French Toast

Snowmageddon 2026

We survived the weather event of the season!

I have been hoping for a big snowstorm ever since we got an early taste of snow back in…early December I think? So I was ready for it!

To get us in a winter mood, on Friday I baked bread, and Ladybug made creamy onion soup for dinner.

We had a nice breakfast of lemon-blueberry muffins as the snow started to fall on Saturday:

And lentil soup with kielbasa (and more fresh bread) for dinner…is there anything better than soup on a snowy day?

The snow continued to fall most of Sunday, and we got out for a snow walk while it was still coming down:

When we got back, I used the last of the bread to make a nice hot sandwich:

After the shoveling was complete (it took FOREVER! but I like shoveling), we enjoyed some nice hot wassail:

The ruler said about eight inches, but I think realistically we had closer to ten when it was all said and done!

We also did some baking yesterday…I made my favorite thumbprint cookies:

And Ladybug baked a Gâteau au Chocolat, which we had for dessert:

The clouds cleared away quickly:

Sunday definitely counted as a full French Toast Event!™

Today was clear, but much colder, and school was cancelled for everybody. Chickadee and I went out for an abbreviated walk…it’s amazing how much different things look under blue skies!

It’s hard to see how big the snow drift I created by shoveling really is…it’s almost as high as the mailbox, and it’s going to stay cold for a while, so I don’t think it will be going anywhere anytime soon!

I baked some more bread today, and then I decided to see if I could make homemade garlic bread…I can!

And we had a nice hearty pasta dish for dinner:

Tomorrow, life returns to normal, but for this weekend, we had a lovely time being cozy at home!

Snow Day

Today was a rather anti-climactic snow day as far as the snow was concerned (three inches at most that melted really quickly), but school was cancelled, so we had time to do some fun things like baking. We also made Hoth Chocolate Snowballs from Star Wars Everyday. I never would have thought of using malt powder in hot chocolate…it’s really delicious!

We also had the Markel Family Snow Day Special for dinner…French Toast (made with vanilla brioche!):

We might not have had enough snow to really play in, and I didn’t get to shovel, but it was still a nice break from the normal!

Tasty Tuesday–The Seventh Disney (Breakfast for) Dinner

I planned our seventh Disney Dinner to coincide with Bastille Day, so I had an excuse to make S’mores French Toast Sandwiches (or “delicious hot schmoes”) as found in Hollywood Studio’s Toy Story Land. Since it was such a decadent meal, we didn’t have dessert, but who needs it when dinner looks like this?!?

For the drink, I used the recipe for Keshian Spiced Milk from the Star Wars Life Day Cookbook…it was very much like a horchata, and very tasty!

Normally I wouldn’t make something like this for dinner, but for a special occasion, it was fun, and it may even return to the table as a dessert in the future!

A Markel Family Snow Day

Today we had a snow day! This was a special snow day, because not only did Moose’s school close for the day, the homeschool event we were supposed to attend at the Missouri History Museum was cancelled, so we were all truly home for the day!

Of course we had to play in the snow:

When a snow day happens the week before Christmas, you bake Christmas cookies. And while we baked, we watched not only the unbelievably fluffy flakes fall outside the kitchen window, but also the Nutcracker, something we do every year around Christmas. We watched three different productions today: The Dutch National Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and my personal favorite, the San Fransisco Ballet. Three Nutcrackers and 13 dozen cookies later, and all of our “fancy” baking is done!

We also made “stained glass” Christmas ornaments while we watched White Christmas. I love how they turned out!

We found time for a nice walk in the snow:

And had our standard Markel Family snow day dinner!

The Fab Five had time to build two bags of their Lego Hogwarts Castle set today. Here’s a look at some of the detail:

After shoveling (something that I really enjoy doing!), we watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. The older I get, the more I relate to Clark Griswold, which is a little bit scary!

This was one of the nicest days I’ve had, and I really enjoyed the chance to both slow down and get a lot of work done!

French Toast Mode

They’re forecasting our first significant snow of the season tonight and tomorrow. Actually, they’re saying it might be one of the biggest November snowstorms in St. Louis history! In honor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Weatherbird’s “French Toast Map” and all of the people who hit the grocery stores to purchase large quantities of milk, eggs, and bread before a storm hits, I made French toast for dinner. It’s a win-win situation…we like the snow and don’t freak out about it like so many in St. Louis do, and French toast is one of the children’s favorite special dinners!