Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

What I Read // May 2025

06.04.25 | Books
Vinyl records

Unsolicited Advice: Make a Baby Playlist

05.20.25 | Life

What I Read // April 2025

04.30.25 | Books

On Grief and Joy

03.05.25 | Life

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Mom

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It’s been a few weeks, but it feels unreal that my mom is gone. The brightest light in my life has gone out.

After battling brain cancer for three years, my mom passed away on March 23, 2024. This isn’t something I’ve shared much about, though it’s occupied my mind every minute of the day since her diagnosis.

Despite a really terrible prognosis, my mom did so much since her surgery back in February 2021 and all the subsequent treatments and therapy sessions. She traveled to Maine, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and all across Wisconsin. She celebrated her 40th wedding anniversary in spectacular style (and her 41st too!). My mom gained a daughter-in-law. She attended comedy and drag shows. She shopped so many craft fairs and street festivals. She played countless games of cribbage and cards. My mom did so much.

And she continued to love us all as well. When my mom finally woke up after a long recovery, she knew my dad, my family and me. She made us all feel incredibly loved, and that’s something I’ll carry with me forever.

It’s been a really tough few weeks since losing my mom, so even though I could write about her for the rest of my life, I’ll leave you all with her obituary:

Nancy Ann (Michalek) Kaminski passed away March 23, 2024 surrounded by her loving family. Nancy was born to Norma (Brannan) Michalek on March 10, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

From an early age, Nancy had a knack for creating. As a girl she spent weekends sewing with her grandmother. Nancy would practice this skill for decades to come. She worked at a seamstress at Gimbels and continued to sew throughout her life. Nancy made clothing and costumes for her children, altered clothing for friends and family, stitched up projects to decorate her home, and made plenty of scrub jackets, surgical caps, and masks for the many doctors and nurses she worked with throughout her careers.

Nancy also happily spent countless hours in the kitchen, a passion she inherited from her mother. Those lucky enough to know Nancy surely indulged in many of her baked goods and wonderful dinners. Nancy’s talents gained her recognition in the form of Wisconsin State Fair ribbons, an article in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and plenty of requests to share her recipes (which she did happily).

Beyond crafting and baking, Nancy enjoyed her garden. She had a special love for beautiful flowers, vegetables, and herbs. Hardly a summer day went by without Nancy pulling out just one more weed before she ran out to spend time with family and friends.

Because Nancy never liked to sit still, she filled any spare time she could with games of cribbage with her husband Allen, traveling, bumming with her sisters and daughters, and volunteering at Ascension Columbia-St. Mary’s.

What Nancy was most known for, however, was her warmth, kind heart, and infectious laugh. These qualities made Nancy an incredible wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and friend.

Nancy is survived by her husband of nearly 42 years, Allen; sisters Debby and Mary Michalek; children James, Charles, Chad Kowalewski (Katie), Heather Kowalewski, Angela, and Lisa (Michael Stock); and grandchildren Benjamin and Anna Kowalewski. She is further survived by many, many friends.

Nancy is loved beyond measure and will be deeply missed by all those who knew her.

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What I Read // March 2023

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This month, I needed books for escape and support. Here’s what I managed to read and listen to.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell • ★★★★☆

In January, I read Romantic Comedy which is set around an SNL-like show. This month, I read The Golden Spoon which riffs of The Great British Bake-Off. Sometimes these obvious parallels are tedious but not so with either. Instead, they provide a sort of shorthand for the set-up.

In this instance, a handful of bakers arrive at the Grafton estate for a reality competition. From the jump, the show is off: There’s a new host, one baker uses salt instead of sugar and another has a total meltdown over a secret ingredient. And then someone turns up dead. Oh, and all this is on top of maybe another mystery?

I read this in a flash. It was the equivalent of binging five eps of GBBO or inhaling a pretty good chocolate croissant.

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd • ★★★★☆

I read The Club by Lloyd back in 2022. She proved in that book and in her newest outing that she’s a master at slowly revealing the rotten insides of fame and influence.

In People Like Her, Lloyd explores the world of “you do you, mama!” parenting influencer Emmy. Emmy shares her rise to fame from magazine editor to diaper-shilling Instamum. Meanwhile, her husband is disillusioned by her phony stories and perpetually sharing their lives. And a follow or two seem to have it out for her. I couldn’t put this one down.

This book is not for everyone. It deals with a lot of really sensitive and triggering issues like infertility, death and postpartum depression.

The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

I’ve had some trouble lately with books (or movies or TV) that hit a little too close to home. I gave up on a holiday rom-com a few months ago because a character was dealing with memory loss. I pressed pause on TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door because it was discussing the afterlife.

By that logic, The In-Between, a book written by a hospice nurse about her experience with end-of-life care, is the last possible book I should be listening to. But The In-Between didn’t repel me; instead, it made me meditate on lives well lived and what may come next.

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I have mixed feelings about this one. I picked up Done and Dusted because I needed something different than what I’d been reading lately. I’ve read a lot nonfiction (at least for me) this year and some heavier novels. The inverse of that to me was a cowboy romance.

In some ways, I really enjoyed Done and Dusted. I appreciated the fact that the MC, Emmy, had ADHD. That experience was woven into Emmy’s experience and how her loved ones cared for her. I found that to be very thoughtful.

But some of the specifics of the characters’ romantic relationship were a little iffy and uncomfortable to me.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // February 2024

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February was a slower month for me in terms of reading and just at-home activities. I’ve pressed pause on a lot of hobbies like sewing and stitching and puzzles. Instead I’ve been watching The Great British Bake Off‘s early seasons on the Roku Channel (who knew?), playing Hogwarts Legacy and listening to podcasts (I’ve really been enjoying Queers Gone By).

This all being said, I did get through three books this month (and part of another before I decided that I did not want to listen to another six hours about professional wrestling).

Empire of the Wild by Cherie Dimaline • ★★★★☆

My favorite way to enjoy books is via the library. It’s free, it’s supporting an invaluable institution. It also means that sometimes a book you put on hold becomes available when you’re not quite in the mood for it. That was the case with this book. But within just a few pages Dimaline changed my mind.

In Empire of the Wild, Joan mourns her husband who disappeared a year earlier. However, when she stumbles upon a revival tent, she finds that the preacher looks just like her husband but the man doesn’t recognize her. WILD.

This book has such a wonderful sense of mystery and urgency. I loved it and how it wove in Metis lore as well.

Wintering by Katherine May • 🎧• ★★☆☆☆

This book has been on my radar for a minute. I felt like the timing was right. It’s February and I am going through literal and figurative winter. It sucks. I thought this book might give me some insight. The online description bills it as “An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down,” and “Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times.”

With that description in mind, I downloaded this book hoping to learn about nature, about dealing with loss, about embracing slow times. Instead, Wintering was more memoir than anything. May focuses nearly exclusively on herself (fine if it’s a memoir, not so fine if the book promises more sweeping perspectives).

Listening to this book was tedious (nothing against the wonderful narrator) and unhelpful. I wish I hadn’t spent the time with this one. It left me feeling worse than when I started.

Matrix by Lauren Groff • ★★★★★

While Wintering was a flop, I knew I could count on Lauren Groff to turn this month of reading around. Groff is one of my favorite authors; her writing is beautiful and each book is so different from the next. Even though I first read it 15 years ago, her short story collection Delicate Edible Birds still has a hold on me.

Matrix takes place in one of my least favorite settings for historical fiction: medieval England. But Groff won me over in an instant. Marie, a low-tier French royal, is sent off to a convent in England to where the nuns are dying to either help turn it around or to perish herself.

Marie thrives in this environment. She turns the convent around, she fortifies its nuns, she builds a damn labyrinth to confuse enemies and, when the town priests die in a fire, she starts saying Mass herself.

Matrix is sweeping and wonderful. It’s heretical and delightful. It’s majestic and real. Everything that Groff does best.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // January 2024

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I kicked off this year fairly strong with reading. I tackled four books this month—including two non-fiction works. Who am I? My goal this year is to hit 40 books (50 is my stretch goal) and I’m already 10% there. Let’s get started!

Dolls of Our Lives by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I am an American Girl person. When I was 6, I got Samantha for Christmas. From that moment on, I was sold. The books, the doll outfits, the magazine, the catalog—I was in.

So it’s no surprise that I picked up Dolls of Our Lives, though it is surprising to me that I’d never heard of or listened to the authors’ podcast of the same name.

Perhaps if I had listened to the podcast first, I might have skipped the book. While I enjoyed reminiscing about the dolls and the books, I felt like the authors missed a few big tricks here.

First, they never interviewed Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl, claiming they never wanted to meet their heroes. I am fortunate enough to have met Rowland when she visited one of my classes in college. She was better than I ever hoped. I feel like neglecting to talk with the founder of the company was a big miss for Mahoney and Horrocks (and their loss!).

Also, I felt like the perspective was a bit limiting. The authors focused exclusively on the original dolls (that’s Felicity, Kirsten, Molly, Addy, Samantha and Josefina) and their stories. Mahoney and Horrocks made some great points about the problematic nature (and woeful whiteness) of some of the American Girl books and the perspectives they shared (and neglected). These critiques are completely fair and warranted.

However, since the brand’s early days in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s done a lot to expand the stories they tell and to do it right (at least as far as I can discern). For example, American Girl spent the better part of a decade creating the Kaya doll. The brand assembled a committee of Nez Perce elders, teachers and more to ensure every detail—from the textiles to the hair color to the storyline—was accurate. I think that’s very cool. Similarly, the brand did some solid homework in creating Claudie, a girl growing up in Harlem in 1922. Designers took clothing inspiration from a children’s magazine headed by W.E.B. Du Bois and recruited author and AG superfan Brit Bennett to write the Claudie books.

So, in some ways, I enjoyed the nostalgia of the book, but I also felt like it was incomplete. This is such a serious review for a book about dolls, but I am forever about hot takes with low stakes.

The Unidentified by Colin Dickey • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I read Ghostland by Colin Dickey several years ago, and while I love the idea of ghosts and ghouls, I also enjoyed how he dismantled a lot of legends. I was expecting the same of The Unidentified but for cryptids, UFOs and other unexplained phenomena.

In some ways, Dickey accomplished this. His analysis of how UFO and alien encounters exploded in the Cold War era was very interesting. And I had never heard of Lemuria, an Atlantis-like lost continent.

But I don’t think that Dickey did service to indigenous communities and their relationships to what many would consider cryptids.

Overall, this was a mixed bag. I’m not sure I’d even recommend it. Should I demote to two stars? Does it matter?

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne • ★★★★☆

Wintertime is Romanov time. When temps drop, I pick up stories set around the Russian Revolution. You can blame the 1997 animated masterpiece Anastasia for this specific and long-lasting interest.

I really enjoyed this book from John Boyne. I’ve read a few of his books in the past, and I think this is my favorite. In The House of Special Purpose (that was the name given to the home where the Romanovs were kept in exile before their execution), a young man from rural Russia is brought to St. Petersburg to be guard and companion to the the tsar’s son.

Does this guard later fall in love with Anastasia? YOU BET. That’s why this book was so good to me—and the lovely writing as well.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld • ★★★★☆

I haven’t picked up a Curtis Sittenfeld book in an age. I read Prep while in high school where it was the talk of the school library.

Romantic Comedy is obviously a departure from Prep, and it was a really fun listen. The book turns the trope of average-looking comedians landing model gorgeous partners on its head all within the setup of an SNL-like show. As an SNL fan, this was a fun read.

And I didn’t even mind that it was partially set during the pandemic. In fact, it reminded me of the speck of goodness that came out of those early days of staying in one place and being still. Highly recommend.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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A Year in Books: 2023

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2023 was a good year for reading. I smashed my reading goal of 40 books. By the end of the year, I racked up a whopping 58 books! In the end that was more than 10 full days of listening and nearly 10,000 pages of reading. Thank you to the Milwaukee Public Library for the major assist (also, please follow their phenomenal socials).

According to Goodreads, my average book score for the year was a measly 3.2 stars. Three stars isn’t a bad review, in my opinion, but nothing that I’d go out of my way to recommend.

But I would recommend a few reads off my 2023 list. Here are my top picks of the year—the ones that earned four or five stars. I suggest you add to your TBR for the year ahead.

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

I read a good amount of romance this year—more than a dozen titles—but One Night on the Island is my favorite of the bunch. It’s by Josie Silver, author of one of the best holiday romances of all time: One Day in December (I named it a top Christmas read last month).

This book has all you could ask for in a cozy read: a burnt-out woman taking a break from publishing (hey, that was me!) and heading off to Ireland (also me!). The ending wasn’t how I’d write it, but it was still a good one that will make you smile.

The Farewell Tour by Stephanie Clifford

In 2023, I went on a bit of a country kick. I spent weeks listening to Tammy Wynette. I visited Nashville and loved every second. I even asked myself if my outfit was yee-haw enough before going to the Grand Ole Opry (it wasn’t).

The Farewell Tour spoke so much to this phase of my year, but it was so much more. This book followed an artist in the same vein as Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn and how she rose to fame—even later in life. But The Farewell Tour was about so much more than fame. It was about reckoning with your past, forging your own path and facing the future—even if it’s uncertain. I loved every second and think it deserves all five stars.

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

Fiona Davis does such a wonderful job portraying women. In every novel of hers, she paints brilliant portraits of complicated fictional people in equally complicated (though very much real) times.

In The Chelsea Girls, Davis manages to transform a part of history I don’t find particularly appealing—the Cold War and the Red Scare—into a riveting tale of talent and friendship. This is a must for any historical fiction fanatic.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

I love a gothic thriller, and I am forever on the hunt for one that hits all the marks for me: gloomy atmosphere, characters with mysterious pasts, supernatural (or supernatural-seeming) elements and a vaguely unsettling feel. The Only One Left managed to tick all the boxes.

Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith

This book was a slow burn. I’ll admit, it took me a moment to warm to it, but as the drama developed—and later took an entirely different path—I couldn’t stop listening to it.

What starts as a family drama of one type soon unfurls into something much bigger and profound. And the ending is superb.

The Fervor by Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu does historical fiction-turned-scary so well. She takes parts of history that we think we know, like the sinking of the Titanic in The Deep and the Donner Party in The Hunger, and turns them into something that’s somehow more eerie.

She does the same in The Fervor. This book of Katsu’s is perhaps the most affecting as it bends and twists the already horrific story of the Japanese internment camps in the US. It sounds dark—and it is—but it’s hauntingly readable.

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What I Read // December 2023

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I finished December out strong with a total of six books—three of which were holiday-themed and two of which were very wintry. I’ll be here soon with a recap of my favorite reads, but take a peek here. I found two four-star reads that are worth picking up.

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict • ★★★☆☆

I don’t read many mysteries; in fact, this is only the second true mystery novel I’ve ever read. But I knew I wanted to try a holiday book this year that wasn’t a fun rom-com.

The Christmas Murder Game fit the bill. In this mystery, Lily is beckoned back to her family home with all her cousins. Over the Twelve Days of Christmas, her and her kin work to solve riddles. Whoever solves the puzzle at large, inherits the house.

Day one, there’s a snowstorm that traps everyone inside. Then as the days progress, cousins are picked off one by one.

It is, by my estimation, a pretty standard mystery set up, but one that I enjoyed. This is by no means a must-read, but it’s a nice way to get some subtle Christmas feelings when you’re not quite ready to go full One Day in December (one of my Christmas faves).

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I read Maggie Knox’s first book, The Holiday Swap back in December 2021. I also gave that read three stars.

This book is very cute—and it hit the marks with nods to Nashville (I’ve been on a country kick and I visited Nashville earlier this year) and Milwaukee. But there was a lot of back and forth. It could have been tightened up a bit. Like, I don’t want to read about how someone is on their way to the studio and someone else is checking up on their progress for 20 pages. This all being said, though, it was a nice listen and well performed (even if the Wisconsin accent verged more on Minnesota—A+ to the narrator for trying!).

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

I’ve read every one of Jenny Bayliss’s books, and they are always a treat (The Twelve Dates of Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas books of all time). I like to pick them up not just because they are not only heartwarming and cozy, but because they encourage me to slow down during a frantic holiday season.

In Bayliss’s latest, three sisters are called together after their father’s death to stage a Yule festival, a long-forgotten tradition in their English town.

I loved how this book focused on Yule! It wasn’t in a witchy way, but it was a nice nod to old traditions. Also as one of three sisters, this book spoke to me.

The Resort by Sarah Goodwin • ★★★☆☆

This book caught my attention right away at the library. A woman and her husband are off to attend her sister’s wedding in the Alps. Along the way, the car breaks down and there’s no choice but to shelter in an abandoned village. Soon Mila finds herself alone in this ghost town and with diminishing resources.

Despite being entirely different from All I Want for Christmas, I had a similar complaint with this book: so much back and forth. How many times do I have to read about Mila walking out in the cold to find nothing and coming back inside?

It was a bit tedious to me, but not terrible.

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards • ★★☆☆☆

No, I did not realize this was young adult fiction when I rented it from the library. Maybe that’s why I disliked it so much? Also, as a Wisconsin driver, I don’t need any more snowy road drama that I already get.

The gist here is that Mira’s connecting flight home gets canceled on Christmas Eve. In an effort to get home in time for the holiday, she catches a ride with a few college students from her fight. Because of the snowy weather, this trip is harrowing—and someone in the car is making sure they won’t make it home in time.

Like The Resort, there was a lot of back and forth in Five Total Strangers. Lots of turning the car around, lots of checking on a phone battery, lots of stopping at gas stations. Overall, this snowy race to Christmas book was too repetitive.

The Wager by David Grann • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

At the end of the month, I found myself in a bit of a reading funk. I didn’t feel like finishing another rom-com or seasonal book, wasn’t intrigued by any thrillers and found myself bored by historical fiction.

That’s how I knew it was time to find a good piece of non-fiction. I don’t like to read non-fiction, but I really enjoy it as a listen; it’s like a very long podcast.

The Wager, a true maritime disaster story, popped up on a few best-of lists, including critics’ favorites on NPR (I, unsurprisingly, love NPR), and it deserves its place there.

I’ll be back in a few days to share my favorite reads and listens of 2023. Until then, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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Chocolate Malt Linzer Cookies

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Linzer cookies with chocolate filling and powdered sugar on top

It’s not uncommon for artists to wake up from a dream inspired to start a new creation. Michael often records voice memos of song ideas he’s had during the night. I, on the other hand, wake up to write down recipe ideas.

One of these ideas came to me months ago, but it just wasn’t time. But now that it’s high cookie season, I figured it was time to try that dream recipe out in the kitchen: Linzer cookies with a chocolate malt ganache filling.

What Are Linzer Cookies?

Linzer cookies are a bite-sized riff on the Austrian Linzer torte. This torte looks a lot like a tart—and it is made in a tart pan—but it’s still a torte. Go figure. The pastry crust for this dessert includes ground almonds, lemon zest and sometimes spices. It all encases a raspberry filling.

Linzer cookies have all those same flavors but are made sandwich-style with raspberry jam (or another fruit filling) in the center. Typically the top cookie of the sandwich has a small cutout to reveal the filling inside.

How to Make Chocolate Malt Linzer Cookies

My Linzer cookie recipe isn’t exactly traditional since it lacks the fruit filling, but my treat trays are already brimming with fruit-filled sweets like cream cheese pillows and fruit cake (yes, fruit cake is good—if you make Shauna Sever’s recipe from Midwest Made). But truly, who doesn’t like ganache?

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 12 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 2 teaspoons malted milk powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Powdered sugar to garnish

For the ganache:

  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon malted milk powder

Step 1: Make the Linzer Cookie Dough

This cookie dough is simple enough to make. Start, as always, by creaming together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy—about five minutes. Then add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat another minute.

In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, almond flour, malted milk powder, cinnamon and salt). Add the dry mixture to the wet and mix until just combined.

Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for an hour or more.

Step 2: Prep the Cookies

Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temp for about five minutes.

Dust your work surface with a bit of flour, then roll out the dough until it’s approximately 1/8-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out as many cookies as you can. Reroll the dough just once; any more than that and your cookies can become tough—and Linzer cookies are known for being wonderfully tender.

Now, take half your cookie cutouts and cut a smaller hole in the center of each. You can use a small cookie cutter or a pastry piping tip to cut a simple circle; a knife will even work in a pinch.

Step 3: Bake

Chill the cutouts in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking—or as long as it takes your oven to preheat to 350ºF.

Bake the cookies on a parchment-lined sheet at 350ºF for 11 to 13 minutes—until they just start to have a whisper of gold around the edges.

After baking, move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 4: Make the Ganache

While the cookies cool, stir up the ganache. Start by chopping up the chocolate (any kind you like!) and adding it to a heat-safe bowl along with the butter.

Then whisk the cream and malted milk powder together. Heat in a small pot on the stove until the milk starts to bubble and simmer—not boil!

When the cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate and butter and let it sit for 30 seconds or so. Then whisk whisk whisk until the mixture comes together in a rich ganache. Let the ganache cool in the bowl until it’s a good spreading consistency—about 15 minutes.

Step 5: Put It All Together

A dusting of snowy powdered sugar is a must for Linzer cookies. Give the cookies with the holes in them a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Then spread a bit of ganache onto the base of each cookie. Finish with the sugar-dusted topper, and serve!

These cookies are best within the first few days—up to a week.

Now, settle in with some cookies, a good book and soak up all the peace you can this holiday season!

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On Having Traditions Just for You

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Package of coffee from Stone Creek Coffee, a Kindle, an iced coffee and a small quiche on a table

I hold so many traditions — particularly holiday traditions — close to my heart. Every year, Michael and I stir up a batch of Irish cream together, we share oplatki with my in-laws every Christmas Eve (a nod to our Polish roots) and watch all the Bob’s Burgers Christmas episodes during winter break.

But as important as it is to share these annual rituals, I’d argue it’s just as important to have a few traditions that are for just you. These don’t need to be time-consuming or major, they just need to be comforting.

I’ve found having some solo traditions can be very grounding during tough times, can provide much-needed stillness during busy seasons and bring joy because you deserve a little magic, too.

Here are the Christmastime traditions that I hold just for myself:

Christmas Wrapping

I love wrapping gifts. Picking the paper, finding pretty bows (less so now that we have a curious kitten at home) and nestling all the packages under the tree.

But the tradition here is not the wrapping, it’s the when. Since I’ve been young, I don’t allow myself to wrap a gift until December 1. It’s a good way to kick off the Christmas season — and it can help put me in the spirit when I may not be quite ready.

A Holiday Coffee Stop

Don’t get me wrong: I will stop and get regular mint mochas from Thanksgiving to the New Year, but once a season, I’ll slow down and take myself on a coffee date—often as a reward for finishing up holiday shopping or baking.

This typically happens on a Saturday morning shortly before Christmas. I like to hit up Stone Creek Coffee, order a nice coffee, pick up a bag of their seasonal Bumble roast (a treat I like to share with the family on Christmas morning) and settle in with a book for a short while.

Watching White Christmas

I didn’t grow up watching this Christmas classic, but it’s a film that’s fully ingrained itself in my holiday season as an adult.

And it’s a movie I’ve never watched alongside anyone. I’ve always enjoyed White Christmas solo on a snowy afternoon or during an evening wrapping gifts. It’s such a lovely movie and one that makes me weep every time.

Holiday Baking

This is a tradition that is close to me no matter who is in the kitchen. I like to bake with my mom whenever I can. I also had a fabulous time baking cookies with my nephews and sister-in-law last December.

But I always enjoy taking some time to bake on my own during the holidays. While I love making pioneer molasses cookies and spritz with my mom, I have a few bakes I always make on a just-me day in the kitchen: chocolate-almond mandelbrot, white fruitcake (it is delicious) and babka.

Christmas Crafts

Crafting might just be my favorite part of Christmas—especially when paired with a Christmas movie or Christmas audiobook. Every year I tackle a project or two—sometimes for gifting, sometimes just for fun.

A few years back, I was in Christmas cross-stitch mode. Last year, I sewed zippered pouches for most of my family. This year, I made woven star ornaments (a project I’d bookmarked at least two years ago). At the end of the season, I never regret being up to my elbows in thread.

It might be late in the season, but I hope you still find some time for yourself!

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Hey, DSHA!

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A few weeks ago, I announced my departure from Taste of Home. After six years, I knew it was time to pursue other opportunities.

I’m happy to report that I’ve taken on the role of Digital Marketing Director at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School.

This is a major shift for me! I’ve spent my entire career in writing-centric roles. This role will, of course, include writing, but it encompasses so much more. And I’m really excited to be part of a smaller team and to work for an organization that supports young women.

And yes, even though I haven’t been in school for more than 10 years, all those first-day-of-school feelings were present walking inside for my first day (and I did take the obligatory first day of school photo)! I am doing my very best not to go overboard with new office supplies—but if you know me, you know that’s incredibly hard to do.

Here’s to new beginnings!

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My Favorite Holiday + Christmas Reads

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When the tree goes up in my house, it’s finally time to embrace cozy Christmastime reading. To me, there’s not much better this time of year than snuggling up with a cup of coffee and a good book beside the glow of our trees.

Without further ado, here are my favorite lighthearted reads for the holidays.

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

This was the first cozy rom-com I ever read, and it converted me to the genre.

In The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living, city gal and pastry chef Olivia moves to rural Vermont after a spectacular falling out at her country club job. During her tenure at the Sugar Maple Inn, Olivia settles into country life, endears herself to her curmudgeonly new boss and even meets a boomerang beau (a guy who lived in the country, tried life in Seattle and then returned home to care for his father).

At first blush, this book sounds like a Hallmark movie pressed between covers and bound, but I assure you it’s so much better than any of those made-for-TV movies.

One Day in December by Josie Silver

In this Christmas book, Laurie catches the eye of a handsome man through the window of a bus. Somehow, she knows this guy is someone she wants to pursue.

Over the years, Laurie looks for her mystery man and is unsuccessful—until her friend introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend at a party. This boyfriend is, of course, bus boy.

One Day in December plays out over the course of years (and does take a second to settle into), but it does keep you ensconced in the characters through every turn.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

This just might be my gold standard of cozy holiday reading! Is it slightly predictable? Sure! But that in no way takes away from enjoying this Christmas book.

So what’s the setup here? Well, Kate reluctantly agrees to participate in a series of blind dates—12 of them—to find a connection before the holidays hit. Over the course of the dates, there are hits, misses and plenty of seasonal activities. Delightful!

I recommend this one as an audiobook to listen to while you wrap gifts or bake Christmas cookies.

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

Is the premise of this book absolutely inconceivable? Yes! But so is the plot of 1998’s The Parent Trap, and that is a masterpiece.

Now, Kiss Her Once for Me isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a great holiday read. In this infectious rom-com barista (and one-time animator) Ellie agrees to marry her cafe’s landlord, Andrew, so he can gain access to his trust fund—and give her a small portion.

Of course, they have to do the whole fake dating thing. The catch here isn’t that they catch feels necessarily; it’s that during a family getaway with her faux fiance’s family, Ellie discovers that she once had a super intense (though short-lived) connection with his sibling Jac. What’s a gal to do during the holidays?

The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake

Full admission: I didn’t even remember there was a romance element to this book until I reread the summary—and I think that’s part of the charm of The Hygge Holiday.

In this book, Danish ex-pat Klara settles into a small English town. While she thinks her stay will be temporary, Klara soon makes it her to reinvent the town’s small toy shop. With lots of nods to slowness, coziness and overall hygge vibes, this book satisfies and reminds you to take it easy—even during this busy season.

A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss

I think this book (yes, another by Jenny Bayliss) is the perfect read for that lazy stretch of time between Christmas and New Year’s.

In A Season for Second Chances, Annie heads off to the countryside to recoup after splitting from her husband. She’s happy to find a job as a caretaker for a small cafe for the wintertime. Of course, Annie can’t just let the cafe sit there (it looks sad!), so with the blessing of the wonder (a charming old woman) she decides to give the space new life and embrace living in a quaint small town—book club and all.

Now, does the charming old woman’s nephew like this plan? Of course not! But over the chapters, feelings shift, and Annie finds that her seaside stay might become home.

As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.