Friday Favorites

Happy, happy Friday, all! Nothing major to report from this week. It didn't necessarily drag on, but it didn't fly by either. I had a not-so-great day on Tuesday, but the week luckily turned itself around. Happy to have made it to Friday!

On to the faves...

FOOD

One favorite this week was doing all our cooking on Monday night after work so I wouldn't have to cook throughout the rest of the week (Sammy is working most weeknights this week, so dinner is on me). I was in the mood to do it so I figured I better run with that.

We had chicken parm on Monday night and I used the gravy my grandma made and froze for us AND basil from our plant outside which tasted amazing. Of course the picture I took of it where it looked amazing seems to have vanished, so here's this lovely shot.

We had turkey meatball soup on Tuesday night which, as you'll see in the next picture, did not at all turn out looking like this gorgeous photo.

here!

Super appetizing right? Ha! And actually by the time we ate it on Tuesday, the rice had soaked up all the broth so it was more like a stew type consistency? I ate mine with parmesan and crushed red pepper sprinkled on top and really liked it, I just need to play with the recipe. I swear I can't ever make soup properly. I have a feeling Sammy picked out the meatballs and just ate those the rest of this week ;)

 We had slow cooker chicken fajitas on Wednesday night.

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Another phenom photo, I know. Anyway, these turned out really well and I would love to add corn and black beans to them next time. I'm obsessed with putting plain greek yogurt on stuff in lieu of sour cream and have made Sammy a convert. So. Good.

I had plans with my dad last night, so Sammy was on his own dinner-wise, but we'll see what he comes up with tonight ;)

PURCHASES

The backpack I got on Amazon that I posted about last week ended up having a jacked up zipper, so I had to return it. I ended up at Target over the weekend and I picked up this one and have gotten several compliments on it already. It's more functional than the other one, but I still wish these "fashion" backpacks were a little more functional. Major first world prob, I know.

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I do love the lining inside, it's super cute, and when the side zippers are unzipped, the whole backpack gives me Celine tote vibes which I'm totally here for. Now I need to see if there's a way I can makeshift this into a convertible bag...

While at Target, I finally found the wallet I've been looking for. It's SO plain it's almost painful, but it's exactly what I've been looking for. I can't believe how hard it's been to find a black envelope wallet with a snap closure (rather than a wrap around zipper), but I seriously haven't been able to find one. $14.99, a ton of inner compartments, super sold. It makes feel incredibly adult when I pull it out and I couldn't tell ya why, but I really dig it.

here!

We ordered this glass pendant lighting for our kitchen. I'm super excited to see them hung up, which I'm hoping is happening as I type this ;) We ordered the "Edison" lightbulbs as well but they're too dim for the kitchen, so back to the drawing board on those.

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For someone who has such a hard time with light fixtures, and seems to hate everything, I really love this piece. We've decided to spray paint all other light fixtures in the house because it's cheaper and I just don't care to continue looking at anymore fixtures haha but if it isn't feasible to spray paint the fixture in the downstairs bathroom, this is the one for us.

here!

I just love how this looks so much.

Another purchase fave I mentioned last week is this lamp. Really love how it looks on our half assed entryway table. Can't wait to fill that frame and get a candle or some flowers on here and call it a day.

I ordered these white wood floating shelves from Jane and I think they're going to look great on the wall over our couch, if it ever gets painted.

I also ordered this lunch box from Jane for $10! It also came with an insulated lunch bag. My mom's exact words when I sent her a picture of it: "Hahahaha. You really like your lunch contraptions." I DO, MOM.

For the last few years, I've gotten my dad Ravinia tickets for Father's Day and we go see a concert together in August. Two years ago we saw John Fogerty, and last year we saw John Cougar Mellencamp. So we have a theme of seeing badass men in concert. This year was no different, got him tickets for Father's Day, although, I'm not sure you'd call Steve Martin and Martin Short badass ;) I mean, I would, but that's 'cause I'm a dork.

My dad and I are super, super about the Father of the Bride movies, so when I heard these two BFFs were going on tour together and appearing at Ravinia, I knew I had to get my dad tickets. I can't wait to see what these two come up with. I just love them so.

MISC

The weather has been so dreary lately with a bunch of fog, mist, and gray skies, and normally I can usually vibe with that kind of weather, but it's been getting me down this week, so it was a welcome favorite to see some blue skies peeking through the clouds at the train station on Tuesday morning.

And look at this sky when I left the house yesterday...

Additional faves:

-Having deep dish with my dad last night for our weekly dinner tradition.

-Earlier this week the gears on my bike went out--classic--so I had to use Sammy's randomly one morning. He texted me later that day saying he had gone to the bike shop in town, bought new gears, and replaced them on my bike. How cute is he?

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That's all for me!

We have plans on Saturday and Sunday, but they're chill plans so the weekend should be calmer than the last several have been. We're taking some professional family photos with Sammy's family on Saturday and then going out for dinner to celebrate his parent's thirtieth wedding anniversary, and on Sunday I'll be taking it easy and spending the entire day with my dad and siblings and I couldn't be more excited to spend time with them. If you know me, you know how highly I think of my dad, so any excuse to celebrate him is a win in my book.

Have a great weekend everyone! & Happy Father's Day to all the amazing men and father figures out there. We love ya.

*Linking up with Christina and Andrea!