Friday Favorites – January 8th, 2016

Greetings and Happy Friday gang! I thought it’d be fun to start Friday Favorites off this week with a glimpse of my office and desk.  After a few tweaks during our staycation, this space has become one of my favorite spots in our house. That’s a good thing since I spend the vast majority of my time here either working, blogging or perusing the internet.

After a pretty draining week, I’m looking forward to the weekend. On the workout front, it will be a bit of a refresh weekend with a fun, 60 minute Soul Survivor class tomorrow morning followed by some gentle yoga practice on Sunday. Socially, it’s a busy one with activities both tonight and tomorrow night but I am definitely penciling in some time for ourselves on Sunday. Whether it’s reading a book or relaxing, I definitely need to keep some unscheduled time in my weekend and week.

Since it’s Friday, and the only thing keeping me from a nice glass of red wine is a few more hours of work, here is this week’s Friday Favorite. This year you will see more of these Friday Favorites posts as I really enjoy writing them and, based on analytics, it seems like you all enjoy them too!

So, as you count down the minutes until the weekend begins, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

Okay, serious life goals are not to look like either of the people in this amazing video but, instead, to make my friends and loved ones smile as much as they make each smile. The seem like the happiest, most in love couple and watching them just makes me happy.

These delicious, banana bread granola bars from Running with Spoons not only look amazing but also seem like they’ll be the perfect pre-workout snack or afternoon snack when paired with a cup of herbal tea. I love that they are gluten free and have an extra protein option in case I want to add some staying power.

If you don’t have time to bake your own bars this weekend, at least check out this Well+Good article highlighting the best and worst bars. Most of the good for you bars are widely available nation-wide so try upgrading your bar game next week.

I have no idea why this sweater is 60% off, as I have caught myself wearing it TOO much since buying it two weeks ago. It’s cozy, comfortable, flattering and goes perfectly with leggings and tall boots! If you’re a size medium, snag one before they sell out!

The new dietary guidelines don’t come as a great surprise to those of us who read a great deal about health and wellness, but I’m glad that the rest of America is hearing about the negative effects sugar has on the body and getting a reminder to add more fish to their weekly diet.

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but after using it every single day this week, I have to give the Magic Bullet another high five. While there is definitely a time and a place for a more high-powered blender, like our VitaMix, on a daily basis the Magic Bullet is able to whip up nut butters, blend smoothies and make delicious sauces. It’s frequently included in Macy and other retailer’s sales so keep you eyes peeled as we were able to snag it for under $70!

Speaking of smoothies, I’ve said goodbye to the plastic straws of my childhood and upgraded to these snazzy, stainless steel straws. Wide enough for the thickest smoothie, I just pop them into the dishwasher after using! Not only do they save on waste, but make drinking anything more fun!

If you somehow haven’t seen the multiple blog posts that some of my favorite bloggers shared this week about Victoria’s Secrets awesome deal, hop over to their site immediately. All I need to say is FREE workout pants, valued up to $75 when you purchase a sports bra! I was able to see the product first hand, during a Mile High Run Club workout with Theodora this week, and the colors are fun and the bra support and fit looked great. PSA: They are definitely running out of sizes and colors quickly!

If you think that eating healthy often forces you to spend more money, check out this helpful article from two dietitians who promise to help you eat healthy for less. I especially like tip #8! We just realized that we’ve been storing celery the wrong way and since making the change, it lasts 2x as long!

Huge congratulations to Jenna and the Green Blender team for launching the Los Angeles operations this week! It’s so exciting to see a young, female pursuing her passion and helping others get healthy! If you aren’t familiar with Green Blender, here’s an article from the LA Times, highlighting their success!

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and instead is a list of the things of my favorite things this week. As normal, it includes lots of beauty and fashion items which means there are a few affiliate links via ShopStyle. It takes time and money to maintain a blog so I thank you for the support and few cents that come from clicking through the links!