Good morning last week was a lot! For my treat I do two things regularly- i play a few games on my phone. I go in the living room sit in the easy chair and watch
Highly recommended seasonal treat: PUMPKIN BUTTER (like apple butter, but pumpkin)...Walmart has an economical store brand available for a limited time and I put it on everything: apples, bagels, waffles, biscuits, bread w/peanut butter, swirled into vanilla ice cream, etc.
Ok, on the baking front - salt makes all sweet things better. Next time you make whipped cream, add some quality salt - trust me on this one! You’ll never go back! A sprinkle of flaky salt on chocolate chip cookies before they go in the oven, brownies, etc. It’s the absolute BEST.
Sarah - if you need some crunch on these blondies, maybe you could crush some Cinnamon Toast Crunch? I am firmly a fan of soft foods so I do not share your need to sink my teeth into something crunchy, but I can appreciate those that do. #middlepiecesforlife
Here is the Cinn/sugar blondie recipe. I overlooked that it was Oct 2024 recipe but grabbed it from the archive. The Oct 2025 has a Cardamom/ brown butter blondie so also tempting!
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Blondes
Makes: 24 bars
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. ground cinnamon (divided)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
Instructions
Preheat and Prepare: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over edges of pan. Grease foil. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, 2 tsp. of the cinnamon, the baking powder, and baking soda.
Make Batter: In a medium saucepan, heat and stir brown sugar and the 2/3 cup butter over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared baking pan, spreading evenly.
Bake: Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack.
Finish: In a small bowl, stir together granulated sugar and remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon. Brush warm bars with the 1 Tbsp. melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Cool completely. Using the foil, lift uncut bars from pan. Cut into bars.
Storage
Layer bars between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month
Our treats have been of course, the hoopla leading up to and surrounding the launch of The Life of a Showgirl. Took my 9 yo to the movie in her new orange cardigan sent to her from her friend Taylor. We had 18 moms (one dad) and girls and we had the best time.
Also, if you live near Aldi, go find some fall treats. Aldi has pumpkin spice and maple kettle corn flavors, and little chocolate pumpkins and apples and pie slices that are actually chocolate candy. They have maple sweet potato chips, and chipotle pumpkin spaghetti sauce. They have gingerbread cookies shaped like pumpkins and leaves that you can put on the rim of your coffee mug. Et cetera. It’s delightful and I’m saving several bags of the kettle corns for my daughter’s 10th birthday in two weeks because they’re her all time favorite snacks. They go quick from the store!
Beth, as a career / freelance magazine writer, photographer and now editor, your description of how fall magazines were a treat is balm to my soul. Truly! They’re not as popular as they used to be but I still love what I do, because I love magazines. ❤️
Re:treats. Spent Saturday at a pumpkin weigh off /October festival where the highlight of the day is having a 1700(ish) pound pumpkin dropped from a crane into a swimming pool.(back in the day they used to drop it on an old car, but I'm guessing their insurance company heard about that and put a stop to it) It is fun and unnecessary and kids scream and delight and cheer and everyone has some laughs "just because." We have done a version of this most years since my now independent kids were very little and they both came home this weekend just to go do this. (Of course we ate junk food, used the apple Canon, shopped , watched them weigh the giant pumpkins, and generally forgot about everything but giant vegetables and apple tasting for a few hours.) It was so restful. I wish I could post the video. 😃
Re: Hegseth… and a poll for the Pantsuit community.
Question: how many of us were radicalized by Dispatch’s “General” as younger folks?
Context: I’m a 40 yr old woman (so I think core PP demo?). A few weeks ago, this song came on my music station. I forgot how much I love it, and I was instantly transported back to college, where this just cemented some kind of pacifist value set in me (not coincidentally also in the relatively earlier years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). I’ve been turning this song back on the last few days, as my own mini protest to the nonsense Hegseth seems to be preaching about killing and beards and such. I’m curious if I’m the only one in my age bracket that holds this song as a little milestone in their worldview journey…
(Disclaimer: I am very grateful for our military. I realize my pacifist views are partly the benefit of all they sacrifice. This is just my view for me and my hope for the world.)
I'm very disappointed by this Democratic shutdown strategy; I think it's exactly wrong. You think Trump and his goons are staging an authoritarian takeover of the country, but you'll fund his government if he un-shoots his own foot on healthcare? Insane. The ask should be a series of ironclad restructurings of the government to stop the lawlessness. JVL at the Bulwark put together a decent list. This has the benefit of being defensible when reporters ask Democrats why they aren't providing votes, in a way that a simple policy disagreement is not. And when Republicans refuse - because of course they'll refuse to stop the lawlessness; they love it - Democrats should dare them to cancel the filibuster and pass a spending bill without their votes. This is something that is entirely within the power of Republicans alone.
It comes down to a fundamental disagreement over whether we are in an emergency. If you believe we are (we are) then the task is simple: restrain the monster and make him unpopular. Stop acting like you find his politics acceptable as a new normal.
I am very much in favor of Beth (and Sarah!) sharing her "starting out thoughts" as a matter of regular business! Because otherwise the conversation fell into a familiar pattern that I am so tired of seeing. There appear to be two standards of reasonableness for the two parties. Anything wacky that a Democrat has ever said is used as evidence that that person (and often the whole party) is wacky and unserious and untrustworthy. And anything reasonable that a Republican has ever said is used as evidence that we are wrong to write off their insanity, even if they are insane and malicious 99% of the time. Angry-face-emoji.
I agree with you so much but I think the last election proved most voters don’t know or don’t agree or don’t care. They have to speak to things voters care about.
First. The meeting with the military was scary, but I still somehow trust the actual military to uphold their oath.
Second, as an infinifat person, if the worst you can say about me is that I am fat, I am not doing too bad.
Third, and perhaps related to number two above, fall treats: PSL, no thanks. The true fall treat is the humble, traditional, most excellent candy corn. Wait too long and you will have trouble finding some mellowcream harvest mix. If you don’t agree, you most likely hate America, baby Jesus, and Dolly Parton. Come at me if you will, but candy corn is the king fall.
Yes, Xergio! Candy corn gets so much hate and it is completely undeserved. I refrain from buying it not because it’s bad, but because I will eat the whole bag by myself and wind up with a stomacheache.
I don't like candy corn but I loved your comments on this thread and your citizenship meditation was my favorite, Xergio, so I hope you'll overlook this character flaw of mine. 😂
As a military spouse overseas, the September 30 heads of the military meeting was downright terrifying. Taking all of our military leaders and putting them all in a single room for a meeting that should have been a teleconference or email, was like leaving the door open to the chicken coop. It was the perfect opportunity for taking out all senior leadership. And our enemies knew it, because it was highly publicized. We all were on pins and needles waiting for the other foot to fall.
Have you seen the video of troops in Afghanistan doing their impression of the Miami Dolphin cheerleaders doing “ Call Me Maybe?” It is balm for the soul.
My favorite fall treats - Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights cookies. Just a harbinger of my favorite season. They disappear so fast from the shelves! I actually brought a few with me to eat while summiting Kilimanjaro to keep me motivated. They're soft, so Sarah would hate them 😆
😳 what a flex. I eat my Little Debbies while summiting the Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world. This is crazy impressive. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 tell us more if you can/wish.
😆 😄 well... I did it in 2023 with my 2 best friends and it was the best/worst thing we've ever done. Our group took 6 days to summit. The last 3 days I couldn't sleep or eat much and I had intestinal issues. It wasn't physically difficult, but the altitude was hard on me. We walked above the clouds for 2 of those days. It was like being on the surface of the moon.
There were other people (and trash) everywhere! Summit day was quite crowded, but honestly I was so out of it that I felt alone in my struggle.
Tanzania was beautiful. The people were very kind. Poverty was everywhere, but we were in fancy hotels, which felt shitty... I experienced culture shock for sure.
We went on a few safaris after and saw soooo many amazing animals in their native habitats.
I'm glad I did something so BIG but it was really difficult. Reminded me of how I feel about my time in the army - I'm "in the club" now and can talk about the joys and pains.
Oh Sarah, "need something to sink my teeth in..." This is so me. My husband and kids tease me all the time because my meals "gotta have crunch."
Good morning last week was a lot! For my treat I do two things regularly- i play a few games on my phone. I go in the living room sit in the easy chair and watch
Funny sitcoms from the 80s 90s or early 2000
Highly recommended seasonal treat: PUMPKIN BUTTER (like apple butter, but pumpkin)...Walmart has an economical store brand available for a limited time and I put it on everything: apples, bagels, waffles, biscuits, bread w/peanut butter, swirled into vanilla ice cream, etc.
Ok, on the baking front - salt makes all sweet things better. Next time you make whipped cream, add some quality salt - trust me on this one! You’ll never go back! A sprinkle of flaky salt on chocolate chip cookies before they go in the oven, brownies, etc. It’s the absolute BEST.
Sarah - if you need some crunch on these blondies, maybe you could crush some Cinnamon Toast Crunch? I am firmly a fan of soft foods so I do not share your need to sink my teeth into something crunchy, but I can appreciate those that do. #middlepiecesforlife
Here is the Cinn/sugar blondie recipe. I overlooked that it was Oct 2024 recipe but grabbed it from the archive. The Oct 2025 has a Cardamom/ brown butter blondie so also tempting!
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Blondes
Makes: 24 bars
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. ground cinnamon (divided)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
Instructions
Preheat and Prepare: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over edges of pan. Grease foil. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, 2 tsp. of the cinnamon, the baking powder, and baking soda.
Make Batter: In a medium saucepan, heat and stir brown sugar and the 2/3 cup butter over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared baking pan, spreading evenly.
Bake: Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack.
Finish: In a small bowl, stir together granulated sugar and remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon. Brush warm bars with the 1 Tbsp. melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Cool completely. Using the foil, lift uncut bars from pan. Cut into bars.
Storage
Layer bars between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month
Our treats have been of course, the hoopla leading up to and surrounding the launch of The Life of a Showgirl. Took my 9 yo to the movie in her new orange cardigan sent to her from her friend Taylor. We had 18 moms (one dad) and girls and we had the best time.
Also, if you live near Aldi, go find some fall treats. Aldi has pumpkin spice and maple kettle corn flavors, and little chocolate pumpkins and apples and pie slices that are actually chocolate candy. They have maple sweet potato chips, and chipotle pumpkin spaghetti sauce. They have gingerbread cookies shaped like pumpkins and leaves that you can put on the rim of your coffee mug. Et cetera. It’s delightful and I’m saving several bags of the kettle corns for my daughter’s 10th birthday in two weeks because they’re her all time favorite snacks. They go quick from the store!
Beth, as a career / freelance magazine writer, photographer and now editor, your description of how fall magazines were a treat is balm to my soul. Truly! They’re not as popular as they used to be but I still love what I do, because I love magazines. ❤️
Re:treats. Spent Saturday at a pumpkin weigh off /October festival where the highlight of the day is having a 1700(ish) pound pumpkin dropped from a crane into a swimming pool.(back in the day they used to drop it on an old car, but I'm guessing their insurance company heard about that and put a stop to it) It is fun and unnecessary and kids scream and delight and cheer and everyone has some laughs "just because." We have done a version of this most years since my now independent kids were very little and they both came home this weekend just to go do this. (Of course we ate junk food, used the apple Canon, shopped , watched them weigh the giant pumpkins, and generally forgot about everything but giant vegetables and apple tasting for a few hours.) It was so restful. I wish I could post the video. 😃
Outside of politics: made these pumpkin pancakes last weekend, then again Monday night 😅. My kids loved them. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-pancakes-recipe-2083171
Re: Hegseth… and a poll for the Pantsuit community.
Question: how many of us were radicalized by Dispatch’s “General” as younger folks?
Context: I’m a 40 yr old woman (so I think core PP demo?). A few weeks ago, this song came on my music station. I forgot how much I love it, and I was instantly transported back to college, where this just cemented some kind of pacifist value set in me (not coincidentally also in the relatively earlier years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). I’ve been turning this song back on the last few days, as my own mini protest to the nonsense Hegseth seems to be preaching about killing and beards and such. I’m curious if I’m the only one in my age bracket that holds this song as a little milestone in their worldview journey…
(Disclaimer: I am very grateful for our military. I realize my pacifist views are partly the benefit of all they sacrifice. This is just my view for me and my hope for the world.)
I'm very disappointed by this Democratic shutdown strategy; I think it's exactly wrong. You think Trump and his goons are staging an authoritarian takeover of the country, but you'll fund his government if he un-shoots his own foot on healthcare? Insane. The ask should be a series of ironclad restructurings of the government to stop the lawlessness. JVL at the Bulwark put together a decent list. This has the benefit of being defensible when reporters ask Democrats why they aren't providing votes, in a way that a simple policy disagreement is not. And when Republicans refuse - because of course they'll refuse to stop the lawlessness; they love it - Democrats should dare them to cancel the filibuster and pass a spending bill without their votes. This is something that is entirely within the power of Republicans alone.
It comes down to a fundamental disagreement over whether we are in an emergency. If you believe we are (we are) then the task is simple: restrain the monster and make him unpopular. Stop acting like you find his politics acceptable as a new normal.
I am very much in favor of Beth (and Sarah!) sharing her "starting out thoughts" as a matter of regular business! Because otherwise the conversation fell into a familiar pattern that I am so tired of seeing. There appear to be two standards of reasonableness for the two parties. Anything wacky that a Democrat has ever said is used as evidence that that person (and often the whole party) is wacky and unserious and untrustworthy. And anything reasonable that a Republican has ever said is used as evidence that we are wrong to write off their insanity, even if they are insane and malicious 99% of the time. Angry-face-emoji.
I agree with you so much but I think the last election proved most voters don’t know or don’t agree or don’t care. They have to speak to things voters care about.
Just wanted to second this post. Thanks Lou 👍🏼
First. The meeting with the military was scary, but I still somehow trust the actual military to uphold their oath.
Second, as an infinifat person, if the worst you can say about me is that I am fat, I am not doing too bad.
Third, and perhaps related to number two above, fall treats: PSL, no thanks. The true fall treat is the humble, traditional, most excellent candy corn. Wait too long and you will have trouble finding some mellowcream harvest mix. If you don’t agree, you most likely hate America, baby Jesus, and Dolly Parton. Come at me if you will, but candy corn is the king fall.
Yes, Xergio! Candy corn gets so much hate and it is completely undeserved. I refrain from buying it not because it’s bad, but because I will eat the whole bag by myself and wind up with a stomacheache.
🤣🤣 that's such a classic American treat 👻
I don't like candy corn but I loved your comments on this thread and your citizenship meditation was my favorite, Xergio, so I hope you'll overlook this character flaw of mine. 😂
As a military spouse overseas, the September 30 heads of the military meeting was downright terrifying. Taking all of our military leaders and putting them all in a single room for a meeting that should have been a teleconference or email, was like leaving the door open to the chicken coop. It was the perfect opportunity for taking out all senior leadership. And our enemies knew it, because it was highly publicized. We all were on pins and needles waiting for the other foot to fall.
Have you seen the video of troops in Afghanistan doing their impression of the Miami Dolphin cheerleaders doing “ Call Me Maybe?” It is balm for the soul.
My favorite fall treats - Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights cookies. Just a harbinger of my favorite season. They disappear so fast from the shelves! I actually brought a few with me to eat while summiting Kilimanjaro to keep me motivated. They're soft, so Sarah would hate them 😆
😳 what a flex. I eat my Little Debbies while summiting the Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world. This is crazy impressive. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 tell us more if you can/wish.
😆 😄 well... I did it in 2023 with my 2 best friends and it was the best/worst thing we've ever done. Our group took 6 days to summit. The last 3 days I couldn't sleep or eat much and I had intestinal issues. It wasn't physically difficult, but the altitude was hard on me. We walked above the clouds for 2 of those days. It was like being on the surface of the moon.
There were other people (and trash) everywhere! Summit day was quite crowded, but honestly I was so out of it that I felt alone in my struggle.
Tanzania was beautiful. The people were very kind. Poverty was everywhere, but we were in fancy hotels, which felt shitty... I experienced culture shock for sure.
We went on a few safaris after and saw soooo many amazing animals in their native habitats.
I'm glad I did something so BIG but it was really difficult. Reminded me of how I feel about my time in the army - I'm "in the club" now and can talk about the joys and pains.
Per usual, I took tons of photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAXUR8
Thanks for sharing. It looks amazing. “It wasn't physically difficult” 😳😳😳 says the super fit vet. 👏👏👏
I don't know about super, but I'll take it 😉
Checking in on my fellow Chicagoans. It’s been a rough day. My treat is lighting my new candle.