Recent Dinners + Rainbow Cookie Cupcakes

I figured out the image loading issue with my blog that I mentioned last week. What I haven’t figured out is why my blog emails stopped sending a few weeks ago! My initial approach of pretending there wasn’t a problem and that the issue would fix itself didn’t in fact fix it. I’m hopeful that whatever I managed to tweak in the system yesterday will have the emails start sending again after today’s post.

Recent Meals

I have a few dinners and an excellent dessert to discuss for this week! I wish I had a few lunches to share but I didn’t stop to take pictures of them — I will do a better job for next week.

Pizza!

It had been at least a month since I last had the whole wheat grandma pizza I discovered from La Focaccia.

The crust is so airy and light that it sits so nicely in my stomach. Not to mention, it’s quite delicious.

I’m also still enjoying the whole wheat margarita pizza with a salad for dinner at least one night a week. This has been a routine dinner staple of mine now for about five years!

I’m really trying to have wild salmon for dinner one to two times a week.

I had this salmon with a baked potato and roasted cauliflower.

And another night I made the wild salmon with a baked sweet potato and rainbow cauliflower.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I’m posting more to my stories again. I shared about these rainbow cookie cupcakes last week!

When I arrived at Small Cakes, there were two rainbow cookie cupcakes left so I bought them both – one for me and one for my son.

My son did not eat his cupcake the day I bought which, to me, means that it was now anyone’s cupcake the next day. He didn’t really agree with me but hello, eat it the day I buy it or it’s up for grabs.

I’ve also been eating an apple again every night as a snack. I bought organic honey crisp but also decided to go back to granny smith apples too. If you are a longtime reader, you may recall that I lived on big granny smith apples for years! Then I got tired of them. Well, now they are back in my life so I will share some new apple snack photos next week. In the meantime, I did a quick “apple” search in the blog media library which revealed tons of results from over the years.

Top Favorites From 2021

I don’t really know where the year went. Do you?

The months feel like a quick blur although November seems forever ago and spring is a far off memory.

I took a look back on the year to round up some of my top favorites in 2021 in all of the important categories. While I’m sure that I’m missing something, I did include the important stuff like desserts and Stoney Clover!

Favorite Food in 2021:

Do I have to pick just one? How about I pick two favorite foods?

If I stop to think about favorite foods, my mind goes quickly to dessert.

First, Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookies. They are definitely the BEST.

2021 was the year I decided that I actually like and enjoy chocolate buttercream – when it’s done right. While I’m usually a chocolate fudge fan, Magnolia Bakery really makes an incredible buttercream that has me choosing it over fudge frosted cupcakes.

Just one more favorite food! I was so happy to go out for our Mother’s Day breakfast tradition after not being able to do so in 2020.

Nothing beats baked oatmeal!

Favorite Stoney Clover Purchase in 2021:

Another tough one to narrow down! How about my Stoney Clover notebook? 

2021 became the year when I chose Stoney Clover’s sky blue colorway as my favorite. It’s just so pretty.

Okay but using my Stoney Clover duffle in the sparkling cider colorway for the first time was pretty exciting this year too. It’s VERY HARD to pick just one favorite Stoney Clover color!

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Favorite Running Gear Find in 2021:

Absolutely the Alo Yoga Hooded Runner Long Sleeve Top.This top totally rivals lululemon’s Run Swiftly only it is stretchier and has a hood.

Side note: Beyond Yoga Space Dye Leggings and Cropped Tanks became my go-to everyday outfits in 2021.

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Melissa Wood Health:

2021 became the year that I switched from Pure Barre to yoga and pilates with Melissa Wood Health. I really can’t say enough great things about her and her platform.

Although I credit Pure Barre for building my core strength and ability for pilates, Melissa’s workouts take things up a notch in such a pleasant, more effective way.

Favorite Beauty Find in 2021:

Obviously, it’s not easy for someone like me to pick just one favorite beauty product given how many I use in a day and how many I try in a year.

BUT.

Tatcha’s Kissu Lip Mask made it to the top of my must-have beauty essentials list this year. If you haven’t tried it yet, YOU MUST.

Favorite Splurge Purchases in 2021:

These sandals and these sneakers. I never regret a splurge purchase because I know exactly what I’m doing — I’m investing in my style. I pick classics that I know I will wear not only now, but in 20 years too. And if anything, in 20 years, I can decide to sell the item and still make back the money.

I much prefer to spend top dollar on what I really want than to spend less, not love it, and then buy something else because I didn’t get it right the first time.

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Favorite Moments in 2021:

It’s hard to believe my son graduated from high school and started college (with full scholarship – so proud!) this year. I don’t even understand how time went so fast over the years yet the fact that graduation was six months ago seems so far away!

This Edible Arrangement from graduation was definitely a winner.

I’m not usually the type to rank work moments in a top favorites list but honestly, it was so great to see my work family in person again this year! November was extra fun because a bunch of people were in town so we spent a few days together in the city both in the office and out for fun dinners. It was a really fun staycation.

I barely remember my beach runs this year but I know that I loved them — summer was tough because I was so focused on getting my son ready for college (and waiting for my long-distance relationship not to be long-distance) that everything else seemed to happen all blended together without me noticing.

I really can’t wait to get through winter and back to the summer months! Give me all the summer heat, sweat, and humidity for running over the dark, cold, and snowy winter months.

Top Viewed Blog Posts in 2021:

Cold S’mores (No Back & Super Easy)

Drunk Elephant Skincare Routine

What Fits Inside My Stoney Clover Fanny Pack

What To Eat The Night Before A Long Run

Pure Barre FAQ

 

Happy New Year! See you in 2022!

I Ordered Something Different At Cheesecake Factory! (plus other recent meals & desserts)

 

It’s that time of year when no one knows what day it is exactly. While I worked yesterday and Monday, I am off today and for the rest of the week — and I’m really excited about it.

Backing up to late last week, we brought in dinner from The Cheesecake Factory on Christmas Eve. When we aren’t away, we usually have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner because they are open on the holiday.

Okay, so. You aren’t going to believe this. Even I can’t believe it.

I decided to order the veggie burger for the first time ever. And, this is the first time in oh, over 20 years, that I ordered something instead of a salad.

For normal people, it’s not interesting when they tell you that they ordered something different. For someone like me, it’s a HUGE DEAL.

I think I once shared the story of how I once ordered something other than my favorite salad back in 2000 and regretted it so much that I wanted to do dinner over again. Ever since then, I’ve only ordered a salad and only recently did I try a different salad other than the barbecue ranch salad!

I’ve been talking about maybe trying the veggie burger for a few months now. I finally did it when I was in the right mood!

I really liked it too.

Looks good, doesn’t it?! I did not regret this dinner decision.

I wonder if I will order the veggie burger next time or go back to my usual salad choice! My guess is that I will still order salads most of the time but it’s nice to know that if I want something different, the veggie burger is a great option.

On Christmas, we did our usual Chinese food. While I miss the boneless spareribs as a vegetarian, I do still love and appreciate the steamed vegetable dumplings. Always have, always will.

Of interest; Why Jewish People Eat Chinese Food on Christmas 

Last night we had dinner from La Piazza with my parents for my dad’s birthday. I really think La Piazza ranks as one of the best pizza places for grandma pizza in New York.

Uncle Guiseppe’s has become my new go-to spot for dessert. Rather than get a cake, I opted for a variety of giant cupcakes and mini chipwiches filled with frosting instead of ice cream.

You can always rely on me to bring the best desserts.

I actually reached for the vanilla frosted cupcake first. Not sure who I am but it’s what I wanted! Then I had half of the chocolate frosted – just to make sure I’m still me and still a proper chocolate lover. 🙂

Anyway, I’m working on an end of year top favorites of 2021 post for Friday! See you then.

Recent Meals On A Friday

Is it okay to share recent meals on a Friday instead of Wednesday?!

There’s no particular order here to what I’ve been eating. Just a quick round-up of what’s been on my plate.

Here’s another big salad bowl from CAVA! I usually stop into CAVA once a week.

I will definitely give them credit for loading my bowl so nicely with all of the toppings and choices I make while walking down the cafeteria line to build my order.

Have we discussed that I like this chickpea pasta slightly better than Banza? While I do like Banza and still buy it, I try to get this version from Whole Foods instead. There’s something about it that is ever so slightly better in my opinion.

i had this slice from vegetable pizza one night when Mario’s was OUT of my favorite whole wheat margarita pizza. Also, we won’t discuss the rising cost of pizza. Nope, not even going there. It’s actually embarassing what I pay for a slice of pizza right now.

Once I like something, I tend to order it again and again. I had the Magic Mushroom salad again from Beatnic while working n the city this week. It’s so good.

The menu is 100% vegan with a lot of fun options. I should try their version of chicken nuggets next time. I did taste the air-baked fries with beet-styled ketchup. Very tasty!

I had a big plan while in the city to grab a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery but it didn’t happen this week. Trust me when I say, it will happen next time.

I did have this chocolate cupcake from Cake Don Cupcakes recently. It was good, nothing original or spectacular.

My new favorite go-to dinner lately is a basic salad and baked sweet potato. I’m not sure how I fell into this delicious habit but it has been making me very happy come dinner time.

I go through phases with potatoes. Either I don’t eat them for a while, or I only eat regular potatoes, or I only eat sweet potatoes when I roast them in wedges. Right now, I only want a baked sweet potato as it really hits the spot for me.

blurry picture but you get the idea!

Oh, and I also went back to eating this three-layer hummus from Trader Joe’s. It was a favorite of mine and then I stopped buying it for months. I’m happy to be back to it!

Since it’s Friday, I have a quick favorite to share — Stoney Clover’s collaboration with Roller Rabbit is live on their website. The hearts and rainbows are everything to me! I really want the large pouch.

A Few Recent Meals + Magnolia Bakery Cupcake

Yesterday, I was all excited to report that it was already Tuesday.

And now today, while I’m thrilled it’s already Wednesday, it almost snuck up on me in some ways. Like, oh, I need to post about food today? Ok, shoot, let me pull something together.

I was in the city at Bloomingdale’s on July 4th and had lunch (a roasted beet salad) at Forty Carrots.

I hadn’t been to the city Bloomingdale’s since before the pandemic so it was nice to make my return. Although, I think they took away the giant frozen yogurt display?

I have this picture in my blog media library from 2019 when I last stopped at Bloomingdale’s for yogurt.

One of my favorite things to do is to order a frozen yogurt and shop while eating it.

According to my blog, the last time I sat down for lunch at the city Bloomingdale’s Forty Carrots prior to this past weekend was with Michele from Paleo Running Mama.

While I didn’t have the infamous frozen yogurt this time, I did have a Magnolia Bakery cupcake. There’s a Magnolia Bakery on the first floor of Bloomingdale’s.

Magnolia Bakery really is that good. This chocolate cupcake was perfection.

You can tell that the weather wasn’t typical for this time of year because I had long sleeves on with my skirt while drinking iced coffee. We go from heatwave to rainy and cold, back to heatwave.

Monday’s weather was back to summery for my beach run. I brought my cold oatmeal with blueberries and peanut butter to eat after my run. I wasn’t really hungry but I ate it anyway.

I was, however, very hungry when I left the beach so I picked up a chopped salad from Town Bagel on the way home. It would be a lie if I tried to remember every ingredient in this salad.

And well, that’s all I’ve got for today.

I’m a little surprised at my lack of pizza pictures to share but I think it’s been a week or so since I last had a slice! Maybe this means I should have pizza for dinner tonight. It’s definitely that time of year when cooking of any form really doesn’t happen. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Workouts From Week + Time Outside + Milkshakes

A few things to note before getting to my workouts:

1 – Friday morning after my run, I took my son to have two wisdom teeth pulled! While he’s okay, we all know the pain of wisdom teeth extraction (at least I do, as I had four pulled when I was 16) so I’ve been busy taking care of him as if I have a baby again. When I was up with him at 4:00 am yesterday, it definitely reminded me why I did not workout as a new mom. I remembered just how tiring it all was and how much it would throw off any routine I thought I had.

Looking back, I would 100% approach my workout routine (or lack there of) the exact same way if I were to do it again. Please do not let social media fool you into having to be superwoman when the reality is, that just doesn’t work for every parent. Those early years go so fast, there’s plenty of time to return to your workout routine.

2 – I definitely want to be outside walking or running more than inside doing Pure Barre lately so you will notice a trend towards more time with cardio, less time with Pure Barre workouts. That’s okay, it all balances out, especially as I see the sun rising later and later which always affects my time outside for workouts in the morning anyway.

3 – I do really like the treadmill right now. While I am still naturally choosing to be outdoors when it’s sunny, I don’t mind when I am indoors on the treadmill. I get in great running workouts on the treadmill these days.

And before getting to my workouts, I figured you would like to see what we got from Smallcakes.

You should know that my son has had four milkshakes since Friday.

Two from Stew Leonard’s (Oreo and a vanilla), a vanilla milkshake from Carvel, and Saturday night’s shake was from Smallcakes. I had the cupcake pictured below and he had the cupcake shake (without the straw). To make a cupcake milkshake, they blend a cupcake of your choice into your choice of ice cream. He had a chocoholic cupcake (I think that’s what it’s called) with vanilla ice cream. He said this milkshake was his favorite of the four milkshakes, although he also said all were good. I think it’s so hard to tell when your mouth hurts BUT  I would have liked this cupcake milkshake the best too. 🙂

 Monday – One Hour Walk/10 Min Pure Barre

Gorgeous out this morning! After my walk, I combined two, 5-minute Pure Barre workouts (arms + seat).

Tuesday – 30 Min Run/10 Min Pure Barre

Overcast but excessively humid today. I ran the same type of run I’ve been running lately – fartleks throughout the 30 minutes. I actually thought I would have averaged out faster but I guess the slower sections were on the slow side (maybe from the humidity).

After my run, I chose a 10 minute full body Pure Barre workout.

Wednesday – 4 Mile Treadmill Workout

I ran today because I was due to wash my hair and figured that I might as well sweat it up if I’m washing it anyway!

Treadmill run  — Original plan was 30 minutes but I was at 3.6 miles at the 30 minute mark so I continued to 4 miles.

No formal workout to report other than a 10 minute warm up of 5 minutes easy/5 minutes alternating 30 seconds hard/30 seconds easy. Following that, I ranged between 7.0 as my easy and bumping up to 7.5 – 8.1. I would call this a comfortably hard workout.

4 miles= 33 minutes. Whenever I run 4 mile workouts, I think of the 4 mile race I’ve run twice. First time in 2012, I remember crossing the line at 33:13. Today was faster by a few seconds even with a 10 minute warm up. In 2016, my finish time was 31: 37 (not adjusted, hate that).  Recap of that race here.

Thursday – 45 Min Walk/25 Min Pure Barre

Friday – 4 Miles

I ran quick before taking my son to have his wisdom teeth pulled!

Saturday – 5 Miles

I wasn’t quite sure what I would get outside for this morning as I wasn’t really sure how our night was going to be. My son actually slept okay (considering he was in a lot of pain during on Friday) so I was able to get outside for 5 miles. Although I think I was still tired.

Sunday – Long Walk/5 Min Pure Barre

My son had me up twice at night so my morning started later (I went back to sleep around 5:30 am) and was different from planned. Originally I figured I would do a Pure Barre workout but my son went back to sleep in the den and I didn’t want to disturb him so I went for a walk instead. It was GORGEOUS  outside anyway. I was outside probably 90 minutes – walking while on the phone makes the time go so fast!

When I came home, I did a quick 5 minute Pure Barre workout for arms in my room since I had my laptop in there anyway.

I used 5 lb weights instead of my usual 3 lb weights – oh boy, I felt the difference.

[bctt tweet=”Workouts from the week on the blog today #workouts #running #treadmill #wisdomteeth #purebarre #smallcakes @pure_barre” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Are a fan of milkshakes? What kind do you like?

Ever have your wisdom teeth pulled?

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes + Birthday Meals + What I Bought

 

We left off on Wednesday with a bit of a dessert situation. All I wanted was a chocolate fudge cupcake and somehow I could not locate one. Thankfully, my dad saved the day. He showed up on my birthday with not only chocolate fudge cupcakes but hello kitty chocolate fudge cupcakes.

These chocolate fudge cupcakes are just like the cupcakes I would bring to school way back in the day to celebrate my birthday (same bakery!).

I was so happy. It’s the littlest things in life that make me happiest!

My son made sure I received an edible arrangement for my birthday.

Lunch with my friends on my birthday was terrific. We were trying to figure out where the time went since our kids were babies but let’s not focus on that because that’s a scary conversation. Instead, let’s discuss the vegetable salad that I love from Emilio’s.

It’s such a great salad. I’ve mentioned it before here on the blog.

The vegetable salad is served all chopped up in a tight pile.

And then you break the salad apart as you eat.

The chocolate lava cake came with waiters singing and one of those big sparkler candles.

We went to Cirella’s for dinner. This did not go as planned as I really didn’t feel well. I’ve been fighting off a sore throat since being slightly sick a few weeks ago and then, of course, it had to go and break out on my birthday. By dinner, my throat really hurt to the point where I couldn’t swallow my food. I basically took the entire meal home.

Oh! My friend bought me donut doormat!! How much do you love it?! Did you spot it at Target yet? This is the same friend who bought me the I donut care mug last year!

And in keeping with the Friday trend of sharing some fashion finds, here’s what I bought this week, all on sale:

These Melissa Sweet Flip Flops. I love them with the gold bow and they are really comfortable in addition to being so cute!

I’ve wanted the heart flip flops in the beige/bronze for a while so I finally made them mine.

And this Alo Yoga Knot-Front Sports Bra (which is currently sold out but I’m giving you the link just in case they get it back in stock) fits so well! I hope you can locate it if you want it too.

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Have a great weekend!

 

 

Weekend Highlights: Cupcakes + Pizza + Velvet

 

I spent Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday driving my son to/from where he needed to be. In between, I took a few pictures to capture some highlights.

First, some cupcakes. I was in the area of Smallcakes so I decided to bring a few home. The one with the m&m’s is actually a brownie. My son said it was terrific!

Pizza again.

My son and I stopped for pizza early Friday evening. I had this slice for dinner and he had his slice as a snack before going out for dinner with his friends. Boys are funny like that.

After running Saturday morning, I rushed out the door to get my son where he needed to be. Then I got my hair blown out (my favorite thing to do) and then landed at the mall.

I hadn’t had Maoz in a while so I figured why not. The roasted cauliflower is the best although I didn’t finish the bowl. While I do love Maoz, it’s a bit heavy for my stomach so I try to avoid that feeling. It might be the oil they use? Not sure.

I’ve been resisting these Vintage Havana Camo sweats since I saw them but I am certain I will go back to get them. I mean, look at the pink velvet stripes!! Velvet is totally my thing and totally trending right now in both fashion and event decor. You know event decor and fashion trends go hand in hand? Have we discussed this fact yet? There’s your event industry lesson. Fabrics, colors, and patterns that are seen on the runway and most often seen at weddings and other events. If I was having a winter wedding, I would totally choose a velvet linen for my tables right now.

Related: I still love these Vintage Havana sweats that I purchased last week!

Sunday morning I met a friend for my second breakfast. When was the last time I ordered an omelette? Probably about a year ago? I don’t really do eggs but felt like doing eggs yesterday for a change.

Then I stopped at Trader Joe’s followed by getting my nails done.

Once I picked my son up, he requested that I take him to a specific location so that his snapchat map would register he was there. Don’t ask. This is a total teen thing right now. Life is all about where you are on the snapchat map according to your friends or where you might be since you didn’t announce it but it’s obvious on the map. Since I am cool and totally understand these things, I cooperated and took him to a specific spot.

It just so happened that this spot was near my parents’ house so we showed up there spontaneously for dinner.

Pizza and salad = My life.

Time for another week, have a good one!

[bctt tweet=”Weekend highlights with a lot of food pictures on the blog today! #weekend #pizza #food #likeit #fashion #vintagehavana #velvet” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Best thing you ate over the weekend?

Who had a winter wedding? What were your colors/fabrics? Did you go with the season or go with what you always dreamed of as your wedding decor?

 

Outdoor Dining + Tried Smallcakes + Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Issues

 

Well this week felt as though it went slow but at the same time, it’s all a big blur. My son has been away now for two weeks which seems really weird, like how is it going so fast?! Where is the summer going?

Let’s include some pretty pictures from my son’s tour today to start off my Friday Favorites. He doesn’t send me much but I begged for a few scenery shots so that I can appreciate all that he is experiencing this summer.

As you may recall, he is busy touring the west coast! I believe this was from a hike somewhere in Utah.

And this is the Grand Canyon. Am I dating myself by saying that I always think of when the Brady Bunch went to the Grand Canyon?

We know I am not the outdoorsy type (unless it’s the beach) but I do appreciate the scenery. My real jealousy is about to set in though as he leaves the hikes and tours of such nature behind and heads to my kind of fun by seeing Las Vegas and all of California. What a summer for him!

Okay,  moving on to my favorites from the week!

Favorite Fitness:

I haven’t really been in the mood to run very much which is weird considering I don’t run a lot these days anyway at all! Whatever the reason, I didn’t force it this week when I knew I didn’t feel like it. Instead, I switched up my routine, did Pure Barre back to back, chose the elliptical, and took longer walks than usual. Who am I to suddenly like to go for a walk?

Favorite Food:

I’m picking last night’s dinner and dessert as my favorite meal from the week!

We went to Salt on the Water which is one of my top Long Island outdoor dining spots.The hometown appeal plays a role here for me but I also think Salt is gaining popularity from all of the instagram and social media hype too.

My only issue with Salt is that they change the menu every summer season so what I liked last year or even the year before is no longer available.

I did LOVE the fried mozzarella for this season though! Yum.

I did not love this salad. Nothing special about it, especially for the price.

Instead of dessert at Salt (weak dessert menu) we chose to go over to the new cupcake bakery, Smallcakes. I knew exactly which cupcake I was going to order as soon as I walked in and saw this cutie!

It’s called the Chocolate Cream: chocolate cake filled with our signature buttercream topped with fudge frosting and a dollop of buttercream.

Perfection. This is now my cupcake although I do want to go back to try a few more, plus try their ice cream creations too. I love that we have a cupcake bakery again!

Favorite Fashion:

So some honesty coming at you right here. There’s all the hype over the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale which gives early access now to cardholders and then opens up to everyone July 20 – August 5. I went through their website looking for what I think we need and here’s the honest part, I don’t love anything.

It’s a real issue for me as I do like to share links to what I like, especially when it’s on sale. But I can’t share links to items I wouldn’t buy for myself so I’m struggling right now to share anything with you that I see worth it. I will keep looking over the weekend but ugh, Nordstrom is not really my store. I love their restaurant and they have a great shoe department but overall, I do not find that I can really shop there like I can at Bloomingdale’s.

I’m not giving up though! Give me some time to see sort through the sale stuff. I just wanted to be honest and not link to anything I wouldn’t want for myself.

These glitter sneakers though, I do love these. 🙂

So many of these fun sneakers are on sale at Shoe Box but I’m still debating if I want another pair of glitter for the fall or if I should go another route! Like, this lucky rainbow pair, I think this is the pair I really want.

What do you think? I’ve had my eye on them for a really long time and the sale price is quite enticing. Once I decide, I will let you know!

Have a great weekend!

[bctt tweet=”Friday Favorites on the blog today including sneakers I need, dinner at Salt on the water plus a yummy cupcake from Smallcakes! #fridayfavorites #saltonthewater #longisland #cupcakes #smallcakes” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Are you shopping the Nordstrom anniversary sale? Is there anything in particular you are looking for or have seen that you think is a great find?

Best thing you ate all week?

Do you have a cupcake place near you? Favorite kind of cupcake?

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Favorites – November 2016

 

Who else is super happy that today is Friday?!

Dior Makeup:

You know by now that I am obsessed with Dior makeup.  I went to the mall for new lululemon running tights the other day but see, I parked my car at the Bloomingdales entrance which means I made a stop at the Dior makeup counter and um, never made it to lululemon.

Oops.

I needed a new Dior eye shadow palette, a new blush and a new black pencil liner. As Jill, my Dior makeup girl (that’s what I call her) at Bloomingdales always says, every girl needs a good black liner in her makeup collection.

Related: Winter Beauty Favorites & Dior Favorites

Henri Bendel 2017 Planner:

It was a really scary decision to switch from my Erin Condren Life Planner but I fell in love with this 2017 Gown Girls Planner  from Henri Bendel and just had to get it.

I was immediately drawn in to this planner because of the girls on the cover! It makes me so happy to look at and I find it rather fitting for all of my wedding and event industry work that I do on a daily basis.

I still need a pen and paper to write things down, I cannot switch over to only using my google calendar and phone notepad. In fact, if there’s something in my google calendar, I write it down in my planner too.

I need a planner that is big enough to take notes but small enough to place in my bag when I go to meetings and things like that in the city. This planner has plenty of lined pages in the back and good space for each week. I am really excited to start writing in it!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes:

I wanted a chocolate fudge cupcake yesterday so I stopped at The Bakery. Crumbs is no longer open in my area which makes me sad because I loved their brownie cupcakes, especially with the chocolate fudge filling in the center.

This chocolate fudge cupcake was delicious even without a fudge filling  in the center although I think all cupcakes should come with filling in their centers!

Favorite Links This Week:

This week I came across a few great posts on eating disorders, disordered eating and body image.

Why I’ve Always Hated The Word Balance via Imma Eat That

6 Years Later via Fit Foodie Finds

The World Didn’t End When I Gained Weight via Clean Eating Veggie Girl

Recipes:

Super Traditional Vegan Stuffing via Oh My Veggies

20 Easy Thanksgiving Recipes via Averie Cooks

Tried and True Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes via Peanut Butter Runner

20 Meatless Thanksgiving Recipes via Cookie & Kate

Have a great weekend!

[bctt tweet=”Friday Favorites! #dior #dioraddict #makeup #Friday #cupcakes #henribendel #recipes” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Do you have one favorite makeup brand or do you like to buy from a bunch?

Favorite kind of cupcake?

3 things you have planned for this weekend?