What’s Cooking on the Web (November edition)

I considered titling this post “How to Get Drunk in 12 Minutes” or “Sleeping in until 8:30 a.m. for Beginners” or maybe “The Joy of Peeing Without an Audience”. Kiwi and I took a well-deserved little mini-break down to Miami Beach last weekend, and temporarily reconnected with our pre-children selves.

I wish I could say that the highlight of the trip was strolling hand in hand on the white sand or sipping cold drinks next to the pool, but honestly I couldn’t get past the sleeping and solo bathrooming. Oh, and the plane ride. The PLANE RIDE. If you’ve ever flown across the country on your own with two small children one of whom inevitably has to pee as soon as the other one falls asleep (and I happen to have done this *six* times since April), you will appreciate how blissful it is to get on a plane BY. YOURSELF. With a small purse, a cappuccino and a copy of In Touch magazine. Bliss.

We returned from our little vacay feeling rested and ready for the busy holiday season. Which really came out of nowhere this year, didn’t it? My Pinterest feed is full of eggnog lattes and gift wrap and snowman crafts and all that stuff, and I still haven’t packed away my summer clothes. If I were a half-competent food blogger, I’d be posting “Succulent Brined Turkey” and “Grandma’s Peppermint Shortbread” by now.

But guys, it’s really hard to think about gingerbread when you are eating eggs on a patio and drinking beer under the sun. That’s my excuse.

While I can’t help you with your holiday baking (yet), I can give you everything you ever needed to put off the holiday prep for at least another couple of hours. Aka, the best of the web for November.

• Podcasts. I know I am about 10 years late to the party, but I just discovered that podcasts are my everything. And Serial is the everything of my everything. Thank you to the 456 friends and strangers who recommended it to me. If you live under a rock like I do and haven’t heard of Serial, just download it. Trust me.
• A Hipster Business Name Generator.
• The importance of raising your kids to be kind (this is actually from July, but I discovered it in November, so it totally counts).
• How to make a kick-ass Eggnog Latte.
• Music and food pairings for your holiday parties.
• Competitive parenting at the dinner table.
• How to give an impressive hostess gift.
• More bad news for carbs.
• And for all the Toronto peeps: 50 things to do with your kids this winter.