Good morning and happy Friday to you!
The weekend is almost here, which means it’s time for another Friday favorite: What I’m Loving Lately! Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Vietnamese cold brew coffee – OMG. Love. It’s cold brew coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk and, oh my goodness, it’s heavenly, especially the stuff from Whole Foods.
Stitch Fix now has shoes – How cool is that?! If you’re interested in SHOES, be sure to update your Style Profile with your shoe size, schedule a Fix, and request SHOES!
The ”˜Let Them Bleed’ Style Of Parenting – Love this. We’re totally behind it!
Cousins in plaid – We took Quinn and Matthew to see the Easter Bunny the other day (Q-Man was not a fan), and they both wore plaid. Little boys in plaid = too cute.
Little Green Pouches – We love pouches in our house, so when the nice folks from Little Green Pouch reached out about trying their reusable food pouches, I was ALL about it.
Quinn basically lived off pouches (and smoothies) before his surgery, so I know firsthand just how expensive they can be. At one point, he was having 5 or 6 a day, which meant we were spending a good $7-8 everyday on pouches. Oy.
Thankfully, Quinn isn’t consuming a mostly liquid diet anymore (and can breathe when he eats now), so he’s a lot more interested in solid food, but he still loves a good pouch every now and then, especially when he’s just too busy to eat! #toddlerlife
In addition to being super cost-effective, the Little Green Pouches come in a variety of sizes (3.4 oz, 7 oz, 14 oz), so they’re perfect for little people and big people. I love that just about anyone can use them for everything from pureed baby food and fresh smoothies to yogurt and applesauce.
I also love that they are really easy to make. They unzip at the top, so all you need to do is pour your contents inside. For our Sunday prep this week, I bought a big container of yogurt and applesauce and then just poured them into the individual pouches with the help of a mini funnel (a spoon works great too). It took me maybe 5 minutes to fill them all.
I ended up making 10 pouches for the week filled with yogurt, applesauce, or a parfait of yogurt + applesauce, and they’ve been a huge hit. Quinn likes them as much as his expensive, store-bought pouches, and I love that they are such an affordable, convenient, and eco-friendly snack option.
As far as cleaning the pouches, they’re dishwasher (and freezer) safe, but I had better luck just cleaning them by hand. As you can see, we’re really loving Little Green Pouches, and I definitely recommend them!
Whole Foods Parm Crisps – I am totally obsessed with these and plan to buy them all the time now. They’re such a tasty snack and go so well with a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc!
The Struggle of the Introverted Mother – This was interesting.
Vanderpump Rules – It’s such a guilty pleasure and so embarrassing to admit that I watch it, but I recently got sucked in again. What is it about these people that makes them so interesting?!
These Baby Elephants Think They’re Lap Dogs – So cute!
Unreal Candy – I got these from Whole Foods at Derby Street the other day, and they are so delicious and made with all real ingredients. Yum! Definitely keep a look out for them!
Video of Halifax athlete Lindsay Hilton goes viral, inspires millions to get active – So incredibly inspiring. She’s a CrossFitter and participating in the Open!
Question of the Day
Do you watch Vanderpump Rules? If so, WHAT is the appeal?
Those parmesan cheese crisps sound amazing – yum!
I recently caught an episode and am totally hooked! the show is like a good soap opera meets reality = total magic!
I used to watch Vanderpump rules but stopped. It was just too much drama. Don’t get me wrong. I’m still highly addicted to the Housewives of every city!
I love these posts. The pouches are such a great idea! How are they to clean?
I need to get those pouches for my twins! Yesterday I was giving them yogurt, but they are teething and HATE spoons in their mouths – yet they also hate when I walk away and decide that yogurt time is over lol. I can’t win. This seems like a great solution to help them feed themselves! I’m not brave enough to try bowls and spoons yet, maybe a couple more months?
I am addicted to Vanderpump Rules!! I honestly think its the hot mess of every that draws me in… it’s like watching a car accident- terrible but somehow I also can’t tear my eyes away!
We’re getting a Whole Foods in the area this summer and I basically have a list now of things I want to get. I’ll be adding those cheese crisps and candy!
I absolutely love coffee! Whole foods is a guilty pleasure of mine. I can wander around forever. You never know what new delight you will discover.
That CF athlete is amazing!
There’s a Vietnamese restaurant down the street and they always have their iced coffee advertised for $3.00 (which is a steal), now that I know it’s delicious I might have to stop by and grab one. Every great weekend starts with iced coffee 🙂
I laughed when I read “I own this b****.” in the Let them bleed article. My husband and I stand behind this article as well – although sometimes Mama bear comes out and I can’t stop it, lol.
I love Vanderpump Rules, too…I don’t know why, either! My husband always says I’m too smart to watch it, but I can’t stop! 🙂
I wished I had the little green pouches when my 8yo daughter was younger-the cost of those add up not to mention the waste . I love parmesan crisps too but they are SO EASY to make. Italians call them “frico” and its basically just mounds of grated parmesan baked on silpat for about 5-6 minutes. Easy and much cheaper than buying them already made. And, check out the story behind the Unreal candy-its a cool little story and young boy and his brother was behind the development of the line.
Have a great day!
I’m obsessed with Vietnamese coffee, too! It’s SO good! Same with Thai coffee. I couldn’t stop drinking it in Thailand : ) Have a great Friday!
I think Unreal rebranded a little, but I’ve tried some of their peanut butter cups and love them! And those Parmesan crisps look awesome!
It’s the drama! I feel like their lives are completely different from my own and that seems to be what I can’t get enough of! Plus I love me some LVP! Haha
I do watch VPR, and I can’t help but get sucked into their nonsense! It’s my guilty pleasure as far as reality TV is concerned. My husband explains it as “that show you watch with the drunk waiters where nothing ever really happens”.
bravo did a great episode this past week about putting together the first season; the producers are HILARIOUS! you should definitely check that out if you haven’t already!
I have those little green pouches too. They are the best!
I too watch Vanderpump rules and am so not proud of it. It is so dumb, but so addicting!
I’m so glad you mentioned the “Little Green Pouch!” My toddler loves pouches, but I purchased a reusable one awhile back and it would never get fully clean. (I tried everything!) I threw it out because I didn’t feel safe giving it to him anymore. I love the idea of the zip closure for easier filling/cleaning. I am definitely going to look into these! Thank-you!!!
Im such a bravo fan. I’ll watch anything – James on Vanderpump Rules is such a tool. How could anyone be attracted to him?
I’m obsessed too! I’m so embarrassed. But-this article really sums up the appeal..http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-vanderpump-rules.html?_r=0
Thank you!!
I NEED to try the Vietnamese iced coffee at Whole Foods.
Something else you (well, Quinn) might love – there is supposed to be an eaglet hatching soon in DC and there is a live cam to watch the action: http://www.eagles.org/dceaglecam/
Hi Tina – question for you. What are you favorite snacks for biggest bang for calorie buck? I’ve started running again (although I’m not anywhere close to marathon status as you are) and I’m finding it hard to stay satiated throughout the day. I notice my appetite shoots up more with running than any other physical activity. Thanks! Have a great weekend!
I’m a big fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. They always fill me up! Basically, anything with nut butter fills me up! 🙂 I also ate a lot more meals when I was marathon training instead of just snacking. At one point, I was eating 5 or 6 meals a day!
I am also embarrassed to say I watch Vanderpump Rules. It is a guilty pleasure. They are just awful, such great TV. I also love Big Brother, I think I am a voyeur??
I love BB too!
I do. I’ve always loved those types of reality TV like the Real Housewives and I’m not sure why but I can’t STAND Jax!!! He just makes me cringe being almost 40 and acting the way he does!!
OMG, I love VPR! I stopped watching about a quarter of the way through this season because it was making me sort of first-world-problems-depressed, but recently started watching again. Andy Cohen had Scheana, Stassi, Kristin, and Katie on WWHL last week and told them about this article http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-vanderpump-rules.html
I think the show is so appealing because their lives are SO different than ours. We constantly stress about bills, kids, or our health, whereas their concerns are just…in other places. It’s a weird little escape to watch that show, and I’m often able to laugh and roll my eyes and think, “Man, thank God I have real problems.”
Thanks for the link!!
I love the unreal brand of candy! Their peanut butter cups are so scrumptious, but I haven’t tried to m&m version yet!
I loved the article about being an introverted mother. I said that exact thing to my husband and mom a few weeks ago – I told her that I feel like being an introverted mother makes it harder b/c you rarely get to recharge and that leads to more burn out. I soooo relate to this. It’s nice to know I’m not alone! Thanks for sharing.
I must try those green pouches! They look awesome!
That coffee looks delicious!
I used to buy those parmesan crisps at Whole Foods and then they went away for a while so I stopped looking! THANK YOU for telling me they are back!! They are SO good.
Love the article about being an introverted mother- I have this constant struggle thinking that I will never be able to be a “good” mom someday because of this although I would love nothing more than having children someday. It’s good to know others share the passion of wanting to raise kids and then needing ME TIME as a sacred thing everyday.
I am going to have a little boy in May and I have already bought way too many plaid shirts for him. I can’t help it though! They are just so cute! 🙂
The coffee looks great and those pouches are awesome!
Hi! How is the enclosure part of the pouch? Are you worried that part may pop open? Thanks!
They’re actually really tough to get open, so it’d be really tough for it to pop open on its own.
I hate to admit it… But I love V Pump! Ugh. Sad but true. My husband totally doesn’t get it. He thinks I enjoy watching their drama so my life feels more in order. Haha. The show is completely ridiculous… But so good at the same time! Those pouches are such a good invention – I might need to give them a shot for my babe!
I love that you got those pouches!!! And filling them is a breeze + dishwasher to clean them. Winning!
Love the article about the introverted mother! Makes me feel less guilty for looking forward to alone time after spending the day with my kids 🙂