TGIF, holllla!
Ahem, hello and welcome to the weekend! How’d your week go? Usually the days following a holiday seem to drag but this week absolutely flew by. Can’t believe we’re already closing out the second week in July! I’m thinking about making a bucket list to maximize the rest of the summer. Things to include:
- Valley Junction Farmer’s Market. Always forget about this little gem.
- Live at the Creek Summer Concert Series. I always shy away from doing stuff on Sunday nights, but, YOLO.
- Zoo Brew at Blank Park Zoo. I need to find out if they serve wine and/or gluten-free beer though.
- Tropical Sno. Is it bad parenting to intentionally feed my 11 month old sugar water?
- I-Cubs baseball game at SEC TAYLOR Stadium. #nuffsaid
- Jazz in July concert. Just, fun!
Hmmm, that’s all I can think of right now. What’s on your list?
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!
Click the light blue links to be taken to the original source.
Favorite throw back: Beefaroni. Dude, Beefaroni was my JAM growing up! So excited to see a fresh, homemade version with way less salt than it’s canned counterpart.
Favorite joe: Califia Farms Cafe Latta Iced Coffee. I tried this iced coffee at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and am HOOKED. With just three ingredients – coffee, almond milk, and sugar – it is a serious treat. Not Go Sugar Free-friendly of course, but very pure tasting. Obsessed.
Favorite fiesta: Roasted Corn Fiesta Guacamole. Well doesn’t this just look like a party on a plate? Love including tasty add-ins to my guacamole. I especially love this presentation – I’d eat it as a meal!
Favorite travel: America’s Best Swimming Holes. Nothin’ better than a good ol’ swimmin’ hole, right? Bahahaha. Seriously though, what an awesome list. I’ve actually included a bunch of these in past Friday Favorites. That’d be a fun bucket list – visit all of America’s favorite swimming holes in one summer.
Favorite bite: Crispy Fish Tacos with Jalapeno Sauce. I fell in love with fish tacos many years ago in San Diego, and this version from Pinch of Yum looks incredibly zesty and flavorful. Beautiful, too!
Favorite funny: 25 Husbands That Must Be Stopped. I laughed ’til I cried reading through this list. Probably because Ben would try and pull every single one of them. After reading through the list himself…he agreed.
Favorite fix up: 10 Totally Ingenious, Ridiculously Stylish IKEA Hacks. Great roundup, especially this Dipped Console Table that I could use in about 15 different places around the house!
Favorite fresh: Grilled Veggie Fajita Salad. I cannot get enough fajitas these days. I’ve ordered them at my favorite Mexican restaurant (Monterrey) no less than 3 times in the past 3 weeks, and this at-home veggie-version looks top notch.
Favorite fashion: Kale Sweatshirt (as seen on Catherine!) When I saw this adorable sweatshirt on the even more adorable Catherine of Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth, I knew I had to have it. Kale > Yale. When it comes to sweatshirts anyway. ;)
Favorite easy: Easy Chicken Tamale Burrito Bowls. Ben and I were watching The Kitchen on Food Network last weekend and they introduced a new segment called “Easy Mexican Food” or something like that. Point being, every week they’re going to show how easy it is to make classic Mexican dishes at home. Well, they started with tamales and after watching one of the hosts try and make a few it was clear that tamales was probably not the best choice for the opening segment. It was a mess! That said, I was thrilled to see this recipe from Tieghan because it looks absolutely delicious, and so much easier than making terrible-looking tamale after tamale!
Favorite sip: Sweet Tea Swagger. The only thing I love better than the name is the combo of refreshing ingredients in this perfectly-summer sip. YUM.
Favorite instagram: Murad Osmann. I featured this insta-famous photographer in a Friday Favorites post last year, and recently “rediscovered” him again. The shots he posts of his girlfriend leading him by the hand to exotic places around the world have just gotten better and better. You must check him out!
Favorite frosty: Birthday Cake Milkshake. About to bake me a gluten-free cake just so I can make this yummy milkshake. Wow!
Favorite fun: Jumbo Popsicle Garland. How adorable would this be for a festive summer party? You’ve got to check out what the “popsicles” are made from, too.
Favorite redo: Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies. I trust that when my girl Ali says this is her new favorite CCC recipe, it’s probably going to be my new favorite CCC recipe too. (Plus, what a stunning photo!)
Have a great weekend!
I’ve never been to Zoo Brew either, but I’m determined to go this summer!
Great list this week! Those cookies look amazing!
That husband list was laugh-out-loud funny!
1. Your bucket list should include Nitefall on the River, a concert series at Simon Estes Amphitheater. Just got some tickets to Fitz and the Tantrums on July 29th, a must see!
2. I’ve made the grilled veggie fajita salad. Three words: to.do.for. So so good. Quick tip, marinate the veggies and mushrooms at least two hours if not over night and pour any additional marinate onto the veggies during the grilling process or use it as a sauce over top. I have some veggies marinating in the fridge as we speak to grill tonight! Another option, wrap them in cabbage leaf for a delicious fajita alternative. One last thing, sweet corn is officially in season in Iowa right now so skip the frozen corn step and stick to the sweet fresh stuff. It’s only corn season once a year!
Love that kale sweatshirt! I don’t care if it’s summer and scorching hot outside! lol
Zoo Brew definitely has wine! We just went for the first time this Wednesday, and it was so fun! Definitely get the groupon if you go, it’s only $5 vs. the $11 we paid!
Zoo Brew has been by far my favorite DSM adventure this summer!
Don’t forget about the FAIR!!! 27 days and counting…tick tock! :)
I’m going to try Zoo Brew for the first time this year as well. I think we’re going to give it a go on 7/30 because the theme for the night is the 80’s. I didn’t recogonize the name of the band but I’m guessing they play…80’s! :)
That’s actually Murad Osmann’s fiancé now :) Coolest engagement shot ever!
How serendipitous you posted about the Califia Farms Iced Coffee today, I was at HyVee yesterday debating whether or not I should buy it. I will put it on my list for next time!
That’s funny that you posted beefaroni, because I made homemade meat sauce last night and then realized that I didn’t have any brown rice spaghetti noodles left (hubby is allergic to wheat), so I made macaroni instead. I called it “spaghetti macaroni”. It didn’t even occur to me that it was beefaroni!
Also, that sweet tea swagger drink? HAPPENING!
I am ALL for birthday cake anything! That milkshake sounds amazing!
Just FYI, that iced coffee has more than three ingredients. They’re sneaky about it and list the “contains less than 2% of” a few lines below…
“Ingredients: Coffee* (Filtered Water, Coffee Extract), Almondmilk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Pure Cane Sugar.
Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following:
Vitamin/Mineral Blend [Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate], Gellan Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Citrate, Natural Flavors, Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt.”
:( Not cool.