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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

favorite things

5 on Friday: A few of my favorite things

August 16, 2013

Months ago I started this feature on the blog, mostly because I like lists. (I write stuff on lists just so I can cross them off.)

This week: five of my (current) favorite things.

1. Nutella. Or the knock-off Aldi brand of Nutella. I’m not a Nutella expert but the generic stuff is good. And maybe, just maybe, I’ve been eating it off a spoon while I wait for the bread to toast.

2. Cutthroat Kitchen. I’ve only seen one episode on Food Network, starring Alton Brown’s evil twin (not really, but the look he’s got going for this show makes him look less food-nerd and more evil mastermind), but I’m hooked. We have access to Food Network right now thanks to a cable deal we got when we moved, and it. is. dangerous.

#evilicious pic.twitter.com/dbJhHjlcG1

— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) August 12, 2013

3. Church. We’re having so much fun connecting with our new church community, and the kids are super comfortable with the teachers and other people they meet. This week, after watching a baptism at church, they baptized all their stuffed animals in a tub full of “baptist water.” (Not real water.) And at least once a week, they “play church.”

4. Aldi. I’ve sort of rediscovered this grocery store. Not only do they sell food cheap, they sell good food cheap, and they have a lot of variety. I can get orange crackers (think goldfish only in penguin shapes) that don’t have any artificial colors in them. And the aforementioned chocolate hazelnut spread. And goat cheese (don’t ask). I’m always amazed at the total bill. A cart load of groceries for half the cost of other grocery stores. Okay, Aldi endorsement done.

5. Country roads. I’ve never really considered myself a country girl. I grew up in town. It was a smallish town, but still in town as opposed to in the country. Where we live now is borderline: used to be country but now it’s developed. When traveling around, we have options–we can take the highway or we can take back roads through residential areas. About 90 percent of the time, I’m on the back roads, avoiding the highway and its stress, even if I could get somewhere 5 or 10 minutes faster. Maybe I’m really a country girl at heart. Or maybe I’m just getting old. (No offense, of course, to any “old” people I know. I’m embracing my inner geezer.)

Filed Under: 5 on Friday Tagged With: aldi, alton brown, church, community, cutthroat kitchen, discount groceries, driving in the country, favorite things, fellowship, nutella

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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