Five on Friday displays the the top five things that have been on my mind this week! It could be book-related, but it may be music, movies, TV, personal life, food, etc. I’ll generally be posting these biweekly and linking up with Friday Favorites (hosted by A Little Bit of Everything, Grace and Love, and Momfessionals). Previous posts can be found here!
Air Fryer Instant Pot Lid
We bought a small air fryer back in the summertime and really enjoyed using it, but I always felt that it was a bit too small for us to cook more food all at once. I randomly saw online somewhere last week that Instant Pot released an air fryer lid attachment that just turns your IP into an air fryer! It also has some of the same functions the Ninja Foodi has (my dad just got one of these for Christmas). You can broil, bake, roast, reheat, and dehydrate! We tested it ASAP when it came in by making crispy eggplant parm in it and it worked SO well. We gave our small air fryer to some friends (I spent only $30 on it so I wasn’t worried about selling it or anything) and were really happy to save cabinet space with this guy. So far, $80 well spent!
AirPods and Case
Since I started going to the gym recently, I decided to upgrade from my fake Airpods into some real ones. I just got sick of the terrible battery life and not great volume level. I headed to Target, where they were on sale, and picked them up on a whim during my lunch break! It was nice to use my commission/tax return for something other than a wedding deposit đ I also browsed Amazon forever for a case and found this cute one that I love. It came with some accessories too, like ear clips and a string thing that can go behind your head in case they fall out. I used to have issues with the normal earpods falling out of my ears so I’d use clips to go around my ear, but these actually stay in pretty well! If I get sweatier and/or wear them for a long time, it ends up falling a bit, but I have clips and other things to keep them in place. Just a gamechanger for being able to move around freely without wires!
Netflix: Love is Blind and Don’t F**k with Cats
Like the rest of the world, I decided to check Love is Blind out. I’m not a reality TV person the vast majority of the time and haven’t watched any dating-related ones since the classic MTV shows like Room Raiders, Parental Control, Next… etc. I saw a promo video of Cameron and Lauren talking in the pods and was hooked. They easily remained my favorite couple (and the most normal) on the show. It was a wild ride and the reunion special yesterday was so wild and uncomfortable!
I also finally got around to watching Don’t F**k with Cats too. I was off-put initially by the concept (animal abuse is not something I enjoy watching or hearing about obviously) but had heard good things (and that part isn’t touched upon as much in the second and third episodes) and wanted to try it out. It was a WILD RIDE, good lord. I was hooked and loved the internet sleuths like Deanna and John.
Food YouTubers and Instagrammers:
TJ’s, Healthier, and/or Budget-Focused
I’ve been trying to eat healthier overall and eat more whole foods, clean things, etc. I’ve talked in the past about how I have a separate Insta account that I use to only follow celebrities and food/recipe-related accounts. I like to keep all that separate from my personal account and my book account. I am constantly saving recipes to make later and various meal ideas from people. I know you can’t just blindly trust random Instagram people for health advice all the time, but there are a few nutritionists and dietitians on there that I also follow. Checking my feed on this dedicated account is such a nice refresher sometimes. As you can see on the left, I use the “Saved” function to reference later for fun recipes to try out. Some favorites are theskinnyishdish, whatninaate, healthymoods, nikki_booch, sara.haven, and cookingbykylie. I referenced these before in my Currently post but it’s always good to refresh. I also appreciate onceuponapumpkin and shapedbycharlotte because they’re dietitians (RDNs).
I also had been following various WW and health-oriented YouTubers for a while, so that’s another platform for great meal planning tips. Even though I’m not doing WW anymore, a few people on YouTube are still good resources for me. A lot of WW-friendly items tend to still be lower calorie, but not necessarily healthier. I love that Louise Lane, a favorite of mine, has switched from WW to calorie counting and mostly-clean eating because that’s the same journey I’ve been going on lately.
As for budget-friendly people, I forgot that I used to watch The Simplified Saver ALL the time for easy Crockpot meals! She posts countless cheap recipes that are so easy, whether it’s make-ahead freezer meals for the Crockpot or spending only $30 on groceries using shelf cooking (you know I’ve done this!).
And finally, there are plenty of Trader Joe’s-related Instagrammers that show off new items, taste test and rate things, and offer up meal ideas from TJ’s inventory. I shop at TJ’s more than any other store (I try to grocery shop once a week so I’ll usually have TJ’s be my store at least 3/4 times!) so I appreciate knowing the new items I should try or avoid.
Currently
Currently is a monthly link-up hosted by Anne in Residence the first Wednesday of the month.
Fixing up my kitchen organization! We’ve been struggling to find a place for everything we have (hence the lack of a wedding registry – we don’t need anything!) so we’re trying to reorganize and move things around. I’ve done a nice job of getting some bins to protect food from going stale and have it look nicer in the kitchen, but I need to get a few more soon.
Hearing my usual podcast lineup as well as some audiobooks as needed! I always struggle to balance these things because I tend to fall in the trap of being addicted to one or the other. I’ve found that I love having an audiobook available for a book I’m reading in another format, so I can continue reading when I drive or get ready for work. It’s easier for me to finish a book that way.
Borrowing cords for our “new” Nintendo 64! Chris and I got addicted to playing NFL Blitz on the arcade machine at a local brewery, so we decided to treat ourselves to a game system with controllers and the game. We’ve been trying to make it work with our new TV downstairs AND our older TV upstairs but we’ve needed to borrow cords from a friend to see if it’s the N64 that’s the issue, or our cords/setup.
Feeling a bit conflicted and tired. There’s a lot going on at work – some good, some not great – and I’m just trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life. I don’t want to elaborate more, but it’s been weird and up-and-down lately.
Recommending anything you saw in this post! đ
Yay for linking up with Currently. I just love this monthly meme. I really want to get an Instant Pot. I’m also trying to eat healthier, and I think it would really help with cooking and being able to use recipes I find. My sister has one, but I don’t live with her, so I can’t really share hers. LOL
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Hahah!
Wait, what?! I’ve been hearing about air fryers lately and am very intrigued – while having no desire to accumulate another kitchen appliance. But a lid for the air fryer! Definitely going to have to check that out. I’m with you on the struggle to balance the listening categories – I find it hard to fit in audio books because my podcast lineup is so big…
Thanks for joining in the linkup đ
Yesss, I think it’s new – it’s so great!!!
That’s such a great idea to create an insta just for following food/recipe type accounts so they don’t clog up your other feeds! I also started Love is Blind and the first couple episodes were a little slow but now I’m pretty hooked! Agree that Cameron and Lauren are my favorites!
THE BESTTTT
I can relate to the weird up and down things at work. We’ve had some stuff going on as well that is making everyone a little uneasy. Hope things settle for you soon.
Thank you, you too!