Friday Favorites - October 2nd 2026

 

Today I'm linking up with Andrea & Erika for Friday Favorites! 

I cannot believe it's already October! Is it just me or is the fall flying by already? I'm in Massachusetts where the weather is cold in the morning, and WARM in the afternoon. Today is going to be 80 degrees this afternoon....so I never know how to dress because it's freezing when I leave for work but boiling hot when I get out, and then freezing again at night. 

I've been trying to find some transitional clothes, and this short sleeve sweater has been great. It's flowy, so it hides my mom-stomach and also works if I don't want to wear my prosthetics and just be flat that day. It's comfortable, and unlike a lot of amazon clothing, it fits true to size. I ordered a large and it's plenty roomy! 

I've been wearing this with my Gola's and jeans with a sweater over it more often than I should admit. It's good enough that I need to order a few more colors! 

Another favorite has been this couch. Ignore the undecorated room (a work in progress) but my son wanted to convert a guest room into a 'game room'. I didn't want to lose the sleeping area for when he has friends stay over, and this couch has been perfect. And it's COMFORTABLE, which seems wild because it doesn't look comfortable at all, but it is! And it separates easily into two solid twin mattresses, perfect for a tween boy sleepover! 

Did you see that a Dairy Queen blizzard is supposed to be better for muscle recovery after a workout than chicken and rice? I don't know how true it is, but we tested it out ;)  Alec got the 'enchanted blizzard', but it's made out of yams and he did not recommend it, lol. He said to get the regular blizzards. ;) 

Maybe this shouldn't be a favorite, because my poor dog, but our cat Cheese likes to wake up Mac (the dog) in the morning by smacking him in the face with his paw. Poor Mac tolerates it! 

Last weekend Alec asked for red velvet cake, but I didn't have time to cook it in the bundt pan so I made it into cupcakes and it was so good! I used Shay's recipe and then this frosting recipe from a carrot cake recipe I found a while ago. The frosting is the BEST and super easy to make because it doesn't need any liquid, so I feel like you can't mess it up (and I mess recipes up ALL the time!).  If you make it for a regular cake, do half the recipe or it makes too much. I also highly recommend that carrot cake recipe in the link for the frosting too, it's the absolute best ever. I make it for every Easter. It's delicious! 

I'm laughing at my blurry cupcake photo. I'm no food blogger, but really...do I need to be? Nope! The link to the recipe works even if the photo isn't fantastic. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Nikki

Weekend Recap

 

It's been a stormy weekend, so we spent lots of time relaxing! We're lucky to be about an hour northwest of Boston, away from the coast, so we only got rain and some mild winds. Praying for everyone on the coast, lots of properties with damage and the storm still isn't over. 

Alec had his usual gymnastics practice (roads here were fine so most things that are indoors continued on as usual). Saturday night we played a favorite game called Act your Age and it's so fun! One person takes a card with an age on it and everyone else asks them questions. The person has to answer pretending to be that age. Then everyone guesses and whoever is closest gets a point. Some of the questions are so funny because my 12 year old has no idea what it is...for example "have you ever used a dial-up modem!" We had to explain what some of these things were to him and he was baffled by some of them! 

During the afternoon on Saturday I finished up a needlepoint tapestry that I've been working on since May! It's heading off to the finisher to be turned into a pillow that will become a Christmas gift. 

Sunday morning I made a big batch of these oatmeal energy bites that are always a hit. They're really easy and delicious. Just mix the ingredients together, form into balls and pop in the fridge. I had read that Americans don't get nearly enough fiber and just a few of these little bites have tons of flaxseed, so I figure they're delicious and healthy. Groceries are also crazy expensive so I'm trying to be an 'ingredient mom', making more and more from scratch when I can find the time. 

It's currently Sunday afternoon as I write this and I have to clean up my office, organize my purse and work bag (is there a better way to do this? I feel like every week I'm moving things from bag to bag) and then try to tidy the house and clean. While we do need the rain in my area, it sure is making for a lazy day! Hope you all had a good weekend!! 

Energy Bites!

 Easy Energy Bites! 

These peanut butter, oatmeal energy bites can be customized to your taste and have lots of fiber thanks to ground flax seed. Make a big batch on the weekend and have enough for the week! 

This recipe makes about 50 'bites'. I used a melon baller to scoop them. I store them in a tupperware in the fridge and they last about a week. 

Mix all the following ingredients in a large bowl (I use my hand mixer, but you can mix with a stand mixer or by hand). 

3 cups of Quick Oats 

1.5 cups of creamy peanut butter

1.5 cups of ground flaxseed

1.5 cups (I used a whole small bag) of chocolate chips 

1 cup of honey 

3 tsp vanilla 

Enjoy!!

Friday Favorites - September 25th 2026

 

Happy Friday! I'm linking up with Andrea & Erika for Friday Favorites! This week felt extra long for some reason, maybe because the newness of the school year is starting to wear off and the homework and responsibilities are increasing. Today's Friday Favorites are going to be focused on some favorite things I've purchased recently. 

Speaking of back to school, I bought this clock to put inside Alec's shower. I don't know if it's just my kid, but when I say "go take a quick shower and get to bed" and he's anything but quick. Hoping this reminds him to hurry up! LOL Having him get to bed as quickly as possible (he gets home at 9:30 from practice so he needs to get to bed quickly) is going to be a favorite...pray for me ;) 

A while back Alec was asking for a trampoline. We looked at a lot of different options (he's a gymnast, so it needed to be rectangular, large enough for twisting flips and not crazy expensive. We've had this one for a few years now and it's a 10/10 recommendation. Bonus is that I put it together myself with a little help from him.  It gets SO much use. Everything from just bouncing around to practicing his flips. It's also really big and sturdy. 

A favorite for me has been this lipstick (more of a lip balm-ish feeling when you put it on) called Pillow Talk by Charlotte Tilbury. I am not a lipstick person, it always feels too harsh on me, but I do a lot of Teams and Zoom meetings for work and I felt like I looked sick all the time in the meetings. This gives me just enough color to look put together without feeling over done. 

I also ordered these sneakers for myself. I live in Massachusetts where fall is a unique combination of winter, spring, summer and fall all squished into one day, so footwear can be really tricky. I also need something that's put together enough for my casual office environment but is comfortable for the weekends. These Gola's were SUCH a treat. More of a splurge for me, but I know they'll last. I ordered a 1/2 size up from my normal size to account for heavier socks in the winter (new england..blah ;) ) They are super cute on and don't give me that "huge feet" look that I sometimes feel like I get in sneakers.

Okay so now some regular Friday favorites....

I made a corn chowder this week for dinner. It was my first time ever making it and it's delicious! My son added some bacon bits and rotisserie chicken to his, but I ate mine with just a little shredded cheese. It's also naturally gluten free, which is a bonus! 

This beautiful hawk appeared in my backyard the other day. My house backs up to the woods and we have some gorgeous wildlife! Everything from hawks to bears to bobcats, they are all so pretty (though definitely prettier to see from afar than up-close!) 

That's it for me today! We have a big storm coming through this weekend (as does much of the country) so I'm hoping everyone stays safe! Have a great weekend! 

* My blog contains affiliate links. If you shop my links I will earn a small commission. I never share anything I don't use and I truly appreciate you supporting me and my family. 

Creamy Corn Chowder (Naturally gluten free!)

Creamy Corn Chowder! 
Naturally Gluten Free & Crockpot friendly!

•  About 5 cups of diced potatoes (I peeled & diced my own, but you could buy them pre-cut)
•  8 cups of corn (I used frozen)
• 1 cup of diced onion 
• 5 cups of chicken stock 
  
• 1 tsp of garlic powder 
• salt/pepper (I like the Slap Your Mama brand for a little extra zest without being spicy! It's really the best) 
• 2 cups of heavy cream 

Add all ingredients except the cream to your pot (or crockpot) and cook until the potatoes are tender. About 6-8 hours in the crockpot or maybe 30 minutes or so on the stovetop depending on how large you dice the potatoes. Once it's ready, add the heavy cream and let it get warm, about 30 min. At that point, take out about half of the soup and blend it in a blender until creamy, then add it back into the soup. Mix together and serve. If you have an immersion blender, you could use that instead! I don't have one, but have been eyeing this model. If you have one you recommend, please let me know in the comments!  

My son ate his with bacon bits and rotisserie chicken. I put some cheddar cheese on mine. 

This makes a huge batch, at least 6 big bowls.

* My blog sometimes contains affiliate links. If you shop through my links I will earn a small commission. I never recommend anything I don't use myself, and I truly appreciate your support! 

 

 

Weekend Recap

 

This was a busy weekend, but in the best possible way. We did just enough to feel busy, but not so much that it felt overwhelming. Friday I purchased this book that I've been seeing on social media, called 'The Killer isn't Alice'. It's SO fun!! Highly recommend. It's time consuming though, so I have it in my bag to pull out during times when I'd want to scroll social media. This feels like a more fun use of my time instead. The other interesting thing is that you can't cheat - each book is a little different, so if you try to cheat online or with AI, it'll give you the wrong information! 

Saturday we went to the town fair. There were tons of vendors, some delicious New England apple crisp, and I love that Alec still loves a bouncy house ;) We had some food, some sweets and walked around enjoying the beautiful fall day! 

Later that night we took a drive to Bass Pro Shops. I don't know what it is about Bass Pro Shops and boys, but Alec could spend hours in there (and he did!!). We left with a new fishing rod & reel and some fishing accessories.  

Sunday morning was spent organizing his tackle box, but then it started to rain so he was bummed not to be able to meet some friends fishing. He convinced his dad to go out anyway and sit in the rain so he could try his new reel, so off they went. I think he gets some dad of the year points for this one! It was cold and raining and they stayed for hours! 

I used my time to bake some gluten free cookies (I just used the Sweet Loren's chocolate chip cookie dough) and added some extra chocolate chips. 

I also got a large chunk of needlepointing done. Always so relaxing! 

Not sure which needlepoint I'll do next when this is done. I think I want a break from the large Ehrman tapestries, but I don't love super tiny hole needlepoint either. I need something in the middle. Any needlepointers out there with tips?

Hope everyone has a great monday!!

Dental anxiety

 

This quote is in the bathroom at my dentist office, and the timing was great because I had to get a filling done today and high on my list of things in life that give me anxiety is a trip to the dentist. And don't get me wrong, I actually really like my dentist. But something about the whole process really freaks me out.

I had hyperemesis when I was pregnant with my son (who is 12 now, so it's been a long time) but all that vomiting and my teeth are still struggling with some cavities this many years later. 

Any tips for making it less miserable? I can't be the only wimpy adult who gets anxious about dental work...