Five Friday Faves - 3.29

staying up past bedtime and sweating it all out

This week I have been in slump or something like it. We have a pretty hectic few weeks in front of us, and it’s giving me some anxiety/apprehension/hyperfocus on getting through the weeks, rather than enjoying them, because admittedly most of what we have is going to be a lot of fun!

I always love when guests talk about how they try to be more present, because it’s something I am trying to work on, especially in times of stress. Some chats that jump to mind are Colleen, Kat, Eleanor, and Nora. If you’re interested, take a listen.

Alright, below are some recent favorites from the past week or so.

Five Friday Favorites:

1. SaunaBox - My husband is obsessed with a sauna. Cannot get enough, and is always complaining about not having one. So when a neighbor told us about his SaunaBox, I’m pretty sure my husband ordered it before we were even home. It came this week and was quick to assemble. I took the inaugural shvitz, and I have to say I liked it. It’s not the most convenient - there’s a warmup time etc, but it was pretty nice, and I can see myself using it weekly. My husband, on the other hand, will probably be in it every day.

2. Vancouver Storm Series - Recommended recently by Nora and discovered I screenshotted

   Caroline Chambers
   sharing a while ago, but I haven’t had a book keep me up past bedtime in a while. I made the mistake of starting Behind the Net at 9:45 and didn’t get to sleep until midnight. I finished it the next day and immediately started The Fake Out. Maybe I will take a break from Hockey BRADs for a hot second - my March Reading update will be up later this weekend and it’s pretty heavily weighted - but I definitely recommend this series if you’re looking for a good BRAD.

3. Top Chef - I am a big Top Chef Fan! My mom and sister got me into it during 2020, and I went deep into the backseasons. Since then, I’ve religiously watched each season, and last year even went to Buddha’s pop-up in NYC. Next stop, Paducah, KY. This season takes place in Wisconsin, where my husband and I met and lived for 5 years. I have to say, it’s making me miss the Midwest. Loving this season so far, and two episodes in, I think Kristen Kish is doing a great job.

4. Mother Jeans - I went on a quest for new jeans this month, and I am sure

   Christina Tumminello
   is sick of hearing me gripe about it. But $1500 worth of ordering and returning jeans (which I know isn’t a great habit but also there’s no one place where I can go try on all the brands I wanted to try) and I FINALLY landed on a pair I love from Mother. I had some close contenders, including this pair from Paige which is now, of course, on sale, so maybe I need them now? But overall my guiding principle when it comes to jeans (and other things) is “if it’s not a fuck yes, it’s a no.”

5. Cutie Dose - This is very niche, but if you have kids who regularly take medicine - motrin/tylenol/pharmacy meds, you might have noticed that none of the provided syringes ever work well. They don’t fit in other bottles, they don’t get to the bottom of the bottle, I could go on. I got covered in medicine in the middle of the night trying to fill up a syringe too many times, and when I saw these, my mind exploded. Where has this been the past 5yrs of my life? My kids will mostly take chewables now, but I still ordered these because I will not suffer any longer trying to make the provided syringes work.

What’s for Dinner

I cooked a big dinner on Saturday when we had a guest over, and I am rarely that excited about leftovers. Truly the best dish, and a MUST MAKE dinner for entertaining. So easy. And by design, the rest of the week was pretty low effort. I’m leaning into lunch again, and I’ve been eating a lot of tuna fish for lunch this week, the Molly Baz tuna melt recipe is also 🤌🏼

Saturday - Molly Marbella and Buckwheat Chocolate Tea Cake - We had a friend over for dinner, and this chicken marbella version by Molly Baz is one of my all time favorite entertaining recipes, because you can prep all of it in advance and once it’s in the over you need to tend to it three times, but it’s extremely easy to do and barely makes a mess. I also wanted to try this cake my sister raved about, and it was really good! I think I might have messed up the frosting a bit, but will make it again to confirm.

Sunday - Gochujang Salmon with Broccoli and Coconut Rice - I flubbed this one by not using low sodium soy sauce - don’t be me. Otherwise, this was delicious.

Monday - Molly Marbella Leftovers

Tuesday - Shrimp Taco Tuesday - I used a packet of Taco Seasoning from Whole Foods with frozen shrimp and this meal could not have been easier. Served with rice and broccoli and made the kids “chicken tacos” by cutting up chicken nuggets and putting in tortillas with cheese and sour cream.

Wednesday - Brats and Tots - My son and his best friend have designated Wednesday as bike night, and we were out until nearly 6, but Brats and Tots to the rescue again! We had dinner ready in ~25mins and everyone was happy.

Thursday - Dumplings - I am always raving about Dumpling Daughter, and they remain our favorite. We also tried these new Soup Dumplings from MiLa and I really liked the pork ones. The Pho was a bit much for me, likely because I am not a big fan of Pho in general (I know, terrible).

Friday - Pizza Night

More A Day In Her Life:

• ICYMI this week’s Episode is a delightful chat with Elizabeth Rees, the co-founder of Chasing Paper and mom of two young girls. We talk all about travel and sleep and parenting. It is such a great episode! Take a listen!

• Brittany Sheehan (Episode 24) also got a shout out in this week’s episode, and she and her sleep services have come up two other times this week. So if you’re in need of some sleep help, I’ve got the best for you!

• Dr Kathryn Boger (Episode 22) just shared that InStride Health just closed their Series B! If you’re interested in the days of a clinician co-founder of a health tech company and mom of three, this episode is a great one!

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