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Looking on the Bright Side

Published on December 2, 2010 By Emily. Updated on December 3, 2010

Hard to believe it’s officially December.  Where did 2010 go?  Unfortunately, December brings with it winter, cold weather, bad roads, and students who are more than ready for vacation.  It rained all day yesterday and then I had a big fight with a department store who wouldn’t let me order through their website or via customer service.  We didn’t have any bagels left for breakfast this morning.  Sometimes, things just don’t go the way I plan.  But there are lots of things currently making me smile, too.

1.  Bailey’s new coffee creamer

We never buy stuff like this (and by “stuff like this”, I mean flavored coffee creamer).  We rarely make impulse buys of products we’ve never tried before.  But a couple weeks ago, the new creamers caught our eye, and there was one of those coupon dispensers offering a dollar off, and for some reason, we bought a bottle of Bailey’s Hazelnut Coffee Creamer. Suddenly, the urge to drive half an hour for Starbucks hot chocolate with hazelnut is gone…and my hot chocolate intake is way up.

2.  The electric blanket

It’s almost winter and we keep our apartment pretty cold (because we’re cheap like that). It wasn’t until I started dating Brian and visiting his parents house that I discovered how wonderful electric blankets are.  How did I survive 20 years of my life without one?  Granted, it does make it a little harder to get out of bed in the morning, but its totally worth it.

3.  My hilarious students

They just are.  They don’t even realize that they’re funny.  I am having so much fun teaching this year (it’s much less stressful than my last position).  It’s really nice to have a job that I look forward to going to every day, even when it’s cold out.

source

4.  Beard On Food

One of my food-loving friends lent me her copy of Beard on Food: The Best Recipes and Kitchen Wisdom from the Dean of American Cooking by James Beard.  I’ve barely started reading it, but I love what I’ve read so far.  It even inspired to me make hamburgers, of all things.  (They were good, by the way)

5.  Christmas decorations

Yes, I am one of ‘those people’.  I am really excited about all the Christmas decorations and the music that has been appearing over the past couple weeks.  As soon as we got home from Thanksgiving with the in-laws, we put out Christmas tree up and set up the nativity.  And then I wrapped Brian’s presents. Now I’m just counting the days until Christmas gets here.

6.  Christmas music on Pandora

Growing up, my family had a big collection of Christmas music.  Brian and I have a couple Christmas albums, but its not the same.  Luckily, Pandora has a wonderful collection of Christmas music.

What’s making you smile?

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Comments

  1. Carol says

    December 2, 2010 at 10:18 am

    What’s making me smile? God’s gift of Jesus and wonderful sons and daughter-in-laws!

Welcome!

photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

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I’m just a girl who loves to cook and eat. This site is not a source for nutritional information.

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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