Welcome to the weekend, my friends! And happy happy happy birthday to my little sister, Jenny! (Aren’t you thrilled that your birthday fell on a newsletter day, sis?) I hope that your day is a wonderful one – and I wish the same for every person reading this today.
My day has already been filled with yoga, a Costco date with Sean, delicious hot pretzels here in Granville, and time spent at home with my oldest son. Here’s to all the normal, everyday, very unfancy things that make our lives lovely.
ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Sweet bites of oranges are tossed with crisp lettuce and parsley and then topped with caramelized almonds to create this refreshing orange parsley salad. You’ll be hooked from the first bite – I know I was!
Elegant enough for a fancy occasion and fast enough to serve any night of the week, pan seared scallops might become your new favorite way to eat seafood. Restaurant-quality scallops are easier to make at home than you ever thought! Each bite of these scallops has a light and almost sweet flavor, highlighted by the caramelized crust on the outside.
Pasta and sausage in a rich tomato pasta sauce is topped with an abundance of cheese to create this cheesy sausage pasta. Everything bakes and melts together to create an irresistible dinner for any cheese or pasta lover!
I’m a big fan of vegetable side dishes (no surprise there, right?) and lately I’ve been all about roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes. Together or separate, it’s a winning side dish.
And if you like roasted carrots, you might not want to make them any other way after tasting parmesan-roasted carrots. Bite-sized and toasty perfect, you can’t eat just one!
Have you tried your hand at making french bread pizza in the air fryer?? This method creates cheesy pizzas with a crispy crust. It’s homemade pizza that’s fast enough for a quick lunch or casual dinner.
Sweet chunks of edible cookie dough fill each scoop of this rich and creamy chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
What I’m CRAVING: The answer is still dark chocolate Oreos – thanks a lot, Lynne. I should probably hand the remaining stash of cookies over to my boys to get them out of my mind, and my reach.
My FAVORITE THING this week is my label maker. I’ve had mine for over 15 years, probably closer to 20, and it’s still going strong. I just gifted this same one to a friend and it made me grin to share the label-making fun.
What I’m READING: The book I chose for Advent this year is The Advent of Glory by RC Sproul. I started it early as a Bible study with friends and I’m looking forward to sharing it with my family too. As R.C. Sproul observes, the narrative of the birth of Jesus is so familiar to many of us that “the words just slip over us.” My hope is that we will take the time to slow down and dwell on the words of the Christmas story so that we will arrive at Christmas Day full of awe and wonder at the birth of Jesus.
What I’m still LISTENING to: Heaven Has Come by Sovereign Grace Music. This is likely to be my favorite holiday album this year.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:22-23 ESV
Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile!
Mary
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