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Hi Reader,

Oh my goodness, November here we are. 😳 It's so funny - I ordered a few things (like 4 or so) in October for Christmas and patted myself on the back that I started so early. And then as soon as I see it's November I start to panic - there are only weeks left!!

It's funny because it's just perception - there is plenty of time, even for ordering online, so I need to take a deep breath and take out my holiday planner to make a list of the things that are important to me so I can see, yes, we're going to be just fine.😀

All that said, the trees are at their glorious color peak right about now and soups and breads are some of the best things I'm making.🍁

The beginning of a new month means a new seasonal menu plan and November's Menu is full of cozy foods (as well as Thanksgiving dishes).

A few things I'm making from the November Menu

• Curried Lentils with Bacon & Browned Cabbage (unique, cozy, healthy and flavorful!) served with a green salad with Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
• Creamy Pesto Tortellini with Red Peppers, spinach salad (perfect for busy nights)
• Slow Cooker Cassoulet (one of my all-time favs!), Orange Almond Salad, Easy Artisan Bread
• Potato & Caramelized Onion Frittata, green salad with bacon, Easy Artisan Bread (I have to serve bread with this as the caramelized onions are heaven with it!)
• Cheesy Baked Pasta (comfort food at it's best and a great way to use up my roasted tomato sauce!), green salad with maple balsamic vinaigrette

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Crochet Tree Ornament Update

A few weeks ago I linked to what looked like adorable crochet Christmas tree ornaments. I thought they were cute, had bought the pattern, but hadn't looked at it yet (or as it turns out, looked at reviews😳). I got quite a few emails from people wanting to try the pattern but unsure about the apparently confusing directions from the reviews, so I promised to try it out.

Well, the reviews were right. The pattern isn't written well (even has two rows repeat that is an obvious mistake) and the inside process shots look nothing like the (now apparent) AI photo we all loved. (Now I see the link to the pattern I bought brings up a totally new AI generated tree ornament on Etsy, and my review shows the old one. 🤷‍♀️ Confusing!)

Anyway, I DID manage to crochet two tree ornaments based on the pattern but with many changes and finagling along the way. Here's what they look like next to the pattern photo:

I think they are cute, even though they are not close to the photo and in searching other tree ornaments, there's nothing really like the 3-D effect of the ornaments I came up with (most are flat). But they're rustic and don't come out the same way each time since I'm sort of making it up as I go along. 😂

I'm not even sure you can buy this anymore, but I wouldn't recommend it - and I'm sorry I linked to it without doing more research into it. Now I know!

I did find a couple other free tree crochet patterns online if you're interested - one is actually shown as a garland like the Etsy one.

• Hooked on Patterns Christmas Tree Garland
• Craft Passion Christmas Tree Crochet Pattern

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Your Holiday Checklist Week 2

The Holiday Planner can help anytime you start! Here is Week 2, but you can still check off things from the previous weeks (since we all won't use everything). NEW: I don't know why I linked to the sign-up page last week directly from my newsletter, you are already signed up for sure! So now the link above goes directly to the page you can download the planner pages from.👏

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Head's Up

Audible is running a holiday special - .99 a month for 3 months which allows you to choose one best seller or new release a month (which is yours to keep) as well as listen all you want to their library of podcasts, audiobooks, and Audible Originals during the 3 months. The three books are yours to keep and listen to in the Audible app, even if you cancel after the 3-month period.

While there are other audiobook listening apps, Audible is the easiest to use and the easiest to gift. I've had my account for many years (though I'm on an every-other-month plan) and Brian and I can easily share the books in our accounts, too. They also routinely run 2-books-for-1-credit sales as well as a daily deal (if you sign up for the email) and occasional sales of audio books you can get for $2.99 to $6.99.

In fact, right now Brian and I are listening to Stephen Fry's Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined which are so fun - really! He adds his signature humor as well as depth of knowledge and amazing ability with voices to create a great listen.💜

I've gotten a lot out of my Audible membership over the years and use it in conjunction with my library app. Check out the deal by clicking the button below if you think you would, too:

From The Blog

Easy Whole Wheat Cranberry Bread I've updated this recipe - created from a classic recipe I got in college(!) - to answer some of the questions I've gotten in the comments. Now is the time for cranberry bread! ​ RECIPE HERE! ​

Easiest Chili Crisp (Chili Crunch) I do a deep dive into this new favorite condiment and share how I came up with this recipe inspired by Trader Joe's Onion Chili Crunch. Choose the 1 minute microwave version or 3 minute stovetop plus all the ways you can use this fun condiment! ​ RECIPE HERE! ​

One of the things I ordered early for the holidays was goat milk soap from Bend Soap Company. I bought some last year for stockings and I think it will be an annual purchase because the soaps are wonderful, they have other things like lip balms and deodorant, and it's a wonderful family business located in Oregon.💜

I can't remember if I've mentioned it before, but I'm really loving how using 12% hydrogen peroxide has kept the grout and tiles in our shower looking nice. It seems safer to me than bleach (while I can smell it, it's not nearly as potent as bleach but you do need to use gloves), I can't really find anything about the 12% solution online (I didn't find the 3% solution did anything for the grout). Used in small amounts like I do (weekly use about 3 tablespoons in the shower), I don't think it will hurt the septic like other harsh cleaners and bleaches. 🤞 Have you tried this stronger peroxide for cleaning?

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Thanks for reading along! 😘 Here's to a wonderful first week of November!

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