I’ve always had a “thing” for croissants, and it all stems from Mrs. Delaney’s French class back in my high school days. Every so often, she would bring in French treats for us; bon bons, crepes, and of course, croissants.

Grandpa Pat was visiting for a few days and we had only a few hours in the morning before we had to drive him to the airport. I wanted his final breakfast with us to be special, but I just hate getting up early on the weekend! Crunchy Snickerdoodle French Toast was a perfect fit. It is made the night before and baked crunchy in the oven in the morning.

There are a number of traditions in my family, but one is close to sacred. That tradition involves a special yeast bread or coffee cake made originally by my grandmother and now made by my mother. This coffee cake is served at our casual family Christmas Eve supper. Then, the leftovers are served the next morning for Christmas breakfast. The only name we have ever used for this special pull-apart type bread is Pawmaw’s Coffee Cake.

Traditions are held closely in the Wahlund household. For my older son, Ryan, traditions are especially important. So when my boys were young I started the tradition of celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas. Now I know the 12 days are supposed to be from Christmas day through January 5, but we celebrated the 12 days leading up to the 25th of December. This tradition became a fun way to count down the days to that special holiday they seem to be waiting for all year. Using the song, The 12 Days of Christmas, I would do something special for the boys each day that somehow aligned with the lyrics. Sometimes it was a small toy, gift or tree ornament waiting for them at the dinner table, but most often the something special was tied to food.

Weekend get-aways are so fun, aren’t they? I love the chance to have a change of scenery before going back to my next week of work. Lucky for us, we recently we got to do a really fun cabin weekend with some of our closest friends! In celebration of our good friend Jeff’s golden birthday, five of us couples headed up for a weekend away – to relax and, of course, eat.