Hellloooooo friends!

I think I’ve finally settled back into life after last week’s trip to Michigan City. Some of my clients are out of town, so it gave me a chance to catch up on emails and blog-related things, so I think I’m finally current with my life. This weekend doesn’t hold anything terribly exciting, so it will be nice to relax and hang out with Neil and Donut. There’s a chance we may take her to the beach, but I’m playing that by ear.

Here are some of my favorite things this week — let me know some of yours in the comments!

1. Macarons by The Weekly Mac

One of my clients and friends has a hobby of making the most delicious macarons ever. I don’t even know if I had had one before she started making them, but I’ve bought some since then and none have compared. She makes a new flavor every week and I usually get just one, which always left me wanting more. I bought my own week’s supply and requested she make carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

I ate five within 2 hours of picking them up, so I had to put them away in the fridge where I can hopefully forget about them for longer than 30 min. I’d love for her to sell them on the side, but as of now she has one of those pesky full time jobs. If she ever quits it to pursue her baking and tea dreams, I’ll be the first one to tell you!

You can see each flavor on her Instagram here and find the actual recipes here.

2. NOW Foods Cocoa Butter Lotion

I’ve been needing a good lotion to keep by my bed because after I wash my face and get ready to go to sleep, I often find that my hands feel dry. I got this one from NOW Foods (where I get all my nuts for delicious nut butters) and it’s been doing the job! I’ll probably end up using it a lot more as the weather gets cooler outside.

3. Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage

After last week’s trip to Michigan City, I came back feeling more inspired to cook and think outside the box when it comes to meals. I went to Trader Joe’s this week and picked up some of their chicken sausage to mix up my breakfasts.

I was surprised at how many different flavors they had and although this one is really good, I’m interested to see how the other ones are!

4. Smoothies

Leave it to me to decide to start drinking smoothies again as the weather gets colder. As I’ve mentioned recently, I’m trying to clean up my eating a bit since my exercise hiatus is going on longer than expected. I dropped from 4-5 times a week to 2 because of my foot, so stopping for desserts and crazy foods for Instagram has to be dialed back a bit.

When we lived in VA I would always have eggs and a green smoothie for breakfast, so I’m trying to get back in the habit. This one is just greens, a whole raw zucchini, and frozen pineapple and it’s been my go-to for YEARS. I drink this one when it’s after a workout, but for everyday veggie consumption this is it.

5. Flash Fiction for Flash Memory

I shared this about two months ago, but wanted to remind everyone since the deadline for story submission is this Saturday, the 30th:

My aunt does a ton of writing and is working on a project that is really unique. Her mother, my grandmother, was an avid reader her whole life, until she started experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. As it progressed, she transitioned to short stories and finally to what is termed “flash fiction” — even shorter stories of about 500 words. This way, she said, she was able to remember plots and still enjoy reading.

In her memory, my aunt is working to compile a collection of flash fiction stories to be used by older adults or those who suffer from memory-impairment (I suggested it could also be marketed to millennials 🙂 ). I thought the idea was so great and I wanted to share it on here in case anyone else might find it useful for someone they know.

Once the book is available for purchase (I believe the first half of 2018), I will be sure to let you guys know, but I wanted to share it in case anyone wanted to submit any short pieces.

You can read more about it and see the guidelines for submission here.

That’s it for this week! Have a great weekend!