“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Baking Lisa Hemmerle Baking Lisa Hemmerle

Christmas Cookies

As you can tell from my other blog posts, I love baking. So holiday baking is one of my favorite activities. I get to really experiment and bust out new recipes too. Finding great recipes is tricky. There are so many blogs out there, it can be overwhelming. So this post is really designed to help you take the work out of it, because I’ve tried all these recipes with success.

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Food & Recipes, Food Lisa Hemmerle Food & Recipes, Food Lisa Hemmerle

to brine or not to brine? that is a question.

Let’s be honest. Turkey doesn’t taste like much. Okay, I expect some hate here. I didn’t say I don’t like turkey. In fact, I love it but let’s be honest, like a lot of pasta and most tofu, turkey is a delivery system for better tasting stuff, like gravy and cranberry sauce. If you don’t cook it right, turkey is a gamey, dry-ass bird with no flavor. I feel like there are two methods: dry-brining/basting, or brining.

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Crafts, Halloween, Holidays Lisa Hemmerle Crafts, Halloween, Holidays Lisa Hemmerle

dolores and zolores (the ghost sisters of Halloween)

Dolores is a “ghost” I created a few years ago to continue building our outdoor Halloween decor. When I decided to make a second Dolores or Dolores V2, I figured I would name her another old fashioned name, like Gwendolyn or Gertrude. Alas, my 8 year old had an opinion, and decided we should name her Zolores. The rest is, as they say, history.

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Shopping, Beauty Lisa Hemmerle Shopping, Beauty Lisa Hemmerle

target beauty finds I love

I fully admit I love makeup products. After many years of being a diehard Sephora fan, COVID, which kept me away from big malls, led me to hitting the Target for some products. Here’s a collection of hits and a few misses over the last year.

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Renovation & Home Decor Lisa Hemmerle Renovation & Home Decor Lisa Hemmerle

saving on electricity

I just received an email notification from National Grid, our electricity provider, that our electric bill is about to jump over last year’s winter bill by 63%. SIXTY-THREE F’N PERCENT. Here’s a few immediate things, and a few long-term things you can do to lower your monthly electric bill. Some are obvious, some might be things you haven’t thought of yet.

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Halloween, Holidays, Crafts Lisa Hemmerle Halloween, Holidays, Crafts Lisa Hemmerle

halloween

Anyone who knows me, or is one of our neighbors, knows my husband and I LOVE Halloween. Using the word “love” here. Even before we had a kiddo to celebrate with us, we had parties, decorating, visited Salem, MA and generally enjoyed Halloween. Now, with a kid, it’s even more fun. With the addition of getting costumes, trick or treating, giving out candy in a great trick or treat neighborhood, and “booing” which I didn’t know was a thing until 2020, it’s such a blast! 

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Gardening, Outdoors Lisa Hemmerle Gardening, Outdoors Lisa Hemmerle

checklist for fall

I’m in New England, and like nearly all New Englanders, I love fall. Though I am always sad to say goodbye to the beautiful long, hot days of summer, the suddenly crisp cool air is something I get excited about. Not only is it an opportunity to decorate a bit, which I love, it’s an opportunity to get the house, indoors and outdoors, ready for winter.

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