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Thanks for joining me for another Nine Favorite Things post.
After all the excitement from last week’s big wedding, it actually felt good to jump back into a regular workweek. Oh man, hosting a 200 person wedding is certainly a big undertaking…and I didn’t even do that much! The bride, the groom, and the parents did the majority of the work. And thankfully, we had cleaners at the barn all day on Sunday. By Monday morning 90% percent of the clean-up/put back together had been complete. It’s safe to say that come Sunday evening everyone was pretty tired…but also so happy! The wedding was beautiful and everyone had an amazing time. Even the cakes I was so nervous about seemed to go over well. I don’t think we could have asked for it to turn out any better. More wedding details below.
I am such a creature of habit, so it was nice to have my workspace back. And me being me, I jumped right back into things. I’m currently working to get ahead in preparation for the launch of HBH Super Simple in just over a month. I finally received the very first hard copy this week, and you guys?
I AM SO EXCITED!
It’s always nerve-racking to open up the first hard copy, but even though I had my worries, the cookbook looks better than I thought it could. I officially can’t wait until October 29th when I get to share the book with you guys. The other day I gave you all a big sneak peek inside on Instagram. I am so nervous to release this book, but my fingers are crossed in hopes that everyone loves it! Keep your eyes peeled for some bonus material coming very, very soon!
In other news, my parents helped my younger brother Red to set up his new house out in Tahoe this week. It’s so fun to see Red growing up and taking on new responsibilities. Word on the street is that the family is spending Thanksgiving there. That should be interesting with our crew. I’m so excited for him, I hear the house is pretty cool.
Coming up this week on HBH, we’ll be kicking off the official start to autumn with truly my most favorite salad recipe yet. Next, we’ll move on to the first pumpkin dish of the year. Then a super cozy vegetarian take on a classic comfort food, and a bowl of healthy soup. We’ll finish up the week in the best way possible, with cake! Lastly, on Saturday we’ll have our first Halloween cocktail.
Nothing not to love!
If you’re catching up on blog posts from the week, please sign up for our daily newsletters. They’ll help you to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on Half Baked Harvest. And of course, if you’re meal planning today, don’t forget to check out my menu below (it’s #9 on the favorite’s list).
What are your Sunday plans? Is anyone apple picking?
1. All the Wedding Weekend Photos.
You guys have been asking and asking for these photos all week long and I finally have them for you! These are not the photographers, just my own personal photos that I snapped on my phone throughout the weekend!
(Brendan and Lyndsie the Thursday before the wedding)
(Asher and Merle)
(Red and Hailey)
(all the cakes!)
(chocolate peanut butter cake)
(lemon coconut cake)
(fridge before the wedding)
(getting ready!)
(before the craziness)
(moments before)
(and they are married!)
(Amber and I swapping photos)
(all the cakes and cupcakes)
(leftover flowers)
(the cutest little Lake Berry)
PS. since everyone on Instagram has been asking, hands down, the favorite cake was the chocolate peanut butter layer cake. Second place was the chai pumpkin, and third was the lemon coconut.
Question: what would have been YOUR favorite cake? Dying to know!
2. My Favorite Fall Cocktails…
Because fall is my favorite season to share new cocktails!
the half blood prince cocktail
spiced persimmon bourbon old fashioned
PS. who’s excited for this year’s Halloween cocktails? New one coming Saturday!
3. My Favorite Pieces from Sèzane fall Collection…
4. Questions of the Week:
q: How did you and your siblings get your names? Love the uniqueness.
a: That’s all my moms doing! She’s always loved unique names and said that she looked at tons of baby name books to find our names. Other than that there isn’t a meaning behind any of our names…which are Creighton, Trevor, Brendan, Malachi (Kai), Tieghan (me!), Redmond (Red), and Asher.
Fun fact 2: Asher was going to be named Zeppelin until my grandfather vetoed it. And thank God because Asher is very much Asher!!
q: Do you go shopping for yourself or do you have someone else do it?
a: I rarely do the grocery shopping. It’s normally my dad, who works with us at HBH, who does most of the shopping! I make a detailed list and he shops. He has all the produce guys on favorites, and they call him when something cool comes in.
q: How do you stay motivated to create?
a: Honestly? At this point, a lot of my motivation is driven by you all! I feel so lucky to have such an incredible community and I love providing for YOU guys. It excites me and makes me so happy when you all love a recipe I share!! Also, I really love what I do. I love creating recipes, I love styling food, and I love making things look pretty! And I’m just a driven person. I have a pretty clear vision of what I want and I’m not one to give up easily so I keep pushing forward!!
q: What’s your favorite flower?
a: Currently loving dahlias SO much. I also love ranunculus!!
q: How many KitchenAid mixers do you have?
a: Ummmm….1,2,3,4,5
5. Newest Videos:
Weeknight 30 Minute Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs…if you’re looking for a cozy curry, this one is so GOOD.
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar and Zucchini Soup…healthier than the average broccoli cheddar soup, easy, and so delicious.
6. Just a little THANK YOU!
I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone. Your outpouring of kindness, support, and love makes working every day easy, and not feel like work at all. And I love so much seeing your Instagram photos. It’s certainly one of the favorites parts of my day!
7. A Few Links I Am Loving…
Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman reveal their California country home…and it’s so pretty. love that la cornue range.
4 easy ways to clean up your Instagram feed…and reasons why you should.
Ina Garten shows off her garden just in time for fall…it’s my dream to have a garden like this.
the best Providence restaurants…for your fall foliage road trip.
this buttery, herb-infused pasta dish…looks and sounds so good.
the best podcasts we’re listening to now…some new ones to try.
55 best fall porch decorating ideas…all so cute. what’s your favorite porch? I especially liked #2 and #22.
28 best kids Halloween movies on Netflix…I honestly love Halloween so much.
3 reasons to get out of town this weekend…if you have the fall travel bug.
7 changes to make in your office if you want to be better at your job… I surely love a clear desk.
a rare Frank Lloyd Wright house in New Hampshire is for sale…and it is so unique.
these one-pot dinner recipes will save your busy weeknights…yes please.
25 famous women on how they get their best ideas…an inspiring read.
13 things anyone can do to get glowing skin by Monday…if your skin needs a reset.
so, you’re building your first team… here are 5 things to know before you do.
Jennifer Lopez just walked the Versace runway…wearing that Versace dress.
Kate tries the 5 am club…so you don’t have to.
Kourtney Kardashian’s kids’ new playhouse is a childhood fantasy… I mean? it’s a house. with real windows.
8. All the Fall Handbags I am Loving…
9. This Week’s Dinners:
Monday: healthy chipotle chicken sweet potato skins
Tuesday: miso dumpling soup with autumn squash
Wednesday: slow cooker french wine and mustard chicken
Thursday: caramelized onion, spinach, and cheddar flaky pastries
Friday: creamy butternut squash alla vodka pasta
Finally, check out all the past Nine Favorite Things posts here.
The wedding cakes were so BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you Molly! xTieghan
Lemon Coconut Cake! I love anything lemon and I love coconut cake! Great video of your barn.
Thank you Linda! xTieghan
Thank you Tieghan for sharing your life and joys with us once more. Seems like a marvelous wedding and these Tieghan-signature-cakes, mon Dieu ! I hope all the stress is wearing off, like Sue I sometimes worry about you. All this work and energy, the social medias, the books… yes you are passionate about it all but don’t forget your life in the midst of it. Time flies by sweetheart, friends, lovers, journeys build a life too. Don’t be afraid to let go once in a while, your blog won’t disappear and your faithful fans won’t either. XX.
Thank you so much Anaïs! You are so kind. The stress is definitely going away, and I am trying to take more breaks for myself! Thanks again! xTieghan
I’ve been craving cake so badly lately and this post got me motivated to make one! All your cakes are stunning as always!
Thank you so much Faith! xTieghan
wait is there a limit to comments under each post ? I think my previous comment got lost xD
Red having a house in Tahoe, living my life’s dream since birth that boy is :'( (happy tears) I live in Cali my whole life and always dreamed of living in Tahoe, but was left with going almost every weekend instead xD now I’ve lived all across Europe at the ripe old age of 22 and my next step is hopefully Canada since I ended up not going to uni there…Tahoe always has a place in my heart tho, it’s my place <3
Ok wow that sounds like an amazing life still! So adventurous! Thank you for sharing Natala! xTieghan
I guess I have to get fresh nutmeg and check my syrup supply! Your cakes are beautiful and I need to make the pumpkin chai cake. I have to look at a conversion chart because I need a 9 x 13 cale
I found your blog just before the Olympics and was so excited that your brother won the first gold medal for the USA. The timing was amazing in that I didn’t have a particular sport or athlete on my radar before your blog, then was excited when I realized that it was your brother winning the first gold medal for the USA.
Thank you so much Nan! I hope you love some of my cake recipes! xTieghan
Where in the world did you find the Halloween stemless glasses with the silver skeleton hand holding the glass? I MUST HAVE A SET OF THOSE! Actually, I have adult children and dear friends who don’t know it yet, but they’re also dying to own a set of those glasses.
By the way, I’m fairly new to your webpage, and I’m now a total addict. I’ve purchased your first book, and I’m hoping there will be a pre-buy of your second book. You do amazing work, and I thought I was pretty darn good. You win, hands down!
Hi Betty! I actually bought them a few years ago on crate and barrel! xTieghan
As a 50+ yr old mother I have said to my husband a few times- I worry about Tieghan- she is doing soooo much- she needs “ me time”. Your unparalleled food creativity and presentation is what got us all hooked; but then now as well I am sure many also love following the life of your diverse and interesting family and adventures. So in terms of maintain your business, these are the things in my opinion you should prioritize. When you started doing your nine favorite things, I thought how does she find the time?
You could get help with that or just drop parts altogether- especially the favorite links bit as that must take forever .You could change that posting to a more vague description like “What I loved this week” and just put in a few family updates and seasonal recipe mentions and other random stuff that you do- but less content
, not setting nine things as the goal, and listing One favorite link instead of nine etc.
Regarding responding, it is tough as we love to get responses and it is your connection to your “clients” and to have none would make it less satisfying on both ends. I
I think turning off the ability to direct message you on IG and FB is important and then what I have seen other bloggers do is just respond to the first ten or so responses by fans. Personally I think this is better than hiring someone /setting an auto response that says the same thing to every single poster. Too impersonal .
Hope that helps!.
This does help. Thank you so much Sue! It makes me smile hearing that you think about my well being! You are so sweet! Thank you again! xTieghan
The cakes look lovely and iIimagine tasted divine.
I have a little tip you might know but if not, here goes. I noticed all the unfrosted cakes had the center “dip” and had to be leveled.
I recently started using cakes strips on my pans and they work like a charm…really amazing. The cakes bake up totally flat so there is no need to level. The strips are adjustable so they can be adapted fpr any size pan. It is even possible to make DIY strips with foil and wet paper towels but honestly, purchasing them is so much less of a hassle. They are soaked for a few minutes befor applied to the pan and that is it. I have baked tons of cakes over many years and these things are truly wonderful.
Amazing! The cakes turned out so well and I am so grateful for that! Thank you Nancy! xTieghan
Everything looked so beautiful!!! I love the cake.
Thank you so much Mari! xTieghan
Loved getting to see wedding pictures. Looks like it was such a fun time for you all. The cakes were beautiful although not as beautiful as the bride! I so enjoy reading all your posts and especially your favorite things. Along with success comes learning to let things go or give some control up otherwise you won’t be able to put out the quality of posts, recipes, etc. you really want. I think most of us don’t really expect a response from you, at least not personally, but are thrilled when we do. I see such a great future for you and won’t be surprised to see you on the Food Network one of these days. Keep doing what you’re doing.
It was so amazing and special! Thank you so much for all of these kind words, Deb! xTieghan
I would for sure like lemon coconut cake. Love those flavors together or alone. Thanks for sharing. Cakes looked great.
Thank you Charlotte! xTieghan
I love this post so much and I truly appreciate you sharing everything going on in your life (the food, the fam, your work + being real about struggles). The cakes looked simply amazing. I would kill for a slice of the chocolate peanut butter ☺️ Haha
Is there budget to hire someone to join HBH to manage some of your online content? I ask because this is what many busy professionals (in the public eye) do! I would kill for that job! Haha
Anyways, I’m sure it will all work out. Set boundaries. Answer the critical posts when you can, but also don’t be afraid to let some go.
All the best Tieghan! I am so excited for your cookbook!
Thank you so much Becca! As of now, I am not sure if we will hire on more, but I will look into the position!! I hope you love the book! xTieghan
Thank you for sharing another great post about your nine fav things. I look forward to them every Sunday. The link that you shared for building your first ever team is exactly what I needed to read as I have been thinking of hiring a couple of people for my blog and also going through the same struggle as you – how to let go of some control. It is really getting difficult for me as I am an obsessive planner and love to do things on my own. May be if you get some tips from others, please do share them in your next 9FT post. Eagerly waiting for your book release on Amazon India. Also bookmarked the coconut curry chickpea recipe from your blog to make tonight for the fam – it is to funny that in India we eat chickpea curry at least once or twice a month and still never thought of doing a coconut based curry for it. Cant wait 😀
Hi Sheenam! I am so glad that could help you and I wish you the best with hiring! Also, so glad you are excited for the book, can’t wait for you all to see it! xTieghan