friday faves

Hello you beautiful people and happy Friday.

Today I’m starting a new habit. It’s not one I’d really planned on or plotted about. In fact it really just came to me as I sat down to write this post.

Each Thursday I wonder what in the world I have to share in this Friday Faves introduction that would be even remotely interesting to anyone. 10% of the time I have stuff. 90% of the time I stare at my blinking curser on the screen, cursing it’s impatience with me because my mind is a blank. Your time is valuable, and so is mine, and I don’t want to bore you because once again I’ve fallen into the trap of spewing about the mundane like talking about how spring has sprung or my how time flies or gee whiz it was a busy week. Bleh.

We’ve been talking about creating habits in this year’s Nourished Planner so maybe that’s why creating habits is top of mind. Or maybe it’s because three of my BFF siblings lost their dad to a heart attack this week. These moments have launched spells of self-reflection, and likely contributed to starting a habit I’ve always intended to ccreate but just never seem to get around to doing.

And it’s an easy habit to start and keep.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello March, and Happy Friday!

Today is the first day of March and all I can say is did February even happen? Sure it was a short month but whew, it flew by. The potted flowers sitting at the entrance to the grocery store have replaced the snow shovels and sleds.

I have to admit, I’m not all that sad about winter lessening it’s chilly grip. Spring skiing in the morning with golf in the afternoon? That’s what’s on my agenda this month.

Every change of season has me wanting to refresh and renew. It’s like I’m in a constant vortex.

continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday friends, lovers, and life mates!

Who is reeling from their Valentine love hangover? Did cupid find you with his pointy arrow to deliver his love bite? If not, don’t fret. He probably had germs anyway.

As we just about always do, my lover and I laid low with our romancing as the king and queen of hearts. I made him a healthy breakfast (above) knowing our Valentine’s meal of king crab legs and artichokes would be buttery delicious. Just like on New Years Eve, we leave the going out to the amateurs and novices. We always find the food, atmosphere, and the company so much better when we celebrate with dinner at home minus all the hype.

I’m really looking forward to a cloudy, cocooning weekend of cooking for fun, organizing, and a general haze of laze. Because while I love the sun and fun, sometimes this girl just craves some gloom to make the brightness of spring days all that more special when the calendar pages flip again. Am I the only one who feels this way?

But enough about me. Let’s get into the goods of why you’re here and dig into this week’s Friday Faves. continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello hello and Happy first Friday of February!

Re-entry into real life has not been easy. For 10 days my husband and I were beyond fortunate to spend some much needed one on one time thanks to Viking Cruises. We languished, explored, ate ourselves silly, and met some wonderful people while ocean sailing through the Caribbean and West Indies.

Our trip ended on Monday when we tried to fly home from Puerto Rico, but the airline had a hiccup due to a fight on board our inbound plane that had to be turned around and sent back to Orlando, causing us to miss our connection, so our one travel day turned into two.

No big deal, until…continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, hello and happy Friday!

It’s an especially happy Friday for me because it’s my birthday on Monday! One more year down and I’m still kickin’. Sure, it’s a little more achey when I do, and sometimes I can’t remember where I put my boots to kick it up in, but hey, I’m lucky in so many other ways that another wrinkle isn’t going to ruin my day. Or my year!

And this girl is celebrating her birthday in style.

It was just last Friday we were skiing the slopes of Park City’s Deer Valley Resort and eating the BEST lobster rolls right on the mountain (thanks Rime Raw Bar!) and here we are today, in a tropical paradise. I mean, I am literally counting my lucky stars every.single.day.

Last night my husband and I left the snow and cold behind and took the red eye to arrive today in Puerto Rico, readying ourselves to set sail through the Caribbean with Viking Cruises. When Viking asked us to join them on this trip it was a happy coincidence it fell upon my birthday week. And yes, I learned years ago from my best friend Kim that each of these momentous yearly occasions should always be looked at as a birth-week instead of a measly birth-day. Raise your hand with an an enthusiastic HECK TO THE YES!continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello hello and what a happy Friday it is!

We’re here. We’re alive. We have money for food on the table and an internet to scan for the links we love. There’s so much big, heart wrenching stuff going on out there that focusing on the little things that matter are a real source of joy.

We’re nearly two weeks into the new year and I’m still committed to my NY resolve and eating more plants (this avo toast has been breakfast every.single.day), getting more sleep, and keeping my inner and outer critic in check.

Life is a work in progress. Last week I talked about how I’ve always believed I was a good multi-tasker until I was called out as simply being a procrastinator.

Well, yesterday I read this article that is 100% how I feel 99% of the time. Decision fatigue, where “people’s brains get worn out by the necessity of being decisive and exercising restraint, usually at work.”

Is decision fatigue a real thing? I 100% think so, because I live it, and too often I feel just like Gloria who is quoted about completing personal chores, “Instead of doing it, I’m thinking about all the times I should have been. So I end up kind of catatonic over not doing stuff instead of doing that stuff.” Hand to heart, that’s me.

It’s another supporting reason why I chose my word of 2019: DO IT. 

continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy final Friday of 2018.

Whoa. We say it every year but this year it’s totally true. This year went by SO DANG FAST. Did the year fly by for you? Because it sure did for me, and for nearly every person I talk to, too.

Remember how loooooong it took to finally get your braces off, or become 16 to get your first driver’s license, to go on your first date, and what about turning 18 and finally graduating from high school to become an adult? Each one seemed like a mother loving eternity. But each one was a first, a rite of passage, and marked something you’d never done before.

It’s a fact that time really does go by faster as we age. We get stuck in the routine. Things become mundane. Days turn into weeks and weeks into months and we feel like the year is one big replay of the movie Groundhog Day.

But this article says there’s a simple way to make the year go by slower, and it’s done by simply doing something different. By switching things up. Getting out of the same old routine. Adding some spice to life.

The key is to add a list of “firsts” to your year. So this year, instead of making resolutions, make it the year to try new things. Go someplace you’ve never been. Try something for the first time. Do it differently—whatever it is.

Create your list of intriguing but not totally out-of-the-realm things you’d like to try. And then simply do them.

Challenge yourself to bake a cake every week. Or make that road trip you’ve always daydreamed of taking. Learn how to stand-up paddle board, take a lettering class, or become a volunteer to inspire yourself thanks to giving to others.

Instead of middling in the middle, move to the front.

This year, choose to be extra.

Whatever you do, just choose to do something different. And watch time slow down as you savor every minute.

Do 2019 Different With 25% Off

Underschedule your life to make more time to live it. Start by getting my Nourished Planner. I’m making it easy for you to get 2019 in shape, and possibly you too.

Take a quick tour of what’s inside here. 

Get 25% off my Nourished Planner when you enter FoodieCrush25 at checkout.

Learn more about the planner here.

Let’s make 2019 amazing together, and let’s dig into this week’s Friday Faves.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello hello and a Ho to the Ho Ho Ho!

I’m feeling all nostalgic. Yesterday I updated and re-shared my mom’s famous fudge recipe, I found this pic on my phone from when Smudge and I baked my childhood Christmas sugar cookies before she grew into a too-busy-to-bake-with-her-mom teen, and today we are only four days away from that jolly old elf making his way to slay on his sleigh … and whaddya know? It’s another week of Friday Faves!

The more things change, the more I crave the familiar.

It’s so weird. These Friday Faves posts make me realize just how quickly time flies. Each week I sit at my computer to compile my list of weekly favorites and every time it feels like just a day ago I was doing the same exact thing, but it’s actually been a full week.

It’s one reason this weekly post—more than any of the recipes or round-ups—drives me to be more accountable with my time so I can be more adventuresome too. It’s why I try hard to be more efficient at work so I can get out and do the things I really love, read up and research random stuff I find interesting, and to really enjoy life, and actually create the moments to have something to share here :)

Life goes by even when you aren’t noticing. And nobody wants to look back on their memories and see themselves sitting at their computer all day.

Plus, it keeps me connected with you!

Last week I received an email that totally made my day, and it read:continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello my friends, and happy Friday!

It’s been a week of comings and goings and while my Christmas tree went up the day after Thanksgiving, it still stands naked of any ornaments to adorn it. Sunday will be the day I’m taking care of getting on my ho-ho-ho and adorning some Christmas cheer.

But first, I need your help.

Tomorrow is the last day for raising money for my part of the Shred for Red leukemia fundraising drive and I’m short of my goal.

I’m happy to be raising money for blood cancer research in honor of two fellow food bloggers who have young children diagnosed with leukemia, @kadeemorrison of the blog Oh So Delicioso and Deborah Harroun of @tasteandtell.

For Kadee, on the eve of her son Graham’s 2 year anniversary of his leukemia diagnosis, they received the news that her toddler Ian also has leukemia. Ian is still in the hospital fighting his fight.

Deb’s young son was also diagnosed two years ago. Following chemo treatments, steroids and more, he is now thankfully in remission, but always with a watchful eye.

Families like theirs give their everything to fight cancer, will you help fight it too?

Donate to my fundraising campaign to fight Leukemia here.

Did You Enter this Week’s Giveaways?

This past week I shared two giveaways over on Instagram that if you haven’t entered you should:

Enter this cookbook giveaway here and this product giveaway here.

And now, let’s dig into this week’s Friday Faves.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves Holiday Ed.2

Hello, hello! And happy Friday.

Last night I was lucky enough to sample the new winter dining menu at Park City’s Deer Valley Resort. Every year it takes a village of chefs and staff to produce this event, and every year I wish I could take those chefs and all their kitchen knowledge, tricks, and efficiencies home with me, because for any food lover, next week is the holy grail of food holidays. And I could use some help.

This year I will be the hostess with the mostess, and making Thanksgiving dinner for about 15-20 of our family. This is the kind of thing where my stress levels rise and my patience runs short and I end up barking orders at my husband and becoming short-tempered with my daughter, all in the name of creating a meaningful dinner for everyone, except for the three of us because I end up getting all stressed out and set a negative tone before we even get close to getting dinner on the table.

Can I get a raised hand from anyone out there who’s victim of this too?continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, hello, and happy Friday.

The candles have barely gone out from the innards of the old jack o’lantern, and already Christmas bells are ringing. I was shopping for recipe ingredients at Smith’s yesterday and the holiday reset was in full force. Christmas trees with lights. Paper whites and amaryllis. Wrapping paper and bows. Transformers, Barbies, and board games galore.

The holidays are here folks. Embrace it.

This weekend also heralds the unofficial start of winter: Don’t forget to set your clocks back from Daylight Savings Time. With a flick of the clock’s switch (or more likely automatic reset), we have a legit excuse to light the fire, cozy up to a good book, and hunker down with some comfort food. BTW, did you see my list of 30 recipes to make in November?continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, hello, and hip hop Happy Friday!

Why I referred to hip hop I have no idea, but just like Brittney Spears, there I go again.

Today I’m feeling all the tenseness that comes with anticipation of travel, to-do lists, and keeping everything afloat begin to release from that nagging crag between my shoulder blades. Long-time projects are coming to fruition, work travel is nearly over for the rest of the year, and good news has been traveling fast.

I know it isn’t November yet, but I feel I should be acknowledging my gratitude to life no matter what time of year it is.

That’s why this week I am thankful for:continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, hello, and happy TGI-fall-Friday!

With October-ween here in it’s leaf-changing prime, it’s prime-time for all of us to turn a new leaf, too. With only 81 days to Christmas and 89 days to 2019, why wait to start resolutions ?

I’m taking the rest of 2018 one month and one day at a time. Eating better. Exercising more. Being more appreciative of my husband and more patient with my daughter—and myself.

They’re all habits I’m continually working on.

One of my favorite monthly themes in my 2018 Nourished Planner is October’s theme on habit formation. In fact, it is such a popular theme we expanded on it even more in the 2019 Jan-Dec printed planner.

And I want you to experience it too. But I don’t want you to fully commit without trying it out for free first. continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

I’ve whipped my change-of-seasons cold thanks to generous doses of my favorite cold-fighting weapons: mega doses of these Vitamin C-loaded fizzy drink tablets, this once a day OTC medicine, and most importantly, my man’s recipe for matzo ball chicken soup with my homemade broth.

Take that you whipper-sniffer, you.

I nearly stepped in it this week. Literally. My cold appeared the first day of touring the lush, green, only-manure-fertilized fields of two of the organic dairy farms that supply milk to Stonyfield for their organic yogurt. It was not only lovely in Vermont, it was fascinating.

I love farm tours. I love petting cows and nuzzling the babies, like the baby below who was born just hours before we arrived.

I love learning where our food comes from. I love quizzing the farmers for tips to make my own vegetable beds better producers and learning that no matter what the scale of farming  you do.

And what I learned is it all starts with the health and quality of the soil.

I’ll be sharing more about the farm tour and what I learned in a later post, but what I will say now is I came home with a renewed appreciation for farmers, and a commitment to eating more organic when I can.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello, hello, and happy Friday!

While I’ve been traveling between lobster mac ‘n cheese (this is my fave recipe) and all the sea urchin I could devour in Santa Barbara, and then coming home to the hospital salad bar back home, my husband has been doing a bang up job keeping the home fires burning, and working on the home itself.

If you’ve been a follower of Friday Faves for very long, you know I love to share the home tours and remodeling links. Probably because home remodeling never seems to end so I’m always getting inspired myself.

We “finished” our 4th buy-the-worst-house-on-the-block-and-make-it-awesome remodel 12 year ago—it’s our dream house and the inspiration for my first, now-expired blog to document the process so we didn’t mind dumping a little extra money into it for the finer finishes. continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Happy Friday FoodieCrush friends!

Are you finally accepting summer has seen it’s swan song and settling into the fall routine?

I know. Me neither. But…

Fall is probably my favorite season of all.

I love to cocoon. There’s a crispness in the air with the changing of the leaves and the musty smell is somehow totally soothing. Not to mention the up-tick of energy as we all pick up our pace, because could it be?  Yes, the holiday season is right around the corner.

Fall gives me the craving to get in the kitchen with all the slow cooker recipes and do all the baking — Smudge baked up these salted chocolate chip cookies again and they are THE BOMB-diggity!

Those cookies have given me sustenance because there’s been a lot going on around here, like:continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Hello friends and happy Friday!

Barry Manilow keeps running through my head. Not him literally running with his flowy hair wafting through the wind, but the chorus from 1976 that I’ve heard over and over again.

“Looks like we made it!” Let’s see if it sticks in YOUR head now :)

Whew! Wipe the sweat from the old furrowed brow because this week another school year started for our little family. And we survived.

High school! EEEK!

I honestly can’t believe those words are fumbling across my lips. And that’s why I’m telling all of you young moms and dads out there, savor every minute of your children when they’re little because just like everyone always says and you never believe it, time.flies.by.

And then suddenly your cute little first grader with her pink Paul Frank backpack is in high school with her backpack filled with all that should go in her locker and weighs more than she does and you only have a few more years with her in the house and then it’s just you and your man and then what in the heck are you going to talk about?

Groundhog day will be strong at our house once our little bird leaves the nest. Good think I like my husband.

That’s why I’m going to relish it all, every drama-filled moment, every mumbled reply that school is boring, and every side eye I get when I do something that is just so dumb mom.

Because that’s the rewards of the job of being a parent. And I’m up to the task.

One benefit of getting back into the school grind is new inspiration to get back into the meal prepping game. And that’s why I’m proud to report that Casa del Larsen is prepping with the best of ’em, and I’m even on top of it enough to meal prep this salad and this dinner for my mom and dad to have for their dinners.

Thank goodness for batch cooking. Whomp whomp. Somebody’s got game, and that somebody’s me.

If you missed any posts from this week, be sure to check out:

• This Instant Pot recipe for cooking chicken breasts fresh or straight from the freezer
• This easy wrap sandwich that will rock your lunch (and uses your meal prepped chicken)
• This list of 21 recipes you have to make before summer’s end

But enough about that, let’s dig into this week’s Friday Faves. Happy clicking!continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Helllllooo there, and Happy Friday!

Oh.my.retrograde. GRRRRR.

I know you’re as tired of me waxing on about Mercury in retrograde as I certainly am, but this week…THIS WEEK…!! Oh honey, FoodieCrush got hit hard! And I’m not alone, even Newsweek is griping about it.

Please forgive me if you had a rough time accessing the site this past week. The site was up, then down, then up again, and we were doing our best to herd off the internet numbskulls who were pinging the site for no reason except to mess with it and my peace of mind. Those guys can just go suck it, because it was all of you who pulled us through. Thank you, thank you to all of you who alerted us to the issues and said it’s okay, and dang! I’m just glad you’re still here :)

But guess what? Only 1 more day of Mercury in retrograde and then WE ARE FREE and you won’t have to hear me whine about it anymore. Until next year.

Monday is about to deliver the new normal. My Ali Smudge is headed back to school (high school?? WTF?) and that means big mama (me) will be back in my routine too. While I don’t want to see summer go, I am totally ready for some normalcy around here.

But, wait, what? Normalcy? That’s pretty much laughable because what is really ever normal? That, my friends, is what I would call boredom. And this girl ain’t got no time to get bored.

This weekend I’m hoping to soak up some sun at the pool, live up those cooler summer nights with dinner on the deck with friends, and brace myself for what’s lurking around the corner. Because I don’t know what it is yet, but I know it’s comin’.

And before you ask, the tomato and zucchini tart recipe at the top of this post is an oldie but a goodie, and was made and shared by @bluehousekitchendc on Instagram. If you make one of my recipes, I’d love to see it! Take a pic and email it to me, or tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrush or #foodiecrusheats.

BTW, thank YOU ALL so much for your kind wishes and emails from last week’s Friday Faves post. We all truly appreciate your positive thoughts. XO

But enough of all this, let’s dig into this week’s list of Friday Faves. Enjoy my friendlies!continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves