Friday Favorites (November 2, 2018)

Thank you for being patient with my lack of blog posts lately! Between traveling to Hawaii (which was AMAZING!) and starting a new job (also amazing!) PLUS Halloween and just, well, LIFE, things have felt busier than usual lately. It’s nice to feel like I’m finally starting to get back into my rhythm — including getting back to posting!

Since it’s Friday, let’s talk a few favorites, per tradition, shall we? I have LOTS of things to share with you (one benefit of not posting in a while, I suppose), and as always I’d also love to hear what awesome things you’ve discovered lately. Please leave me a comment if you have anything to share on that front!

Okay, here goes:

• Won’t You Be My Neighbor, the Mister Rogers documentary, is an absolute must-see, y’all. Kevin and I watched it during our flight to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, and we were both silently crying in our seats at certain parts. It’s inspiring and so sweet, and left me wishing there were more Mister Rogers in the world. It also reminded me of the importance of making everyone feel seen and accepted and loved, just as they are. (Oh, and I’m also so excited about the 2019 biopic where Tom Hanks will play Fred Rogers!)

• It’s officially soup season (yay!), and these vegan soup recipes sound amazing. I’m especially excited to try the Chickpea Noodle Soup and Minestrone Soup with Seitan Meatballs. YUM!

• And to serve with said soup, this Savory Herb-Scented Vegan Cornbread sounds absolutely perfect!

• If you haven’t read Shauna Niequist’s book Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living yet, stop what you’re doing and get your hands on a copy. I found it to be an incredibly timely read for me, and can’t wait to go back and read it again to soak in even more of its wisdom. (Kevin heard me rave about it so he listened to the audio book version and his feedback was, “That book sounded like you could have written it.” So…I think he saw some of the similarities, too!) I feel like a few themes have been crossing my path lately — themes of slowing down, of simplifying, of the importance of play — and I’ve been filing those things away to continue to chew on them and see what they might mean for my life. This book was definitely full of those themes, which I so appreciated.

• I know this isn’t especially relevant for most of you from a seasonality standpoint, BUT it might be helpful if you have wintertime cruises or tropical trips on your horizon or if you like to put things in your Amazon “Saved for Later” section of your cart to remember for when you need them (I do this ALL the time). For our Hawaii trip, I bought two cover-ups, and LOVED them both so I wanted to share them here. (Both are from Amazon!) This white one is GORGEOUS (I got a size medium, which worked well because there’s not too much give to it), and it worked so well to wear with a pair of shorts over my suit and still feel very put together. This black one is adorable, too, and I love the tassels on it. The prices on these are both so reasonable, and I know I’ll love pulling them out again next summer.

• Oh, I also snagged a new bathing suit from Albion Fit for our trip, and it’s amazing. I got this top and these bottoms, and (as always with this brand) am so impressed with the fit and quality.

• Maggie loves puffins (her puffin PJs are her faves), and my mom found the CUTEST puffin poem online (courtesy of a friend of hers) called “There Once Was A Puffin.” You should definitely take one minute and 14 seconds out of your day to listen to this. It’s so sweet! (Our little puffin certainly loves it!)

• Last but not least, for those of you who start struggling with dry skin as the weather gets cooler (I DEFINITELY do!), I wanted to share Beautycounter’s Cleansing Balm. It’s amazing all year, but it really starts to become an essential item for me this time of year. I use it each night to cleanse my face and remove makeup, but on nights where my skin is feeling especially dry or dull I also use a bit of the balm as an overnight mask (essentially using it in place of a moisturizer), and it helps immensely! We always have our standard Cleansing Balm available, but right now there’s also the Special Edition Cleansing Balm available (part of our holiday line), which is a great deal. (It’s $89 for 3.38 ounces versus $80 for 2.75 ounces with the standard jar.) Yes, this balm is pricey, but it works so well AND you just use a tiny bit each night, so a jar will last you for months.

Happy Friday, everyone!!!