Happy Friday, everyone! How’s 2016 treating you so far?

This week we said goodbye to Ben’s parent’s who came to visit after Christmas, so the house was quiet and, to be honest, a little lonely. I busied myself with taking down our Christmas decorations and continuing to declutter and donate. Once you start getting rid of things, it’s hard to stop – which is a good thing, in my opinion!

We’ve got zero plans for the weekend, which I haven’t been able to say in about three months, so I’m not sure what we’ll get into. I must admit that as soon as January 2nd hit, I started dreaming of days spent at the zoo, long walks, and WARM WEATHER. It’s going to be a long couple of months, that’s for sure! We’re still trying to decide where to go for spring break. Have you booked anything exciting?

Well wherever you are and whatever you do have a wonderful weekend and in the meantime please enjoy my favorite finds from around the web and beyond in this week’s Friday Favorites!

Favorite craving: Sticky Garlic Noodles. I am face planting in a big bowl of this goodness as fast as humanly possible, aka tonight. I’ve already got everything on hand. Cannot wait!

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Favorite funny: 18 Truths for People Who Love Wine. For better or worse, I can relate to almost every single one of these photos. #WINEME

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Favorite sip: Cold Brew Caramel Frappuccino. You must check this recipe out, if for nothing else than to snag the “caramel” recipe. So brilliant.

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Favorite read: Fates and Furies. One of my top goals for 2016 is to read more. As someone who used to get made fun of in school for reading so much, the fact that I now only read on vacation is ridiculous. This week I started Fates and Furies and, while it took me a while to get into this author’s writing style, I can’t wait to devour the second half of the book this weekend. What’s your latest favorite read? 

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Favorite fake out: Spicy Thai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodle Stir Fry. Thai food is my jam and I’ve been swapping out regular rice/noodles for sweet potato rice/noodles lately, so this dish is a complete home run in my book. Love the clean ingredient list too!

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Favorite spot. I can’t decide which style I’d go with for my dream of dream homes – old victorian, Pacific northwest-inspired craftsman, log cabin (totally addicted to the Epic Log Homes show!) or colonial – but no matter what style we land on, whenever that happens (preferably in Charleston,) it must have a porch like this. Sigh!

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Favorite game day: BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos. Already reserving a spot on the Super Bowl snack table for a huge platter of these nachos. WOW.

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Favorite homemade: Homemade Cough Remedy. Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on a bottle of cough syrup? Food dye and corn syrup. Gross! Not that I want the chance to try this homemade remedy out, but when/if I need it, I’m making my own cough syrup!

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Favorite comfort: Chili Relleno Chicken Soup. Do you not just want to face plant into a big bowl of this soup? Great twist on the classic.

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Favorite style. Ummm, can I please be you?

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Favorite upgrade: Ideas for Creating the Perfect Playroom. We recently decided to convert our upstairs loft (which until this week held a lazy boy recliner, TV stand, and miniature TV (?)) into a playroom for Lincoln. Bonus 1: we get to declutter a bit of our downstairs. Bonus 2: he now has toys to play with while we get ready in the morning. Can’t wait to dig into these great ideas to help us transform the space into one he’ll love!

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Favorite video: Alton Brown’s Diet Plan. Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, Alton Brown’s review of how he’s currently eating is a good reminder as to what to focus on in the food department.

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Favorite fun: Large Rustic Clothespin. How FUN are these?? I have no idea where I’d put them but I think I’m going to buy a set and figure it out later. :)

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Favorite travel: The 25 Best Places to Go In 2016. My parents just booked their spring break trip which has me itching to go somewhere too. This is a great list to pick from!

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Favorite create: Koala Crate (<< affiliate link.) I sort of abruptly realized that Lincoln is at an organized craft activity age a few months ago (he’s almost 2.5,) so I signed up for these monthly crafts boxes called Koala Crates. Each month a new “crate” is delivered with a bunch of themed activities (like this one below is focused on learning colors.) We totally look forward to them arriving and perhaps the biggest perk of all? I don’t have to surf Pinterest for ideas or beat myself up for not being creative enough to think of something for him to do on my own!

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Favorite indulge: Hot Gruyere and White Wine Chicken Dip. Because why. the heck. not. :)

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Have a great weekend!