Things I Love Thursday // 4.9.20

• Curbside Delivery - Supporting local businesses has never been more important. If you have an opportunity to give your retail dollars during these incredibly strange times, I encourage you to think about how and where to spend your money. I loved supporting one of our small nurseries last week and they are bending over backwards to ensure safe measures with each transaction. If you're in the Charlotte area, give Roundtree Plantation Garden Center a call and they will happily load up your trunk while you wait.
  
  
  
  
  
• Cocktails and Mocktails with Liberate Syrups - These syrups have been a "theme" of our week. Mixed with spirits, fresh herbs, citrus, soda waters, and juices... we've enjoyed so many combinations. What can I say? We are finding entertainment, novelty, and joy in as many places as possible these days. ;)
  
  
  
  
  
• Sourdough - I mentioned the sourdough starter gift I received in last week's TILT (Things I Love Thursday) post and this week we managed to turn some of it into this gorgeous loaf! It was a labor of love. This was our 3rd attempt at baking bread (the first two bricks ended up in the trash). My same sweet sourdough-baking friend also sent me this lovely blog post about the mental health of baking (sourdough, in particular) and I found it to be a great little read.
  
  
  
  
• Social Distance Coffee - Have camp/sideline/lawn chair, will travel. I had a lovely little coffee with a neighbor the other morning. We kept AMPLE space between the two of us and got all caught up on gardening, summer plans (?), and the delight of homeschooling. HAHAHAHAHA. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Easter Brunch - The bunny arrives on Sunday. We will celebrate in our traditional way with a simple and delicious brunch. I'll ask the girls to set a festive table and we will enjoy some of our holiday morning favorites: Eggs Benedict Casserole, Blueberry Buttermilk Cake, and fresh fruit. We don't really have a traditional "Easter Dinner" so I'm trying a new recipe, "Quick Filipino Adobo."
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Another sweet surprise delivery!

• Half-Baked Harvest - I'm not sure about you, but this Shelter-in-Place order has me cooking a lot more than normal --which is good because food comforts me --but also not-so-good because food comforts me. LOL! Last week, I mentioned a fantastic group chat that some girlfriends started for us to share "what's for dinner" --through this conversation, I've become a HUGE fan of Half Baked Harvest. I've been following the account on Instagram for a long time now because her food photography is amazing. These past few weeks, I've discovered that the recipes are not only extremely tasty but also quite manageable. We've tried Carne Asada Tostadas, White Wine-Braised Chicken with Artichokes and Orzo, Sweet Thai Basil Chicken, and Baked Coconut Curry Meatballs. There are plenty of drool-inspiring recipes on the blog --or you can order one of her cookbooks to adorn your shelf --because again, those pictures are unreal. 
  
  
• Insta-Dri Polish - I'm usually an Essie or OPI gal but found Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri polishes readily available at the grocery store on a recent and rare visit. I pulled the trigger on 193/Slick Slate and 233/Petal Pusher. Couldn't be happier with the quality! I applied one coat and skipped a top coat application the other day and am amazed at how well this polish is holding up --especially given all the extra hand washing, dishes, gardening, and card shuffling! Worth a try.
  
  
  
  
  
• Playing poker with the family - Speaking of all that card shuffling, we have had so much fun reminding the girls how to play poker (they learned a couple years ago how to play Hold 'Em for candy). There's been a lot of "Who's Annie?" (because we're raising comedians) and "One more hand?" --especially when they're up. Love it!