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Thanks for joining me for another Nine Favorite Things post.

Nine Favorite Things | halfbakedbaked.com

(my favorite little sister)

Looking at my calendar, I am only just now realizing that it’s somehow already the last Sunday of July. Summer 2019 is surely flying by, isn’t it? This makes me feel both sad and excited. Sad because like most of you, I don’t want summer to end. I love these long warm days, the green grass, flowers, and all the produce. BUT, I can’t help but be excited for the coming months ahead. A quick trip to LA in August, my older brother’s wedding in September (which is at the new studio…and yeah, I am also making the cakes), the release of HBH Super Simple in October, the big Thanksgiving feast, and yes, then onto December and all things Christmas. So pretty much every month from now through the end of the year is packed full…

Excited…and also so overwhelmed. Looking at my calendar scares me, but it’s all good things. It’s uncomfortable but in the best way…if that makes any sense at all. I always like to say, you have to be OK being uncomfortable in order to grow. It’s not always easy, but the outcome is worth it. At least this is what I’m telling myself.

Anyway, If you have wedding cakes ideas, let me know. If you have cute clothes you’re loving for fall, LET ME KNOW. I’m going to need all the help I can get, and you guys always have the best suggestions!

I’ll be spending the month of August prepping for all the upcoming events ahead. I’m also working hard to get ahead with all the behind the scenes stuff here at HBH. And…there may even be an impromptu trip to the Caribbean with some of my family, we shall see!

What are you all up to this week and for the month of August? Any exciting trips planned? Are you heading out to pick peaches? What’s happening?

Coming up this week on HBH, I’m kicking the week off with a killer new salad, sharing a berry-filled dessert…that’s different but easy and delicious, a new summer pasta, the perfect Mexican recipe…that also uses up all the market vegetables, and of course, something sweet for Friday. So all good things coming up this week!

Lastly, if you missed anything from the past week, be sure to sign up for our newsletter here. Hope you’re all having the best weekend, and enjoy this Sunday’s Nine Favorite Things!

1. Inspiring Me On Pinterest…Summer Patio Inspiration. 

We’re currently working to complete the studio barn’s patio, so I took to Pinterest to find some of the prettiest farmhouse style patios. I’m officially in love with all of these. Now the real questions is how do we go about making these patios come to life here in Colorado? That’s always the question, isn’t it?

(photos via pinterest)

Question: do you have any suggestions for us? Would love your ideas!

2. August Recipe Request. 

I put this out on Instagram the other week, so I thought it was only fair to ask you guys here too. To me, August is a time to start thinking about back to school, on the go snacks, easy family dinners, delicious desserts, and fun ways to incorporate all the end of summer peaches, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, etc.

But that’s just me! What do YOU guys want to see in August? Please leave all your thoughts and requests in the comments. Would you like to see more dinner recipes? Would you love to see an entertaining post? More desserts? We need all the details. Please and thank you! Excited to see what you all are looking for this month!

ALSO! We Are Still Hiring! If you, or anyone you know, would love to join the HBH team, we’re looking for someone who is excited to learn, a team player, so crazy organized, loves food and cooking, and most importantly, is very knowledgeable in the social media space. You can apply here.

3. Everything I’m loving from Pottery Barn:

4. Questions of the Week: 

q: Why did you choose the “quick and easy” theme for your second cookbook?
a: I chose to do HBH super simple because I wanted to give you guys a cookbook that you could really use every single day. Like when you come home from work tired and have nothing in the fridge…I got you covered with pantry staple recipes!

The request I get most often is for easy weeknight recipes with minimal ingredients that still taste good! We are all busy, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get to eat delicious homemade food! The new book solves that problem!

q: What are some of your favorite dessert cookbooks?
a: The Sprinkles Baking Book is hands down a go-to for me!

q: How many recipes in your new cookbook are vegetarian? Please make a vegetarian cookbook!
a: The new book has an entire chapter of only vegetarian recipes! In addition to that chapter, there are countless other vegetarian recipes (breakfast, appetizers, pastas, pizzas, salads, desserts). So a good mix of vegetarian.

q: Ideas to make veggies more “hearty” to feed picky men.
a: Try my sneaky zucchini Mac and cheese, zucchini ravioli, asada mushroom tacos, zucchini lasagna, coconut butter cauliflower, or chicken noodle casserole.

5. Newest Videos: 

Garden Herb Shrimp Scampi Linguine…easy enough for a weeknight, but fancy enough for the weekend.

30 Minute Korean Beef and Peppers with Sesame Rice…when it’s way too hot to turn the oven on, make this.

6. Currently Loving and Wanting…

loving…this Vince sweater (so cozy for fall) and this Claire V. bag (perfect work trips) that I recently purchased during the Nordstrom anniversary sale. So cute.

wanting…to bake my favorite peach layer cake from last summer…but thinking about making cupcakes instead.

loving…this thoughtful post from Camille Styles on How to Ask Great Questions for Better Conversation.

wanting…to binge-watch the new season of Sugar Rush. Making this happen tonight. What are you binge-watching?

loving…these new pasta bowls and this cute pie plate I found on Etsy. So in love, especially with the bowls.

wanting…these sneakers, BUT like, why are they so much money? Thinking about these instead.

7. A Few Links I Am Loving…

Half Baked Harvest’s Tieghan Gerard tells us her Trader Joe’s must-haves…had to link it. enjoy.

this is how you host a summer dinner party without breaking the bank…if you love to entertain.

best skin and makeup tips for your wedding makeup…if you’re about to tie the knot or just need some good make-up tips.

12 wedding dos and don’ts…because it’s very much wedding season.

5 financial mistakes to avoid when moving in with your significant other…good to know.

Pottery Barn’s fall line is the antidote to the summer heat…and i’m so into it.

3 perfect Austin itineraries for design lovers…loving this town more and more.

this west Texas design hotel is the ultimate escape…so really, can I just go to Texas already?

dear Bobbi Brown…what foods should I avoid for better skin?

could eating cold foods sabotage your health…I don’t buy into stuff like this, BUT I love hot food. so cool.

16 fall pieces under $150 from the Nordstrom anniversary sale…snatch these up fast.

7 things to do with your money before you turn 30…time to start that retirement fund.

10 hauntingly beautiful abandoned palaces from around the world…I find this oddly fascinating.

yet another reason to put down your phone and reclaim this…something I’m trying to do more of.

an uptown maisonette Is reborn with unexpected panache…I could definitely live here.

this trick makes tomatoes even more tomato-y…salt people. salt.

designer Jean-Louis Deniot reveals his historic Los Angeles abode…I love the details of this home.

an insider’s tour of St. Petersburg…would love to visit. Especially during autumn.

the most versatile summer salad…this sounds so good!

inside Jennifer Lopez’s over-the-top 50th birthday party…ahhhh. wow.

8. Favorite Cozy Summer Loungewear… 

9. This Week’s Dinners:

Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com #easyrecipes #20minutes #thaichicken #ricebowl #healthy

Monday: better than takeout sweet thai basil chicken

Asada Mushroom Tacos with Lime Smashed Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com #tacos #healthy #dinner #mexican

Tuesday: asada mushroom tacos with lime smashed avocado

20 Minute Ramen Carbonara | #ramen #noodles #easyrecipes

Wednesday: 20 minute ramen carbonara

Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Thursday: chicken broccoli cheddar quinoa casserole

One Pan Zucchini and 3 Cheese Lasagna | halfbakedharvest.com #healthy #summerrecipes #onepan #pasta

Friday: one pan zucchini and 3 cheese lasagna

Finally, check out all the past Nine Favorite Things posts here.

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Comments

  1. I absolutely love these posts. Your upcoming months sound so fun! I am moving to Park city next week and excited to get settled in and be back in the mountains. I can’t wait to see the wedding cake you make. Also would love a few more no bake treats for back to school. Happy tuesday!

  2. I wasn’t able to use the “reply” button but I will try the overnight oats! Thank you! Found some recipes!

  3. I’d love to see a sticky yummy veggie meatloaf. A veggie loaf! Maybe roasted veggies incorporated in with non cardboard ingredients. Paired with a parsnip or celeriac purée .. what do you think? I know it’s summer now but as you said on our way to Fall. Thanks

  4. We just got back yesterday with 24 boxes of peaches from SC. Not all for us though. HA!! I got for family church friends, and people I use to work with. Can’t wait for them to get ripe enough to freeze, make rise, muffins, etc. YUMMMY!!!!

    How exciting to have a wedding at the new studio. I hope you share lots of pics. I am still wanting to see more of the studio.

    1. Wow that sounds so amazing! And so sweet that you are giving them to friends! Thank you so much Charlotte! xTieghan

  5. You do main dishes so well! I love how flavorful they are. I would really love to see more dinner recipes incorporating ground beef or lamb! Inspired ethnic dishes are my favorite. Don’t ever use your alcoholic drink recipes, but some inspired non-alcoholic drink recipes would be most appreciated! Love your recipes that use fresh produce as that’s how I cook-seasonally. Oh maybe some ice cream recipes-pretty please. Ok-I’m done.

  6. OK, I’m thinking for a CO wedding or maybe the rehearsal dinner a big, big pan of paella! I’m making a paella this weekend for my BFF’s birthday. So just my 2 cents…

    1. Oh wow yes! I am sure most of my family would love this, but not all with the addition of seafood! But honestly I might need to try this myself haha! Thank you! xTieghan

    1. Wow all of those cakes are cakes are beautiful! I especially love the addition of flowers to most of them! Also, so different to do macaroons! Love it! xTieghan

  7. I’m a teacher in PA and need lunch ideas that are SUPER EASY since I also work out and cook dinner for my family after a tiring day at school. I don’t use a microwave at school to heat up my lunches (too far away to take the time to walk there and back). I am so bored with sandwiches. I need protein and some kind of bread for energy to finish out the day and get to my workout without crashing. Have tried hummus and pita but it isn’t filling enough. I don’t snack, just meals. So I need HELP with the school lunches for me. And breakfasts too that don’t involve cooking anything in the morning. I love your recipes and have even shared your blog with some classes if we get on the subject of cooking. I’m a math teacher but tend to talk about everything in class. HAHA. The one recipe I love to tell them about is the apple honey panini. It is the best!!! A student made it at home last spring and loved it too.

    1. Thank you so much for this Barb! I will definitely try to incorporate some of this into my recipes! Have you ever tried doing overnight oats for breakfast? I honestly love them for a bust morning when I do not have time to make anything, because they are made the night before! Let me know! xTieghan

  8. Hi! My family is Czech, so we tend to celebrate weddings with several normal sized cakes of a variety of flavors, rather than one massive cake. (I had, like, ten cakes at my wedding, and it wasn’t a particularly large wedding!) If you’re excited about the challenge of making a full-blown wedding cake, awesome, but people get VERY excited about a mixed-cake buffet table.

  9. Cakes by Courtney has a ricotta layer cake on her site that is AMAZING…so moist and delicious. I imagine it would make a great wedding cake…or at least one layer of a wedding cake. I love wedding cakes that have a variety of flavors…something for everyone.

  10. Great post! Particularly love the 10 hauntingly beautiful abandoned palaces from around the world (wow) &
    yet another reason to put down your phone and reclaim this links. I will be coming back to these. 🙂 Thanks for sharing all that you do. Blessings!

  11. Good Morning Tieghan! I loved all the patio pics, but I have this sense that you “really” love Italian things! I think some of those pics were true Italian courtyards and they were my favourite. Especially the 4th and 2nd last picture. It’s funny, because when I was in Italy last year, I would often peek into people’s courtyards (if I could) and they were like a whole other world. You’d never know from the outside of an old building, that behind those ugly walls was an oasis of beauty. I think you have an eye for stying something like that where you are. I just noticed that I actually made two of your recipes last week for dinner! You give me so much inspiration and I love all of your recipes. Sounds like you have a lot of exciting things coming up in your life. Gosh…I wish I could come and work for you. i know I would love it! As for things I want to see you post…I don’t know. I like everything..I would have to say, my least favourite things is when you post drink recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I like a drink, but fancy drinks with a bunch of ingredients doesn’t interest me, but I know others like to see them, so that is no problem for me. I like the idea of Nikki b, some pickling or jam recipes would be interesting. Small batch ones would be nice. I always think if I do small batch one’s, you can have a huge variety of different things to try and not get stuck with of jars and jars of the same thing. I also like salad recipes that are a meal. Anyways..I’m not worried about what you do..I look forward to your posts every day! ?

    1. Thank you so much Colleen! Italy looks absolutely stunning, especially those courtyards! So glad you have been enjoying my recipes and I hope you continue to! I will try to incorporate more pickled things..I do not really do that much so it maybe a bit of a challenge! Thank you again! xTieghan

  12. It is strange to me that so many people request desert recipes from you. When I think of Tieghan, I think of COLOR and HEALTH, lot’s of veggies and unexpected twists, unusual combinations that make me say “Dah!! why didn’t I think of that?!” So for august I would love to see how you incorporate all those peaches and watermelons and cantaloupes into savory dishes 🙂 Also, of course more Instant Pot dishes– I love how quickly dinner comes together ( especially since school is starting again) but I am never quite satisfied with end-result ( the flavors are a big watery). Oh, and have you done any pickling/ jamming? I brought back from France most amazing Apricot Vanilla Bourbon jam idea and put it to life.. I want to faint every time I take a bite of that miracle

    1. OK WAIT… That jam sounds amazing and I would love to try it, if you want to share the recipe! Yum! But so glad you are loving my recipes and I hope I can create some dishes with summer fruits! xTieghan

  13. i always look forward to your nine favourite things!!! totally enjoyed reading it. and thank you for sharing: “you have to be OK being uncomfortable in order to grow. It’s not always easy, but the outcome is worth it”

    1. Yes! So glad you enjoyed this one, Sheenam! It is so hard to be uncomfortable, but when you think about it this way, it helps! xTieghan