– So yesterday a certain recipe came to my attention. And y’all, I jumped in my chair when I saw it. YOU HAVE TO SEE IT, TOO (I mean, clearly Snickers would make it even better, but still).

– And this recipe? Just hand me a fork and we’ll call it supper.

– Over at all access, I’m talking about a conspiracy.

– And for all you Office fans: Andy Bernard Presents: A Tour of Schrute Farms

– “Saying No: The Essential Gesture of Stewardship”

– Poor Shaw-awn (oh, how this cracks me up).

– “Listening in the Pauses” – absolutely beautiful.

– 5 Minutes for Giveaways – a brand new site that’s chock-full-o-giveaways.

– The Mother Letter Project – y’all, this is such a sweet idea. You have to check this out – it’s one of the most wonderful things a husband could ever do for his wife. Absolutely precious. (via Shannon)

– Jack Bauer is back. For one night only.

(At least until January.)

– As part of my quest to use as much cream cheese as possible between now and the end of the year, last night I made these appetizers for Bible study. They are so pretty and so delicious.

I do, however, make a few changes to the recipe: 1) I trim the crust off the bread slices and then cut the slices in half – you get more mileage out of your bread that way. 2) I don’t use horseradish; I use a cup of mayonnaise instead. 3) I put a little piece of crisp bacon on top of each mini-sandwich. 4) I use dried dill instead of fresh dill because I think it’s pretty to sprinkle it all over a serving plate.

And these are so great as “big” sandwiches, too – the cold tomato and the soft egg and the crispy bacon are deeeee-lightful together.

The end.

– Heather’s eye make-up always looks fab. My eye make-up, on the other hand, always looks like I took one color and haphazardly rubbed it all over my eyelids, primarily because that is exactly what I do. Anyway, in the ten months I’ve known sweet Heather I’ve often found myself wondering how she gets such great results from her eye shadow…and now I know. I think my life is forever changed. I could not be more delighted.

– Lesson #1 when you’re a CEO asking for billions of bailout dollars: consider taking a commercial flight.

– This won’t be a huge surprise, but this CD right here is a musical highlight of 2008 for me. For real(s).

– The Nester has written a great post on how to create wonderful Christmas garland. She starts with one of those little skinny strands of garland you find in a discount store, but her finished product looks like something straight out of a magazine. Gorgeous.

– And since we’re already on the subject of Christmas, here’s a little something to think about before you run out and buy loads of gift cards for your friends and family.

– Finally, here’s a very easy – and meaningful – way to encourage families of deployed soldiers over the holidays.

– Now I know I had an opinion or three about the Southern Living magazine re-design (and I’m getting better with it, I really am…it’s starting to feel like home again). But I have always loved SL recipes – they are consistently go-to classics. And when I rediscovered this recipe, I vowed and declared that it would make an appearance at our Thanksgiving dinner, oh praise the Lord.

– Okay. I totally caved. Because I just finished this book. And I’m about to start this one. And I was all prepared to be ambivalent and maybe even roll my eyes a little bit but DADGUMMIT, I JUMPED STRAIGHT ON THE BANDWAGON, y’all. So if all goes as planned, I’ll finish the whole set by the weekend.

– And then I’ll see the movie. Not that I’m obsessive or anything.