1.9 Friday Favorites

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Hello friends! Happy Friday! How are you doing? What are you doing this weekend?

We hang out here and at home and I’m looking forward to a low-key weekend away after lots of holiday activities and adventures. It’s suddenly winter here in Tucson – rainy and freezing! – and we enjoy lots of puppy cuddles between the two trying to stop Lola from destroying all the furniture.

(I always try to take a photo of Maisey and Lola together but they always move together at lightning speed)

Liv turned 14 yesterday and I can’t even believe it. Many thanks to my OG reader friends who have been here since the early days. Yesterday a few of you contacted me on Instagram to tell me that you were reading the blog while I was shaking it teaching Zumba with it in my belly. It really feels like it was yesterday and there are 14 lives at once.

Her birth story, part 1 is here And part 2 is here.

I post fewer children here on the blog – I ask permission before posting anything – but she is the wittiest, sweetest girl with a heart of gold. She’s also obsessed with K Pop, which is one of the main reasons we’re going to Seoul this summer. We just had cake here at home since we are going 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 hearing about your favorites, so feel free to shout out something you like in the comments section below.

Table of Contents

Fashion, beauty, chance:

Always the Rio Farm! They had so many great sales this season, but this one just Rent the track. I still use and love the unlimited subscription. It’s great for events and travel, and it also keeps me from shopping *a lot.* 😉

Oak Essentials goodies! They offered me a body lotion And candle before the holidays and I loved the products so much that I ended up buying more as gifts. The lotion is super hydrating with a light scent – it’s a tiny bit of pine 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 platter season.

Sculpt Society now offers nutrition and loved the new recipe and meal inspiration. I am 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 home workouts. Use the code GINAJAN here to try it!

I started this audiobook and I already feel like it’s had a huge positive impact on my mindset.

Fitness, health and good nutrition:

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

And while I don’t think refined sugar and processed foods should be a part of everyday life, we will always make room for fun things from time to time (see below lol).

– These gluten-free and dairy-free cones. So good.

– I also bought Sweet Loren’s puff pastry and it is amazing. This definitely exceeded my expectations, especially since many gluten-free baking options can be busts. I made a few Nutella pastries and also a few Pop Tart creations with strawberry jam, a simple frosting and sprinkles.