High Five for Friday - Link up, Vol. 7

This has been one CRAZY, BUSY week! I was traveling for work from Monday - Wednesday, got back to Charlotte Wednesday night, turned around, and drove 9 1/2 hours today heading home to IL for Memorial Day weekend. Just a mini-vacation and am excited to see lots of people...but boy, am I exhausted. I am definitely saying TGIF!


Since it is Friday, you know what that means...I'm linking up with Lauren over @From My Grey Desk for:

So let's get on to my favorite things from this week...

ONE. I successfully completed the Warrior Dash - a 3.1 mile course that includes about 11 obstacles, and yes, that includes mud pits, wall climbs and jumping over fire! :0

 Want to know more? Don't worry, I plan on doing a whole post about it once the professional pics are posted - believe me, they're going to be pretty funny! It was tough...but SO much fun!

TWO. New kitchen gadgets

Mushroom (or egg, strawberry, etc.) slicer & Burger Pocket Press (am planning on stuffing some burgers with lots of yummy cheese/veggie combos)

THREE. Smoothies!!

I am obsessed with smoothies lately...especially strawberry/banana ones that include protein powder. It's a great lunch/snack option that is pretty healthy! Luckily Charlotte has a lot of great smoothie options to choose from :)

FOUR. I made ducky magnets from the make-your-own magnets that Jenn sent me

Aren't they cute??

FIVE. My work trip took me to Lexington, KY this week...enter the Bourbon beer

 I mean, I had to try it...it was pretty good, definitely different and not something I could drink all of the time. But tasty, nonetheless!

Alright, well thanks for hosting Lauren! If you have five favorite things from this week, head on over to Lauren's blog and link up every Friday! :)

Another Surprise Package!

I can't say it enough...I love getting mail, especially packages! Anyone else with me??

They just always have such a nice, personal touch & it makes a person feel good to know that someone out there is thinking about them and wanting to brighten their day, just a little bit.

I met Jenn when I was living in Monterey, CA. I was having a hard time meeting people (as is sometimes the case when you move somewhere not knowing anyone) and decided to join this knitting group on Meetup. The group contained about 5-10 ladies (all different ages) who got together every week to eat, knit & chat...it was a blast! Anyway, Jenn was one of the leaders of the group and we very quickly became good friends...going to get coffee or dinner, taking short road trips, attending the midnight release of Twilight's New Moon at the local Borders, and even taking a sewing class together. Our love for knitting, DIY, Twilight books/movies, etc. bonded us for life, I'm pretty sure! :)

Have I mentioned that she is one of the craftiest people I know?! She knits, crochets, paints, cooks, makes handmade cards, sews...you name it, she does it...or she'll figure out how to do it! She has such great ideas - I just love them all. She has a blog too - Piles of Patterns, and she's promised me that she'll be updating soon!!

So I received this uber-thoughtful package from her and had to share it:

It was partly a belated birthday gift - even the gift bag was personalized!

Cutest handmade card AND envelope - it says "Sparkle & Shine"

Some AMAZING sea salt caramels from Lula's Chocolates in Monterey (I also featured them here on Friday - so you can see what the caramels actually looked like). Needless to say, they're gone by now, not a trace of them left! :)

A darling bookmark that displays the quote: "Where there is love there is life" ~Mahatma Gandhi. I am currently putting it to good use, as I'm starting the 3rd book in the Fifty Shades of Grey series!

Some fun 'create-your-own' magnets...you just stick a picture or piece of scrapbook paper or whatever you want behind the glass, stick the magnet on and you have personalized magnets for your fridge! Very cool idea - will have to share my finished product when I'm done.

And finally, a beautiful, handmade cowl - made from jersey knit material. It is soft, light-weight AND reversible (you can see both sides in the pic)!! I love it and have a feeling that I'm going to get A LOT of use out of it.

So as if I hadn't listed out a lot of ideas & suggestions for care packages here, there are many more options above, if you enjoy DIY/crafts/sewing/etc. Jenn knows me SO well, and this package screams it - I love her thoughtfulness and can't wait to send her one right back!! Thanks Jenn :)

Do you all have any other items you enjoy receiving in the mail or in packages? Please share!!