1.9 Friday Faves

Hi friends! Happy Friday! How are you? What are you up to this weekend?

We’re just hanging out here and home and I’m looking forward to a low-key weekend after lots of holiday activities and adventures. It’s suddenly winter here in Tucson – rainy and freezing!- and we’re enjoying lots of puppy snuggles in between trying to keep Lola from destroying all of the furniture.

(I keep trying to get a pic of Maisey and Lola together but they’re always moving at lightning speed together)

Liv turned 14 yesterday and I can’t even believe it. Thank you so so much to my OG reader friends who have been there since the early days. I had a couple of you reach out on Instagram yesterday to tell me you were reading the blog while I was shaking it teaching Zumba with her in my belly. It really feels like yesterday and 14 lifetimes ago at the same time.

Her birth story part 1 is here and part 2 is here.

I post less of the kids here on the blog – I ask for permission before I post anything – but she’s the wittiest, sweetest girl with a heart of gold. She’s also obsessed with K Pop, which is a big reason why we’re going to Seoul this summer. We just had cake here at the house since we’re heading to San Diego and Disney next week to celebrate!

For now, it’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Fashion, beauty, random:

Always the Farm Rio! They’ve had so many great sales this season, but this one is from Rent the Runway. I’m still using and loving the Unlimited membership. It’s amazing for events and travel, and also helps keep me from shopping *quite so much.* 😉

Oak Essentials goodies! They gifted me a body lotion and candle before the holidays and I loved the products so much, I ended up purchasing more as gifts. The lotion is super hydrating with a light scent – it’s a tiny bit pine-y in a good way – and I love the candle.

Read, watch, listen:

Don’t miss this week’s podcast episode here! I’m sharing some realistic longevity-based goals for the New Year.

It’s always cheese board season.

Sculpt Society has nutrition now and I’ve been LOVING the new reipe and meal inspo. I’m adding so many of their ideas to our meal plan for next week. If you’ve been wanting to try TSS, it’s one of my all-time favorite at-home workouts. Use the code GINAJAN here to try it out!

Started this audiobook and already feel like it’s made a huge positive impact on my mindset.

Fitness, health, and good eats:

– The new food pyramid. Do I think it’s perfect? No. I think there are many people who are unable to tolerate or digest large amounts of animal products and dairy. I’m not sure where beans are located on the pyramid and it’s missing the nuance when it comes to saturated fat. At the same time, I think it’s a huge step in the right direction. I love the emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods, lots of fruits and veggies, and a moderate approach to grains (especially here in the US where many our grains have been compromised).

And while I don’t think that refined sugar and processed foods should be a part of daily life, we sitll make room for the fun stuff every now and again (see below lol).

– These gluten-free dairy-free cones. SO good.

– Also, I bought some of the Sweet Loren’s puff pastry and it is amazing. It definitely exceeded my expectations, especially since many gluten-free baking options can be flops. I made some nutella pastries and also some Pop Tart creations with strawberry jam, simple icing and sprinkles.