friday favorites

Spring has arrived here in Alabama! It was 79 degrees and sunny when Laura and I walked to lunch yesterday. Absolutely gorgeous outside!! This is the weather I enjoy, before it gets too hot and humid and I start dreaming of winter again. You know, in May.

Favorite Moments: I had lunch with Laura twice this week! On Tuesday we went to Saigon in Avondale. We both had our minds on bahn mi, and it was delicious as usual! We can’t go there without ordering the spring rolls of course!!! And then, we ordered Thai boba tea to go. Man, that was the best ever! I cant quit thinking about it.

Laura texted me an Instagram picture of sake cocktails in a can Wednesday night and was all…..eat at iCantina for lunch tomorrow, then walk over to Hop City and pick these up? Twist my arm. twist. my. arm. We shared chips and salsa, ordered delicious tacos and enjoyed another beautiful day in Birmingham…and then picked up one of each flavor they had of this gluten free 88 calorie goodness in a can afterwards.

Zoe brings joy to my life every single day. Right now she is in a phase where she likes to say hi to people as they enter a room. I will leave the living room and then walk back into the room and she will say “hi” like she is greeting me for the first time. Her afternoon teachers say that she greets them every afternoon when they come in without fail. They hear it over all the other kids the moment she notices they walked in. So sweet!

When I dropped her off at daycare on Wednesday, she walked up to each of the three kids in her class individually to say hi to them before sitting down at her own desk. It was just the cutest thing ever. My little social butterfly.

Right now she likes to go behind the kitchen table and “hide” and then she starts laughing manically when I come “find” her.

Favorite Recipe: We keep this korean beef recipe in rotation pretty regularly at our house. This was from Monday night. It is so easy to swap things out to make it healthier or less carbs or whatever. Most times I serve it with stir fry veggies instead of rice. During whole 30 I subbed coconut aminos and dropped the brown sugar and added a few more spices.

Favorite Lust: With the warm weather comes the need to update my spring wardrobe. Last year I was still going through PP issues and didn’t have a lot to work with. I wore the crap out of the same 5-6 dresses for most of the spring/summer. Loft is one of my favorite go-tos for dresses. And sometimes Old Navy, though their quality can leave a bit to be desired. I have my eye on this short sleeve swing dress right now. Come on sale! Swing and shift dresses are my jam.

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

Hey there, Friday! I picked Zoe up from daycare last night and she had a fever. Ugh. I thought we were going to go two full weeks germ free. I will be working from home today and hoping that it is just a little cold! This month is flying right on by. Before we know it, Easter will be here and everyone will be posting spring break pictures.

Favorite Moments: I received the sweetest Valentine’s Day card with some stickers from Andrea! She really knows how to make a girl feel special!

Chris surprised me on Valentine’s Day by inviting me to go to lunch with him. We went to IKKO in Five Points and had Japanese egg rolls, sushi, miso soup and salad. It was sooooo good!

We got Zoe a little something special to open on Valentine’s Day and they had a party in her class. She came home with a lot of Valentine’s loot! I sent her with applesauce pouches, Minnie Valentine’s cards and glitter stickers for each of the kids in her class. She really loved the card that Chris got me because it played music. She carried her M&M guy around all day.

I picked up two slices of cookie cake from Target as a treat after our lasagna. They were seriously up there as some of the best cookie cake slices we have ever had! My M&M’s reached out to me last month through Smiley 360 and offered me a voucher to put towards customizing my own M&Ms so I ordered some for Chris. I chose the colors, the XOXO clip art and uploaded our engagement photo. They turned out so well! They had sent them in a large bag with a white scoop and the M&M guy. Such a cool and unique present to give! I highly recommend.

Favorite Recipe: How amazing does this orange chicken look? I love making chinese take-out type food at home. It really saves on the sodium, calories and msg!

Favorite Show: Have you seen The Resident? My SIL told me about it last weekend and Chris and I binged all the episodes this week. There are only four right now. SO GOOD! It has the dude from Good Wife/Gilmore Girls and Emily from Revenge. It takes place at a hospital in Atlanta. This hospital isn’t real, but you get some Atlanta city scenes in some of the episodes that makes me homesick. Definitely check it out. Matt Czuchry is such a bad-ass doctor!

Favorite Lust: I want to get a cast iron skillet. Does it matter the brand and cost for this? I always see them for under $30 pretty much anywhere, but then there are some that are over $100 in the fancy brands. What are your thoughts? This one here is pre-seasoned, is that better than ones that say they aren’t?

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Also a story by me….

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

Is it just me, or did this week last a year??? I don’t think we really have any plans for the weekend. Probably avoiding people with the flu again. You guys, there are three separate school districts that are shut down right now because so many students there  have it. GROSS!!! If you are sick, don’t freaking expose yourself to the public!!! What is wrong with people???

Favorite Moments: Laura and I finally tried Bird’s. They opened down the street from my office awhile back and we kept saying we needed to check it out and never did. The pizza was SOOOOO delicious! I can’t wait to go back and try another kind.

Cue all the tears. Zoe moved up to her big girl car seat this week. She basically looks and acts like a toddler now. I literally had watery eyes as I put her in it for the first time Tuesday morning. We decided on the Graco 4Ever after reading a million reviews and talking about it to about 100 different people. I am so used to Britax that I am still on a learning curve with this thing, but it feels strong and sturdy and I LOVE the way it looks. I mean come on, it’s stripes you guys!!!

Favorite Purchase: Kathy has only been telling me for about three years now to order the Eminence Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant. Have you seen Kathy’s skin? She looks like she is 12. When she tells you to order something YOU DO IT! You guys!! This stuff is seriously so amazing. My skin has never felt softer. Literally felt like a baby. Or as Kathy said, a dolphin! Just do yourself a favor and do it.

Favorite Recipe: How amazing does this pumpkin humus look??

Favorite Funnies:

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

1. I had been planning my first fun lunch after Whole 30 for about two or three weeks now. I found out Melt added mac n cheese stuffed egg rolls to their menu, obviously, I had to have them! Laura and I sat down and quickly found out that they were already out of them for the day. I wanted to be like ummmm MAKE MORE!!! We settled for fried pickles instead. They seriously have the best fried pickles ever. And look at me, I was good and got a grilled chicken salad for my meal. Balance.

2. Zoe has already learned how to pack like a girl. Look at how much stuff she tries to cram into her car before I give her a ride around the house. Ummmm there is no room for you, girlfriend!

She doesn’t seem to mind though, she is too busy vegging out on her couch.

3. I haven’t done a recommendation post in awhile, but I have two things for you. My hands have been insanely dry this winter. The worst that I can remember, honestly. Normally I stick with my trusted Vitamin E heavy duty stuff from The Body Shop, but even that wasn’t cutting it. I picked up Working Hands at Target on a whim about a month ago, and it has made all the difference in the world! Best. Hand cream. ever. It’s on sale for $1 off right now, so go scoop it up! I also have the Healthy Feet one and love it too!

4. I never have time to take my car to be cleaned anymore. And I sure as hell don’t have time to do it myself. My number one pet peeve in cars is dust. I freaking hate it. My car is all black and it shows everything. Everything. I cleaned out my cleaning cabinet last week and realized I had an extra Swiffer 360 Duster in there. It now sits in the little compartment on my driver’s side door! Anytime I am sitting at a red light, in traffic, in the drive-thru….I just whip that sucker out and start dusting away!!! My car has never looked better!

5. I shall leave you with some funnies today! What are you making for Super Bowl eats? I haven’t decided what I am doing yet. I do know that I will be pulling for the Eagles. I freaking can’t stand Patriots.

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

We are heading in to the last weekend of the month! That is crazy, right?? How many of you have already ditched your resolutions for the year? That is why I don’t make them. I am still going strong on Whole 30. There are just a few days left and I am feeling really good. It is amazing how much better I feel when I am not eating processed shit, dairy and gluten. Makes me really think about how much I am going to bring back in to my life when it is over.

Favorite Moments: I really enjoyed some Asian inspired dishes this week! Egg roll bowl on the left and chicken lo mein (using carrot noodles) on the right. Delicious!!!

This week, Laura and I went to lunch at Urban Cookhouse. They moved their location in Homewood and we loved their new space!!! I am obsessed with their Berry Good Salad and I get it about 90% of the time that I eat there.

I worked from home Monday and Tuesday with a sick Zoe. We haven’t had a full week of school this year yet. Maybe next week will be our week!

I am so so so proud of my oldest nephew. This week, his basketball team won the championship game and today he is being awarded for placing in the academic Top 10 based on his grades over the last few years. He is such an amazing kid. Every time I see him, I feel like he looks older and older. He hovers a good few inches over me already, and he is only in the 7th grade! I hope my sister feels like she is receiving an award today along with him, for raising such a fantastic kid!

Favorite Recipe: How amazing does this tomato soup with meatballs look?? I am going to have to try it soon. Whole 30 approved!

Favorite Sales Finds: Ann Taylor was having an extra 60% off their clearance last week and I scooped up this cross back sweater and this super pretty pleated tank with some left over Christmas money. They are perfect together or mixed with other pieces. I scored both for under $50 total. Um, yes please!

Favorite Words to Chew On:

Favorite Funny:

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