Friday Favorites, 12.16.22.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's favorite weekly blog post. Buckle up! I've got quite the list today, since I've been saving up for this post all week. I'll dive right in!

It's no secret that lipstick is one of my favorite makeup products. I dedicated an entire bonus post to these beauties this week and published it on Sunday night. You can read that post here...but know that I made videos and I feel VERY vulnerable putting this out there for all the world to see. Some of you have been kind to leave feedback! I always appreciate that. 

This day six or seven years ago was one of my favorites! It was right at this time of year and we got all this snow right before Christmas. It was magical! It rarely snows here, particularly this much at this time of year. This picture reminded me of a scene from Narnia or something, it was so beautiful. This hadn't happened in decades before this and it hasn't happened again since. We do have a chance for snow next week, though! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we may have a white Christmas.

I am so bummed that I missed this fun Christmas Lights tour in our town. I know it would have been a favorite of mine, for sure! I love seeing these busses every once in a while around town. 

Saturday night was a favorite night, because some friends from church and I attended a concert together!

We had so much fun together! We saw Chris Tomlin and MercyMe. This picture right above was a favorite moment in the concert, because the lead singer of MercyMe (Bart Millard) showed this clip of of the Charlie Brown Christmas special. He was talking about Linus dropping his blanket for the only time ever on the cartoon when he quoted Luke 2:10 when the angel visited Mary and told them not to be afraid. I had chills over this scene, because I had never noticed that! 

Our house is my favorite on our street! My husband and Jonah made this flagpole Christmas tree while I was out of town last Friday. This was such a fun surprise to come home to!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my very best friend and me. How do you like this throwback toy?! I don't remember much about it, but I send this picture to Stacy every year on her birthday. We have some funny ones that keep getting circulated between us. 

I am about to say something that is going to shock you, but I am about Hallmark Christmas movie-ed out. 

That being said, I am watching the occasional one still and this one was one of my favorites. I've mentioned here before that the Lifetime movies are my new favorites and so is Sarah Drew. 

I have a few favorite outfits from this week! This red sweater is one of new favorite staples. I love the big cowl neck and I love the soft fabric. I also love the black poncho- thing that I keep pairing with different shirts underneath. On this particular day, I had a magenta colored smocked turtle neck shirt with it and loved how it looked. I wore this army green and oatmeal color combo to the concert Saturday night and the strap you see is one that I put onto the new clear bag I bought that day for the event. The purple sweater is another staple I've had for several years now and that gets lots of love during the cold months. 

I shared this picture yesterday, but Tuesday night out with some of my favorite friends was a fun night at a new (to me) restaurant. I loved the ambiance of the restaurant and the booth we sat in. 

The food was also my favorite. 

We shared gouda and bacon fondue with crispy pita bread strips, I had the petite filet with loaded mashed potatoes and splurged with bread pudding for dessert. This is one the best desserts I have ever had! It was soft and crunchy on the top, sweet and a little bit salty from the caramel sauce I put on top. The ice cream you see was Bailey's liquor ice cream. Yes ma'am. My mouth watered a little just writing that.

I loved all the chandeliers all over the restaurant! This one was in the bathroom. 

And lastly, my birthday was my favorite day of the week. My guys all thoroughly spoiled me and I have to admit that it was wonderful. I came home to two dozen roses from my hubby after my dinner out on Tuesday, Drew took me to lunch on Wednesday (that's us above), and Jonah treated me to a pedicure immediately following. 

Please excuse the dog hair you see on my pants. Graham got me a gift card for Bath & Body Works (my fav!), and I was given cards and some of my favorite sweet treats from Noah. My best friend's aunt (I also call her Aunt Sherrye) gave me the sweetest and most thoughtful gift from her international travels, Missy brought me my favorite chocolate cupcakes from Frost, I saw my dad and stepmom and I spent yesterday with my Mom and Trish. It was a fabulous birthday! I used some of my birthday money and splurged on a new purse that I've been eyeing...

...that will be my favorite for years to come. I love that it's neutral and that I'll be able to wear it all year long. It was 60% off too, which is a huge bonus. I never buy things like this, but I've been wanting (needing, actually) a new purse. That's the great things about birthdays—it's the perfect time to treat yourself! I am not a big shopper and I really take the time to consider what it is I want to drop a chunk of money on. I usually don't even spend my birthday or Christmas money on things like this— I usually just go out to dinner with friends, or I'll buy things from Home Goods that I want or I'll keep spending it here and there. I am proud of myself for this splurge, because it's rare for me. I'll wrap it up with this last thing. 

What was a favorite thing for you this week? I'd love to hear from you! If you missed any of my other blog posts this week, here's a list of them below.

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday 

Thursday

Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all!