5 on Friday

First of all, thank y'all for your sweet facebook (and blog, thanks, Courtney) comments on my post on Grace!  I am so encouraged to have such sweet friends!

Now, time for my favorite type of post... 5 on Friday!

O     N     E

Gil is two months old today!  Ahhh...how do I already have a 2 month old?

This little chunk is a much tougher baby than Jack ever was, but every bit as sweet and kissable.  He's kind of serious, but I managed to capture one of his rare smiles.

He has his two month appointment (with the dreaded shots!) on Monday, so I'll wait until then to do his update, so I can include his measurements.

T     W     O

Well, it's the holiday season, which means...

Red cups!  I love when Starbucks releases these!

And this year, they released a new holiday drink, the Chestnut Praline Latte.  Since I am a gold card member (read, obsessed), I got to try this out earlier this week.  It's okay, good even.  But I have to remain loyal to my white chocolate peppermint mocha.  It's like drinking Christmas!

T     H     R     E     E

A friend just had a baby, and I took her a meal last night.  Can I be honest?  When I make people meals, I look for recipes that look yummy to me too!  That way I can just make a double batch and feed my little family as well.

It is getting cold here (snowflakes sighted this morning!), so I wanted to make a soup.  Okay, I used that as an excuse to make a soup.  I would eat soup and sushi every day (with a little Mexican thrown in), if I could.  I found this copycat Panera tomato soup recipe and paired it with Hawaiian roll ham and swiss sandwiches.  SO good.

It was really easy and simple and took relatively few ingredients.  I would suggest blending the soup a tad.  I used our immersion blender, which is one of my favorite kitchen tools.  It is extra helpful if you are a soup junkie like me.

If you've never made or eaten the ham and swiss sandwiches before, then your life is not complete.  I grew up eating these every Christmas eve (paired with my mom's tomato soup).  Google and you can find a myriad of recipes.  The one suggestion I would make is not to use onion powder (as some recipes suggest).  Instead, I always grate part of a small onion (using a small grater) into the butter/poppyseed/Worcestershire sauce mixture.

F     O     U     R

I've been working on a Christmas wish list, and I came across this book:

Happy Handmade Home

Anyone read this?  It looks good, and seems to be recommended by the same people who like The Nesting Place, so I am intrigued.

F     I     V     E

Well, we are still sick over here in the Evans household.  Jack started getting sick Wednesday night, and we finally headed into the pediatricians office this afternoon.  Another one of my boys with pneumonia.  Ugh!

I think we caught it pretty early though, so I am hopeful that we can get Jackie boy feeling better soon.  And I am hopeful that Gil will not get it!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!