We don’t have any concrete plans on our agenda and going with the flow of the weekend sounds pretty great to me. We may get together with friends on Sunday and I’m also hoping to spend some time near water whether that be the pool or a lakeside beach near our house. Bring on the sunshine!
And now let’s move right along into my weekly Things I’m Loving Friday roundup featuring some favs from the week. As always, I’d love for you to share a little bit about something that is making you smile today.
Enjoy your weekend!!
Things I’m Loving Friday
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Primal Kitchen Collagen Fuel Protein Powders (Chocolate Coconut + Vanilla Coconut)
I discovered this protein powder through positive reviews on Thrive Market and it’s quickly becoming a staple for me whenever I make smoothies. I love the flavor (I think it’s definitely more coconut-heavy than chocolate or vanilla) and it blends well with various smoothie ingredients without making my smoothies taste the least bit chalky. For anyone who might be looking for a delicious whey or dairy-free protein powder, this one might be worth a try! (For what it’s worth, I still use and love whey protein powders but this is a good alternative!)
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Burn Boot Camp Upper Body Workout
Thursday’s upper body workout at Burn Boot Camp was one of my all-time favorites! I LOVE a good arm workout and dropsets are my all-time favorite so yesterday’s workout was right up my alley! To complete the workout, we went through four six-minute stations that incorporated dropsets of two different exercises. Once the workout was over, I immediately typed it up in my phone to keep on hand for myself to repeat in the gym in the near future because I loved it so much!
If you love cereal bars you must make this recipe! I initially stumbled upon Running with Spoons’ recipe for Healthy Rice Krispie Treats a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for a dairy-free sweet treat to bring along with dinner to a friend who just had a baby. The recipe is simple and sticks together thanks to nut butter and honey and seems to work well with a variety of cereals and nut butters. I’ve had fun swapping in various nut butters and cereals to try different combinations but I think my favorite combination so far has been Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter paired with Honey Nut Cheerios. YUM! Quick tip: Don’t skip the tip about placing the bars in the fridge to allow them to cool. That seems to be essential for keeping them together!
I’m including Chase’s toddler backpack in today’s roundup because I received no less than 10 messages on Instagram asking about it when I shared a picture of Chase with his backpack on Instagram Stories. Isn’t it adorable!? It was actually a gift for Chase’s birthday last year from his friend Ella and he used it all last year for school and will be using it again this year as well. We love it! I reached out to my friend Laura (Ella’s mom) for backpack information and she ordered it on Etsy and there are lots of different color/fonts available so you can easily create the perfect backpack for a little one in your life!
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Labor Day Weekend Sales
Below you will find a short roundup of some Labor Day weekend sales that caught my eye!
Old Navy: 50% off all jeans, dresses, tees, sweatshirts, and hoodies (FYI for those with rather small/slim kiddos, our favorite jeans for Chase are on sale! They’re actually toddler girl’s pull-on jeans but work great for slim boys, too.)
Wayfair: Up to 75% off clearance
Target: Up to 30% off plus an extra 15% off rugs, bedding, home items, furniture and patio items (These shoes aren’t on sale but I was SO excited to see them for $32 because they look JUST like the $175+ shoes I’ve been coveting from Free People! I ordered them immediately!)
LOFT: 40% off with code LABORDAY
Macy’s: 20% off with code WKND
ShopBop: Up to 70% off
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Around the Web
Fitness: 7 Ways to Master a Push Up + Modifications / Total Body Resistance Band Workout
Food: Mix and Match Sheet Pan Dinners / Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread / Healthy Granola Cookie Dough Bars/ Parmesan Caesar Chicken / Dairy-Free Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole
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Friday Flashbacks
For today’s featured flashbacks, I figured I’d roundup a few yummy recipes I think would make a welcomed addition to any Labor Day cookout you may have on the agenda this weekend!
Appetizers + Salads + Side Dishes:
Black Bean and Brown Rice Salad
Greek Yogurt Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Simple Shrimp Dip (One of my most popular recipes ever!)
Cold Quinoa Salad (A great prep-ahead recipe that’s light and tasty!)
Easy Cilantro Shrimp Appetizer
Sweet Treats:
Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars (Always a HUGE hit with dessert-lovers!)
Gluten-Free No Bake Chocolate Icebox Cake
Question of the Day
What is one thing that is making you smile this week?
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The backpack is adorable but, not to be a Debbie Downer, when I was a kid t-shirts with your name on the back was popular. We were told never to have your child’s name displayed like that because now someone can call them by name and tell the child that they know them and their family. This was back in the 70’s but it did make sense to me. I also DID have people I didn’t know call me by name because of my t-shirt.
Anyone else have thoughts on that? Have heard this about women and licence plates too
Oh wow!! I didn’t even think of that! Fortunately he only wears his backpack to and from school when I am with him (and can actually only really carry it when his lunchbox is empty — haha!) but definitely something to keep in mind for the future. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, I have heard this about those Baby on Board stickers too….you never really want to advertise you have a baby and are therefore an easier/more vulnerable target. Obviously the chances are small that something would ever happen, but still good to be safe. It’s sad sometimes, the world we live in….
Hi Julie
As always these Friday posts are my favorite. I use Protein Powder everyday so I am definitely interested in trying a new brand. The Chocolate zucchini bread was a genius idea as well and looks a lot easier than I thought it would be, cant wait to try it! Also Chase is the absolute cutest !
So glad you like them! They’re always fun to write. I also cannot wait to try that zucchini bread — it looks SO good!!!
Thanks for the protein suggestion!!! Would you mind sharing what whey product do you use? Thanks!!
For whey-based protein powders I lately I’ve really been enjoying After Burn (it’s Burn Boot Camp’s protein powder and is grassfed) and SFH!
Going to Cincinnati to visit my sister and her family! My two year old son has been talking about “Annie and Michael” all week because he knows he is going to see his cousins!
Enjoy Labor Day weekend everyone!
That backpack is so adorable! I would have loved to get one for my nephew Gio who is starting Kindergarten this year! I plan to do some online shopping this weekend, thanks for sharing the sales that are going on! Definitely going to check those out! 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Julie! Xoxo
Hi Julie! I haven’t been feeling well this week so my husband and I have been watching a couple of shows that I’ve been loving. First we watched the three episode mini series A Very British Scandal on Amazon Prime. We watched it all in one night because the British black humor, the acting, and the story sucked us right in. Now we’re watching Mindhunter on Netflix and it’s one of the most compelling shows I’ve watched in a long time! Both are based on true stories which make them even better. I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!
Ohhh! I am always on the lookout for shows Ryan and I might enjoy together so I’ll definitely keep these in mind. Thank you for sharing, Jenny! And I really, really hope you feel better soon! <3
LOVE these round up posts, so many great resources in one spot! You’re amazing mama, I don’t know how you do it all with 2 littles! Thanks so much for including my 7 Ways to Master the Push Up post! And one thing I’m loving this week is getting to spend Labor Day Weekend in Chicago with my boys! xo-Lindsey
Hi Julie,
Will you explain what a swinging lateral raise, hex press, and bicep curl ith externational rotation are? I want to try this workout, but am stumped n those movements.
Thanks