Friday Favorites #187: Week of 10/13

Hello everyone, and Happy Friday the 13th!

It sure did cool down this week, which makes today feel even more eerie. Halloween is right around the corner, y’all!

I really love this time of year and usually tune in to any scary movie that I find playing on television. I have a feeling that my Friday night will include cuddling on the couch with a good horror throwback and the fur babies. Who else loves the old Friday the 13th/Nightmare on Elm Street/Halloween movies? I’ve seen them all, but I always watch them on repeat around this time of year. It’s just what you do! No?

Moving on, it’s time to share this week’s Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a great weekend ahead, and be sure to scroll to leave what you been loving this week in the comments and link up sections below!

 

Friday Favorites #187: Week of 10/13

 

• DUMBO – Brooklyn Bridge Waterfront

Scott and I had every intention of going Up North last weekend, or at the very least, finding an apple orchard to visit and go apple picking. We woke up early on Saturday to get ready to go, but when it came time to get a Zipcar, all of them were booked. Renting a car would’ve cost triple the amount, so after hours of searching options we eventually gave up and decided to stay local. I guess we didn’t think of the fact that it was Columbus Day weekend. (head palm)

We ended up spending the day in Brooklyn and took the subway over towards Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo in the early afternoon.

We’ve been to the area before, but I had never visited the streets leading up to this bridge or this side of the carousel. It’s beautiful out there.

There’s lots to do including plenty of restaurants to dine and snack at including the delicious sweet shop called One Girl Cookies. (I got a pumpkin whoopie pie, naturally.)

We walked around the water for a bit and then decided to eat dinner at Cecconi’s. I got a (virgin) strawberry mojito and pasta dish while Scott enjoyed the Eggplant Parmesan. It was pretty good.

We were going to hang around and head to a nearby movie theater, but we were both so tired that we ended up coming home to rest and watch movies.

If you are ever in New York City looking for something cool to see, take the subway to York Street or High Street-Brooklyn Bridge and walk to Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo where the locals like to hang. The skyline views are amazing, and it’s a relaxing way to spend a few hours that break up the hustle and bustle feeling of the city!

 

• Oktoberfest

Backing up to why we ended up in Dumbo in the first place, my friend Ashley invited us to Oktoberfest which takes place every year under the archway of the Manhattan Bridge.

While I couldn’t partake in the beverage sampling, we enjoyed an afternoon dedicated to the German culture.

There was a live polka band, lots of beer and German food, and even an “apple picking” station to take photos at. I thought this was hilarious considering that’s all that we originally wanted to do that day.

We had a good time, but we left the festival early to explore more of Brooklyn. (Long lines for water and no bathrooms made it pretty tricky for a mama-to-be!) FYI, There are several Oktoberfest celebrations in NYC every year, if you’re interested in attending one in the future.

 

• a return to barre

Longtime readers will recall that I used to have a slight obsession with barre classes. In fact, I used to teach them six days a week in Orlando! I absolutely love the workout. I recently found an online coupon for a 5-pack of classes at a local Pure Barre, so I scooped it up and put it to use this week.

I made sure to arrive early to talk over pregnancy modifications with the instructor. It had been a hot minute since I’d been in to take a barre class, and years since I’ve taught one, so I wanted to make sure I was in the know of everything I should and shouldn’t be doing in the second trimester. The class went really well, and I took it relatively easy on myself, since I haven’t used a lot of those muscles in quite some time. I went to my knees on a lot of the plank series, went to all fours during swimmers, rested during ab exercises that just didn’t feel comfortable on my stomach, and listened to my body as much as possible.

I’m looking forward to using the rest of my sessions along with (hopefully) attending Orangetheory Fitness workouts on the regular throughout the next five months. It felt great to feel that barre burn again!

 

•  IKEA kitchen hangers

Living in an apartment that is probably half the size of our previous condos has us trying to save space and organizing wherever possible. Scott has always been into display gadgets, and he came home with these IKEA grundtal hangers that he put up in our kitchen and bathroom a few months ago. (They’re not currently available at IKEA, but can be found on Amazon!)

We placed hand towels on them in the bathroom and found a space to keep our everyday kitchen needs in the kitchen.

//  // IKEA towel

I also love the magnetic knife hanger above the hooks, which I always forget to use. I didn’t know if they were ever worth mentioning, but I’m finally giving them a feature because I really do think they’re great.

 

• Sweet Chick

Scott came to visit me at work this week, and he treated me to lunch after a lunchtime workout. We were casually walking to a Chipotle when we saw the new Sweet Chick on our way and immediately turn into the restaurant to give it a try.

We’ve heard rave reviews about this place and only wonderful things about the menu items. I took a picture of the menu in case you want to check it out because it’s very unique and I wanted to try every single item.

I ordered the shrimp and grits and Scott ordered the famous chicken and waffles. Mind you, they have several different flavors of waffles that you can mix-and-match with along with different flavors of butter to smear them with. It’s a brilliant concept. Of course I finished the majority of my plate and had a quarter of Scott’s, too.

There are a few locations in Manhattan as well as this one in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The food lived up the hype and will certainly be back to try more soon!

 

• favorite LIL posts

» LIL Baby: First Trimester Favorites

Sharing some must-have items to get you through the first trimester of pregnancy. What are some of your pregnancy essentials?

 

» Hearty Italian Tortellini Soup

A healthier, heartier version of Italian Tortellini soup with tips on how to lighten up your soup recipes!

 

Your Turn

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Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. 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!