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Spicy Pretzels
I’m excited to share the spicy pretzel recipe that is a fan favorite! I make spicy pretzels for nearly every party I host, I bring them as an appetizer to happy hours, a hostess gift to friend’s houses, and I even included them in our welcome wedding bags. Anyone who tries these spicy pretzels ends up asking me for the recipe. A co-worker from my school counseling days brought these in to share and multiple copies of the recipe at the same time because she knew everyone would be asking for it. They are that good. I like to package them in cellophane bags and tie with a cute ribbon.…
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Booze Bandits
My brother Michael and his fiancé Laura are margarita bandits; they left ice cold skinny margaritas on Megan’s and my porches last week with directions to sanitize, drink, text who you think the bandit is, and then continue drinking. Needless to say, we loved the idea, and wanted to become booze bandits ourselves. Why booze bandits and not margaritas bandits? Because we thought of all sorts of fun booze-y things we would love to find on our porches (margaritas included). So let’s end this long month of quarantine with a bang and make someone’s day! Check out our booze bandit ideas below. Margarita Bandit Fill a mason jar with ice,…
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Exercise During Social Distancing
While my sister Mallory and I may look a lot alike, there are some striking differences between us. One of these differences is exercise. Simply put, Mallory likes to exercise, and I don’t. For as long as I can remember, Mallory has made exercise a priority in her life. She has repeatedly told me that exercise helps her not only physically but improves her mental and emotional wellbeing too. I just rolled my eyes. About two years ago (I am embarrassed to admit), vanity got the best of me. I was asked to be in a wedding party where, on average, everyone was 8+ years younger than I. While honored,…
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“Dad Juice”
As a backstory, we started using the term “Dad Juice” this past Fall when Chris introduced Ryan to any and all forms of spiked sparkling water and it was love at first sip. Now, both of our fridges are always stocked with a variety of hard seltzer and it is solely called Dad Juice, which is fitting because they are the only ones that drink it! You will only find me sipping a Truly if I’m tailgating (because it is way better than a Bud Light) or as an ingredient in Megan’s skinny margaritas, otherwise, not my thing! As the most experienced hard seltzer drinker, I asked Chris to give…
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Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and we all deserve a gift now more than ever! If you need a reminder, its on May 10th this year, because admittedly at this point in the COVID-19 madness I have personally lost track of days, dates, and time. The act of mothering right now – no matter what stage – is extra difficult without our typical external support networks and routines to rely on. And in many cases, we are not only performing our roles as mothers but simultaneously acting as academic teachers and working from home at the same time. So, if I am being honest, what I really want for…
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Get Ready Faster Breakfast Ideas
If I had to name the most positive impact resulting from the Governor’s Stay At Home Order for my family, it would be not having to get Sam and Emma up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7:30am ever morning on my way to the office. School mornings in our household are a **it show. My daughter Emma is NOT a morning person. Every morning she wakes up and trudges to the family room where she dramatically flops onto the couch Cleopatra-style with her arm draped over her eyes. Attempting to rush her in the morning only results in her moving even more sloooowwwwyyyyly… I have tried everything to…
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Muffins For The Whole Family
Muffins are my favorite make-ahead way to feed my entire family. Breakfast, lunch or dinner… I make muffins to cover any mealtime and I’m not talking about the giant super unhealthy (delicious) Costco muffins. The muffins I am talking about are refined sugar-free, gluten-free, protein-packed, and usually full of good things like chia + flax seeds and fruits and veggies. Muffins are easy to grab to feed Jack and Joey, I can easily customize them to fit Jack’s baby needs, and Chris can take them to work for breakfast or lunch, and then he doesn’t complain that “we have no food in the house”. So, these aren’t your average muffins…
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German Chocolate Cupcakes
My brother-in-law Chris’ birthday was yesterday, and my sister wanted to surprise him with his favorite German Chocolate cupcakes. I volunteered to bake because my children are at least old enough to help (unlike Mallory’s) but not too old to think that cooking with mom is no longer cool. I started making these cupcakes for my dad’s birthday several years ago. German Chocolate cake is my dad’s favorite dessert and one year I thought making cupcakes instead of a whole cake would be a fun twist. Everyone in my family loved the cupcakes and I have been making them every year for my dad’s birthday since. When Chris became part of…
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Coffee, Sparkling Water and Wine
You can usually find Megan and I drinking sparkling water, coffee or wine and not necessarily in that order :). I also drink real water but Megan doesn’t – ha! I’m not joking. Everyone I know drinks sparkling water (known as bubbly water in our house) these days but we may drink more of it than the average human. Given that it’s so popular right now, there are always new flavors and varieties coming out and we make sure to try them. So, as self-proclaimed experts in the sparkling water department and really with nothing exciting going on in our lives at the moment, I thought I would fill you…
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Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken
Sheet pan dinners are my favorite! Just like slow cooker recipes, I seek out these types of meal ideas. I love any recipe that reduces the number of dishes that must be cleaned post-meal. I tried this Half Baked Harvest recipe on Monday for the first time. The flavors were amazing – I highly recommend you try it soon! Admittedly, before making this meal I had no clue what harissa seasoning was. In fact, I almost did not make the recipe because it required me to buy another new spice at the grocery store. (If you saw my spice cabinet, you would appreciate why I wanted to avoid another spice jar!). I…
