These weeks keep flying by, HOW does that happen?!?!?  I must say, I LOVED my week off from cooking!!  Such a treat!  I can honestly say I have never done that before, but will definitely again.  It was obviously a little pricier than cooking every meal, but if you balance it between some lower priced places, it’s not too bad.  And fun for older kids too, you could have everyone pick a place for a night.

(And YES,  I Have posted next weeks meal plan and shopping list – we’re cooking again!)

I’m actually getting doubly lucky as our fabulous neighbor offered to bring us dinner tonight (Thursday) and I’ve learned NEVER to say no to any kind offer like that!!

As a side note, I love to do this for friends….you don’t need to have just had a baby or have had something tragic happen to appreciate meals brought to you.  Who hasn’t had a busy, trying day and just WISHED that they didn’t need to make dinner?  It’s like playing the “Dinner Fairy”.  So next time you’re making a big batch of chili, lasagna, soup, etc, instead of freezing half for your family, send an email to a friend and tell them you’re dropping dinner off and they can’t refuse.  You’ll make their day! I truly love to surprise friends like this.  Once a friend called to say she had made a roast beef the night before and she wanted to drop off sandwiches for us that night as she knew my week had been pretty crazy, she did along with chips and a fruit salad. I had actually made spaghetti sauce that morning, so I was able to send her home with something for another night too!  Just something to think about….

Now onto the rest of the Friday Favorite Finds….

(Image: Whisk Kid)

The first Friday Favorite, I apologize, as I first read about this cake on Twitter, but I’m not sure who tweeted about it now!!  Some of you may have seen it earlier this week when I posted it to Facebook.   None the less, check out this AMAZING Rainbow Cake from Whisk Kid! Can you STAND IT! How awesome is this cake??  Of course if you felt a little too stressed out to try it,  you could always ask your bakery to do it for you, or a thought I had (since I think this would be so cute to do for a March “Lucky Birthday” and I’ve got a few myself), is to bake a vanilla cake, and then divide up the vanilla butter cream frosting and color it all the rainbow colors (instead of the cake layers).  Use the white buttercream on the outside and the colored buttercream for the layers.  Not exactly the same, but a time saver.

The next Friday Favorite is the Valentine Cornerstone Dish from Juliska.  I most definitely {HEART} this dish!  And I also {heart} Juliska, read more here…This Cornerstone dish is so perfect for putting rings and such in.  It would be so sweet on a nightstand or next to your sink with your jewelry, or maybe at your desk with paperclips.  I just think it’s simple and chic, and knowing that it has the little love message underneath just makes me smile.  And a GREAT Valentine minding to give at $20!  Call Juliska toll free, 888.414.8448 and order one up for your mom, your girlfriend, your daughters, your grandmother!  I placed my order this week as I’m sure they will sell out before Valentine’s Day!

This third Friday Favorite is BOUND to become a new full time favorite.  I LOVE Bumble and Bumble products and I LOVE Holiday Salon. When I got their email newsletter this week, this is what I read about the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Serum:

“Wearing thin? This nightly, leave-in treatment fattens and fortifies over time for thicker, stronger strands and fuller hair (really).

Who: Those wearing thin, the fine, and the ultra-fine.

When: Nightly. Twice-daily for the ultra-fine.

How: Before bed, pump serum into palms 2 or 3 times; work into roots and through damp or dry hair. Longer hair types should pump again and be sure to smooth through ends.”

The reason this was soooo exciting to me is that after being pregnant for 3 years, my hair is WHACKED OUT!  I have short hair, long hair, lots of stand on it’s end baby hair, Ewok hair that looks like it’s growing out of my ears, but it’s NOT!!  The thought that there might be something out there that will help my thin and depleting hair become whole and thick again is WORTH my trying it out!  AND Holiday Salon is offering 25% off the B&B Thickening Serum until February 1st if you mention their January newsletter….run, don’t walk and purchase this! (I checked with them and they are cool with our readers mentioning it too for 25% off!) GO, GO, GO and get that thick hair back again!  I want to hear your success stories!

You may have seen my last Friday Favorite this week from my Facebook post.  It comes via Tiny Oranges, a Favorite local OC blog.  One of her readers shared her favorite nursing sports bra:

“My Stroller Strides instructor recommended the Fiona bra by Moving Comfort. I found it at Roadrunner Sports in Laguna Hills or many online retailers. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but WELL worth it!  The velcro straps come down easily and also adjust if you need a bit more or less support.  It think it will be great even when not breastfeeding for this reason. It also comes in sizes up to DD/E, which is hard to find in a jog bra.  So, happy pain-free running to new mommies!!”

I remember STRUGGLING to find a good sports bra after #2 was born.  I don’t know who those HUGE things on my chest belonged to, but they were not mine and they didn’t fit into any Nike XL sports bra that I thought would be AMPLE big.  I’m thinking nursing or not, that this is a GREAT tip to know about while you work on that baby weight. OOHHH, and it also comes in 5 colors to suit your fancy. I ordered one this week and will be sure to let you know!

That’s it!  Have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday.  Don’t forget to check out the current Giveaways (at the top of the page).  And there are a couple more fun ones coming up next week!  Friendly reminder to GET YOUR VALENTINE CARDS ordered, made, addressed, glued….whatever you need to do to get them COMPLETE!