Hello and Happy Friday! I’m starting a new segment on the blog called “Five Friday Favorites” where each Friday I will post a recap of the week and various favorite things. This could include new things I’m loving or reading or watching, favorite photos from the week, favorite new recipes we tried, favorite workout of the week, etc!!! Each Friday Favorite may look different, but they all promise to be packed with content!
This past week was fast and slow at the same time. It started off slow this past weekend since we were visiting Casey’s parents from Saturday-Monday. On Sunday, we saw snow for the first time in forever! Since I’m from Charleston & Columbia South Carolina, we rarely saw snow, and if we did it rarely stuck. But for over 24 hours on Sunday we got to enjoy the snow! We took Blakely out which was so fun (she was unsure at first, but then enjoyed eating the snow lol), we had an intense snowball fight, and really just stayed cozy inside but got to admire the winter wonderland when looking out the windows.
Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so Casey was off work. Tuesday felt like such a Monday because I did all my Monday tasks. I grocery shopped for the week at Trader Joe’s and saw my counselor in the afternoon. An important update is that I decided during my session to pause counseling for now. I’ve been seeing my counselor since May of 2021 and it has been life changing! I feel like now I have gotten to a point where I have enough tools in my toolbox to start doing life myself… and I am so proud of all of my progress and the work I’ve put in to see so much successes!
On Tuesday night, Blakely started to run a fever. I get so much anxiety when she is sick! I just have to remind myself that every time she gets sick, she is building up her immune system. She continued to run a fever all day Wednesday and even into Thursday. We called her pediatrician and they advised us to continue to monitor it and treat it with Tylenol and Motrin since she doesn’t have any other symptoms.
It is now Friday evening and her fever has broke!! Thank goodness!! Hopefully we can all get some good sleep tonight. Now, let’s get into the Five Friday Favorites!
1)) CURRENTLY…
Loving: my new 2022 planner! I recently ordered The Plan by Lauren Truslow and I am obsessed. This planner has everything. Monthly Calendars. Day to Day Plan. Health. Work. Meal Plan. You Time. ETC!! I used to create my own planner in a bullet journal because I could never find one that fit all my wants and needs! But this one does, and without the time consuming work of making your own! If you’re looking for a loaded planner for the new year to help you prioritize your day, get organized, stay healthy, AND make time for yourself, this is for you!
Reading: I just finished Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand which I absolutely loved. I gave it a solid 4.5/5 stars for it’s unique and captivating story-line and beautiful theme of the importance of family. A friend from college (Wimberly) and a new friend I’ve met through mutual friends (Lauren) are doing a little book club with this book! This month was Wimberly’s book choice!
Listening to: the book Atomic Habits on Audible!! I’m a little over an hour in and I can tell why so many people love this book. It’s a great read to start 2022 off with and get some practical tips on how to form good habits!
Wearing: a cute new winter coat! Since I moved to ATL I realized it gets colder here than where I’m from in SC, so I needed to upgrade my winter wardrobe a bit. Abercrombie has the CUTEST clothes in right now, and I just snagged this coat!
Watching: the new season of the bachelor (obsessed)!! I also just finished Cheer on Netflix and loved it because it reminded me of my competitive cheer days. Casey and I just started season 3 of Too Hot to Handle on Netflix lol… it is definitely a guilty pleasure of ours!!
Following: Halfbakedharvest‘s blog! I am obsessed with her, her blog, her recipes, her Instagram… everything!! I could scroll on her blog and look at her beautiful aesthetically pleasing recipes all day. She is actually who gave me the idea to start Five Friday Favorites since she does something similar on her blog!
Loving: the Madeline Moves app! I’ve been using Madeline’s app for about 2 months now and I now have enough workouts under my belt to say it is SO GOOD! I pay $20 per month for the subscription and I receive 5 NEW workouts every week. With the subscription, there’s also other plans included like the Beginner Moves, Strength Moves, and Move Set Shred programs. I am following the Weekly Moves currently.
Using: my new Always Pan! If you don’t know what the always pan is, it is an all in one cult-favorite magical pan. It replaces 8 pieces of cookware with one nonstick pan. I was gifted this pan a little over a week ago and have used it a few times since. I love the steamer that is included, and have been steaming veggies for Blakely which has been so easy and quick!!! Though it is aesthetically pleasing and convenient, it is very expensive. I’d wait for it to go down on a sale if I were buying myself!
Wanting: to read Colleen Hoover’s newest book “Reminders of Him.” We all know Colleen Hoover is the queen of romance, and I am jumping at the fact she has a new release!! This is definitely on my want to read list for next month.
2)) PHOTOS FROM THE WEEK
3)) FAVORITE WORKOUT OF THE WEEK
MADELINE MOVES APP: LEGS/GLUTES WORKOUT
- Lower Body Warm Up (5 min)
- Superset 1: (2 rounds)
- banded crab walk squat jump (20 reps)
- banded hip thrust with weight (20 reps)
- Challenge Move: (3 sets)
- Barbell back squat (10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps)
- Superset 2: (2-3 rounds)
- Cable machine kickbacks (12 reps)
- Glute pull through (cable or band) (12 reps)
- Superset 3: (2-3 rounds)
- Reverse lunge to glute kickback (with weights) (10 reps each leg)
- Plie squat to tip toes (10 reps)
4)) WHAT WE ATE FOR DINNER THIS WEEK
MONDAY: homemade margherita pizzas baby!!!
Casey and I have been craving a pizza night and this was the perfect day to do so. Since it was a long weekend with Monday being MLK day, we visited with his family in Cumming, GA for the weekend and drove back on Monday. My parents gifted us a homemade pizza making set for Christmas so this was the perfect night to cook it.
TUESDAY: healthy loaded chicken stir fry!
I actually just eyeballed this dinner since I have made it so many times. The marinade included tasty organic coconut aminos (instead of soy sauce to cut down on the sodium), fresh lemon juice, sesame oil, minced garlic, honey + red pepper flakes. We used winter veggies (carrots, broccoli, & mushrooms) and served it all over Trader Joe’s brown rice!
WEDNESDAY: tortellini soup with sausage and spinach!
I mentioned this soup in my blog post where I posted all of our go to winter soups, and it is absolutely delicious! We used sweet Italian sausage instead of chicken sausage and it turned out perfect. It was even better the next day for lunch!
THURSDAY: egg roll in a bowl!
I found this recipe here, and it’s one of Casey and I’s weeknight staples. We probably make it once every other week. It makes for a light and tasty dinner, and it’s even great the next day for leftovers. The recipe is keto, but we always top it over brown rice to make it a little more filling.
FRIDAY: smash burgers, sweet potato fries & zucchini!
We recently discovered Blakely can eat a whole zucchini in one sitting, so we now make it pretty often. I cut them into fourths, sprinkle with salt and pep and pop them in the oven for 10 min on 400 degrees. Casey thankfully loves to cook so he took over the burgers tonight and cooked them on a skillet and they turned out amazing! The sweet potato fries are from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s and they are also a staple in our household!! So easy and delish!
5)) BLAKELY’S CURRENT FAVORITES (13 MONTHS OLD)
- Eating: Organic Smoothies from Stonyfield: absolutely love and trust this brand for Blakely!! I’ll pour these smoothies into her sippy cup and she devours them.
- Loving: Farm animal toys! This is the exact tractor toy + farm animals set Blakely has and it is her current favorite toy. She loves when we read books about animals and make the animal noises. Currently she can make the cow noise and dog noise back to us and it’s just the cutest!!!
- Wearing: the cutest little snow suit from Zara baby. She was gifted it for her first birthday back in December, and finally had a chance to wear it this past weekend!! I tried to find it on their site, but I don’t think it’s there anymore. They have other very cute outerwear pieces though!!
- Reading: farm animal poke-a-dot book! Around when Blakely turned one, she starting getting really into reading books, especially ones about animals. These poke-a-dot books are so interactive and shows B some independence since she can pop the buttons herself! Highly recommend for age 1 and up!!
- Using: her new “big girl” chair! My parents gifted Blakely this pink owl plush baby chair for Christmas and it is Blakely’s favorite thing right now. She loves crawling in and out of the chair, and will even stand up from sitting occasionally! I think it makes her feel like a big girl. Lol!
Stay Well,
Courtney
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