Friday Favorites

Today I'm linking up with Andrea, Narci, and Erika for Friday Favorites!

Is it just me or has this been a long week? I'm so ready for the weekend. Most of the weekend I'll be studying but I have a few fun plans!  Friday night my awesome church, Elevation, is having a live recording in the arena here in Charlotte. Saturday night I'm babysitting my little cousins and I'm so excited! 

ONE

This favorite is a 2 for 1. This week just needed some chocolate in it. You know what I mean? I just came home from work and knew I needed chocolate in baked good form. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has these cravings ;) I didn't want to have to run to the grocery store so I whipped up Mix and Match Mama's Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with ingredients I already had. 

Hey to my roomie, Kaitlyn in the background haha!

So for the second part...this cake was the perfect opportunity of me to try my new Cake Stand from Ikea. It's actually on sale right now! I was really picky about what cake stand I wanted and looked forever till I bought this one. I wanted a classic and simple stand but I wanted one with a matching lid. Apparently that's hard to find without spending way too much!

I love it. It's so much prettier to store your cake in a glass cake stand rather than tupperware!

TWO

I mentioned on my Mountain Weekend recap post on Wednesday that I'm reading a new Liane Moriarty book and it's so good! 

I haven't finished it yet but I'm already hooked. The story line is unlike any book. It has an air of mystery and multiple storylines throughout. I highly recommend it!

THREE

I moved into my new apartment in Charlotte in mid-May and just now got my barstools. They were on backorder for what seemed like forever. My apartment doesn't have space for a table so using barstools is the only option. So...for the past 2 months we've been eating all our meals on the couch. To put it lightly, I'm so glad to have a table to eat at! 

It doesn't hurt that they are so cute! I love that the add a little edge to my apartment. I'd love to hear what y'all think.

FOUR

Last month, I did a Birchbox review and this week my box for July came in! I can't wait to finish my review for next week. Stay tuned! When this box came in, I knew it was going to be a good one. The box is so fun...here's a hint of what's to come...

So pretty! Can't wait to share my thoughts on this month's products with y'all.

FIVE

Okay, okay I know a lot of people disagree with me on their thoughts on Kaitlyn as the Bachelorette but personally I love her. Do I agree with all of her decisions? No. But I'm a firm believer in that people have the fundamental right to make their own choices and own up to their own mistakes. 

I love her because she's one of the first Bachelorettes ever that was real. She is so much more relatable. She messes up, she isn't always poised, she doesn't say the right thing all the time...just like the rest of us. I personally am obsessed with her and Shawn and can't wait to see where their relationship goes! Hoping they have a great future ahead of them!

Okay, getting off my soapbox now!

Have a great weekend y'all! xoxo

Weekend in the Mountains

This past weekend I went to my parent's home in the mountains of North Carolina for my Mom's birthday! It was a short visit but a lot of fun. I left straight from work Friday night and immediately got stuck in traffic. YUCK!

It's about a 3.5 hour drive so I had to stop to get dinner. I went with a healthy choice of Sonic :)

I got in around 9 that night. I caught up with my parents and sister. Katherine, my sister, had just came home from Thailand for a mission trip. We went to bed early to get ready for a busy day tomorrow--Mom's birthday!

We started off the morning with waffles...be still my heart.

Do you like my Mom's bear themed plates ;)? We decided we needed to burn off those delicious waffles and went for a hike. The birthday girl was happy to have everyone with her!

Our dog, Gracie, was less than amused.

Afterwards, we came and played a board game Katherine gave my Mom, iKNOW. It's a fun trivia game that was quicker then other trivia games. It would make a great housewarming gift! 

I snacked on chips during the game and was thrown off by how big the bag was!

Then we had lunch and since it was my Mom's birthday we celebrated with some Prosecco! 

Look at that sass.

If you've never put slaw on your hotdog...try it, trust me. You won't regret it.

Of course we had to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake!

After lunch, we headed to the lake for some swimming, paddle boarding, jet skiing, and reading out by the water. For my Mom's birthday, I gave her the best gift ever (a slight exaggeration)...a selfie stick!! It's not expensive and it is so much fun! We had a great time using it everywhere we went. 

I haven't had much time to read lately so most of the afternoon I sat by the water and read The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. I just love her books. It's funny and creative. The stories are not ones you've heard before and she has a lot of character in the way she writes. Highly recommend.

I caught this crazy lady taking selfies! haha

Later that afternoon, we went home and got ready for dinner. Snapped a few selfies with my Mom before leaving. I promise it wasn't just my Mom and me there! 

My sister and I in the car on the way to dinner. Do you think we look alike??

Dinner was delicious and the view was amazing. Of course, I had a glass of Prosecco.

For my Mom's birthday dessert, they brought out fried Oreos and Ice Cream and it was so good. Fried Oreos...slays me. 

Then we went outside to take some pictures by the water. We goofed off a lot with the selfie stick. My sister refuses to smile for pictures.

Love these crazies.

We had a great (short) visit. Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you! 

Have a great day, friends!