Friday Favorites #82: Week of 3/27 (Life In Leggings)

First and foremost, I want to take a moment to acknowledge my absence from the blog yesterday. I didn’t plan on taking a day off from posting, but it just felt necessary.

You see, heaven gained another beautiful angel early yesterday morning. After a short but painful battle with pancreatic cancer, my loving granddaddy, Rudy, passed in peace surrounded by family in my aunt’s Florida home.

I just love him so much. We lost my Nana (who I’m actually named after: Heather Betty) the year Scott and I got engaged, and the photo I took with him at our engagement party is one of my favorites of us together. It was also his birthday!

I have so many fond memories growing up in Orlando with him living just two hours north of us in Jacksonville. From rides on his tractor as a baby to most recently hearing about his World War II and firefighting stories on my last visit down to Florida, any time I was able to spend with him is placed and cherished deep inside of my heart.

As much as our wedding day was a blur, a couple of minutes that I will never forget is getting to dance with him for an entire song at the reception. I remember looking around and wishing my Nana was there to too, but felt so grateful to still have him close to hold onto. He had a sweet, yet funny way of showing his affection. Always a jokester.

It was really hard for me to return back to Michigan knowing that was probably going to be my last time seeing him, but through the pain, he still managed to share his humor in lighthearted conversations with me. Even throughout the last couple of weeks, he kept telling me to come back to Florida and leave the frozen land of Michigan while chatting on the phone. “You know, nobody has to live up there voluntarily… it’s actually sunny in most places today” he joked. Ha, I guess he’s right.

Grandparents are such gifts. With a heavy heart, I have to say goodbye now, and it isn’t easy.

Rest in peace, dear Granddaddy. You are so loved, and the presence of your joyful spirit will remain in our hearts forever. <3

***

Deep breaths.

Well, now that’s I’m a mess again, I think it’s time to transition onto a lighter note with our normal end of the week edition of Friday Favorites!

Even through the not-so-awesome weeks, it is nice to revisit the moments and things that make us smile. As always, I invite you all to join in and share your favorites in the comments and link-up sections below. Happy Friday!

Friday Favorites #82: Week of 3/27

• Nana’s crystal vase

Speaking of my dear Nana, it only feels right to kick this week’s list off with a gorgeous crystal vase I inherited from their house on my recent trip home to Florida.

She always had a thing for pink roses. Ever since I can remember, my family never came to visit her without a bouquet of them in hand. I saw this rose earlier in the week and knew I had the perfect place to display it with love.

Losing grandparents is hard, and this week has been a rough one. Even so, I can’t pass by this vase or flower without cracking a smile. This little vase serves much more than just a place to hold flowers, and is something I will always treasure!

• coconut water with pineapple

I have been a fan of coconut water since the first time I tried it fresh from the trees in Costa Rica. At around $2 a pop, I don’t always buy it, but I bring home a few cartons as a post-run rehydrating treat every now and then.

This week was the first time I saw the pure coconut with pineapple flavor from Vitacoco and had to give it a try. It tasted very similar to a piña colada, and it was hard for me to refrain from gulping it all down at once. So good!

• trigger point therapy

If you’re even a hesitant fan of foam rolling (I know… it hurts, but feels so good at the same time!), you would probably love to try trigger point therapy rollers.

A friend of Scott and I’s brought over his foot and quad ballers along with two massage balls, and graciously took me through a tutorial on how to use them. Holy geez, you guys.

As someone who continuously fights extremely tight calves, I hate to absolutely love this product. The hate part comes from the uncomfortable feeling I experience while rolling them out, and the love comes from how I feel afterwards. Yep, that’s self-myofacial release for you!

You can purchase all types of starter kits and packages on their website or even through Amazon. I still have the kit at our house, and would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sore after using it for a couple of days. Even so, I would recommend it to runners and fitness enthusiasts who want to take the time to learn how to use it!

• pulled bbq sliders

After an overwhelming (in the best way) response to my post asking for meal planning advice this week, I got the idea to turn to some old favorite recipes that don’t require much effort. Duh. I don’t know why I don’t think to return to my own easier dinner recipes more often.

I quickly ran to the store on Tuesday and brought chicken and wheat slider buns home to make pulled bbq sandwiches for Scott and I later that night.

I paired them with a side of baked beans and brussels sprouts, and it was great!

I will be sure to take a look over my own Recipes page the next time I’m in a funk and need a meal plan for the week. This is a great one, and I ended up using the leftover bbq chicken meat on a salad the next day. It was so good!

• tomatillo salsa

Speaking of oldies but goodies, have you ever tried tomatillo (verde) salsa?

We used to always buy green salsa to mix things up and enjoy at home with corn chips. I saw this jar from the organics line at Kroger while I was at the grocery store this week and had to buy it. I love it on its own, but it’s even better mixed in with regular salsa too!

• deodorizing spray for dogs

Scott brought home this deodorizing spray for Roadie a while back, and I’m finally getting around to mentioning it on the blog. We automatically spray him with this super deodorizing spray after a bath, but it’s nice to break out and spray to keep him fresh in between baths and after runs.

We use the Top Paw brand, but there are plenty out there that look like they would work just the same that you can find here, here, here, or here!

• sushi

It had been a minute since I ordered and enjoyed eating sushi, so I finally returned to it last night while dining out with a friend.

I chose Spicy California and Philly Cheese rolls, and I finished about half of what was on my plate before I got full. Oh, sushi… how I love you. Yum!