Happy Friday + Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday Everyone!

.... Although not that happy for this gal who just had give the babes a kiss goodbye as he'll be out of town in Chicago this weekend for business :(

.... The only upside to this is my opportunity to cook "Alex would hate this" meals (i.e. long noodles, Asian-infused, etc.), I've already started ruminating on hundreds (legit) of ideas, but my indecisiveness will create an anticipated battle :\

That being said, no definitive plans for me except a change in my hair.... I know, I know... I have a problem... But just like cooking, gotta love that you can control what direction you decide to go with and VOILA :)  Will probably swing by and see my parents, catch up on their vacation through Italy while complaining that I was taken along in their suitcase and swim at some point since it's almost July 4?!... and I haven't even taken a dive into their pool yet?!... Shameful.

Any fun plans for the 4th of July we keep low key since our dogs are both terrified of fireworks, whether the big bombshell shows or just fire-crackers that kids around the street play with, so we'll spend the day hopefully gettin' the dogs on a walk and heatin' up the grill before things get too rowdy and we're hunkered inside trying to prevent them shaking out of their own... Poor babes :(

For now, let's focus on the positive.... Best parts of my week :)

1. Catching up with friends always brighten my week, especially when they involve rib-cracking laughter thanks to this lovely lady on the left :) Apparently, catching up with friends also usually includes beer.... Whoops? I think not.

2. It finally stormed at night when I wasn't already asleep where I could really listen, the dogs were quiet and the darkness really brings in the beautiful lightning. So.Peaceful. 

3. One of my staff members sent me a text that warmed my heart to pieces on Tuesday.  Seriously? How sweet is that? Poor thing has been battling pneumonia all week, but glad to hear she's getting better everyday :)

4. This put a HUGE smile on my face... even though it probably means nothing, still kept me smilin' :)



I'm off to see what errands I can run and plans I can make sans my hubby.  Been a year since his last business trip and I remember not likin' it, so gotta keep it upbeat this go around! Wish me luck and any suggestions welcome!

------------------

Now for some of my favorite finds from around the WWW.  Click on the link to take you to the original source!

Favorite Food: Spinach & Artichoke Melt This will be filed under the must-make-ASAP.  It looks so unbelievably cheesy & oozingly delicious and a perfect twist on classic favorite!

Favorite Place: Trolltunga, Norway Alex is Norwegian, which is usually accompanied by a confused face and HUH? Are you sure? considering he's most often asked if he's Italian, Greek, Arabic, Native American, etc. etc.  End scene. His Grandpa immigrated to Argentina when my father-in-law was young so he has family there, but we've always wanted to take a trip to Norway.  Someone want to donate to the Katie-and-Alex-Go-To-Norway fund?! 

Favorite Dessert: Strawberry Angel Food Cake These are three of my very favorite things in the entire world.  Alex has a sweet tooth that no amount of eating everything under the sun can tame, while I am really not too into sweets/desserts.  This looks like heaven in a jar though my friends, and SO perfect to top of our upcoming 4th of July meal, eh?! Plus, angel food cake is so light that while my husband will probably devour about 10 of these, it's definitely a healthier dessert option + strawberries are lookin' SO delish right now.  Hopefully I can find some good ones at the Farmer's Market tomorrow!

Favorite Show: Arrested Development (although a close tie with Kitchen Nightmares).  I'm one of those slow to come around to shows kind of people because let's face it, I'm stubborn as can be and want to keep watching episode after episode of Gilmore Girls, but then I'll catch a peak of a show while snugglin' with my babes at night that's he'll be watching on Netflix and can get hooked super fast + while never had seen this show, I didn't get the whole hub-bub around it, but after watching the first 2 episodes. I. have. been. hooked! Weird, funny, quirky... an a character for everyone!

Favorite Must-Have: Gas + Charcoal Grill This will be in our backyard at some point this summer.... I hope.  When we first moved in, we bought a $30 winky-dinky camping charcoal grill so that broken in several places and just ain't workin' anymore.  We really want a dual grill for the ease of a gas grill that you can just start her right up and control the heat, but have the option of charcoal when you really want that flava'! WIN-WIN!

Favorite Outdoor Space: Outdoor Entertaining Though we Alex has taken big strides in beautifying our backyard, we still don't really have that backyard space grill entertaining, which is a must-have in our future home! After our neighbor built a deck, we've been really toying with the idea to get us that space + it'd add value to the property but I just love this surrean feeling of being able to sit outdoors and eat dinners with friends or just together.  Right now, we have resorted to our gross tiny table on our front porch and after seeing our friend's HEAVENLY backyard last Saturday, my thoughts are endless for the days of my dream-backyard!

Hope you have a wonderful, fun, safe and exciting weekend and a great 4th of July! :)

Link up with Lauren for High Five for Friday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can find me on Twitter: 
@IndysVeggieFix
+ 
Instagram: IndysVeggieFix