friday favorites - christmas vacation

Yesterday was my last final for the semester, and now I am officially on break from grad school! 24 glorious days off before Spring semester starts back up...and 11 of those days I am also taking vacation from work. I am so excited, I could cry. ;)

I definitely want time to veg out and relax since it's go-go-go all the time, but I also have a couple ideas of some fun things I'd like to do too!

// wildlights at the columbus zoo

The Columbus Zoo does an amazing display every year using over 3 million twinkle lights. We went once a couple of years ago, and it was amazing!

// ikea trip

We are long overdue for a trip down to the closest Ikea, near Cincinnati. I want to wander around getting decor inspiration and pick out a couple of items for the house.

// state auto's christmas corner

The State Auto building downtown puts us an amazing life-sized nativity scene every year (a tradition started by the company's founder in the 1930s!) and while I always drive by it on my way home from work and school, I would love to walk down there with Aaron and the dogs one night to check it out up close!

// holiday baking

This year, I really want to make some Christmas cookies and holiday wassail! I think I'm going to use my mum's gingersnap recipe and add a white chocolate drizzle to the outside - stay tuned for a post on that recipe! I also remember just loving wassail as a kid, and although I can't find our original recipe, I'm going to create one on my own - I'll share that with you too!

// outdoor ice skating

I love ice skating - as a kid, we always had my birthday parties at an ice rink since my birthday is in January. This year, I want to go to a festive outdoor ice rink, instead of the typical indoor ones. There is a cute one in Cuyahoga Falls (near Akron) right on the riverside and skating is only $3! 

What festive activites are you up to this holiday season??

Share your Friday favorites with all of us by linking up with these lovely ladies! 

 

friday favorites - overnight oats

I don't know why I was so late to the party on this one, but I tried overnight oats for the first time the other day and YUM!! Not only are they easy to put together, but they are also a huge time saver because I can prepare breakfast the night before and it's ready to go in the morning. There are so many different delicious recipes you can try too...no matter what you are in the mood for - and so many of them are healthy!

I recently decided to transition to a more vegetarian diet / lifestyle (just cutting out meat...still eating fish, eggs, dairy)...so I've been really looking for new recipes and ways to incorporate protein into my daily diet. These overnight oats are great because I can use plain Greek yogurt, chia seeds, flax seeds, peanut butter, and even protein powder with them!

For today's Friday favorites, I'd like to share the three overnight oats recipes that I've made so far, and two that I will be trying next! For all these recipes I've used Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and Ball 16 oz canning jars. The jars are shorter than a typical mason jar and can be found in a 4-pack at Target. 

//  Blueberry Banana

 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup organic low fat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup of banana, sliced
1-2 tbsp organic honey

 Add the oats to your jar of choice and pour in the milk. Add a layer of blueberries and then a layer of banana slices. Top with honey. Place in fridge and enjoy in the morning, or a few hours later!

// Lemon Thyme and Honey

I found this on the blog, The Breakfast Drama Queen, and it sounded delicious!
For a direct link to her site - click on "Lemon Thyme and Honey"

1/2 cup oats
1/2 a lemon, squeeze the juice into jar onto of oats
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (I didn't have this so I left it out)
1 tbsp honey
Extra honey, to serve (added in the morning)

In your mason jar, mix together the oats, lemon juice, vanilla, yogurt, and milk. Remove the thyme leaves from the stems and mix them into the oatmeal along with the honey. Cover the jar and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning, drizzle some extra honey over your oats (if desired) and enjoy!

// Bananas Foster

This is another great recipe I found online, courtesy of the lovely blogger, Laura Fuentes.

1 tsp coconut oil
1 banana, sliced
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup oats
1 cup organic low fat milk

In a small saucepan, heat up coconut oil over medium heat. Add bananas, vanilla, and cinnamon to the heated pan and begin to saute until they begin to break down and juice out natural sugars (takes about 2-3 mins). Add maple syrup, stir to combine and cook for another minute - then remove from heat.

Place the oats and milk inside your jar, then pour the banana mixture evenly over the top. Stir to combine and refrigerate overnight.

// Carrot Cake

This is the next overnight oats recipe I would like to try! It's chocked full of protien (23g!) and is under 300 calories. The recipe can be found on the blog, Dashing Dish.

// Ginger Snap

 
What a cute idea! This one will be great to make during the holiday season.
The recipe can be found on the lovely Jen's blog, Driftwood Gardens.

 

friday favorites

Happy Friday ladies! 
I'm just popping in to share a few of my favorite things from the past week or so. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

 // sweater weather

It's chilly here, and I am not complaining! There's nothing I love more than curling up on the couch in a comfy sweater with a big blanket and hot apple cider...and snuggles from a certain blue doberman :)

// halloween

We had a great Halloween this year! We spent one night carving pumpkins - Aubrey did a classic Jack-o-Lantern, Aaron did a take on one of his favorite craft beer labels (haha) and I did Jack Skellington from A Nightmare Before Christmas - one of my all-time favorite movies. Trick-or-treat was fun this year too because it wasn't too cold and we found a great couple of streets to hit (hello full sized candy bars!)

// throwbacks

Aaron went through an old phone of his this week and found a million old pictures and videos of our dogs when they were just puppies. It was SO much fun looking through all of them - I can't believe how tiny they used to be! It feels like it only lasted a minute, and then they were huge!

 

Dexter at just a couple months old in his favorite jammies - that don't fit anymore!

// fall fashion

Hands down one of my favorite seasons as far as clothes go.

Maybe I'm just biased because the colors match my hair haha ;)

Floppy hat / Old Navy - sold out (similar)

White tee / Express

Maxi Cardigan / Target

// holiday decorating
Don't hate me...BUT I just can't wait to get my Christmas decorations up! :)
Especially after discovering Target's new line of holiday home decor and purchasing quite a few things in the store and online! I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I feel like I work so hard decorating, I don't just want them up for a couple of weeks. This photo that Liz Marie posted earlier this week has me itching to get started this weekend! 

Link up with you Friday favorites with any of the lovely ladies below!

friday favorites

Happy the weekend is here! But, not so happy that I have to spend all day tomorrow in a workshop for school :-/ such a pain...weekends are so important to me, especially since I've been working and going to grad school at the same time... so when something comes up that takes away time with family & time to relax from me, it is a major bummer. 

Oh well, it's only one day...and I have a mini girls trip and Halloween to look forward to the following weekend...silver lining! :)

Enough complaining and on to the good stuff - my Friday favorites!

// favorite recipe

This moscow mule recipe - I've never actually tried this drink before, but I hear about them all the time. I love the sound of all the ingredients (ginger beer - yum!) and the copper mugs are just too cute!

// favorite internet find
Truth. #crazydoglady

// favorite fashion item
This beautiful number is on its way to me as we speak! I saw it on Brittany and clicked on the link she provided... thinking I would be majorly disappointed when I saw it was hundreds of dollars...but it was only $64! Major steal for such a gorgeous and unique dress - I think I scooped up the last one, but check out Mod Owl's other gorgeous items! 

// favorite purchase(s)
I had a spontaneous trip to Target on Tuesday night and scooped up some great things - a slouchy beanie, some new face wash, and a couple cosmetic items. I was super excited to see this particular Target has a whole section of Shea Moisture makeup - which I didn't even know that line carried! I grabbed some foundation and nail polish which I'll review in a separate post :) #crueltyfree 

// favorite show(s)
There are too many right now! Aaron and I can't keep up. What have you all been watching? Not like we need even more shows, but I'm always interested to hear about good ones that we can stream later on!
{Disclaimer: pretty sure he would want me to clarify that he does not watch all of these - you can guess which ones - but he is also busy keeping up with football lol}


Link up and share you Friday favorites with the ladies below!

friday favorites

Happy Friday ladies!

Did you notice the few changes around here? I finally gave the blog a bit of a face lift ...and it only took me a couple of hours to figure out how! lol I'm not really computer savvy ;)

Now let's get to the good stuff...sharing five of my favorites for the week of Oct 5th!

// fashion

Since picking up this floppy hat at Old Navy the other day, I've been looking for some fall outfit inspiration to pair it with. I'm loving these looks from Amber Fillerup and Andee Layne.

// beauty

Cleaning makeup brushes is always a pain, and I put it off much more than I should - but I was really interested when I saw this little mat by Sigma for only $32! Looks cute and really practical, so it might make the annoying task of brush maintenance just a bit more fun and effective!

// blogger

I was so excited to discover Tashina Combs and her blog, Logical Harmony. It is an awesome vegan beauty and lifestyle blog with a super extensive Cruelty Free Beauty List that is updated weekly! JACKPOT
This will make my shopping trips much quicker when I am looking for new products! Tashina does extensive research into each brand before putting them on the cruelty free list.

Straight from her site: 
Logical Harmony strives to bring you the best in beauty, lifestyle, fashion, health and diet. The content focuses on vegan beauty and the promotion of a healthy and animal friendly lifestyle.

// eats
One of my favorite bloggers to follow, Megan at Willow & Co. posted this amazing crockpot mac & cheese reciepe the other day. Let's be honest, cheese is one of my (if not my #1) favorite foods... so I can't wait to try this out! 

// warm fuzzy

This article just made my heart explode. Meet Pumpkin, the orphaned raccoon who was rescued as a baby and now thinks she's a dog, like her companions Toffee and Oreo. #deadfromthecuteness 

Follow her on IG @pumpkintheraccoon

Join the fun Friday link ups here!!

friday favorites

Happy Friday my lovelies! What do you all have planned this weekend? I am so happy the cool fall weather has decided to make an appearance here in Columbus...hopefully it sticks around so I can bust out my new jacket and boots! 

Look // 

 If I could raid any blogger's closet, it would be the gorgeous Andee over at The Honeybee. She has the perfect mix of classic chic - bohemian - rocker girl. You'd think it would be impossible, but just check out her blog and you will see what I mean! LOVE this Free People peasant blouse...and you can never go wrong with flared jeans ;)

Book // 

Well, I haven't exactly read it yet, but I can't WAIT to get my hands on Mindy Kaling's newest book!

Music // 

Have you heard of Elle King? She is amazing. I picked up her cd after hearing her single Ex's & Oh's last weekend and I love it - she is such a badass and has an awesomely raspy and soulful voice. She reminds me of a classic rocker like Stevie Nicks or Janis Joplin! Definitely check her out. Fun fact - her dad is Adam Sandler's bff, Rob Schneider ;)

Purchase //

 I'm so happy with my first beauty box subscription. It's from Petit Vour and is completely cruelty free - and a great bargain! If you missed my post from Wednesday reviewing all the items, be sure to check it out here.  

Join in the link up fun and share your favorites from the past week! xx

friday favorites

via

Happy Friday! 

Linking up with some great ladies today to share some of my favorite finds from this week!

This job beats all other jobs...hands down.

 I definitely want to try this recipe this weekend - I'm always in the mood for curry.

My favorite show has announced their Season 3 release date.

And some great fall fashion pieces that I found while trolling the internet this week...

Blouse / F21 ... Hat / Old Navy ... Rain coat // Target ... Marble iPhone Case // Society 6

Join the link ups and share you Friday favorites!!

friday finds

T-minus 9 hours until the weekend ladies! It can't get here soon enough ;)
I'm linking up with the regular lovely group of bloggers for Friday's post!

one //

I found a fabulous new blog over the weekend - T.O. & Fro by Mar

She has some amazing looking home made recipes for beauty products like lotion bars and body scrub that I am dying to try out!

two //

Thanks to $25 in rewards bucks and a $25 Visa gift card from Xmas, I picked up these little Skechers Go Walk sneaks for only $7!! They are SO comfortable and will be perfect for going on walks and hikes with the dogs once the snow melts!

three //

I've also been on the lookout for a new casual everyday winter coat (since I'm still rocking the one I used in high school! Um, embarrassing.) I found this Jessica Simpson belted puffer jacket a Macy's, but they didn't have my size...so I did a little recon online once I got home and found it for $37 on 6pm.com! Queen of the deals this weekend ;)

four //

It's Old Navy Super Cash time! I earned $20 over the holidays and have been waiting for Jan 29th patiently to spend it! Going to get myself some new pjs this weekend ;) If you have it, be sure to use it by February 4th!

five //

And just a few funnies to kick off the weekend...

Bikini season is only like 4 months away!! 

I'm definitely guilty of this one...

Head over and join in the Friday Link-Ups at the blog listed below!