Friday Finisher 8/7/15

O Friday, these Finisher introductions are never easy to write. I’m not sure what to say, but am pretty sure you just want to get to the weekly links and pins. Am I right? 😉 If I was a Friday Finisher fan, I’d probably skip this part too, no shame! I guess just a few updates. Last weekend my mom and I had a little mother-daughter time. We got some sun at the pool (I haven’t been to a pool in at last 2 years!), nice way to cool off quickly as you’re sunning. We happened to be close to a TJs so we picked up just a handful of things, 2 of which I’ve already made into delicious dishes. And of course a nightly walk, which I will always love doing and missed all last year.

Just a simple week here, which has become the motto of summer 2015. Wake-up before the sun, go to bed with the sun, and fill the days with simple things. I guess it’s not bad. Some people like whirlwind vacations, going here, going there, others like downtime, and I think that’s what I’ve needed, what I’ve always needed summer to be.

But the Friday Finisher is perfect for any type of summer, simple or not. You can read while your jet setting on a plane going to Europe, cruising down to Aruba, or chilling poolside with the kids. With that, happy Friday, happy weekend, happy summer!

SS Posts from the week:

Monday: Modern Macaroni Salad

Tuesday: The Awakening Of Yoga

Wednesday: Dijon Tilapia With Peach Zucchini Salsa

Blog Posts and Links I loved this week:

Life, Mind, Body, Spirit:

+ Believing You Are Worth More Than Your Schedule In A Culture That Glorifies Busyness

Never feel like doing less makes you less.

+ Yoga Soul Snack: Don’t Take It Personally

Hard to do, but opinions from others don’t matter, really.

+ In Defense Of Doing What You Love

This girl. Read her blog!

+ Do Stuff. Fail Well. Learn More. Repeat.

I think that defines life!

+ Post This On Your Bathroom Mirror

Print this out, read it every day!

+ The Lazy Way To An Awesome Life: 3 Secrets Backed By Research

It’s about keeping the right people around.

+ Embrace Failure To Meet Your Goals & Be Awesome In Real Life

I’ve always been a big one on embracing “failure“.

+ Feeling Stagnant? 5 Ideas For When You Need A Fresh Start

Education and learning a new skill is always a great way to freshen up!

+ 40 Questions That Will Quiet Your Mind

These are pretty deep.

Fitness:

+ When It Comes To Fitness, One Size Doesn’t Fit All

This was such an enlightening post! Read it! I think I found my “right” program for maintaining, but still challenging, awhile ago.

+ 10 Natural Ways To Keep Sitting All Day From Ruining Your Back

I dare you to actually do the exercise ball one while in the office 😛

+ How To Become Comfortable In Your Own Skin

When what you used to do just isn’t right for your body anymore.

+ Is It Okay To Run & Lift On The Same Day And Still Get Results?

This may still surprise some people.

+ Heavy Weights vs. Light Weights

It really just depends on your goal!

+ Half Marathon Training Plan Level 1

A plan like this seems super doable!

+ Interval Workouts: The Rest Is Where The Magic Happens

The actual interval may not be the most important part!

Food:

+ McDonald’s Begins Closing Restaurants Across US As Clean Food Movement Sweeps America

Amen! (Starbucks is about to surpass McDonald’s in locations!)

+ Understanding Nutrition Claims

Don’t be fooled by the labels and words you see.

+ Let’s Talk About Being A Vegetarian Who Doesn’t Talk About Being A Vegetarian

Super interesting! How you “eat” really shouldn’t be that big of a thing and it doesn’t need to be if you don’t make it so.

+ 5 Mistakes To Avoid When Making Veggie Burgers

There is an art to perfect burger making! But there’s still time to learn!

+ 12 Reasons To Quit K-Cup Coffee

My #1, it’s disgusting. You don’t know coffee is you drink K-Cups (looking at you family!)

+ Yes, I Brought My Own Food To Your Party And Here’s Why

Story of my life! Haha! #truelife

+ What Does Heirloom Actually Mean?

Like an heir to the thrown. The thrown of deliciousness!

+ Reusable Food Wrap

Holy crap! This is awesome! What a cool DIY!

+ Why You Shouldn’t Throw Away Corn Husks

I’m telling you, there need not be any food waste!

+ 13 Super-Nutritious Foods You’re Probably Throwing Out

And you don’t have to! I will keep reinforcing this to everyone!

Health:

+ Living With Invisible Illness

Those of us with chronic conditions that you can’t see on the outside.

+ What To Do When Your Lab Tests Are Normal, But You Still Feel Off

Because this is all too real.

+ 10 Things I Wish I Knew About Celiac Disease

These are all spot on. But #4…for real!

+ Everything Vegetarians Need To Know About Vitamin B12

Your nooch must be fortified!

+ Don’t Define Your Diet By What You’re NOT Eating

It’s about what you ARE eating!

Blogging, Social Media, Tech & Photography:

+ 31 Days Of Writing Prompts For August

I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t always include these posts!

+ What Is The Best Blogging Advice You’ve Ever Received?

I’m not sure I could say what mine is just yet. I feel like I’m still waiting for a revelation.

+ Why Google Thinks Your Blog Comment Is Spam

My god. If you are a host of a link party and you leave a comment and link telling me thanks for sharing on “blah blah” link up, I delete it (or just that part of the comment). So annoying!

+ How Facebook Came To Be The Most Depressing Place On Earth

But we still, and always will. come back.

+ The Writing Tools You Need To Attract Your Readers

A good writer attracts good readers.

Other:

+ On The Importance Personal Of To-Do Lists And How To Stay Accountable

I think this is what I do!

+ I Have No Idea What You’re Talking About. And I’m Not Sorry.

Let’s all stop pretending and let go of the feeling that we need to already know.

+ 25 Of The Most Ridiculous Things People Got In Trouble For At School

Hahahahahahaha! This makes me feel better!

+ One Of The Biggest Ways College Students Are Ripped Off Is Getting Out Of Control

I’m still sick over the fact that I spent almost $200 on ONE bio textbook and never even opened it. And no, at GW, we couldn’t wait to get books, you were expected to have them the first day of class and some teachers would give you a grade!

+ 6 Rules You Need To Follow If You Truly Want To Avoid Office Drama

Because it’s kinda like high school.

+ 5 Unusual Tips To Fake The Perfect Smile In Photos

Great tips if you can remember in the moment! (But hopefully you aren’t always faking your smiles!)

+ 5 Reasons I Never Want To Have Kids

I have always used #1 as one of my reasons.

+ 23 Reasons Lazy People Are The Smartest People In The World

#5, #15, #17, #18 😉

+ How To Actually Get Into Disputes Over Your Diet

For some more good chuckles 😉

Favorite Pins:

(Follow me on Pinterest – RebeccaGF666)

Avocado Dill Vegan Roasted Potato Salad. I am a full believer in roasted salads!

Smoky Black Bean Burgers with Guacamole and Plantain Chips. Veggie burger + plantains? Um, yes!

Creamy Sweet Corn + Blueberry Ice Pops. I think these win in the popsicle category!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Cheesecake Frosting & Cookie Crumble. Yea, and this is vegan. This just makes you want to cry tears of joy!

Chunky Monkey Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches. That is way to cute and so healthy!

Raw Salted Caramel Creme Brulee. I’m kinda embarrassed that I am such a huge foodie and have never had creme brulee 😛 Now I can!

Grilled Salmon Salad with Blueberries and Figs. I just want this for lunch every day! 3 stellar foods in one awesome salad!

Thai Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon. More salmon, because it’s just so damn good!

Eggplant Caponata Crostini. That caponata looks fantastic! (There’s even cocoa powder in there!)

Tahini Dark Chocolate Vegan Granola Bars. You know I love everything about these!

Vegan Mango Kulfi Ice Cream. This is why I believe food and cooking is the most beautiful art form.

Iced Tahini Mocha with Maple Tahini Cacao Sauce. Need I say anything else…at all…

One Skillet Tuscan Chicken. O it’s dinner time!

Black Bean Burgers with Cilantro Lime Sauce. Who wants a big bite of that!?

Healthy 5-Ingredient Cake Batter Freezer Fudge. All that cashew butter goodness! I always freeze bites, bars, fudges, so good!

A few things I loved about my week or am grateful for:

+ I got some fun packages from some awesome companies! We’re talking Banza and Windy City Organics. I am also blaming WCO on the fact that I opened my first can of pumpkin for a Fall recipe idea yesterday with one of their products. So yes, no shame, there was pumpkin goodness happening in my kitchen…all for the blog 😉

+ I started a new book! No, not on the Kindle (still holding off, but I might change my mind once school starts!). I’m now reading Always Watching, by Chevy Stevens. She is a great author! Read her books!

So tell me:

+ Jet-setting or relaxing summer?

+ Pumpkin in August. Shame? No Shame? No shame here! I plan on some pumpkin pancakes tomorrow!

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