Friday Favorites - August 4th 2017
TGIF y'all. Seriously. I started out this week tired from not sleeping well last weekend and dove head first into stressful situation with a loved one being ill. I cannot even pretend to be enthusiastic or energetic as I write this post so please bear with me! Real life is happening over here and my heart is heavy. That being said, God is good and I trust in him so that brings me comfort. I am grateful for this past week and am looking forward to the weekend.
I'm sharing a recap of my favorites from the past week and linking up with Andrea today. In no particular order:
Favorite #1
You've probably guessed that I would share this but I can't help myself. The Mixed Tape series about love, sex, & marriage is the absolute best. Hope City's pastor Jeremy Foster is on fire (all the time) with his message. #homeruneverytime I re-listened to it again after attending in person and truly I encourage you to listen to it/watch it. Gear up for the fourth sermon this weekend!
Part 3's highlights:
- If you base your relationship on an emotional foundation, without truly knowing who you are in Christ and truly knowing the person themselves, the emotions & relationship begin to fail within 6 weeks to 18 months. (Ever wonder why relationships hit a major funk around year 2? Makes me laugh because it is spot on.) When we start relationships with a physical relationship first and then our emotions so we "fall in love", we later get to know their family & friends and discover more about who they truly are. Then we discover that there's a lot of things we don't actually like about them, things that annoy us, but we are stuck in a relationship with someone we don't necessarily really like but we feel we love them. Love is blind in the emotional state.
- It only takes a pulse to fall in love. It takes a plan to stay in love/walk in love, and have a successful relationship. You need to have a clear vision of your future so that your present day experiences/relationships can produce that vision.
- Pastor Jeremy gives 6 steps to a successful relationship for single people, and 7 steps to a successful marriage for married people. I'd detail them here, but I prefer you to listen. It's worth every second.
You can find my previous summaries and video clips for Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Favorite #2
Over the weekend I did some cooking and baking, easing my way into my new space. Cooking for others is an emotional thing for me and being in a new space requires a transition period for me. Sort of strange perhaps, but that's just who I am. I enjoyed my quiet mornings baking and cooking though and got to take some treats to my family both days which was not only nice that I got to share the treats with them, but also because serving (not meaning food) is how I show love. My favorite person to bake for has always been my #1 fan, my dad, and he's now in another state! =( So in some ways, baking for my sweet aunt and uncles that are here fills my heart right up.
I made my Paleo Chocolate Pumpkin muffins that I've shared the recipe for before. This time I used cashew butter instead of almond butter, and maple syrup instead of honey because I had both opened from previous baking and wanted to use it up. They turned out equally delicious as before and I was asked for the recipe three times. I take that as a good sign. ;)
Click here to print the recipe or you can click the links above to go to the original post that also includes a delicious Paleo cookie recipe.
I also baked my Paleo (Whole 30 ingredients) biscuits as well as a new recipe for Paleo chocolate baked doughnuts. I'll share the doughnut recipe soon on a Monday's Menu post.
Favorite #3
I shared this dress last week and am so thrilled with it. The colors and sizes keep going in and out of stock over the couple of days I drafted this post, but I decided what-the-heck...it's worth sharing again so you can keep it on your radar to continue checking for it. I have no doubt Nordstrom will continue to restock this dress.
I wore the black dress to church, to work with a long cardigan, and to dinner already. #sorrynotsorry I am not ashamed of my comfort game.
Leith racer-back dress / similar sandals / exact Merona sandals / Kendra Scott Elle filigree earrings / similar necklace in filigree / similar necklace in black
Favorite #4
I'm definitely honing in on the green lately. I love this jersey funnel neck top by Halogen and got it on the Nordstrom sale in a couple of colors. Naturally, in hindsight I wish I bought additional colors while they were available, but I didn't know if I'd like them. I like the high, classy neck. The material is suuuuppperrr soft too. It's perfect for work or play and I love to wear sleeveless shirts & dresses with jackets or cardigans in the fall/winter so this is perfect! There aren't many available left (and hopefully they'll restock them in more colors).
These STS shorts are true to size, stretchy, comfy, and almost a dream come true. (A real dream come true would be sitting somewhere up north with snow falling, a fireplace, a bottle of Veuve, a bowl of melted chocolate, and a litter of puppies. But, I digress...) The shorts are darker in person than they look online @Nordstrom.
Halogen top / STS Blue boyfriend shorts / Gorjana Lola earrings / similar watch / similar watch
Favorite #5
This may seem silly, or rather a little random to mention. But I recently had a discussion with some girlfriends about making sure to complete all of her annual doctor appointments and I was urging the friend to use ZocDoc.
It's free to sign up and use. You create a profile, add in your insurance information, and then can search for doctors in your network and schedule appointments directly through ZocDoc instead of calling the doctor's office and waiting on the phone. It's the simplest, painless way to get your appointments scheduled. Plus, what I like the most is that ZocDoc texts and emails reminders before the appointment as well as sends you annual reminders that it's time to go to the dentist, dermatologist, well woman, annual physical, optometrist, etc. Seriously, I have never been so regular in my annual exams as I have been since I joined ZocDoc years ago.. I love it. It's a breeze.
Thanks for following along and I hope everyone had a great week. How was your week for you? Looking forward to the weekend? Any fun plans?
Have a wonderful weekend!
XOXO
