7 QTs

ONE. I just finished Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, and I loved it. As Google said, "Maddy is a smart, curious, and imaginative 18-year-old who is unable to leave the protection of the hermetically-sealed environment within her house because of an illness. Olly is the boy next door who won't lett hat stop them from being together. Gazing through the windows and talking only through texts and emails, Maddy and Olly form a deep bond that leads them to risk everything to be together, even if it means losing everything." Maddy is so well-developed as she expresses her feelings as she falls in love for the first time.... but be ready for a shocker at the end.

TWO. When spaghetti squash and zoodles because all the rage, I stupidly tried them as an actual noodle substitute, like with pasta sauce. Both grossed me out, so I though I disliked it. A few months ago I decided to try again, and I found some great recipe go-tos! Like Mexican Spaghetti Squash. It's super versatile and easy to alter for whatever veggies you have on hand. I also add hamburger to mine and just use taco seasoning with a dash of red pepper flakes. (Anyone else's husband require meat in order to consider it a meal???) I also like zoodles best in stir fry! 

THREE. My mom got Luke an Advent calendar last year that you can fill with whatever you want and re-use (kind of like this).  This year, Scott and I decided to use it for ourselves and fill it with things we love about each other or are thankful for. All of my reasons are on green paper and his are on red, so I know which paper to grab when I open the little box in the morning. It's always nice to read little positive notes, but it was also a great reminder of how much I love about him when I had to write 25. 

FOUR. Peppermint Coffee is at ALDI. Yes, please. (Sometimes I add in a mini candy cane too!)

FIVE. I took a personal day next Friday (because I had already planned for my students to watch a documentary that day anyway), in order to finish up Christmas shopping, wrap all the presents, and bake for Christmas! It's the latest day in the semester that I could really take off (we have school through 3:30 on Friday the 22nd... ugh). Even though it's still two weeks before Christmas, all of the desserts I wanted to bake this year can be frozen. Whew. I plan on making Oreo cheesecake fudge, sugar cookies, gingersnaps and something else TBD. 

SIX. Can anyone ever have enough coffee mugs? (The answer is YES! -- but I also love them.) I wish our kitchen layout allowed us to do a display of them like the pictures below. Instead I have minimal cabinet space, so I've dwindled my mug stash down to my 4 favorites. But Target has some adorable Christmas ones right now... 

SEVEN. Once I stop procrastinating and finish a 20+page case study... I will be DONE with my two grad classes this semester. ((thank you, Jesus)). Only one class left until I graduate with my Masters! *happy dance* 

Have a great weekend!! Yay for December!!

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