Hey beautiful people, happy to be chatting with you today after a bit of an extended hiatus 🙂

I’ve been slowly writing this post over the past few weeks but only now feel like I amassed enough in it to publish. I really really love everything I’m sharing in this post (as with every favorites post of mine), and I really hope you check some of these things out and that they bring a little extra joy to your day or week.

Let’s jump in!

Food

Minestrone Soup

Confession here. I had plans to make this soup for about 3 weeks before I finally forced myself to get on with it. It’s not that I don’t like soup; I really do. But it’s one of those things that I just never crave and always feel like I won’t enjoy until I’m spooning it in my mouth like “wait this is so good; why don’t I have this more often??” only to promptly forget about that experience and go back to shunning soup.

Well I am recording this here for posterity’s sake in the hopes of steadily rebuilding my relationship with soup because this minestrone was simply too good to have been a one-time affair. It was actually my first time having minestrone (because who orders soup in an Italian restaurant lol), and I was so surprised by how much I loved the combination of the tomato base with beans, potatoes, pasta, and other veggies. It was like the love child of chili and vegetable soup, with an extra twist. We had it sprinkled with parmesan cheese which took it to a whole new level, and it was the perfect cold-weather warming filling meal. We happily enjoyed this for three days in a row — a major rarity in my household — which should tell you how much we loved it.

Best Pumpkin Bread

ATTENTION! I have found…the HOLY GRAIL pumpkin bread recipe. It’s been a long time coming you guys; I have a TON of pumpkin bread recipes saved. Unfortunately many of them have been either a) not pumpkin-y enough or b) way too sweet or c) dry and crumbly. Well this one is none of those things. It’s made with a whole can of pumpkin (so convenient!) which lends both a strong pumpkin flavor and a moist texture. It’s sweetened with just a bit of maple syrup and some chocolate chips (non-optional, in my humble opinion), so it is the perfect sweetness level. And it’s honestly dreamy with coffee as a morning or afternoon treat. Or a midnight snack; hey, I won’t judge.

Fudgy Almond Butter Blondies

I baked these in honor of my boyfriend’s birthday because my new thing is celebrating my loved ones’ birthdays from a distance by baking something I feel they would love. Or is it just an excuse to bake more treats for me and my mom? Eh, let’s call it a win win. 😉 We absolutely ADORED these. Perfect for when you’re craving a brownie but not as chocolatey haha. DEFINITELY will be a repeat recipe.

Flourless Fudgy Brownies

We love an alliteration, and we love these brownies! 😉 I was really craving a fudgy chocolatey dessert that would be nutritious enough for breakfast (though lezbereal I don’t really have rules about what I will eat for breakfast). As I scrolled through my massive arsenal of bookmarked brownie recipe (anyone else?), I decided to try this one mostly because I was running low on all kinds of flour, and I do love nut butter-based brownie recipes.

We demolished these SO FAST in my household. Wish I could blame the dog, but she can’t have chocolate. These are so moist and fudgy and perfectly satisfying, while yes, still being quite nutritious! Added to my list of faves for sure!

Hello Fresh

Had to include this because last week, my mom and I finally redeemed the three Hello Fresh meals that I’d gotten her a few birthdays ago. Who knows what took us this long, but no better time to try it out than during a cold and snowy pandemic winter, eh? The three meals we selected were a zucchini tomato ricotta flatbread, a salmon with dijon sauce and roasted potatoes and zucchini on the side, and sirloin steak with a side of roasted potatoes and roasted green beans. All of these were SO GOOD. Truly restaurant quality, and my first time preparing steak was way more successful than I envisioned! I definitely see what the fuss is about with these meal kit delivery services, and I would for sure order again in the future, though I think it would be in a little while. To be honest, as delicious as the meals were, I mostly crave simple and basic, so having steakhouse-worthy dinners three days in a row felt slightly overwhelming haha. The very next day I baked my favorite no-yeast bread, which we enjoyed with butter and smoked salmon for dinner the next two days, and it was just the return to comfort I needed. 😀

Best Ever Chocolate Banana Bread

I tend to be a purist with banana bread and usually prefer it totally plain or with chocolate chips. But for some reason, this chocolate banana bread was calling my name for weeks, and I finally decided to just go for it when I had a particularly intense chocolate-craving week (do you guys get those too??). I’m so glad I decided to get out of my banana bread comfort zone, you guys. It’s so so good. Also goes insanely well with the next item on this list.

Heart Coffee

I’ve been loving ordering coffee beans from my favorite NYC coffeeshops while I am not able to visit those, so I can still enjoy my favorite coffee from home, but this was my first out-of-town purchase! I first tried Heart on my Portland trip 4 years ago, and it was without a doubt the best latte I have ever EVER had. Including since then! I don’t know why it took me so long to think of ordering beans from them, but I finally ordered this blend, and it has been PHENOMENAL. Absolutely my favorite coffee beans thus far, with Birch Blend from Birch Coffee as a very close second.

 

Workouts

Yoga with Adriene

The thing I love about Yoga with Adriene videos is I can select the one that I really feel my soul needs. Often, I will mix and match a few videos to really create the customized yoga experience that I am craving that day. Without fail, I always feel  like a better, more centered, and more grounded version of myself once I leave the mat. Some of my favorites lately have been Explore, Trust, Burn, Yoga Morning Fresh, Stretch, Inquire, Snuggle, and Pause (more of a meditation).

Power Yoga

Power yoga is one of my favorite workouts that really pushes me, yet also encourages me to be super mindful and present in my body and really tune in. I’ve said it before, but it really feels like a workout, massage, and therapy session all at once sometimes. My favorites that I have done recently were this 80 minute Gayatri Yoga dynamic full-body routine, this 70 minute Gayatri Yoga flow (so. many. push-ups.), and this hour-long Shona Vertue power yoga routine that is actually an old favorite that I rediscovered.

HIIT

I really love hiit once or twice a week when I feel like I have a lot of energy to burn off. I find that when I don’t release that pent-up energy, I have a hard time falling asleep and am way more prone to anxiety. But I also definitely don’t feel up to doing hiit every day of the week by any means. Listening to my body never leads me astray 🙂

HIIT Cardio + Butt and Thigh Strength Workout – 55 minute workout that covers all the bases of the lower body and packs a PUNCH

This 37-minute hiit workout honestly surprised me with how BRUTAL it was. It really sneaks up on you, and I love how thorough it is in a relatively short amount of time. Includes a warm up and cool down too!

 

Books

1984 – A surprise favorite! I got this book as a Christmas present and totally didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. It instantly drew me in, and I couldn’t put it down for 3 days until I finished it. Though it’s a dystopia, it felt like an escape somehow, probably because the world described there is a far cry from anything we are experiencing today. If you were a fan of the Hunger Games or Divergent series, this felt similar for me except with way better writing and character development. 🙂

How to Win Friends and Influence People – I finally got around to reading this classic book after having it on my shelf for over a year. I loved it and actually think every single human would do well to read it and study its methods. I think as for most people, the advice in this book felt very intuitive to me, but seeing it laid out on paper and backed up with tangible evidence was powerful. This book sometimes gets a weird rep for being some kind of manual for the power-hungry corporate executive who wants to master mind control and manipulate people into getting its way. But if you read the book, you’ll know the methods taught in it are pretty much the exact opposite. They are not designed to “hack” other humans or get you somehow ahead of others. They, in actuality, are meant to make you a more empathetic, kind, and open person. And I think our world certainly would benefit from more of that.

 

Watching

The Social Dilemma – You’ve probably heard about this new Netflix docudrama about the problems of our highly connected world. Though you probably know or suspect many of the things this film reveals, there are some pretty eye-opening takeaways. I especially liked that it explored both sides of the “social dilemma” and that they had some of the biggest names in the industry honestly weighing in about the problems they had unwittingly introduced. Definitely worth a watch.

John Mulaney The Comeback Kid – Not my first time watching it, but I love John Mulaney, and this is some of his best material. Makes for a great date night by the way (and thank goodness for Teleparty and Netflix)

SNL – They’ve been killing it lately with their skits. I’ve genuinely been laughing out loud as I watch them, and the celebrity guests recently have been so good. Some of my favorites were Super Bowl Pod, Blue Georgia, and Zillow. Just watch these somewhere where you won’t disturb anyone with your guffaws. :p

Shawn Mendes Interview on The Zach Sang Show – This is hardly new, but it’s been in my Youtube queue for months, and I finally got around to watching it. I was so pleasantly surprised at how mature, self-aware, and genuine Shawn Mendes is. This interview really showcases his personality and has so many nuggets of wisdom, plus super interesting background on his album Wonder, which I am a big fan of.

The Person You Really Need to Marry TEDx talk – Another one that had been hanging out in my queue for ages. A must-watch I believe. Especially in light of Valentine’s Day coming up.

Olivia Rodrigo Driver’s License on The Tonight Show – I’ve heard people saying this song is overhyped or overplayed, but I think that’s always the case with great music that blows up really fast. Whatever your opinion is on the song, it’s obvious that Olivia Rodrigo is MEGA-talented both at singing and song-writing, and this live performance really showcases that.

 

And that’s a wrap for my favorites lately! Let me know in the comments what you’ve been loving recently, and definitely tell me if you check out any of my recommendations here. Lots of love to you xx.