Howdy, people – TGIF!
The day has already gotten off to a great start. Slept in a bit, had coffee with a friend, and now only have a short meeting this afternoon before I can pry my Tracy Anderson-ized arms open to welcome the weekend. Seriously, that arms workout I linked to in last week’s Friday Faves is bananas. I’ve been enjoying the pain all week. ;)
Ben and I have zero plans over the next two days, except to finish up some Christmas shopping (which I haven’t told him about yet – you know how that goes) and get some freelance work done. Should be a cozy weekend at home. A cold weekend at home, as highs are expected to be in the 20s, which is crazy since it was so nice this week that Ben played golf yesterday, but thanks to a working fireplace and freshly stocked wood pile, a cozy one.
Before I go, I wanted to announce the winner of the Just BARE Chicken Prize Package. Congrats to:
Entry #1104: Megan T.
Congrats, Megan! Email your shipping info and phone # to IowaGirlEats@gmail.com and we’ll get that right out to you!
To everyone else, check out a YUM-filled giveaway from Harry & David below (you will freak over the Moose Munch) and in the meantime, please enjoy my favorite finds from around the web in this week’s Friday Favorites, and have a great weekend! :)
Click on the light blue link to visit the original source.
Favorite dip: Peppermint Crunch Cookie Dough Ball. OH YES!!! A wickedly delicious cookie dough ball laced with peppermint, slathered on top of Oreos. This would be such a hit at a holiday party. Or, you know, on a Friday afternoon. By yourself. Watching Ellen.
Favorite furball. This is how I feel when I have a mouth full of bacon, too. Drool included. ;)
Favorite splurge: Kate Spade Baublebox Bib Necklace. Pricy, but so elegant and gorgeous. Beautiful statement piece.
Favorite wake up: Vanilla Honey French Toast. Love the looks of this sweet, thick-cut French toast dotted with fresh berries. French Toast is one of my favorite, special ways to wake up!
Favorite cozy: Hello Pullover. So adorable, and perfect for lounging around the house!
Favorite feel good: FREE 1 Cup Water Charity E-Cookbook. Recently I teamed up with Dana from Minimalist Baker, along with a bunch of other bloggers, to create an e-cookbook that benefits the Charity Water organization, which helps fund water projects in Ethiopia where 60% of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. The cookbook, which features recipes with 1 or more cups of water is FREE to download, we just request that you consider donating to Charity Water in exchange! Check it out >
Favorite sip: Cherry Whiskey Smash. It’s time I stop denying it. I’m a whiskey girl. I want to shout it to the rooftops – I’m a whiskey girl!!! I can’t wait to have Ben whip me up one of these cherry-flavored smashes (smashi?) as he’s the resident bartender of the family.
Favorite place: Red Steepled Church, Vik, Iceland. This church sits on a hilltop looking down on the city of Vik. What an incredible backdrop. I bet it looks even more stunning in the winter, all lit up for Christmas!
Favorite nosh: Baked Potato Grilled Cheese. I can’t even TELL you how crazy Ben would go for this over-the-top grilled cheese with POTATOES in it! Ok, me too. Num num.
Favorite outfit. Yeeep. Still obsessed with vests…and animal print accents! How cozy does this look?
Favorite healthy treat: Greek Yogurt with Warm Black and Blueberry Sauce. I would eat this over a Blizzard any day. Unless of course it was a Pumpkin Pie Blizzard, but, you know what I mean. :)
Favorite learn: Email Marketing for the Rest of Us. My brother, the web guru, recently launched an email marketing webinar that teaches you how to grow your email marketing lists, and build effective newsletters and campaigns. I took it earlier this week, as I’ve been thinking about sending out IGE newsletters for, um, YEARS, and thought it was fantastic! The next one is December 12 and IGE readers can get 15% off until midnight tonight (Friday) using the code: IOWAGIRLEATS. Click here to sign up >
Favorite sweet: Churro Chex Snack Mix. A cinnamon-sugar spin on standard Puppy Chow. I could totally get into this!
Favorite small space. Gorgeous color combo, and awesome use of space by putting the desk at the end of the bed. Too-fab chandelier, too.
Favorite fashion: Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flats in Herringbone. Super-cute, preppy pattern. These would add a pop of fun to so many outfits.
Favorite DIY: How to Juice a Pomegranate. Recently I wrote a post for Delish Dish on how to juice pomegranate seeds. It takes a bit of effort, but OMG I can’t even tell you how delish fresh pomegranate juice is. I felt so healthy slurping it down! ;)
Favorite devour: Caramel Toffee Crunch Cheesecake. Does a gal need an occasion to make then devour one of these babies? No? GREAT! :D
Month of Holiday Giveaways
One of my favorite parts of the holidays is giving (and receiving!) big, festive gift baskets filled with tons of yummy goodies inside. Know who’s the king of gift baskets? Harry & David! (Edited to add: Giveaway is now closed)
You know, the hand-picked, gold-foil-wrapped pears that absolutely melt in your mouth? Chocolate covered Moose-Munch Popcorn? To die for Chocolate Truffles? All the things! To get you into a festive, holiday snacking mood, Harry & David is giving away one ha-UGE Holiday Tower of Treats Gift Classic filled with…
- 5-6 Royal Riviera® Pears
- Milk Chocolate Moose Munch Popcorn
- Mixed Nuts
- Original Baklava
- Raspberry Galettes
- Chocolate Cherries
- Assorted Truffles
***Giveaway is now closed. Winner Alissa W. has been notified by email!***
Enter to win this Harry & David Holiday Tower of Treats Gift Classic by using the following widget to enter by 11:59pm central time on Saturday, December 8. Enter by clicking on the “+1″ button then clicking “Enter.
Please note that the widget may take a few moments to load, it may not work in Internet Explorer, and that you must have a Facebook account to enter. If you do not have a Facebook account, email IowaGirlEats@gmail.com for one entry. The winner is chosen at random by Random.org, and will be notified by email.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
I’m a whiskey girl too…..love your Friday Favorites!!
I absolutely recommend making the baked potato grilled cheese. And soon! I found the recipe about a year ago. My husband was skeptical about it, but fell in love immediately when I made it. Now it’s one of our favorite sandwiches to make in the Griddler. Absolutely delicious!
I just wanted to say I love your blog and love the Friday features. I always find myself adding the recipes to my Internet Favorites. Also, I’m a whiskey girl also and the cherry smash sounds AMAZING!
Kristin,
Cherry Whiskey Smash…what?!? Why has this not been my kool-aid until now? Great find. Thanks for sharing. Just a heads to you and the great fans…a neat e-book for (free) download at i2know.org. It’s called 10.22. You share so much great stuff with me. So, I wanted to share this with you.
Happy Holidays,
Reid
p.s. warning: the “book” has photos, size 14 font, and chalkboard font :)
OMG, that grilled cheese. What a great idea!
Thank you for the pomegranate tutorial! I just bought one for the first time last week (I KNOW, I’m late, ugh) and was sooo surprised how much easier it was to get all the seeds out than I anticipated! I had no idea how to juice them; now that I do, that’s next on my list!
(and um there’s gotta be a way to incorporate it into a pomegranate version of Jessica’s Cherry Whiskey smash?!)
I saw Jenny’s peppermint dip earlier this week and it looks completely off the charts!
I love that necklace as well and didn’t want to spend that much money. I found these necklaces on Etsy and just received them. So cheap and Cute!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/113291001/yellow-bubble-jewelry-yellow-bubble
That caramel toffee cheesecake looks to die for! And that pup… how did the photographer get him to stay for so long… with all of that bacon?? Happy weekend!
If you love whiskey, you need to travel to the NW burbs of Chicago and try this newer restaurant…
http://lincolnwhiskeykitchen.com/
While we didn’t have too much with whiskey, what we did have was all really delicious. There is a whiskey mushroom soup that you have to be 21 to order! The bourbon ice cream sliders are so yummy!! Definitely need to go back for the bourbon bacon mac and cheese. That is just all kinds of goodness that I seriously regret not ordering!
Yep, that dog- her name is maddie and she has a website. Maddieonthings.com. So cute, her owner gets her to take the funniest pics. Most patient dog ever! :)
Always LOVE your Friday favs,so much fun! And that Bacon dog is PRECIOUS!!! Happy Holidays! :)
There’s something about Friday favorites that I look forward to every week… addicted to the idea of those flats (and everything above). Happy Holidays!
that coral necklace is stunning!
Baked potato grilled cheese!?
I don’t know if I can think of a more perfect comfort food combination! I am thinking that little sandwich might come in handy the day after an *ahem* more festive Christmas party.
Love the cherry whisky cocktail too!
Thanks for sharing!
Aaaah I LOVE Maddie On Things (the website where that dog picture is originally from). We have an English Coonhound too, same breed as Maddie, and I don’t think we could get him to sit still with a mouth full of bacon long enough to get a picture!
if you think that cherry whiskey smash looks good (i totally bookmarked that when jess posted that too!), you should stop in to w.a. frost next time you’re in the cities and have their manhattan…they make it with a sweet vermouth and cherry liqueur. so good.
Ah! My husband would FREAK if I brought home that much Harry and David goodies! YUM! Love the favorites this week! Have a great weekend!
You MUST put Iceland on your travel agenda! I think I mentioned this when it was one of your daily getaways this summer, but my husband and I just went for our honeymoon and loved it!! (Pics are on our blog if you’re interested :))
We drove the ring road and Vik was one of our faves. Close behind Sedisfyorder (sp??) SUCH a beautiful country!!
I love EVERY SINGLE THING on your Friday Favorites this week. But, what made me smile the most was your declaration that you are a WHISKEY GIRL! Me too! I absolutely love whiskey and will take a classic Old Fashioned over a frou-frou martini any day. That Cherry Whiskey Smash is saved in my Paprika Recipe App on my iPad. If I had to add to your list of Favorite Things, please add the PAPRIKA RECIPE APP for iPad/iPhone. It has been a life-saver and time saver for me!
These are all so wonderful! That Harry & David box would make for a good housewarming gift for my brother and his wife – they just bought their first house and their two little ones (2 and 7 months) are getting settled.
Also… droooooling over that necklace! Thanks for sharing all of this!