Hi friends!
Popping in with some Friday faves to round out your week. Here are some things I am loving lately/highlights from the week!
1) A day date with my mom!
I took a long lunch break one day earlier this week and had a really fun treat: a meal out with my mom, followed by a trip to pick out a dress for my brother’s wedding!
We started with lunch at Fiola Mare on the Georgetown waterfront. I’d been wanting to go here for years because I love seafood, and it was worth the wait – so good!
We started with some Prosecco cocktails just for fun. :)
And then I had two appetizers as my main meal – the tuna tartare:
And this gorgeous salad. Loved the edible flowers!
I also helped my mom with her dish, which was a delicious seafood soup with a yummy garlicky tomato broth. It was excellent sopped up with crusty bread!
After lunch, we walked over to Rent the Runway (<- affiliate link for $30 off first order) so I could find a dress for my brother’s wedding, which is in 2 weeks! So exciting!
Here’s a sneak preview of the dress I chose – it’s this one.
The back was really similar to my wedding dress, which is probably why I liked it so much! Loved the color, too.
2) Peanuts and peanut butter! (section sponsored by The Peanut Institute)
I’m pretty much always loving peanuts and peanut butter and eat them every day – and now Riese is a fan, too! PB toast is one of our go-to’s as a filling snack or breakfast that’s easy to throw together.
For the ultimate peanut-packed delicious snack, try my Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Bread (<- recipe) topped with additional peanut butter and bananas. Flavor explosion, you’re welcome.
And in addition to being delicious, peanuts are a great low-cost superfood!
Did you know that a handful (roughly an ounce) of peanuts, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, contains 8 grams of protein and 19 vitamins and minerals, many of which fight heart disease? Peanuts also contain healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants that have been shown to help reduce cardiovascular disease and cancer risk, lower inflammation and cholesterol and improve blood flow.
If you’re looking for a faster no-bake way to enjoy peanuts, try my old fave Peanut Cinnamon Date Balls.
They are ready in minutes and make a great portable nutritious snack that the whole family will love (Riese is super into them)!
3) This book.
Ahhhh you guys. I got so sucked into this book that I stayed up way too late on Wednesday night finishing it!
It’s pretty dark and twisted but really draws you in.
Thank you to my friend Sokphal for lending me the book, and to Jen for recommending it in her recent 10 Books You Should Read blog post! She has lots of great recs in that post so I’m bookmarking it to make my way through a bunch of them.
Totally agree with her about The Great Alone, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Educated – I also read them recently and enjoyed them. Educated in particular is fascinating and really worth a read (it’s a memoir – the others are fiction).
Next on my list is Becoming – I just bought it this morning and can’t wait to read it!
4) A blog post from my friend Julie about her Go-To Mom Hacks.
Lots of great tips and ideas for me as Riese gets older!
I totally bought the wristlet she wrote about – I’m kind of over the massive heavy diaper bag situation.
5) Dinner for breakfast.
Of course breakfast for dinner is a thing (an awesome thing!), but how about dinner for breakfast? :)
I know that doesn’t look super pretty but it was really good – I filled a tortilla with guac, broccoli slaw for crunch and veggie volume, and leftover flank steak from the weekend.
It was so good, and really filling, too!
Sometimes a savory breakfast really hits the spot.
What are you loving lately? I’d love to hear if you want to share in the comments!
I hope you guys have a great weekend – Matt’s parents are in town (his mom has a conference here in DC), so we are looking forward to spending some time with them.
They came over for dinner last night and we enjoyed my Sheet Pan Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Veggies – it worked out well because I was able to prep it ahead of time so once they arrived, we could all hang out with Riese and relax while it did its thing in the oven!
Give the recipe a shot – it’s really easy and delicious. :) Matt’s parents gave it two thumbs up!
Catch you guys back here on Monday with a weekend recap, as usual!
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Please note there are affiliate links in this post.
The lunch with your mom sounds fantastic, and I absolutely love love that dress!! Perfect cut and color. You will look stunning! I need to get back into reading, and I’m all about mysteries and thrillers. I’ll look for this one, thank you! I share a Friday Finds + Favorites on my blog today too. :) Have a great day!
Thank you Kori! I’ll check out your post too!
Love your dress. How exciting for your brother and his bride-to-be.
That new recipe sounds awesome and I’ll have to try it.
Just finished reading Eleanor Oliphant and started Educated. On the waiting list at Library for Becoming and Crawdads. I’ve been on the list for a couple of months and I think it will be summer when I finally get my turn.
I loved “All the light we cannot see” by Anthony Doerr and am now listening to “About Grace” Love books by Fredrik Backman too.
Have a wonderful weekend.
I loved “All the Light We Cannot See” too! Will have to check out your other recs :)
That dress is beautiful! You are going to look amazing at the wedding!
Aw thank you!
The back on that dress is so pretty! Gorgeous color too! You will look fabulous!
No book reading over here sadly, I’ve been sucked into watching Queer Eye season 3 and the latest episodes of Terrace House!
Made the chicken recipe last night and it was a hit – huge thank you. Ate the leftovers today over arugula with brown rice and some extra feta. Loved it! Please more easy and delicious recipes like this! I make your mustard dill sauce frequently for salmon and love that too. This is making me think I should branch out and try your baked goods but I almost never bake :)
I’m so glad you liked it! :) Definitely give some of my baked goods a try – they are easy!
The dress is gorgeous! Sounds like a nice outing with your mom!
Loving lately? The arrival of spring – at least until the hail storm a half-hour ago!
Love that blue dress! My bridesmaid dresses were the color blue :) I’ve been making this yummy bread on repeat lately…yum!
https://audrasappetite.com/cinnamon-raisin-oat-bread/
Sounds yummy!
The Sheet Pan Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Veggies is absolutely delicious. I ate the leftovers for dinner tonight. Yum!
Yay, so glad you liked it!
All those books are great- we must have similar taste! I’m reading Where the Crawdads Sing right now and just finished Becoming. All fantastic. The Great Alone was amaaazing. Educated is next up on my list! Have you read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? It was so good – would highly recommend!
Oo I haven’t – adding that to my list for next time! Thanks! Just started Becoming last night and loving it already. :)