Power Nap #114
Have you ever gifted spaghetti sauce?! What about brown butter cookie dough?
If you’re still looking for outside the box…
Hey friends! I know we covered some amazing outside the box kid’s gift ideas, but if you are looking for some easy gift ideas for friends or coworkers or neighbors that are CONSUMABLE, look no further! This PDF has 12 ideas. Sure, some you might have heard of. But have you ever thought of making a giant batch of spaghetti sauce then gifting homemade sauce with a box of noodles to all your neighbors?! What about homemade granola, or even a delicious salad dressing? Heck, last year my mom made Brown Butter Cookie Dough Balls and gifted them frozen along with baking instructions. Imagine a cold day in January and remembering you have spaghetti sauce or homemade cookie dough in your freezer. Bliss! And of course, if you have a recipe you love, simply take our idea and use your own recipe. This is simply a stepping stone. You can find them all right here, completely free!
PS — Here’s the canva card I made for my mom to put with her cookies! Print this on cardstock and cut them to size to go with your cookies!
The PERFECT gift for grandparents!
This Power Nap is brought to you by Aura Frames. The Power Nap is free each week, and sponsors like Aura Frames help make that possible!
You know what would make a killer gift?! The Aura digital frame! We got one a few months back and the kids look at it daily. WHY: this frame makes it easy to display those photos you still haven’t gotten around to printing, especially for your family who have been begging you to print them more family photos!
My personal favorite is the Aura Aspen Frame that looks like a professionally framed photo. This 12” digital photo frame allows you to share unlimited photos AND videos up to 30−seconds long. You can easily invite family and friends to add photos with the Aura app making it the perfect gift for grandparents this holiday season. The frame comes beautifully packaged in a gift box and you can add photos to it without even unwrapping it, so the frame will be ready to go as soon as it’s plugged in! Gift it for $30 off with code NAPTIME.
In Case You Missed It
Step aside made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls. These are the BEST and will make Christmas morning so much easier. Recipe here.
Watch this before you decorate for Christmas this year!
We swapped out the rug in our bedroom to this washable rug with the moodiest vibe and I am obsessed with it! As I type this it is still on sale, but you can also use code KATE15 for 15% off full-priced items! I have this one on the way for under our kitchen table!!
I have gotten to the point where I love this makeup bag so much I never unpack it. It lays on my counter flat and is so easy to see everything! Then, when it’s time to go on a trip, I zip it up and head out. (Note: mine is size medium)
“All it takes for something extraordinary to happen is one person with enthusiasm.”
- Will Guidara, Unreasonable Hospitality
Nate’s Book Reviews
Theo of Golden — Allen Levi -- This was probably the most-recommended book I’d ever gotten on the Power Nap. It’s about a man who comes to live in a small Southern town igniting personal stories, friendships, and a whirlwind of community connection. If I’m honest, I thought the first 3/4ths were very slow. But I loved the ending. And I would love to be more like Theo. This quote was probably worth the whole read: “His decision to live small made him larger than life.”
Sea of Tranquility — Emily St. John Mandel -- Fun little time travel book. I liked it more than Ministry of Time, not as much as Stories of Your Life. I’ve also read two of her other books: The Glass Hotel and Station Eleven. Both good.
House of Morgan — Ron Chernow -- Chronicles the rise, dominance, and eventual fragmentation of the JP Morgan banking empire. If you are one of the six people reading this who would like to read a 750 page history of the United States from post-Civil War to the 1980’s through the eyes of bankers, then this is your book.
Orbital — Samantha Harvey -- Meditation set over 24 hours aboard the International Space Station. Lots of poetic language; too little plot for me. Try In Ascension if you are looking for something in this genre.
Never Flinch — Stephen King -- The seventh edition in the “Holly Gibney” series, and I think it’s time to wrap it up. They seem to be getting worse as they go on. But some of them were quite good. If you only read one -- and you don’t have to read them in order -- read The Outsider.
The World for Sale — Javier Blas -- This book lifts the lid on one of the least scrutinized corners of the world economy: the commodity traders who buy, hoard, and sell the earth’s resources including oil, gold, grain, cocoa, and more. Lots of stories, some of which were interesting.
The Cellist — Daniel Silva -- Spy book. When a Russian dissident dies under suspicious circumstances, an Israeli spy uncovers a web of oligarch money laundering, Western corruption, and disinformation campaigns, with a gifted cellist at the center. It had a somewhat weird secondary plot involving January 6th and the presidential transition, which I felt detracted rather than added to the main plot. If nothing else, I listened to Haydn’s cello concertos while reading. They are excellent.
In the spirit of making seasons light, I want to introduce you to this charcuterie board that I stumbled upon at Costco (I haven’t seen it in the store recently but found it on Amazon). It has 6 individual compartments and comes with a snap on lid making it so easy to prep your board ahead of time or bring with you to a party. I also think it would make a wonderful gift for someone who loves to host! If you have signed up to bring an appetizer to a holiday party or are having people in your home, I’ve included some ideas below of food items you can grab at Trader Joe’s to make putting the board together super easy! Aldi also has excellent and affordable cheeses and charcuterie items if you aren’t near a Trader Joe’s.
Here is what I would add to my board:
Truffle marcona almonds
Cream Cheese or Goat Cheese with Fig Butter
Manchego Cheese
Salami
Prosciutto
Organic Naan crackers
Grapes or Apples (or both!)
Neighborhood Naturalist Update
Birds around the bird bath in the backyard in November: Northern Cardinals, Titmice, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Mourning Doves, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Blue Jays, House Finches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Carolina Chickadees, and, yes, a lonely Hermit Thrush.
Birds around the shore during a day out at Kiawah River: Dunlins, Clapper Rails, Killdeer, Black-bellied Plovers, Great Egrets, Pelicans, Bald Eagle, Greater Yellowlegs (all in about 10 mins)
Please comment on unusual bird activity in your area. Thank you.
The camellias are in bloom (photo cred to Kate):
Jess here. I am staring down the barrel of a January due date with my third baby so it’s time to eat an ungodly amount of dates. Only this time I am not dreading it because I found this recipe and I am feasting like a king. Date Bark aka Snickers Bark. You make a layer of medjool dates, flatten it out with parchment paper and a rolling pin, layer on the peanut butter thick if you’re a PB lover like me, and top it with a layer of melted chocolate and flaky sea salt. Stick it in the freezer, cut it into pieces and you have a daily dessert to snack on that is downright delicious.
Note from Kate: if this sounds delicious, you would also love my Damn Good Dates!
My son and I just saw TWO giant pileated woodpeckers in our tree yesterday morning! We’re in WI so not super uncommon but so pretty with the contrast in color from all the white snow we got this past weekend!
Keep the fiction recommendations coming, Nate! I read Sea of Tranquility earlier this year and enjoyed it — and I thought Ministry of Time was fun.