Friday Favorites #147: Week of 6/24

Good morning! I hope you all are coming off of a great week.

I didn’t get to check into the blog as much as I’d hoped, but things have been moving over here. Interviews have been going well, so thank you to all who commented and messaged me wishing me luck!

This week’s edition of Friday Favorites is a little different. While #FFavorites usually covers a collection of things that made me smile, this week also made me a little sad, emotional, and reflective. You’ll understand why.

That said, I hope you enjoy reading and, as usual, I invite you to join in the party by sharing your favorites in the comments and link-up sections below. Happy Friday!

 

Friday Favorites #147: Week of 6/24

 

• 9/11 Memorial Museum

Scott and I spent our Thursday afternoon in the City visiting with some friends who were in town for the day. We met them in Times Square and enjoyed showing them around different things and places in the area.

When they left, Scott got the idea to go see the 9/11 Memorial Museum, a site they had been to earlier in the day.

I don’t think anyone who was alive and old enough to hear about the tragic events that happened in 2001 will ever forget what they were doing that day. I can’t even imagine how much harder it was for New York City residents.

It wasn’t easy to see, but I’m really glad that we took three hours touring the museum. We could have spent several more hours viewing the exhibits, but we ran out of time.

The museum is filled with artifacts that remained on that very same space from that tragic morning on September 11. The majority of it focuses on stories, both on the souls that were lost that day, and from the survivors who miraculously walked away and lived to tell them.

They offer guided tours, but since we missed the last round of them, we downloaded an audio guide onto Scott’s iPhone to help us learn more about the pieces as we walked around. I’m pretty sure that I had chills the entire time.

The museum and tribute is beautifully done. There are several areas that are dedicated to showing respect to those lost, and there is a message station where you can share words of your own at the end.

If you ever get to visit the museum, make sure to leave plenty of time to visit the Historical Exhibition. We almost missed it entirely, and once we realized it was there, we only had thirty minutes to rush through the space. The exhibition is located in the original North Tower and is made up of three sequential parts: the Events of the Day, Before 9/11, and After 9/11.

Those three areas have the most artifacts in all of the museum and give details and first-hand testimonies to what happened on the hijacked airplanes, at the Twin Towers, and at the Pentagon, as well as the experiences of first responders and people near the attack sites. It’s bone chilling. I found myself in awe, frozen, as I stood staring at pictures and news segments with tears in my eyes.

Walking through the museum is hard, but it also gives hope. It goes through the rebuilding of World Trade Center ONE, and is truly something incredible to see.

Tickets to the museum cost about $24 per adult, and it was worth every penny. America and the world will never forget.

 

• Orlando Tribute

Before we even walked into the museum, our friend, Rusty, took us to see the Survivor Tree. It’s the only remaining tree that was discovered, rehabilitated, and living after enduring the attacks of 9/11. After spending nearly a decade in recovery, the tree was returned to the Memorial in 2010. It’s remarkable to see, and means so much more this week.

After the tragic mass shooting in Orlando, ribbons were tied and displayed on and around the Survivor Tree in tribute to those who innocently lost their lives in Central Florida.

The tree is surrounded by security guards, which I’m guessing happens all year-round. The sight of the ribbons definitely got us emotional. I couldn’t help but walk around feeling defeated. The ribbons are there for tribute, yes, but they also symbolize rebuilding and rebirth on the Survivor Tree.

Orlando is going through a crazy rough patch right now, but I hope the communities there feel the love and support all the way from New York City. <3

 

Whew! That was a deep way to kick off this week’s favorites. Are you guys still with me?

How about we awkwardly transition into something I can’t ever talk enough about … food!

 

• fresh&co.

After a fun event in the City last week, I spent the afternoon wandering around with my friend, Susan. She took me to one of her favorite spots to grab lunch in Midtown whenever she visits called fresh&co, and I had such a hard time picking what to eat.

All of their salads looked drool-worthy, and I eventually decided on the organic lemon chick pea salad. It was extremely tasty!

I would love to return and try more things on their menu. Everything looked so fresh, especially these unique beet burgers.

There are many fresh&co. locations all over Manhattan, and if you’re ever looking for a healthy stop on your travels, I highly recommend a drop-in to one of them. Yum!

 

• ClassPass

After finding a killer deal online, I finally broke down and purchased my first ClassPass package. For those of you who haven’t heard of ClassPass or had the pleasure of living in a city that offers it, it’s a membership program for fitness classes across multiple gyms and studios in your area that helps make working out more accessible and fun.

This week I have been bouncing around the City and popping into classes after a quick sign up on my ClassPass app. It’s pretty neat to be able to just look at fitness classes around me and reserve a spot in seconds.

With group fitness classes priced all the way up to nearly $40 per class in some areas, it’s definitely worth the package price! They offer different tiers at different prices, and I’m currently enjoying 10 classes for $30, thanks to a Facebook ad I stalked and saved weeks ago. (Happy 3rd birthday, ClassPass!)

While ClassPass offers affiliate benefits, I would feel guilty not sharing this 10 classes for $30 link (<- where I get zero credit) with you to help you get the same deal. You really can’t beat it!

Now I just need to decide how I am going to share my experiences with you … would you like me to continue Weekly Workouts or keep my studio visits for a monthly ClassPass studios and gyms review recap?

 

• Big Brother 18

Do any of you watch Big Brother? It’s baaaack!

I’ll be the first to admit that watching three episodes of anything every week is probably a huge waste of time, but I can’t help it. Scott got me into watching Big Brother with him years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Truth is, I would love to be on the show! This season is finally one I can watching “knowing” someone on the cast, too. Natalie is a friend of a friend of ours, so it’s been neat to see everything unfold with her on it.

It should be an interesting summer!

 

• gluten free double chocolate chip cookies

And last, but certainly not least, these cookies are my JAM lately. I picked them up on a whim from a local market in Park Slope, and was hoping they would be accessible to everyone somehow, someway because they are that good.

Great news – they are! Tate’s Bake Shop offers a variety of cookies, brownies, gift baskets, and more. I happened to pick up a bag of the gluten free double chocolate chip cookies and oh. my. gosh. you guys. They’re better than all of the gluten-filled cookie I’ve tried in a looong time. It only took us about two days to polish off the bag! Whoops.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a great collection of gluten free treats, check out Tate’s Bake Shop. I don’t know what they put in their recipes, but the cookies taste like little bits of heaven.

 

• favorite LIL posts

» Weekend Snapshots & Weekly Workouts

» Total Body AMRAP (Dumbbell) Strength Workout

 

• Friday funny

This week, I couldn’t stop laughing at this Cats Get Brain Freezes, Too video via The Huffington Post.

I mean, really. I can’t. Hilarious.

 

Your Turn

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Have a great weekend!

 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. While the Dooney & Bourke bag highlighted above was sent to me (complimentary), all opinions remain my own. Friday Favorites is a series of posts that features items I genuinely want to share with you, and affiliate links may appear from time to time. As always, any support is much appreciated! <3