Things I’m Loving Friday #539

Hey friends! Friday arrived in a flash for our family this week thanks to a short week. We had Monday off and then kids out of school due to winter weather (and a *teeny* bit of snow) so schedules that were all over the place but that kind of seems to be the theme of our January this year.

This morning we’ll be attending a history play at Chase’s school which we’re really looking forward to seeing today!  As for the rest of our weekend, it’s fairly up in the air with the exception of a few things, including a “Prosecco and Pickleball” party I have on my agenda to celebrate a friend’s birthday (lots of 40ths this year!) on Saturday.

I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Getting My Ears Pierced For the First Time!

Can you believe it!? And it kind of happened out of nowhere! I was terribly afraid of needles for most of my life but giving birth to three kids really, really helped me handle needles (and really anything medical). As a teen and even a young adult, getting my ears pierced scared me too much (it sounds dramatic, but it’s true — needles REALLY freaked me out) but I’ve felt pull to get my ears pierced over the past year. I’ve mentioned it Ryan and a few girlfriends but still never got around to it.

On Saturday night, Ryan and I were out with friends and walked by Rowan, a little shop that recently opened in our area where only certified nurses do the piercings. When Ryan off-the-cuff asked if Saturday night was the night, I surprisingly said, “YES!” Five minutes later, I found myself in the chair getting my ears pierced for the first time!

And then all weekend long, I just didn’t love them. They didn’t look quite how I imagined and I honestly think it was because I’ve always loved the look of multiple piercings and that was what I pictured for myself. Two days later, after preschool pickup, Rhett and I went back into Rowan and BOOM! I got another piercing and now I love them!

I have to wear my earrings for 4-6 weeks before I can change them out but I’m excited to dabble in earrings for the first time in my life!

• Escape Room Fun

Another fun thing we did on Saturday night was an escape room! Ryan has done one before through a work team building event and spoke highly of the experience so I was excited to give it a try. We were definitely glad we went with another couple because four brains working together were very helpful! We were tasked with solving a series of clues to try to find Aladdin’s hidden lamp and it was trickier than I expected but in a really fun, challenging way. If you like puzzles and problem solving but haven’t done an escape room yet, I think you’d enjoy it, too. I really want to take my mom and my brother-in-law because I think something like this is right up their alley!

• High Protein Hot Chocolate

And it’s actually GOOD! Before I share the breakdown for how I make this hot chocolate, the most important thing I can say is this: You’ll only like it if you LIKE the flavor of the chocolate protein powder you’re using. I recently bought Equip, a new-to-me protein powder, and it’s been one of the best chocolate protein powders I’ve tried in years so this high protein hot chocolate is deliciously sweet, warm, creamy and comforting to me with the added benefit of packing a serious protein punch (20 grams)!

To make the high protein hot chocolate: Blend 1 scoop of  chocolate protein powder (I’ve been loving chocolate Equip Prime Protein Powder) with roughly a tablespoon of cocoa powder, 1.5 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk), a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Once everything is combined, pour into a small pot on the stovetop and heat until hot chocolate is nice and warm. Pour into a large mug, top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Note: When I shared this protein hot chocolate on Instagram, Equip send me a DM offering an affiliate link + a discount code to share with you guys! If you’d like to try this protein powder, my link + the code PBFINGERS will give you 15% off your purchase!

• Younger

Have you guys heard of this show? Apparently it was a relatively popular one from 2015-2021 but somehow it slipped completely under my radar. I gave it a shot when Ryan was in India last week because the premise intrigued me.

Younger follows 40-something-year-old Liza, a mom to a teenager who finds herself suddenly divorced and struggling to re-enter the world of publishing after she took time off to raise her daughter. After finding herself overqualified yet seemingly “out of touch” in her field now that social media has taken over, she comes up with a plan to pretend she’s 26-years-old. Her plan pays off and she lands a job as an assistant at a large publishing house, though her seemingly innocent lie begins to bleed into her personal life, complicating things more than she imagined.

The show immediately roped me in and has quickly become my go-to background entertainment during my my at-home workouts. It’s funny, entertaining, cute, quirky and sexy and I’m already on season two!

• Caramel Corn Popcorn Salt

This seasoning was a fun little find my sister gave me for Christmas. I love sweet and salty popcorn (really good farmer’s market style kettle corn is truly one of my top 5 favorite foods) so I was excited to try this out! It adds the perfect touch of buttery sweetness to our stove top popcorn and has been a fun and delicious addition to our family movie nights. I still add melted butter and salt to our popcorn along with this caramel corn popcorn salt and it’s fabulous!

• Friday Flashbacks

Chicken and Chickpea Salad (This was the salad I prepped for my lunches this week!)

Chocolate Chia Seed Protein Pudding (Another recipe I made again this week! Perfect for mornings when I want something a little sweet but still nutrient-dense and satisfying.)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?