Man oh man, last week wore me out! More on that below, but by the time last Friday rolled around, I needed to hit pause and unwind. That looked like watching NCAA March Madness basketball all weekend, going out for a casual dinner with Dave on Friday night, and trying a fun new-to-me spot with friends on Saturday night. The perfect mix of having plans while also keeping it pretty low-key — those are always my favorite weekends!
But I’ve legitimately had intentions of getting this post up every day since last Friday… 😳 Every morning, I’d come up with a new name for it… Saturday or Sunday Scrolls, Monday Meandering, Tuesday Talk (admittedly hated this one), Wednesday… Actually, maybe I didn’t have time to even work on it Wednesday, and Thursday Things. But here we are — right back at FRIDAY FINDS!
Am I terrible at time management? Did a million other things pop-up this week that needed my attention? Do I feel like I have too much on my plate right now? Does it feel like I’m trying to take a sip of water from a full-blast firehose? Unfortunately, I can probably answer yes to all of those questions.
LAST WEEK'S ROSE(S) 🌹
I served as an Election Judge for the Illinois Primary Election last Tuesday! It was such an interesting experience, but one I (strangely?)ended up really enjoying. You can read all about it here.
I got my hair cut + colored on Friday and left feeling like a whole new person! There’s truly no better feeling that walking out of the salon with fresh hair.
LAST WEEK'S THORN 🪡
Marley spent her 10th birthday at the animal hospital. Remember two weeks ago where I was talking about all of the fun plans we had with her? We don’t really know what happened, but she threw up all day that Sunday. Got out of bed and threw up to start the day, but then was totally fine on our walk. Threw up her breakfast, but then wanted to play afterwards. It was a weird rollercoaster of a day where she seemed in good spirits, but then would throw up a large amount. (Literally all over our house — on every single rug.)
We thought we were in the clear by bedtime, as I was feeding her very small amounts of a bland diet, but then she was up every few hours in the night throwing up. Again, was fine on our walk on Monday morning, drank water when we got back inside, and then threw up all over the hallway. She wasn’t interested when I offered her food, which was another red flag, as that’s not like her at all. Even though I was putting the unflavored infant Pedialyte in her water, she obviously wasn’t keeping it down so we were worried about her becoming dehydrated, too. Since it almost seemed like she was getting worse on Monday morning (which was actually her 10th birthday), I called her vet and they were able to get her in a few hours later.
Just as we were about to walk out the door to go to the appointment, she ended up eating the food in her bowl. To this point, she hadn’t kept anything down for over 24 hours, so I was preparing myself for her to throw up all over the car. Thankfully she didn’t, but I found it interesting she didn’t throw up once we got to the vet either. I had this voice in the back of my head that she was probably fine, but I figured it was worth the peace of mind to know for sure. Plus, we were already at the vet!
As standard procedure, they had her hop onto the scale to get her weight when we got there. She was down seven more pounds than the last time we were there in October, which wasn’t intended. (She had already dropped a lot of weight — in a healthy way —when we switched her to fresh food ~a year ago.) It made sense to me that she’d be much lighter after puking for such a sustained period (as I know from experience there’s no skinnier feeling than having food poisoning), but the vet was worried there was an underlying cause and even verbally mentioned cancer. I ended up having to leave her there for bloodwork and X-rays so I’m sure you can imagine the solo sob fest on the way back home. 😭
I got the call a few hours later that her bloodwork looked okay, but her X-rays showed what appeared to be a blockage in her intestines. Thank god for cancer being taken off the table, but her vet recommended we take her to an ER to get an ultrasound to figure out if it was a physical blockage or an ‘intussusception’ (the veterinary term for the folding of the intestine within itself). Honestly, his diagnosis of a blockage made sense, as she was only throwing up, but hadn’t had anything coming out the back end for over 24 hours. (Again, highly unusual for her.)
Naturally, all of the animal ERs in the city were at capacity for the day, and we didn’t want her to spend the night at a hospital if we could avoid it, so he recommended going up to a hospital in the northern suburbs to get the ultrasound same day. Her vet was also preparing us for a $9,000 surgery if an intestinal blockage was found. (Fun times!)
Dave was able to duck out of work for a few hours, so we picked her up, paid her first tab of $900 for the bloodwork and x-rays, and drove the 45 minutes up to our second hospital of the day. I think we were probably there for about 4 hours before we got the (fantastic!) results from her ultrasound — literally nothing to be found. Wait... what??
Thankfully she got a clean bill of health, especially on her 10th birthday, but we were just shocked by the complete rollercoaster of news that day. They gave her some fluids and nausea meds, gave us some additional nausea meds to take home, and then gave us her second tab of the day ($1,400) to pay.
We’re so grateful she’s largely okay! We had to keep her on a bland diet for about a week, and it took a full 10 days for her gastro issues to clear up. She’s totally in the clear now, but dang, it was hard not to feel salty about all of the money spent! What’s done is done so there’s no use in ruminating about the “if only we would have waited it out a few more hours” thoughts. I can only imagine how parents feel with the “should we or shouldn’t we” go to the doctor questions!
Outside of Marley’s fiasco, I have to say: I’m whole-heartedly BUMMED about the Lollapalooza lineup this year. 💔
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO ✨
Honestly, just warm weather. And putting away my ankle-length parka for the season. We’re in our third winter here in Chicago and I’m just giving myself internal pep talks the whole time I’m walking Marley lately… “This is only temporary. The light at the end of the tunnel is near. The mornings will be above freezing in a couple more weeks.” March in the Midwest, you guys. It will wear you down!
I’m excited for Saturday’s Illinois Men’s Basketball game! Last night was the first time we’ve been to the Sweet Sixteen since 2005. (And I was at the game 19 years ago… Wow, does that make me feel old.) But decades aside, we won! Next up, Elite 8 on Saturday. 🧡💙
Dave is dressing up as the Easter Bunny for our friends’ kids this weekend… He’s got a whole voice in the works, too. 💀🐰 I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to this necessarily, but I’m sure it will be funny at the least!
Oh, and I’m going to try on wedding dresses for the first time next week!! 👰🏼♀️
Friday Finds
Here are some finds from the last two weeks…
Things to Read, Watch, & Listen to
Last weekend, I watched this documentary and loved it. It’s about college basketball, but I think you may love it even if you’re not a sports fan. Extremely inspiring, but also eye-opening about the pressure these kids are under! Comeback: A March Madness Story featuring UVA and Kyle Guy
Scientists are finally studying women’s bodies. (That headline makes me want to punch someone, as it’s currently 2024, but hey — I guess it’s progress.)
United just launched “miles pooling!” Transfering miles used to be pretty costly, so this is huge! You can now create a pool of five adults to share miles with.
Mary’s daughters’ room is absolutely darling!
We’re definitely a clean-kitchen-before-you-go-to-bed household, but I found this video about Feng Shui simultaneously interesting and validating.
Dyson is launching a new hairdryer in May. Get all of the deets here on Harper’s Bazaar!
I found this Twitter/X thread to have a lot of great nuggets of wisdom… What I Wish I Knew at 18
Things to Shop
I was GIDDY to pre-order this beautiful coffee table book this week! I absolutely adore Josh Young’s work and can’t wait to have this book delivered in early September. It will be a little belated birthday treat to myself!
I’ve been patiently waiting for U Beauty’s TINTED Super Hydrator to come back in stock and the day has finally come!!! They have a great shade matcher, which I matched back to my foundation shade. Crossing my fingers it works! So excited to have this product for summer. (If you missed it — I wrote a review of U Beauty on my blog.)
I loooooove these fun sneakers for spring!! A must.
I’m obsessed with this printed pastel dress! The most subtle plaid. 😍
Summer Fridays just launched a new Jet Lag EYE SERUM! Very interested to try it out, as I love their overnight ‘mask,’ that I use as a thick moisturizer.
I discovered a new-to-me shoe brand this week and I’m loving what I see… Very cute styles at an affordable price point. I’ve got my eyes on these rattan heels and these statement buckle sandals! A few other styles that are darling… These strappy bow heels in silver or pink, these denim slides with bows, and these rosette heels in denim or white. These florette slides would be very cute for a special event! And for any brides-to-be, I also love these pearl heels and these clear-heeled strappy pearl sandals.
This eyelet dress is perfect for a chilly Easter here in the Midwest.
This entire collection at Dillard's has Zimmerman vibes… For a fraction of the price! It’s all so pretty and the shoes are knockouts, too.
I found this little scalloped-shade lamp and I’m obsessed with it. It’s currently 45% off, making it just $41.
The Tory Burch semi-annual sale is happening and I have my eye on this pine green bag… It’s only $200 after the discount! This v-neck sporty sweater is also quite chic, as are these geometric sunglasses.
Also, anyone that has a black and yellow gold sports team needs to check out this sweater.
I’m veryyyy interested in this tailored vest, but unfortunately, my size is already sold out. (Looks like Veronica Beard for less!!) For my XS girls out there, grab it and LMK!
A few fun wedding guest dresses… Citrusy green, hot pink, a pretty yellow print, and a fabulous pink and green print.
How darling are these mesh ballet flats?! The combo of the crystals and the buckled strap has me like 🤩
This is a *Friday only* thing, but Ulta brought back ALL of their 50% off Beauty Steals for one day only — TODAY! If you weren’t shopping along with the daily drops, there are so many great products I use and love for 50% off. Here’s what I’ve ordered on sale over the last three weeks… My go-to shampoo + conditioner, my brow definer pomade pencil, a refill of my favorite facial cleanser at the moment (that I keep at my sink), a refill on the other gentle cleanser I always have stocked in our shower, a refill of the mascara I’ve been loving, this contour and this highlighter to try, the clear brow gel I use everyday, a refill of the micro-dose retinol serum I use, and a fresh pack of pimple patches.
A few other products to note… I really love this brightening moisturizer, I used every last drop when I tried it out. I’ve heard rave reviews about this tightening neck cream! I actually ordered it at the last Sephora sale, but it’s still in the box in my nightstand to try it out — I need to get on that! A NuFace set. Urban Decay’s Mini Naked Eye-Shadow Palettes. Morphe Brushes. Indie Lee Facial Oil with Squalane. Peter Thomas Roth Eye Patches. First Aid Beauty Ingrown Pads. Elizabeth Arden’s Plumping Hyaluronic Acid Ceramide Capsules. There’s also a ton of men’s shaving products like Bevel and Blind Barber if your guy needs a refresh!
Things to Cook
We made this springy, lemony Greek chicken soup last weekend! Perfect for these wintry temperatures at the end of March. The only real change we made was basically doubling the spinach because the bunch we got was larger than what the recipe called for. Also, don’t skimp on the feta or crushed pita chips!
I made these Roasted Salmon Bowls last night and they were DELISH!! Dave loved them, too, so these will be in our weeknight dinner rotation. They’re packed with filling edamame beans and veggies, so you almost don’t even need rice. Next time, we’re going to use brown rice instead of jasmine.
Dave has been making his own versions of healthy taco salads lately, but I have this Lightened Up Taco Salad with Cottage Cheese on my list of recipes to try. Liz’s recipes always hit for us.
Also, I ordered this cookbook as soon as I saw it this week! As you know from the recipes we’ve been making, we’ve been trying to eat lighter and these recipes look like they’ll hit the mark.
Other Things of Note
I’ve been terrified of getting sick lately, so I’ve been taking three of these daily. So far, so good! I’ve been taking these wellness vitamins for the last 3-4 years and I swear to you, they’ve completely turned around my immune system. Yes, I’ve really worked on my sleep in that time (which plays a huge part), but anytime Dave or I feel a little something coming on, we start taking the extra-strength dosage on these and it kicks it every single time. Even when I had c0v*d before, I started taking these and my symptoms got way better within a day. Can’t recommend them enough!