Friday Favorites #19

Happy Friday! This week ended up looking a little different than planned. I was pretty psyched to get some more sleep and to try out a phone-free bedtime routine for Week 2 of Mindful May. Instead I spent the first half of my week curled up in the fetal position and visiting Urgent Care. I did go to bed early, but not in the serene "I'm so mindful" way I envisioned. Since I'm working on mindfulness, I tried to use some meditating to help with nausea. Yeah...I'm not at that point yet. Despite that little life glitch, there are some things that made me happy this week. So let's focus on those! As always, I'd love to hear what things you're loving this week in the comments. Thanks for stopping by. <3

Our De'Longhi Espresso Machine

I'm kind of shocked I haven't shared my affection for our little De'Longhi espresso machine yet. Especially since I feel like I talk about my love for something coffee-related just about every week. Slight obsession? Maybe. BUT there were a couple of days this week when I did not have coffee so that means I'm not an addict. It's just a (healthy) obsession. Coffee's healthy, right? Right.

Let's focus. To make a long story short, I almost stopped at Waterbean over the weekend for a Macadamia nut milk latte, but didn't. As soon as I got home I regretted that decision. But Matt's the best and when I subtly hinted that it would be super awesome if he made me an unsweetened almond milk latte at home, he did! *Insert heart eyes emoji.* And that's when I was reminded just how great our little espresso machine is.

We used to use this daily because we both adore Americanos (that's always our go-to order at Starbucks). Lately I've gotten into the habit of just making a pot of coffee during the week, but sometimes an Americano or latte is fun. Matt has perfected the milk foaming using this machine even with unsweetened almond milk. So much so that I even proclaimed this latte better than the Waterbean almond milk lattes. Craziness. For around $80, that's a pretty good ROI to be able to make $6-quality lattes at home. And (!), it's super easy to use. We love ours so much that we've gifted it to my parents and sister, as well. I think they like it. Or they at least pretend to when I visit. How's that for a review?

ALDI Organic Chicken Sausage

ALDI had been carrying these and then they disappeared which was devastating. But they're back! They're fully cooked, organic, and have a super clean ingredient list. The ingredients are organic skinless chicken, organic spring greens (spinach, kale, and arugula), water, organic garlic, sea salt, organic dill, organic black pepper. That's it! No sugar. No ingredients you can't pronounce or sketchy "mechanically separated chicken". Amazing. I don't know why it's so hard to find chicken sausage without all sorts of weird additives or sugar, but it is. These are perfect for a super easy and quick meal (my favorite). They also come in a mild Italian flavor, which is fantastic as well. And since they're from Aldi they aren't a small fortune. How much good news can a girl provide in one paragraph?! Also, let's be adults and refrain from any "excited about clean sausage" comments.

Instant Family

I forgot to share this movie in last week's Friday Favorites. We watched Instant Family over the weekend and it kept Matt and I both entertained the entire time (I tend to either get distracted or fall asleep with a lot of movies because I'm not good at sitting still). A lot of times when Matt and I watch a movie together it's action packed, so this feel-good movie was a nice change of pace. It's based on a true story of a couple who suddenly decide to foster three children. While inspiring, it did not make me suddenly want to have three children.

Discovering That My Garden Wasn't 100% Weeds

So this was my kitchen "garden" situation last weekend. I told you my weeds were thriving. Finally gaining control of this beast was on my Mindful May Brain Declutter list, so I bit the bullet and tackled those weeds. Can you tell gardening isn't my forte? Or passion...other than having fresh vegetables and herbs.

THIS is what it looked like after I took out the weeds. I was shocked by two things: 1) that I was able to identify that not everything there was a weed, and 2) that there were a few things that had survived! The rosemary did not care that it had been enveloped by weeds. No biggie. Rosemary, apparently, is like mint. Add rosemary to the list of herbs I love because I can't kill them. The chives were also doing quite well and there's a tiny wisp of thyme on the left that's trying.

Check out that rugged rosemary. You know when you go to those trendy speak-easy type places and they ask you to describe what kind of cocktail you like and then they magically create it? I love those places. I always ask for something herbal and I love it when they come with rosemary. Basically like the gin, grapefruit, lime, and rosemary drink they created in the Maldives! Well now that I've discovered I have a plethora of this (and mint), it looks like there will be a lot of cocktail and mocktail creations in the future. Want recipes?!

What's your favorite thing from this week?

Do you have a garden? What are you planting this year?

What's an awesome movie you've watched recently?

FYI: The links included in this post are affiliate links, which means as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These are all products that I own and love. Thank you for stopping by and for your support. <3