A trip to Tahoe with good friends was exactly what my mind needed. Plenty of sleep each night, relaxing in front of the fireplace, mountains of fresh snow and time skiing and enjoying the fresh, cold California air is the break that I needed after a pretty draining January.

As promised, in regular Friday fashion, here is this week’s version of Friday Favorites. So, as you sip that second cup of coffee and count down the hours until the weekend begins, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

Please imagine small lab rats with weights tied to their tails. This is what scientists did to figure out which type of exercise is best for the brain. Turns out that distance running is best for improving the brain!

My favorite Summer NYRR race opened yesterday, The NYRR New York Mini 10k! If you are looking for a fun, Summer race in New York City or a destination race, this is a great option. The world’s original women’s race, it is always a fun morning including some superstar runners, flowers and medals at the finish line and this year even a free digital race pictures. Even in last year’s horribly hot conditions, this was a new 10k PR and I loved the event, so I will definitely be running it again this year.

Bo and I always love cooking Indian food at home, though rarely invest the time needed to make the delicious dishes. After seeing this Afghan Braised Chicken in in Yogurt on Anne’s blog yesterday, we pinned it and added it to next week’s menu.

This week Well+Good shared their perspective on the 7 hardest workouts in NYC. It turns out that Bo and I have only tried four of them so the others have been added to our list for February and March. I think Tone House intimidates me the most!

After using Laura Mercier’s Translucent Loose Setting Powder for four months, it has quickly become a step in my daily make-up routine I will not forego. It takes just seconds to apply, lasts for ages and takes my look from done to flawless. It doesn’t show to the naked eye but instead just makes you look a bit more fresh while also helping your makeup, even if it’s a tinted moisturizer, stay in place all day even through a sweaty workout.

Almost daily Rachel inspires me with her delicious, mouth watering pictures and simple, straight forward recipes. When I saw that our pantry has all the ingredients for this chocolate chip banana bread recipe, I pinned it for Sunday night. I want to try making a muffin version as I swear this would be the best motivation to wake up for early workouts. A tiny bite of goodness before Barry’s Bootcamp or Brooklyn Bodyburn? Yes please!

While organizing my beauty closet this week, I discovered my favorite winter fragrance, Tom Ford’s Black Orchid. I thought it had been lost in the move when in fact it was just hiding under a few hair sprays, body scrubs and makeup samples. Luxurious, unique and woodsy, this fragrance is unlike anything else I own. The rollerball size is my favorite as I can stash it in my purse or in my travel bag.

I love that Delta is committed to improving their plane food so much so that they want fliers to say that it is wonderful food instead of “wonderful for plane food.” What better guy to partner with than Danny Meyer to take their in-flight food to the next level. Hopefully some of this carries into coach class as well.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and instead is a list of the things of my favorite things this week. As normal, it includes lots of beauty and fashion items which means there are a few affiliate links via ShopStyle. It takes time and money to maintain a blog so I thank you for the support and few cents that come from clicking through the links!