both of their recipes. They are just SO well constructed. Even those that weren’t my family’s favorites, I would recommend to other people who just like those particular flavors more.
I don’t like Halloween either. I haven’t dressed up since second grade when I was forced to. I do love the candy but can’t really get into candy corn either, though I did just post candy corn puppy chow which is crazy good! I get mostly fashion magazines – In Style is my fave.
Love the picture of those 2 lying on the floor. Too cute!
Those organized desktop wallpapers are a great idea, downloading now :)
Isn’t it funny how many of us don’t care for Halloween? My kids were always princesses, fairies, zoo keepers, sheep – all of the cutest things! I love your Friday pics too! I subscribe to many: Bon Appetit, Taste of Home, Cooking Light, BHG, Midwest Living, Coastal Living, plus Travel & Leisure, Glamour and Teen Vogue. Gah – then add in Pinterest, epicurious, browneyed baker… it’s hard to keep up! :)
Subscribe to Taste of Home. That’s just, like, a must.
Oh my gosh, Duke is getting so big! He’s the cutest – he looks so fluffy I just want to snuggle with him every time you post a picture :) Oh, and I’m so glad I’m not the only Halloween hater! I don’t like dressing up or scary movies either, though I will gladly make treats for the occasion.
The “This Old House” magazine is awesome, especially if you are doing renovations. Totally worth the $10/year subscription I have.
Duke is just precious!! The picture of him and Einstein is just adorable!! We have three dogs (all girls and all three Shih tzu’s – and one came from a local no-kill shelter we work with). I love seeing your pics of Duke and Einstein! They make my day!! And I also agree about the halloween thing…dont like scary….i will decorate for fall, but no witches and such….our bunco does a dress up for halloween and I refuse to do the witch thing! When the hosted insisted we all be witches a couple of years ago, I came as a hawaiian witch…sarong and coconut bra!! I dont mind dress up but i wont do scary!
Thanks for your blog! I look forward to it!
My currant magazine subscriptions are Bon Appetit, Good Food, Delicious and Olive. The last three are UK based. I love getting them through the post each month.
My favorite cooking magazine is Cuisine at Home. Great recipes and no advertising. You can go on their website and request a free sample issue.
I’m with you on the candy corn……don’t care for it, doesn’t taste like anything more than overly sweet to me. I don’t like that this time of year, so many recipes on blogs and Pinterest are candy corn based, or the overwhelming amount of pumpkin pancakes, scones, brownies, breads, etc. (not a pumpkin fan.) I guess I’m grouchy about that, but I do love sweater weather and the fall colors and scents. Magazines: I just get Food Network and Taste of Home. Love them both, but don’t seem to cook recipes from them as often as I should. (Noted to the husband the other day that the first recipe I made from a new issue of FN was from an AD!)
I just love your friday things. You always make everything sound so cozy. :)
Can’t wait to check out that chocolate site. Thx for sharing
Btw. HATE scary movies too and orand and black is ridiculous. However, e purple and green that they show for Halloween are great colors. Looking forward to your candy treats.
I am so glad to know that someone hates Halloween as much as I do. I was going to put some sort of disclaimer on my site “don’t expect any Halloween themed sweets here” but I figured it out be best just to not mention it at all. I totally agree though, it’s dumb. However the candy (and more specifically, the chocolate) is something that I can endorse!
YOU’RE PUPPY IS SO CUTE!!
I totally agree with you about Halloween. I’m not a fan of scary movies…the only thing I’m really into is the candy (and the fact that candy is hard to find once Halloween is over).
You have my very favorite blog. It was a long day at work and your Friday Post made me smile more than once. I added your chocolate website to my favorites! Thanks for doing such a great job bringing us smiles and really great recipes. Have a great weekend.
Midwest Living magazine! Awesome! Always has delicious recipes to try!
Michelle,
Have I told you that I love the puppy pics? My hubby did too.
I’m not a fan of Halloween either. I do have cookies if anyone rings the bell but that’s about it. I guess it’s because I don’t have kids.
Annamaria
I like Food Network magazine. Every month they have two pages right at the beginning that show pictures of every recipe in that issue. Very handy!
Love the pictures of your puppy, but sometimes they are hard to look at. I lost my Ruby (the best golden ever!!) last year around this time. She was only 11. I had hoped she’d be with me a little longer.
We have a puppy Golden too! She is a little over 4 months. So sweet and at times crazy! They are the BEST dogs. We lost our 12 year old golden this summer. I’m a little obsessed with taking pictures of the new puppy, but they get big so fast and I want to have evidence of this sweet puppy stage.
I love Bon Appetit; my favorite chocolate cake recipe of all time is from a February edition. I also get Saveur; the recipes aren’t always as accessible but I can’t resist the combination of food and travel, my two favorite things!
Aw, Einstein and Duke are so cute together! I am not a fan of Halloween either. Ready to move on to Thanksgiving. Have a great weekend!
Einstine and Duke are so adorable. Michelle, you take the best pictures. They make me smile whenever I see them.
I’m not a fan of Halloween either. I’m just plain afraid of the dark. Add zombies, ghosts and skeletons, and I’m done in… :-)
I don’t get any kids trick or treating, not because I don’t like it, but because we’re in a remote area. So really, what’s the sense of decorating if I don’t care for the holiday? But candy? Yes, I’m always interested in recipes for that!
Funny, I just had a hot chocolate from Starbucks too. :-)
Your blog makes my day, it brings such a huge smile to my face! And I’m WITH YOU, I have hated Halloween since I was a kid, hated trick or treating, hated costumes, the candy was not worth all that! YECK. I don’t even like it now as an adult, I’m usually not even home to hand out candy.
Your boys are the most adorable things on the planet. I had a Golden years ago named Joe and he was just the love of my life. Your two are beyond precious.
Thank you, thank you for your honesty regarding Halloween!! I feel the same way, right down to the black and orange cupcakes, cookies and everything else. They do nothing for me. The “scary” movies aren’t scary, they are gross and not fun; the same with “haunted houses.” I also lost my taste for candy corn many years ago, due to the sweetness.
As for magazines, I have pared down to just Cook’s Country and Consumers’ Reports and Nutrition Newsletter.
My! Duke is growing!! The two of them stretched out in duplicate, are adorable! They must be such pleasure for each other and for you.
For this weekend, I will be making and freezing crock pot applesauce from the apples my daughter and grandkids picked for me. I will probably make an apple pie and put that in the freezer, too.
I very much enjoy your blog and love your recipes! Thank you.
Please never stop posting pictures of your adorable dogs. I love them!
Thank you for passing on the tip about Chocosphere. I live in Calgary and usually go to Phoenix twice a year. I wanted to look into purchasing some chocolate while there to bring home. Usually I am usually able to pick up some Valrhona at Trader Joes and Schrafenberger at Walmart with good pricing, but it is a very limited selection.
I love your blog and look forward to your postings!
OMG. More dog pictures! My husband is allergic to dogs so we have had cats for the last 40 years and it’s just not the same. I miss having a dog!
I feel the same way about candy corns. They are just not my favorite anymore.
I love the picture of Einstein and Duke playing Simon Sez. How cute is that! Michelle, I love the Cuisine magazine. I’ll have to share an issue with you. Not very long but they come in a notebook format that can easily be saved in a binder. Every recipe I have ever made from there is awesome and each issue has a theme.
Oooh yes, I’d love to check out a copy!
Love your Friday psots so we get a peek at how Duke is growing. So stinkin’ cute – both doggies are! And thanks for all your delicious recipes!
love cooks country and cooks illustrated.. my go to magazines!!
Where on earth did you see the champinship ring??? On who’s finger? Went to a few playoff games and just visited the hockey hall of fame so am totally jealous of the ring sighting… I need details!!!!! ha ha
Love the pup- melts my heart
I buy cookbooks (current) 2nd hand @ Abebooks. I’m never satisfied with one or two mags. Can’t believe we are a group of scary movie and costume haters. I feel I finally fit :). Love the pup photos!!!
I am a magazine addict, and there are some great ones I recommend. Both Bon Appetit and Food & Wine are terrific, and you get free digital subscriptions when you have print subscriptions – that’s a really great deal! I also love Real Simple, Food Network Magazine, Southern Living, Fine Cooking and Everyday with Rachael Ray. I’m sure my mailman thinks I’m crazy with all the magazines I get, but I love them all!
Duke reminds me so much of our Spanky. Magazines? I get way tooooo many. Trying to decide what to keep and what to let go. OY!
Do you have any idea how much I look forward to Friday? Of course the obvious reason, but then there is DUKE pics! Could he and Einstein be any cuter together? I feel the puppy fever beginning to hit me—need to hold off until I retire in 2 years. Can’t work and puppy at the same time! Happy Friday and weekend to all!
Hi – love the picture of Einstein and Duke sleeping together. I have an almost 2yo black lab that i got from the local shelter when he was 3 months. He is crazy. I also do not like Halloween. I won’t watch scary movies but i will sacrifice and eat candy. I know its a thankless job but someone has to do it!!!!!
Food Network magazine! It has great recipes as well as some fun kitchen design tips. :) Love the puppy! Keep your posts coming, please! <3
Yes, I agree with Bon Appetit!! I am obsessed with it and I read it cover to cover. It is one of the few magazines that I will actually read every page of (excluding advertisements, of course). I also really like Eating Well magazine.
On the topic of your post today-first of all, your dogs are ADORABLE! I had two golden retrievers growing up and it is so much fun because they become each other’s best friends and OMG that picture of the two of them laying in the same position above is one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
On the topic of Halloween…THANK YOU for being honest about not loving the holiday (and actually disliking it) because I feel the same way and it is so refreshing to hear I am not alone!!
I love your blog and I love reading your daily posts! Keep up the great work. :)
Sweet Paul Magazine! and I, too, an a magazine junkie, but have scaled down due to the quantity of ads. I love Kinfolk and Anthology and Food & Wine is a great go-to. Love your blog and I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing!
Duke is adorable! I am not a big Halloween fan either, but Caleb is loving all of the scary stuff in the stores!
You need to get Bon Apetit!!
Your dogs are beautiful! Always enjoy Friday Things. Have a great weekend!
We raised several Goldens over the years. They are wonderful family dogs. My last couple of dogs were Westies and would love another one, timing just isn’t right for a pet right now. I’ve been thinking about hot chocolate too, even though I live in W Central FL and it’s still summer here! So ready for cool weather. Just added Chocosphere to my favs list; I’ve stopped most magazines, but still get a few Cooking Pleasures from CCOA (life member), Taunton’s FIne Cooking, BHG, Southern Living
I love Friday things as well. Still waiting for wedding pictures though! Until then the pictures of your puppies bring me much joy.
Off topic, but I have to ask…..what color are you walls painted? Every time I see a picture of the pups, I notice your wall color, and I LOVE it!
Hi Marisa, I will have to see if I can find the paint cans and get back to you. We actually did not paint when we moved because the walls were all such a nice, neutral color. The majority of the house is a dove grey color, with the entryway and dining room a darker version, and the office a greenish hue. The previous owners left the remaining paint in the basement for us, so I’ll check to see if I can find a name :)
Duke is getitng so big and I just love the last photo…little brother totally copying big brother…too funny.
I am not a fan of Halloween either…I taught kindergarten and October is torture in a classroom of young kids!! I do enjoy making Halloween cookies for relatives and friends. Thanks for the chocolate site. I will have to check it out ASAP and finally, I am not looking for snowflakes any time soon…I am hoping this winter n the Northeast will be mostly just cold with very few snow events.
Food Network Magazine I love. Your puppy is growing fast he is beautiful and so is Einstien.
Einstein actually looks like he’s smiling in the picture of the two of them – perfectly content! So sweet.
PS – my son is a huge Penguins fan as I know you are. Any insight on getting tix???
Hi Kim, We get tickets a few different ways (since we’re on the season ticket waiting list, we can purchase a five game ticket plan, as well as get some pre-sale opportunities to select games, and then we buy when they go on sale to the general public as well). If you’re just looking for one-off games once tickets have already gone on sale, your best bet is to check Ticketmaster, Ticket Exchange (that’s where season ticket holders can resell tickets), and then StubHub or other ticket re-sale website. Good luck!! :)
SO ENJOYING PICTURES OF DUKE, SO HARD TO BELIEVE YOUR DRINKING HOT COCOA WHEN ITS 90 DEGREES IN FLA,…ABOUT CHOCOLATE TRY GUITTARD ITS FAR SUPERIOR TO GHIRDELLA THEY SELL ON AMAZON. PEOPLE ARE SOLD ON ITS DISTINCTIVE TASTE.
I enjoy your Friday Things. :)
I am totally a magazine junkie! I don’t subscribe to hardly any but pick them up at news stands all the time. I love Real Simple, HGTV, Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country (love the science of cooking angle they use), just got the new Allrecipes mag and love it, various knitting, quilting, sewing, and paper crafting , Midwest Living (by the BHG people) is grea! i’ve found lately that I’m turning back to the classics – BHG, Midwest Living, Good Housekeeping) and getting a lot out of them. That’s just a few of my favorites.
I’m with you on the scary movies, hate them! I’m an HGTV and Food Network Channel junkie so tried out the HGTV magazine and absolutely love it!! Just wish it was published monthly (it’s every 6-8 weeks or so). It’s full of ideas for around the house, I’ve used a couple ideas already with my own twist.
Haven’t ventured into the Food Network magazine, but thinking about it :)
Have a great weekend! Supposed to snow a bit sometime this weekend here in MN, but won’t stick yet.
Duke and Einstein – I love that last picture of them!! I hate Halloween too! I think it all started when costumed characters scared the crap out of me at a young age! I also am not fond of trekking the kids all around the neighborhood taking candy from strangers, and usually it’s candy I don’t even let them eat! I am headed out of town this weekend with my hubby, looking forward to a weekend away!
I’m not a Halloween fan either. Warm drinks? yes, candy? yes, dressing up? um no. Scary movies? um hail no. As for candy corn, I mix it with salted peanuts and it tastes just like a Pereson’s Nut Roll. I love that combo! Salty, sweet and yummy!. As for magazines I get Midwest Living, Country Living, Fast Company and Inc. It always seems that when ever I order a foodie magazing I spend a year completely underwhelmed with what they have to offer. I do love Real Simple though and have been thinking of subscribing to that one again.
I always look forward to your ‘Friday Things’ posts — but I REALLY look forward to them now because of the Duke updates! :)
I am just loving your photos of Duke and Einstein! Sooo cute! Hehe it’s funny you mention the game Simon Says… my class had a sleepover at school last night and we played Simon Says (over and over again!!!). Have a great weekend! :-)
I too hate the Halloween thing. I agree with you one hundred percent. Nice to find someone else who feels like I do concerning the frightful thing.
Aw look at the 2 of them lying identically how sweet! And thanks for the desktop organisation – how have I not known about this sooner?! Have a great weekend everyone!
That last picture :)
I love GLAMOUR and wish I could subscribe to Real Simple (currently not possible in Sweden).
Speaking of snowflakes, we got our first snow overnight, and there is quite a lot of it, too! Yay winter!
Sorry, I was going to read the rest of your post, but PUPPY!!!!!!!
Me too! but I did eventually finish reading :)