Friday Things
1. I have come across multiple articles on Facebook about kids’ first day of kindergarten, it’s the last summer they’ll be this little, etc. and they are BRUTAL. As in, I cannot read them without getting teary-eyed. We are still two full years away from kindergarten, but I think reading those articles, it just hit me… there will be a day (in the not too distant future) when THIS isn’t our normal. When we won’t all be home together, building with blocks, going for walks, blowing bubbles, coloring, eating snacks, etc.
Yes, Joseph goes to preschool now, and I loved watching how much he loved it last year (and maybe full-time school will be the same for me?), but it’s only a few days, for a few hours. Not EVERY day, ALL day. I just keep thinking, I hope I make these days count, not let them slip by without making the most of them. Gah, such a bittersweet time.
2. Dominic has been talking SO MUCH! He’s been saying a lot of words forever (much more of a talker than Joseph was at his age!), but has recently started piecing them together into little phrases and it is just the most adorable thing. I love seeing all the bits and pieces of his personality start to come out :)
3. I’m getting ready to start on Thanksgiving content and recipes. What do you want to see? Desserts? Sides? Planning info? Leave your requests below!
4. Talk to me about the Apple watch… who has one? Do you like it? Do you LOVE it? My husband has a Samsung smart watch (he’s an Android guy), and I swear nearly every person I see now is wearing an Apple watch, and I’m wondering if it’s actually useful? Like, what do you use it for?
5. I’ve been eating mostly Paleo/low carb/low sugar for my everyday eating the last few weeks, but I’ve been really striking out on the greens I buy for my salads. The prepackaged mixes in the clamshell containers have been all sorts of off smelling right out of the gate. What are your favorite types of greens to buy for salads?
6. My Italian wedding soup recipe has been going bananas for the last couple of days… are we officially on the cusp of soup season?!
7. Loving all of these kids lunch ideas!
8. It’s fantasy football time again, and our draft is next week! I don’t pay nearly as much attention to football as I used to when we first started our league a whopping NINE years ago, but it still gets my competitive juices flowing!
9. We rarely have enough time in the evenings to watch a movie, but we did finally watch Dr. Strange a couple of weeks ago. We both enjoyed it much more than we thought we would (and we’re huge Benedict Cumberbatch fans). We’re itching to see the new Mission Impossible in the theater… have you seen it yet? Any good?
10. TGIF! Maybe your weekend will include a new friend or two :)
The kids are adorable! My son is a Dominic as well!
Once they start kindergarten, the years seem to go into hyper speed, I swear. Mine are almost 21 and almost 16. I don’t know where the time has gone!
I usually just lurk (love your recipes!), but wanted to comment about the greens.
My absolute favorite are these two varieties of lettuce that’s grown here in Cleveland, in an inner city greenhouse! Green City Growers. It’s sold at a locally owned chain of grocery stores. I know their not technically “greens”, but they’re so super fresh and keep forever in the fridge without wilting.
I love baby greens, but they don’t keep long, and it is definitely hard to get ones that are really fresh.
Wonder if you could find some locally grown lettuce or greens in your area?
I love reading all your posts. My husband and I just saw the Mission Impossible: Fallout movie this afternoon. Loved It!! Full of action and how can you not love looking at Tom Cruise.
I remember those kindergarten days, although we’re half-day where I am. Nevertheless, I celebrated because he was having experiences that I couldn’t give him at home, no matter how hard I tried. If you can focus on how Joseph (and later the other two) will grow and blossom, you’ll be fine — especially because you get to sit back and enjoy the growth!
We would dearly love to see many Thanksgiving side dish recipes. 😊
For Thanksgiving, I would like to see recipes for good sides that an be made ahead of time (a few days or the day before). A lot of people in my house contribute to Thanksgiving, and it’s often tough for everyone to get the kitchen time they need.
We saw the new Mission Impossible movie a few weeks ago. It’s great! I really enjoyed it.
One summer in college I did prep work in a restaurant, and I made a few thousand salads. Seriously, I calculated it at the end of the summer. The best thing I learned was to take your salad greens and soak them in ice water for about 30 minutes and then dry the daylights out of them. I do that with all our lettuce and you get such a nice crisp salad. Also, greens dehydrate pretty easily, rehydrating them like that keeps them fresh longer. I almost always have romaine in the fridge and I buy heads of other types to mix in. I only buy one other at a time since there are two of us, but for a family, you could easily rotate 2 or 3 more in. The quality of the salad makes up for the diminished variety, IMO. No more scary lettuce in bags or boxes for us.
Appetizers would be so helpful! I’m frequently asked to bring them to family functions where the ovens are generally in use but I want something more appealing than a dip of sorts. Although I wouldn’t be disappointed by any hot apps either ;)
I gave up on the spring mix in clamshells. I agree, the smell can be so gross!  I buy the head  of romaine, wash and spin in salad spinner. Lasts soooo much longer!
I love seeing pictures of your family and your goldens! I’m always looking for different quick breads to make. I also, find it very interesting, when you post the recipes that people send you. Have a great weekend with your family Michelle!Â
Planning a perfect friendsgiving! How to equitably distribute dishes for a potluck, how many dishes to have, dishes to add at the guest list increases
If your grocery store has one of those big open bins of greens, sold by the pound, in the produce section, I always have the best luck there in terms of freshness! Also buying straight from the salad bar, though that’s usually a little more expensive. I always store them in a Rubbermaid FreshWorks container with a sheet of paper towel, and they last for a week or more!
I usually get organic greens and always check the date before buying.  I try to buy the ones with the dates that are furthest out, ie freshest.  And, ALWAYS wash those greens even though they all say triple washed, etc.  Alternatively, you can get romaine hearts.  They come 3 to a pack usually and just chop up and wash.  good luck and enjoy your salads.  😊
Greens…I purchase Romaine, Iceberg, Green Leaf ans wash them myself. Chop them ( I use a plastic lettuce knife) and create my own bagged lettuces (use gallon Ziplocs). I find the “pre-bagged” lettuces often have smells that are off-putting. Too many preservatives. I only chop as much as I think my hubby and I will eat in 3-4 days. This makes meal prep SO EASY especially for lunches!
I don’t make a lot of salad at home – I’m the only one in my household who eats them regularly. But if we have people over I buy a head of lettuce and just tear that up as a salad base. My favorite is romaine- I usually see them sold as a set of three. My second mom buys the clamshells from Costco usually, but her household eats a lot more salad than mine! When I want a salad, I usually pick up a pre-made one from Trader Joe’s; I like the variety they have. That’s probably not a sustainable habit if salad/lettuce features in most of your meals though. Perhaps not buying precut (and likely prewashed) salad in clamshells would prevent the funky smell? If you use a plastic knife (they sell them for this purpose) on lettuce, it’s supposed to not brown and then you could prep lettuce for several days all at once perhaps. The convenience of pre chopped lettuce without the funky?
Hi Michelle,  I have followed you & your sweet family on Friday Things for years, so this note is way overdue. I love the recipes you’ ve Perfected for us, your fun suggestions for new products, great.movies and books, etc, but most of all I love your commentary about being a mom and wife during these busy days! Your kids are beyond blessed to have a loving mom with them 24/7 and yes, these days will fly by, so treasure them. You are placing a foundation under them that will secure them for years to come. Thanks for being a great example to so many!Â
PS And btw, your recipes rock!
I love my Apple Water to track my workouts, activity, steps….. Mostly for me it’s a fitness tracker.
I do really like seeing texts and calls come through when I don’t have my iPhone right on me. At work my phone stays in my desk drawer but it is nice to know of an important call, text or notification.Â
I LOVE my Apple Watch! I got it for Christmas. I love having my notifications right there with out having to check my phone. I was a big Fit Bit girl before but I really prefer Apple’s fitness rings. It makes me more active every day. I also like that you can easily change the bands. You can find all kinds on Amazon.
Would love to see some lighter thanksgiving dishes since the overall meal is so heavy. Also want to save up for desserts of course :)
Happy Friday!
My husband/son got me an apple watch (GPS only) for mother’s day. It is life changing. I just went back to work after 4 months of maternity leave and even if I bring my phone to meetings I still worry I will miss if his school calls. With the watch, I don’t worry at all. It has the most silent vibrate setting and the range to my phone is pretty far. I look at my phone way less, so while you seem almost more connected, it actually allows me to be less connected. I am still breast feeding/pumping, so the timer feature is probably my most used!
Greens – We buy leafy green lettuce. I wash and spin it all the day we bring it home and put it in a zip lock with a paper towel so it lasts as long as possible. We also buy the premade salad mixes at Costco in the refrigerated section. They have all been really good and are huge portions. (My husband and I will use half the bag for the two of us on a night we are eating salads as entrees.)
I have an Apple Watch that I use for pretty much everything. But mainly for tracking my steps and workouts. I love that it’s waterproof which is really convenient. I also love Benedict Cumberbatch! Have you watched his BBC Sherlock Holmes? It’s fantastic!
Love my Apple Watch! I’ve had mine for about 8 months now. Prior to that I had several different activity trackers (Garmin/Fitbit) and never loved them. The Apple Watch does so much more. I feel less “attached” to my phone since I get all my alerts on my watch and they are easy to read and respond to right there. Plus it seamlessly syncs with my iPhone so lots of my apps work on it too. I love the activity tracking/gps as well. Highly recommend. I’m honestly surprised how much I like it.
Enjoy all your time with the kids. My kids are 11 & 12, & I always tell people savor those moments, bc you don’t get them back. Miss those baby & toddler age of all that innocence!
For Thanksgiving recipes, I would love to see some new side dishes to try, & would be great to have an easy recipe for either rolls, biscuits, things like that. Thx!
Oh my! Â How can you not smile at that furry golden face with those big brown eyes looking at you like you are the most important person in their doggy world? Â That last picture is adorable! Â
For your greens . . . Â have you ever bought fresh salad greens from a local farm stand? Â As soon as spring mix hits the farm stand at the very beginning of the “garden season” (it’s usually the first item to hit in late spring when the stands open) I only buy my salad greens from the farm market until the produce starts to wane at the end of the growing season. Â It is SO much better than what you get at the grocery. Â Shenot’s is a great spot for getting great homegrown produce (and is maybe close to you?). Â EVERYthing is better right out of the garden.
With our weather the last couple of days, it feels like soup weather is here. Â So, I’m thinking in order to tie soup weather in with summer I’m going to make a pot of fresh corn chowder today since corn on the cob (from the farm stand ;) ) is SO good right now. Â
Have a great weekend! Â Are you excited to see the starters play tomorrow afternoon? Â I may end up going to the game with my husband who is definitely going. Â
Time goes way too fast. At least your the one crying at school and not the kids too. I know both my mom and I were super upset and it was awful.
For the greens, I do typically buy an organic spinach or spring mix for my dad at Costco or Target. I find other places to be way less reliable. For my mom and I, i always wash lettuce … whether it’s kale (like last night), Boston, or leaf.
My husband hit me the Apple Watch as a surprise Christmas gift that I wasn’t sure I wanted. Since then I wouldn’t want to go back to not having it. While I don’t use it for fitness goals, I love not having to carry my phone around everywhere. And more than once it has saved us from missing a meeting or appointment with it’s alerts. I also use it for sending voice texts or handwritten scribble texts when I am in a hurry. It has some preprogrammed replies that come in handy too. I’m always using the stopwatch function to remember to switch the wash to the dryer or to take something out of the oven.
Regarding greens РI buy spinach. Some days I saut̩ in olive oil w garlic, others I eat as a salad w chopped figs and cheese.
Good luck!
Re. Thanksgiving: Sides! Sides! Sides! I’m out of ideas for something a little bit different for a Thanksgiving side.
Mission impossible:. Yes! Â Exciting, edge of seat exciting. Â Don’t go if you’re tired –plot is complicated and there were a few times that I wondered who was the double agent/bad guy only to find out a little later I was wrong. Â We enjoyed it. Have fun!
I would love if you did a “What I Eat in a Day” type of post. I’ve been trying to do low carb for a while now, but I get stressed out about it. I’m pretty sure I WAAAY overthink it, then get frustrated & end up eating crap. It’s just a vicious cycle!!! HAHAHA!!! Thank you so much for sharing your kids with us!!! They are just adorable!!!!