friday favorites

Favorite Song: Home by Rhodes – This song is totally chill and I love it! Plus it is just one of those songs that you can sing along with in the car after a long day.

Favorite Moment: Coming home last night to an Amazon box surprise from Chris. Don’t be jelly of my snuggie. Best. Invention. Ever.

Favorite Recipe: These sweet potato bites with  bacon and avocado look delicious!!!

Favorite Dog Products: My dogs are family, and if I am being honest…they eat better than we do! I read the back of every package of dog food and treats that I buy to ensure that nothing has animal by-products or other nasty things in them. I received a box of FIVE different kinds of dog treats and a coupon for a small free bag of dog food from Purina Beyond through BzzAgent. I immediately flipped the packages and got to studying the ingredients and was pleasantly surprised to see that REAL chicken, beef, fish and veggies were listed as ingredients. No by-product. In fact, a few of the jerky treats were even grain free!!!! Gracie must remain on a grain free diet to help with her allergies and her pancreas. Both Gracie and Mac were obsessed with the jerky treats, they were begged for daily. In fact, now that I give Mac other biscuit treats, he looks down at them and then at me like…hey….where’s the jerky??? Spoiled!!!!! When I ran out of their regular food last week, I picked up a small bag of the salmon pumpkin food from Publix and my dogs have cleared their food bowls every day since! If you are looking for some treats for your dogs, give the new Beyond line a try. You know I only share good stuff with you guys! In fact, blogging about the food wasn’t even a required task…I just really love to see my dogs get excited about the jerky treats!

Favorite App: I discovered this game called Two Dots and I can’t stop!!! Basically you are just connecting colored dots but there are challenges where you have to get a certain amount of colors in a few moves. I am hooked. Did I mention there are anchors in it? You know I love anchors. It’s free, what more can  you ask for? Go download it!

Favorite Treat: I discovered the Project 7 gum a few weeks ago at Target. My favorite flavor is the Grapefruit Melon but all the flavors are wonderful for hitting the sweet spot craving that you get in the afternoon lull. Smores, Key Lime Pie, Birthday Cake…what is not to love?

Favorite Lust: I have heard great things about the Mario Badescu line and I have been meaning to pick up this drying lotion. At only $17 it is a steal compared to other acne treatments out there!

It is also that time of year again to start slathering myself in sunscreen before I go anywhere. After reading several articles last year poopooing all over my normal brands I grab for stating that there are dangerous chemicals in them and such…I want to try that Alba Botanica line. I know that you can find this at Target, grocery stores, drug stores etc so I appreciate the accessibility! I dont always have time to run to Whole Foods for such products.

Favorite Links:

—27 Things You Wont Understand Unless You Went to High School in the late 90’s. Pretty much yes to all of these things except I was the friend with the cell phone and I didn’t ironically like NSYNC, I was open about my love for all the boy bands!

–Trying to up your plant game? The Sill has amazing tips and answers to all of your questions.

–Do you need to clean your closet? Here is an easy list to follow of the things you must let go to get you started!

HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MY BABY SISTER!!! Tracy will be 28 on Sunday!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Favorite Funnies:

I found these amazing Disney fitness memes last week and I had to share them! My favorite is the Sleeping Beauty one!

When someone asks me my name and they don’t catch it the first time…

When you walk in to a new restaurant…

How I feel after eating pizza or burgers…

When the bottom of the bush just wont do….

My reaction every time…

Linking up with Amanda, I hope you all have a fabulous Easter weekend!!!!

Favorite Song: Fire In My Bones by Fleurie – So awesome and chill. Roll down those windows and feel the sun on your skin with this one.

Favorite Moments:

–Tracy sent me a video of my kindergarten nephew counting by fives from 5 to 100. He did perfectly and all I could think the whole time was man, that kid sure does sound country with his fives!!! Then when he got to 100, he smiled real big and goes “BAM!!!!!!!!!” I must have replayed that about 10 times to hear him say BAM! Yup, he’s my nephew. There is no doubt!!!

—Laura and I had an impromptu lunch on Wednesday to check out Homewood’s latest addition, Holler and Dash! It was delicious!!! I ordered the Kickback Chicken which was fried chicken on a biscuit with goat cheese, pepper jelly and green onions. Laura and I split an order of beignets because BEIGNETS! They came with coffee syrup which was scrumptious!!! They also offer craft sodas that they make right there in front of you. I ordered the Strawberry Lemongrass and it was amazing!!!!!!! We will be back for sure! We will have a full review up on Besties do Bham soon. And if you want to follow that account on Instagram to see all of the food porn, then here it is! In the meantime here is my meal.

Faavorite Recipe: I made this sweet potato shepherds pie Wednesday night and it was delicious!!! I didn’t  have tomato paste on hand so I squirted ketchup in it instead. And I hate cauliflower so we completely omitted that. Also, my cinnamon container was jammed and I shook hard and way too much came out…and this still turned out amazing!!!

Favorite Lust:

These Elani Gladiator Sandals from Target!!! Cognac and black would be perfect, thanks! This week their shoes are buy one get one 50% off so stock up!!! I tried these on last week and they were super comfy. The back ankle thing didn’t bother me at all, unlike most of this style that I try on. They are a total need, right????

And basically everything on my spring wish list from Tuesday!!!

Favorite Links:

–Check out the “perfect house” that compiles the most popular rooms on Pinterest. Yup, I am moving in!!!

–Mules are all the rage this spring. LC has a list of 10 that you will be craving. The jury is still out for me on most of these.

–Have you decided who you are voting for yet? Let’s be honest, it is  hard to keep the candidates views on things straight with all the bickering among them. Let’s just say I was shocked to see who I line up with the most. Take the quiz here and it is worth it to answer the extra questions in the categories because it changed my results.

–Are you a hipster? Take this quiz and find out.

My results: Thank goodness!!!!

Favorite Funnies:

On the weekend I am like…

The way to live life…

We have all had one of these calls…

When you think you see your fraaand, but you weren’t wearing your glasses and now it is awkward…

I cant stop laughing at this dog…..LIKE A BOSS!!!

Linking up with Amanda, have a great weekend!!!

Favorite Song: Jonas Blues version of Fast Car – I love the original and this one is great for running.

Favorite Moments:

–Last night I got the chance to participate in a focus group for a local restaurant and it was so much fun!!! Not only did I get a free DELICIOUS dinner, I got the chance to sit around and talk about my favorite thing (food, duh) for two hours. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s answers to the questions and at the end I got some swag which included a visa gift card and gift card to the restaurant. Where can I sign up to do more of these???

–Watching the sun rise is always a favorite.

Favorite Recipe: These sweet and spicy paleo chicken bites look delicious!!!!

via

Favorite WorkOut/App: Chris and I were catching up with Shark Tank over the weekend and one of the episodes had a guy from Swork It on there. I liked the concept of his app. Basically you input your information and tell it how long you have to work out that day. You can pick from strength, cardio, yoga or stretching. There are target workouts for core or upper body or you can do a full body. It tells you what workout you are about to do, the move lasts for 30 seconds. Without around 5 seconds left it will tell you what your next work out is so that you are ready. It shows you how to do it then entire time there is no confusion. At the end of the work out it tells you an approximate number of calories you should have burned and will sync to your Health app.

I also found Daily Cardio Free that I like to mix with Swork It to get a full work out! It is very similar to how Swork It works with a countdown, timed moves showing you how to do them and at the end it tells you how many calories you burned and adds it in to your Health App on your phone.

Favorite Beauty:

Have you seen the news Burt’s Bees Lipsticks? I grabbed one in Blush a few weeks ago at Walgreen’s and I really love how moisturizing it is. The color is more of a lighter lipstick coverage, but it sticks around for a while.  Also, can we talk about the adorable bee comb packaging??? Not to mention that it is all natural.

I also grabbed the Milani Nourishing Raspberry Coconut Oil Infused Lip Treatment. I absolutely am in love with how wide the applicator is! One swipe delivers a sheer, pretty, shiny color that feels amazing on my lips!!! I have worn this both alone and over other lip products. It smells wonderful and the packaging is cute. Can you tell i am a sucker for packaging??

Favorite Podcast: I find that listening to health and fitness chat can spark new motivation in me, so I went in search of a new podcast to listen to. I found Paleo for Woman. I have bounced around a little picking episodes based on what I see in the title since there are over 50 episodes. I have learned a few things and am more motivated to stay on track during the week while listening to this in my car. Check them out if you are interested in learning about paleo, want to eat healthier, looking for inspiration. Do you have any health or fitness podcasts that you like? Or any fun podcasts in general? I have about 5 that I listen to no matter what, and about 10 others I listen to sometimes. Always looking for new ones!

Also, did you listen to Steph and Jana’s new podcast on books??? I can’t wait to hear more from them!!! Plus, now I know how they sound as I read the blog posts.

Favorite Lust:

This ottoman from Z Gallerie is just gorgeous!!!! Why does it have to cost so much??? I am keeping my eye on the price to drop a little. $399 isn’t too awful but $89 sounds better!

There is this option for $89. It’s growing on me.

This shell from Loft is so pretty!  Love the color!!

Favorite Links:

–I have been wanting to dive in to coconut oil for my face. I have been using it to cook for years. I have made lip scrubs with it, but never used it as actual face skin care. Here is a great post on the different ways you can use it and basically anything you wanted to know about coconut oil for skin care!!

–What is your body trying to tell you through your breakouts?

–Spring is in the air. See what trends probably shouldn’t be mixed in with your work wardrobe.

Favorite Funnies:

This is something my dad would have totally done…

When Chris tries to explain something technical to me…

When someone jokes about grabbing a drink at lunch. Never joke about drinks!!

When I try to explain that Saturday calories don’t count….

When you walk in somewhere and see someone you didn’t want to run in to …

When you can’t reason with someone…

Linking up with Amanda. I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Favorite Song: Sometimes you just need to throw it back old school and rock out! In the End – Linkin Park

Favorite Recipe: I made this honey sriracha chicken on Tuesday night and it turned out really well! Chris seemed to like it too.

Favorite Workout: It is about time to start getting ready for bikini season. While you wont see me sporting a bikini, I am aware that I wont be hiding behind sweaters for much longer. Check out this 30 day ab challenge! You even get rest days so there is no excuse.

Favorite Drink: Have you guys tried the new Butterscotch Frappuccino from Starbucks??? OMG!!! It is amazing and now my favorite drink from them. Ever.

Favorite Purchase:Late last year I scooped up this black necklace at Walmart for $5. It is one of the most complemented accessories I have.

So a few weeks ago when I was there, I checked out the accessories again and found this gem….for $5!!!!!

I hate Walmart. Despise it. But these cute accessories for $5??? I will allow my blood pressure to raise for an hour to go shop the accessories! They did have a few $5 necklaces on their website, I didn’t take the time to see if they had these exact ones or not. The black one comes in white, and the clear crystal comes in a darker gray color crystal stone as well. I think I might have to go back for those two before they are gone! The white one would be perfect for summer!!!

Favorite Lust: Have you been to Target lately?? Duh, of course you have! But have you been in their shoe department??? They have a DV line!!!!!! I am obsessed with my DV bootie wedges I got from Nordstrom Rack on Black Friday and now I want to grab some of their affordable pieces from Target!

How perfectly casual are these???

And these!!!

And I love these too!

Target was running a deal on them last weekend for $5 off a $25 DV purchase or $10 off $50. I bet it is still going on until at least Saturday. I might take my own advice and scoop some up! Spring is about here and I need some new shoes. I could get away with wearing all of these to my casual office!

Also, I loved these Mossimo brand sandles!!!

Favorite Pins:

I want this pantry!!!

via

This bed looks so cozy!

via

Love the idea of a shelf in the kitchen to make room!

via

Favorite Links:

–In honor of Fuller House, take this quiz to see which Full House character you are. I got Michelle Tanner because I am full of personality. You got it dude!

–I am so glad I grew up when I did. With social media taking over everything these days, it seems that teens have another thing to compete and fret over. This article on the secret world of teens and social media makes me weep for the new generations of kids.

–I love looking at decorating tips and tricks, Here is an article on how to make your home look more expensive on a dime.

Favorite Funnies:

Someone legit asked me to fax them a request recently and I was like…

When your workload is full and computer starts crapping out…

When you turn in a project that you had to rush…

When your bestie  suggests a beer at lunch…

Sending workout selfies to my ahole bros…

When someone says your outfit looks cute today…

At lunch like…

While you are out shopping and find something for yourself…

Right now I am probably like this at work…

Linking up with Amanda. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!