Friday Favorites #27: Home Yoga Practices and more

Happy Friday! Can we all take a moment to talk about how it's the middle of July. How did that happen? The weather in Charlotte definitely feels like summer so we actually have spent some time at our neighborhood pool this week. I usually have a hard time going to the pool just to relax, because I can think of a million things I want to do at home. But I had finished updating our half bathroom and Matt was craving some pool time. The half bath makeover is definitely my favorite thing from this week, but I have a few other favorites to share, too. As always, I'd love to hear what things are making you happy this week in the comments! Thanks for stopping by. <3

Home Yoga Practice

This week I've been really craving doing yoga at home, so I've been going with the flow (hah) and doing just that. Since yoga is (at least partly) about mindfulness and listening to your body I really try to find time for a practice without making it feel forced. I adore my yoga studio, but sometimes it's easier to fit in a flow at home instead of arranging my schedule to work with class times. And sometimes I just don't have an hour to practice but I do have twenty minutes.

Yoga has felt really good this week. Some weeks I feel (relatively) flexible, strong, and graceful and others I feel like Bambi on ice. After he's fallen and feels stiff. Yoga is humbling for sure, but I almost never regret spending some time on the mat (I almost typed matt...that would have sent a very different message hahaha). I'm sharing some of the home yoga practice videos I did this week below. There's a nice variety of lengths (20 minutes, 35 minutes, and an hour). They all include a good flow with a mix of twists, balancing, and nice stretches.

Total Body Yoga Flow

I did each yoga flow in a different room this week. Wild, I know. I'm loving starting my Sunday mornings with yoga, and when I do a home practice I like to be outside on my deck. I love the fresh air, and it's the perfect time of day to be outdoors before it gets too hot. I did the Total Body Yoga Flow on Saturday to stretch after my workout and planned on going outside for that, too. That is until I realized our lawn was getting mowed. Doing yoga in front of the lawn guy seems awkward, so I went upstairs to our bonus room. (Yes, I feel lucky to have someone mow our lawn. It took me a long time to realize sometimes it makes more sense to pay someone to do a task even if you CAN do it yourself.)

Anyway, the bonus room is a fun space for yoga because we have pretty nice speakers in that room. It's a great space for listening to music, so I put on a yoga playlist from Jennifer Eddins (always my go-to for yoga music).

20 Minute Total Body Yoga Workout

This short 20 minute yoga flow was done in our kitchen. Normal. I really wanted to fit in a yoga flow, so I decided to squeeze it in while cooking dinner. I wanted to make sure things didn't burn and I needed to be available to flip stuff so I did yogi cooking. That's probably not a trend that's going to take off anytime soon. But I fit it in and felt better after (TWSS).

Fight Master Yoga 1 Hour Total Body Yoga Workout

While I might not recommend the kitchen for the most zen yoga location, I do recommend trying a different spot in your home for a new perspective. Outdoors I have birds chirping and lawns being mowed in the background, and in the bonus room there's a soft carpet that changes the balance a little. Let me know if you try any of these yoga flows. Or better yet, I'd love for you to share any yoga videos or channels you love!

Crepini Egg Thins

These are a Costco find/impulse buy. Autocorrect thought "creeping" egg thins was more appropriate. That's a no, autocorrect. These crepinis are weird enough without your name suggestions. And by weird, I obviously mean wonderful.

These little crepes are made out of cauliflower and eggs. They don't have a strong taste, but they have a nice texture and are perfect for a little snack during the day. I've been making little wraps with the pineapple jalapeno dip, a little avocado, and greens. I think these would also be perfect rolled up with some hummus or goat cheese, turkey, and veggies for a little snack.

Apple Watch Band

Ever since I got my Apple watch I've wanted a new (cuter) band. I've had my watch for at least two years, and I finally got a new band this week. And all it took was a trip to Target! Why did I wait two years?!

Target has a surprisingly good collection of band options. I got the Heyday Mesh Band. It's $15 and comes in tons of colors. It seems to be great quality for the price. It's made of a metal mesh and the clasp is very solid, so I don't have to worry about it popping off during a workout or while at work.

I have a love-hate relationship with the watch. It's not that great as a heart rate monitor which was the original reason I wanted a new watch for running. It's also not nearly as cute as wearing a normal watch. But I'm also kind of addicted to having it track my activity so I don't like to switch it out for a less sporty watch mid-day. At some point I might need to part ways to be slightly less connected and measured, but for now this band upgrade is making me happy and a nice compromise.

Ninja Foodi Potato Wedges

Oh yeah, my Ninja Foodi obsession is still running strong. My mom and I gifted my dad a Ninja Foodi recently after he was intrigued with mine. They have been testing it out and raved about the potato wedge recipe in the Ninja Foodi cookbook, so naturally I had to try. Holy yum.

The potato wedges are cooked with the pressure cooker for 3 minutes and then switched over to the air crisper. The result is perfectly cooked fries: soft on the inside and nice and crispy on the outside. The recipe includes a lemon, garlic, and oregano dressing. I never would have thought to add lemon to potato wedges, but it's absolutely delicious. So good that this is the second week in a row I've made them. That won't be stopping any time soon.

Jameson

So I know Jameson has made it onto Friday Favorites before, but I can't help it. I love this little guy so darn much. He's the best little buddy and totally tolerant of anything I need to do if I tell him it's okay.

This week I needed to recheck some blood work in preparation for a routine surgery he has scheduled soon. Typically I have Matt hold Jameson for me while I collect the blood, but he was at work. The good news is Jameson's the best. I used a resistance band as a tourniquet (naturally) and just asked him to sit while I collected the sample. And he did. He's pretty used to putting up with me doing weird things since we adopted him during my second year of veterinary school, but his trust and tolerance with me still warms my heart every time. So grateful for this guy.

Where's your favorite spot for a home yoga practice? What do you prefer: yoga at home or at a studio (or brewery)?

Do you have an activity tracking watch? Love it or hate it?

What are your favorite kind of fries?

What's something your pet does that amazes you?

FYI: Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links. That means as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (theoretically, haha). I only link to products that I own and love. Thank you for stopping by and for your support. <3