Every Friday, Rob and Ender and I wake up a little early and walk to the coffee shop in our neighborhood. It's my favorite part of the week.

So I'm sitting here with my laptop, on the couch with my coffee, looking forward to a weekend of sleeping in and Christmas decorations and a few breweries with friends. This time of year is so beautiful and complex: there's something really sad about the holidays for me sometimes, and I'm not sure why. We lost Rocky almost two years ago and I always think about him even more than usual around this time. My parents are moving, I have my first MRI scheduled, and life is generally stressful for me right now. But the weather, the music, the twinkly lights--I love it all. I think nostalgia just creeps its way into every little corner of Christmas and the new year, which makes the season beautifully layered and complicated. Just some December thoughts for you this Friday morning.

But before we call it a week, I wanted to share some links with you:

• A very important PSA: How to Make Your Name Plural this Christmas Season.
• 'Paris is a Party': Responding to Tragedy, France turns to Hemingway. Literature matters.
• Something I'm working on all the time: Choose to Be Grateful. It Will Make You Happier.
• I think we could all use a little more of this in our world today.
• Mark Zuckerberg's letter to his daughter is so wonderfully optimistic.
• Would you ever give up coffee and alcohol? Frankly I'd rather give up booze than coffee!
• I really loved this list: 50 Ways Happier, Healthier, And More Successful People Live On Their Own Terms.
• Sponsored by Nestle: some Toll House coupons (apparently it's National Cookie Day!)

And it wouldn't be the holidays without a wish list:

• These booties.
• This tee shirt.
• This gorgeous bag.

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Wishing you a warm and cozy weekend, friends. 

This is one of those dresses that's I wear all the time, and it seems to work in all seasons--it's super light so I can even wear it through the summer, and in the winter I usually pair it with tights and boots and a coat. I actually bought it in 2013 for our engagement photos and I've been wearing it ever since, so I definitely think I got my money's worth.

Dress: ModCloth | Shoes: (similar) | Bag: Coach | Necklace: J.Crew

PS I don't usually post about sales, but Rob and I found a bunch of great stuff on the J.Crew Factory website the other day and a ton of it is still majorly marked down, if you're interested!

Photos by Andi Perullo for Freckled Italian.

Rob and I are wing people, and we put Buffalo sauce on everything. We even had a fancy little Buffalo chicken hors d'oeuvres at our wedding. So anyway, it was just a matter of time before I started making Buffalo chicken meatballs. These are great as an appetizer, or you can make a bunch of them and serve them with a salad or some sautéed veggies for dinner. I use almond flour and grass-fed butter in this recipe to keep things Paleo, but we do dip them in a little bleu cheese dressing. If you don't tolerate dairy you could easily sub some Paleo Ranch dressing or just skip it altogether.

Ingredients: 

• About a pound of ground chicken
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 + 1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• At least 2 tablespoons of butter
• Olive oil for frying
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, almond flour, 1/4 cup hot sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well and begin to form meatballs (1-2 tablespoons each).
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet and carefully place meatballs in hot oil over medium-high heat. Allow to brown, about five to seven minutes per side.
3. In another large bowl, heat 1/2 cup of hot sauce and the butter. Stir until combined. 
4. When the meatballs are cooked, transfer to the bowl of Buffalo sauce and toss carefully (chicken meatballs aren't as sturdy as beef ones, so be gentle or they may break apart a bit).
5. Serve with bleu cheese if desired. Enjoy!