Friday Faves

Hi friends! Happy Friday to ya. I hope you had a wonderful week. It’s been a good one over here. I’ve been cranking through some work stuff in between helping Liv navigate her Google classroom times and homework, drawing and working on letters with P, doing a couple of science experiments, and making time for the pool in the afternoon.

(One of my fave poolside salads: chicken salad, egg salad, and tuna salad in artichoke heart bottoms with greens and balsamic)

I feel like we’re still trying to find a groove with everything, but this week feels better than last week, so I’m calling it a win. I hope everything is going well for you, too, especially as the kids head into school or distance learning.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and I always love when you share your faves, too! Please shout out something you’re lovin’ in the comments section below!

Random/life:

– Anniversary celebration! For the first time in quite a while, the Pilot was in town on our anniversary and we got to celebrate it that night! It was our first date night in almost 6 months and it was amaaaazing.

(Even on the drive over there we were like THIS IS WEIRD because it was our first time in the car, just the two of us, since before the world turned upside down.)

We went to Hacienda del Sol and sat on the patio. I’ve been to weddings and events at Hacienda but it was my first time dining at the restaurant. The food is incredible and since it seemed family-friendly (there were kids there), we could absolutely take the girls. We had an insane charcuterie board, cocktails, and for my entree, I chose the curry special, which had scallops, octopus, and mussels in a curry broth. We shared the bread pudding for dessert. 🙂

– 4 weeks to read. A friend recommended this for P since her 4-year old loved it and it did indeed teach her how to read. I LOVE the interactive design of this program. (We have the “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons” and while it worked for Liv, P is not into it.) You do 3-4 letters per week, and each lesson focuses on one letter and its phonetic sound. You play the alphabet song, talk about the letter of the day and what sound it makes, read a cute poem focusing on that letter, sing a song focusing on that letter’s sound, and practice writing the letter and coloring pictures that start with that letter. The lessons are short – maybe 15-20 minutes total – and P loves them! I also like that they have an app you can use on your phone instead of using the CD. They break everything down for you and it makes me happy that P really looks forward to this time.

Fashion + beauty:

I shared my experience with the embrace Active Skin Defense wipes and stickies in Instagram and they’re offering a 20% promo through the 31st if you’d like to give them a whirl!

Nordstrom sale has been bananas so far but there’s still a lot of great stuff left! Hanky panky thongs, Barefoot dreams throw, my fave classic black leggings (lots of sizes still available in black), these super cute mules (mine arrived last weekend and I love them!), these amazing Hunter boots, and kids’ North Face jackets (the girls were so pumped when theirs arrived the other day).

Read, watch, listen:

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. I needed something lighthearted to watch and this has been exactly what I needed. It’s heartwarming, witty, and who doesn’t love a random song and dance break?  10/10 recommend.

My latest post for WebMD is here! Tips for using stairs for your workouts + a sample circuit.

Don’t forget to check out this week’s podcast episode here.

I love this idea for anniversary photos!

 Fitness + good eats:

Peach cobbler might need to happen this weekend.

Barre arms and core workout.

Some new meal ideas in this post. 

Build-a-combo class.

Another reason to promote activity for our kiddos.

Happy Friday and hope you have a great weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today.

xo

Gina