Happy Friday! How was your week? Do you have exciting weekend plans? I do – and I’ve been looking forward to them all week. Don’t worry, I’m going to tell you all about it. Let’s kick off a fun weekend by looking back at some of the lovely things from the past week. Sound good? Let’s do it!
Essential oil
A while ago, my aunt decided to try DoTerra essential oils out on herself and my cousins for a few minor ailments. She was pretty skeptical, but the oils helped enough that she kept at it. After going back and forth for a while about whether I wanted to try them for pain issues, I went for it. She had her DoTerra rep mix up a combination of who knows how many oils for me to try out.
So? I’m not making any definitive claims, and I’m still kind of skeptical. That said, I was in a lot of pain on Monday morning and figured I might as well rub some on my neck and shoulders throughout the day. The rest of the day wasn’t perfect, but it was much better than I expected given the way it started. I’m going to keep giving them a try and I’ll update you, but for now I’m loving any relief at all – and they smell pretty good.
Scallops
My mom hates scallops, so while I order them at restaurants fairly regularly, I still don’t eat them that much. My dad and I love scallops. Since my mom went to go visit my cousins on Tuesday, I offered to make my dad scallops for dinner. Now, I’d never made them before, but I figured I could pull it off.
I used this recipe, and it came out great! Scallops aren’t cheap, but they feel fancy and they’re pretty easy to prepare quickly. Now that I’ve cooked them once and gotten over my fear of ruining them, I can totally see making them occasionally for myself at school.
The Nightingale
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I listened to this book on and off for about a month, but I finally finished it yesterday. I really loved it. I like historical fiction a lot, and I found it extremely engaging. I didn’t want to stop listening! I’m slow to get through books these days, especially since I mix listening to them with podcasts and music, but that doesn’t speak to the quality of the book at all. I highly recommend it! Also, Polly Stone does a great job reading it, if you’re like me and find audiobooks more practical than sitting down and reading the words on a page.
Rainier cherries
Fun fact: I went most of my life thinking I hated cherries because of maraschino cherries. I learned about two summers ago that they are not the same thing, and that cherries are actually pretty tasty. Initially, the pits turned me off of cherries because even though I like to cook, I don’t really want to work for my food. Then, I discovered the magic of the cherry pitter. Since I usually slice up apples, strawberries, nectarines, etc., cherries end up being the same amount of work as any other fruit. Problem solved, cherries eaten.
Girls’ trip
The summer before my senior year, my mom and I took a girls’ trip to Chicago and had the best time starting to explore the city. Before my first year at UChicago, we went to Disney.
We skipped last year. But this weekend, we’re headed back to Chicago. Now, it might seem weird that I want to take a vacation to the same place I spend 9 months a year, but I honestly don’t do a ton of exploring during those 9 months. I do do a lot of school. I really love the city, though, and there will always be one more thing I want to do there. We’ll eat good food, walk a ton, do some touristy stuff, and crash in a nice hotel room in the evening. Follow along on Snapchat (elleneveryday) and Instagram!
We’re driving back home Monday morning, and we’ll hang out with my dad and Pippa for a low-key Fourth of July. And it’s all going to be great. 🙂 I hope you have a lovely weekend and I’ll talk to you next week.
Your turn:
What are you loving this week?
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
What’s on the agenda for the weekend?
Linking up with Heather
*Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links.
Your weekend sounds like so much fun! Enjoy it!!
It’s been a great one so far! I hope yours is lovely, too, Morgan!
I have always been curious (and skeptical too) about essential oils. I hear everyone raving about them so I feel like I need to give it a try so I can stop being such a skeptic haha. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Haha I figured there’s nothing to lose by trying it 🙂 Thanks, Brie! Hope your half went well!
Hehe… I agree with Brie. Because essential oils were SO hyped, I was a bit skeptical. But I do love the smells. 🙂 I think it’s definitely okay to try things but it’s good to be careful about recommending them for certain health reasons, if you don’t have the studies for it. And being open minded about those things is always a good thing. I hope your weekend in Chicago is AMAZING. I can’t wait to follow it on Instagram. I kinda love your Instagram shots all the time.
I agree that people are often way too quick to claim things are the cure-all without proper justification. And what works for one person doesn’t always work for others – we’re all unique 🙂
You’re so sweet, Emily! Thank you, and I hope you have a great weekend, too!
You and your mom are so cute! I hope you guys have a great weekend! 🙂
Tomorrow we’re road tripping to my grandpa’s cottage in Canada (where we’ll be staying for a week), so 17 hours in the van with my family is what’s on the agenda 😛
Thanks, Claire! Have an amazing weekend with your family! 🙂
The freakin BEST –> RAINIER CHERRIES!!!! AHHH!
Do keep up updated on the oils! I’ve always been so curious myself, but like you said, I’m still skeptical!
Hahaha Rainier cherries are the best. Expensive, but worth it!
I will 😀
I ADORE SCALLOPS however my biggest problem with them is when they’re offered on menus at restaurants because generally… They’re like $35 and they give you about 4~ NO. Not enough for me! LOL!
YES. They’re so good, and restaurants give you the smallest appetizer portions as a meal. I could buy ~16 scallops at the grocery store for $16 and cook them myself, and probably eat them all ?
I love scallops, but I haven’t had any really good ones in a while other than the ones I made last year! I would love a girls trip with my mom. I need one badly!
Highly recommend girls’ trips 😀
It sounds like you have a fun weekend ahead!
I’m like you and am skeptical of things like essential oils – but I’ll try anything once! I do have a peppermint oil stick thingy that works really well for headaches though! And a few muscle balm things that are essential oil based!
I adopted the same attitude toward medicines/treatments: I’ll try anything once! If it works, it works. If not, no harm done 🙂
Love essential oils! Favorite book I’ve read lately is Breaking Vegan by Jordan Younger. She has such a powerful story and even though the book got some backlash from the vegan community, it is so so good! Have a happy weekend!
I’ve read the backlash, and I think it’s unbelievable that people were so hard on her for making that change for her health. I should check out her book! Have a wonderful weekend, Lyss 🙂
I love exploring, even if it is the city you live in. I stayed at college a week longer so I could spend time exploring the city. Of course it then rained for the entire week 😛
Eeek I’m not a fan of seafood, but good on you for cooking them yourself!
LOL the weather has a way of sticking its tongue out at you sometimes 😉
When I wrote an essential oils post, I remember you mentioning your aunt is into them. I’m like you and not 100% sure they do ALL they claim…but I do think they help and if nothing else, they smell amazing!
They do smell good – and that’s enough to put me in a good mood 🙂