Friday Favorites

A little fake latte art when I added cinnamon to my chai. 

What I'm reading: 

Still working my way through In a Gilded Cage...the second heiress was not quite as interesting as the first, and well, this week was not the kind of week for non-fiction reading.

The oldest has a major toothache (and the ensuing dentist's appointments and procedures to come to fix said toothache are giving this Mama palpitations). The youngest is about to start 5 day a week preschool with his brother and so of course I spent the whole week freaking out that he's not ready for it, despite the fact that he's been going to Mother's Day Out thing for almost 3 months and doing great. Suffice it to say, this has been more of a zoning out on the iPhone or flipping through a magazine kind of week.

As soon as Gilded Cage is finished though the husband and I have a thrown the gauntlet down on a nerdy reading challenge. (Beyond cool, aren't we?) I've been bugging him for YEARS to read Harry Potter, and he can't understand why I haven't jumped on the Game of Thrones bandwagon yet, so the challenge is on. Once I finish with my heiresses I will be take on Game of Thrones, and he will read Sorcerer's Stone. We're just a wee bit competitive over reading, so I expect lots of comments about how slow the other person is reading...

Want to take bets on who gets addicted to their series first?

What I'm cooking this weekend: 

We've got two events coming up, and I'll be doing dessert for both of them. One is a big potluck at the Squadron, the other is just a little Super Bowl gathering but I'll be going simple for both. I discovered what might just be the best cookie recipe ever on Pinterest last week and I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be doing for the squadron. Finger food always works better for potlucks. Don't worry, I'll share next week. Right now I'm thinking cupcakes for our party on Sunday. I'll be pouring over my two favorite cupcake resources tonight to pick a recipe- Annie's Eats and Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Fun reads around the web this week: 

We've been working on fine motor skills with Ben this week, and luckily this showed up in my Google Reader, courtesy of All for the Boys.

Totally intrigued by this Chia Seed Pudding.

This Sticky Toffee Pudding by Annie is calling my name as well. If this served more I would totally make it on Sunday.

Everyone and their sister has been talking about Alt Summit this week. It's the blogging conference of the year so there are recaps everywhere. Lots of good info and inspiration!

Shana's hair resolution was just try...harder and this post has great ideas for making that style last a little longer. LOTS of good stuff in the comments too!