Happy Friday guys! I don’t know about you all but this week left me completely exhausted and counting down the seconds to the weekend. I’ve been working into the evening each day this week trying to catch up on work and still, somehow, I feel behind. Anyone else ever feel this way? During crazy weeks like this I do my best to ensure I get my workout done bright and early, keep a to-do list neat me at all times and do my best to make sure I reach for water more than I reach for coffee. There is nothing worse that caffeine highs and lows when I’m trying to be productive.

Now, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

Pic courtesy of Theodora

• The Summer weather has me loving OUTDOOR WORKOUTS! This week I had the opportunity to join Fhitting Room and Brookfield Place Lululemon for a fun, sweaty workout as part of the Healthy on the Hudson workout series. Theodora, Ashley and I agreed that the sunshine, turf, water views and fresh air helped the tough workout fly by faster than normal!
• Speaking of Summer workouts, the team at Well+Good published their round-up of NYC Summer workouts yesterday and I seriously want to do as many of these as possible!
• As you guys know, I’ve been experimenting with a more natural skin care routine over the past few months. After meeting Indie Lee during the Wellthily Montauk weekend and hearing the story behind her products, I knew I wanted to try them for myself. When I ran out of my current toner I replaced it with the Indie Lee Co Q10 Toner. After just one week of use I am hooked and tempted to buy more products from her line. This skin balancing toner is free of the harsh chemicals which typically dry my face out and instead soothes my face and leaves it feeling refreshed. I love using it after workouts as the aloe and chamomile naturally help reduce the post-workout redness.
• If you’re a fan of flank steak, these eight marinades will take it to the next level. I whipped up the balsamic-rosemary marinade on Wednesday night using herbs from our garden and it really left our steak tender and flavorful even though it only marinaded for an hour.
• After reading about Anne’s Canadian adventures, we were inspired to plan a Summer vacation in Western Canada. This August, Bo and I will spending ten days exploring Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise and other areas. We haven’t finalized the itinerary but we have two of our hotels and our flights booked!
• Over the past year I’ve had three close friends struggle with miscarriages. I was so moved by Julia’s brave post about her personal experience with miscarriage that I sent it to a few of my close friends as well as emailing her personally. While I haven’t experienced this personally, I do believe that it is one of the unspoken struggles couples face more often than we realize. I especially appreciated her tips for those of us that are friends, so that we can best support those who need us during this difficult time.
• I’ve fallen back into my iced coffee habit this week, enjoying iced coffees from two of my favorite spots,  Blue Bottle and Little Collins, earlier this week. What is your favorite iced coffee?
• We are hosting a Summer BBQ tomorrow night in our backyard, complete with white lights, hamburgers and music.  We are making life a bit easier on us by inviting our friends to bring appetizers, side dishes and dessert while we are going to provide burgers and pasta salad. Now, how to choose from just one of these mouth-watering pasta salad recipes? Do you have a favorite?

Have a great weekend friends and I’ll check in later this weekend with pictures from our party! 

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!