Five on Friday

 

It's the first weekend of December and there are only four weekends left in this year - counting this one! We are in the final countdown of 2020 and I still don't think I can quite wrap my head around it!

One. Cookie Advent - One of our neighbors turned us on to a local baker that styles herself as Cookie Therapy on Instagram and oh my goodness; talk about one of the best introductions ever! She makes the most beautiful iced sugar cookies and if you can imagine it - she can create it in edible iced form! She put out in early November that she was going to do a Cookie Advent Calendar and we jumped on the idea!

That same awesome neighbor picked up our calendar last week and I started opening windows on Tuesday - and everyone has been so fun, delightful and most of all - delicious! So far I've opened windows to find a gingerbread lady, a snowman, a North Pole sign and a wee present! I can't wait to see what the next twenty days have to reveal!

Two. Christmas Posh - I don't speak about it too often but I am a Perfectly Posh consultant and I wanted to share two fun products that are coming out today and are perfect for Christmas time! The Mellow Out Big Fat Yummy Hand Cream and Mellow Out Bath Bar - both have a Peppermint Marshmallow scent and are available today at Noon in limited quantities!

I am a huge fan of all things Posh - but I especially love the hand creams and the soaps! They are made with ingredients that are gentle on skin and everything has wonderful scents! You can shop these seasonal goodies at http://NatalieSummerlin.po.sh - and there are additional holiday scents that can be found in additional hand creams, lip balms and more!

Three. A Perfect Find - Tis the season to shop for others... and I must confess that I'm actually 100% done with my Christmas shopping. Actually, everything is wrapped and under my tree just waiting on Christmas day. I finished up with a couple items earlier in the week and was passing the time perusing some of the shops near my office on Wednesday night when I stumbled on the most perfect sweater.

I was in Loft - which I should be avoiding because they always pull me in - and there was the sweater. A gray knit with delicately puffed shoulders and little dogs prancing across it... little dogs that looked exactly like my Watson! I asked for my size, tried it on and told myself I wouldn't buy it unless it was included in the 50% off... and it was! So I grabbed my perfect sweater and then fled from the store before I found anything else I liked!

Four. Weekend Plans - I had some plans for this weekend... but the rain arrived today around 10 AM and has squashed a few of those plans. My church was having a Christmas tree lighting tonight at 6:30 which has been moved to tomorrow night... I'm honestly still unsure about going. Everything is outdoors but I also feel like you just can't be too careful at this time. *shrugs* So we will see. There was also a drive though living nativity - but that has been moved to next weekend!

I am going to have Mexican food for dinner tonight and on Sunday my Mom comes home from the UK - so we will be going to fetch her from the airport! I'm sure we'll grab dinner before we get her, so that will be nice. Maybe I'll get a start on watching Christmas movies since this rain is sticking around through the middle of the day Saturday?

Five. Potato Vegetable Soup - I made a delicious first time soup earlier this week and it was a hit with both my Dad and I, so I thought I'd share it here. It's a different take on vegetable soup with a chicken broth base as opposed to the usual tomato base that most vegetable soups have!

What You Need

• 8 ounces cooked bacon (or real bacon pieces)
• 1 carrot; sliced
• 1/2 medium onion; diced
• 3 garlic cloves; minced
• 2 cups medium broccoli florets
• 4 potatoes; cubed
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 can corn (drained)
• 2 cups milk
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

What You Do 

• Slice the carrot, chop the onion & cut the broccoli florets
• Sauté the carrot and onions until the carrots are tender.
• Add in the minced garlic & cook until fragrant.
• Pour in the chicken broth, water and add the potato cubes. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are just about cooked.
• Stir in the corn and broccoli florets and cook until the broccoli is cooked through.
• Whisk together the milk & flour & add to the pot along with the salt & pepper.
• Turn the soup to low, add in the bacon and the shredded Cheddar, stirring until combined completely with the soup. 

I added a bag of diced ham alongside the bacon because my Dad is a big fan of soup having lots of meat in it, ha-ha! I have to say, I liked having the ham as well so I'll make it that way from now on. This doesn't make a LOT of soup... my Dad and I almost finished this off, so if you're feeding more than 2-3 people, you'll probably want to double the recipe!

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Y'all have a good weekend and make the most of it - there are only four weekends left to make memories in 2020!