Friday Favorites #194: Week of 12/22

Good morning friends!

I can imagine that this has been a crazy week for everyone. It’s sure been a busy week for us! This time of year is always filled with holiday parties, to-dos, and all the extras. Do you have any fun plans or travels ahead?

Scott and I are staying local for Christmas this year. We haven’t gone home for the holidays in quite some time, as family usually comes to visit us. We’re hoping to do so next year, however, so we’re keeping things extra casual this year. Scott flies out to Paris the day after Christmas and he returns just in time for New Year’s Eve, and that concludes his travels until we go to Florida in late-January. (I’m so excited to see him more!)

I’m about to head out to work out and then close at the studio today, so I’ll dive right into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites. Here’s hoping you are getting ready for a wonderful weekend ahead and get to spend some time with loved ones.

Happy Holidays!

Friday Favorites #194: Week of 12/23

• parents-to-be ornament

I got the sweetest surprise in the mail last week. It was a this adorable “We’re Expecting” ornament that resembles what Christmas will look like for Scott and I this year! (Wrapping my brain around the fact that we will have a little one crawling around next year sounds nuts, but so awesome.)

I don’t know how my mom found one with a dog and two cats on the front, but she ordered it from Zazzle. FYI, there’s a whole line of “We’re Expecting” gifts for loved ones and ways to announce something special around the holidays and all year long. I couldn’t wait to hang it on our tree and will cherish it for years to come with our family.

• POPSUGAR (& Old Navy) Must Have Box

I never mentioned this on the blog, but I attended a fun and festive event with POPSUGAR and Old Navy a few weekends ago! I was invited to drink hot cocoa and spread the joy of giving around the holidays by creating my own POPSUGAR Must Have Box at a beautifully decorated warehouse in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

I’ve shared a handful of Must Have Boxes before, but this one was extra special because I got to pick out what’s inside AND that box donated an additional box to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America after the event. I loved it!

My selections didn’t come with the usual product descriptions or prices, but the blanket scarf and purse are from Old Navy, and it looks like POPSUGAR provided a Pehr Designs fringe table runner (similar, similar), AJ Goods nest wire bowl, and Rise & Shine mug (similar, similar).

I’ve already been loving the mug and scarf and will be breaking out the rest soon enough.

• company holiday party

Have your weekends and weeknights been consumed by holiday parties lately, too? While things have been extra scheduled around our parts, I’m not complaining! My team hosted a pot-luck member mingle last Saturday night, and, boy, was the food delicious!

I had to bring Scott’s famous party dips: spicy queso spinach dip and healthy homemade salsa with corn chips, of course. They’re both instant crowd pleasers. Our members came armed with their own party favorites, and we ended up having a ton of food and desserts!

It’s so nice to get everyone together outside of normal studio hours. Thanks for a great night, OTF Brooklyn!

• holiday cards

Another thing that has been making me smile this week is our growing collection of holiday cards. I’m trying to figure out a good way to display them instead of randomly putting them on our refrigerator, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Do any of you have suggestions?

Thank you to all who sent holiday cheer our way this season!

• Fre alcohol-removed wine & holiday mocktails

Scott and I attended another holiday party last Friday night, and it was a great time! It was very low-key at our friends’ apartment in Long Island City, and I was very touched that the host (and guests) thought of what I could and couldn’t drink before we arrived.

Our friend, Chantale, gifted me this bottle of Fre alcohol-removed Merlot to sip on throughout the night and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It doesn’t taste like grape juice, and instead, resembled the same bitter aftertaste that I usually experience with a glass of wine. I loved it! She said she picked it up at her local wine store and even got it approved by her OB/GYN. Score!

My friend, Becky, concocted a delicious ginger fizz mocktail that I shared on my Instagram page. It’s a simple to put together with ginger beer, cranberry juice and gin (optional), garnished with cranberries and fresh rosemary.

I’m glad that I didn’t eat dinner before we arrived since I was definitely snacking for two. Everything was so good!

We all brought presents to partake in a white elephant gift exchange and ended the night chatting while watching Christmas movies.

Thanks for the hospitality, Justin and Becky!

• the MTA holiday train

While on my way to brunch on Sunday, I accidentally found the MTA holiday train at the 2nd Avenue stop in Soho! I got off of my normal F train and saw a large crowd of people gathered around the tracks across from us.

Typically, the train runs from Queens to Manhattan on the M line, but this year, in celebration of the Second Avenue Subway’s opening a year ago, a new route is planned. You can read more about how to catch it here.

I’d love to catch a ride on the train with Scott on Christmas Eve! (You can see the full train schedule here.)

• girls’ brunch at Supper (Soho)

After getting distracted by the holiday train, I made a quick walk over to Supper in Soho to meet up with a group of girlfriends. My friend, Michelle, was in town, and she did a great job at organizing an entire weekend of get-togethers. I was excited to see her on Sunday and take a few hours to simply sit and chat over great food.

Supper is part of the same restaurant company as another favorite of ours, Lil Frankie’s and Frankie’s. I ordered the zucchine taagliattelle which was basically a fancy version of zoodles with lemon, butter, Parmesean cheese, and added a scrambled egg (for brunch). It was so, so good!

Hours seem to pass by in a flash whenever I meet up with this group of girls. It was a wonderful afternoon, and I am looking forward to the next outing hopefully sooner than later!

Your Turn

I’d love to hear all about your faves. What have you been loving lately?

An InLinkz Link-up

<div align="center"><a href="https://lifeinleggings.com" rel="nofollow" title="Life In Leggings"><img src="https://lifeinleggings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Friday-Favorites-Button-Life-In-Leggings-Link-Up-2.jpg" alt="Life In Leggings" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Have a great holiday 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!