favorite things Friday Archives - Page 15 of 23

Imagine Friday

Julian Lennon Eddie Van Halen — From left: Paul Natkin/Getty Images; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The picture above is Julian Lennon superimposed with Eddie Van Halen. Today would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday and sadly, we lost a musical great this week, with the death of Eddie Van Halen. My friend mentioned that Eddie Van Halen never learned to read sheet music. If that isn’t proof of innate born purpose/genius/spiritual passion, I don’t know what is!

Happy Friday, my friends!! We made it to the weekend! On Fridays, we keep it light on the blog. I call it Favorite Things Friday, here at Adulting – Second Half. On Fridays, I list three favorite things, songs, beauty products, food items, etc. and I strongly encourage my readers to add your favorites to my Comments section. Here are my favorites for today:

Olive & Cocoa – If you are looking for an alternative from sending a standard flower arrangement, go to this website. This adorable company has a wide variety of flowers, food stuff, gift-y items that really are unique and lovely and more personalized than what you typically find from this genre of store. This is one catalog, which when I receive in the mail that I am actually happy to get, and to peruse its pages. Most of the items are sent to people, in these adorable little wooden crates that just make the whole gift seem that much more special to open.

Tagua Nut Jewelry – Tagua nuts are often referred to as vegetable ivory. They come from the seeds of certain palm trees. I recently purchased a tagua nut bracelet that has been dyed the most fabulous shade of aqua. (the dye inks seem to just seep right into this material) The jewelry made from tagua tends to be big and chunky and colorful and makes for the perfect statement piece of what could otherwise be a bland or plain outfit.

Putumayo Presents Paris Cafe CD – For those of you who are old-fashioned and tactile like me, go to the putumayo.com website and buy this CD that I was bragging about earlier this week. If you have more modern tastes, Putumayo also has playlists that you can stream on Apple Music or Spotify, which are also found on their website. The website also sells colorful, unique greeting cards and children’s books from all over the world. I highly recommend spending some time on their website. They know their stuff!!! And it’s the good stuff!

Have a happy weekend, my dear friends and readers!!! I am so grateful for you!!

Happy Quotes John Lennon | Inspiration Boost

Oversized Friday

50 Best 'Friday Quotes' to Kickstart A Happy Weekend — TGIF!

Hi friends! Welcome to Favorite Things Friday!! On Fridays, I keep it on the surface level here at Adulting – Second Half. On Friday, I typically list three favorite things, places, foods, songs, etc. and I strongly encourage you to add your favorites to our Comments section. Friends, I don’t have three things today. I am at a loss. Without getting out as much as I used to, I have a hard time coming up with three new favorites every week. This week I have one BIG favorite. I don’t plan on buying one (much to my daughter’s chagrin), but I am thrilled that Home Depot has added such a fun member to its Halloween collection, at a time when all of us could use more lightness and fun and happiness! Several people in our neck of the woods, already have these guys on display in their yards. Today’s favorite:

Friends, this is Home Depot’s 12 foot Giant-Sized Skeleton with Life Eyes. Isn’t he grand!! (literally and figuratively) Whatever it takes to have fun this year, do it!! Have a great, fun, silly, oversized weekend!!!

Who Was that Masked Friday?

The above meme is literally “official information” from the CDC. I’m not convinced that they meant for it to be funny. Happy Friday, friends!! Happy Favorite Things Friday! On Fridays, I stay on the material plane of life, and I list three favorite things, movies, TV shows, songs, food stuff, beauty products, etc. that have made my life fun. I strongly encourage you to list your favorites in my Comments section and please see previous Friday listings for more favorites. Here are today’s favorites:

The Gardener – My friend recommended this film and it was so enjoyable to watch. This is a documentary of sorts, based on the true life of a very wealthy man, Francis Cabot, who devoted most of his life to creating his own fabulous garden and also to support the preservation of other amazing gardens, all over the world. The movie is peaceful. It’s like watching a beautiful meditation. It slows you down enough to make your recognize the true miracles of the natural world. This is one of the most pleasant viewing experiences I have had in quite a while. It is beautiful, calming and comforting, which are rare qualities in films these days.

CoolCabanas – One of my closest friends has to be a mermaid. She loves the beach like no one I know. Any time that she isn’t working, she is at the beach. We had a beach meet up the other night, and she, of course, was the first one to get there, texting us a picture of our “set up”. She had a beautiful CoolCabana tent which kept us shaded and socially distanced, perfectly. My friend was able to put up her CoolCabana easily all by herself (which is the purpose of the invention) and it is the sand which keeps the four corners of the tent firmly rooted in place. If you are planning to be at the beach any time soon, go to this website and check out these wonderful shelters: coolcabanas.com

Motherland Essentials Lotion Bars – Earlier this year, my best friends from college and I, took a weekend reunion trip together to the ever lovely, Charleston, SC. (before all of this Covid mess). We came across these Motherland Essentials products in a really cute, little, girly gift shop. As you know, I am all about good smelling stuff. These lotion sticks smell divine!! I layer my other perfumes on top of these scents and I believe that it makes my perfume last longer. These lotion bars are like aromatherapy in a stick. Motherland Essentials is a minority owned business, as well. Please see their website here: www.motherlandessentials.com

I didn’t do it intentionally, but I just noticed that all of today’s favorites came from my friendships. Friends will always be my favorite. Friends and Friday are the best f-words, ever invented.

Happy Friday Quotes | Good Morning Friday Messages & Wishes

Rocking It Friday

Good morning, friends and readers!! I was reading another blog the other day and I noticed that the blogger called her readers, “my wonderfuls”! I like that. I think that I am going to borrow that. Happy Friday, my wonderfuls!!! I had another good thought, earlier in the week, as I was gazing at my sagging jowls in the mirror. I thought to myself what is a inexpensive, non-intrusive way to cover up my middle-aged droopy jowls? I figured it out. On good days, smile, and on bad days, stay masked up. See, masks aren’t all bad. New readers, on Fridays, I don’t try to figure out any deep thoughts. I stay on the surface on Fridays to give me and you a break from my overthinking/overwriting about, just about everything. On Fridays, I list three favorite things, songs, apps, websites, food stuff, etc. and I strongly encourage you to list your favorites in my Comments section. Fridays are called Favorite Things Friday, here at Adulting – Second Half. Please check out my previous Friday posts for more favorites to enjoy. Here are my favorites for today:

Putta Tea – I discovered this tea on the Clearance shelf at my local grocery store. Now I know that a lot of people think, “There’s a reason why things are on clearance. Nobody wants them.” But, I disagree. It is more like “Nobody wants them AT THAT PRICE.” Further, sometimes things just need to be highlighted, and that is how I found this most delicious tea. I always check out the clearance rack and that is where I have found some of my most favorite things, Putta Tea being one of them. I have never tasted a more fragrant, delicious, unusual tea from tea bags, in my lifetime. Another plus, is that the boxes in which the tea comes in, are absolutely artistic and gorgeous. So far, I have tried Putta’s “Relax” and Putta’s “Tulsi Clarity” and both were fabulous. I saw that Amazon sells a variety pack of many other Putta Tea flavors. Enjoy! My British friends and family say that a cup of tea fixes everything.

Convertible Mask Chains – Fortunately, I am not one who needs to do much in public, so I have limited mask wearing time, but for those of you who have to wear masks frequently, I saw that they are now selling mask chains (similar to chains that hold your glasses around your neck). This seems like a much more sanitary way to carry around a mask, versus digging through your purse, praying that you still have a clean mask somewhere in there. I saw some pretty mask chains on Stephanie Wolf’s website. (https://stefaniewolf.com/collections/facemasks-and-headbands) And this website has a nice gold one: https://www.camillejewelry.com/products/convertible-oval-chain-necklace-for-masks

What makes the chains convertible is that they turn into necklaces when you don’t need a mask any longer, which hopefully, will be sooner than later. (On that note, I got my Barnes and Noble Desk Diary 2021 calendar delivered yesterday, this calendar being a longtime favorite of mine forever and ever, due to its sturdy, hard cover, big calendar squares and weekly pages. I have kept all of mine on a shelf, dating back to 2008, and you’d be surprised how handy it is to look information up, like when you had health care, or house work done, with phone numbers to boot, when I can read my own handwriting. Anyway, getting the calendar yesterday was exhilarating, like “Hope in a Box!”)

Nancy Meyers Kitchen playlist – I don’t have Spotify, but I have read about how great that this music play list is, more than once, so I just started playing some of the songs from the list, and it is wonderful!! This playlist has songs like La Vien Rose by Louis Armstrong., I’ve Got a Crush on You by Steve Tyrell and I Only Have Eyes for You by The Flamingos. Seriously, this is perfect, soothing background music, for almost any activity. If you have Spotify, start playing this now, you won’t be disappointed!

I’ve mentioned before that I cut out things out of magazines that are inspirational to me, and I tape them to the inside of my calendar covers to look at, here and again, to get rejuvenated and inspired. I saved this cutting from REAL SIMPLE magazine and it is going to get taped into my new 2021 calendar right after I publish my blog post. Have a wonderful weekend, my wonderfuls!!!!

I can’t wait to say, “Bye-bye 2020, don’t let the door hitcha on your way out!!”

Pink Perfect Friday

154 Best Friday images in 2020 | Its friday quotes, Friday humor, Funny quotes

Hi friends!!! HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday! On Friday, I stay at the surface. There’s nothing serious about Fridays, except for fun. On Fridays, I list three favorite things, songs, books, websites, videos, health products, etc. of mine, and I strongly encourage my readers to list some of your favorites in the Comments section. Please check out previous Friday listings for more fabulous, fun, fantastic things to enjoy on your flashy, and fearless Friday!

The video below is my first favorite. I just adore this little girl. I can completely empathize and commiserate with her. My friend sent this adorably cute clip to our text chat earlier this week and I was cry-laughing, while watching it. When I was in kindergarten, someone stole my Little Bo Peep birthday hat, at a birthday party and I got stuck with the Humpty Dumpty one. I can still feel the outrage and the injustice of it all. (and you are saying, Wow, this lady sure knows how to hold a grudge!) Apparently, I had one of the biggest temper tantrums of my life at that party. Here’s the video:

Blue Diamond Wasabi Soy Almonds – Oh my, are these yummies yummy!! It’s a standing joke in my house, when my kids look dubious about what I am cooking, and they ask “So, what’s for dinner?”, I always answer, pertly, calmly, succinctly and definitively, with one word, “Yum.” We have “Yum” almost every single night. These almonds are really and truly Yum. No they are YUM (in caps, they are that good.) I know that it is gross and terribly poor manners to lick your fingers (doubly so during a pandemic), but I still sneak and lick my fingers after eating these almonds, when I am sure that no one is looking. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost products – Walgreens is one the few stores that I still go into regularly these days. Sometimes I just wander around it aimlessly for lack of anything better to do, until I get spooked by anyone coughing. These Neutrogena brand skincare products were under a BOGO promotion there a few weeks ago, so I went all in. And I am so happy that I did! I like all of the products in this line, but I am particularly enamored with the Bright Boost Resurfacing Micro Polish. I keep the tube of it in my shower and I exfoliate my facial skin while showering, being the multi-tasker that most of us women are, in this world. The product is not harsh but pretty effective. I like the simplicity and the reasonableness in price of the Neutrogena line.

Have a great weekend!!!!

dopl3r.com - Memes - Admit it! We all had a pencil like this in our school time

Merry Friday!!!

Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!! Happy Holidays! HA! New readers, on Fridays, I am not serious. On Fridays, I keep it on the surface, in the material world. Fridays are called “Favorite Things Friday” here at Adulting- Second Half and that is when I list three favorite songs, books, products, whatevers that I have enjoyed experiencing in my life. I strongly request that you add more to the Favorites, in my Comments. This year, sometimes it is best to keep it all on the surface, as much as you can. The deep waters run really deep this year. Today, it’s Friday, so let’s just float! Floaty Friday! Remember, too, to check out previous Friday blogs to see more favorites.

My regular readers know that my family has three dogs. We have Ralphie, the Labrador, Josie, the rough collie, and Trip, the Boykin spaniel puppy. It has taken me a while to find just the right kibble food for our fur friends. I did research online, I asked friends for suggestions, and I checked in with my vet. For at least a year, I have been feeding a mix of three dog foods that miraculously, all three dogs like to eat. All of our dogs have healthy skin and fur and none of them are overweight. I can order all three of these bagged kibble foods on Amazon, and I can have them delivered right to my door, which is a total back saver. Here is my magic mix of my three favorite dog foods (and of course, I often add in some cheese or broth or chicken or salmon, on occasion).

Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food, Adult, Sensitive Stomach & Skin Recipes – This one boasts prebiotic fiber and chicken meat. I think this is the food that has helped firm up the stools, which is a plus in anyone’s book. My lawn appreciates this dog food.

Victor Dog Food Grain-Free Active Dog and Puppy Beef Meal and Sweet Potato – This dog kibble is particularly suited to active, sporting dogs, which my dogs all are – unfortunately, we don’t count any couch potatoes among our fur family. This one also has a formulation to help with their immune systems, and who doesn’t need a good immune system, this year in particular??

Wellness CORE Natural Dry Dog Food Original Turkey & Chicken – This is another one full of protein and omega oils. This is the one that supposedly boasts a great taste. (I haven’t personally tried it, but my dogs do empty their bowls.)

I have a big container in my garage where I mix all three bags of dog food together and these three bags last me a good month of feeding our fur babies.

Have a great weekend, my dear friends and readers!! Start making out your Christmas/holiday lists. It’s good to have something to look forward to, in the near future!!!

FTFRIDAY

Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! Doesn’t Friday just taste like a cool glass of icy water on a scorchingly hot August day?! New readers, Fridays are devoted to the material stuff in life here at Adulting – Second Half. I take off my serious, contemplative hat on Fridays. On Fridays, I list three favorite things, songs, videos, beauty products, food stuff, etc. and I strongly encourage you to list your favorites in my Comments section. Please see previous Friday posts for more favorites, and please check out today’s favorites, below:

Karen Adams stationery – If you are a fan of beautiful old-fashioned paper cards, note paper and paper calendars, like me, you must go to the Karen Adams website. This stationery is some of the prettiest works of art in this genre, that I have seen in a long time. They have a stunning desk calendar that I just had to purchase for 2021, because frankly, 2021 can’t get here fast enough. I hope that 2021 ends up being as beautiful and full of quality, as is the Karen Adams calendar. These items are not inexpensive, because they have hand-done and well-done, discreet glitter accents, but considering how special and rare a handwritten note is these days, isn’t excellent, beautiful stationery worth the heartfelt sentiments being written on it?

Greenboxart.com Masks – Earlier this week I told you about the irreverent and delightful mask I purchased, depicting three angry birds. Well, I went to their website and I found that Greenboxart has four pages of delightfully cute and fun and vibrant masks, mostly depicting animals and nature. If we are going to make masks part of our daily uniform, for the unknown future, they should bring a smile to our faces before we even put them on, don’t you think? Smiley eyes are the best accent, when wearing a mask.

My Life as a Zucchini – If you are one of my regular readers, I know that you were wondering about what movie I picked for the grand finale of Family Movie Night. I picked “My Life as a Zucchini.” This stop-motion, clay-mation movie is short, sweet, funny and poignant. It did not disappoint. You can see it on Netflix and I highly recommend fitting in some time to view it this weekend. The movie is French, and it tells the tale of children in a foster care home. “My Life as a Zucchini” is part comedy/part drama, but whole heart. The movie only runs a little over an hour, which makes a great deal of sense when you think about how painstaking it must be to make a stop motion film. I got us some zucchini fries from PDQ to go along with the theme, and I highly recommend those, too. We devoured them!

Have a great weekend, my dear true-hearted soul sisters (and brothers, too) and friends!!

January = Friday

Hi friends! Happy Friday!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!! New readers, I don’t go to the “whys” of anything on Fridays. On Fridays, I keep it on the surface, and I list three favorite things, songs, products, websites, foods, etc., that make life just a little bit more fun! I strongly encourage you to list your favorite items in my Comments section and please check out previous Friday postings for more fun favorites. Here are today’s favorites:

2020 Mood of the Month Calendar:

https://mashable.com/article/2020-mood-month-meme-reese-witherspoon/?utm_campaign=mash-com-tw-main-link&utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=culture

The “2020 Mood of the Month” calendar, featuring Reese Witherspoon, put a smile on my face and a chuckle in my throat. A whole bunch of celebrities got in on “the mood of the month” action, and they can be seen in the above article, and also on Twitter. I think that we all can completely relate to the expressions shown on their faces. And I don’t think that it’s acting on anyone’s part. Reality bites in 2020, in many ways. And it certainly shows on people’s faces. Actors are just particularly expressive.

Giovanni Rana Gnocci Skillet Kit – If you think that gnocci is delicious, you will think that this gnocci is ridiculously delicious. I purchased this “easy and quick to put together” kit at Costco, without even getting a sample bite first. I feel like I hit the jackpot. Everyone in my family is in agreement that this might be some of the best gnocci they have ever eaten. Bon Apetit!

Friday Night Lights – This is an older TV series (early 2000s), but if you have never seen it, you must watch it now. My husband, my daughter and I have been hooked for about a month now, watching this TV show series practically every single night. Even my eldest son, whose only been here for the week, is completely hooked with us. The show features a small Texas town, whose whole community identity comes from their high school football team. The show doesn’t sugarcoat what it is like for people’s life experiences in remote, rural towns, with limited opportunities, and Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami, remind you that there are good-hearted, “full of integrity and tenacity and dedication” people out there in the world, even when it sometimes seems like these types of people, are few and far between.

Remember, Fridays deserve January’s mood, even in August 2020. Happy weekend, friends!!

Anti-Monday, It’s FRIDAY!

Hello friends!! Isn’t Friday energy wonderful!! Today I woke up in an easy-going, peaceful, calm, in the flow, everything-is-going-to-be-alright kind of a mood for no particular reason. Isn’t that wonderful when that happens? I find that this kind of personal synchronicity with Life, happens most often on Fridays, don’t you? New readers, Fridays are for favorites! I don’t delve into any life analysis/questioning/probing on Fridays. On Fridays, I list three favorite things, movies, websites, songs, products, foods, etc. and I strongly encourage you to add your favorites to my Comments section. Share the happy!! For even more favorites, please see previous Friday posts. Here are my favs for today:

Corwin the COVID Antibody – The picture above is Corwin the COVID Antibody from an Etsy store called Amy’s Organbank. I read about Amy in a news story, as she is a Broadway seamstress, who is relying more heavily than ever, on her side hustles, due to the loss of the Broadway season. She is not alone, in having to find other sources of income, particularly for those in the creative arena. Amy also makes coronavirus stuffies, which she recommends buying and then running them over with your car. I love the idea of really supporting our creatives, during all of this loss and frustration, in any way that we can. Aren’t we all clinging to the things (besides our families and our friends) that bring us joy, during this tough time? And isn’t it, so very often, the dramatic shows, and the books, and the artwork, and the songs that truly bring us joy, in our daily lives?

AP News app – Like most everyone else, I hate looking at the news these days and frankly, I don’t often know which news source to truly trust, if any of them. Back when I was a teenager taking a journalism class, from a tough talking former NYC newspaper reporter, it was all about “just the facts, ma’am”. Only the Letter to the Editor was allowed to venture into any kind of a personal opinion. Nowadays, that has changed. Dramatically. I don’t think anything I read or see in the news, is without some kind of a slant. I don’t think that the AP News is much better in this “facts only” arena, but I do think that they get the important breaking news out first, and they do have good, well-written, heartwarming pieces. I found Amy and her Corwin stuffies from an AP News story. In short, this app is worth the space on your phone, even if you are just skimming the headlines.

Resiliency Journal by Maria Gamb – My daughter and I decided to restore ourselves this week, by visiting one of our all-time happy places, Barnes and Noble. I’m a big believer in the idea that the right book will come into your hands just when you need it to, if you are open to the book “finding you.” I found this little gem (or should I say that it found me), as I was wandering around Barnes and Noble, breathing in all the wonder, calm, peace, serenity, wisdom and happiness that is just so singular to book stores and libraries. As many of you know, I keep a daily short, five minute journal that asks the same questions every day (a former Friday favorite) and this book augments that practice by just five more minutes each day, with really thought provoking, self exploration. This journal was just published in 2020, so it is inspired by weathering through all of the upheaval that we are experiencing right now, in this crazy world.

Have a great weekend, friends!!! Stay safe. Stay well. Enjoy your every living moment. Revel in the simplicity, yet also the complexity of it all, all at once.

Orange Friday

Join me this morning at 9:30a for Finally Friday Hot Slow Flow with straps. Find your zest for Zen!! See you on the mat ♡ #yoginiwithpurpose #loveyourlight #thereikiingyogini #openheartyoga #balanceyoganj #hotyoga #reikirocks #reikichick #reikieveryday #reikilove #yogareikieveryday #reikieveryday #selfloveselfcareselfaware

Hi friends! Welcome to Friday!! Here at Adulting – Second Half, we call it Favorite Things Friday! On Fridays, I stay at the shallow end, and I list three things, stores, foods, music, etc. in my material world that just make my life snazzier, snugglier and all the way around, snipper-snappier. Please see previous Friday posts for more favorites and please don’t be shy about adding your favorites to my Comments section. Here are my favorites for today:

EWBA.net – This site sells really cool handmade wooden signs and artwork that is sure to bring a smile to your face. “EWBA” stands for Everything Will Be Amazing! It is good to be reminded of that fact, during this very tumultuous, dramatic year, isn’t it? The signs are reasonably priced and at the very least, it’s a happy site to peruse and to remind yourself to keep it light.

Sunset Boulevard – I’m not an old movie buff at all, but I watched this classic recently and I am so happy that I did. A mark of a good movie is to keep anyone’s interest, no matter how long ago it was made. Sunset Boulevard was made in 1950. It’s character development and rising tension, is what makes the movie so tantalizingly relevant, even by today’s standards. Go retro this weekend, with your entertainment choices. You won’t regret it.

Masks that Show Your Smile – I read an article recently that masks are now being created that actually show your smile (using clear ventilated plastic), to help deaf people, who rely on reading lips in order to communicate. These masks are becoming very popular with a lot of us, who miss seeing and sharing real, toothy smiles with everyone whom we encounter on a daily basis. I put an order for this style of mask on Etsy, where there are quite a few sellers who are making this kind of mask.

Have a great weekend, my dear friends and readers!!

Quotes about Your favorite things (35 quotes)