Five Friday Favorites 01/19/18

Happy Friday! Do you have plans for the weekend? I blissfully do not. Don’t laugh at me for this. I know I don’t have plans pretty much seven days a week, but I’ve had a thing or two going on just about every weekend since I’ve been back, and I’m looking forward to some nothing. And by nothing, I mean my new favorite show.

It’s been a long time (apparently, almost three months) since I’ve told you about my favorite things, and I totally have more than five. I could save them for a different week – I’ve done that before – but I need to tell you about them all right now because I might forget, and that would be sad. So, this edition of Five Friday Favorites will have more than five favorites! Bonus for you! Let’s get to it.

Game of Thrones

So, for most of the time Game of Thrones has been on, I have been vehemently opposed to watching it. First, stubbornly, because it was so popular and I thought there was no way it could be that good. Second, because I figured I really didn’t need that much violence in my life. Then, lots of people were still gushing about it seven seasons later and I decided I wanted to give it a try. Problem: we didn’t have HBO.

I talked to my dad, who also decided he wanted to watch Game of Thrones, and he said that if I could figure out the best way to get HBO for us, we could go for it. A little googling later (I didn’t want to call the cable company), and I discovered the magic of HBO through Amazon Prime. Twenty minutes later, we were watching the first episode. That was last Friday, and we’re already on the second season.

The rumors are true – there’s a lot of gore and sex – but it’s such a good show. The characters and story are insanely compelling, and I just want more. I even opted to watch an episode over hockey. That’s a big deal, y’all. (Don’t worry, I watched the hockey afterward.)

Big Little Lies

This was the other reason to get HBO! I really liked the book by Liane Moriarty, and the show has a pretty incredible cast. My parents and I watched the whole first season (only seven episodes!) last weekend. A lot of the time, shows with casts full of stars feel like they’re overcompensating for something, but not here. It’s very true to the book, minus the fact that it happens in California instead of Australia. I love Reese Witherspoon, and it’s probably my favorite performance of hers. 

Lily and the Octopus

I talked briefly about this book last week, and I actually thought in the middle that I would retract my recommendation because it got a little… weird. In the end, it was as heart-wrenching as I expected, but with a conclusion full of hope. 

Listening material

First, I’d like to say that I am an absolute sucker for hype videos. I love the montages that play at the beginning of sporting events, and motivational speeches get me super freaking excited, even if I don’t particularly need any motivation. Last week, I was at a CycleBar class where the instructor played this short motivational speech in place of a song, and I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since. She played the new Carrie Underwood & Ludacris song, which I believe is part of the Super Bowl hype material, and I love it, too. I just love feel-good content.

Physical Kitchness 20-Minute Whole30 Orange Chicken

I’ve made this twice in the last two weeks, and it’s one of very few recipes that actually takes me as long to make it as it promises. I’m a slow cook, so I always plan a minimum of 30 minutes for making a meal, but even I can make this in 20 minutes. And it is so, so delicious. My parents loved it, I loved it, and I’ll 100% make it again and again, forever. I added an extra red bell pepper and served it with cauliflower rice sautéed with a little sesame oil, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and cilantro. 

Asics Studio

If I don’t go into the gym with a plan, I usually end up doing something boring and/or too easy. I waste time and stay too long, and I don’t enjoy it. Occasionally, I look up workouts beforehand, but I tend to like apps better. I’ve tried a bunch of different workout apps, and Asics Studio is up there with the Jillian Michaels My Fitness app as my favorite, and it’s what I’ve been using lately when I don’t go to CycleBar (or outside to run on the random 50° day).

You can get a 7-day free trial, after which it’s about $10 a month, and there’s so much variety! There are different trainers, workouts ranging from about 15 minutes to nearly an hour, bodyweight workouts, elliptical classes, indoor cycling classes, treadmill workouts, classes including dumbbells and/or kettlebells, and even outdoor running workouts. They add new workouts pretty regularly, too. You can scale anything back or add some weight for more intensity, and a trainer talks you through everything. Highly recommend!

My electric kettle

Over the last couple years, I got really into tea. It was easy, too, because one of my roommates had an electric kettle both years. We’d just fill it up whenever, turn it on, and share the ~2 liters of water until it lost its heat. Rinse, repeat.

At home, I have all that tea, but I didn’t have a kettle. I would occasionally put a mug of water in the microwave, but it never felt that natural, and I pretty much just ended up with a load of delicious tea sitting in the cabinet. We were at Target last weekend, and this electric kettle was on sale, so we picked it up. It makes me so happy! I go through two-ish full kettles a day. I love tea and warm lemon water and Four Sigmatic products, and this makes drinking them that much easier. It’s the little things.

True Lemon packets

Speaking of warm lemon water, these packets are amazing. I did the math, and for the purpose of delicious lemon water, these are cheaper than bags of lemons. They’re also way less messy, you’re not going to waste the lemon peel, etc., and it truly tastes like you squeezed a lemon into your water. They’re just crystallized lemon, and I love them a lot. I just stir a packet into hot or room temperature water, depending on what I feel like, and sip away.

And that’s all from me for the week! I’m going to see The Greatest Showman this afternoon because I’ve been hearing the music everywhere (and also because Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron), going to a nice restaurant for dinner, and then I’m planning for a weekend full of chill time, reading, cooking, and Game of Thrones. Have a fabulous weekend! Talk to you next week!

Your turn:

What are you loving this week?

What’s on the agenda for you this weekend?