Happy Friday! You made it through another week, so cheers to you. If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to answer my 6 question survey. I know I’ve reminded you every day, but it’s important to me that I gather as much feedback as possible to help this blog grow and suit your needs as well. Also, don’t forget to enter my Minted giveaway– today is the last day to score $100 credit! Once you do all that, you are free to relax for the weekend. 🙂 I’ve got some awesome links for you to check out for this week’s seen, heard and tasted.
Seen: My good friend Tricia of Suburban B’s is so talented and was a designer (with her blog and design partner Erin) for this round of the One Room Challenge. They took on a huge project and redesigned Tricia’s open concept kitchen/breakfast nook/ living room area. Tricia gave me permission to share more than one photo, so I am going to share two, but you have got to head over to her blog to take it all in… there is so much to see in this space which is full of texture, my favorite colors, emerald velvet sofas, and glamorous gold touches.
Heard: If you saw Pete’s Dragon this summer (we did!) then you may have heard this song, or perhaps you’ve heard it on the radio. Something Wild by violinist Lindsey Stirling (featuring Andrew McMahon) is a beautifully written and encouraging song. I ended up purchasing her entire album on iTunes. With my kids both playing instruments, I find myself more drawn to instrumentals. My Grampa is up in heaven having a good laugh at that now as I used to complain about his insutrmental “lala” music that had no words. If you haven’t heard Something Wild, give it a listen.
Tasted: I purchased a couple of kabocha squash at the farmer’s market last month because I loved their bright orange color. I’d never eaten one before, but was old by the vendor that they were meant to be consumed. I cut mine in half, deseeded it, and roasted it face down in a pan. It’s delicious and I actually think sweeter than acorn squash. I cooked mine and ate it with slow cooker maple chicken, adapted from this recipe just using maple syrup in place of honey.
Shopping bonus note: Amazon Prime is on sale TODAY only for $79 (usually 99!). I purchased it last year when it was on sale for this price and I have been so happy with it. I now look there first for so many of our needs and items are delivered right to my door in just a couple of days. When you live 25-30 minutes away from most shops like I do, Amazon Prime is a huge help! (This is an affiliate link but not sponsored…. I just LOVE Amazon Prime and want to share the deal!)
How you can help: And one last note before I go… my friend Tricia whose space I shared above informed me that local food banks are getting a much lower than normal donation of turkeys this year. If you are blessed to have more than enough this year, and enough to share, consider donating a turkey or check out how you can volunteer to help. The first Thanksgiving that Chris and I spent in Louisiana we were too far from family and both had to work the next day so traveling was out. I signed us up to serve at a local nursing home and I will never forget that experience and hope to do it again with my kids when they’re older (a lot of shelters won’t let young kids serve).