Tried It Tuesday

I'm linking up today with Casey over at Hey, Momma for her Link Party #5!

It's time for another installment of Tried It Tuesday! Yay! I've missed writing these posts, so I'm going to share some of the things I've been loving over the summer! Since I haven't posted a Tried It Tuesday in awhile, I'll quickly explain the premise of it:

Tried It Tuesday is a place where I share things that I have been loving. The items can come in any shape or form (makeup, books, YouTube videos, food, drinks, recipes, music, etc.). I am not endorsed by any of the companies who make these products. I just love to share the things I'm really liking at the moment in case it's something you'd be interested in too!

Make sure you let me know if you have tried something new that you love! I would love to check it out! :)

Drinks

I have migraines...really bad migraines. I was getting frustrated because my migraines have been much more under control lately with different medications and treatments, but every time I worked out, I was getting a migraine! My neurologist told me to drink Gatorade before, during, and after working out because all the water I was drinking was flushing out the vitamins I was talking to curb my migraines. I also sweat out more of them! Well, let me tell you, I am totally sick of drinking Gatorade! Blech! I went to Whole Foods to look for some kind of electrolyte/vitamin-based drink. And I found one that tastes great!!

The powder is called 365 Everyday Value Electrolyte Plus Powder. I cannot for the life of my find a picture of it; sorry about that! (I threw my last packet away.) It is made with Stevia, so it doesn't have that artificial sugar taste. And it tastes like raspberries! It's just a subtle taste; I really enjoy it. I bought little sample packets for 50 cents each. Next time, I'm going to buy a box!

I also tried Vega One Plant-Based Nutritional Shakes this week. I tried the plant and greens protein shake. They are gluten-free, soy free, dairy free, and have no sugar added. I love them! Whey protein in many kinds of protein shakes really messes with my stomach. I had no problem with these shakes, and they have great flavors! I tried mocha and vanilla chai. I bought two sample packets on sale now at Whole Foods 2/$6. I think I'm going to purchase this as well. I'm leaning toward the mocha flavor. Sooo good! And a great snack! You can also find it at GNC and on Amazon.

Beauty Products

For some reason, my acne has flared up this summer. I was so tired of it that I started researching different solutions online, and then it hit me! I can go to Lush and find some all-natural products for my acne. The woman I talked to there was very helpful! She lead me towards this soap/cleanser: Fresh Farmacy Facial Soap. It has lavender, chamomile, tea tree oil, and rose. It calms the skin and promotes acne healing. It smells great, is gentle, and doesn't dry out my skin.

I also purchased the Tea Tree Toner Water from Lush. It is fabulous! It helps my oily skin and also has been clearing up my acne. After I get out of the shower and wash my skin at night, I spray this on and let it dry before I put on my moisturizer. It's so refreshing!

App

In July I signed up for a free trail of Audible. I listened to books on CD all the time when I was in grad school, driving 50-60 minutes to school from my home. I tried it again this summer! I usually listen before I go to bed and fall asleep listening to a story. It's so relaxing!

The book I got for free was Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison. I have a few more days before my subscription kicks in, and I can't wait to choose another book!

If you sign up, you get your first book free, then you pay $14.99 each month for one book (which are really expensive otherwise!) and then you can also purchase books at discounted prices if you want more than one. You can always cancel your free trial month before 30 days are up. 

Kitchen Product

Bjorn and I like to have breakfast for dinner every once and awhile and love to make pancakes on the weekend. Pancakes, however, always make a mess. I recently heard about a product that Williams Sonoma makes to help with pancake mess! It's called the pancake pen.

You put the mix in the container, shake it up, and squirt as much mix as you want into the pan. You can also put the remaining batter in the fridge (inside the pancake pen) and make more another morning. It also has two twist off ends for easy cleaning. It's super fun!

Have you tried anything new lately?

Love and happiness <3 Holly

Tried It Tuesday...is Back!!!

Guess what?!? Tried It Tuesday's back!

Since I haven't posted a Tried It Tuesday in awhile, here's the "Tried It Tuesday deal:"

On Tuesdays I typically post random items that I have tried {or found out about} and enjoyed in hopes that you will find something in my list that you may enjoy too! 

Here are some things I've tried recently and enjoyed:

App

I  am seriously in LOVE with the App Word Wall! I got my sister Rachael to play with me too! I love a good brain challenge. Word Wall is a FREE App that challenges you to take a wall of words and find all the pairs of words that are associated with one another until there are no words left to be matched. For example, words can be matched as synonyms, antonyms, sayings/phrases, or parts/whole, just to name a few. 

Here's a picture of an example screen you get when you open the App:

Once you read through the words, you tap two words that you believe fit together in some way, or can be associated together, and they turn dark gray {as shown below}:

My first match was entertainment and film.

And then...

Film -- Entertainment

Crap -- Poo

Animal -- Dog

Drink -- Wine

Once you get towards the end and there are only a few words left, you start to realize that some of your matches may not be "the best" matches/choices, so you end up having to do some rematching. The game will alert you that you can no long make matches with your leftover words. 

I ended up rematching "column" with "support."

Then "dependent" became free, so I could match "baby" with "dependent."

I kept going until all matches were made {I stopped taking pictures after this screen :) }.

At first the timer bothered me, but it only counts up. You get stars if you complete the puzzle within so many seconds, but I've never not made it to the next level. {I think you can take as long as you want.}

So fun!!! You have to try it, and exercise your brain!!

Sweets

My dad was always a caramel fan. He loved butterscotch too. I never had a huge taste for them {I think because of their chewiness}, but I recently found some silky smooth, soft caramels that are delish!

I picked these up at Target. They lasted me a few months; I'm not a huge candy eater. 

They were on sale at the time for $2, but are normally $3.99 for a package of 16 pieces. They are also Gluten Free! They are not too chewy, not too sweet, and have a nice, subtle buttery taste. 

Book

I recently read a few books that I've had stacked waiting to be read, and I have to mention the one I just finished. It was FANTASTIC!

Mockingbird follows Caitlin, a young girl living with Asperger's. Her world is very black and white. Everything around her seems confusing, but her older brother Devon, was always there to help her throughout her life. After Devon was killed in a school shooting, Caitlin's life became even more confusing: her brother is no longer there and her dad is not able to give her his full attention because he is so distraught. Caitlin wants her life to go back to normal, but she doesn't know how to do that. She thinks that understanding how to find "closure" can help her, but she's not sure how to go about it. On her search for closure, she realizes a lot about herself and her new life. 

For My Teacher Friends:

F & P Level: W

DRA: 60

Grade Level Eqivalent: 3.5

Lexile: 630

I absolutely LOVE this book. Caitlin is a character you will fall in love with!

Art

For Christmas, I got silhouettes made for my mom of me and my sisters. They are beautiful! I found a shop on Instagram @missthistleshop also at www.missthistleshop.com that makes custom silhouettes of people, animals, and houses! The owner sends you digital copies that you can get printed in any size you like. Here are what ours look like:

 

I found the gold frames at TJ Maxx. Love them!! Thanks, Meiska!! <3

Music

Does anyone else love Ed Sheeran? I <3 his music, but I have never seen his music video for "Thinking Out Loud" {love this song btw!}. Holy poo, he dances in it!! I watched this like four times Sunday night. Love it!!

Oh! And have you seen OK Go's newest music video? Amazing! They did it in one take! So cool. This makes me smile!! And they count in Japanese :)

Drink

I love Bigelow tea. My all-time favorite is Cinnamon Stick, but my local Kroger and Target DO NOT sell it anymore! It makes me want to loose my mind! (It's the little things that make me happy! I want my tea back, damn it!) However, I did find a delicious new Bigelow tea that I am really digging right now. It does have more caffeine than normal tea, so I have to only drink a cup now and then because of my headaches.

I really enjoy the creaminess of the tea from the honey. I also haven't noticed that the tea gets bitter if you steep it a little longer than you'd like. 

That's it for this week's Tried It Tuesday!

What have you tried, found, or enjoyed anything new this week?

Love and happiness <3 Holly

Tried It Tuesday!

I have not been sleeping well. I don't know why. I either fall asleep, wake up really early in the morning, and then can't go back to sleep. Or I can't fall asleep and just lie awake forever wishing I could just keep my eyes shut and sleep!

I don't know what's going on! When I got home today, I was so exhausted, I fell asleep on the couch and am now probably going to be awake for a little while. That is the way things go sometimes, no? (I'm French this week.) Anyone else feeling the tiredness hitting them? Teacher friends? I keep thinking it has something to do with the up and down weather of the typical Ohio fall season and my allergies. This hot--> cool weather is driving my sinuses crazy! They need a break! I am soooo over my allergies right now!

I really wanted to get Tried It Tuesday together for this week :) I'm just happy that I woke up before midnight to finish this up and send it off into blogosphere land! Happy Tried It Tuesday! Hope you enjoy :) 

Food

Salsa

Bjorn and I tend to make simpler things during the week for dinner--huevos  rancheroes, tacos, pasta with fresh tomatoes, meatloaf, bread salad, and some other go-to recipes that we love.

One new recipe we tried is from my mom: chicken tostadas. They are so easy and delicious, made with precooked chicken. They also have fresh fruit on them, which is refreshing and different. On top you add salsa. My mom uses mango salsa, but I felt like trying something different. 

At Kroger I found the best new salsa! It's Martinez Fire Roasted Peach Salsa. I am in love with this stuff! It has a little sweetness from the peaches that is balanced out by the tomatoes and green peppers with just the right amount of heat from the jalapenos. Bjorn and I even bought two jars the next week: one for dinner and one to eat with chips :) You can find it right along the other salsas at Kroger.

Drink

Stash White Chai Tea

I love trying new tea. I found this one at Kroger and really love the subtleness of the flavor. Sometimes I am in the mood for a strong, dark tea, but not always. This chai is not too strong and bity. Sometimes I feel that chai can have a very strong bite with all the different spices it has in it. This white chai is very soothing and refreshing. It still has the subtle hint of a chai tea without the punch.

 

Book

A Mago-Shaped Space

I am almost finished reading this lovely book. I think this is one of my new favorites. A Mango-Shaped Space is a young adult book meant for students/children between the ages of 9-12. In this book we meet a young girl named Mia who lives with synesthesia, a condition where one sense (for example, hearing) is perceived simultaneously with one additional sense (for example, sight). 

In Mia's case, letters, shapes, and numbers have colors. She sees them before her eyes when she reads or does math problems. To some people, certain words have different tastes. Music can also has different colors. In this book, Mia finally reveals her condition to her family after hiding it from them at first because she didn't realize she was different and then for fear of being ridiculed. This book is fabulous! 

I think this topic is so interesting. I had a linguist professor with synesthesia. He couldn't drink coffee or eat anything while he drove or listen to music because the colors he saw were so distracting to him while driving. You can click here to read a story about a women living with synesthesia to find out what life is like with this condition.

Makeup

Mascara

I have been having problems lately with my eyelashes breaking off. I recently saw on a vlog I follow on YouTube that Maybelline's The Rocket causes some people to have breakage problems. Well, guess what? That was the mascara that I was using! 

I decided to try a different kind of mascara all together, so I purchased Loreal's Voluminous Butterfly Mascara. I love it! It's my new favorite mascara. My lashes look great! They seem healthier, they look nice and long (not fuller, however), and not brittle at all like they used to. The mascara goes on smoothly with no clumping, and my lashes separate well. I am definitely going to repurchase this product!

Music

I love the song "Budapest" from George Ezra. It was the iTunes single of the week a few week's back. I can't stop listening to it :)

And this just makes me happy:

Happy Tried It Tuesday! Have you tried anything new lately?

Talk to you soon!

Love and happiness <3 Holly

Tried It Tuesday :)

It's time for another installment of Tried It Tuesday!! Da-da-da-dum! And, let me just tell you, I am seriously exhausted! The first five days of school have really knocked it out of me! I could fall asleep at any minute, so I apologize in advance if this post sounds a little nutty-nuts! We say my dog is in a "nutty-nut" mood when he wakes up from a nap and has a crazy energy spurt, running around like a mad man. He is, after all, a 2 year old! Sorry, for throwing that in there! I feel a little slap happy :) I don't know what the heck I'm talking about!!

Well, let's keep things moving, because I could run off on a tangent all night! Here are my Tried It Tuesday finds from this past week:

Food

This past weekend Bjorn and I celebrated 16 years of being together. On Saturday, Bjorn took me out for an impromptu date downtown. It was so much fun! First we went to an early dinner at Taste of Belgium, a Beglian-inspired restaurant. 

Taste of Belgium Brunch

I have never been to The Taste of Belgium while they had their brunch menu out. I have only been for dinner. First of all, if you've never been to The Taste of Belgium, you have to go! It is soooo delicious! Their mussels are my favorite with their frites! Last time I was there, I tried the escargot. Oh my goodness! Buttery deliciousness!! So for brunch, I ate their McWaffle. It is their homemade Belgian waffle used as a sandwich bun. Inside is a perfectly fried egg,  Gruyere cheese, and bacon. On the side was maple syrup to drizzle on top. It was perfection!

Bjorn ate their famous chicken and waffles. The chicken is battered and fried with a little kick--not too much, just the right amount of spice. It's served with one of their fresh Belgian waffles and a side salad.

Dojo Gelato

After we ate, we walked around Washington Park in Over the Rhine and got Dojo Gelato for dessert. Holy smokes! It was delicious! Dojo Gelato is a food truck that serves gelati, sorbetti, espresso and coffee and it was parked right next to Washington Park last Saturday. They also have a stand in Findlay Market. I tried Apricot Cinnamon gelati, and Bjorn had Lemongrass sorbetti. They had so many interesting flavors to try! Sooo good!

M&M's

Last week Bjorn picked up the new Birthday Cake flavored M&M's for me as a sweet treat after my first day back at school. I love birthday cake flavored desserts, but only when they are not too sweet. Sometimes I find that the cake-flavored treats can taste like pounds of sugar have been dumped into them. I do, however, enjoy M&M's as a sweet treat because there is one serving size and that's it. I usually don't eat the whole bag and then save some for later. I found the Cake Batter M&M's to be a little sweet, so I didn't eat the whole bag in one sitting. Now don't get me wrong, I can eat a bag of pretzel M&M's in one sitting :) The birthday cake flavor isn't my all time favorite M&M's flavor, but I do like them a lot!

Book

I recently found a young adult book that I cannot wait to read while browsing the book aisle at the thrift store. Scott O'Dell, the author of Island of the Blue Dolphins, wrote it. The Island of the Blue Dolphins was one of my favorite books as a kid. The new book I found is called My Name is Not Angelica. It is about a young girl named Raisha who is stolen from her home in Africa to be sold in the slave trade of the West Indies. She ends up being sold to work as a house slave, and this starts the story of her new life. I cannot wait to read this book!!

Source

Movie

Last week Bjorn and I watched the newest Muppet move Muppets Most Wanted. I have to say, not matter how old I am or young I was, the Muppets always do and always could make me laugh out loud. Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey are hilarious in this movie. I just think it is so "Muppets" that no one can tell the difference between the bad and good Kermit because of a little black mole on one of their faces :) It was great! If you haven't seen it yet, you must! It's out on DVD! Here is the trailer:

Music

I love, love, love this new song from Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj! It makes me want to get up and dance!!! Here's "Bang, Bang":

That's all I've got for this week's Tried It Tuesday! Have a great rest of the week!!

Lots of love <3 Holly

Tried It Tuesday!

It's the night before school starts back for teacher work day <insert small scream here> and this face:

I know once all my little lovelies get to school, I'll feel like this:

I do miss them over the summer :) And I know most of them are excited to come back to school! I love having many of my students for three years! It's fun to watch them grow and get to know their families over the years! I'm excited to have them back. It's just hard to go back. I know you know what I mean, teachers!

So anywho, here are some new finds from this past week!

Food

Has anyone noticed how I always start with food? Well, I did! And I do love some good food!

BBQ Sauce

Bjorn and I like to try new BBQ sauces. We don't eat a lot of it, but in the summer, it's fun to try new flavors. It kills my acid reflux if I eat to much of it! We recently tried Guy Fieri's Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce. He has different flavors available, but we tried the Bourbon Brown Sugar flavor. There were only three available at our Kroger. This sauce is delicious! It has a sweet, but not too sweet taste from the molasses and brown sugar and then an awesome, subtle bite from the bourbon! To me, this is the perfect BBQ sauce for me and Bjorn! We always debate over sweet, spicy, and the bite it has, but we both love this one!

Cookies

I came across these delicious cookies by chance while picking up dinner for Bjorn and I last week. Fresh Market boxes some of their thin baked, fresh and natural cookies and sells them in the cookie aisle of their store. They are all natural, and they even have gluten free flavors! I ended up buying the Irresistibly Good Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were seriously that good! One cookie only has 50 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 4 grams of sugar. I decided I don't feel too badly about eating one of them! They have flavors like The Chipless Wonder, Ginger, and Peanut butter among others. 

Cucumber Soup

You know how you have a favorite recipe and you just forget about it for awhile? Then you make it and think, Why did I ever stop making this? Bjorn and I used to make this refreshing cucumber soup all the time in the summer (and winter too--it's that good!). It's cold, creamy, fresh, and delicious! Sometimes when we want a light dinner, we'll eat this soup with crudites or crudites with meats and cheeses. So yummy!

Here's a link to the recipe. 

Have fun with your soup!

# Sometimes we do not add jalapeno. Sometimes we'll only add 1/2-1 jalapeno.

# Instead of basil, you can add dill. 

# Don't forget the lime! It really brightens the flavor!

# We don't always seed the cucumbers :) And we leave the skin on. Just blend very well!

# We usually do NOT put scallions. I like it better without.

Music

Bjorn recently saw the movie Guardians of the Galaxy with one of his friends. Alicea, I am so happy our husbands have each other to go with, so we don't have to! Next time, we should do something with your little ones while they go to a movie ;)  Bjorn told me that I had to listen to the soundtrack because I would love it! I have to tell you, it is sooo good! It is such a great mix of awesome 70s and 80s hits. I was singing along to the whole thing! Here's a track list to the soundtrack:

Disc: 1
1. Hooked On a Feeling (Blue Swede)
2. Go All the Way (Raspberries)
3. Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
4. Moonage Daydream (David Bowie)
5. Fooled Around and Fell in Love (Elvin Bishop)
6. I'm Not in Love (10cc)
7. I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
8. Come and Get Your Love (Redbone)
9. Cherry Bomb (The Runaways)
10. Escape (The Piña Colada Song) (Rupert Holmes)
11. O-O-H Child (The Five Stairsteps)
12. Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)

Source

TV Show

I love the show Impractical Jokers. Does anyone else watch? It is sooo funny! The show stars 4 high school friends who try to get each other to do crazy things in front of other people who don't know that they're filming a comedy show. Here's a clip from the show. It's on TruTV Thursday nights. It cracks me up!


Just to let you know before you watch this: the bride and groom are in on this, but none of their wedding guests are until after the speech. They have no idea who this guy is. 

I also really love Motor City Masters, where contestants compete to be the best car designer for GM. They compete in challenges individually and as teams (designing and updating cars in challenges) each week to win, and someone gets voted off each week. It's such a cool tv show! And I love this judge's, Jean Jenning's, style! You can watch it on TruTV as well. 

\

Ah, a woman after my own heart :)

Have you tried anything new this week?

Lots of love <3 Holly

Tried It Tuesday

For this week's Tried It Tuesday, I'll just jump right in! Here's another batch of random favorites from Yours Truly:

Food

First off, I'm going to start with dessert. Bjorn and I tried a new chocolate last week, and it was delicious. The ingredients by first look may not sound or look immediately tempting, but I assure you, it was awesome! 

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I bought this chocolate bar at Walgreens on sale, and just as the brand name claims, it was "delish." It had very subtle hints of lemon and black pepper. Honestly, the black pepper doesn't get you until the end. It is not super spicy though. I really like the contrast of the flavors with the chocolate. This one is very well-done. I think it's a good play on the spicy flavor mixed with chocolate that the chili pepper usually gives that's so popular right now. I did get a few pieces of peppercorn stuck in my teeth, but nothing to complain about :)

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I picked up these Ice Breakers Sours because I liked the Watermelon-Mint Ice Breakers so much. These are not my favorite. They're okay. They sure do make you pucker! They are pretty darn sour! I think I would have liked them more if they weren't green apple, watermelon, and tangerine. Maybe if they had chosen one flavor and stuck with it? We also bought the Berry Sours; I haven't tried them yet. I'll let you know if I like those better. Bjorn thought maybe I just wasn't a sour fan, but forgot how much I love Sour Patch Kids!! Not a winner in my book :(

Restaurant

On Monday, Bjorn and I went to his hand surgeon appointment and found out he has to have surgery on his elbow and hand. Bad news, but we kind of knew it was coming. He was diagnosed with cubital tunnel in his elbow (like carpal tunnel) almost five years ago, and it's gotten to the point where he can't play his guitar or cross his fingers on his left hand. No good.

Anyways, after the doctor's appointment, Bjorn wanted a drink, so I suggested we go to the Wine Guy's Bistro, which I realized they now call W.G. Kitchen and Bar. Don't know when that changed! We had never been before. There's one at The Banks, in Bridgewater Falls, and in Rookwood. It was fabulous! We went for a late lunch, and their lunch menu and prices are great! I had a glass of Cab and their lunch portion of homemade meatloaf, mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, and string beans. Bjorn had the Farmhouse Burger with bacon jam (our favorite!) and a fried egg! 

Here's the meatloaf:

Source

We are definitely going back! Here's a link to the restaurant's website.

Beauty

I've been loving wearing a bright pop of pink on my cheeks lately for the summer. First, I'll use my tried and true favorite, elf's pink passion, on my cheeks.

And then I'll put just a little of Milani's Bella Rosa Baked Powder Blush on the apples of my cheeks. It is super rich and pigmented. If you put too much on your brush and don't blend, it will look like you have a hot pink dot on your face, so blend well! But it looks so great on and really brightens up your face! Just really use a light hand!

Fashion

I found this amazing company, well--I've known about it for awhile, but felt it was about time I shared! It's called The Shine Project. They employ at risk youth. Many are first generation college students. They pay the yputh, who are their employees, fair wages, and many of them use that money to pay their college tuition. They sell bracelets and apparel. They just started selling t-shirts with inspiring quotes from the youth they employee. I love this company! I love who they are and what they stand for! I bought an apple bracelet during teacher appreciate week, and I'm planning on getting this t-shirt:

I love this quote from one of the 19 year old employees at The Shine Project. It really touches me. If you want to visit their website click here. I also follow The Shine Project on Instagram. There are links to all of their social media on their website. 

Music

Lastly, here are a few tunes to send you out of Tried It Tuesday for this week:

I love, love, love this song. This video is strange, however. Just warning you.

Last Tuesday, Bjorn and I went to see Sara Bareilles. I love her! She sang a new song she wrote for a musical adaptation of the movie Waitress that should be, hopefully, coming out next year! My favorite movie and one of my favorite musicians! Amazing! If you haven't seen Waitress with Keri Russell, you have to! Love! And this song is soooo good!

Thanks for reading!

Tried anything new lately?

Lots of love <3 Holly

Tried It Tuesday on a Friday!

First off, I know it's not Tuesday, but I really wanted to get this post up this week! So here it is! It's been a busy few days. The time I thought I had to get this done Wednesday escaped me, so here are my finds from the past few weeks!

But before I get into those, I officially wanted to announce the winner of my 100th Post Giveaway! The winner is Amanda over from Third Grade Fabulous! She is my June/July Slantbox partner, and I am sending her a super-fun box of goodies for our summer teacher swap soon! You can check that swap out over at Lessons with Coffee if you're interested! I was so excited to send Amanda her prize, that I forgot to take a picture of it before I mailed it! So, I am going to borrow Amanda's picture of the prize once it made it to her place!

Congrats Amanda!!

And now on to this week's installment of Tried It Tuesday...

Food

Chobani Yogurt

I tried two new flavors of yogurt this week. I know, super exciting! ;)  They were both Chobani yogurts. I found them both at Fresh Market. They are new flavors for Chobani too. The first one was--get this--watermelon! And, oh my goodness, it was amazing!!

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This yogurt has just a subtle hint of watermelon, and it's so smooth and creamy. The color is so beautiful too. It's a beautiful light pink color. This is probably my new favorite yogurt flavor. It's a limited batch summer edition, so go find some before it's all gone! I'm going to run and get some more! These were on sale at Fresh Market for $1.

I also tried one other new flavor from Chobani. It was Pineapple Coconut:

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I love Chobani because it's yogurt that doesn't taste like it's full of sugar and artificial flavors. They make it from natural ingredients. The flavors aren't overpowering either. This one has a subtle taste of coconut and pineapple that is very nice. My only complaint is that there are small chunks of shredded pineapple mixed into the yogurt. I am not a fan of having chunks in my yogurt, but that is a personal texture thing, I think. The flavor is really nice.

Chobani has a few other new flavors out as well. To view them, click here. 

Roasted Chicpeas

Bjorn and I also tried a new snack this past week. We roasted our own chickpeas! Admittedly, I am not a big popcorn fan. I hate getting popcorn kernels stuck in my teeth and my throat. I don't like having to wipe off my greasy hands after every other bite of popcorn too. The taste of popcorn is less than desirable to me. It's just not my favorite. Bjorn, however, does like popcorn. He always forgets that I don't like popcorn when we have movie nights. I think he gets excited because he asks me often if we can make popcorn. I have nothing against him making popcorn; I think he doesn't want to make a big bag of popcorn just for himself.

So...instead of popcorn for movie night, we made this:

All you do is take some canned chickpeas (we use reduced sodium), drain them, season them, and roast them! I am linking our recipe below! Next time we're thinking of using curry powder. Let me just say that these only lasted about 20 minutes into the movie!

Claire Robinson's Spicy Baked Chickpeas

Beauty

Coconut Water Spray

I love organix hair products. I use their hair paste to make my hair have that messy feel to it when I style it :), and I recently repurchased a product that I haven't used in awhile. I forgot how much I love it! It's Organix Weightless Hydration Coconut Water and Coconut Oil Spray. 

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I love this spray. Sometimes in the summer with the humidity and my short hair, I get flyaways at the base of my neck. I spray this on my damp hair and then blow dry or air dry. It keeps my hair smooth and makes it shiny! Once I'm done blow drying, sometimes I spray a little extra to add a little extra shine. I used to use the one with bamboo extract. That was a little more oily for me, though. I like this one better mixed with the coconut water, no bamboo extract. I picked this up at Walgreens. It's much lighter.

Home

I love Bath and Body Works candles, but I only buy them when they're on sale and I have a coupon :). Last week, I stopped in to see if they had my London Calling candle on sale (they usually do this time of year) because I had a 20% off coupon. They did at 1/2 off, but I also found one other new scent that I like that was also 1/2 off! It's called American Boardwalk. It smells like freshly cooked kettle corn! Now I know I said I don't like popcorn, but I have to say, I will eat fresh kettle corn if it's around!

I'm not sure if they have any left, but if you see any at your Bath and Body Works, check it out! It smells wonderful!

Television

I am seriously in love with the show New York Med. Does anyone else watch? I watched last season, and this summer, besides So You Think You Can Dance, it's really the only show I really watch! (Oh, besides catching Good Morning America when I can in the morning, since I can't during the school year!) The show follows the happenings of ER doctors, nurses, and surgeons in Manhattan's New York Presbyterian Hospital and Newark's University Hospital. Not only do you get to see the doctors and surgeons deal with their patients everyday, but you get to know them and who they are as people. I love the doctors and their stories, and they truly are kind and caring people. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it! It's on Thursdays @ 10 pm on ABC. Here is a link to the New York Med page on ABC. On this site you can watch previous episodes of the show.

Here's a link to an article in The New York Post about one of my favorite doctor's on the show, Dr. Debbie Yi, and why she became a doctor.

Music

I love Sam Smith. On the way home the other day, I heard him cover Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" on Sirius XM. Oh My A.MA.ZING. I don't even know how to begin to describe this. You just have to watch this and fall in love with him again :).

Ok. I love Lionel Richie. I love Darius Rucker. I found this gem from Lionel's "Lionel and Friends" Concert. Lovely.

Have you tried anything fun this week?

Have a great Friday!

Love and happiness <3 Holly