Y’all. I can’t believe this is the last #favefivefriday of October already. Where does the time go?? Maybe it’s harder for me to believe that October is basically over when the high temperature yesterday was NINETY. Seriously?? Seriously. At this rate, we should hit 75 about Christmas time. Good grief!

Anyway, happy Friday! We’ve had a pretty quiet week around here. Steven started on Cards Wards (which I CANNOT say in any other voice than a Wayne’s World voice for some reason… Cards Wards, Cards Wards, party time, excellent!), which basically means he works on the floor in the area that they keep patients that are admitted to the hospital with some type of known cardiology issue. I’ve decided to finally commit to being healthier this week, so some of our items today will go with theme (keeping in mind that we’ve all gotta start somewhere… 😉 ). We braved our new Raising Cane’s in the opening week, and didn’t really have to wait that long (it always helps to have law enforcement directing traffic).

Monday is Halloween and I’m excited to see if we will have our first trick-or-treaters! (this is our first house, so we’ve never had them before (and I grew up in the country so I didn’t pass out candy as a teenager)). I’m excited for Halloween, but more excited to roll through it and get on to the big shows– Thanksgiving and Christmas, which are two of my very favorite things. But for now, since we’ve got a little time until then, let’s talk about this week’s #favefivethings…

1. Michael Buble- Nobody But Me

Let’s just be honest, Michael Buble could sing commercial jingles, or preschool songs, or foreign national anthems and we’d all listen to them because his voice is just THAT GOOD. This is his latest album (released October 21), and I’ve been listening to it in my office for the last several days. It’s got some classic covers and some originals, but I’d say it’s pretty good!

And his cover of “God Only Knows”… Where was this eight months ago?? I spent weeks putting together a playlist to play while people were getting seated at our wedding, and the main criteria was that all the songs were pretty mellow and not overly showy, so mostly piano covers of big songs, or other songs that are understated. This is one of my favorite songs of all time (probably my favorite Beach Boys song), but the Beach Boys version was just a little too peppy for the whole vibe. This version would have been PERFECT!

 

2. Garnier Whole Blends- Avocado Oil & Shea Butter Shampoo and Conditioner

I’ll admit, I’m kind of a nomad when it comes to hair care. I don’t have a brand or line that I live or die by, and I generally mix it up every time it comes time to buy more. This past Saturday was that time. I’d been using the Herbal Essences Natural line that smelled kinda lemon-y, and I liked it okay, but it seemed to make my hair fairly dry (I think we discussed a few weeks ago that I wash it every day). I had tried two of the other Garnier Whole Blends (the Honey one and the Green Apple one), but picked up this one with Avocado Oil and Shea Butter because that seemed like a nice combo.

Y’all. I love this stuff. My hair is SO SOFT now. Like, the first day I used it, I put my hair up in a bun because I didn’t have time to fix it, and when I let it out that night to go to sleep, I literally told Steven to pet my hair because I couldn’t believe how soft it was. I have worn my hair straight almost every day this week, which is a huge deal for me because I typically feel like wearing it straight just highlights how frizzled my ends look– but not this week. It is about the color and consistency of honey mustard dipping sauce (which, honestly I love me some honey mustard on chicken strips if we’re being real here), but it smells amazing, and leaves your hair smelling amazing. Plus, I feel like my hair is soft without being too heavy– a lot of repairing hair care products leave your hair weighed down and it won’t hold curl, but mine still did just as usual.

If you have a hair care line you love, I say stick with it. If you are in search (as I often am), give this a try– I think you’ll like it!

 

3. BookBub.com 

Any fellow readers out there? One day on Pinterest (I think? Maybe Facebook?), I ran across an ad for BookBub.com. It explains that ebooks are often put on flash sale more than print books (meaning they are discounted for a day or two before going back to regular price), but there is no notice or warning that this is happening, meaning you are often paying way more for a book at retail that you would if you caught the sale. But how are you supposed to know when they go on sale without just watching it every day like a crazy person?

Bookbub.com, friends.

You fill out basic information, like your email address, what types of books/ authors you are interested in, and what reading appliance (apparatus?) (what you read your ebooks on) you have, and then they send you an email with the daily ebook deals you might be interested in. Most books in each email are either free, or listed for $2.99 at most. These may be lesser known books, but there are usually at least a few big name titles that have been discounted for the day. It includes a short description about the book so you can decide if you’re interested, and then a link to get it for whatever platform you need. I’ve already gotten a handful of free books. I haven’t had time to read them, but dadgum, they were free!

I love this for multiple reasons, friends. One, it helps keep a steady influx of books I could potentially be interested in, which is nice because I feel like I struggle sometimes trying to find a book I want to read. And two, I struggle a lot justifying spending anywhere from $10-$15 on a paperback that will just take up space once I finish reading it– that’s expensive and space consuming. I’ll admit, I do love using an actual book over an eReader (I usually use the Kindle app on my iPad, so mine is set to send deals for Kindle and iBooks), but one only has so much space for actual books. If you are a frequent reader, check this out!

 

4. XHIT YouTube Channel 

Remember when I mentioned that I’ve decided this week to get healthier? That is two-fold in trying to eat healthier, and making an effort to start working out again. At some point last year, Steven happened upon this YouTube channel while looking for workout videos for himself and thought I might like it. I used it consistently for a time in Amarillo, but dropped out of the habit. Now that I’m trying to start back up again, this was my first stop.

XHIT has a variety of workouts with most of them being some type of interval training (doing a certain exercise for a determined length of time). They have some that are more yoga/ pilates style, and several that are celebrity workouts that are supposed to be similar to what the celebrity does to have whatever amazing body part she has (example- Get Legs like Jennifer Lawrence (which, I didn’t realize she was famous for her legs, but I don’t suppose I’m really in touch with most celebrities these days.)). What I love about them is that they are divided out by area you are focusing on (legs, arms, abs, etc.), they are typically not longer than 20 minutes at a time, the exercises are simple for beginners without really any equipment involved and the host (Kelsey Lee) is pretty funny.

One of my biggest struggles about committing to working out is overcoming the thought that you don’t have to invest hours of your day in it- 20-30 minutes can be enough if you work hard during that time.

I use my iPad to watch these on YouTube, and if you have a YouTube account, you can save the workouts you like to a watchlist so you can go back to them easily. If you are looking for a workout plan with variety, flexibility, and simplicity, check this out!

 

5. Chick-Fil-A Cobb Salad

And here’s the second part to the getting healthier thing. This has been one of my new go-to healthy options for fast food. And yes, yes, I realize it still has chicken nuggets on it, but it’s got to be healthier than the large fries I usually get, right? Baby steps. And let’s be honest- there really is no such thing as truly healthy food that is offered in a fast food style.

What I love about this is that it is filling (which salads often aren’t), and there is enough good other stuff to balance out the lettuce. There is nothing worse than having to eat a ton of lettuce to get to the good stuff, or eating all the good stuff and having just a pile of lettuce left at the end. CFA has a great ratio here. Delicious ingredients include: chicken nuggets, romaine lettuce and baby greens (which I like the variety of greens here), carrots, diced hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and roasted corn. I personally love it with the avocado lime ranch dressing (yes, I also realize there is very little that is healthy about ranch dressing), but they have a whole list of available salad dressings to choose from.

So, the next time you are out and want a fast food something that isn’t fried or on a bun- get yourself a Cobb salad!

 

And, that’s it for this week! Thanks for stopping by! Drop any suggestions or questions in the comments, and I’ll see you next week!

Here are a few moments from our past week. I love these Smith boys! #rugerthelab, #gumpthelab, #smithbrothers, #smithboysandtheirdad

 

And of course, Wreck ’em, Tech!