Friday Favorites #202: Week of 5/19

Well, hello friends. It’s Saturday!

Some of you might have noticed that the blog was completely down yesterday. I installed an update on the back-end and that apparently prompted a hacker to come on in and take over. After several new security walls (unplanned dollars) and hours of troubleshooting with my hosting team, we are finally back up and running live today. Woohoo!

I know I don’t get around to posting as much as I’d like right now, but I at least plan to share a handful of Friday Favorites on a weekly basis. I also have a handful of posts started in my drafts folder that I swear will see light soon. (Fingers crossed that Skyler has a less fussy week ahead!)

I had the majority of this edition of favorites drafted yesterday, but I wasn’t able to finish and share it before everything happened. In an effort to get back into a groove with writing here and celebrate the re-takeover of the domain, here we are.

So, I’m happy to rewind a bit and cover what I’ve been loving lately on a Saturday. Thank you for checking in, and I hope you are enjoying your weekend, too!

 

Friday Favorites #202: Week of 5/19

 

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Ever since Scott and I moved to New York City, everyone keeps asking us if we’ve visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. They say the springtime when all of the cherry blossoms are in bloom is the best time to go, so we finally got out and explored it on Tuesday! Man, am I glad we did because everything was STUNNING.

I mean, c’monnn.

It’s a shame that the cherry blossoms are falling to the ground already because the cherry blossom walk is absolutely breathtaking. I wish they would stick around all year long, or at least a few more weeks!

We only had about two hours to see as much as we could, and that time was cut even shorter since I needed to change Skyler’s diaper and calm him down a few times. We walked the property, but we only covered about a third of what there is to see. Everything smelled so wonderful, and we kept telling each other that we have to come back soon throughout the entire visit.

FYI, admission into the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is free on Friday mornings and they have free admission to Garden After Hours (6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) on Tuesdays until the end of May! You better believe we are going to take advantage of that.

We’ve already been here two years, and I can’t believe this was our first outing there. It was the first of many more to come!

 

• iPhone X & PopSocket

Thanks to a Mother’s Day promotion (which I totally misheard and didn’t end up taking advantage of anyway), Scott and I visited our local Verizon store last Sunday to hopefully upgrade my iPhone. There wasn’t really anything wrong with my iPhone 7, but since I always borrow Scott’s 8 Plus for its portrait mode, we figured it couldn’t hurt to just bite the bullet and upgrade for an additional $19 a month. (I know, we’re total suckers.)

Well, I absolutely love my new iPhone X and I am excited to figure out everything it can do. The lack of a home button took some getting used to, but I think it’s a fair trade-off for a bigger screen and longer battery life. We somehow talked them into giving us a free phone case with our purchase, and I figured what better time to finally try out a PopSocket than now?

I never understood PopSockets until I actually tried one out on my friend’s phone. They’re kind of genius. Since my nights are filled with half-hour nursing sessions, I noticed how much I was gripping my phone in an aggressive way and wanted something to make it more comfortable. The design provides an extra support that helps me relax my hand more.

I got this PopSocket on Amazon for under $10 (you can also get it here and here), and I now I understand what the fuss has been all about. It was super easy to put on my case, and you can readjust it, too. My favorite thing about is is being able to unclamp my hand while holding my phone one handed (a must with nursing), and it can also turn into a stand to take pictures.

I know that the general public wouldn’t really care about that, but that (and the selfie portrait mode on the iPhone X) is a great feature for bloggers!

 

• Nuevo Mexico Restaurant (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

It’s always fun to find new potential favorite restaurants close to us! In search of something new (and extremely walkable), we found a great Mexican restaurant to have a quick Cinco de Mayo celebration last Saturday before Scott had to go to work.

Nuevo Mexico has been around Park Slope for 10+ years and has good reviews. In celebration of the holiday and a sleeping baby during our visit, I ordered a watermelon margarita and completely overshot there. It was the size of my head and considerably strong. Yowza!

Craving some greens, I ordered an Avocado Salad and a chicken taco while Scott opted for a variety of tacos. We also downed our weight in chips and salsa, of course.

Everything was delicious and we are excited to have a new spot to find great Mexican food without having to make reservations or wait too long to get seated.

 

• Skyler and our fur babies

I’ve received a lot of questions on how Roadie and the cats are doing with a new baby in the house. I briefly addressed this here and here, and if you follow LIL on Instagram, then you see them interact quite often.

I’ll be back with more updates on Skyler and the family soon (he’s two months already!), but for now, the sight of all of their snuggles melts me.

I was honestly terrified of bringing a new baby into our home filled with animals, but that fear has now subsided. I think it’s safe to say that they have taken him in as one of their own!

 

• favorite LIL posts

» Fitness Tips For Beginners 

Do you have a goal to finally start going to the gym but don’t know where to start? Check out these work out tips for first-time fitness goers.

 

» Tips For Living On A Budget (In New York City)

Living in New York City is expensive, but it’s totally doable with a strategy and budget in mind. Here are my tips after living in Brooklyn for some time. (I’m definitely revisiting this now that I’m on maternity leave!)

 

Your Turn

 

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Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

Disclaimer: While Friday Favorites is a series of posts that feature items I genuinely want to share with you, affiliate links are included. As always, your support is much appreciated!