Happy Friday, everyone!
Well most of the snow has been cleared from the roads, and the city has been freed! The majority of area schools are still closed today, and a bunch of people are still without power though, so the first blizzard of 2012 (and I guess, last?!) is still kind of kicking our butt.
Everything should be good to go when Ben and I head to the airport on Monday though, and we are crossing out fingers for no last minute happenings. I am notorious for having delayed and/or canceled flights, missing flight crews, etc. (Super Bowl 2011, anyone?!) and don’t want anything to happen to interfere with Christmas! Ahhh!
At any rate, I will be working a furious pace this weekend to make sure I get everything wrapped up before we go – literally, I still have a ton of gift wrapping to do! ;) Wherever you are, I hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend, and please enjoy my favorite finds from around the web in this week’s Friday Favorites!
Click on the blue link to be taken to the original source.
Favorite wakeup: Coffee Cake Muffins with Sweet Glaze. How absolutely spectacular and delicious would these be to have on Christmas morning? I am such a sucker for anything with a crumbly topping.
Favorite fashion: Tory Burch Lucas Small Link Necklace. I have grown to just adore Tory Burch fashion and accessories. Not that I could ever justify the expense, but isn’t this gold and pink necklace oh-so pretty to stare at?
Favorite rule-breaker: Beer-Battered Mini Corn Dogs with Chipotle Ketchup. I would break my one corn dog a year rule in a HEARTBEAT for one of these!
Favorite tutorial: Laura’s Makeup Routine. My good friend Laura started a blog a few months ago – Our Styled, Suburban Life – (how adorable is that name, btw?!) She posts lots of home and craft projects, but recently shared her makeup routine. Read on to find out how to get gorgeous! :)
Favorite light bite: Thai Crunch Chicken Salad. Ohhh. Yes. I am such a sucker for Thai chicken salads, and am LOVING the dressing concoction drizzled over the top of this one!
Favorite find: Pine Reclaimed Flooring. This flooring is a double win in my book. It’s reclaimed so you’re doing the earth a favor by using it, PLUS the imperfections mask any scratches and what not that might accumulate over the years. So beautiful.
Favorite song: Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait. I get so excited every time this song comes on the radio. I could listen to it over and over. Which, I’ve actually been doing while typing this post!
Favorite furball: Snowball. OMG CAN YOU EVEN HANDLE IT?!
Favorite sip: Glowing Sunshine Juice. I have been thirsty for this ultra-healthy concoction all week. Going out to get the ingredients for it this afternoon – can’t wait!
Favorite fitness: 45 Minutes Treadmill Interval Workout to Fight Belly Fat. I did a version of this on the treadmill this morning. It was perfectly heart-pumping.
Favorite frozen: Peppermint Ice Cream Cake. The other day my brother shared that snow always makes him crave ice cream. I thought about it for a second and realized I feel the same way! (Although, if we’re being honest, a lot of other things do too.) Must be why this frozen chocolate & peppermint cake looks so dang good.
Favorite tone: Alphabet Abs. Great this little ab routine you can do absolutely anywhere in, like, 2 minutes – AND adapt for other parts of your body. I tried it today for arms, holding an 8lb weight, and definitely felt the burn!
Favorite guide: Interior Decor & Furniture Styles Guide. I always hear these buzzwords on home shows, and thought it was awesome to see them all laid out and explained. Very helpful! (I apologize for the lengthy scroll time your finder is about to endure, btw.)
Favorite bite: Frog Eye Salad. There’s a local deli here called Palmer’s that serves the BEST little side dish called Frog Eye Salad. It’s basically a sweet, custardy, salad with fresh fruit and ancini di pepe pasta to mimic “frog eyes”. So thrilled to find a recipe for it!
Favorite tip: Anatomy of a Cheese Plate. In case you’re doing any holiday entertaining this weekend, I thought this was a super helpful guide. Good to remember for any time of the year, really!
Favorite cookie: Red Velvet Peppermint Blossom Cookies. These babies remind me of the melt-in-your-mouth Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies I had a Panera earlier this week, with a sweet peppermint kiss on top! If you have any holiday baking left to do, these would be a perfect last-minute addition.
Month of Holiday Giveaways
A few months ago on another edition of Friday Favorites, I shared a new favorite sip of mine – Naked Coconut Water, which comes in 4 different flavors. This coconut water is so pure and thirst-quenching that Ben STILL reminds me every week to pick some up at the grocery store. It’s great for drinking after workouts, or anytime, really!
In addition to Naked’s coconut water, I am obsessed with their no-sugar added 100% Juice Smoothies. My favorites are the Green Machine and Red Machine. I don’t typically like to drink my calories, but at the same time it’s not empty calories, rather the juices boast tons of beneficial vitamins and minerals. Plus their thick and creamy consistency can’t be beat. Can you tell I really like these? ;)
Naked wants to make sure you get a chance to try their Coconut Waters and 100% Juice Smoothies, so they are sending one winner a Naked Coconut Water Swag Box, full of coconut water and other goodies, plus a bunch of coupons for the 100% Juice Smoothies to get them fresh at the store!
*** PLEASE NOTE: the widget may take up to a minute to load and may not work in Internet Explorer. Winners are chosen randomly via Random.org and will be contacted directly via email. ***
Enter to win the Naked Coconut Water and 100% Juice Smoothie Coupons by clicking on the “+1″ button then clicking “Enter” by 11:59pm central time on Saturday, December 22. Good luck!
Lydia Jones 12.22.2012
Naked Smoothies are soooo good! I love them! Green Machine is definitely my favorite!
Kristen Stevens 12.22.2012
Lots of great recipes here, thanks for sharing! That salad looks pretty amazing!
Traci 12.21.2012
P.S. would love to have you check out my blog if you like shabby chic furniture! Thanks!
Traci 12.21.2012
Hi fellow Iowa girl! I live in IA too. I discovered your blog off Pinterest. I really enjoyed it! Happy Holidays! Traci
Katie @ Blonde Ambition 12.21.2012
All of the pepperminty baked goods made me so excited that Christmas is so soon! Peppermint is my favorite holiday flavor, hands down!
Afton 12.21.2012
Glad you survived the storm! I worked from home yesterday and today, didn’t want to make the trek from Ankeny to WDM. Hopefully the roads will be all cleared up soon!
Jan 12.21.2012
Would love to try this! Happy Holidays!!!
Missy 12.21.2012
Great Friday Favorites. I will spend a few hours perusing all these links!!
Question–how is the winner of your contests notified? Through email?
Katie @ running4cupcakes 12.21.2012
I totally had that salad the last time I was in Des Moines and ate at Palmers. Love that place!
Cher @ Weddicted 12.21.2012
Omg! The dog – way too cute! And I have flooring like you posted sitting in my spare room (grrr) waiting for my husband to install! I cannot wait!!
Heather @ What Does She Do All Day? 12.21.2012
I LOVE Naked Smoothies! Green Machine is my favorite, hands down! I’ve never tried their coconut water, though.
Elizabeth 12.21.2012
I love Naked juice, it’s fantastic! I’m been needing a good juice maker for a while now. Must try those coffee cake muffins over Christmas, as well as the alphabet abs to go with them!!
Lexi 12.21.2012
I am SO GLAD you wrote about the frog eye salad. I grew up eating it so when I eat at Palmer’s with friends, I always get asked, “WHAT is that!?!”
Katie 12.21.2012
yum! love naked drinks!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl 12.21.2012
Those muffins look amazing! They would be absolutely perfect on Christmas! :)
And that puppy dog…beyond adorable :).
Have a great Christmas and safe travels!
Tracy 12.21.2012
I look so forward to your Friday Favorites posts!
Merry Xmas to you and your family, Kristin! Safe travels!
Erin 12.21.2012
something about the color of that smoothie just makes me crave it! and like becky, i’m bookmarking that workout too, i have a feeling i will need it after this holiday week!
Liz 12.21.2012
Don’t know if you are planning on taking wrapped gifts with you, but if you are, don’t! If they find wrapped packages in your luggage they will unwrap them and then you will have wasted all of your time and wrapping paper. If you aren’t taking them with you, then good luck wrapping- that’s my task for the weekend!
Iowa Girl Eats 12.21.2012
Definitely learned that one the hard way last year – sucked so bad!
Becky @ Olives n Wine 12.21.2012
I absolutely love Tory Burch too and that necklace is so cute! I’m going to give that an workout a try over my holiday break, looks like a good workout!!
Potatoes and Pilates 12.21.2012
The Glowing Sunshine Juice looks to die for. LOVE fresh carrot and ginger juice but never thought of adding grapefruit.
I am working with a blank canvas for our new apartment so the “Interior Decor and Furniture Style Guide” couldn’t have come into my life at a more appropriate time.
Thanks for sharing!