Hello, friends! TGIF. Back again with another week of Friday Finds, my rose & thorn, and what weāre up to this weekend. Grab your coffee or a glass of wine and let's dive into this week's finds!
Outfit Details: linked here
THIS WEEK'S ROSE(S) š¹
Guys, I had my first *excited* moment with wedding planning this week! š I wish I was kidding, but I really do think it was the first time where I truly felt excited by this process since we decided on our venue a few months ago. So thatās a win, right?! Donāt get me wrong, I am very excited for so many things surrounding the wedding, but Iāve found most of it to be extremelyā¦ not exciting so far. š«
I spent a lot of time writing this week, which felt really good. All for forthcoming blog posts so none of it is readable yet, but nonetheless, Iām pushing myself to write more this year.
Since I havenāt been drinking for the past week, Iāve been getting FANTASTIC sleep! Could also be the mouth tape, but regardless, itās been great.
THIS WEEK'S THORN šŖ”
Just some other family health stuff that bummed me out, but again, everyone is okay!! š
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO āØ
You guysā¦ We donāt have plans tonight and I canāt even put into words how absolutely THRILLED I am. Honestly, neither of us can remember the last Friday night that weāve been in town and didnāt have somewhere to be. Itās been absolutely pouring non-stop in Chicago all day long, which makes it the *perfect* day/night to stay in an hibernate. Honestly, I could not be more pleased!
Tomorrow, though, weāre heading up to Wisconsin to spend time with Daveās family, which will be fun. Back to our regularly scheduled programming in the car! š¤Ŗ
Friday Finds
Instead of scrolling on Instagram or getting sucked into TikTok (both of which Iām very guilty of), Iāve been trying to spend more time reading on Substack or even scrolling on Threads. Even if itās on my phoneā¦ It feels like reading versus visual stimulation, you know?
I feel like Iām still getting the hang of Substack, as there are so many features Iām not quite sure I understand? I havenāt yet sought out a tutorial of some sort, but probably need to. (Wowza, do I sound like an old fart, ha.)
Anyway, here are this weekās findsā¦
Things to Read, Watch, & Listen to
I believe the only thing I watched on TV this week was the State of the Union last night.
Iāve listened to more things this week, though, because I joined a gym near me to be able to walk on the treadmill at an incline. (Doing a version of 12-3-30, if youāre familiar. Except Iām not up to 12% yet! Mainly just trying to get in more āZone 2 Cardio.ā)
I listened to the first couple episodes of Jessica Zweigās new podcast, The Spiritual Hustler, and I like it so far. Excited to see where it goes!
I read a bunch of press about Alli Webbās new-ish book this week, which I believe was released this past November. I saw one of her IG posts and then did some Googling. Very interested in reading it!! One, I love female memoirs. And two, it sounds right up my alley, no pun intended! The Messy Truth: How I Sold My Business for Millions but Almost Lost Myself
If you follow a lot of bloggers, you should read this PSA-style post by Grace Atwood. Co-sign!
Things to Shop
Appleās new MacBook Airs with the M3 chip launched today!! Iāve been using Daveās old laptop for, like, two years since mine fell off my lap and the screen busted. š« Needless to say, Iām in desperate need of a new one. The Midnight black is calling my name!!
These new sneakers are such a fun pop of color! I feel like theyād be so cute with white jeans for a Cubs game. šš»
Itās the last weekend of Dermstoreās Spring Refresh Sale! Use code REFRESH to save 20% on almost everything. U Beauty, Augustinus Bader, SkinCeuticals, Sol de Janeiro, Sunday Riley, PCA Skin, Elemis, you name itā¦ All of our favorites are fair game!
Since Iām not drinking this month, I ordered some of these non-alcoholic espresso martini mocktails made with mushrooms earlier this week. Very intrigued, Iāll keep you posted!
This pink and green sweater set is at the top of my spring shopping list!
If youāve got a warm-weather trip coming up, this silky a-line slip dress is so colorful and fun!
I just ordered these cuffed jeans (in a long) and canāt wait for them to arrive. I also added this jacket and this sweater to my order, whoops. PS: You can use code AFLTK to save 20%!
Iāve heard this $16 peptide lip balm is a great dupe for this $68 version Iām obsessed with. Has anyone tried it??
Estelle Colored Glass is having a mystery box sale and Iām very tempted!!
I love these beige-striped Adidas Sambas! Unfortunately (or more like fortunately for my budget), my size is sold out.
Someone told me about this clear self-tanning face mist this week. Can anyone else vouch?? Typically, I loveee this one by St. Tropez.
Supergoop launched a new skin tint this week: Protec(tint). Need to stop into Sephora this week to figure out what shade I am to try it out!
You know Iāve become quite the fan of Nike sweatpantsā¦ This pair is next on my list! Iād get the Sandrift in a second if I didnāt have a dog that sheds black hair everywhere, but Midnight Navy is still pretty chic.
If I was a golfer, Iād 100% get these shoes. How fun!
Things to Cook
Dave and I have been trying to eat pretty healthy lately! Lots of protein, vegetables, limiting grains, and very little sugar. Itās kind of like the snowball effect for meā¦ Harder to start, but a bit easier once you get going. You just have to get the momentum rolling! Iād say Iām sort of at that point where I donāt want to order a pizza and backtrack all of our progress, but obviously, the temptation is always there.
We have six months until our wedding, but fittings and showers and bachelor and bachelorette parties much sooner than that. It kind of feels like crunch time, but at the same time, Iām trying to be cognizant of burning out by September.
Please, please feel free to send any healthy recipes my way!!!
I mentioned this last week, but I actually made the Halal Cart Chicken Salad this week. For me, it was good, not great. The picture above looks better than it was, as the plating instructions said to smear some of the white sauce under the bed of lettuce. I like a heavily dressed salad, but it was wayyyy too much dressing by the end. HOWEVER, it was a really easy dinner to prep and got our wheels turning for ways to season pulled rotisserie chicken.
The best dinner we had this week was the deconstructed Greek turkey burger situation that Dave made. (Pictured above.) So good and so satisfying! I donāt have a real recipe, but Iāve shared a screenshot below from a recipe Daveās brother verbally shared with us.
Next time, I think we both agreed weād serve the patties on a bed of lettuce with chopped cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber. Maybe even some avocado! Weād skip the sliced heirloom tomato, as it was a bit soggy.
Other Things of Note
For my Nespresso usersā¦ I just ordered three sleeves of the new Maple Pecan flavor. It sounds right up my alley and I canāt wait to try it! Iāll keep you posted. š
For my techy galsā¦ Iām so intrigued by Samsungās new Music Frame! I signed up here to get more info and $100 off when it launches later this month.
On a very different note of safetyā¦ I saw this Reel on IG about blurring your home on Google Maps! Definitely something to look into.