Friday Favorites

Woo hoo. TGIF! We’ve made it. This week flew by, but boy am I glad it’s the weekend. I’m hoping to clean my apartment a bit, catch up on laundry, see my in-laws for Father’s Day, and maybe even go to an outdoor yoga class if the weather is nice. Crazy weekend, I know. I party hard. Haha. 

This week’s Friday Favorites has some goodies, so let’s hop right into it. 

1. Contigo Water Bottle

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I constantly write about my on-going struggle to drink more water. I’m not a huge fan of water {unless it’s Smart Water or Bai}. I could legit go a whole day only having a sip of water. So bad, I know. Well, since the weather’s been heating up, I figured that I better start staying hydrated otherwise I’m going to end up really sick. Plus – I’m supposed to drink a bunch of water with my thyroid medication. 

To kick off my goal of drinking at least 100 ounces of water a day, I bought a new water bottle with a straw at Target. {If your Target doesn’t have them, you can also buy them on Amazon.} I absolutely love it and can say that I’m definitely motivated to drink more water. Every day this week I’ve had at least 90 oz! The bottle is 20 oz which is a bit larger than my other water bottles, so I don’t have to refill it as often. 

A co-worker has the same water bottle and we’ve had a full on convo this week all about it. We both can’t say enough good things about this water bottle. When you pull out the straw, there’s a trap door lid that auto-closes. So you won’t get any spills if you add fruit or lemonade packets and shake up the bottle. It’s pretty cool. If you want a new water bottle, definitely give this one a try! 

2. Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe Podcast

I’m a huge fan of Kaitlyn Bristowe. I even interviewed her for the blog back in January 2016 right after she was the Bachelorette! She’s freaking hilarious and as down to Earth as you’d imagine. So, when I heard that she was coming out with her own podcast, my first thought was, “It’s about damn time!” I listened to two episodes so far – one with her fiance Shawn B and the other with Heidi and Spencer Pratt. OMG you guys, this podcast is so incredibly entertaining. Kaitlyn drinks wine throughout each episode, so she’s even more crazy. It’s my favorite right now for sure. 

Seriously though, go listen. Her podcast has made my drive to work so much more bearable. You can search “Off the Vine” on the Podcast app or listen online here. I can’t wait to see where the podcast goes and who she’ll have as upcoming guests.

3. Coconut Shrimp Recipe via Sally’s Baking Addiction

I’ve been a huge fan of the blog {turned cookbook} Sally’s Baking Addiction. Sally has some of the BEST cookie recipes out there. In fact, anytime I want to make a new dessert, I check her blog first for ideas.

Sally doesn’t just stick to baked goods though. Her savory/dinner recipes are to die for. I pinned her coconut shrimp recipe months ago, and finally this week I had the chance to make it. It did not disappoint. I wish I took a photo of the outcome, because it looked just like the photos on her blog. I love when that happens. Sometimes I make recipes and they are such Pinterest fails. They might taste good, but they look horrendous. Not these coconut shrimp though. I was pleasantly surprised! I made an orange thai dipping sauce to go along with it, which was absolutely DELICIOUS {1 part thai chili sauce, 2 parts orange marmalade}.  Bryan loved them too, so I know I’ll be making this dinner again in the future very soon. 

Head to Sally’s Baking Addiction for the full recipe. 

4. Orange is the New Black

I tweeted last weekend that I wasn’t sure how I felt about the new season of Orange is the New Black. {No spoilers here!} I’ll be completely honest. It started off kind of slow and seemed to just drag on episode after episode. But, I saw that a bunch of people online were saying GREAT things about it, so I kept watching. I watched it every night this week, so it has to be mentioned in today’s Friday Favorites.

Midway through the season is when it really started to pick up. I was actually mad when it was 10PM and I had to turn it off, be an adult and go to sleep. If you’re watching it and think it’s kind of bleh, definitely keep going. It gets better, I promise. Was it my favorite season? No. But, it’s not the worst either. The last episode was probably my favorite. The writing, the production, everything was on point. It even made me cry a bit!

// Alright you guys. Time for me to head into work. Have a great Friday!