My Favourite Articles This Week
If you haven’t alread seen it, I’ve launched a new embroidery kit for the winter- In My New Blue Scarf!
Tips for boosting your self confidence.
A mental health advent calender idea– for actually feeling calm during one seriously hectic month.
Want to donate to charity? Here are some tips for donating effectively.
How to make life more transcendent, even if you’re not religious.
Does overindulgence make us happy?
My Favourite Links This Week
This is the sort of sheet pan chicken dinner that feels very elevated, and I would defintiely serve this if guests were coming for dinner- but also, it’s not a lot of ingredients and you can make it for yourself or your family any old time! I feel this recipe is pretty versatile, and you could swap in and out different veggies to suit your taste, as well. Find the recipe over here.
Chocolate orange brownies remind me of my seasonal fave, the Terrys Chocolate Orange! Maybe chocolate and orange aren’t your thing, and that’s okay- then you can skip this one. But if you love chocolate and orange together the way I do, then you’ll really want to try this recipe. And it would be perfect to bake and bring to a gathering, too! The recipe is right over here.
As it is officially hot chocolate season, may I suggest making a gingerbread hot chocolate? This is a great recipe for a warming, special hot chocolate that is sure to be perfect for weekend sipping. Like a cookie and a beverage, all rolled into one. You can check out the recipe here.
I am absolutely loving this super cute felt fox ornament! It’s a free pattern/tutorial, but you’ll need to sign up for the newsletter to get the pdf for the template, which I think is a very small price to pay for such a charming little fox. It would be fun to whip up a bunch of these to give to friends, too! Find the tutorial and template here.
I absolutely adore this puff puff quilt, even though I don’t sew and can’t fathom sewing a quilt of this size, it makes me want to! She has fantastic details and a tutorial on how to sew this, so if you are feeling inspired, check it out!
I hope that you are all having a fantastic start to December, and keeping healthy! It’s been a whirlwind so far, with a lot of focus on James turning 7 (if you can believe it!). I also have the Junction Triangle Craft show coming up tomorrow, Saturday December 10– if you are in Toronto, come on out and say hi! There are a lot of amazing vendors at this show. And I will have all sorts of kits, including my new one!
xo Julie
Enjoyed reading Arthur Brooks and the recipes look yummy.
I made a similar sheet pan chicken- it was on MDK a few years ago. So good, and a big hit for a dinner party that’s easy to put together.
Your Fox is adorable!
These foxes are slaying me. The blue scarf is just superlative.
The overindulgence article reminded me, I recently watched a talk about how our preoccupation with pleasure is destroying our health and happiness. Startling to think that in our endless quest for dopamine hits, we are depleting our serotonin. You can and do get addicted to pleasure, and in the process you lose happiness (and health), things without which life is not worth living.
Particularly striking was the data about older women drinking more, and it’s because society and the media have normalized, even glorified, the consumption of alcohol for women (I deserve this, It’s 5 o’ clock somewhere etc.). I am firmly middle-aged and I enjoy a glass of wine now and again but wow, the data shocked me.