Friday Favorites #11

Happy Friday! This week has been BUSY. Typically I like to get a post out early in the week, but I was dealing with other life things and also learning about the world of Pinterest so it got a little quiet around here for a bit. I also was at work late a couple of evenings, so there has been a little extra coffee and not enough sleep this week. Yay for the weekend on the horizon! Because this week has been a little crazy, I'm keeping things somewhat brief. As always, I'm sharing some of the things that I'm currently loving. I would love to hear what things made you happy this week! Thanks for reading. <3



Fresh Basil



basil


While I was grocery shopping this week, a cute little fresh basil plant was calling to me. I hesitated for a moment (because I kill plants rapidly), but I decided if I keep it next to the sink in my kitchen I might water it appropriately. Having it by the sink has been great because basil SMELLS SO GOOD. Like summer. I love it so much.



mango basil coconut sauce, breakfast


Having the basil right in the kitchen is also a nice reminder to keep using it when I'm cooking. It adds such a fresh taste and extra dimension to the dishes. On Thursday morning, I whipped up a sauce to go with my fish using mangos, basil, and coconut milk. It was so good! I'm now in love with that flavor combo and I have so many ideas with how to use that for new recipes.



Five Parks Yoga - Yoga for Strength and Tone



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA4QKdDxY5g
Five Parks Yoga


Last Sunday at 12:10, I discovered that the yoga class I was looking forward to attending at 12:30 actually started at noon. Major bummer. Since that was the last class of the day that meant turning to YouTube to try to find a replacement.



Five Parks Yoga is one of the yoga YouTube channels that I follow. Erin Sampson's classes are straightforward and usually have a good flow with several sun salutations at the beginning to warm-up. This ended up being a nice mix of a faster paced flow along with a few strength moves added in. While it wasn't quite what I had planned, I finished it thinking it was worth sharing. If you're thinking about giving yoga a try after yesterday's post, her channel offers a huge variety of classes and even has a section of short 10-20 minute videos if a 55 minute class sounds overwhelming.



Beeswax Wraps



beeswax wraps


I'm just going to keep sharing my MightyNest deliveries every month. I can't help it. They're all super useful, and I love making a little change to lessen my environmental impact a tiny bit.



This month's delivery brought these beeswax wraps. I actually already have some of these wraps, but their arrival was a reminder to share them. It seems like they are popping up everywhere now. The last time I was at Trader Joe's (which was a while ago), they even had them there.



You may already be using these beeswax wraps, but they are basically an alternative to plastic wrap. You just warm up the beeswax a little bit in your hands and then mold it over whatever you need to cover. They definitely have a sturdier feel compared to plastic wrap, but they are easy to clean and it has been an easy swap. The beeswax is also supposed to have antibacterial properties, which is helpful for keeping food fresh. If nothing else, you get to avoid dealing with plastic wrap that instantly sticks to itself and shrivels into a tiny piece before you've even made it to the food you're trying to cover. Plastic wrap is the one thing I don't recommend buying at ALDI. Unless you want to go insane.



The Idea of Tackling a DIY Home Project I've Been Putting Off



kitchen
This is an old random photo of our kitchen before we added a little kitchen table and island.


Since we moved into our home, I've wanted to change the backsplash in our kitchen. We were fortunate to move into a kitchen that really didn't need any work and already had nice cabinets. Because of that, it's a project that has been on the back burner. But every time I walk into the room, I think about how much better it would be if the backsplash remotely matched the style of the rest of our house.



We've made the rest of our house neutral grays and whites which is a stark contrast to the gold, brown, and yellow backsplash in our kitchen. Even our countertops are a marbled grey. The half bath adjacent to our kitchen is the only other room left downstairs that shares the brown and gold towns. It looks like it belongs in a Macaroni Grill restaurant. I'm not a fan, and I CAN'T WAIT to redo it. But before I give that tiny room a makeover, I want to make sure it's coordinated with the kitchen (and backsplash).



It feels kind of frivolous to remove perfectly good backsplash, but we hope to stay in our house for a long time. I want to make it feel like "us". Since I spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen - I want to love it. Another reason I've put it off is because I'm kind of terrified of removing perfectly good backsplash and then realizing I'm in over my head.



Thankfully, my parents are last-minute visiting this weekend (YAY!) while Matt is away for a bachelor party weekend. They are super handy and are game to help me get started. Also, I've watched half a YouTube video on DIY backsplash, so really what more is there to know.



If I fully commit to demo day on my kitchen this weekend, I'll keep you updated. I'll also report back on if removing and re-doing backsplash is really as easy as these YouTube videos and home network shows make it out to be. If you have experience with any of this, please tell me if I'm crazy or not before I put a hole in my kitchen wall. Thanks. <3



What are your favorite yoga YouTube channels?



What's your favorite way to use fresh basil?



Am I crazy for wanting to change the kitchen backsplash?

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