Friday Favorites (May 25, 2018)

It’s the Friday before a holiday weekend, so life feels GOOD!

Kevin, Maggie, and I are headed down to Greenville, South Carolina, this evening to spend the weekend with my family. My parents will come up from Atlanta, and my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew live in Columbia, South Carolina. I’ve never been to Greenville but have heard great things, so I’m excited to check it out! (I’m MOST excited to just be with my family, though.) Oh, and of course I overpacked (per tradition). Sorry, Kevin. This is just a reality of being married to me.

Okay, I have lots of favorites to share this week! Shall we start with the food stuff?:

I did some baking in preparation for our family weekend, and made (of course) my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is based on a recipe my mom made throughout my childhood, but I’ve modified it a bit to make it vegan. (But don’t let that deter you if you aren’t vegan. These are GOOD — promise!)

I also made a batch of Minimalist Baker’s oil-free aquafaba granola, and it’s AMAZING! I had used aquafaba (chickpea brine that you beat in a mixer with cream of tartar to make it fluffy) as an egg substitute in a cookie recipe before, but never would have thought to use it to make granola! I added to this recipe based on some things we had on hand, adding in some walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. I baked it longer than suggested, turning down the heat toward the end to about 200 and letting it get super crispy.

I ALSO made these adorable tiny cookie sandwiches. They’re delicious cookies filled with delicious cookie dough. Oh, and the best part? The cookie dough is made out of cashews. (What? YES.) And it is amazing.

Emily Ley (the woman behind the beautiful Simplified Planner) has added adorable hats to her shop, just in time for summer! I especially love the pineapple one. (Confession: I wish I was a planner girl. I SO want to be! But my organizational system works much better when it’s tech-based — so Kevin and I can share Google calendars, so I can jot down notes on the go, etc. — and so a traditional planner just doesn’t work for me. Plus, my handwriting is kind of awful so it wouldn’t look nearly as pretty as I’d like. Anyone with me?)

Beautycounter is running a pretty stellar Memorial Day Weekend promotion. If you spend $125+ now through Monday, you’ll get to choose a free gift: either a travel-sized Cleansing Balm or a full-sized Body Butter. Both products are amazing, but the Cleansing Balm is a best-selling and beloved product because, well, it’s incredible. I use it nightly to remove my makeup and clean my face without leaving my face feeling stripped of moisture, and it’s also great as an overnight mask to help hydrate and brighten dry, dull skin. Just shop the site and you’ll get to choose your free gift at checkout! (Oh, and if you’re interested in safer skincare and makeup, I would love to have you join my Beautycounter Facebook community if you aren’t already a member!)

Speaking of sales…both Nordstrom and Target have them going on right now! Remember those cute Target wedges I shared last week? They’re 40% off right now with the code SAVE40! Other shoes I’m loving (all at 40% off) are these, these, and these.