Friday, June 14, 2024

It’s Friday and that means it’s Friday Favorites day with Andrea and Erika!

Here are some favorites from my week. I hope you also had many! Sometimes when I read others’ favorites I get ideas for what to put on my list for the next week – what to cook, where to go, what to watch, read, or listen to. Favorites are great and they help me to squeeze the happy out of my days!

Here are mine for the week…

So, some of you (one of you?) might be wondering about my sourdough starter. It sat on my counter for two days and looked no different. I followed my directions to the letter. I put it in the fridge as directed and still nothing.

So, a favorite is deciding NOT to do it right now!

Ha!

Instead, I was quite happy with my tried and true no knead bread. You can have a nice loaf in less than three hours.

Here is the recipe I used! (Click on the red word “here”) I don’t even have a Dutch oven. I just shape it into a circle and put it on a cookie sheet.

I have a puppy to feed. Do I really need to feed a sourdough starter right now?

I couldn’t find my Chobani creamer so I went back to Mean Girls. That reminds me. I need to watch the re-make this summer!

Mason asked for chili and I taught him my recipe:

And, yes, I do believe in macaroni noodles, a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of sugar in my chili. Mason doesn’t believe foods should be seasonal, but we got lucky and it was a pretty cool day when we had this for dinner.

I also made a quiche (Lorraine) this week. Isn’t she pretty? I got my recipe from a real live French girl named Audrey:

4 eggs, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup milk (I used skim), bacon (raw and cut up), and I added salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. I also added onions and fresh parsley. Bake at 425 in a frozen pie crust for 30 minutes. I thawed the crust for 10 mintues but I did not pre-bake it. This just makes one.

I’m trying to drink less alcohol and hydrate more.

A good find:

A fun drink to make:

La Croix limoncello and a strawberry powder stick.

I’m enjoying the mysterious late arriving Old Navy Lily Pulitzer look alike sandals:

Third summer mani:

I love this one! My toes are currently white Funny Bunny so it works well! I can’t remember the last time my fingers and toes “matched” but I make sure they do work together.

I have three students who work at Zoe’s Kitchen and I promised I would give it a try this summer. I had been once many years ago and just thought it was ok.

It’s a new favorite! I got a salmon bowl and I loved the salmon and the orzo salad that I got with it. I tagged the girls in my Instagram story and told them I was sorry! Ha!

Meeting friends for breakfast feels like a big treat! I met my friend Beth at House of Marigold on Tuesday- yum! – and the interior is so cute!

I taught EO the trick I taught Ernie – I put a “poop bag” under his collar to take out to Daddy. He he! He acted a bit like he was confused but then he went with it!

Walmart Plus – I re-joined. I can cancel at anytime. I had a Monday delivery and it was really nice. Maybe this is what I need to do?

Mason asked me to do a new coffee shop and we were both so impressed:

We think it is African Safari themed and they had a little shop in the back with products you can buy.

Mason got a tea and I got a coffee and we split a little vegetable pie with chutney that was really good.

One morning Eddie Otis was ready to get up about an hour earlier than normal (6:15 is normal) so I went with it and enjoyed being outside in the dark. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that.

We attended my niece’s grad party last weekend and I just want to share how creative my sister is. I did help her with some ideas, too – ha! It was a party with two girls – my niece and her bestie. One girl is going to The Ohio State University so Kate made buckeyes (the candy):

One girl is going to Miami so Kate made hurricanes (for the adults):

There were walking tacos where you could pick Doritos or Fritos, buffalo chicken dip:

Walking dirt cake with Oreos and gummy worms and watermelon slices on a stick:

There were a lot of other little details, but I didn’t get photos of all of them.

I didn’t get a photo, but I had a former student over on the patio to talk about her upcoming year in Spain as a Fulbright recipient!

And, my last favorite was a spontaneous outing with Mason. Everyone else was busy and I suggested getting a drink somewhere. He picked Ciao.

I had the best aperol spritz I’ve ever had. In fact, I wasn’t sure I liked them because the aperol is a bit bitter. It was so good and so refreshing.

Mason wanted bruschetta:

And, we took chicken pesto cheese filled gnocchi in a bread bowl home to split:

Oh my! Jen loves gnocchi and I suggested it because I said my blog friend loves this. Mason and I both loved it but it was very filling. We split it and still had more leftover!

So, I had a lot of favorites this week! I had a lot of time at home, a lot of downtime, some quality time with some people in my life that I care about, and some fun outings.

Also, I’m re-watching Bridgerton – I didn’t get very far the first time I tried and I’m liking it better this time around – with subtitles. Do you ever turn them on? I think it helps me focus sometimes!

What was a favorite of yours this week?

Cheers to the weekend!

Amy

26 thoughts on “Friday Favorites”

  2. Lots of yummy looking favorites this week! I couldn’t get my sourdough starter to work either when I tried and gave up after just a week or so when it was no longer bubbling or anything. I keep saying I should try again but I’m almost afraid it would work and then I’d be making and eating fresh sourdough all the time!

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  3. We watch so many shows with subtitles, it helps!!!

    What a great week you had. I love the food your sister served at the grad party. You outings look like fun too, practice for retirement!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. It really does! I need them with a British accent. It was a good one that finally felt like summer! Ha – I don’t think I will need any practice! You too! I think you have doc appt. on Monday? I will be thinking about you.

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  6. Your new spritzer drink, the coffee shop, and restaurant you went to all look amazing! I love a beautiful place to eat, you know? On the topic of nails, I am the same as you — I may not do matching, but I do like for them to go together. Right now I have white on my toes and neon yellow on my nails; when I go in two weeks, I’ll get white on my nails and something bright on my toes. Maybe…then again, I’ll probably change my mind between now and then.

    Oddly enough, Marilyn is teaching me to make her sourdough bread tonight, and I’m so excited! We’re wining and dining first, then we’ll start on the lesson. My boys inhaled the loaf she gave us two weeks ago! It’s delicious.

    Whatever you do today, I hope you have a great day! I am off on another little mini road trip with Dad, which I’ll share about Monday. xoxo

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  7. That’s a shame your sourdough starter didn’t do what it was supposed to.
    The remake of the Mean Girls movie is on our list of things to watch this summer too!
    That chili looks so good and I love making quiches, I always add whatever needs using up in the fridge.
    Ahh! I always get my grocery shop delivered, it saves so much time and hassle.
    What a great grad party for your niece! The food is so creative! I love the dirt cake! Such fun.

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  8. Third season of Bridgerton is so good – hang in there. I have subtitles on for this show I feel like sometimes its hard to understand them and this makes it much easier. Love your blog its my first read in the morning you make me want to meet up with my friends more. Enjoy your summer.

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  10. What a great week of all the things! Minus the sourdough :(. I am glad you have an alternate homemade bread recipe though. I hope our bread session goes well tonight when Jennifer comes over! My favorite this week was hosting a gummy party. Since then, I haven’t felt great and have been so tired, which is why I never made it back to post later this week. Enjoy your weekend!

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  11. I have never heard of putting noodles in chili, but I bet it’s good. Too bad about the sourdough, but maybe it is a project for when you are out of the puppy phase! I love all the food photos. We always use subtitles. Hope you have a good weekend!

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  12. I’ve never tried sourdough bread, but do you remember those Amish Friendship starters? Oh, my goodness…it got to the point where you just couldn’t give away the extras! Love the trick you taught Eddie Otis!

    The dirt pudding on the go is genius! I’ll have to remember that one. But, now, I’m hungry for gnocchi! I’m the only one who likes it, though.

    Have a good weekend!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  13. Great post! Your chili reminds me of a Chili Mac dish I had once and loved and the quiche looks amazing. I love your drink container – glass with the bamboo lid, from Amazon perhaps? Love the coffee shop photos, I spy Bird’s Custard Powder on the shelf. Have a great weekend.

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  14. What a great week! I don’t mind an occasional early morning in the summer since I know I can relax the rest of the day. Outside in the dark for a bit would be so cozy. I love the grad party. The theme is so cute. Gnocchi…my fave!

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  15. The first season of Bridgerton was the best. The second was very good. This third one isn’t that great but for some reason that’s no considered a valid opinion in some circles lol.

    The characters just aren’t as believable and authentic to me anymore. They’re waiting too long between seasons.

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      1. It was okay. I thought it was pretty sad, tbh. I stand by the first two seasons as the best lol. 1st was in 2021 and second was in 2022, they released Charlotte as what seemed like a placeholder last year so I dealt with it. I’ve only watched the first 4 of season 3 so far.

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      2. I’m on season 2 right now and I tend to lose interest as a series goes on, to be honest. Ah. I do plan to watch both Charlotte and 3 but we will see!

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