Happy Friday everyone!
This weekend I’ll be donning my bikini for the very first time all summer (I know) as Ben and I are heading to the Lake of the Ozarks for a few days of fun in the sun with friends!
I feel like I’m the only person in the Midwest who has yet to see the popular summer spot in central Missouri, and I’m beyond pumped. Hopefully we’ll get to swing by the legendary Party Cove, which one travel writer from the NY Times dubbed “the oldest established permanent floating bacchanal in the country.” Bahaha!
(Ok after a quick Google image search of party cove I am slightly rethinking that request…)
Anyways we’ve felt trapped indoors for a good part of the summer because of the heat, so a real “summery” experience is just what Ben and I need. Here goes nothin’! 
I hope you’ve got some fun plans too, including spending some time outdoors (should be a blissful weekend around here!) but in the meantime, please enjoy my favorite finds from the web and beyond in this week’s Friday Favorites!
Favorite fantasy: Gooey Chocolate Caramel Fantasy. OMG – all the things!
Favorite fashion: J Crew Classic Wide Bangle. Pink? Check. Shiny? Check. Adorable? Check!
Favorite fitness: Fitnessista’s Rainy Day Workout. I trucked through this workout yesterday and holy buckets, it is killer! The bicep curl countdown was pure torture, but as they say – no pain, no gain!
Favorite pooch: Dapper Dog. What a gentleman!
Favorite sip: Peach Margaritas. I had the best. peach. ever. last weekend and have been obsessing over everything peach ever since. These margs sound perfect.
Favorite tip: Coaster Tray. Although there’s only two of us, Ben is constantly putting his cup on the counter and I’m constantly putting it in the dishwasher – then we’re both irritated at each other. Love this blogger’s solution to our situation!
Favorite dish: Lime & Coconut Chicken. Ohhh this sounds so exotic and delish. Like something from a tropical island vacay.
Favorite craft: Custom Wrapping Paper. Ok this might not be as cool as I’m thinking it is in my head – but ironing two pieces of wax paper together with tissue paper cutouts in the middle to create custom wrapping paper is freaking awesome, right?
Favorite place: Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. Seriously the coolest.
Favorite remix: 25 Alternatives to Potato Chips and French Fries. Loving these clever ideas – especially the zucchini & beet chips!
Favorite how-to: 12 Ways to Knot Your Belt. As someone who is extremely fashion challenged, this is so helpful!
Favorite funny: Ham Dogger. Call me the weirdest person alive, but I cannot get over this ham dogger contraption. I mean…right?! Hilarious!
Favorite woah: Lake House in Muskoka, Ontario, CA. Forget the ham dogger, get me this place, stat!
Favorite fresh: Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Basil Pesto. A beautiful summer dish.
Favorite obsession: Neon Pink Wooden Bowl Set. Must. have. NEON PINK BOWLS.
Favorite Top 10: 10 Reasons We’re Cuckoo for Coconut Oil. Some really great ways to use coconut oil – besides chewy homemade granola bars. 
Favorite save: Remove Rust Spots from Knives. Great recipe for saving your good knives from rust stains when you’re cough too lazy to hand wash them the second you’re down with them cough. (Me.)
Favorite slurp: Sausage and Bean Soup with Pasta. Going into my Sunday night Fall dinner rotation!
Favorite save: Save 15% off all Green Mountain Coffee® flavored coffees available in K-Cup® packs with code YUMMY-8131 until September 12 on GreenMountainCoffee.com. I have been loving down the Wild Blueberry flavor as of late! (Full disclosure, I am a Green Mountain K-Cup Ambassador!)
Favorite recipe: Apples with Salty Medjool Caramel. You will not believe this recipe for “caramel” apples. Hello, healthy Fall!
Favorite find: Jeweled Espresso Spoons. I am pining after these spoons so bad. They’d look so amazing in food photos.
Favorite sweet: Caramel Apple Cake. If you think the outside of this cake looks good – wait to you see the inside. Oh yeah!
Have a fantastic weekend!
First: My heart longs for Scotland. I’ve got to go.
Second: When I was little, we used to always make “hamburger hotdogs”. Ground beef cooked with sauteed onions, drain grease, add american cheese (or your cheese of choice). Meanwhile, take hotdog buns and but a squirt of mustard in the bottom. Fill those suckers up with the beef/cheesy mixture and throw them in the oven until the buns are lightly toasted.
Ah-mazing.
Third: I have yet to don a bikini (or any other bathing suit this summer) as I am in the “fat” stage of being pregnant. No cute baby bump here…yet!
Fourth: Make the peach marg into a RJ Rockers Son of a Peach beergarita….that would be delice!
The Lake is amazing! Easily one of my favorite places! Enjoy!
Love the coaster idea. We have the same problem. Husband leaves cups around, I put them in the dishwasher, only for him to be wandering around for 5 minutes looking for his cup and then getting mad at me for putting it away!
Hey Kristen – any chance you’d want to get together with other IA food bloggers sometime? I had the idea and am just trying to round-up fellow IA bloggers and see if they’d be interested. What do you think? Nothing crazy, but maybe a fun drink/dinner?
Ally – I’d love to!! Email me! Iowagirleats@gmail.com
I’m actually on my way to the Ozarks this afternoon! I live nearby and my boyfriend has a place there, so we go at least once a month in the summer. You will love it! Maybe I will see you there
Hope you had a blast!!
Love your Friday Favorites. Hard. Have fun in the Ozarks!
Yeah, I was gonna recommend you steer clear of Party Cove…frightening.
p.s. Have Fun!!!
ah, i love your friday roundup posts! they make me want to bake, travel, eat and drink! u are really loving the caramel this week:) fall must be coming
I wait all week for these posts. LOVE the lake house caramel apple cake, jeweled spoons…
That Caramel Apple Cake…SERIOUSLY???!!!
I love coconut oil! And that list just gave me about 8 new uses for it.
I actually have the cook book that the caramel apple cake is from, and attempted to make it last year. Never in my life have I failed so miserably at baking anything as I did with that cake……..it tasted amazing, but the frosting ended up looking like something out of a horror film……which worked in my favor I suppose as I made it for a Halloween party:)
Love the Friday Favorites – - I look forward to it, well, every Friday!
big fan of your blog and especially the friday favourites
just wanted to pass along that it is spelled ” muskoka, ontario”…it is our ‘cottage country’ and indeed, there are many many homes that look like this and much bigger too!
Love this weeks Friday favorites, especially that peach margarita…yum!
My family actually has a (MUCH smaller) vacation house in Muskoka, Ontario! I take pictures of that same boathouse and lots of others like it every year because they are so so beautiful! So awesome to see it on your blog!
I’m a Missourian – don’t pass up the Outlet Mall there, it’s a nice one!
Agreed, I love the Coach, Loft, J. Crew and Banana outlets there, they are amazing! And there are some great places to eat, try On The Rise, they are only open for breakfast, brunch, and lunch but it is so so so good and we love Biggy’s next to the outlet mall for dinner. Have fun!
I love those pink bowls! And thanks for the link to the 25 alternatives to potato chips. There are so many good options there!
Hey, you’ll be in my neck of the woods! Wave if your route takes you through Columbia (though I will be out of town myself)!
That said, I’m not actually a big fan of the Lake. I’ve been for work conferences, and hit the outlet malls a few times, but we don’t really hang out at the lake itself.
And that chocolate-caramel cake? Looks remarkably like my favorite dessert at The Pasta House, a St. Louis-area chain … and I believe there’s one at the Lake, too. Definitely going to have to try and see if this is as close as I think!
I just had a peach margarita last night and it was A-MAZING!
And Edinburgh is a seriously beautiful city, especially the castle! Everything there looks like it came out of a storybook. I only got to spend 3 days, I would love to go back!
I have been to party cove…interesting experience to say the least!
Have fun in the Ozarks! I never went in my 22 years of living in the Midwest, but I know plenty of people who have been and they all had a great time.
My favorite of YOUR favorites: Lake of the FREAKING Ozarks!
I live in Kansas City and I spent most of summers at the Ozarks and it’s just the best, you’ll have a great time!
And that Scottish castle MIGHT be better than the Ozarks.
Well, duh, but I got mad Midwest pride!
food-hugs.com
Moved to Denver 3 months ago, but your blog has become my favorite place to come when I need my midwest fix!
Don’t know where you will be, but around Laurie (I think, or that general area) there is a great breakfast place called Cousin’s. My family always eats there! Osage has a great outlet mall, too. Ohh, and great antique shops if you are into them. Have fun!!!!
Edinburgh Castle, love it!
Sounds like an awesome weekend! We have beautiful weather atm in Aus! But it’s a bit chilly with the wind- I guess we are still in our winter season haha! Oh and I love your favourites that have the caramel- the cake and the fantasy. mmmm!
thank you for the shout out! so glad you liked the workout- and yes, the bicep curls killed me too!
have a great weekend <3
xoxo
Just wanted to say how much I LOVE Friday Favorites. It’s like this lovely little e-magazine in my inbox every Friday night. Such great inspiration and drool-worthy obsessions in each post. Have fun on your vacay!!
I love these Friday Favorites! You should head a little farther south to TAble Rock Lake. By far it’s better, but I am totally bias
I was in Edinburgh this May and I LOVED it! it is amazingly nice, people are friendly and it looks like you are in a city hundreds of years ago
I’m from Edinburgh and I pass the castle every day on the way to work(my office is on the next street)! Good to see it on here
x
Woah – jealous!!
We used to vacation down at Lake of the Ozarks, and my parents actually moved down there when they retired a few years ago and live there full-time. We get down there a few times each year! Many good places to eat (both on and off the water); I still have ones I’ve never been to, especially since new ones pop up each year. Perhaps skip Party Cove, but definitely hit the outlet mall!
My favorite LOTO spot – On the Rise Bakery & Bistro! Hope you got to check it out!
Hopefully you had a chance to check out Hahatonka State Park. It is a great experience and its free so you can’t find any better value in entertainment.
I need to live in that lake house – it looks beautiful.
I have actually seen that boathouse out on the lake, and while it is beautiful, you should see the monstrosity of a “cottage” that it belongs to!
I love these Friday Favourites!
The boathouse picture cracked me up because it’s only about 30 minutes from me. Boathouses like that are almost the norm now around Lake Muskoka and Lake Rosseau. The boat houses cost more (MUCH more) than my house! But they are beautiful…that’s for sure.