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Hi Reader,

How are you doing? Are you feeling on top of things, right on track, or a little (lot?) behind?

If you do sometimes have that feeling in the pit of your stomach that you're behind in something (hand firmly raised), I hope we can both take deep breaths and realize:

1. "Behind" is a state of mind. We have control over this.
2. Let go of expectations, do what you can, and enjoy what the holiday season brings.

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As much as I crave and talk about simplicity, I'm so bad at feeling like I need to do all.the.things. Which is probably why I talk about simple living so much. 😂 But guess what the main thing I do that helps me to be able to take those deep breaths and let go?

I make lists. Yep, I make lists of people I need to buy gifts for and then fill it in when I purchase something. I make a list of what I'm bringing for Thanksgiving, a list of cookies I want to make, one for who I want to give the goodie bags to, and even a list of who I want to give crocheted ornaments to. And these are in addition to the daily/weekly lists I make (where the Flexible Planner comes into play - especially because all the specific lists can be kept in the Lists Section of the planner!).

When I have a list, I find it's no longer in my brain taking up space - or giving me that pit-in-the-stomach feeling.

Here's the big caveat though: Those lists I make are because I enjoy giving gifts and making cookies and crocheting. If that's not your thing, give up what you can and find what you do enjoy and then make time for it - or make a list. 😀

Our Family's Top Thanksgiving Recipes

These are the recipes I have to make every year (yes, I'm making a list):

• Of course this dressing (have I talked about it enough?😂)
• THE rolls, either the regular or fun, buttery crescent shaped.
• ​Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Carrots (okay, this is mainly me because 1) they're yummy and 2) I can make them ahead and let them cook on their own in the crockpot!)
• ​Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes - so good.
• Pies: the big crumb topped apple one or this decadent chocolate chip walnut one that reminds us of a caramely candy bar.

Lots of Thanksgiving ideas and recipes can be found HERE. AND how about 21 different types of apple pies if you want to change it up a bit?

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Your Holiday Checklist Week 4

​The Holiday Planner can help anytime you start! Here is Week 4, but you can still check off things from the previous weeks. Though starting from this week is good and will get you on track for sure.

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Head's Up: Early Black Friday Sale Next Week

Yes, I'm running a sale this year.😀 While I'm going to offer 15% off everything in my shop, the main reason I'm doing a sale is to be able to offer my newest physical cookbook, the revamped Freezing Produce The Easy Way, which now coordinates with the Easy Water Bath Canning book!

The content is the same as the freezer cookbook that has been available in the shop for years, but it's now the same size as the canning book (6x9") with a new cover and a few formatting updates.

Offering these two books together has always been my goal, because they are all the recipes and techniques I use every single year to easily preserve produce. They are easy, doable, and most important, give you foods you can use all year and save money on. (And no, before you ask, I don't do pressure canning - I have, but don't actually like food that is pressure canned, other than broth which is easily frozen in the small batches I make.)

The full sale will run next week, 11/17 to 11/21 and will be 15% off of everything as well as free shipping when you buy 2 or more physical cookbooks so you can buy one of each or two canning books to gift one, etc. (Note: The coil-bound Flexible Planner isn't eligible for free shipping since it's a print-on-demand product.)

If you want to be notified before everyone else (we have a set number of books that are in stock - after that we will have to reorder), then click the button below to be first in line:

From The Blog

​Simple Roast Turkey with Amazing Gravy​ My favorite turkey recipe updated for 2025 (it's been on the site for 10 years!). It's the white wine that makes the gravy so good! ​ RECIPE HERE! ​

​The Only Pie Crust I Make​ Here's another 10-year-old recipe updated - a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a flaky, tender, all-butter pie crust! ​ RECIPE HERE! ​

One More Thing

I resisted for years getting lazy susans for our refrigerator - I just thought they would take up room and I need all I can get for all my jars of sourdough, kefir, pickles, and ferments.😂 But I finally caved after one too many times of removing all.the.jars. to reach the one way back in the corner. I got this set of two lazy susans and put them in each of the top corners of the fridge. And...you probably guessed that they are pretty great! Brian LOVES them and it's really easy to find and grab what you want with just a spin. Yes, I still have to move a few jars, but much less (and I suppose I could always add a few more...).

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Here's to a week of joy and looking forward with gratefulness to the upcoming holiday! Thank YOU for being here💜

Know someone who'd appreciate this? Forward it along!

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Remember it's easy to save recipes on An Oregon Cottage! Just click the heart when browsing to save your personal favorites! TIP: when you click on the link, it will take you to my site - click the heart like you see here to the left - it will be on the bottom right on the site. A pop up form will come up for you to create an account (or sign in if you already have). You need to create a password for this account (no info is kept besides your email) and then you can save all recipes and articles to this account and access it anytime to remember what you want and choose what to make!

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