Good morning! Happy Friday and a very happy weekend to you. Did you have a good week? I had a great week, mainly because I was snowbound. After the big snowstorm last weekend I was pretty much “stuck” at home until late Tuesday afternoon. I am sure that if I really wanted to I could have ventured out on to icy, treacherous roads but I thought why? Take this timer to relax, regroup, read, relax and catch-up. So that is exactly what I did.
After bitter 10 degree days this past week it was 70, yes 70 degrees and I was out wearing shorts yesterday. I am sure that soon we will be back to winter but for now I am savoring it.
Last weekend while I was a shut in, I was a baking and cooking fiend, partly worried my electricity would go out and partly relaxing and making things I don’t typically make. Everything came out great, if I do say so myself and I will share the recipes soon.
One of the things I made and loved were these Cheesy Twisted Garlic Breadsticks, to accompany the homemade pasta I made and devoured. All in the name of storing winter carbs, lest my power go out, and I couldn’t cook for a day. It may also be one of the reasons that I looked like a chipmunk for a few days after.
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| Image from Laura’s Sweet Spot Blog |
For those of you who are following a mostly low carb diet this Crock Pot Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork from Laura’s Sweet Spot is FABULOUS! I made it last night for dinner and loved it, as did my husband.
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| Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Skillet |
I will be making this scrumptious looking Cauliflower Mac and Cheese from Pip and Ebby in the near future.
Another of my favorite things that I made this past snowbound weekend was this Irish Hot Chocolate. It is the perfect drink to keep you warm and toasty on a cold evening while snuggled by the fire.
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| Image Rough Luxe Cindy |
One of my favorite things to do it tour show houses and holiday houses and if I cannot do it in person what could be better than seeing it through the eyes of a favorite blogger? This week on Rough Luxe Lifestyle, Cindy toured the Traditional Home Napa Valley Showhouse.
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| Image from Dwellings |
If you like home tours here is another great house for you that Cindy at Dwellings posted this week, it is for sale if you are feeling like a move to the South.
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| Image from Collage of Life |
I know that many of you follow my friend Jeanne at Collage of Life but if you missed her recent updates and Winter book list, click here! By the way, her dear Tika, the family dog who has been a faithful friend, family member and travel companion for the last 15 years passed away this past week in case you did not know. I was so sad to hear of his passing, after reading Jeannes’ blog for so long he felt like a member of my own family.
Are you a fan of PBS Sherlock? If so you may want to enter their sweepstakes for a chance to win an autograph copy of a script from the show!
Did you find any interesting recipes, houses, books, movies are articles this week to share? If so please do!
I hope that you have a happy and safe weekend.
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Friday Favorites No. 551 from Camille Styles, The Endless Meal, Eleanor Rose Home and More
Athena Calderone, Jules Buono, Lessons in Chemistry and more on Weekend Meanderings. 
Friday Favorites No. 550 from Half Baked Harvest, Nutmeg Nanny, Honestly Yum and More
Friday Favorites from Cooking for Keeps, Make Mine a Spritzer, The Cookie Rookie and More
Great links! Thanks!
Here's an interesting article from the Guardian about automation: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jan/11/can-democracy-survive-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-should-it
This weekend I am taking a break from a sewing frenzy to attempt a cheese soufflé. I picked up a soufflé dish at a flea market a few months ago, with big intentions. Now SIL, who sells cheese, has given us a wedge of Comté bigger than a baby. I already made quiche and gougères with it; soufflé is next.
Oh, we LOVE Sherlock! What a great series; we just finished watching The Crown on Netfix….another great one! And your temperatures, WOW…what a shift of cold to warm! We are still locked into this bitter cold and our snow is lovely, but the January thaw is coming next week. Keep warm my friend!
Some very tasty food ideas!
thanks Elizabeth once again for these wonderful links. I can't believe what a good cook you are, I want to try that cauliflower recipe I'll let you know how it turns out. Also, thanks for Jeanne's link I somehow missed that post and I truly love reading book posts. I was also so sad to hear about Tika's death. I know what you mean about feeling that connection from seeing her over the years. I truly ache for people when they lose their family dogs, we've lost two and both times I was heartbroken. I'm so glad you're getting warm weather right now, hey it sounds like our kinda weather, except we've been getting lots of rain lately. Happy Friend dear!
xo
Leslie
As always I love your Friday post…but I am so saddened to hear about Jeanne's pup Tika passing away. I am a bit behind on my blog reading and missed that. He really was a world traveler! Hugs to you, friend!
Thank you Elizabeth for mentioning dear Tika. I am finally catching up on some emails and missed this mention. You are so sweet to do so. I am glad you enjoyed the booklist…I am sure you agree, one can never have to many books! xx