Welcome friends, to Currently 12.2020. I am linking up with Anne and today we are talking about what we are baking, decorating, gifting, hoping and sending. I hope you’ll join in with us.
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Currently 12.2020
Happy to report that for this minute our Covid cases seem to be kind of plateauing. Who knows what next week will bring. But for a few minutes today, I almost felt ‘normal’ as I stopped at Old Navy to pick up an order, and dashed into Kohl’s. Of course, if things were truly normal, I wouldn’t have done so in a mask!!
Let’s see what else I am up to currently…
Baking…
something new for Thanksgiving weekend…apple dump cake. Wish I had taken a photo of it! Had planned to make an apple pie with crumb topping until I came across this easy-peasy 4-ingredient recipe on Pinterest. It was yummy served warm with ice cream.
Also made these delicious Hatch green chile chocolate chip cookies. Before you turn your nose up, you have to try them. The chile isn’t overpowering it just adds a bit of spice to the cookie. Not unlike a dash of cinnamon. I was afraid PC wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole, but he gobbled them up.
See, they look like regular old chocolate chip cookies! Nothing green-looking about them.
Decorating…
nothing much yet but have plans to get after the holiday decorating this weekend. In the meantime, I have been working on my winter wonderland paintings, decorating the little gingerbread houses in each one.
Remember how I bought gingerbread houses last year to decorate with my daughters and granddaughters and my Prince C., of course? And then we didn’t get around to doing them? Well, this year it is going to happen. Mark my words!!
Gifting…
face masks! My online book club…join us here…is doing a mask swap. I matched up each of the participants of the mask exchange and the girls were asked to get their masks in the mail by 12.01.2020. Because some of our members live outside the U.S., I wanted to allow enough time for everyone – hopefully – to get their mask before the holidays.
I bought a silk chiffon mask on Etsy for the gal with whom I paired myself. Have been reading how silk is so much gentler against our complexions, so like the idea of a silk mask.
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Hoping…
with the end of the year, we will see an end to the increase in Covid cases around the world. Hoping that 2021 will be a kinder, gentler year. Thinking I might need this tee from Etsy to celebrate. And look at that, it features my WOTY believe.
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Sending…
out this personal invitation to join me for 10 on the 10th a week from tomorrow when we will be sharing 10 favorite holiday activities or traditions. Please feel free to grab the graphic below for your post.
And sending out this invitation for YOU to join ME for the Winter 2020 Capsule Wardrobe hosted by Alison at Get Your Pretty On. Registration has just opened. Please use my affiliate link, here, to sign up for the latest fashion trends this season and ways to freshen your winter wardrobe. The Winter 2020 Work Wear Capsule Wardrobe opens on Friday, December 4 and I will share my affiliate link for that challenge in a coming post.
If you have never done a capsule wardrobe with Alison, you can learn more about her outfit formulas, here.
Autumn Goals Final Update
- Finish fall housecleaning – managed to get the house in pretty good shape in spite of having surprise surgery a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Even cleaned and organized the garage.
- Give myself some grace – have been reading, writing, walking and just trying to enjoy life while I recuperated.
- Complete the 40 Days Through the Bible study – completed.
- Participate in the #25DaysofGratitude photo challenge – completed and had planned to share my photos on 11.30.2020 but that didn’t happen. Will have that post up this weekend.
Well, how about that!! Looks like I get a gold ⭐ for my autumn goals!! Yay me.
YOUR TURN
How would your respond to the Currently 12.2020 prompts? What are you baking, decorating, gifting, hoping and sending? And how did you make out on your autumn goals? Let me know in a comment below. Love to hear from YOU!!
Speaking of which…I have been terribly remiss in responding to comments left on my blog and in my blog reading. I just realized, to my horror, that I somehow missed visiting the blogs of many of the gals who joined me for 10 on the 10th in November. If that’s you, I am so sorry. In the new year, if I continue to blog, I MUST MUST MUST carve out an appointed time in my day to read blogs and respond to comments. Hope you will hang in there with me and give me an opportunity to show you I can and will do better.
And with that promise, we can wrap things up. Oh, but before we do, mark your calendars for the January 6th New Year’s edition of the Currently linkup, chatting about what we’re currently: beginning, feeling, organizing, resolving, and wondering.
Hugs and kisses,
Joanne
Your gingerbread art is so cute! Great job on meeting your Autumn goals.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you! Need to finish up my gingerbread art this week. But PC is home and that maybe easier said than done.
Kellyann Rohr
Apple dump cake, a new chocolate chip cookie recipe, silk masks, gosh girl you have it all! So much to enjoy here. I used to make a dump cake and it was sooooooo good, I can taste it now – so I bet the apple version was amazing! I need to see about the silk face mask too – what a great idea. I have a feeling we won’t be saying goodbye to masks anytime soon so might as well get some good ones! We decorate gingerbread houses every year with our best friends, have been doing it since the kids were little and it has become a wonderful tradition for us. You and your girls are going to have so much fun!
xo,
Kellyann
Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life
10 on the 10th sounds fun! I will have to link up! And congrats on your autumn bucket list! I did pretty good – I didn’t know I was supposed to do updates but I guess that makes sense! Lol. The only one I didn’t manage was yoga, darn it. I will keep working on that.
And do those gingerbread houses! How fun is that!
Carrie
I love, love, love hatch sauce so I think those cookies sound great. I should make them! I am thinking of having tamales for Christmas instead of my traditional Norwegian food. We shall see. Yes, hoping all that 2020 has been will be a distant memory soon. Will join you on the 10th my friend. Plus, I owe you an email. Haven’t forgotten. xoxo
Dara
A mask exchange is such a fun idea!
ShootingStarsMag
A face mask swap is a cute idea – definitely a very 2020 thing. LOL Those cookies you made look super yummy!
-lauren
Deb
Just look at that gold star for ticking off those goals – well done!
I am hoping that the post offices between here and Canada cooperate so that the mask I sent reaches Danielle before Christmas!
Next week the first people in the UK will be getting their Covid vaccinations – I can’t believe that it is happening so fast! They are rolling it out by age groups so I think it’ll be a little while before we get ours but it is a little glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Rebecca Jo Vincent
Apple dump cake? That sounds amazing.
A mask swap… that is such a fun idea!!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Rebecca Jo, the apple dump cake was really good. A nice change. We warmed it up each time and served it with ice cream. Wish I had some now.
Anne
A mask swap… is there anything more 2020? But I love the idea. And I’m intrigued by these cookies!
Thanks for joining in as always, and I hope you enjoy the season.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Anne, we wanted a gift that we could easily and cheaply send in the mail. Last year, we swapped book marks and they
were easy to mail, too. I scored the best mask!! Love my plaid.
Hope you will continue Currently in the coming year!!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
I love any kind of dump cake, your apple one sounds yummy. Those cookies sound INTERESTING, but I bet I’d like them!! You have been making so many yummy things lately. A mask exchange sounds SO fun! I sent out a few gifts this year and included a mask ‘necklace’ or holder (not sure what it is called!) with the other gifts. Hopefully next Christmas we will be past masks and Covid!!!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Carrie, the apple dump cake was so easy and good. Hope you will try it. Kind of a nice alternative to apple pie. I found a gal who would make those mask necklace holders, too, and have given a few with Christmas gifts this year. It is nice to have your mask there when you need it but not strangling you around the neck when you don’t.
Jill
Those green chili chocolate chip cookies sound delicious! I’m going to pin the recipe! I’m sorry I haven’t been active in your FB book club. I haven’t read a book in months and my goal is to start up again in 2021. That 2020 tee is so good!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Jill, please don’t worry about the book club. It is there when you have time to read. I have ‘read’ a number of books this year but can’t say I was able to focus on many of them. Hard to concentrate when it feels like the world is coming to an end!!
Hope you will try the chile cookies. They are the perfect combo of sweet and spicy.
Natasha
Okay, I need to try that cookie for my husband and son who LOVE spice. The idea of a mask exchange is amazing! I LOVE it! And I also love that t-shirt. Yes, let’s all believe 2021 will be better than 2020 was.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Natasha, 2021 has to be better, right?? Who would have dreamed 2020? Maybe the director and writers of the movie Pandemic. They were ahead of their time. Hope you will try the chile chocolate chip cookies. Delish.
Amber =)
I’m trying to get more into the swing of things with reading and replying to blogs. I do well for a couple of days, then I fall off again!
Okay, I can get behind a 4 ingredient recipe. Adding that one to my saved file!
Great job on completing your Autumn goals! I’m starting to work on my list of Winter bucket list goals in hopes of actually joining in this time!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Amber, you always make me smile. So glad to see your comment here. I am terrible about reading comments and responding to them. I feel almost guilty getting comments. Does that make sense? I would never want folks to feel put upon that they have to write a comment. I am nuts.
That apple dump cake is truly worth a try. Get some vanilla ice cream to serve with it.
YAY! Glad you are joining for the winter bucket list. I need to send out info.
Laurie
Oh, man…green chili chocolate chip cookies sound amazing! I have given up sugar in my diet to lower my cholesterol levels but I would totally cheat for one of those cookies. Thanks for sharing the link to the recipe.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ha!! Laurie, the green chili chocolate chip cookies are cheat worthy. I promise.
Lauren | Mom Home Guide
Hi, Leslie! I am hoping our nation and the world can get Covid under control in 2021. This has been some year! Those spicy chocolate chip cookies look interesting! Wishing you a happy holidays season and even better New Year!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Lauren, thank you, lady bug. I appreciate you coming by!!