Today on weekend meanderings, my Thanksgiving mashed potato fiasco + useful, useable, clutter-free holiday gift ideas, a chocolate, espresso holiday dessert, and a few other things.
Happy Saturday, friends!
It’s time for the weekend post with Kim and Elizabeth, our weekly roundup of inspirations and goings on.
How was your Thanksgiving? I hope you’re enjoying a leisurely post-feast weekend. I’m hunkered down reading, watching football, walking the dogs and avoiding all the holiday shopping cray cray (do the kids still say that?). That said, I do have to buy some gifts.
Before we get to that a word about my Thanksgiving which was lovely aside from a mashed potato fiasco from which I’m still reeling.
All products and links included in this post are selected by me and some may be affiliate links.
Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Fiasco
Want to hear about my Thanksgiving mashed potato disaster? Good because I’m going to tell you anyway.
We were invited to Jim’s son Kyle’s wife Melody’s parents (did you follow that?) for Thanksgiving. What can I bring, I asked. I make a great mashed potato dish that travels well, I said.
We’re talking about Ina’s make-ahead goat cheese mashed potatoes,. A dish I’ve contributed to countless Thanksgivings to rave reviews.
A little background. Our recent move to the pied-à-terre required many difficult decisions … bring this, store that decisions. The pied-à-terre kitchen is tiny, so I only brought what I felt absolutely necessary and that would fit into the cupboards in an organized manner. Somehow my hand mixer didn’t make the cut.
Ina’s recipe is fairly straightforward and the only equipment called for is a food mill. I don’t own a food mill and in the past I’ve used my hand mixer. With my hand mixer in storage I decided to order this food mill. I watched Ina’s recipe video and using a food mill looked easy peasy.
While the potatoes were simmering I unboxed the food mill and ask Jim if he’d assemble it. He grumbled about there being no instructions but got it done. I spooned the potatoes into the mill and started to crank but nothing came through the bottom grates. I started to panic. Jim flipped the grate and that worked. But the grated potatoes did not resemble Ina’s video. I was alarmed but decided to take an optimistic approach and add the remaining ingredients.
With the goat cheese, butter, half n half, etc. mixed in, it still in no way resembled the creamy mashed potato dish I’d made a dozen times before. It was a gloppy, goopy, gummy mess. That was it, it was time to man the panic stations.
Realizing there was no time for a do-over – not even Amazon (curse their name) could get a hand mixer to me in time. So the gloppy potatoes went into a baking dish and into the refrigerator until time to bake. Maybe, just maybe I hoped, they’d turn into their intended consistency during the baking process.
As the potatoes baked they smelled heavenly and I hoped for a Thanksgiving miracle. Sadly it was not to be. They tasted fine, but the consistency was all wrong and I had no choice but to pack them up in my insulated casserole carrier, put a smile on my face and prepare myself to face the humiliation music.
I’m wearing a Frank & Eileen corduroy shirt dress over a Michael Stars striped cotton sweater (similar) and Stuart Wietzman suede boots (similar).
Oh, and a new bag by Wendy Bellisimo!
Thankfully, Melody, her mom and sister cooked all day and produced a wonderful Thanksgiving feast (as you can see from her beautiful prep photos above) and everyone was kind enough to overlook my mashed potato fail. I, on the other hand, may never recover.
I hope your Thanksgiving dinner was a triumph of culinary wonder. But if you had any type of disaster, please share. Misery loves company.
Chocolate Espresso Dessert
Melody is a lover of espresso martinis and came up with an idea for a chocolate espresso dessert which is really fun for the holiday season. She followed this recipe for the cake and this recipe for the espresso whipped cream topping. She made the cake in a single layer and used coupe glasses like cookie cutters. Clever … and delicious!
Holiday Gift Ideas that are Useable & Clutter-Free
The holidays are very low key for me and I don’t have to produce a ton of presents wrapped perfectly and placed under the tree. While there are pros and cons to my holiday situation, I am the envy of many friends because I’m able to avoid the worst of the horror show that can become the lead-up to Christmas.
Jokes aside, I do need to purchase a few holiday gifts and that means it’s time for annual holiday gift ideas. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a very practical gift giver and I like to stick with useable gifts tailored, of course, to the recipients tastes and interests but that will get used up in one way or another and won’t create clutter in their homes. In other words, they won’t feel obligated to stash it away in a cupboard to be retrieved only when I visit their homes. And who among us has not done that?
I’m focusing on adult gifts today. The kids in our family get real gifts … something specific they’ve asked for or gift cards as many of them now prefer. I’m happy to oblige with gift cards although I’ve made the decision to forgo sending them electronically in favor of purchasing actual gift cards that can be wrapped and presented, which somehow makes me feel better about it.
All that aside, these are a some of the gift that I’m buying for friends and family. Most are small things that also work well as hostess gifts, stocking stuffers, or combined to create a fun gift basket.
In the beauty category …
Caudalie Beauty Elixir facial mist. It’s become a favorite and it comes in a 1 oz travel or stocking stuffer size too.
Aesop’s Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm, I recently received a tube (thanks, Jane) and highly recommend. It smells heavenly – like the relaxation room at a good spa. It comes in a countertop size as well and could be paired nicely with the brand’s Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash. They also offer nice gift sets.
This citrus scented whipped body butter is divine.
Santa please leave this nail care kit under my tree.
This bestselling body care set.
Candles and other beautifully scented things …
If your friends and family aren’t skiing the Alps this winter, bring the Alps to them with Voyage et Cie’s Les Pinedes collection in a classic highball or French cut vase vessel.
Anything Diptyque is fabulous.
Brick soaps make beautiful gifts … and look so lovely set out on a small silver tray.
Lemon basil scented shea butter bath soap. Swoon.
Yummy treats …
After watching Ken Burn’s The American Revolution I’m ordering this Teas of the Boston Tea Party set for Jim.
Mrs. Bakewell’s Original Cream Tea is one of the best gifts I’ve ever received (thank you, Kim) and I’ve gifted it many times since. You can order it direct or on Gold Belly.
The Sister Market Holiday Gift Box is something I love to give.
Olive oil and infused vinegars … personalize this oil and vinegar set it only two extra days lead time.
Mother Myrick’s Lemon Lulu cake is a long time favorite.
California Native Wildflower Honey
Cocktail related …
I use these dried citrus slices all. the. time.
I’m obsessed with cocktail napkins like these, these, and these.
Jim says the bitters are always welcomed by cocktail loving friends, like this Woodford Reserve gift set.
A champagne stopper … every home needs at least one.
Gifts from your kitchen …
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies.
Gifts that don’t meet the criteria exactly, but are generally always welcomed …
These cashmere lined leather gloves with a screen-sensitive index finger.
These washable wool plaid throws.
Golf lovers (I know this is random) …
I’m tempted to order this marble putting green cheese board & knives for Jim.
And these golf ball wine stoppers seem essential.
What about this golf bag bar tool set?! Ok, I’ll stop.
Books …
Books fall into a gray area. They’re usable and I could never them clutter. After being read and enjoyed they can be added to the book shelves, displayed on a coffee table, passed along to someone else, or donated to a neighborhood free library. Some recent favorites ~
The Essentials: The Art of Interior Design
My Southern Kitchen: From Suppers to Celebrations
The Homebird: Creating Joyful Interiors Where Old Meets New
Squeeze Me: Lemon Recipes and Art
The American Revolution: An Intimate History
And finally, book adjacent, this Jane Austen Christmas puzzle.
What my nieces are getting …
L.L.Bean’s mini-boat & tote personalized with an acronym of one of my dad’s favorite expressions – I wrote about that here. I’ll tie a colorful scarf to the tote handle and fill it with a few things I’ve picked up along the way … like Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir and California Candle Co.’s Italian Cashmere candle (poured specially for the Frank & Eileen styling event at Flaunt I attended earlier in the year).
Access the roundup of all my holiday gift ideas here.
Supporting our local businesses …
The past few years I’ve been much more conscious about supporting the local businesses that I love, as well as regional or national retailers that I’ve come to rely upon and who all struggle to compete against the behemoths. When the shock of a favorite store (or restaurant) closing hits, I have to ask myself, when was the last time I was in that shop or store? Have I taken them for granted thinking they’ll always be there? Am I part of the problem?
This statistic, shared by Shira Gill, blew me away. A little food for thought as we enter this make-it-or-break-it-month for our favorite stores.
Some of my favorite local, small businesses …
White Barn Home, Lazy K House, Orinda Books, Flaunt, ReChic, Eye for Pretty At Home, Elsie Green, Misto Lino Home, Makers Market, Zahra, and, for pets, Partners Place and Big Woof
Holiday Cards from Minted
After taking a several year break from sending holiday cards, I’m back on the wagon. I realized that in not sending cards I stopped receiving as many. I didn’t like that at all.
I ordered our cards from Minted which I’ve done in the past. They have a wonderful photo card selection and their web-site is easy to use. Plus my address book is already loaded and only required a few tweaks. I received our cards on Wednesday and had most of them in the mail yesterday.
Thinking Ahead to 2026
I also got out in front of my 2026 calendar planner situation. Paper planners are essential in my humble opinion. I can’t won’t adapt to an electronic calendar and that’s just that. For years I was devoted to Erin Condren’s classic coil-bound life planner. Last year I experimented with the brand’s softbound planner instead because it’s smaller and more portable. It worked so well I reordered. I chose a plain blue cover with my initials in the lower right hand corner. I usually order earlier, but my procrastination paid off with sale pricing!
Current Favorites ~
As we head into the holiday season, I want to thank you for being here in my little corner of the inter-webs. Whether you just found me or have been reading for years, your kindness and encouragement mean the everything to me. I wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season filled with all the things that make you feel at home.
And that’s what I have for you today … and for the year. Yep, this is will be my last weekend post of 2025. I’ll rejoin Kim and Elizabeth on January 3.
Reader Interactions