Hello my friends! Another week has gone by and that calls for some Friday Favorites. Here’s what we’ve been into lately/things I’m excited about right now.
1) Monday lunch dates with Matt
I mentioned in a previous post that Matt and I have a sitter coming once a week again, on Mondays. It has been hugely helpful to have some dedicated work time every week, and it’s also fun because Matt and I take the opportunity to have an outdoor lunch date at a nearby cafe on Mondays now, too.
This week we went to Junction Bakery in Del Ray and he had the smoked brisket bowl and I had the chicken and bacon sandwich with a beet and grape salad. The salad has fennel in it which I always love, and their salad dressing is on point.
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2) A lake trip next week with family!
We are heading to a nearby lake next week with my parents and Matt’s parents for one last summer hurrah, and we’re really excited!
We’ll be at Lake Anna just an hour and a half away in Virginia – any tips for those of you that have been there before? We’ve never been but have always wanted to go, so I’m excited!
We rented a house and I can’t wait to swim around in the lake with Riese, to do some kayaking and paddle boarding, etc!
3) Blue Apron (FYI: this section of the post is sponsored by Blue Apron)
I feel like everyone assumes that since I have a food blog I’m always coming up with all sorts of super creative and amazing meals every night of the week, but what really keeps our dinners fun and different is Blue Apron.
I’ve been sharing my love for Blue Apron on the blog since 2013 or 2014; we’ve been using it for ages and are still huge fans. Simply choose between a selection of delicious meals each week and they will send you all the ingredients and the recipes right to your door – no meal planning or grocery shopping necessary.
We usually get dinner recipes from Blue Apron, but last weekend we made this Crispy Potato + Kale Hash with Baked Eggs and Cheddar from Blue Apron for brunch and it was soooo good. So nice to mix it up from the same old things we always make for brunch on repeat!
I loved how veggie-packed it was. Easy to make, too!
If you haven’t tried Blue Apron yet, do it – you won’t be sorry! For more info and to get $60 off over your first 3 Blue Apron boxes, click here. Enjoy!
4) Workin’ Moms on Netflix
I don’t watch a ton of TV because I’d usually rather wind down by reading in bed (see also: the best fiction books I’ve read lately – and stay tuned for the non-fiction version coming next Friday), but when I find a show I really love I tend to burn through it quickly, and that was definitely the case for this show with me!
It was so funny and well done – highly recommend if you need an escape. (And yes, our TV is a projector!)
5) These indestructible wine + champagne glasses
Since we only hang out with friends outside at the moment, and also because we have a toddler, I decided to pick up some plastic (but still classy looking) wine/cocktail and champagne glasses so that we don’t have to worry about all our glasses getting knocked over and breaking.
Our outdoor table is a little wobbly and it’s just nice to have something much more durable, especially when kids are around.
Highly recommend these – they are from Amazon. (Here’s the stemless wine glass you see pictured above, and here’s the champagne flute version – I love the little thumb holder area.)
They look real and they are dishwasher friendly, too, which is a huge win.
6) Cooler weather weekday adventures with Riese
It was suddenly very cool out this week, which meant Riese and I could have some fun adventures vs. hiding inside away from the heat and humidity!
We did some rock throwing, a little bit of hiking, and lots of stream wading. 🙂
Speaking of Riese – her hair is long and thick enough to braid now! Where did my little baby go?! She’s getting so big!
And speaking of cooler weather, we defrosted some of my Crockpot Turkey Chili (<- recipe) leftovers we had in the freezer for a meal this week – I was craving something cozy and it was still delicious a few months later!
Give that recipe a shot if you haven’t yet, it’s easy, versatile, and perfect for fall! The post also includes instructions for making it on the stove vs. in the slow cooker/crockpot.
I hope you have a nice weekend! I will leave you with some link love from around the web + one of my own old faves to try:
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup – time to break out the IP again for soup now that it’s fall-ish
- We Tried 10 of the Internet’s Best Instant Pot Recipes, and Here are Our Favorites – more IP fun – bookmarking some of these to try ASAP!
- Salad Dressing Recipes to Make at Home – this free e-book from my friend Kath has lots of yummy homemade salad dressing ideas!
- Easy BBQ Meatloaf – cool weather = meatloaf season and I’m not mad about it
- Crunchy Almond Butter Chocolate Bars – yummm
- 22 Recipes for Beefshi – if you liked the Beefshi (sushi made with beef) recipe I shared recently, here are more ideas to try!
Please note there are affiliate links in this post
