Friday Things
1. I would love to know how in just two short months we’ve gone from this:

To this:

How did that happen?! Our puppy has exploded! He’s like a real dog! Duke turned 4 months old on Wednesday and is getting his last round of puppy shots this morning. His puppy breath is a distant memory, he outgrew his puppy collar, and he and Einstein have started to play some legit games of tug of war.
2. At least 50% of the socks that I own currently have holes in them. I have no idea how this happens; I feel like I’m always buying new socks! I found a bunch at Target yesterday that are insanely comfortable – Alaskan Knit. They are a little pricey, but I stocked up since I somehow manage to wear out socks like nobody’s business.
3. Have you seen this video of a cat pushing another cat down a set of steps? I couldn’t stop laughing!
4. The folks over at ThermoWorks (the company that makes my favorite instant digital thermometer, the Thermapen) contacted me to see if I wanted to check out a new product of theirs, the ChefAlarm. It’s a thermometer that works as an alarm – you set the target temperature and the thermometer beeps when it’s reached. This is such an awesome idea! No more sitting and staring at a thermometer. I tested it out when I made the apple cider caramels; I was actually unloading the dishwasher when the thermometer hit 252 degrees. I scooted over to the stove and finished the recipe. I love it!
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5. This list on BuzzFeed of 55 Things Only ’90s Teenage Girls Can Understand is just fantastic. I can still smell the Cool Water… ;-)
6. It’s polite to celebrate, right?! (via Two Peas and Their Pod Facebook)

7. We handed out Halloween candy last night and, turns out, I majorly overestimated on the candy. Since it was our first year in this neighborhood, I wasn’t sure how many kids to expect (plus, I thought maybe kids still got dropped off in different neighborhoods) and didn’t want to run out of candy. I now have a serious candy stash; I have a feeling I’m going to be doing some candy baking soon!
8. How good is Homeland right now?! Each time an episode ends, I whine, “Nooooooooo”. Seriously. (I’m a champion whiner.) I think there should be a two-hour episode on every single night. This once a week business is nonsense.
9. I just saw this “How To Shower Like a Woman vs. How To Shower Like a Man” on Facebook recently. It’s hysterical and I’m pretty sure it’s nearly 99% accurate.
10. TGIF! If he could, Duke would totally make matching friendship bracelets for him and Einstein. BFFs, right there.




The holes in the socks issue – I have a possible reason. You just moved into a new home, correct? It looks like your new home has some tile floors with grout? When we moved into our new home a couple years ago, we noticed the same issue – our socks were getting holes at quite a quick rate. We realized it’s because our old house had all hardwood floors, and our new home had tile with grout. It’s the floor – the grout wears out the socks faster. That is, if you’re wearing socks in the house. If you’re not, then I’m no help ;) Our solution was to either get slippers (but the bottoms will wear out too) or get cheap socks to wear in the house because they will wear out and you’ll have to throw them away faster. I hope I solved a mystery! =)
Just can’t get enough of your blog or the pics of your precious pups! Thanks for all the great recipes. I definitely need to get that thermometer and the socks look great too.
I’m checking out that thermometer as soon as I finish this. Mine is starting to fail and it sounds like the perfect replacement. Yessss love Homeland. It’s the best show on TV!
That cat video is hilarious. Seems too funny to be true. Both your doggies (that’s what I like to call dogs) are super cute and adorable!
That is totally adorable, they are both very good looking dogs!
The Girl Talk game! How could I have forgotten about that! I felt so old yesterday, I wa talking to another mom at daycare, waiting for the kids costume parade, and they were playing the Ghostbusters song. I said something like “oh wow, I had he 45 record of this!” And she goes “what’s that?”
That man/woman shower post had me crying tears of laughter as I read it to my husband, who was also in stitches!! And that is the cutest picture ever of Einstein and Duke at the end of the post : )
So I was sitting in a hospital waiting room today and picked up a copy of the October 2013 issue of Ladies Home Journal and in an article from the Editor-In-Chief there you are…Michelle aka Brown Eyed Baker….you and several other Foodies are being welcomed in as the newest members of Ladies Home Journal Test Kitchen! How awesome is that for a Friday Thing! I felt such a surge of pride for you….for knowing you through your amazing recipies, Friday Things, and your Weekend Dish! I hope you do not mind me saying but your Grandmother would be so thrilled and proud of you! Congratulations on becoming a consultant, inspiration, sounding board and food expert for the magazine and all their readers! I will add, just so you know, that it is not uncommon for my teenage daughter and friends to whip up one of your recipes at 1:00 AM!! Thanks for inspiring them through your blogs, keep those recipes coming!!
Love your adorable dogs and so want the new alarm thermometer! You are a wealth of great information! Thanks for your talent!
That ’90s list is awesome!! The funny thing is, I totally remember seeing those ads in YM (my choice over Sassy).
Is it ridiculous that I STILL love “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” AND its soundtrack? (Yes, I replaced my VHS copy with a DVD.) And that I still happen to think Doc Martens are awesome?
Also, now that I have kids–how weird is it that we all wore onesies when we were in high school?
Michelle,
Did you forget to post the link for the video of the cats that you mention in Friday Things?! I’m a cat lover and would love to see it. THANK YOU!!!
Hi Lynn, The video is embedded above.
MIchele,
Have I mentioned that I love the puppy pics? The cat video is pretty funny too.
I only got one trick or treater. One year we got 28 and that was very much out of the ordinary.
Annamaria
I look forward to the Friday posts to see the new pics of your dogs. They’re so cute! I have a yellow lab puppy that just turned 5 months old, so I can relate to the puppy stages you are going through.