We made it to Friday!!!

Last weekend I went to Greenville, SC to visit my college friend Julie for a night and it was so much fun. It was my first time visiting Greenville and I fell in love!!! Unfortunately it was way too cold and windy to walk around downtown, but I will definitely be back to explore all the cute restaurants and shops more when it warms up.

During the day we ate a delicious lunch at Up on the Roof downtown (inside since it was so cold), and then *tried* to walk around. After just a block or two we felt frozen so we went into the nearest bar called Paloma for a drink. Later that night we went out to the cutest cocktail lounge called Sips which was yet another lively rooftop.

Casey’s parents watched Blakely since Casey was in NC with some friends, so when we got back Sunday we ended up just spending the night at their place. We got back home Monday afternoon and the week flew by. No super exciting updates from the week, other than Blakely turns 14 months today!

I’m so excited to dive into this week’s favorites. I talk about new books I’m reading, great podcast episodes, favorites workout of the week, pictures from Greenville, our meal plan of the week and books I want to read!

I hope everyone has a great and relaxing weekend ahead!!

1. CURRENTLY…

Reading: Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover & Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins!! I just finished Night Road by Kristin Hannah this week (check out my book review on my Instagram!) and now am diving into this month’s book club read for my friends and I!

Listening to: health + wellness trend predictions for 2022. I think this is an important conversation & this episode invites us in to be a part of it. They touch on juicing trends, vertical farming, mental health within corporations, and more.

Loving: Curtsy app. Y’all, this app has seriously made me over $1500. It was over the course of a few years but STILL – it’s crazy to see that number! Curtsy is an app where you can both buy and sell your clothes at more affordable prices… highly recommend!

Using: fine bone china mugs for morning coffee. These are THE ONLY mugs Casey and I drink coffee out of in the morning. We love the thin top of these mugs to sip out of, and they are beautifully designed.

Wearing: I am loving the trench coat vibes and have had my eye on this one from Zara since my friend wore it over the weekend. I wore my Abercrombie trench coat I talked about in the last Friday Favorites over the weekend in Greenville and loved it (pictured below).

Drinking: green tea and ginger tea. I’ve found this is the perfect night cap. Eventually, I’d love to make my own ginger tea with fresh ginger, lemon + honey, but for now I’m sticking with tea bags.

Eating: Daves Killer Bread Everything Bagels for a post workout breakfast sandwich! This has been my go to breakfast for the past few weeks. I toast the bagels, spread 1/2 avocado on them, add spinach, an egg, bacon & cheddar cheese for the perfect loaded sammy.

Watching: in need of show or movie recs! I’ve been really into reading, so I don’t watch too much TV, besides my favorite night of the week – Bachelor Monday. Casey and I have also been super into the newest episodes of Shark Tank on Hulu.

2. FAVORITE WORKOUT OF THE WEEK

Back + Chest

Ladies, don’t skip out on back and chest days!!! These have slowly but surely become one of my favorite workout days. I find that it doesn’t feel too bad in the moment, like I’m never dripping sweat, but it sneaks up on me because the next day I am so sore. Below is the full workout from my Madeline Moves App:

Note: A superset is where you perform two exercise back to back with minimal to no rest.

Back + Chest Warm Up

Superset 1: 3 rounds

• opposite shoulder taps (50 sec)
• narrow chest press (15 reps)

Superset 2: 3 rounds

• cable chest fly (12 reps)
• walk out push up (10 reps)

Challenge Move Superset: 3 rounds

• alternating plank row (12 reps)
• plank (1 min)

Circuit 1: 2-3 rounds

• chest pull 45 degree angle (12 reps)
• single arm pull (10 reps)
• 5 rows to 5 overhead presses (1 min)

3. PHOTOS FROM THE WEEK

4. THIS WEEKS MEAL PLAN

Monday: Sticky Chicken Thighs, Jasmine Rice + Broccoli

I’ve had this meal saved to my Pinterest board of dinner ideas for a while, and finally got around to make it on Monday. It was SO delicious. The chicken thighs are cooked with an incredible sweet + mildly spicy honey sauce. After about 45 minutes of preparing, we paired it with jasmine rice and broccoli for the perfect weeknight dish.

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas

If you haven’t caught on, Casey and I like to do some form of a Mexican inspired dish on Tuesday nights in honor of Taco Tuesday! And it just makes meal planning easier. I marinated the chicken for about 3-4 hours in in lime juice, ground cumin, olive oil, oregano, minced garlic, salt, and chili powder (I eye balled it but I can measure it out next time if you’re interested). We use our cast iron skillet to cook the chicken and it comes out delicious!! We filled our tortillas with chicken, bell peppers + onion, black beans, lettuce, corn, cheese, and rice!

Wednesday: Smash Burgers

Smash burgers on the menu again! We loved them so much that we wanted to make them again this week! It’s such an easy and affordable dinner idea too. We always pair it with frozen sweet potato fries. This week we didn’t even have a veggie, but were stuffed!

Thursday: Creamy Chicken Breast, Smashed Potatoes and Broccoli

Casey surprised me with a little date night in where he prepared a “fancy” meal for us. He served us cheese + meat with crackers for an appetizer, then we had a simple but delicious Caesar salad, then the main dish was this creamy chicken pictured below with AMAZING smashed potatoes and broccoli. We finished it out with some ice cream and a cookie for dessert!

5. 5 BOOKS ON MY WANT TO READ LIST

• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown… recommended to me by Casey’s mom & I am very intrigued.
• Full Out by Monica Aldama… if you watched Netflix’s Cheer you may also want to know more about Monica’s story.
• One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid… love TJR and I’m in need of a romance book.
• Verity by Colleen Hoover… I’ve heard a lot of hype about this one and am eager to start reading.
• Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre… recommended to me by an insta friend, it’s a highly rated thriller that caught my attention.

Stay Well,

Courtney