Anyway, Friday is here and I’m really looking forward to the weekend ahead. It is supposed to be H-O-T in Charlotte, so you better believe we’ll be spending time on the lake and in the shade. So far the weather here has been much more pleasant that last year’s ongoing heat wave, so I’m pretty sure we’ll be sweating up a storm this weekend as we adjust to hotter temperatures.
Now let’s get right into your weekly Things I’m Loving Friday blog post where we all chat about what we’re loving most each week. Feel free to participate in the fun in the comments section and tell me about something that is making you smile right now!
Have a great weekend, my friends!
Things I’m Loving Friday
- Midweek Girls’ Night
On Wednesday night, I met up with some of my favorite ladies for a mid-week girls’ night. We made plans to get together just before 8 p.m., after all of our babies’ bedtimes so we could enjoy chatting away childfree which almost never happens these days! I had a blast and it felt so great to not feel distracted during our conversations or get interrupted every two seconds by baby squeals, diaper changes and whatever else usually pops up whenever we all get together. I need more girls’ nights in my future! (I also got to meet the sweetest blog reader and her way-too-adorable 16-month-old boy while we were out which was so fun. Thank you for saying hi, Kristen!!)
- Plyo + Core Bodyweight Workout
On Wednesday morning, I got my butt kicked at Burn Boot Camp thanks to this 1000 rep plyometric + core workout. We completed two rounds of the whiteboard workout and I was SO ridiculously sweaty by the end. I wanted to share this one on the blog since it didn’t require any equipment and would be a great one to keep in your back pocket for a killer travel workout or a butt kickin’ at home workout!
- Salad Dressing 101
Any kind of food-related infographic that makes whipping up something healthy and homemade sound incredibly easy always catches my eye. With summertime right around the corner, salads seem to pop up on the menu in our house more often than usual and I love this simple guide to creating no-fuss salad dressings from scratch.
Earlier this week, I received one heck of an awesome package in the mail from the two women behind Wild Friends nut butters. They sent me a small selection of some of their nut butters to try out and they are absolutely incredible! I’ve only heard great things about Wild Friends nut butters and now that I’ve tried them, I can say they totally live up to the hype. They’re the perfect balance of slightly sweet and salty but still creamy and easily spreadable. I was actually a little surprised to find myself loving the honey sunflower butter as much as I did! It was a little too addicting, as was the chocolate coconut peanut butter that basically tastes like dessert on a spoon. SO GOOD. (FYI, You can see where their nut butters are sold near you by using their store locator. They actually recently started selling high protein almond and peanut butters at Target!) If you are a nut butter lovin’ fanatic like me, you have to try this stuff!!! But please don’t be mad at me when you can’t pry yourself away from the jar…
- Becky’s Energy Balls
Late Monday morning, a bunch of my Burn Boot Camp friends and I got together after a workout and celebrated our friend (and childcare superstar!) Lindsey’s upcoming wedding with a casual post-workout baby shower outside of the gym.
One of the BBC trainers, Becky, made a batch of way-too-addicting energy balls that had everyone drooling and when she shared the recipe on Facebook, I knew I had to share it with you guys, too. They seem quite easy to make and were seriously tasty! (FYI, Becky also says they freeze well if you want to make a big batch at once.)
- Friday Flashbacks
Summer Salads (A recipe roundup featuring some of my favorite salad recipes, perfect for a hot summer night dinner or a weekend barbeque with friends!)
Simple Beauty Tips That Make A Big Difference (A collection of easy tips and tricks to incorporate into your beauty routine that make a big impact!)
Question of the Day
- What is one thing you are loving most this week?
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Love that salad dressing infographic! I always struggle with getting my homemade dressing to taste good without a strict recipe.
Homemade salad dressing tastes so much better than store bought! And I’m totally trying that workout tomorrow!
Girls night tops my list this week as well. There’s nothing like time spent with good friends chatting, laughing and relaxing.
Agreed!
This week I am loving the beautiful weather-in Philly it has been sunny but cool, perfect for evening walks. Have a great weekend!
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/06/10/future_family/
Hey I’m in Philly too!! 🙂 What a small world!
Philly over here too! 😀
Philly x4! And I have been loving PM walks myself lately 🙂
Those nut butters look awesome–I hope my Target sells them! I love those kind of infographics too! This is great–im trying to make my salad dressings more often than buying premade.
This weel I’m loving fresh watermelon galore and having berries with dark chocolate chips thrown in!
Girls nights are the best. I’ve got one coming up next week and I can’t wait. For now, I’m just excited to take a long weekend and hang out at the beach!
Thank you so much for sharing those dressing formulas! I’m doing a whole30 right now and need to make my own dressing 🙂 This helps so much! Hope you have a great weekend!
i’m loving my parents came to visit me this weekend and next as they take their first european vacation
Hi Julie! I am for sure going to have to try that workout when I am on vacation. Quick Question, what does the 1:1 mean after some of the exercises (like jump lunge?) thanks!
1:1 means every rep counts! So, for the jumping lunges, every jumping lunge (right and left) counts toward the goal of 50. When it says 2:1, every two reps count, so, in this case, for the bicycle abs, every time you draw your left AND right knee in, that counts at ONE rep (so if you’re counting singles, you’d do 100 instead of 50). I hope this makes sense!
Wild Friends makes amazing nut butters! What a fun surprise!
I have found Wilds Friends nut butters at TJ Maxx and HomeGoods too – for cheap! I got the chocolate coconut peanut butter and it is amazing!
Hi Julie – What is a “pick up” ? Do you have a link to a demo? Thanks!
yes!! here ya go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcU4q5-9j-s
Hi Julie! Can’t wait to try those nut butters and the energy bites- yum.
I was wondering, what is a “pick up” in the workout you posted? Also, when you say 2:1 on some of the exercises, can you explain what that means? I wish there was a Burn Boot Camp in Chicago because all these workouts look amazing! I’m jealous. Thanks for sharing!
I just read through all the comments and saw that other people already asked these questions and you already answered. Never mind!!! Can’t wait to try this next week 🙂
🙂 Hope you like it! This one definitely kicked my butt!
I love the Wild Friends nut butters, especially the vanilla peanut butter and the honey sunflower butter! But you’re so right – too addictive 🙂
Have you tried experimenting with the salad dressing formula? What’s been your favorite combo? I love the idea!
This week I’m loving dry needling, done by my acupuncturist. Still feelin’ sore from yesterday’s session, but in a good way!
Loving that we had a new AC unit installed this past week after not having air for about a month now. Just in time for the 95 degrees expected this weekend in Little Rock!
That salad dressing info is great bc I was just at the NOW Foods event and totally ruined my dressing I had to make haha.
That salad guide is awesome!! Loving this week – yesterday was our 4 year anniversary and tonight we’re going on our first date night with an official babysitter!! Hopefully I can enjoy dinner and not worry about the babysitter and adeline the whole time!
I am trying to stay away from carbs- what is a good way to enjoy the nut butters without the bread?
Looking forward MOST to leaving work in 25 minutes to start my weekend – driving out of town to meet one of my best friend’s little boy! He was born at the end of April and I have yet to meet him. Here’s to a weekend of new baby lovin!
And girls nights EVERY week is essential for me. Can’t go without them.
Happy weekend to you!
We did a similar 100 rep challenge at our Burn Boot Camp. Although on ours, we had 50 half burpees. That was BRUTAL. Although my burpees have improves tremendously since starting Burn Boot Camp four weeks ago! Have a great weekend 🙂
I LOVE the wild friends organic sunflower seed butter! YUM. It’s perfectly sweetened with honey, not cane sugar, which I really appreciate. It’s so much better than the sun butter brand you usually see at the grocery store.
I will most definitely be making that Chickpea salad and am now on hunt for honey sunflower seed butter!! Have a great weekend!
I midweek girl’s night sounds like a blast! I need one of those! 🙂
The nut butters look fabulous. I so need a girls night out!
I love Wild Friends! The chocolate coconut peanut butter and cinnamon raisin peanut butter are two of my favorite nut butters. So glad you got a girls’ night – I just had a few myself, and they really are the best. Have a wonderful weekend, Julie!
I love that salad dressing graphic!! I will definitely try to make my own, especially since I CRAVE salad during the summer. Since it is already 90 degrees in Alabama, I am loving early morning walks/hiit workouts with my 5 month old. I’m also digging some flavored coffees I found-peanut butter cup, salted caramel, and chocolate hazelnut. They definitely hit the spot when that sweet tooth attacks! Have a great weekend!!
Sounds like you have such a great gym!!! I also wanted to mention… I think it’s so awesome how friendly/giving shoutouts to people you see out & about that are “blog readers”! SO kind <3 loving this week.. Warm temps! Pool time in Wisconsin!
Sounds like an awesome Ladies’ night! 🙂 I really love the Wild Friends classic PB! 🙂 So delicious! We just got back from an awesome vacation in the mountains so I’m looking forward to sweet family time today before we have to get back into our daily routine! 😉
That PB looks great. As a breastfeeding mom I’m constantly trying to eat more protein. Also interested in those energy balls!
This week I’m loving visiting my family with my 8 month old son. Traveling with a baby is stressful and trust me I’ve done a lot of it! But it’s great to see them since we live out of state.
Wild Friends nut butters are the best!! Their cinnamon raisin and pumpkin spice peanut butters taste incredible!
First! I love love love your salad dressing recipe maker. How have I ever lived without this! Secondly, I absolutely adore that you are still making time for girls night after having a little one. It’s so important! Thanks for sharing a little bit about your life 🙂
I’m loving morning coffee on my porch! The weather is just right to go out in my PJ’s and sip a warm cup of coffee before my crazy day starts!
I order the chocolate protein butter from vitacost and it’s amazing!
Just catching up on my blog backlog now 🙂
That dressing infographic is great! I also love adding mustard to my dressings–it acts as an emulsifier/thickener, plus it adds a great kick to balsamic vinaigrette!