Friday Favorites

Although I live in denial as long as I can when summer turns to fall, I eventually have to admit October is upon us, which means wedding season is coming to a close. 

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I love—LOVE—weddings. I am always astounded by the creativity people (brides) display when planning a wedding. There are so many different ways to do things, from the engagement photos and the invitations to the ceremony and reception, but the best part is that all weddings have one thing in common: two people committing wholeheartedly to each other, ready to take on whatever life throws at them. It's a beautiful thing, especially for a sap like me. Here are 10 of my favorite (and less heavy) moments when attending a wedding.

1. Yes, I'm going to be totally cliche right away and confess that I, too, love watching the groom watch his bride. You just don't often see the guy show quite so much emotion, affection and adoration at once, and it is pretty heart-melting.

2. The bubbles! Thank you to all of the couples who supply bubbles for the end of the ceremony. There is something so magical about them as they float around what is most likely the happiest couple in the world at that very moment in time, adding the perfect touch.

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3. Cocktail hour snacks. I suppose I get why people who drink enjoy this, but for me cocktail hour = snacking hour, and mixed nuts and M&Ms always seem to taste better when devoured out of mini plastic wedding cups.

4. Watching the photographer. As someone quite lacking in the creativity department, I am always amazed by the different angles and scenes the photographers are able to scope out and capture—and the uncomfortable and awkward positions they are willing to suffer through in order to do so.

5. Dessert. Duh.

6. People watching. Weddings tend to create some pretty entertaining crowd combinations, and it just gets better when people move onto the dance floor.

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7. The bouquet toss.
It might be a stupid tradition, but that doesn't make it any less fun or competitive. 

8. Late night snacks. The meal was hours ago, but you have an hour or two of dancing to go, and you need fuel—preferably the gooey, greasy kind. Enter late night pizza, taco bars, nachos, sliders...

9. Watching the bride and groom dance—not the first dance but much later in the night when they're completely blissed out, sweaty, messy and letting loose to whatever ridiculous song is playing with the cheesiest smiles on their faces.

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10. The end. Weddings are fun, but they require you to have a lot of social interactions, and to me that is exhausting. It's a great feeling to leave a wedding knowing you had a good time and you're about to have a really good night's sleep!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

Today's favorites combine this week's "rude" theme with my love of TV. Why are the most selfish, ridiculous characters sometimes the most loveable? Here are five of my favorite TV characters who are incredibly entertaining to watch but would be horrible to interact with in real life!

1. Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm).

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2. Karen Walker (Will & Grace).

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3. Red (That 70s Show).

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4. Marnie (Girls).

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5. April (Parks and Recreation).

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Have a good weekend! Think nice thoughts:)

Friday Favorites

Tonight we went to the Twins/Angels game, thanks to some awesome season-ticket-holding friends who gave us their seats. I usually go to a couple of games during the summer, but this was my one and only 2014 experience. Summer nights seem to be made for baseball games, and here are my five favorite reasons to go to a game:

1. The food (surprise, surprise): eating it, smelling it and walking the stadium just to look at it all. Brats, fries, burgers, ice cream sundaes in mini helmets—everything that just tastes better eaten outside. My must-have snack actually comes from Candyland, a few blocks away from Target Field: chocolate gummy bears. You have to try them.

2. KISS CAM! My ultimate goal is to actually be on it someday. 

3. People watching. The range of people brought together for the sake of a baseball game provides some pretty good entertainment, and since there's so much going on, it's easier to get away with checking everyone out. You know you do it too.

4. The general atmosphere. I just love the feeling I get walking into Target Field. There's a constant energy buzz, and you get a pretty awesome view no matter where you sit.

5. Trevor Plouffe, my favorite player. OK, so he's really only one of maybe three I can actually remember, but what a sweet name!

Least favorite part: The actual baseball playing. I just cannot get into it. And NINE innings? Is that really necessary?

Have a good weekend! Hopefully you can catch a game if you're in the area; they're here through Sunday!

Friday Favorites

You probably already guessed what today's favorites would be, and here they are: some of my favorite eats at the MN State Fair!

Top three classics

1. Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies.

2. Original cheese curds.

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3. Roasted corn at the Corn Roast.

Top three of the new foods of 2014

1. Deep-fried buckeyes at Spaghetti Eddie's.

2. Izzy's jello salad ice cream.

3. SnoRibbons at Blue Moon.

LEAST favorite new food

Green Mill's pizza tots. Nice idea, but no.

You have three days left to try it all. Go now!

 

Friday Favorites

Some days (weeks...months...) it's easy to feel like a failure and remind ourselves of all the things we haven't accomplished. 

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Which is why I sometimes cheat a little and give myself little boosts of confidence when I accomplish (really) small, daily things. I certainly don't recommend losing sight of the big things we look to achieve, but sometimes it's nice to enjoy a false sense of accomplishment. Here are 10 of my favorites:

1. Cleaning. Whether it's the dishes, the apartment or just the litter box, it always feels good to un-dirty a little something in your life.

2. Folding and putting away clean laundry—especially if you're someone who has no problem leaving freshly laundered clothes in the basket all week. They are more accessible that way, after all. 

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3. Grocery shopping without impulse buying anything that contains chocolate or artificial cheese.

4. Only eating half of the ice cream you did cave in and buy when you had to go back to the store to get the three  forgotten items from yesterday.

5. Getting your butt out the door and working out when you really...really...do not want to.

6. Doing something social. Yes, I do congratulate myself on hanging out with someone other than my husband or a cat.

7. Doing something nice for someone else. Even if it's just smiling at a stranger or letting someone merge in front of you during rush hour.

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8. Showering. Hey, some days are a struggle.

9. Eating vegetables. Fruits are no problem for me. Veggies? Not so appealing.

10. Going to bed at a decent hour instead of procrastinating it all night just to resist the fact that the day is over.

Have a good weekend, and do something (semi) productive!

Friday Favorites

Let's face it: 98 percent of these posts list at least one food, so I decided to make them all food-related today. 

1. Brookside chocolates.  

Oh, these are just SO GOOD! They're a little bit on the spendy side, so I don't buy them regularly, but I knew it was meant to be when I saw a deal on Target Cartwheel. All I will say is I made them last as long as I could.

2. Snapea Crisps.

I have had a ridiculous amount of debates in my head about buying these for months since I pass by them every time I'm buying groceries. I finally tried them; the only regret I have is not trying them sooner, and there are plenty of other flavors for me to get busy trying!

3. Pumpkin noosa.

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing to already be seeing pumpkin flavors, but this is so good I don't care. If you've never tried noosa yogurt, go get some now. My favorite flavor is blueberry, but this definitely comes in second.

4. SO Delicious frozen non-dairy dessert.

 

 Not too sweet, but it has a rich enough flavor to satisfy you after a few bites. Nothing is ever as good as real ice cream, but this comes very close!

5. Powerade.

OK, so there's nothing too exciting about Powerade, but sometimes water just doesn't cut it, and after a run one night this week I probably told Jared at least five times how badly I wanted some. The next day, there were two waiting for me in the fridge:) It really is the little things.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

It's Friday again! Am I the only one who feels like the days drag on, but the weeks fly by!? Here are five things I'm loving this week.

1. I received my Jamberry Nail Wraps! 

My cousin recently introduced me to these through a virtual Jamberry party (go to her website to check them out). They're basically stickers you press on using heat and then trim to fit your nails. They are made in the USA, not tested on animals, do not damage natural nails, do not use any harmful chemcials and last up to two weeks on fingers and six weeks on toes. I was skeptical at first, but I was able to try a sample, and they actually stay on and look awesome! I am so excited about the two styles I got and can't wait to try more! 

2. New hummus.

Jared and I visited a new-to-us sub shop in the area, and though the sandwiches were impressive, the hummus was unreal! It's made in-house and is the best I've ever had, so of course I asked them if I could buy a giant container of it.

3. Pandora. The only thing keeping me sane at work lately.

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Specifically, two stations: Christina Perri and The Piano Guys (my mom's obsession rubbed off a little).

4. Homemade peach salsa.

 
Made with love by three of my favorite people (my grandpa, his wife and their beautiful daughter), it is so delicious! My favorite way to eat it is on a wheat tortilla with spinach and melted cheese. Mmmm!

5. Colbie Caillat.

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She had my heart at "Bubbly," but with her fabulous "Try" video all over the Internet and a lot of her songs popping up on the Christina Perri station, specifically "If You Love Me Let Me Go," I am in awe all over again.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

Today I'm sharing five "news" items from the week that put a little smile on my face. Hopefully they do the same for you!

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1. A Minneapolis woman who is taking a stand against catcallers.

2. Taylor Swift offering a fan some pretty insightful love advice.

3. "Selfies" from 'This Is Me: Self Identity Project.'

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 4. A list of 20 delicious items from Trader Joe's, recommended by a dietitian.

5. A happy ending for two best (dog) friends.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

Friday is the perfect day for a little randomness, so I've thrown together five of my favorite things from the past week!

1. Getting pictures of my nephew:)

 I am starting to scare myself with how obsessed I am with the little guy.

2. Watermelon sherbet.

The perfect summer treat! It's so much better than I thought it would be, but it's still easy to contain myself enough to not eat it all in one sitting.

3. St. Ives coconut milk body wash.

I love trying different soapy products. This body wash is deliciously creamy with just the right amount of a refreshing coconut scent.

4. S'mores Goldfish mixed into coconut Greek yogurt.

A tasty, filling afternoon pick-me-up!

5. My Samsung Galaxy S5.

Yes, I finally own a smartphone! Yes, I already spend more time on it than I should.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing some of my favorite recent eats!

1.Dark chocolate nuts & sea salt Kind bars.

This is definitely the best Kind bar flavor. Perfect for a snack or breakfast!

2.Jack Link's small batch jerky.

I l.o.v.e. jerky, but I hate how tough it can be. These small bits are perfect—packed with delicious flavor and easy to eat!

3.Woats.

If you hate hard, crunchy granola, this is for you! I love eating it with peanut butter and a banana, mixed in with yogurt, or all by itself. There are other flavors, but I've only tried these two so far.

4. Yogurt with blueberries.

 I have weeks where I can't get enough yogurt, followed by weeks where I would be happy to never eat it again. Filling a yogurt cup with as many blueberries as possible completely changes things. Key lime yogurt is by far the best flavor to use!

5. Nelson's ice cream.

 We used my birthday as an excuse to finally try this place, and it is definitely my new No. 1 spot. Those cones are "child-size," by the way.

Have a good weekend, and make sure it's filled with a few of your favorite foods!

Friday Favorites

I love working out at home, but I sometimes get bored with my DVDs, and buying new ones can add up pretty quickly. Enter YouTube.

Uh, yeah, that's been around for how long now? But I have always been turned off by trying to find workouts on YouTube. First of all, there are just so many, making  it overwhelming. It's also hard to know which ones are any good and which ones are just wasting your time.

My desperation for something new finally drove me back a few weeks ago. I'm still trying to wade through everything, but so far I've found five people/channels I really like. They have videos lasting anywhere from five to 50 minutes, so I'm having a lot of fun mixing and matching. Here are the five I'd recommend at this point in time! Enjoy!

1. Fitness Blender, a husband-and-wife team. 

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 Easy instructions and different intensity levels. Videos can also be found on their website.

2. Rebecca Louise, an enthusiastic trainer with an awesome British accent.

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Check out her personal website here.

3. POPSUGAR, featuring different trainers and offering a lot of variety.

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Check out the entire website here.

4. Cassey Ho, demonstrating her "POP Pilates" routines.

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Warning: she's a little too enthusiastic, and her voice can be hard to handle. Check out her personal website here.

5. Jessica Smith, a personal trainer with her adorable sidekick, Peanut.

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 She gives great direction and offers the right amount of encouragement and enthusiasm without being annoying. Check out her website here.

Happy experimenting!