Is anyone else ready to unwind from the week? This morning’s Rise and Shine yoga class was the perfect way to start releasing the stress of the week.  This weekend’s plans include a steak and red wine date night at home tonight followed by a long run tomorrow morning with Theodora and some quality time with my cousin who is in town tomorrow as well as a few of our friends tomorrow night. In between there will be a few baking experiments as well as a lot of sleep. I’m still feeling the effects of Wednesday night when I only slept 5.5 hours. This 32-year old can’t do that mid-week anymore and still wake up energized for the day.

As promised, in regular Friday fashion, here is this week’s version of Friday Favorites. 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.

• Now that I have a bath tub at home, I love taking at least one relaxing bath per week. I fill the tub up with warm water, drop a few sprinkles of this heavenly coconut and vanilla bath soak, enjoy a glass of wine and read a good book.
• During the Winter months, I tend to only drink red wine. There is something so soothing and warming about the rich tannins of a red wine that makes me want to sip it all through the weekend while bundled up in a sweater. The Josh Cellar’s Legacy is a well balanced blend of Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sarah. This bottle paired perfectly with everything we enjoyed last weekend, even the chocolate cake! An easy to drink and approachable wine, it is a perfect wine to stock for your next dinner party as every guest will enjoy it.
• Speaking of comforting, Tina’s Light & Creamy Chickpea Salad looks like the perfect pairing for any meal! I always love pairing Brussels sprouts with Dijon mustard so I know I’ll love this recipe. In fact, I think I’ll whip up a batch on Sunday to enjoy for lunch throughout the week.
• I’ve been inspired to improve my smoothie game this year thanks to Kristine, Rachel and the rest of the smoothie Instagram images brightening up my Instagram feed daily. The team at Well+Good continues to deliver with perfect articles including the 11 staples for a killer smoothie pantry, which inspired this week’s shopping on iHerb.com! I had no idea that you could get Goji berry and Acai powders.
• The winter weather combined with this week’s client meetings forced me to swap leggings for tights as I donned dresses or skirts three days this week. Our team of ladies ended up joking about our favorite tights and it turns out we all agree that these are the absolute best! They hold everything in without making you feel like a sausage, stand up to my often jagged nails and are perfectly opaque!
• I’m so glad hat the modeling world is starting to evolve from the “heroin-chic” days of yesteryear when models were idolized for their visible ribs and gaunt figures. I loved reading that Nina Agdal, Sports Illustrated cover model, likes to sweat with the best of them at some of my favorite NYC workout locations.  Maybe I’ll run into her at Y7 soon!
• Are you one of the lucky runners who snagged a spot in the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon? I can’t believe that the race sold out in just 52 minutes! I’m now some how signed up for three Spring half marathons including one which I’ll be running for fun with a bunch of other NYC blogger friends! If you’ve read my race recaps (here and here) from this race, you’ll know it’s never been my favorite due to the six miles of monotonous running towards Coney Island. BUT, the start is walking distance from our apartment and so many of my friends are running it that I just couldn’t resist.
• Another week, another couple who is giving me and Bo some major #couplegoals. I loved Dax Shepard in Parenthood (BEST SHOW EVER) but I think I may love him even more in this video that he and his wife made together! Let’s go to Africa and dance with the giraffes and zebras, okay Bo?
• The results of this I Side With survey scared me a bit BUT I loved the ability to click on each issue and learn more as well as getting more familiar with each candidates views. Take a few minutes, please, to become more educated in advance of the elections.
• Dogs in photo booths – need I say more? There is nothing more hilarious than these images of pups cheesing it up in front of the camera!
• If you love using scrubs to slough off the dry skin, you may want to toss out your coffee infused ones based on this latest finding that it can actually clog your drain. Good to know, especially since our brownstone’s pipes are definitely not new.

Happy weekend! What are you loving this week??