News from the Nest, October 23
What’s up, buttercup? 💐
How’s it shakin’, bacon?🥓
What’s cookin’, good lookin’? 😉
What’s the deal, banana peel?🍌
What’s the story, Morning Glory? 🌸
What’s the word, Hummingbird? (sadly, no hummingbird emoji!)
We enjoyed a pretty chill weekend. We entertained our ‘Game Night’ friends on Friday, which is ALWAYS good for my soul!
As I get older wiser, I have realized that, in the past, I saddled the word ‘entertaining’ with much too much. I used to feel that my house needed to be spotless and that my meals needed to be extravagant. I’ve slowly realized that those who I want to entertain really don’t care about the cobwebs in the corners or what meal I serve. Truly, my game night crew would be happy if I served Red Baron pizzas, as long as I served it with beer, wine, and a fun game!
For Friday, I prepared a simple marinara sauce and meatballs (both of which I will share the recipe for in the near future). I did bake some bread and make fresh pasta, but that was because my mom gifted me a pasta maker for my birthday and I wanted to try it out. All in all, a fun night.
I’ve got a lot to do and limited time to do it this week. My daughter and I fly out early Friday morning to Pennsylvania for our annual Girl’s Football Game Weekend. I’ve been meeting up with some of my sorority sisters for several years and I love that my daughter loves to hang with these wonderful ladies as well. I’ll also have the opportunity to hang out with my brother and his son, so I am very much looking forward to it.
Table of Contents
We come home on Sunday evening and then Monday morning, Terry and I fly out to California to help our son pack up for his move back east! (Imagine me doing the Snoopy happy dance right now!)
I will do my darndest to get next week’s newsletter written before I leave Friday morning, but if it is overtaken by events, you’ll know why!
New on the Blog
Last week I published some adorable (if I say so myself) tiny knit sweaters. Because I know that not everyone knits, I also have a cute tiny sweater ornament that requires zero yarn or knitting needles! Felt, batting, and embroidery thread are all you need for these festive mini sweaters.
I provide a printable pattern for these sweaters to get you started, but let your creativity and imagination take over from the basic pattern! Adorn your sweaters with holiday symbols or the recipient’s initials or favorite team symbol.
From the Kitchen
- I made a pot of these Brothy Beans this past week and was again reminded why this is such a great recipe! My brother made the recipe for the first time recently and called me to question whether the beans are really just cooked in water, olive, garlic, rosemary or bay leaf, salt, and pepper. I encouraged him to just try it that way the first time, which he did and was shocked at how delicious the end result was. This is such a hearty, delicious, and economical recipe to keep on a regular meal rotation.
- As indicated, Brothy Beans is one of those very economical recipes that are great to have in your recipe arsenal. Here are some suggestions for other frugal meals that are also healthy and delicious.
- Flavor-FULL, healthy, and easy chicken chili combines lean protein, hearty beans, and a vibrant blend of spices to thrill your taste buds. Whether you’re hunkering down on a chilly evening or serving up a family feast, this Healthy White Chicken Chili Recipe is a crowd-pleaser that won’t derail your wellness goals.
- Spaghetti Arrabiata is a simple yet flavorful dish that highlights the essence of Italian cooking.
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars have all the deliciousness of the Snickerdoodle Cookie without the work…let’s just go ahead and call them the Lazy Girl’s Snickerdoodle Cookie!
- This simple recipe creates a date cake that is moist and flavorful. The addition of cardamom gives the cake a slightly lemony, slightly spicy flavor that perfectly complements the caramelly flavor of the dates.
From the Knit Studio
- Warm your needles up, put on your favorite Christmas carols, grab a plate of cookies, and pour yourself a cup of eggnog! You are about to get busy knitting for yourself and for gifting to others with these twelve Free Christmas Knitted Patterns.🎄
- The body of this simple baby blanket is comprised of basic knit and purl stitches. It is a reversible pattern and is perfect for new knitters. The crocheted bauble edge, while totally adorable, can be left off if you are uncomfortable with crochet. Nab this free Polka Dot Baby Blanket knitting pattern, warm up your needles and you’ll have this adorable blanket in no time.
- One of the most common questions I receive is, “Can you help me resize this blanket?” For the record, I’m always happy to help. But, I’ve also written this post on resizing blankets, throws, dishcloths, etc… if you don’t have time to wait for me to respond.
- Instructions on how to seam your stockinette stitch or rib stitch knitting using the Mattress Stitch. This tutorial will discuss how to use this finishing technique to sew seams for both side edges (vertical seam), as well as cast-on and bind-off seam.
- Print off and cut out these Knit Care Tags to accompany your knitted or crocheted gifts. The care tags instruct the recipient how to wash and dry their new gift.
From the Arts + Crafts Studio
Everyone loves (and needs) to be pampered from time to time! You can give your favorite people the gift of pampering this holiday or anytime with one or a combination of these handmade bath and body items:
- I keep a tin of this Hand Balm on my desk and in my knit bag. It is a hard balm, as opposed to a soft/goopy balm. You need to rub your fingers over it to get some of it, which is what I wanted. It is not an all-over-hand lotion, it is more for dry spots on your fingers, knuckles, and around your nails. There’s also a link for the labels.
- Some things are just genetic and you have to learn to live with them. Not only did I inherit
biglong and elegant feet from my mom, but also her dry heels. All this to say, I am always moisturizing my heels. I used to keep jars of foot cream and Aquaphor in my nightstand drawer, but I really don’t like the goop of them. That’s where the beauty of this heel balm comes in. You can either apply it at night or during the day and then put on socks. After just a few days of daily use, my heels were noticeably softer. Both the hand and the heel balm use the same ingredients, so you can make both!
- When added to your hot bath, this Herbal Bath Salts recipe offers many beneficial properties for your mind and body and is easily made in bulk for your own use or to give as gifts. I tucked a little muslin bag in each jar to make clean-up easy!
- This easy goat milk soap recipe uses a melt-and-pour goat milk soap base, shea butter, and essential oils. This is an excellent recipe for first-time soap making.
Halloween + Thanksgiving
Lest Halloween and Thanksgiving think we skipped over them…
- The kids have all the trick-or-treat candy to look forward to this Halloween. but unless you are a big fan of Dum Dums and Milky Ways, you are a bit out of luck. THAT IS UNLESS…you’ve got some fun little Halloween cocktails up your witchy sleeve! I think you will happily let the kiddos indulge in their Smarties while you sit back and enjoy this Cherry Black Widow Martini.
- No need to panic, but here in the United States, we are exactly ONE MONTH away from Thanksgiving Day! Yup, you heard that right! Sharing some tips and a printable planner to help you make the day less stressful and more enjoyable.
In the Home
- Ten Questions to ask yourself that will help you declutter.
- Turn any cabinet into a bar cabinet, just in time for holiday entertaining!
A Few Fun Finds and Some Favorites
Some of these links may be Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from the sale of these products to help defray the costs of operating this site, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.
This is the pasta maker my mom gave to both my brother and me for our birthdays. There is truly nothing that comes close to fresh pasta. This machine makes linguine, fettucine and lasagna noodles. There are other attachments for other noodle shapes, but I can’t imagine I’d have an need for anything but these.
I just found this Autumn and Winter Cookbook! It is chockful with all the recipes we yearn for when the weather gets cooler.
For that snarky friend, or maybe for you!
Did you miss last week’s News from the Nest? You can still pop over and see it here!
Well friends, the articles aren’t going to write themselves, so I’m going to buzz off and get busy.
Wishing you a wonderful week. God willing and the creek don’t rise, I’ll be back in your inbox next week!
Hugs,
