Friday Favorites

It's FriYaY and it also happens to be the first week of summer for many of you, so hopefully you have your summer playlist on repeat, some restaurant salsa mixed up and a batch of margaritas chilling in the fridge to kick the weekend off right. If not you need to rectify some things stat (right after you finish reading this.)

Here's a quick list of things I'm loving right now. As always, hit me back with your own recommendations so I can enjoy more goodness in my life courtesy of your fabulous self.

Happy Weekend!

This is How it Always Is
Some of y'all probably saw me binge-reading over the weekend via my Instastory. How I loved this read! Pretty sure I found it via Anne Bogel's summer reading list (if you love books and don't follow Anne's blog The Modern Mrs. Darcy you need to change the way you're living life). It's about a family that has to deal with the major curveball life throws their way.  The title comes from the idea that as parents we frequently make life decisions for our kids based on variables we cannot control and without sufficient knowledge. So relatable. I found myself empathizing with a situation I have never experienced personally and wrestling with how I would react given the same circumstances. SO GOOD!

Tybee Island Marine Center emails
When I took the kids to Savannah in April we joined the Tybee Island Marine Center (for a whooping $25 we got a year long family membership) which is a tiny but interesting building right near the beach that you could see in its entirety in 25-35 minutes. However, becoming a member got me on their email list which means that right now (during turtle nesting season) I get real time updates each time a loggerhead turtle comes to nest out on the beach! It is SO fun to get these little pictures and updates several times a week in my inbox and for real, it has been the highlight of my day more than a few times. The highest number of nests they have had since they began tracking is 23 and just a few weeks in to nesting season, they are already up to 9!! It could be a big year for sea turtles folks.

Elevation's Chocolate Mint protein bars
Maybe you saw this in my Instastory already, but these bad boys are LEGIT YUM.
I've been on a major protein kick this year to help me build muscle in the gym and in an effort to get my huge amount of protein each day, I picked up these bars from Aldi. They are kinda high in carbs (31g if you're watching that sort of thing) but I usually eat little in the way of carbs at other meals (I make up for it with my fat intake #cheese #almonds #chocolate). Most significantly, these are reminiscent of Thin Mints and even BJ thinks they are good. High praise indeed.  

Heavy lifting
I'm still at it and y'all....I am sooooo close to getting that pull-up! I've been using bodybuilding.com to find a variety of great, free plans (like this 4-week plan for women, with nutrition and workouts all laid out for you) and am loving the change of pace from my usual cardio-heavy routine. Lifting makes me feel so strong and confident. Plus at the YMCA there's a tight-knit crew of people who lift so joining the club has increased the adult conversations I have during the week by approximately 750%. I can do a kipping overhand pull-up now and can do a chin-up or a neutral grip pull-up from a dead hang. Fear not, I will for sure let you know the very second I get my real pull-up. (via Instastory, so be sure you're following me there if you care about such things...@leipprandt)

Sexy Marriage Radio Podcast
Huge thanks to my friend Annie for this recommendation. Sexy Marriage Radio is the podcast "that believes the best sex is happening in the marriage bed." The two hosts are married (not to each other) and the focus of each episode is on having great sex within your marriage. Their approach is frank but not explicit.  Both BJ and I have been listening this past month and since healthy, awesome (and sexy) marriages are our heart and passion, I had to share it with you guys. Can't recommend it enough to my married peeps.

Summer Moms Group
This is less of a what-I'm-loving-now and more a what-I-know-I'm-about-to-love.  In two weeks I'm hosting a moms group using this Birds on a Wire curriculum, which is AMAZING. There are six sessions on Purpose, Boundaries, Time Management, Personalities, Discipline and Contentment. I cannot wait to get to know some moms better and encourage one another! If you're local and are interested in joining us, text/email/comment and let me know, we'd love to have you!

What I'm Loving Right Now [08.30.16]

Friday Night Dinners w/ neighbors 
For the past month (since right before school kicked off around here) we've been getting together with neighbors for a casual dinner hosted at someone's house on Friday night. Once we ordered pizza, once we grilled out burgers and dogs and this past week we hosted and did soup, salad and bread. I love having a social start to my weekend but one that's low-key and doesn't require a babysitter.  The kids out-man the adults about 3 to 1 so these get-togethers are neither peaceful nor full of deep discussion, but it is a lot of fun and kind of feels like what neighbors are supposed to do together. P.S. If the cost of hosting a gaggle of friends for dinner intimidates you, serve soup and bread. I think the average cost per serving of this meal was less than a dollar.

Listening to podcasts with my kids 
Totally beats listening to the same NorthPoint music (sorry, I love you Northpoint, but everyone has their limit) on repeat or flipping through the radio. My kids and I are currently loving The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids podcast. Some episodes have a moral bent to them, some talk about a random science subject. All of them have great character voices and sound effects and a sweet little phone call at the end from real kids. It's what the kids ask for now every time we get into the car.

Binge watching Parenthood
BJ and I are mid-way through Season 6 and while I still hate the new intro music on principle (bring back Dylan) I love the characters just as much now as I did in Season 1. What is going to happen with Joel and Julia?! (But seriously, don't tell me.)

Throwing fruit into my water
Lemons, limes, cucumbers anything to make it taste interesting! I've been guzzling 64+ ounces everyday this week in an attempt to stave off my sugar cravings. In related news, cucumbers are the only thing I've managed to grow in my garden this summer.

InstaSnapChatGram (aka Instagram stories)
Since most of my people aren't on Snapchat, I am loving seeing you on Instagram Stories. I love seeing your face and your casual everydayness. Don't get me wrong, I still expect perfection from your actual Instafeed, but I like the laid-back nature of the Insta-stories. If you need more of me overexposing my life, I'll be doing so on both Instagram and Snapchat for the foreseeable future. Username: @leipprandt

Reflecting on my ideal day
A few months back I went through Tsh Oxenrider's Upstream Field Guide program. (This was where I took the Enneagram test for the first time and learned I'm a 7.) One of the things we were made to do during the process was to journal an ideal day. This idea seems so obvious but it was really profound for me to actually take the time to write this list down. I kind of use it as a mental check list about midday now, when I am trying to prioritize the second half of the day: did I take 10-30 minutes to intentionally connect with a friend today? Am I eating well? Have I read for pleasure? If I am really off my ideal day, I can still course correct and feel good about myself come bedtime.

Oribe Beach Spray. 
I bought this stuff because it was on super sale back on Amazon's Prime Day, but I'll pay full price whenever it runs out. Here's my current hair routine: shower and wash hair, towel dry hair, shake this can and spray all over head, leave well enough alone. I love what it does to my semi-wavy locks. Air-drying alone can leave my hair half-frizzy, half-straight and it is simply not an option to blow dry my hair in the summer around these parts. #nothappening Warning: I tried this on Britain's stick-straight tresses and it did nothing. So I think it's probably only going to work for those of you with a little wave in your hair. There may or may not be a guy in the house who has started using this in the mornings too...

The Promise of Autumn
I'm over summer. It's my least favorite season here in the Deep South and I swear I can smell apples budding on trees and tiny green pumpkins peaking out on the vines of farms around us. Right? Right?? I am DYING to say PEACE OUT to shorts and tank tops 'til next May.


What are you loving right now? Any great podcasts I can add to the kids' playlist? Talk it up in the comments.