Friday, Friday, Friday – we made it! Is anyone else looking at their calendar just absolutely horrified that October is well underway, and dunh, dunh, dunhhhhh, the holidays are quickly approaching? I just barely squeaked by getting Ben’s birthday gift (half a hog in the spring – yeehaw!) and am already panicking at the thought of picking out a Christmas gift. Are dudes the most difficult people to shop for, or what?

In completely unrelated news, if you follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you may have seen my recent announcement that Iowa Girl Eats is going through a complete redesign that’s been two years in the making!! I remember having a conversation about redesigning IGE with my then developer at our kitchen table while Lincoln, who was just a few weeks old, was strapped to my chest in a sling. Yesterday he was throwing logs in a wheelbarrow then wheeling them around the playground.

Aka it’s been a grip, and it’s also high time this other baby of mine got a face lift!

The new site will likely launch by the end of October and I’m just so excited to share everything from a fully functioning Recipe Index with tons of search options to help you find exactly the recipe you want, to new and improved site search capabilities, and a gorgeous homepage. Here’s a sneak peek (or rather, full reveal,) of the logo. I can’t wait to share more details about how to use the new site in a few weeks, so stay tuned!

ige-logo-board

In the meantime, wherever you are and whatever you do have a wonderful weekend, and please enjoy my favorite finds from around the web and beyond in this week’s Friday Favorites!

Favorite yum: Spicy Lentil Nachos with Three Cheese Sauce. Get in my flipping face! These three cheese nachos from Pinch of Yum are the perfect game-day food. Miami plays Florida State this weekend which means I’ll likely be losing my mind over a platter of these nachos while Ben will be losing his mind in general. Pray for me.

Vegetarian-Nachos

Favorite print: Animals You Might See. I started following the most hilarious Instagram account last week called Sad Animal Facts. Adorable hand drawn sketches of animals with sad little facts about them in conversation bubbles. You have to check it out. Anyway, the artist combined all the animals into one print which I thought would be adorable in Lincoln’s room. It came this week and I can’t wait to frame it!

sadanimalfacts

Favorite swirl: Chorizo Bolognese with Buffalo Mozzarella. Ummmmm chorizo, buffalo mozzarella, and pasta – there is no need to anything different ever again. Think I’ll make my homemade gluten-free egg noodles for this dish. YUM!

ChorizoBolognese

Favorite travel: 50 Trips to Take in the United States. This is a great list, and I was happy to see we’ve been to a bunch of the places in it. Overseas will always have a huge part of my heart but isn’t that realistic when you’ve got little ones (a 12 hour plane ride with a 2 year old isn’t high on my to do list!) Just a good reminder that we don’t always have to travel far to get a wonderful experience!

50TripsToTakeintheUS

Favorite slice: Italian Pressed Sandwich. How meaty, crunchy, and fantastic does this vegetarian sandwich look?? Love the combination of tangy artichokes, pickles, and olives with creamy cheese.

Cranberry Orange Bread (Vegan)

Favorite flair: 15 Super-Easy Hairstyle for Lazy Girls Who Can’t Even. I am completely hairstyle challenged so this article is a God-send, plus the title made me giggle. ;)

Hair

Favorite snack. This month I created a snickerdoodle/cinnamon toast snack for my partnership with The Laughing Cow! Toast gluten-free (or regular) bread then cut into quarters and top with The Laughing Cow Creamy Original Swiss cheese, then dust with cinnamon sugar. Sweet, savory, crispy, creamy – so, so yummy!

TheLaughingCow

Favorite dessert: Real-Deal Caramel Cake. So much yes. SO much yes! Caramel is one of my love languages, and this cake that’s absolutely drenched in it is perfection.

Real_Deal_Caramel_Cake_Grandbaby_Cakes7

Favorite find: 3/4-Sleeve Color Block Sweater. This is one of the sweaters I recently got at Old Navy. The detail down the center + color blocked sleeves is super cute plus it’s just. so. comfy (and 50% off right now – dangit!) A must for me and my life motto: life is short – wear comfortable clothes!

Top

Favorite easy: Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter. I made and shared this recipe many years ago here on IGE and just rediscovered it. Three ingredients – tomatoes, onion, and butter – combine to make the best tomato sauce in the world. It’s the reason I add a little butter to my Pasta Pomodoro!

OnionsandButterSauce

Favorite trip: Ultimate Irish Road Trip. Ireland has been on my travel bucket list for as long as I can remember and I can’t think of a better way to see the rolling hillsides, crumbling castles, and beautiful coastline than on this ultimate road trip.

ireland_road_trip_DSC03387

Favorite bite: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies. I attempted to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies this week and, while I thought they were ok bordering on good, Ben took one bite and said they had the texture of cotton balls. Lincoln took a bite and started feverishly scraping every last crumb out of his mouth. Thanks, guys!! Think I’ll stick with this recipe instead. ;)

pumpkin-cookie

Have a great weekend everyone!

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