After a holiday-related hiatus over the past two weeks, I’m happy to be bringing back your usual Things I’m Loving Friday post this week where we all chat about what we’re loving most each week. (Truthfully, I had to condense this post several times because I found myself wanting to share a million things with you guys this week. I guess that’s what two weeks off will do to ya!)
Below you will find a list of the things that are making me smile this week and, as always, I’d love to hear a little bit about what you’re loving in the comments section.
Have a great weekend, my friends!
Things I’m Loving Friday
- The Personal Posts
When I shared some of my blogging goals with you guys on Monday, I expressed interest in sprinkling in a little more Evergreen content into this blog in 2016. A handful of you weighed in to encourage me not to forget to include the personal stuff and believe me, I won’t! I absolutely know the heart and soul of PBF comes from personal posts and since they’ve always been my favorite to write and share (and read on other blogs!), they are absolutely not going anywhere. I appreciate your feedback, as always, and you can brace yourself for a billion Sadie and baby pics in 2016. You’ve been warned! (And, if you have any requests for topics surrounding some more personal posts, please let me know. I’m all ears!)
- Fresh Market Peppermint Crème Coffee
Hooray!! After a one-year hiatus, Fresh Market brought back my beloved Peppermint Crème coffee! It’s one of my all-time favorite flavored coffees and even though the holidays have come and gone, I’ll be rationing out cups of this seasonal delight until I eventually run out of it and cry in my coffee cup. My local Fresh Market is still selling this flavor, so I may need to pick up another bag before it’s pulled from the shelves…
Nike Flyknits were on my Christmas wish list and I was so thrilled to open up a pair of the lightweight sneakers from my parents on Christmas morning. I’ve heard such wonderful things about these shoes for months (my friend Merri first put them on my radar) and so far they live up to the hype. They’ve been the perfect shoe for my boot camp and circuit workouts. I love the low profile and the shoe hugs my foot in a way that feels supportive and comfortable. And I obviously love the aesthetics of this shoe! (I have the light gray pair and am considering buying the light blue, too. I live in gym shoes and they’re currently on sale, so it’s justified… Right?)
- Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns Ice Cream
Ice cream is my favorite food and Ben & Jerry’s makes some of the best! Though I am still bummed they discontinued Oatmeal Cookie Chunk (aka the BEST flavor ever), Cinnamon Buns reminds me of it a bit with its creamy cinnamon flavor. Ryan and I are both big-time fans of this one and until Ben & Jerry’s brings back our beloved Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, it will make a decent substitute.
- The Easiest Crock Pot Salsa Chicken
It’s been far too long since we made the EASIEST crock pot recipe of all time in our house: Crock pot salsa chicken! Just in case you haven’t tried it before, let me fill you in. Combine two to four chicken breasts with a jar of your favorite salsa and cook on low in the crock pot for 6(ish) hours. Shred with a fork and enjoy! SO simple, right!? We used the shredded salsa chicken in tacos for Monday night’s dinner and it was delicious, as always.
Over Christmas, my mom, sister and I took a handful of Jazzercise classes together and I was reminded, yet again, how much I love the workout. My mom gifted me the 12 Days of Christmas Class Pass and I looked forward to every class we took together. The routines were a lot of fun and the music was upbeat and current. There’s one instructor at my mom’s studio who is an absolute spitfire and her energy is so positive and motivating. My mom’s love for Jazzercise is contagious and I always have a blast taking classes with her when I can! Jazzercise is the jam.
- $25 Dress
When I shared my Christmas recap last Monday, a handful of you guys asked me about the floral dress I wore to a Christmas Eve church service. I bought it for only $25 from Zulily! (I first became obsessed with Zulily after I got pregnant. So many good deals on baby stuff.) The brand is Journey Five and the dress is super comfy! It’s rather form fitting, but I think it regains some modesty thanks to the sleeves and midi length, which I love. I am hoping to find a similar dress in a solid black. My eyes are peeled!
- ThredUp Earnings
Thanks to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, back in November I was inspired to thoroughly go through my clothes and donate/sell a bunch of things. I sent two big bags to ThredUp and am pleased to have made $125 for everything! (The $67.94 you see pending will go through if two of my higher-end items sell.) Given the fact that sending a big bag of stuff their way takes basically no effort on my part (they mail you a bag to fill up and send back for free), I’ll take it! (The other earnings you see are my lifetime earnings from sending them clothing over the course of a couple of years.) I didn’t have the time or desire to sell things individually myself, so the convenience of the ThredUp process was perfect for me in December. I know a bunch of you guys have goals to clean out your closets and get more organized in 2016, so I just wanted to mention ThredUp just in case it wasn’t already on your radar.
ThredUp also has some great deals on gently used clothes and I ended up picking up a new Lululemon jacket and some more clothes for my constantly-growing baby boy last month, too.
- Around The Web
For a healthy start to 2016…
How To Pack A Week’s Worth Of Salads That Stay Fresh
Just Press Play: Month-Long At Home Workout Video Plan
- Friday Flashbacks
No Bake Peanut Butter Bars (These bars come together in less than five minutes and combine crunchy peanut butter, sweet honey, crispy bran flakes, chewy oats, cinnamon and protein-packed chia seeds.)
Weekend Circuit Workout (A throwback circuit workout from 2012… Perfect for working up a sweat on the weekend!)
Question of the Day
- What is one thing you are loving this week?
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So glad these posts are back! I look forward to them every week. Although now I want to buy my second pair of FlyKnits. 😉
Love that dress!! That ice cream looks so tasty!!
Something I’m loving this week… marathon training (still)!
I need to purge my clothes so I am definitely going to check out ThredUp. I am loving my new treadmill and weight set. I missed having weights!
I hope they bring back Oatmeal Cookie Chunk! I’ve never tried it, but it sounds delicious. Cinnamon Buns sounds yummy too. There’s a new flavor called Spectacular Speculoos that has speculoos cookies and cookie butter mixed in. Maybe it has a similar taste to your beloved Oatmeal Cookie Chunk. 🙂
Have a great weekend, Julie!
I’m about to send a bag of stuff to Thred Up! I hope I get something out of it!
I love that you love Jazzercise! I’m recertifying as an instructor soon and so appreciate you helping break the stereotype that it’s an old 80s workout. It’s seriously the most fun (funnest?) workout. Let’s see, something I’m loving this week…the coffee shop I recently discovered by my work. I may or may not have been there twice today.
Yes! My sister and I talk about how the stereotype needs to GO. It is such a FUN (and sweaty!) workout. I love it!
I make crockpot salsa chicken breasts all the time! It is so easy and so yummy!! Looking forward to all your 2016 posts!
Yay that the personal posts will continue! That’s what roped me in the first place. I didn’t get a chance to comment yesterday but I really enjoyed the Chase update post too. It’s fun to watch the evolution of your life with Chase!
You asked what kind of personal posts we were interested in, and I just have to say that I really enjoy the day-in-the-life posts, and the posts where you say you feel like you’re rambling and/or all over the place or posting random stuff, but I love those posts. Very entertaining! I will cheesily go ahead and say that anything that shows a blogger is “just like Us!” is awesome <–cheesy Us Weekly reference, but true. I also get a lot of great activity ideas from you when I see your happy family trips, couple trips, and excursions in your own town (when guests come to visit, for example.) Not because you're expressly GIVING ideas, but by living your life and enjoying your life, it inspires me/us and generates ideas. It almost always gives me ideas for things to do with my husband/family/friends. And I get a lot of ideas from your monthly date night posts too – it's always happy to see a couple having fun together. You mentioned these were your favorite types of posts to write, so what makes you happy to write about, and what is fun for you to write about, will end up being fun for us to read. So go with your flow! What brings you joy to write about on this blog? That joy will be infectious. Also in general, I love reading the humanness in a blogger. I.e. I'd rather hear a blogger talk about their strange road trip than read an impersonal list of great road trip ideas (although those things are AWESOME if they're attached to the personal.)
Thanks for including the link to jazzercise. I checked out the website and I didn't realize how awesome those workouts would look! I'm legitimately considering going in the future (I am still recovering from foot breaks, so it will be awhile yet). When I thought of jazzercise, I thought of the 80's with the leggings and the high-thighed bodysuits. This looks so fun!
There are so many things to comment on that I'll just summarize by saying great post as always. I'm going to have to try that crockpot chicken! I've seen it before but haven't gotten around to it. It looks so easy for weeknights! Thanks for the reminder!
Loving you and your blog Julie! Cannot wait for a billion more baby Chase pictures. 🙂
I have flyknits too and I love them! They are so comfy and cute but are also super functional!
If anyone could check out my blog that would be amazing!
https://sweetpotatoesrunner.wordpress.com
Totally agree about the Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk ice cream, it was/is my favorite flavor of their ice cream! Hopefully it will return someday?!? For now, The Tonight Dough is my Ben & Jerry’s fave. ? Always love the personal posts and Things I’m Loving posts! ?
Loving this weekend :- Dermalogica facial. Fresh start to a new year
woah i need to try that peppermint coffee! Getting that ASAP!
Yes! Jazzercise is the best. I didn’t know it was still around until you blogged about it a few years ago. I’ve been going for about a year and a half now and love it!! A killer workout + you’re having so much fun that it doesn’t feel hard 🙂
I think you’ve convinced me to use ThreadUp! I’ve been skeptical but it’s time I part ways with some of my clothes and why not earn a little in the process! If your stuff doesn’t sell, do they donate it or ship it back?
You can choose whatever you prefer! I always have them donate it, but you can have them ship whatever they don’t accept back to you for around $5.
Something I loving this past week was figuring out my training plan and scheduling workouts with my hubby.
What a fun list! That coffee and ice cream may just end up in my shopping basket… Both sound delish!
Oatmeal Cookie Chunk was my favorite flavor too, so I feel your pain. I’ll have to check out that Cinnamon Bun flavor soon!