Friday Favorites: Week of 8/6

Hi there and Happy Friday to you!

It’s been a great week here in Brooklyn, and we are running around today getting ready to head out and on the road for a week-long trip to Michigan. We rented a car and will be driving 12.5 hours to Northern Michigan to spend time with some of my family members and attend my grandmother’s Celebration of Life service on Sunday. <3

Two of our dear friends are getting married the following weekend, so we will be staying around the Detroit area in between. I’m looking forward to getting back “home” for a bit and seeing friends and loved ones we haven’t been able to see much over the past few years. It’s been a long time since Scott and I have been able to travel together, so that makes it extra special. Roadie, our now 13-year-old dog, is coming too!

Let’s move on to this week’s edition of Friday Favorites. I’ve got some laundry to finish and a lot of packing to get done, but there are definitely some highlights worth sharing first.

Thank you for reading!

FRIDAY FAVORITES: WEEK OF 8/6

• NYC Family Shoot

Scott, Skyler and I had a wonderful time in Lower Manhattan on Monday night. We got the opportunity to have a family shoot with a local photographer named Lily, and it had been way too long as the last time we all got together for professional photos was when Skyler was just a few months old!

She asked what type of locations and backgrounds we would like in the photos, and we asked for places that would capture New York City with a variety of looks. We love the urban graffiti walls, scenes by the water, parks, and basically anything you’d see while walking the city.

Lily was an absolute joy to work with and did a fantastic job picking a meeting spot at The Oculus. I’m sure we took hundreds of photos in just under two hours, and the result is a whole collection of shots for us to have and treasure for years to come.

Lily was professional and fun with a great eye for angles, and we received access to the full photo gallery very quickly.

These pictures are just a snippet of our favorites, so I’ll be sharing more throughout the next few months as they naturally fall into featured content. And hey, we might even get back to sending holiday cards again this year … who knows!

I highly recommend Lily Raya Photography to anyone in the NYC area, so reach out if you have any questions or would like to hear more about our experience.

Thank you so, so much Lily!

• favorite summer sandal yet – Birkenstock Arizona EVA

If you’re walking around the city from park to splash pad with a little one this summer, you’re going to need a good summer-friendly sandal that can get wet, dry quickly and provide enough support to get you through a few miles.

The majority of families near us wear Crocs or Birkenstocks, and our family has a mix of both.

Scott and Skyler gave into the Crocs, but I’ve stuck by the Birkenstocks. The newer Arizona EVA sandal is the BEST! It’s extremely comfortable, perfect for summer wear, and you can snag a pair for a third of the price of regular Birks – for around $44. I had to go on a mission around Manhattan to find these in my size and ultimately landed at Famous Footwear, but you can find them at a variety of places online like here, here and here.

I am a huge fan, would love to purchase them in another color and give them a rating of 10/10!

• new clean mascara and giveaway

Forget everything you know about clean mascara! Seriously. Beautycounter has been working on this new and improved formula for seven years, and it’s finally here to talk about and share my honest thoughts with you!

But first, why does clean mascara matter? Well, ingredients that can be found in traditional mascaras (carbon black, mineral oils, cyclic silicones and BHT) may be linked to harmful effects on human health. The skin around our eyes is very thin and prone to irritation so, as always, safer ingredients are the better way to go when it comes to everyday skincare and makeup products. (See my Clean Beauty page for more on this!)

The brand-new Think Big All-in-One Mascara just debuted this week. It’s designed to bring the best results from the former volumizing and lengthening mascaras into one. And it conditions your lashes!⁣

So, why the upgrade? The old Beautycounter mascaras always got mixed reviews. Some people loved them and others didn’t. I fell somewhere in between … they were clean and did the job in a natural way, and that was fine for me most of the time.⁣ That said, let’s talk about clean but EFFECTIVE (more dramatic) mascara, which is exactly what this upgrade is about! It gives you beautiful longer, fuller-looking lashes. It stays put, and it goes on smoothly, too.

The Think Big All-In-One Mascara is EWG-Verified™, which is really important in product safety. Beautycounter tests each batch for heavy metals and is highly selective when it comes to pigments. The Tripeptide technology features two ingredients to support the appearance of longer, fuller, stronger lashes, and I experienced a noticeable blend of added volume and lengthening to my lashes when I tested it out yesterday.

Please reach out if you have any questions about this or any other Beautycounter product!

Also, I am raffling off a brand-new full size product from my personal stash! You already know the details if you are subscribed to the  or follow the facebook page, but basically I’m picking one winner from anyone who shops with me through 11:59 p.m. PST tomorrow, 8/7.

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If you’ve never ordered with Beautycounter before, use the code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first order. I’m always here to help, and please reach out if you would like to know the best ways to save on your purchases.

• Beauty & Essex / Please Don’t Tell – Lower East Side & East Village

Last Saturday night was one for the books and included a fun night out with friends who were visiting from Orlando!

Scott was working in the City, so I got a babysitter and met up with two girlfriends for dinner and drinks at one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan, Beauty & Essex. I love this venue, and it’s one that we often take friends from out of town. It’s known for it’s unique atmosphere and eclectic food.

You have to enter through a legit pawn shop, and you should make a reservation if you’d like to dine for dinner. There is a full bar for lounging and the cocktails and dishes are fabulous. Don’t pass over the Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon & Tomato Soup Dumplings if you go. Trust me. Try a Jewels on Toast, too!

After dinner, we walked over to a speakeasy that I had never been to or even heard about. It’s appropriately named Please Don’t Tell, and is a true NYC experience. To get in, you have to call from a payphone inside Crif Dogs, which is a hot-dog stand next door. (Remember this because you’ll be googling how to get in if you don’t take note!)

You’ll be asked to wait in the phone booth until a table is free, or you get seated at your reserved table. It was a fun time, and the night got even better when Scott was able to meet us before taking a cab home to Brooklyn!

• favorite LIL posts

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If you’re frustrated about feeling out of control about something or many things in your life, you’re not alone. A lot of us can relate right now as we are still navigating life through a pandemic. Here are ten things to focus on that might help!

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There are several bouts of cardio in these moves, and the workout has a total body focus. You’ll be working different muscle groups at once from head to toe. Grab a mat, some water, and a towel (for sweat) and let’s do it!

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And that wraps up this week’s faves! I’m not sure where exactly the next week will take us while we’re on the road, so I may or may not be back next Friday with the recaps. There is beauty in unplugging and really soaking in time with loved ones when you don’t get to see them often, so that’s what I’m planning on doing.

Until next time, you can keep up with the adventures on Instagram and we’ll chat again soon.

Have a great weekend!

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*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, but affiliate links may be included. 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 appreciate you more than you know.