Christmas is almost here! Are you done with your Christmas shopping? I am! Well... almost. 😉
I'll be quick and tell (show) you a few things we've been up to in the last month.
We traveled for two weeks in November for a theology conference in Baltimore followed by Thanksgiving in North Carolina. Judah was ecstatic to spend time with his Nana and cousins as you can see above.
While in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, we all piled into my sister-in-law's SUV and drove through Tanglewood Park to see the Christmas lights. Best display of lights I've ever seen! Best part is we unknowingly went on half-price day, so it was just $5 for the 8 of us to see the lights! Score!
In Baltimore, we attended a theology conference for Ben where we also celebrated the career of a close family friend, and is who Simon's middle name is after. Above is his wife who I love so dearly and get to see only once or twice a year. It was so great to see her and catch up for a few days!!
Just a few days after we returned from our trip, we celebrated Judah's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese with 20 of his little friends. Such a blast!! He and his buddies were busting a move above during the rock star party. Typically I would love to host the party in our home, but because we were gone and it was impossible to plan anything, Chuck E. Cheese was a great option.
It was so fun to attend Judah's first Christmas program last week! Of course, I have a thousand videos from it, too. He did a great job standing up there during the entire show with way more patience than I've ever seen him display! 🙂 He's also quite the ladies man. Ha!
Recently On Seeded at the Table:
This section highlights the recipes posted recently on Seeded at the Table and other updates to the blog, if any.
Candy Bar Popcorn - Bite-sized pieces of your favorite candy bars tossed with chocolate drizzled popcorn.
Zax Sauce - Copycat version of Zax Sauce (chicken fingers and french fries dipping sauce served at Zaxby's).
Homemade Playdough - Making playdough in your home kitchen in easier than you imagined. Just a couple of ingredients and a few minutes of your time saves you money and creates lasting memories!
Snickers Taffy Apple Salad - Apples, marshmallows, pineapple chunks and bites of Snickers candy bars gelled into a pineapple whipped cream topping.
Lion House Dinner Rolls - Light and buttery rolls, famous from The Lion House Pantry restaurant and bakery.
Idaho Potato Vegetable Casserole Supreme - Creamy, cheesy potato and vegetable casserole - perfect for any big crowd!
Loving Lately:
Here I will share with you my favorite things of late, along with other snippets that have caught my eye from some of my favorite blogs and websites.
Starbucks Coffee Refill Tumbler - I'll admit it, I'm one of those Starbucks fans. The closest one to us is about 15 minutes, so I don't go there extremely often, but I have been a gold card holder for a few years now and also opt to receive text notifications of their special offers. Last week, I received a text notification about this Starbucks Coffee Refill Tumbler and was quite intrigued. For just $30, you get the tumbler and then in January you bring the tumbler to your favorite Starbucks store for a free GRANDE cup of coffee EVERY DAY. So for 31 days straight, you can get free Starbucks coffee! If you have a friend or family member who frequently visits Starbucks for their coffee, then this is a great Christmas gift!
The Greek Yogurt Cookbook - Greek yogurt has become a staple in many household pantries, and I haven't been able to get on the bandwagon until recently. The taste isn't extremely appealing to me, but when I received a review copy of this book, I started realizing that I can use it in many recipes where you can't even taste it! Perfect for me! This book includes creative ways to get this "super food" into your diet so you can take advantage of its nutritional value while not sacrificing taste. Yay! My in-laws are big into substituting Greek Yogurt into their dishes, so I'm excited to try a few of these recipes on them when they visit next week!
Keurig and Hilton Partnership - So you know me and my love for my Keurig machine, right? I recently learned that Hilton Garden Inn is now offering the Keurig K130 single cup brewers in their hotel rooms. Get out! I love love love this idea! There are four free K-Cup sample packs provided in each room, along with a large selection available for purchase. We travel a lot, and I have never used the in-room coffee maker because it's a hassle. But, you better believe I would use a Keurig brewer in the room and save on purchasing my coffee.
Progressive Collapsible Cupcake Carrier - I've had this cupcake carrier for a couple of years now, and was reminded of how much I love it when I used it again last week for Judah's birthday party. It holds your cupcakes in place when carrying them around, and it collapses for easy storage. A win win situation, my friends! I used to have a different kind of cupcake carrier that broke during one of our many moves, but it took up so much space in my cabinets that I wasn't even bummed when it broke and had to replace it. In fact, I was excited because it meant replacing it with this perfect one! 🙂
That's it, friends! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you next week with a couple of pie recipes!