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a tale of three cookies

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  We made a trio of cookies to get us through the holiday this year and fill out some small gift boxes for Lil Momma’s friend crew. Baking cookies is such a weird nostalgia thing for me because while my grandmother, Mimi, loved baking and always had these tins of homemade cookies she’d pull out after dinner for all of us, my own mother (her daughter) thought baking was the worst thing in the world and I grew up thinking the best chocolate chip cookies were Betty Crocker’s bag ones. (A fact that horrified my Mr when we first started dating, haha!) I’ve come to really enjoy baking in the last decade or so and love to try a new recipe each Christmas along with our family favorites. LM loves to help now, which warms my heart, even if that help is more measuring and taste testing vs cleaning up. Our new recipe for this year was for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe ! Described as “ They are a delightful cross between a soft, chewy chocolate cookie and a rich, fudgy brow...
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a cookie conundrum

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Oh my stars, food is so messy and full of feelings sometimes, right? This post is kind of about cookies but it’s also kind of about coming out of challenging times and not the best habits and it’s also kind of about being stuck in a rut. We’re having a weird health fall/winter. Obviously, I’m not going to go too deep and no one is in imminent danger and we’re all ok - but some of us are having to focus more on how much sugar and carbs we are  having and some of us are having to think more about fiber and movement. And, as our resident anxious worrying overthinker, I’m trying to make a plan, haha! Added on to that is we are in this transitional year for Christmas and New Year’s where we are reimagining so much of how we do holidays together after losing my mom - the possibilities are endless, which is exciting and hard and weird. When so much has changed, what we hold on to are these traditions that remain and, for us, that’s our Christmas desserts. We are a cookie family, especiall...
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recent reads #3

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Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers By Jesse Q. Sutanto  4⭐️ The first few chapters were just meh to me, but not enough to not finish. I’m so glad I stuck it out! This book was the definition of cozy. It was cute and funny and sad and lovely. A perfect light mystery to keep your mind busy with a smile.  Big Little Spells 3.5⭐️ By Hazel Beck I did like this book better than the first in the series. Rebekah seemed more of a fully conceived protagonist than Emerson - and the deepening of the sister’s prophecy and connection made much more sense. I did have a bit of the icks when I thought too hard about the love story’s origins (teenage girl, immortal and significantly older magical man) and how lightly magical consent is discussed. I’m trying to decide if I’m more meh about the series or wanting to know how it ends.  Colton Gentry's Third Act By Jeff Zentner 3⭐️ This wasn’t totally my jam. It was sweet and I appreciated how it was like a take on a country song, but...
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brain dump #1

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Random recent thoughts and happenings…   Lil Momma is finishing out her 2024 recital/show/competition year with  back to back weekends of recitals . First up, we had a Christmas Parade that her dance school walks in followed by a dance showcase the competition teams perform in. The parade was FRIGID; last year we were in hoodies and this year one of the moms was handing out hand warmers like they were candy. I couldn’t walk with the group because of my ankle, so I saw the parade for the first time (aka I hung with the dads). After, we had an hour or so to do hair and makeup and then lined up for their dance showcase which was themed around  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation . It was so fun and cute! Lil Momma was in a hip hop dance with songs themed around money (the Mr. made the mix!) which entered the story when Clark Griswold was talking about his bonus and getting a pool. Her jazz dance was to  Mele Kalikimaka (Marry Christmas)  and LM was front and...
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the wrong can - a love story

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 The Mr and I have been together for 19 years. When we began celebrating holidays (a whole other journey that we went on) in like year 3, we did this elaborate Thanksgiving for 2 in our first house. It was the first time I had spent Thanksgiving away from my parents. We made so much: a full turkey, cornbread stuffing, roasted green beans and crunchy onions, apple pie, and a pumpkin pie cheesecake.  I was sure the Mr would love it - pumpkin pie was his favorite. But the next day we ended up giving it away to friends because it was good for a piece but not for a memory: he wanted pumpkin pie like on the can . It’s what he had growing up and it WAS Thanksgiving to him.  Now, I don’t eat pumpkin pie (nor any custardy or cream pie, to be honest), but I am specific about recreating my food memories so I totally got where he was coming from. From then on, I made the pumpkin pie on the back of the orange Libby can and hoped for the best. Now, we’ve had our ups and downs with figu...
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day in the life: a 2 show saturday

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Welcome to performance day 1 of Lil Momma’s Elf Jr . the musical! We’ve had a wild few months; 7 days a week of activities, a messy start to school, tween girl dynamics challenges… it will be so nice to check this show off our list and get Friday nights and Saturday mornings back and find a better family rhythm.  LM’s call time (the time she needs to be at the theater, which is the black box small theater in the building she takes lessons in) is 12pm and she has shows at 2pm and 5pm (and we have to do it all over tomorrow). The Mr and I are seeing both shows today (I’m seeing both tomorrow while he’s only seeing the 2pm - it’s a lot of Elf , yikes), so it’s been a long thinking about what she can eat between shows, what I can eat, can the Mr run home and feed the dog between and still find parking, etc   6:45am: I woke up because my body doesn’t understand sleeping in and read for a bit.  8;15am: LM wakes up so I wake the Mr up to wake Bella up. LM takes a shower while th...
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recent reads #2

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Pictured is what I just picked up from the library and below are some thoughts on what I’ve read recently! Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore 3.5 ⭐️ I found this book while cleaning and then read it all in one go. I’m a sucker for a bookstore setting and I enjoyed the movement through time and perspectives; however, the characters all felt like characters, if that makes sense. They were there to connect a web vs being messy and dense and complex. It felt too planned out when what I wanted it to was breathe. Still, a fun enough read to fly through on a lazy afternoon.  Bobbie Faye’s Very (very, very, very) Bad Day Toni McGee Causey 3⭐️ It kind of reminded me of how I felt about the Stephanie Plum books. Crass but not gross, purposefully messy heroines, and a wacky cast of friends, enemies, and families. I don’t think I ever felt like Bobbie Faye was centered enough - she felt like more a plot catalyst than a character.  We Solve Murders Richard Osman  4⭐️ I was ready t...
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