friday favorites blogging

Friday Favorites #21!

Published on February 22, 2019February 25, 2019 by Mackenzie84 Comments

Happy Friday!!! We made it – woohoo!! DJ had to work super late last night (around 11 pm), but in turn he gets today entirely off! I still have to work on school shtuff all day, but I love having him around. I have faves bursting at the seams this week- definitely will have to save some for next week too!

Trader Joe’s Tzatziki– oh man, this stuff is so creamy and delicious. I like putting it on my “chik’n”, eating it with hummus and pita chips, or putting it in my salads.

2. Trader Joe’s Sliced French Brioche. The obsession is real. This is a must-try. We use it mainly for sandwiches, french toast, and grilled cheese!

3. Little Pink Book. I am sooo old fashioned in keeping “paper records”. I don’t totally trust technology plus I’m bad at it, lol. Anywho- this little book is so fun & adorable for storing all contacts and addresses. I’m sure my mom is happy to read this considering it means I won’t constantly text her, “What is so & so’s address again?”

4. Crispy Chickpeas from Trader Joe’s. This is more of a DJ Friday Fave, I like these, but DJ loves them. I actually prefer the Saffron Road brand, but these are still yummy.

5. Olay Instant Hydration Eye Cream. I gotta say, I am usually so skeptical about face and eye creams- they cost an arm & a leg, but do they actually work? I noticed a difference in my under eye puffiness and also general smoothness in my under eyes by using this for one day! It lasts for a long time too because you only need very little.

6. Fyre Festival Documentaries. This is kind of old news now, but I have to include it! Oh man, this is a fascinating documentary! I suggest watching both- the Netflix and Hulu styles are different & you learn different aspects about the whole mess through each. I won’t even give a synopsis because I’m sure y’all are well aware about it by now. Gosh, it’s entertaining.

7. Airpods! DJ has wanted to get these for me for a long time for a Christmas or bday gift for the last couple years, but I always said I didn’t get the point. I didn’t see how they were that different truly from the regular headphones. WOW, was I wrong in my thinking- these are a game changer!! He finally got them for me this past Christmas, and I am sooo glad. They are sooo much easier, don’t catch on everything, and I think my form is better running because I can truly stand up straight without the headphones tugging on my phone. Also, I can do HITT routines while listening to podcasts or music… I couldn’t do that with my wire ones because they needed to be connected to my phone.

8. Maybelline’s Colossal Volume Mascara. We have all seen the commercials for this mascara, and I had a sample I finally tried. I usually use “They’re Real!“.. but that can be sooo doggone pricy. This Mascara is insanely comparable, maybe even adds more volume, and is a price I can justify!

9. The Wife Between Us. Wowzas, this book is a good one! Some people compare it to the style of Behind Closed Doors, one of my favorites from last year. This book, similarly, had sooo many twists and turns at the end, my jaw was nearly on the floor. Thanks, Maureen, for the suggestion! I really hope they make this a movie!

10. The Final Table. Where my cooking show fanatics at?!?! This is a must watch! The Final Table takes the best chefs from around the world and they compete in the ultimate cooking competition. This is top tier cooking competition gold.

Question for you:

Any favorites for you this week?!

Have a great weekend, my friends 🙂

xo <3

**There are affiliated links in this post, but all ideas and opinions are my own! Some images are from a Google Image search- ya know the really crisp professional looking ones 😉 **

Friday Favorites #17!

Published on November 9, 2018February 25, 2019 by Mackenzie83 Comments

Happy Friday, everyone!!! I was not planning on publishing a Friday Faves today, but I am having the worst time focusing on school this morning. It smells thick of smoke from the wildfires and my eyes are dry- it’s making it hard to read and absorb the info. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by Camp Fire (and the shooting). My stomach hurts thinking about everything going on 🙁 So scary, so awful. What’s happening to us, guys? *Sigh* I didn’t even plan on mentioning this, but my heart is breaking for the pain & loss being experienced by so many.

Anyways, Friday Favorites are always some of my favorite posts to post (Did that sentence even make sense?). Publishing one always brightens my spirits, and I hope it brightens yours as well! I’m currently enjoying an extra cup of pumpkin spiced joe (it’s a three cup of coffee type morning) and am excited to share some highlights before hitting the books again. Luckily, I have the whole weekend to just focus on a massive paper I have due soon. Alrighty ! Leggo!

Apple Cider Donuts from Trader Joe’s. We haven’t been great this year about doing all the traditional autumn activities, but really, all ya need is an apple cider donut (or six) to call your fall a win!!!

2. Brooks Ghost Runners & Berry Inserts. This has been my go-to shoe/insert pairing for the last six(ish) years, maybe more! Before using this combo I had horrible shin splints. I have been fighting some serious knee pain recently, then realized I haven’t replaced my shoes in nearly five months. That’s far too long when you are marathon training. Since replacing them my knee already feels much better, but I’m gonna take it easy this week to try to let it heal up.

3. TJ’s Lightlife Smart Tenders. Oh, how I love Lightlife. Their smart tenders are just insanely good, vegan, and super high in protein.

I like dicing up the tenders, heating them up, and throwing them in my salads. For thanksgiving, I am going to eat these with gravy as my “turkey”. (Of course I’ll make a real turkey too for the meat eaters 😉 ).

4. Dang, this is quickly becoming a TJ’s Friday Fave! Have y’all tried these pumpkin cranberry crisps yet?! OH man they are good! I like dipping them in greek yogurt for an afternoon snack. Mm mm. I may need to go grab some now!

Okay, back, with crisps in hand! Onto the next one….

5. If you follow the bachelor, you have to read this exchange between Arie & Sean Lowe. Too funny.

6. My sister asked me to be her maid of honor!! After a lot of contemplation and ambivalence about my answer (jk jk), I said yes! I am so so excited. She asked me with this cute little scratch off & a wine glass that had an inside joke engraved on it. Her wedding is next July 🙂

Not a super high quality picture, but a high quality moment!

(PS. JUST in case anyone notices, I’m not wearing my ring in the pic because I was deep cleaning the apartment this day haha- there is zero trouble in paradise 😉 ). Although speaking of which- can you believe Kaitlyn and Shawn’s breakup (bachelor franchise reference)?! *insert shocked emoji*. Although I’m not alll that shocked. There were some signs. Okay, I need to move on. Hahah.

7. We are a bit late to the game with this one. But we are LOVING The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. We watched the first episode and weren’t sure how we felt, but after the second one we were glued to the series. I think we may binge it tonight depending how much work I get done to try to finish the ‘sodes. We have three left!

8. This is an unusual Friday Fave- but this past week when checking out at my local Target I was chatting away with one of my favorite cashiers, and right before I left she threw a bunch of free goods into my shopping bag! I used up everything already except the lavender + sage soap (which I smells delightful and I’ll be opening it up today). I particularly loved the lemon sage lotion– yummy! Shoutout to my local TarJay employees – y’all are the real MVPs!

9. This. Just this.

10. Ebates!!!

Oh man, oh man! A few of you recommended signing up and installing this into my internet toolbar for cashback on purchases after my Savings September post. All I gotta say is….. what have I been doing my whole life?! This is incredible. It’s so easy, and I already am racking up cashback on things I already buy all the time. Thank you tons for the recommendation!!! If you want to sign up, click this link!

Questions for you:

Current favorite Trader Joe’s Product?
Any weekend plans?

xo <3

**There are affiliated links in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

Friday Favorites #11!

Published on April 19, 2018April 19, 2018 by Mackenzie38 Comments

Hey y’all! I feel super behind on blogging! Soo many awesome things have happened before and after the cruise, but I’ve been so busy and barely could get those vacay posts out alone. So stay tuned for recaps that are about three weeks late, lol, okay maybe four weeks honestly. But for now- I am quite excited to share a Friday Faves with ya!

e.l.f. matte liquid lip color. YOU GUYS, this is only $5.00 from Target and is my new obsession. I rarely ever invest in bold shades for the lip, but for vacation I thought it would be fun. I wore it much more frequently than I thought I would. Although it was bold, I felt like it wasn’t too much to pull off like a traditional deep red is.

Here are pictures of it on you might remember from the cruise posts!

2. When I came home from the cruise, I had some errands to run in the mall. Occasionally, I love to stop by See’s candies for a butterscotch lollipop after and they always offer free samples of chocolate 😉

3. Spongelle Body Wash Infused Buffer!!! This was a Fab Fit Fun included gift- and I just love it. It smells amazing and is basically a loofa that has soap built in. It is greatly exfoliating, and I’ve already used it probably ten times at least with it still sudsing up for each use!

4. I can’t forget Easter treats!!! Someone gets this crack away from me! Bahah. DJ’s fam sent us some awesome goodies for Easter starting with The Popcorn Factory popcorn & make your own cookies! This caramel corn right here is the most addictive stuff in the world.

We also received the sweetest Olive & Cocoa gift basket from… all the goodies are just too darn delish. You see those little pink puffs at the bottom?…. I took them on the cruise with me and they did not last long at all. SO GOOOD! I need to hunt down more!

I also wanted to include these here because these companies would make awesome ideas for mother’s day gifts too!

5. Trader Joe’s High Protein Tofu. Do any of you have a really hard time finding super firm tofu? I feel like sometimes even the super firm tofu in the grocery store still can crumble while cooking. This stuff does not crumble one bit and has a whopping 14g of protein! It’s my favorite tofu to cook with and throw in salads, sweet potatoes, or have for breakfast as a tofu scramble.

6. Cauliflower Pizza! Y’allll I have tried (and failed) to make Cauliflower pizza on my own many times. I finally pulled the trigger and just bought some from Sprouts. This stuff… life changing. So darn delectable. I could not tell the different between a thin crust pizza & this cauli pizza! You can actually buy it on amazon in a four pack 🙂 You is welcome

7. Korres body butter. Oh. my. lanta… talk about all the yummy smells. This also came in the FFF box! Whenever I put on this lotion I feel like I just rolled around in a coconut. You must try this for yourself! It’s a bit pricey, but seriously worth it, or makes for a great gift.

8. Zodiac. Well this took a hard turn in another direction. DJ and I recently watched the movie Zodiac, a movie based on the true story of a Bay Area serial killer. I love love love thriller/mystery movies, and this movie hit the spot. Fantastic movie with amazing actors too!

9. MantraBand!! My mother-in-law is one of the most thoughtful gift givers, and for my graduation she gave me this mantra band… it says, “Nevertheless, she persisted”. This meant more to me than I can even say. She was a pillar of support for me through the year, and this bracelet has such special meaning to me. (She also got me one that says, “Just Run”! Now if that’s not my mantra, I don’t know what is!).

10. The Hills! You might laugh at me, but I’m actually watching The Hills for the first time and loving it. It’s such great mindless TV while working on other projects, and the drama is pure gold for this reality TV junkie. Can you believe I’ve never watched it?! I’ve seen episodes here and there, but not all the way through! A bit late to the game… but what do they say? Better late than never 😉

Please leave your Friday Favorites links in the comments below!!!!

xo <3

Friday Favorites #8 (I think?!)!

Published on December 13, 2017January 3, 2018 by Mackenzie40 Comments

Hey Y’allll! I am doing a combo post- a recap mixed with Friday faves. Knockin’ out two calling birds with one snowball.

This past few weeks since the wedding has been filled with finishing up the research project (it’s due in less than a month!) & DJ has been working super hard too with the holiday community events. We had his company Christmas party last week which was a lot of fun!

Anywayyyyyyzzzz, what better time to share a few favorite things than the most wonderful time of the yeaaaarrr!

Ok. Let us begin!

Donut Wheel Donuts- Nough’ said?! For some reason this holiday season makes us crave some donuts. We grabbed these little guys the day after we returned from the wedding.

2. Pieology. This was one of the last places for us to try on Main Street Cupertino! I think I even prefer it over Mod Pizza… which I didn’t think was possible . DJ demolished their Margherita Da Vinci, and I savored their vegan pizza with all the toppings. The only thing I will say is there largest size is a bit small. DJ was still a bit hungry after his.

3. Our Church’s Christmas Creative. Every year our Church tells the Christmas story in a festive, creative way displaying the wide array of talents those in our Church possess! It blows me away every year.

Below is just a sampling of our Children’s group who opened the show! Come on, how cute are they?!

4. This is super random, but I have to include it a la “recap” style… Spotting wildlife! I saw an actual Jack Rabbit for the first time in real life last week. Those ears are HUGE.

5. VitaFusion Biotin!!!!! I don’t why in the fuji apple it has taken me this long to jump on the biotin train. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’d know I’ve been exceedingly frustrated as of late with my hair. The stress of this year has caused my hair to be brittle, thin, and dry. Even my go-to cure-all shampoos weren’t doing the trick. I started using biotin and have seen ALL the difference. Even my nails are remarkably stronger.

6. The Giver! Sooo this is one of those novels that most find on their grade school mandated reading list.. but for some reason I never was required to read this classic. It has been sitting around my mini library for a long time (we’re talking years on years). I walked past it the other day and emphatically (and randomly) decided to give it a go. I flew through it in a couple days. I was a little perturbed at the ending. I feel like there could have been a part two. But overall I’m a sucker for the dystopian fiction. Orwell and Huxley were most definitely on that required reading 😉

7. Cassie’s Cookery! One of my favorite bloggers, and good friends, Cassie, over at Cassie’s Cookery created her first cookbook. OK, these recipes are INCREDIBLE. I cannot wait to dive in. She is one of the first people that brought to light how scrumptious sweet potatoes are for breakfast. Check out her amazing blog right NOW!

8. Beyond Meat: The Beyond Burger!!! (pause for dramatic effect)…. DJ asks me to snatch these from the store every time I go. That says a lot considering he is a meat eater through and through. These are uncannily good and even bleed like real burgers (from beet juice). I dare you, all you vegan skeptics, to give this a go! The way it sizzles, tastes, and smells is the equivalent of a juicy burger. I wouldn’t lie to you now would I?!

9. Beautiful Anonymous Podcast. I don’t know why I haven’t included this before in a FF. I feel like maybe I did, but I don’t remember expounding on it. Anywho- This is one of my ALL time favorite podcasts. For one hour flat Chris Gethard talks to an anonymous stranger (who calls in when he tweets out the number) about anything and EVERYTHING. They are entirely anonymous (ya don’t say?) so the stories people share are fascinating. There are no “holds barred” in the words of Chris.

10. All things Christmas!!!! I did an “all things Fall” Friday Faves last time, so what the heck, I’m sticking with the seasonal fave. We were late to the game this year getting our tree and decor up. But we finally did this past Monday!

We wanted to continue our tradition of going out and chopping down a tree, but this time around none of our days off lined up, so we settled with finding one at a tree farm.

We saw this little guy instantly and knew it was the one!

Happy Holidays, y’all. I’ll be working the 23, 24, and 25th, so please eat some extra helpings for me <3

What’s YOUR Friday Favorite?!

xo <3

Friyay Faves! #6

Published on August 11, 2017August 11, 2017 by Mackenzie67 Comments

I just love Friday Favorites.

Anyone else?

The last couple weeks have been work filled, and high stress, but there are definitely a few things that make each day a bit better.

Pro Compression Socks. As a nurse, we are literally on our feet for 12 hours a day at least three days a week. Factor in running into this (I try to do a short run after each shift to get out my steam), I am on my feet sometimes up to 13 hours a day. Our legs in the dependent position create pooling of blood in our veins, which is no bueno. Plus when veins dilate from the constant gravity, varicose veins are much more likely. I discovered these little guys from a Facebook promo and am never going back. I feel weird on a shift without them now. It also just gives me a pep in my step knowing I’m wearing these fun colors beneath my gray scrubs. Holllla!

2. Rx Bar. I’m sure you have heard of Rx Bars. They are sorta the rage right now. I was a bit stubborn to try them to be honest because I am a die hard Quest/ No Cow bar fan. But goodness gracious, these are SO tasty. I love eating them with Greek yogurt for lunch too. The blueberry and chocolate salted caramel are to die for. Such a healthy protein packed pick me up on my long days!

3. Doug the Pug. I don’t follow a ton of celebrity/animal accounts on Insta- but I cannot resist this fella. His posts make my day, plus he has the same rug as me in my feng shui space, which obviously made me just love him all the more.

4. Speaking of my Feng Shui spot…. I love love love this bean bag from Amazon. I didn’t quite give it enough love when I was in my egg basket frenzy, but it totally deserves some love!

5. Zola. Hello, all things wedding registry perfection. I am slightly upset that we didn’t know about Zola when we had our wedding two years ago. Goodness gracious, they have the most unique, fantastic products for a registry that are so.dang.cute. I actually am shopping now for my best friend who is getting married in November- I’ll letchya’ll know what I end up getting her. I love that they have the “Experience” category- because that’s really what it’s all about right?! Even if the couple isn’t registered via Zola, they still have the BEST wedding gift ideas. I am obsessed.

One of my favorite gifts to get couples that is a picnic Basket. Zola has one stocked with everything two could need for a night out, and it’s wayyy more affordable than the ones I have bought in the past, especially with all their options to choose from (and MUCH cuter).

6. 3M Littmann Stethoscope. My stethoscope is my baby. I feel naked without it around my neck and this one in particular is absolutely amazing. My coworkers occasionally will borrow it and are astounded at how well it conducts sound. If you need one, this is the way to go!

7. Big Brother. I just started watching Season 19 for the first time. Where has this show been all my life?! Any fans out there?!

8. Forks over Knives cookbook. I just adore this cookbook. I love the recipes and am always inspired to create new recipes myself from ideas sparked from this lil’ guy. I’m not vegan, but I do love cooking vegan many times. PS. Has anyone watched What the Health? I haven’t watched it, but I have heard mixed reviews. Super curious!

9. Zoya. Where are my fashionistas at? Guys, you MUST try Zoya nail polish. It will change your existence. I am beyond in love with this. I actually am not sure why I haven’t included this in a FF sooner. My Aunt gave this to me as a gift a couple years ago, and I can’t imagine using anything else. This has zero toxins that all other main line nail polishes have and actually strengthens your nails. I have the WORST nails, but when I take this stuff off my nails are left without chips, layering, and are stronger than ever. Plus the colors are ah-may-zing.

10. Seared Tuna. I recently discovered Seared Ahi Tuna in the grocery store and cannot get enough. I tried recreating the Lazy Dog tuna over cauliflower mashed potatoes, and I’m not gonna lie- It’s pretty gosh dang close. MMM mmmm mmmm.

What are some of your Friday Favorites?!

xo <3

Tag: friday favorites blogging

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