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Thanks for joining me for another Nine Favorite Things post.
Happy, Happy Sunday friends (trying something new, since I always say guys and it’s getting old)! Very excited for today’s favorite’s post. As you’ve all seen by now, we finally launched the new HBH site redesign. And while it came with a lot of hiccups (i.e issues). We are slowly but surely getting it to a good place and it feels so great!! It’s all thanks to my mom and our HBH team member, Margaret, who’ve been working insanely hard with our web developers to fix any issues and glitches. They’ve also been trying to follow up on the items you’ve all brought to our attention – thank you! It’s not perfect just yet, but it’s getting there.
With any new site launch, there are bound to be some problems. And while we tried to be so prepared, there were some issues we didn’t expect. Because of those back-end issues, last Saturday night was rough. We were so close to not even getting last Sunday’s favorites up. But somehow, we got most of the post up, though not all of it, which is why I’m excited for today’s post. We have lots of new product finds and so many fun links below to share!!
Also, I know so many of you have questions about the Recipe page, so I’m addressing all those below in Favorite #6. All in all, we hope you guys love the new redesign, but please, please, please, continue to send feedback. We’re trying our hardest to make the site work best for YOU guys 🙂
Alrighty, so that’s that! Now, onto this week! I’ve had back-to-back days of cooking and photographing, so honestly, nothing new there. We’ve had some slightly better weather, but it’s still what we call mud season here. So dark days with rain/snow, mixed in with sunshine…all in the same day. Yes, this can make for challenging photographs. Wednesday and Thursday were nicer, and my dad and Asher had the goats out in the fields. This is where they hang in the summer. They’ll roam and eat off of the grass and weeds in the fields. I love watching them out in the tall grass, it’s very peaceful.
Speaking of summer, my mom and Asher have officially started to plan our annual family summer vacation. We didn’t really get to do one last summer, so this summer everyone is even more excited. Asher is dying to head to the Caribbean and no one is complaining about that. She’s been actively looking at villas for the fam all week long.
I haven’t been on a vacay since our last family trip to Costa Rica and that trip was ummm, interesting. So beautiful…but we got robbed in the middle of the night, so, it was also a little freaky.
Asher is heading up the planning this year. Therefore, I know it’s going to be great. They are looking at Puerto Rico in case we can’t get Oslo’s passport in time. Do any of you know anything about Puerto Rico? Suggestions on where to go? Places to stay? Things to see? We’ve done Turks and Caicos (which was amazing), so I think they want all to try somewhere new. Would love to know your favorite Carribeean islands to visit! I’ve also never been to the British Virgin Islands, which I hear are amazing too. So many places to see!
question: is anyone else planning a fun summer vacation this year? I feel like so many of us are really excited for a summer of fun, I’d love to know what you all are planning!
All in, feeling pretty excited! Not so sure why, since I got some not so awesome news on Thursday (all is totally fine, I share more later, it’s nothing life-changing), but honestly, I’m just staying positive and focusing on all the good things, because I’m lucky to have SO many good things in my life! Hoping so much you guys are all feeling the same way today!
Ok, and lastly, coming up this week, I’ll be sharing lots of colorful recipes. A fun new pizza (do you guys enjoy my pizza recipes or do I share too many?). A sandwich that’s going to be great for late spring and summer picnics. And then a sweet recipe I’m really excited about. It involves blueberries for any of you who’d like to take some wild guesses!
Enjoy today’s favorites and have a great Sunday!!
1. Things I’m Loving, Wanting, and Excited to Try…
watching…You Again – well, my mom and Asher watched it. It’s an oldie (2010), but they really enjoyed it. They said my dad even laughed a few times. But, he also fell asleep too, soo…
cooking…garlic butter creamed corn chicken. I found some early-season corn, so I’m making my favorite Sunday skillet dinner.
loving…the Gray Malin: The Essential Collection Book. This is the prettiest photography book full of travel destinations, people, animals, and so much more. It’s BIG…and so beautiful. Perfect for your coffee table.
watching…Kendall Jenner Opens Up About Her Anxiety. As someone who struggles a lot with anxiety, I could really relate to this.
listening to… How To Unlock Your Full Potential & Creativity with artist Jason Naylor on The Skinny Confidential podcast. I didn’t think I would enjoy this, but I listened anyway and took away so many valuable tips.
loving…my peonies!! I’m not usually the biggest peony fan, but these spring blooms are just so pretty. I can’t get over how beautiful they blossomed (photo above).
ordered…this dipping bowl set from AERIN. I use dipping bowls all the time, but for some reason, I can never find ones I love. I’m excited to see what these look like in person.
loving…this HUNZA G lavender ribbed bikini. so cute. I love the ribbing. Also, all of Jade Swim’s suites are so cute right now.
ordered…apple air pods for my mom. I use my air pods religiously, so I”m really excited for her to give these a try!
loving…the Necessarie body ritual set. This is my go-to beauty set. I use their body wash and body lotion daily. If you want to try the set, you can use my code Tieghan10 for 10% off your order.
drinking…a spicy pineapple mint margarita. My new favorite drink for summer.
loving…these tumblers picked up last year from Williams-Sonoma. I get so many questions about these, which is funny because they’re really basic, but yet I love them too. I have them in all three sizes, but the extra small tumblers are my favorite for cocktails.
thinking of ordering…these old-fashioned glasses. I have the double old-fashioned glass, which is huge. I think these would be a perfect size.
weekend getaway…Auberge resort in Napa. If I lived in California, I’d head here for a weekend stay. It looks so nice.
listening to…Fleetwood Mac on repeat. I stumbled across their album on Spotify and have been listening to it on repeat. Also, I’m loving Spotify right now. They make it so easy to find new music and listen to my favorite podcasts.
loving…Treehouse Provisions – I recently told you about The Mohicans Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue. I’m now loving their newest venture, Treehouse Provisions. A completely virtual restaurant with amazing high-quality restaurant food. 90% of their orders come in through their “order now” buttons across all of their social profiles. Pick up your order in just minutes, or have it delivered…thinking we’ll be seeing more Treehouse Provisions all around the country!
2. My favorite Recipes with a Flora Touch to Them.
Blackberry Lavender Naked Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream
Strawberry Hibiscus Ginger Margarita
Bursting Blueberry Lemon Thyme Tarts
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Blackberry Lavender White Chocolate Scones
Swirled Blueberry Lemon Thyme Cake
3. Vases for Spring/Summer Flowers…
4. Favorite Questions of the Week.
q: How do you keep your spices organized?
a: I don’t! It’s a mess and I spend 5 minutes looking for something deep in the back every single day…it’s not pretty ?
q: Where do you buy your flowers? So gorgeous!
a: Terrain has the best selection, so I order from them a lot. And these are their ranunculus for everyone asking
q: How did you get such a super big following? What was the one thing?
a: it wasn’t one big thing, it’s been 8 1/2 years of build-up. I think people think things are an overnight success with a blog or social accounts, but we’ve grown naturally over the years. Nothing skyrocketed our numbers other than quality and consistent content.
q: What food isn’t worth the effort to make at home and easier to grab at the store?
a: I’d have to say marinara sauce because Rao’s Homemade is sooo good. Followed by croissants. I do make them homemade every now and then but it’s a heck of a lot easier to just grab them at the store.
q: Do you ever deal with imposter syndrome?
a: pretty much every single day. I’m harder on myself than anyone. I’m working on it but it’s not easy.
q: New! What’s your story? Are you a sibling, parent, living at home? Love your food!
a: I’m a sibling! I grew up with 5 brothers. Then my mom had my little sister, Asher when I was 15. That made us a family of 9…but my parents just adopted my little brother Oslo. So I now have 6 brothers and 1 little sister. My parents have been together since my mom was 15. I started cooking for the family in middle school to help get dinner on the table before 9 pm. I ended up loving it so much I just never stopped.
q: What would you be doing if you were not cooking?
a: if I wasn’t cooking, I’d work in fashion. Styling is my favorite and I love anything fashion-related, I always have. I’m a very, very visual person.
q: Are your countertops quartzite? They inspired my choice!
a: my island is quartzite and I love it sooo much. My black counters along the wall are soapstone in marine black.
q: Do you ever eat raw cookie dough when making cookies?
a: always, always!!!! What kind of question is that?!? Doesn’t everyone???
q: Is your office/studio different from your home? How far away are they from each other?
a: yes! We have a studio and then I also have my barn/house. They’re both are on the same property. This is the field in between my house and the studio.
q: Favorite pare of your job versus the hardest part?
a: 100% it’s our HBH fam/community!! You guys all feel like family at this point and I LOVE getting to share my life/recipes with you guys every day. Being able to create and be creative every single day is the best!!
The hardest part is almost always being “on” because of social. It can be a lot to keep up with. But still, I love it. I’m not someone who does well with nothing to do.
q: What do you wear on your feet all day in the kitchen?
a: usually just a pair of Ugg slippers (I can’t find my exact ones, but these are similar). I also LOVE these APL sneakers. I’ve bought them 5 times over now, no joke. They are the best.
q: You have the best clothes! Where do you mostly shop?
a: my favorites are Shopbop, Revolve, and And Other Stories. Between the 3 they’ve got pretty much everything I need/want and fast easy shipping!
Other favs include Nordstrom, Netaporter, Forward, Free People, Alo (my favorite leggings and active sets ever), and Reformation.
5. Inspiring me on Pinterest…
6. How To Use Our New Recipe Page and Box.
We’ve had a lot of questions regarding our new recipe page, which allows you to save recipes to your very own HBH Recipe Box! It’s going to be a really great feature but it has a few kinks we’re currently working to fix.
If you had saved recipes on the old version of our site, some or all of your recipes may now be missing…or may disappear once you go to save a new recipe. We’re working with our developer to troubleshoot this issue and recover those old recipes. We’re so sorry for this inconvenience. I know many of you have hundreds of recipes saved, and we want you to know, we’re working hard to recover them.
In the meantime, you can use our Recipe Index to source older recipes and add them to your new Recipe Box. Also, be sure not to clear the cookies from your web browser. We may be able to recover the old recipes once we get a fix. If you haven’t cached your browser (or cleared your cookies) they should still be saved on the device you use to read HBH. So please stay tuned!
And lastly, if you haven’t made an account for a Recipe Box yet, be sure to do so! Once you’re logged in, we recommend saving your recipe titles into a Google or Word doc (just in case) until we have a fix.
Please reach out to contact@halfbakedharvest.com if you have any questions or trouble accessing your Recipe Box. Thanks for bearing with us as we work through some of these issues.
7. Favorite Links I’m Loving…
Step Inside Miley Cyrus’s Beautifully Boisterous Los Angeles Home…designed by her mom, Tish.
The Swim Trend You Wore in Middle School Is Cool Again…here for the tankini.
The 21 Best Online Home Décor Brands Around…such a fan of so many of these, especially Zara Home.
Attention 20-Somethings, Here’s Why You Should Be Using Retinol…started using this retinol a couple of months ago and it’s a game-changer.
15 Light Pasta Recipes Are Basically Summer on a Plate…so many good ones.
15 Self-Tanning Lotions for People Who Think They Hate Self-Tanning Lotions…my pale body really needs these before I spend any time in a bathing suit.
2021’s Trendiest Outdoor Decor…love the idea of an outdoor patio and so many of these pieces are beautiful.
Beauty Editors Choose Their #1 Tatcha Product…love Tatcha products and each of these products too.
The Surprising Fruit Salad Ingredient That’ll Keep Your Colorful Bowl From Going Brown…a squeeze of lemon goes a long way.
7 Historic NYC Buildings Transformed Into One-of-a-Kind Condos…such pretty city homes.
13 Books That Will Give You Travel Vibes…wow, so many incredible destinations.
A Quick-Assembly Greenhouse…for those of you looking to start up that summer garden.
12 Beautiful Restaurants Designed by Celebrity Decorators…very pretty spaces.
10 TikTok Beauty Hacks That Makeup Artists Actually Use…for the beauty lovers out there.
A 6 Step Process To Manage Your Energy (Not Just Your Time)…some really great tips.
Suspended 115 Feet in the Air, the World’s First Floating Pool Is Unveiled in London…wow, so stunning and cool.
Affordable Basics Come From These 9 Brands…I’m such a basics girl.
Top 10 Best Beaches In The Caribbean…gathering ideas.
8. Easy, Casual Spring/Summer Dresses…
9. This Week’s Dinners + Favorite Weekend Eats…
Monday: 20 Minute Stir Fried Honey Ginger Sesame Noodles
Tuesday: Greek Chicken Chopped Salad with Lemon Tahini Vinaigrette
Wednesday: 15 Minute Cajun Hot Honey Butter Shrimp
Thursday: Baked Cheddar Pesto Egg Boats
Friday: Spicy Zucchini Ricotta Lasagna with Oregano Breadcrumbs
Saturday: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp Cereal
Sunday: Layered Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuits with Salted Honey Butter
Playing catch-up with reading this one, as the past few days have been busy including searching for my lost cat, which has been upsetting and I miss her so much.
On a lighter note, I love the Caribbean and would highly recommend Barbados. I have been there twice. The best time to visit is January to March, however apart from hurricane season, I imagine that any other time of the year is equally as good a time to visit. There is lots to see and do and the beaches are amazing, so is the food. The golf courses are also good, in case any of your family are golfers.
I also enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures of Miley Cyrus’ home that her mum designed.
Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂
Hey Colleen,
Thanks so much for reading today! So sorry to hear about your cat, I hope you can find her soon! Thanks for the travel recommendations, this is super helpful! Have a good Wednesday! xTieghan
Hello!
I agree with another commenter that being able to add notes to the saved recipes in our recipe box would be awesome! I love your site, thanks for all of your hard work!
Amanda
Hey Amanda,
To add notes to a recipe collection, click on the collection name, then click “Add Item”. In the Add item dropdown choose “Add Note”. Type your note in the “Note” box. You can then drag and drop your note into your collection. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Headed to Disneyland this summer and so looking forward to it! And definitely keep the pizza recipes coming please. I’ve tried at least 5 of your recipes and all of them winners! Not sure if this is doable, but is it possible to create a *note* section within the saved recipes? Like if I want to jot the date I made a recipe and what everyone thought of it and if I tweaked it a bit?
Hi, where to begin… Not only have I planned a getaway, but I have just started it. My husband and I are in Thailand for a month. Unfortunately 14 of those are in a mandatory quarentine for all foreigners, but it will be worth it. We have a place here that we haven’t been able to go to in over a year because of the pandemic. Looking forward to making your recipes here once out of quarentine. I know Thailand is on your list of places you want to go and I highly recommend it. We started coming here in 2006 and fell in love with it. Next, I don’t love Puerto Rico. I mean it’s fine for a quick getaway but nothing special. I have been there a few times and recommend the Dorado, a Ritz Carlton hotel. It is beautiful place to stay. Have you thought of going to the US Virgin Islands instead, if your parents can’t get Oslo his passport in time? That is a much better option in my opinion. In terms of favorite Caribbean Islands, I would have to say Turks and Caicos and St. Lucía. On to pizza, love pizza, keep the recipes coming. I can never have too much pizza. Lastly, my husband and I loved the Auberge resort in Napa. I highly recommend it. If you get the chance I would definitely go.
Hey Lisa,
Thanks so much for reading today and your kind message! Wow, Thailand sounds amazing, enjoy your time there! Thanks for your feedback on Puerto Rico, yes the Virgin Islands are definitely on our minds as well! I really appreciate all of your travel recommendations! xTieghan
Hey Alicia,
Thanks so much for reading today, Disneyland sounds like a blast! So glad you are enjoying the pizza recipes, yes you can add notes to a recipe, the instructions for this are listed above under #6. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Regarding #6 (recipe box)…how do we save items into the collection we want?
Hey Sandie,
You will just click “save recipe” which is located above each ingredient list. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Puerto Rico can be one of the most magical places if you go to the right places. We stayed in the El Yunque rainforest at Casa Flamboyant. The views are incredible, you can walk to the waterfall and the hosts are very lovely people. https://www.casaflamboyantpr.com/
If you can, we took a short flight to the island of Vieques for a few nights to explore the bioluminescent bay. It used to be one of the brightest in the world. I haven’t checked since the hurricane. Kayaking at night is wonderful as the water lights up bright blue as your paddles hit the water and you see the fish flicker by. There are also a lot of beautiful beaches that are shallow and you can snorkel from. Do carry your belongings with you, theft can be an issue. We were told to stay away from La Perla due to crime. I hope you find it as enjoyable as we did!
Hey Lisa,
Thanks so much for reading and your thoughtful message. Will definitely check out this Puerto Rico recommendation, thanks for sharing! We really appreciate your feedback! xTieghan
I wouldn’t recommend Puerto Rico. My family and I visited a few years ago and the inhumane treatment of animals, in particular dogs, by the locals made us sick. Many are abandoned or taken out and shot (it’s true, you can Google it; unfortunately, we found out too late). Additionally, there were stray and starving dogs at all the beaches we visited (and kids throwing rocks and sand at them). We’re animal lovers and were distraught by our experience. We stayed in a boutique hotel in downtown San Juan to experience local life and we weren’t impressed nor did we feel safe the entire time. Downtown San Juan was touristy – lots of little convenience stores and cruise ship passengers. If you go, staying at an all-inclusive fancy resort might be the best option. For us, we do not plan to ever go back.
Hey Sally,
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your feedback on Puerto Rico. This is quite shocking to hear and I can understand where you are coming from. Thanks again for the insight! xTieghan
Any chance you can add calorie counts to your recipes?
Hey Marty,
The estimated calorie counts are listed above the list of ingredients. Please let me know if you are still unable to locate these! xTieghan
Where were you in Costa Rica that you got robbed? I am here now!
Hey Kristi,
We stayed near Playa Hermosa. I’m sure you will have a great time! xTieghan
Yes please- more pizza recipes! I’m planning on doing a pizza on the grill every Saturday night this summer. I’ll have all my favorites, plus try new ones that way!
Hey Krissy,
So glad you have been enjoying the pizza recipes, I’ll keep them coming! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan,
Firstly, let me say that’s a super cool website redo didn’t remember that it was in the works. I logged in and i was bit surprised. I love the idea of a recipe box being able to save any that I love, have made or want to try. Next let me give you big kudos and love for that stuffed French Toast. When I saw you share it I was so proud as it was something different outside the box I felt. What gave you the vision for that amazing recipe?? I was intent to make it as soon as I saw the recipe. For Mothers Day I made it for a mom friend and she said it was insanely delicious. It smelled great i was making it as well. Although, I did learn why you say to make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature. It just doesn’t work otherwise get’s real lumpy and not smooth won’t spread easily. Secondly, even after buttering my cookie sheet the croissants stuck to them not pretty. Thirdly, I had a bit of a conundrum when plating it for transport. I wanted it to look perfect so I did my plating very similar to how u did it or that was my intent at least. In transport it didn’t look as great as I’d hoped but she loved it so good enough for me. I’ll look to send you the pictures. My inspiration comes from cooking for others that’s what motivates me a lot! I needed more of your recipes so I went and picked up your first cook book again. I’ll be searching through that for even more inspiration. Lastly, I’ve looked at so many blogs and as a whole very few come close to being as good as you are. When I was working for a caterer I showed my chef many of your recipes. I asked him to consider adding some of your recipes to our menu choices. Trust me some of our menu items needed to be refreshed and updated. In my opinion no better person to turn to then you. Thanks for the inspiration and hope i get to meet you in person one day that’d be amazing! Here’s hoping you have a great week. 🙂
Hey Mike,
Thanks so much for reading today and your thoughtful message! I’m glad you have been enjoying the new site. The inspo for the French toast was definitely my mom and sister, thanks so much for giving it a try! I hope you love the cookbook and everything you make. I truly appreciate you being here! Have a great week! xTieghan
Glad you are thinking of Puerto Rico for a vacation. My grandson lives in the southeastern portion of the island. I haven’t visited but would love to see it. I have made the Blackberry scones listed in you blackberry/blueberry section several times and they are to die for!!
Hey Kitty,
Thanks for reading today! I will let you know if we land on Puerto Rico, how awesome that your grandson lives there! Thanks for giving the scones a try:) xTieghan
Pro tip make sure everyone’s passports are up to date and depending on the country you are going to your passport might need to have a certain amount of time on it to be able to enter the said country! (For example in Turks and Caicos you have to have 3 months on your passport to be able to enter. ) Just figured I’d give a little pro-tip, in case anyone is coming up on their expiration of their passports.
Hey Taylor,
Thanks so much for this tip, such an easy thing to forget about!! Have a great week. xTieghan
yes, on pizza…never too many recipes for pizza. I make one about once a week.
Thanks so much Joyce!! xTieghan
I love the Pinterest inspirations this week!! I’m going to post a few of them on social media and spread the positivity!
Also, I love the Pinterest button on the revamped site for saving the recipes! I can’t wait until my next brunch to make the Baked Cheddar Pesto Egg Boats. ?
Thanks so much for your kind message Mikella! I hope you love the egg boats, let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
I scrolled all the way to the bottom before reading the whole post to write, THERE WILL NEVER BE TOO MANY PIZZA RECIPES. hahaha, please keep sharing!
Lol thanks so much Jenn!! xTieghan