Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 327

Currently Crushing On.

Happy Saturday! I’m writing to you from a hotel in Nashville and ooooh I am obsessed with this city! I have an event here today for The Pretty Dish and then am headed home to do some strawberry picking! What are you guys up to this weekend?

This past week? I (over)shared so much! A memorial day weekend photo diary, my May beauty and lifestyle favorites and another day in the life post. 

And I mean, that’s just on my Crumbs section!

We also started The Pretty Dish Book Club for June so be sure to grab your book!

Also, I am SO excited that you guys loved Summer Fridays yesterday. I’m overly excited for that series! xoxo

The best things on the internet this week:

give me all the tahini scotcharoos.

and the best brownies on the internet.

this double kale salad with pistachio dressing. it was made for me!

burrata pistachio white pizza. this is insane.

hello noodle free pad thai!

loving this grilled potato salad with scallion vinaigrette. yes yum.

blueberry granola with yogurt clusters! dying to try this.

I love all these ideas for cooking with ramps!

OMG. spring veggie tots!

majorly craving a chocolate cookie ice cream sandwich. oooooh.

lemon thyme donuts sound unreeeeal.

what to cook this june.

very into the idea of . sounds amazing.

a watermelon fresh herb cocktail? gimme.

The post Currently Crushing On. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Summer Fridays, Vol. 1.

Welcome to SUMMER FRIDAYS here at How Sweet Eats!

I could not be more excited about this, because let’s be real – is there anything better than a summer Friday? A relaxed Friday where we are either sneaking out early or taking the entire day off. There is no better way to kick off June – and summer.

Personally, I’ve always thought that the weekend REALLY starts on Thursday. The anticipation of Friday is so real. And I’m in this stage where I’m so happy and don’t want to let these little moments of “nothing special” (like an empty weekend!) pass me by. I want to enjoy every bit.

Even though I’m self employed, I still try to take as much of Friday off as I can in the summer. One of Eddie’s former jobs allowed him to leave at noon on Friday a few years ago and it was amazing. I still miss those days! And I even know people who save up allll their vacation days just to use it for all Fridays in the summer. Sure, Fridays are powerful. But in the summer? They’re everything.

Hence – the birth of HSE Summer Fridays. I did a few posts like this four (!! omg what !!) years ago and loved it. How Sweet Eats Summer Fridays are going to be my way of kicking off the weekend to make sure we ENJOY and love it… even if we have nothing going on! Real life inspiration and chats instead of a round up post about my ten favorite cocktails – which of course have their time and place.  I want to make every weekend this summer feel special. And I want to bring you right along with me! xo

Eating

All the donuts! HELLO it’s national donut day, people! If you’re looking for something to celebrate, I’ve got you covered but I would definitely recommend the salted dark chocolate donuts I shared earlier this week. And if you’re feeling super extra, make a donut snack board like I show up above with your favorite donuts, fruit and… sprinkles. Of course!

Prepping

This cherry chipotle BBQ pulled pork. Our freaking air conditioning is still broken and won’t be repaired until next week, so I want to heat the house as little as possible. This means tons of salads and grilled meals, but I am putting a pork shoulder in the slow cooker this morning before I leave and made a batch of the cherry chipotle BBQ sauce last night. It is SO good and easy.

Drinking

These strawberry gin lemonades. Nothing else screams the first week of June like these do, right? Even though I’ll be in Nashville for The Pretty Dish until Saturday night, we’re going strawberry picking on Sunday and I want to make these for Sunday happy hour while we grill.

Making

Strawberry cobbler! Yes there may be a theme here but last year at this time is when I made a fruit cobbler or crisp every weekend. And I kind of thought that it was because I was pregnant, but apparently it wasn’t and I still want to make a bunch. This strawberry one is the BEST.

Writing

Our summer bucket list. To be honest, I haven’t made an official summer bucket list since I wrote out this one a few years ago, which was actually kind of a sneaky trick since I was pregnant but trying to keep the pregnancy under wraps. When I look at the calendar, it’s so weird to think how quickly summer will go. We will be gone every single weekend in July. Things like the strawberry picking I mentioned above, taking Max to an amusement park, making homemade popsicles with him, having big fruit breakfasts every morning on the patio – those sorts of things! What is on your summer bucket list?

Reading

I’m diving head first into my summer reading list today while I’m on the plane. If you didn’t catch last summer’s list, there are amazing suggestions on there too! BUT. Since I’m going to be doing summer Fridays this season, I wanted to know if you guys actually wanted me to tell you which book I’m currently reading and then we could discuss in the comments? Nothing formal, but like a mini book club here on summer Fridays!

Buying

All the summer things at the Nordstrom half-yearly sale. I bought these shoes and while these other shoes aren’t on the sale, I’ve seen so many amazing recommendations for them that I couldn’t resist. Are they too mom-like? I hope not. Secretly (or not so), I’m just waiting on the the anniversary sale in July.

Listening

To every song of summer that I can. Here is your first HSE Summer Fridays playlist that absolutely screams SUMMER! Each week I’ll have a new one, and why yes, of course you can expect my interesting taste in music to shine through. I’m looking at you 90s Mariah followed by a James Taylor song which then turns into a Frank Sinatra duet.

Craving

A trip to Nantucket! I mean, I talk about this all the time but you know the reason I romanticize it so much is because of Elin’s novels. And then, of course, we actually went and it poured the entire time but was amazing. And I just want to go back ALWAYS and am constantly trying to convince Eddie that it isn’t too expensive ($$$), it isn’t too difficult with two kids (two flights or a flight + travel + a ferry which actually feels like nothing now after the traveling I’ve done for the book with both kids!) and we definitely have the time (even though I don’t know if we have the time this summer but I want to make the time, hello). In my secret not-on-the-internet world I pull up realtor.com late at night (instead of sleep, because why the heck should I do that?) and look at the $30 million shacks on the beach there. Dreams!

Trying

Something new here! We’ve been tossing the idea of Summer Fridays around for over three months now and to be honest, late last night I almost scrapped the idea and posted a recipe… because CHANGE. It’s different than what I normally do. A change. It’s something slightly new – even though it may not be new if you follow Crumbs. It’s essentially what I wanted my Crushing On posts to be when I first started them five years ago. Those will still be here (I know so many of you love them!) and they will be full of my favorite internet finds. But this here is how I want to make every weekend exciting, in a way other than sharing a recipe for the fifth time in one week and being like OMG YOU MUST MAKE IT but it’s Friday go on and be free! HSE Summer Fridays is a curated weekend for myself that I hope you can draw inspiration from.

But really, now go make a donut board and be on your way! xo

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May Favorites: Lifestyle.

Oh hey hey hey! We’re back here at the end of May and these are all the things (that are non-beauty!) I’m really loving this month. Let me know what you’re loving on below!

I finished The 5 Second Rule this month and while I thought it was a little gimmicky (or should I say, too good to be true!) at first, I actually really ended up loving it and have put the rule into practice a bit! Oh and we also did that when we were jumping in the pool on Sunday so you know, there’s that. But for real. It was good. And just interesting.

I know that I sound like a broken record, but I blast Kelly Clarkson’s album The Meaning of Life over and over and over again. It is SO GOOD!

CalPak Oh Joy Spinner Carry On. Every time I’ve traveled in the last ten years? I check my luggage. ALWAYS. I never wanted to worry about skincare products or liquids or anything and I’d just check everything and take a small bag on the plane so I wasn’t overloaded. But this last book tour trip, when I got to travel sans kids, I knew I didn’t want to check a bag for less than 24 hours. I didn’t have a carry on with spinners (which I basically think is a requirement now after having a large suitcase with spinners!) so I grabbed this Calpak one I’ve been lusting over for months. It is SO pretty. It holds a ton too. It’s perfect, aside from the fact that I treat it like a work of art while I’m traveling.

Marc Fisher Alida Platform Wedge. I am a huuuuuge fan of the Marc Fisher platform espadrilles (and have like four pairs from the last two years) and these are a new version this year that I adore. I got the pink and love them so, so much! These are so comfortable. I can easily walk in these for hours, no problem.

Tory Burch Miller Sandals. OH MY GOSH I know I know I’m a broken record and I think this is the third year in a row I’ve included these but they are the absolute best. If I have to wear flip flops, I want it to only be these. In the makeup shade. These are timeless and so comfortable. After finally getting a pair a few years ago, I understood the hype. If I could keep only one pair of summer shoes, these would be it.

Yeti Rambler Handle. The past few favorites posts, I’ve talked about how my 30 oz Yeti Rambler has been life changing. I love it so much! The only thing that could make it better? A handle – like you’d have on a mug. I cart it from room to room with Emilia and I’ve evee dropped it before, so now that I have this handle, it’s SO much easier to take it everywhere with me.

These Target beach towels have been on Cartwheel the past few weeks and I grabbed a few new ones because ours were getting OLD. These are so gorgeous! They are basically jewel toned and just so pretty. And they are also extra long, which I love on the beach.

Las Bayadas Tote. I freaking love this tote and the colors are so perfect for summer. I have a slightly less structured version from last year (but wish I had this one!) and it’s my pool/beach bag all summer. I already loaded it up with sunscreen.

Lilian Farag Pencil Pouch. I’m obviosuly not using this as a pencil pouch at the moment, but I’m using it as some organization in my diaper bag! It’s currently filled with my lip stuff, but it’s just an easy way for me to store something in my diaper bag which is full of so.much.crap and so I can find stuff easily. Aside from that though – THIS PRINT IS STUNNING!! Everyone who sees it just dies over it. It’s also so soft. And can carry a lot of stuff! Totally worth the (not so steep) price.

Since last fall, I’ve been using the kirakira+ app to make my photos/story videos have glitter and sparkle and you guys always ask about it! I love the app and it’s so fun. And now that it’s summer, it makes the water look so sparkly and glittery. It’s like my brain, in an app.

Chameleon Cold Brew Vanilla Coffee has been my cold brew of choice over ice! I love it mixed with some milk or half and half and I throw it over ice and it’s just the best ever. And so simple.

Dark Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Perfect Bars. I really really really love these! It’s the only flavor that I’m crazy over, but they are so satisfying, great to have for a quick breakfast and even better on the go. They have saved me more than once!

My current favorite mid-afternoon snack? Watermelon wedges sprinkled with sea salt and spritzed with fresh lime. It is seriously the best thing ever. DO IT.

[none of this is sponsored, just like to talk about things that I discover and love over the month. i purchased everything myself. tell me your faves! there may be a few affiliate links above. xoxoxo.]

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May Favorites: Beauty.

HELLO JUNE!

I can’t believe we’re into the end of May! I’m loving all the summer makeup and have some amazzzzing favorites this month! A few of the things are items I mentioned in last month’s post when I covered my favorite Sephora picks for the VIB sale. SO many loves.

Ummm also can we talk about how I still went into Sephora’s on every single stop of my book tour for the first few weeks?! So I have multiple new favorites! Then some are oldies but goodies. And I can’t wait to hear what you are loving in the comments!

Here are the best of the best below!

Coola Sunless Tan Face Serum. I actually bought this last year but just started using it this year and am in LOVE. It’s like a gel serum and the tan develops fairly quickly (at least for me and I have translucent skin) and lasts. It doesn’t look orange at all. I adore it! Sometimes I mix it with my moisturizer too. But mostly I use it alone.

Sol de Janiero Shower Gel Cream. I love using this in the summer because it smells like HEAVEN. Every summer – and at least through September – this will be my shower gel. I forgot to grab it out of my shower for a pic though!

Tan-Luxe The Gradual Tan Lotion. This stuff is amazing. I am pretty loyal to St Tropez for self-tanner (I use the 3 hour express!) and while I still use that, using this daily or every other day makes me look tan. Like, actually tan. It’s also a very thin lotion, so it’s really easily to smooth along your skin. And most importantly for me – it dries down completely and it doesn’t smell at all – both of which are really important since I’m nursing Emilia and she crawls all over and grabs me.

Kat Von D Liquid Lip in Backstage Bambi. Well. This was an impulse buy but I couldn’t stay away from this stunning HOT PINK. It is so bright and vivid. It’s neon. It’s the hot pink that you wear when you’re only wearing mascara, concealer and nothing else. Maybe some highlighter. You know? Freaking over it.

Marc Jacobs Omega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan. I have waited for this bronzer since last year. I couldn’t get my hands on it as it sold out everywhere (and it did this year too)… so I basically stalked all the places and ordered this as soon as it went on sale. I love it! It’s gorgeous for pale skin (probably not dark enough for medium to dark skin tones) and doesn’t look orange on me. It also smells like summer!

Milk Makeup Eye Pigment. OMG. I can’t even explain how much I love it. It was another impulse buy. I bought two shades – Hotel Lobby and Afterparty. I wear both separately and mix them together too. They are so pretty, don’t budge from the eyes and I get lots of compliments on them! Easy to apply too. Like no fuss at all.

NARS Fort de France Highlighter. I don’t need another highlighter at all but grabbed this during the spring VIB sale. It’s so gorgeous. While I adore my RMS highlighter, when I have to wear more makeup for events or photos, the RMS is tricky to use over/under bronzer or blush because it doesn’t dry down right away. This is super gorgeous and pinky-champagne.

Tom Ford Soleil Blanc. This is still my number one scent right now for summer! It’s SO delicious smelling. Coconutty but not artificial. I think it just smells like sunshine. I have the body spray too!

It’s insane how HOT it got here this week so of course right now I’m barely wearing any makeup. I am loving my supergoop SPF and am trying the drunk elephant one again, so we shall see. Can’t wait to hear what you’re loving below!

{as usual, none of this is sponsored and all of these products were purchased by me. i am not affiliated with any of the companies above, nor do i accept free products. just love to talk about what i like, makeup junkie to makeup junkie. there are some amazon and general reward style affiliate links above. thank you for being here!

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Fresh Cherry Lime Vodka Soda.

I have theeee most refreshing cocktail for you today!

Fresh cherry vodka sodas, coming right up. They are perfect and refreshing in this hot hot hot summer and just maaaaybe if your air conditioning breaks and it ends up being 93 degrees inside your house, they will cure all.

Maybe. The verdict is still out.

Ugh that’s a thing that’s happens.

But we have cherry vodka sodas. Or shall I say that I have cherry vodka sodas. And need many, many more.

I get ridiculously excited for cherry season every year. You know this!

And I went back and forth on cocktails this week. Should I make a fresh cherry bourbon smash? Which is sort of overdone and even though it’s a favorite of mine, reminds me more of a warming, fall-like cocktail. Right?

OR. A fresh cherry vodka soda. Which sounded amazingly refreshing and delicious for a hot, sunny summer day – much like this fresh cucumber vodka soda. Sitting by the pool and sipping one of those? I’m into it. With some lime, for that whole cherry limemade feel?

The first step is to make a slightly sweetened, fresh cherry syrup that we’re going to puree. And the best part is that it’s pretty thick – a wonderfully fresh and hearty cherry syrup – one that isn’t strained because all those cherry pieces get blitzed in the blender! I threw a bit of sugar and water in the saucepan with a ton of fresh cherries and warmed them until they were bursting.

Basically wanted to take a spoon to that saucepan immediately and consume the cherries that way.

Now comes the fun part!

You can keep this to a cherry vodka soda or you can go one extra step and make a LIME cherry vodka soda.

Oooommmmggggg.

The flavor. The freshness. The refreshing-ness! Which isn’t a word at all but, you know. It’s dreamy. It’s a little hint of margarita meets vodka soda. And it’s light. Not overwhelming in flavor or booze. Practically tastes like juice and bubbles.

It’s also super pretty! And reeeeally easy to make in a pitcher and serve to a bunch of friends for happy hour tomorrow night. Or Saturday afternoon. Or sunday funday!

I know that I’ve been reeeeeally into sangria this year, but a cool, fresh soda cocktail like this? New FAVE!

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Fresh Cherry Lime Vodka Soda

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup vodka
1/3 cup fresh cherry syrup
2 cups cold lime seltzer water
crushed ice for serving
lime wedges and fresh cherries for garnish

cherry syrup

1 1/2 cups pitted fresh cherries
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar



Directions:

In a large pitcher, combine the lime juice, vodka and cherry syrup. Stir well then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Before serving, pour in the cold seltzer water. Taste and if desired, add in more simple syrup and seltzer. Pour the mixture over crushed ice and garnish with lime wedges, cherries and fresh mint!

cherry syrup

Place the cherries, water and sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, until the cherries are soft and bursting, about 6 to 8 minutes. Carefully pour the mixture into a blender and place a towel on top of the lid in case any of the hot liquid escapes! Blend until the cherries are pureed and the mixture is combined.

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I appreciate you so much!

This tastes like an icy, fizzy grown up soda. I LOVE IT.

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Salted Dark Chocolate Fudge Donuts.

Guys! GUESS WHAT this week is?!

National donut day!! Salted dark chocolate fudge donuts to the rescue.

Only the best day to ever exist. Really. It is.

National donut day is the first Friday in June and it might be a holiday created just for me.

So – I have had dark chocolate sea salt donuts on the brain since we went to Maine last summer and had Holy Donuts. The dark chocolate sea salt one was insane, and while there were other amazing flavors like sweet potato and pomegranate and toasted coconut and… and… and maple bacon, the chocolate sea salt was my favorite by far.

I was sure that it was because I was super pregnant with Emilia at the time and salty sweet things tasted amazing. BUT. The combo has never left my mind.

And obviously, I’ve had salted chocolate things before. I say THINGS which makes me sound real fancy and knowledgeable, huh? Impressive, I know.

By these THINGS, I mean desserts. Cookies and brownies and treats like that. But this combo was so fantastic that light that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Let me tell you about them!

Because I’ve made chocolate fudge donuts before. Even just last year.

These are different though. I went with a recipe from King Arthur and basically, I should call these BROWNIE DONUTS.

They are delicate but fudgy. When I say that, I mean that you must let them cool completely before dipping them. They are so light and fudgy that the chocolate icing can weigh them down and cause them to crumble, so process with gentleness!

The donut itself is fabulous and with the icing? So rich. Then we add salt and I just die.

If the rich salty chocolate isn’t your thing, I have soooo many other donut recipes for you. Strawberry sprinkle, lemon cheesecake, tres leches coconut, chocolate pistachio, blueberry donut muffins, chocolate donut holes, chocolate glazed cake donuts and last year’s puff pastry peanut butter chocolate donuts.

Donut overload, I tell you.

That’s definitely not a problem for me though.

Every year I post my donut recipe ON national donut day, but the thing is that if I do that, you might not have time to make them for a celebration! So I’m sharing them today so you can hurry hurry hurry and make these babies for Friday.

Yep yep get to it.

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Salted Dark Chocolate Fudge Donuts

Yield: makes 18 donuts

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup chocolate chips

chocolate fudge icing

6 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
flaked sea salt, for topping



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a donut pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, espresso powder and salt. In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, oil, milk, vanilla extract and vinegar until combined. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until they are just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill the donut pan about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the donuts are set. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip onto a piece of parchment paper and let them cool completely.

Once cool, dip the donuts in the chocolate fudge and sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!

chocolate fudge icing

Add the chopped chocolate to a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over low heat just until bubbles appear around the edges and it’s warm. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds, then stir continuously until it’s smooth. Stir in the butter and set aside until ready to use.

chocolate donuts from king arthur

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I appreciate you so much!

That stack gets me.

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A Day in the Life – May 2018.

[In the craziness of April, I totally missed my day-in-the-life post! I thought about recording a day of travel but I mean… it was so boring and repetitive and generally nuts with the kids that I didn’t even know how to record it!

I almost skipped May too, but then yesterday morning realized that I had a fun crazy day and I figured I’d document it for May!

This day was a mix of mom life and work life and then I had a hair appointment at night (that I’d totally forgotten about because I made it in January!) and it was an amazing day aside from no AC. This is my real life, boring day-to-day life that I adore. With no pretty pics!]

5AM: I’m up and feeding Emilia and we are HOT. The day before, our air conditioner broke and today it’s supposed to be 90 degrees, so I just want to cry. Eddie has left for work and I know that I should get up RIGHT NOW (well, when I’m done feeding her) and work out but I’m so freaking tired. Emilia was awake a lot last night.

Instead of getting out of bed, I lie there for a few minutes and then kind of doze off for 30 more minutes. When I wake up, I’m instantly annoyed that I just didn’t get up and work out. This is my major struggle at the moment because Emilia is waking a few times a night (growth spurt? Wonder week? I don’t know! But she is up every 2ish hours right now.) and if I’m barely getting 3 or 4 or 5 hours or sleep, I just can’t function to exercise at 5AM anymore. Then I get really annoyed at myself because it’s an excuse and even I have to work late at night (which I love, obvi – and it’s the only time I can do it!), I see moms who get like 4 hours of sleep work out at 5AM on Instagram on the time. Whomp whomp. WHERE IS MY PRIORITY!

6:15AM: Max is awake and he is STARVING! Get this – we had such a fun weekend that the day before when we left the pool at 4PM? He fell asleep in the car… and slept the entire night! He didn’t wake up when we transferred him from the car to the couch and barely blinked from the couch to bed. He hadn’t eaten since lunch so he was sooo hungry. Normally, I’d try to get him to go back to sleep for awhile, but I obviously knew this boy had to eat.

We made peanut butter banana toast and he has a Clif Z bar and a yogurt pouch. I do a little but of computer work while we snuggle on the couch and try to find a show for him to watch.

7AM: I pump on one side quickly because I still need a stash of milk when I go away this weekend to Nashville for my book signing. After heading to Atlanta sans kids, we ended up sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours on the way home and finally got home at 2AM – the only problem with late flights. We decided there is no way we can risk that happening with Emilia, so just Lacy and I are headed to the signing this weekend.

It gives me insane anxiety but I just can’t think about it. I really don’t have a choice and I don’t want to cancel my signing a week before it happens, and Eddie already stayed with both kids by himself and everyone survived. We can do this!

7:30AM: Emilia is up and I nurse her on the other side. I get both kids dressed and ready to go.

8AM: We leave the house because Emilia has to get her 6 month shots. At her appointment two weeks ago, she was sick and the doctor suggested waiting until she felt better to get her shots. Gosh, I LOVE our doctor. Today was our appointment, so we’re off! I purposely left 10 minutes early so I can get an iced coffee. Apparently THAT is where my priority is. Ugh.

9AM: I nurse Emilia in the doctor’s office after the shots to comfort her. Max is so well behaved (but worried!) and plays with the cars that he brought.

9:10AM: At midnight the night before, I had the good idea to order groceries to pick up at 9AM. Thank god I did! We go and pick those up (life saving!) and then I also head to get gas in my car because I’m almost on empty and have to run out later.

9:45AM: We’re back home and I’ve unloaded some of the groceries, started to make the donut batter for a blog post and have Emilia in a seat ready to feed her actual food. I figure that I can get the donuts in the oven (I want to bake them as quickly as possible so the oven is on for a short amount of time since we have no AC!), start feeding Emilia and put away the cold groceries!

I give Emilia banana (just half of one that she munches on!) and then peas, blueberries and carrots. She LOVES it and screams for more and more which makes me so happy, because up until last week she really wasn’t into food.

Max ran into the house and started playing at his train table so he is totally entertained for the moment.

10AM: Lacy is here! Now that she is working with me, work life is so wonderful and she has helped me SO much. I’m in usual spaz mode when she gets here because I’m doing three things at once and trying to feed Emilia too. I finish up with Emilia and clean her up – which takes more time than the actual food, haha. It’s crazy how messy babies get.

Alex (Max’s babysitter!) also gets here at this time, thank heavens! She is here with Max for a portion of the day (and later with Emilia!) so I can get some work done. He tells her that he “needs alone time” (his new favorite phrase while he is playing) and continues to play at the train table, so she entertains Emilia for a little while we get to shooting and styling!

10:15AM: I put Emilia down for her nap. It’s a bit later than usual, but this tends to be her longest nap so I’m hoping for a good one!

10:20AM: We’re off and running! I make the donuts that I posted today (which very rarely happens, I’m usually two or three weeks ahead of posts!) along with another recipe. I photograph both and make a gigantic mess in the kitchen.

I also get my Tuesday Things published at this time and work on a few more things for the week. I check on Emilia a couple times too, because she is sleeping so soundly.

Alex is amazing and gets Max to take a nap early today. And while he naps she cleans up our living room toy bomb that went off because she is the best and I would die without her.

12:30 PM: Lacy and I managed to get two recipes made and I photographed them in about two hours! Woohoo! It was super rushed and fast but the photos turned out great. Recipes were already tested so that part was easy. I load up the dishwasher quickly and then make Eddie some turkey sloppy joes. I actually make them in my slow cooker because I don’t want to make the house warmer by turning on my gas range.

1PM: I run upstairs and get ready since I’m a mess. Max and I both have haircuts later today, so I don’t really have to do much to my hair. Thank goodness.

1:35 PM: Emilia wakes up from a great nap (like 3 hours!) and I nurse her. Then I hurry up and throw on some other clothes so I can take Max for his haircut. He wakes up around 1:45 and gets changed and has a snack.

2:00PM: We leave for Max’s appointment and blast The Greatest Showman soundtrack the entire way.

3:00PM: Looking so sharp with his new summer hair! I can’t even take this boy. I love him so much. We head back home so I can drop him off.

3:35PM: We’re home and I nurse Emilia again just because I’ll be gone for a few hours this afternoon. I change AGAIN because I’m a crazy person and it’s so hot that I throw a dress on.

4:00PM: I leave again for my own hair appointment. I love being in the car by myself (freeeeedom) and listen to some of the newest Armchair Expert podcast.

This is the second time I’ve got my hair done since having Emilia and it feels soooo good to be out and just… sitting somewhere! Ha. I take this time and respond to a ton of emails, DMs on Instagram and FB, FB posts for the book club and blog post comments. Perfect and uninterrupted! I’m trying to get to them all but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Annnd I also read through a Food Network magazine issue hoping for recipe inspo. It was… uninspiring.

7:00PM: Back home after the longest hair appointment ever, but I got color done and it just takes forever! Very nervous about the state of our house with how hot it is. Can you tell this is running my life today? Eddie had brought home ingredients for salad so I had some of the turkey sloppy joes and salad for dinner while he gave Max a bath and Emilia sat in her bouncer.

7:15PM: Emilia is soooo tired at the moment so I nurse her and put her to sleep.

7:45PM: I do a super quick cleanup of the kitchen (that’s putting it loosely) and then Max and I snuggle for about a half hour. Even though it’s so so hot that snuggling is close to impossible.

8:30PM: Eddie puts Max to bed and I grab my computer to get some work done. I work on this post, write my beauty favorites post (coming tomorrow!) which always takes a few hours, write my lifestyle favorites post and edit two sets of photos.

I also pop into The Pretty Dish FB group to list our new June recipes and respond to some posts in there!

11:05PM As I’m finishing writing this post for the day, I’m seriously trying to figure out if I can set up a bed under our kitchen table. It’s the only room that has a ceiling fan and it’s currently 80 degrees in the house. Ooomph.

11:30PM: I head to bed anyway because I don’t want to sleep on the tile floor. Bahaha. I weirdly loved this day of mom stuff + work stuff + a few hours of free time and know that in like 15 years, these are the days I’ll look back on. God that sounds so embarrasingly cheesy but I really feel it!

Oh P.S. I definitely wasted 30 minutes on my phone in bed because I’m the worst kind of millennial.

GOODNIGHT.

The post A Day in the Life – May 2018. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Tuesday Things.

1. Craving this grilled green bean salad. Doesn’t it look incredible?!

2. Who has tried an impossible burger? And what are your thoughts. Tellll me.

3. This warmed my heart! A 96-year old woman who had her own system for reviewing books.

4. Peonies are definitely the new avocado toast. If you buy peonies and don’t even instagram them, are they really in a vase in your house? NO.

5. Okay so now that the Axe/Wendy/Chuck drama appears to be over, I’m really bored with Billions. Ugh! I hope that something huge happens here at the end to bring it back. Also verrrrry excited about these Affair previews.

6. These four common misconceptions about success? Hellllo #3.

7. Very much want to invest in a soft serve machine. I wish that was a thing.

8. Coming next week: the howsweeteats rosé guide for your summer! But I want to know – what is your favorite? I know we all have access to different brands. I love a very dry rosé and yesterday at the pool we were drinking Notorious Pink. It was SO good.

9. P.S. Did you see my summer reading list? Share what you’re reading over there in the comments! So many good recs.

The post Tuesday Things. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

The Pretty Dish Book Club – June!

It’s time for The Pretty Dish Book Club in JUNE!



June. Freaking June. How are we here already?! Time is flying.

You guys are absolutely KILLING it with this book. I have heard from some of you who have made close to 30 (YES, THIRTY!!!) recipes from the book already. I’m insanely inspired by you and you guys are making me want to cook constantly from my own book!

Which is awesome, aside from the fact that I need to test NEW recipes for you… bahahaha.

The Pretty Dish Book Club Facebook group is nothing short of amazing. The recipes and tips people share there are incredible. I mentioned it last month, but the way the community is with creating and sharing recipes (along with tons of tweaks for gluten free, dairy free, weight watchers friendly, etc) blows my mind. Checking in on the group and commenting on the posts is seriously the best part of my day!

And here are just a few of the fabulous creations on that you shared in May on instagram!

Strawberry almond mascarpone tarts. Just a delicious and easy little no-bake dessert for spring. That’s all. Recipe from @howsweeteats #theprettydish #cookbook #homemadeisbetter #strawberrytart #mascarpone #freshmint #frommygarden #homemadedessert #honestcooking #frommykitchen #myamazonkitchen #foodwinewomen #kitchenbowl #howsweeteats #prettydishbookclub #savor #eatwellandsavor

A post shared by @ allaboutmycharmedlife on May 21, 2018 at 5:25pm PDT

I don’t know noodles, did I douse you in enough semolina? #howsweeteats #theprettydish

MDW Photo Diary.

Here’s a little sneak peek into our Memorial Day weekend.

I love this weekend oh-so much! xoxo

The post MDW Photo Diary. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.