Friday 5: Things I'm Loving

Hello again!  Double post this week--watch out world, I may just be getting back into a groove yet.  I'm linking up with Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia for the Friday 5.  Luckily for me, it's a free topic (I have trouble actually following along, and then once I see the topic I am usually sad that I missed it!).  I'm going to do my semi usual things I'm loving for you!  All photo cred goes to my sister!  I figured y'all might enjoy a break from my selfies ha!

1. Sister time. Last weekend I took advantage of the long weekend and headed to a small town near Cleveland for some much needed sister time.  It was so much fun just hanging out and we managed to pack in a ton of stuff in the short time we had together.

2. Luke Bryan.  The reason for our sister time, and every bit as incredible as you might imagine.  No idea how he works it like he does in those jeans, but I'll take it any day!  Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, and even little Dustin Lynch were amazing, too!  It was a terrific concert and I wish we could "play it again."  ;-)

3. Unusual, but amazing food in unusual, but awesome restaurants.  My sister took me to a few different places for meals that I would highly recommend if you are ever in the Cleveland area.  Before the concert we went to Willoughby Brewing Company.  I think she said that the building was an old rail car repair place.  I always enjoy trying some new beers (the chocolate peanut butter porter was awesome!) and I couldn't resist trying the mashed potato pizza.  In case you were wondering, it was every bit as good as you might guess.  We even contemplated going out to buy a cooler and ice so it would last through the concert, it was THAT good.  We also went to Covered Bridge Pizza Parlor (you may have guessed it was in a renovated covered bridge!) and Heavenly Creamery for ice cream in a renovated church.  Just FYI, the turtle sundae is totally the way to go although my sister would probably try to sway you over to the s'mores sundae.

4. Maddux getting in the water.  So Maddux really hates getting his paws wet.  Like if he steps in a puddle he frantically lies down and tries to lick all the water off.  If it's raining he refuses to go out.  After a walk at one of my sister's favorite parks, we took the dogs down to the beach area to cool off.  I tried my hardest to persuade Mad Dog to get all the way in the lake, but he was not having it.  It was still fun watching him attempt to avoid the waves.

Silly boy ran for the sand after the waves touched his toes!

5. Liane Moriarty books.  I'm reading The Last Anniversary right now and I really love that her books switch perspectives.  It's like getting a bunch of stories in one and makes for a quick read.  I've been staying up way too late this week reading!

What are you loving lately?  Have a great weekend!

Freekeh Giveaway Winner: (y'all made this easy!)  Congratulations to Beth!  She has been notified.  

Freekeh Review

Hello!  I know I say this after every long hiatus, but I really do plan to get into a writing routine.  (And let's be honest, a routine in general).  One thing that has been needing some serious attention lately is my meal planning.  Luckily, my affiliation with Fit Approach through the Sweat Pink Ambassador team allowed me to team up with Freekeh Foods to review their product.

I apologize for the photo quality.  Still rocking the selfies over here.
Hoping to get that fixed one day very soon! Or to bring back an actual camera...

Freekeh is pronounced "free-kah" (makes me want to sing some Missy Elliott!) and is organic roasted green wheat.  If you're anything like me, you are probably thinking something along the lines of "what the heck is that?"  It's basically a rice. You cook it the same basic way (boil water, add freekeh, reduce heat, cover, simmer) and it works as a great base for my beloved veggie burger bowls.  I really appreciate how easy freekeh is to make.  I actually whipped up a batch to go with veggie burgers and feta for my friend and myself before running in an evening race and it was the perfect pre-race fuel!  It wasn't too heavy and settled pretty quickly.    I really want to make stuffed peppers with it!  Freekeh has 6 grams of protein a serving which is also a win in my book, especially on meatless days which happen pretty often around here.

I received the Rosemary Sage flavor and the Original flavor.  I've got to be honest when I say that the original was my favorite.  I'm not sure why, but it seemed to have more flavor (or maybe it was the fact that it was SO good with cheese!).  I liked the Rosemary Sage, but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to buy it, where as the Original flavor I totally would.  Just a quick note about freekeh--it says that each bag is a 4 person serving, but when I measured it out, I actually ended up with two additional servings.  I have no problem with bonus!

Now here's the fun part: You can win your own package of freekeh!  You can choose either Original, Rosemary Sage, or Tamari.  Sorry international friends, only US Residents qualify this time!  To enter, please follow Freekeh on Twitter and Instagram (@freekehfoods) and like them on Facebook.  Tweet about the giveaway using the hashtags #LoveFreekeh and #Freekeh and then leave me a comment telling me you did so.  (I know that seems like a lot of steps, BUT totally worth it!)  I will randomly choose a winner on Thursday, September 10.

Good luck!

**Disclaimer: I was given two packages of freekeh to review because of my affiliation with Fit Approach and the Sweat Pink Ambassadors.  I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own. **