Friday Favorites: Week of 7/2

Hi friends, it’s Friday! We made it to the end of the week, but it still doesn’t feel like the typical and expected Fri-yay mood just yet. Our precious kitty, Cali, is on her last few days with us and we had *the* appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning. We know it has to happen, but this is the second time delaying the dreaded appointment because she still seems so happy and content being here with us.

We’re not in denial. We know that she’s not going to get better, and we found out that she has dramatically lost weight and has a tumor in her intestines. It’s not operable and is growing at a very aggressive pace, so we have been taking everything one day at a time with her.

She is rallying and she is fighting to eat, hang and soak in all of the snuggles with us right now. It’s extra hard not knowing what kind of pain she is in, or what day is the “best” day to say goodbye to her. But we’re taking her lead through the weekend.

On top of that, a few very sad things happened in our family last week, including the loss of my grandmother. She lived to be 103 years old (just shy of turning 104!) so there is comfort in knowing that she lived a long and amazing life. But it still doesn’t make it easier. My grandmother deserves a much better tribute than in an intro in this post, so I’ll save those thoughts and words for another post down the road. We will be taking a road trip to Michigan to celebrate her life in early August, so I’ll be back to write out my thoughts with a proper tribute shortly after.

Until then, I want to say thank you so much for being here, checking in, and for sending your sweet messages and prayers. It’s been an emotional few weeks for sure. But we are hanging in there, doing our best to live in the now, and finding the joy in the time that we’ve had together.

There is a time to pull away from this space, and a time to stick to a routine, and right now publishing this set of favorites that I originally drafted a few days ago feels good. So let’s keep things light today and talk about the other, fluffier stuff going on.

Again, thank you for reading and I would love to hear about one thing that made your week a little brighter in the comments below. <3

FRIDAY FAVORITES: WEEK OF 7/2

• Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

It’s that time again! I’m currently raffling off a $50 gift card to one lucky winner over on Instagram, so I wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss out.

Subscription boxes and Amazon Prime are two HUGE staples for Scott and I while living in a big city without regular access to a car. We have several monthly auto-shipments set up, and you can find almost anything that you need on Amazon which is why I chose this as June’s giveaway prize. I hope this helps you get what you need in this season!

You have until 11:59pm EST on Monday, July 4th to enter if you haven’t already, so head on over and get in on the chance to win free money for necessities or splurges! This giveaway is really just a gift of appreciate from me to you, and I am crossing my fingers for all who enter.

• Latest restaurant outings in Park Slope, Brooklyn

Scott and I have been exploring new-to-us spots in our neighborhood over the past few weeks, and some of the recent finds deserve a highlight and shout out. First up is Nubleu Restaurant, a brand-new dining place right across the street from one of Skyler’s favorite playgrounds.

The patio set up is dreamy, and it has a wonderful menu featuring French cuisine.

The burrata is incredible and I really enjoyed my Vegetable Bowl. Scott ordered the Ravioli Truffle Fondue which was really, really good as well. We had a great time with fantastic service, and I definitely see us returning to come back and try more (including more refreshing summer cocktails) sometime soon.

Next is Colson Patisserie, one of our go-to cafes for coffee and bakery items. We’ve been dozens of times, but I’ve never featured it here on the blog. Well, the cookies alone are well worth the mention. So good!

And finally, last but not least is another new restaurant in the area called Pasta Louise. We walk by it almost daily as it’s right on the way to Prospect Park. The Italian Restaurant just opened last June (mid-pandemic!), and the outdoor dining space paired with homemade noodles and unique menu items is awesome.

You have to try the homemade meatballs at an Italian restaurant, right? I know I do. Scott ordered the vegetable pasta special (which was incredible), and I stuck with the meatball sauce over the pasta of the day. I don’t even remember type of pasta it was or what it was called, but it was homemade and SO. GOOD.

Unless you make a reservation ahead of time, plan on waiting for a table for a while … even on the weekdays. This place is buzzing right now in our neighborhood, and it took us four different tries to actually walk up and sit at a table. But it was worth the wait!

• *NEW* Dumbbell Strength Workout (with bench)

I stuck to the weight room on my last trip to the gm and completed a total body workout that I wanted to share with you here today.

⁣⁣You need a few sets of dumbbells (at least a light, medium, and medium-heavy weight) and a bench for this workout. The workout is split into three circuits, so complete 12-15 reps of each exercise (unless otherwise specified) in Circuit One for three rounds, then do the same for Circuit Two and so on.⁣⁣⁣

As always, please modify, rest and grab water as needed!

Exercise Demos:

dumbbell chest presses

single arm dumbbell rows

dumbbell alternating L-raises

hip thrusts on bench

dumbbell step-ups on bench

dumbbell goblet squats

dumbbell crossover curls

dumbbell triceps pullovers (on bench)

bench v-sits

• friends in the city

Do you remember when Scott and I led an Alpha Marriage course earlier this year? The cool thing about this story is that these two signed up from another state after tuning into our online church services during the season of online streaming! They live in Mississippi and happened to be visiting NYC over the weekend.

They were on their way out to the airport on Monday afternoon, but we hurried out to the train to make a meeting happen and loved the opportunity of getting to chat and catch up in person. Come back and see us again soon, Austin and Bailey!

• Beautycounter promo – free shipping through July 4th

Need some plans for the long holiday weekend? I’d love to help you dive into clean beauty or restock your faves. ⁣
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Right now you can order anything on the site and get free shipping on orders of more than $50 until Monday night.⁣⁣ Head on over to stock up on sunscreen, replenish your skincare, grab a lip gloss, or whatever you need.⁣⁣

Please reach out if you need me, and don’t forget to combine this with the promo code CLEANFORALL20 to also get twenty percent off of your first purchase. Yay!

• favorite LIL posts

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Let’s talk about what’s true and what’s not about common assumptions, myths, questions often answered in the health and fitness space!

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Need a quick and effective workout in a pinch? Save and/or pin these no equipment, minimal equipment, and gym equipment workouts that you can complete in 30-45 minutes.

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All right, it’s time to get back to Skyler and the fur babies. Our focus is taking it easy, and the biggest plans include loving our sweet girl over the long weekend. I hope you have a great one and enjoy the holiday ahead.

I’ll be looking forward to catching the fireworks from our rooftop on Monday night.

Do you usually go somewhere special to see them, too?

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*Disclaimer: Friday Favorites posts may include affiliate links. Also, I am a Beautycounter consultant and love what I do with the company. By using the links provided in this post to order products, you are supporting my business. I truly appreciate you. Always.