Five on Friday {July 12}

Hey y'all,

It's Friday! Since this was my first week back after vacation I wasn't sure how crazy the work week would end up being but I lucked out with a pretty quiet week at work to catch up and get ready for a busy Monday next week. This weekend is going to be filled with church, barre3, homemade iced tea, and reading.

one. Write the Word journals.

I recently got back into the habit of using my write the word journals as part of my quiet time. Each page has a verse you write down, a section for what you are grateful for, and a page for what's on your heart where I tend to journal prayers or how the verse shows us God's power and love for us. My only complaint is sometimes you feel like you are in the same chapter of the Bible for weeks and I like some variety but biblical literacy and context are also important so it's something I go back and forth on. I have had some of the original write the word journals as well and I know more are launching next week including a fruits of the spirit themed journal.

two. Duke Lemur Center.

I talked a little bit about it on my goals post but for Mother's Day we went with an experience at the Duke Lemur Center for my mom's gift. The tour was Sunday morning and we loved it. I booked one of the premium tours called the Walking With Lemurs tour.

I have previously done the Lemurs Live basic tour but this was a special event. When we arrived we checked in, met our guide, then our group was on it's way to one of the natural enclosure areas. We were going to be viewing two families of lemurs, a ring-tail family of five and then a safakas family of three (Rodalinda, Marcus, and Eustace). We were down in the exhibit for about 75 minutes talking with a lemur care guide, and watching the lemurs. So fun!

It was also an open house day so we saw a few other types of lemurs on site like the mongoose lemur, blue-eyed black lemur, and ruffed lemurs. The Duke Lemur center has almost 200 lemurs on site and is the largest collection outside of their native habitat of Madagascar.

three. The In Between.

I started watching this show Wednesday night after my small group and I am hooked. I saw a few commercials but didn't think much about the show until this week. I am all caught up now of the five episodes that have aired. The show is on NBC and follows Cassie, a woman who receives visions and spectral visitors. This often results in her calling her foster father, Tom, a Seattle police officer. It's a crime show at the core with the medium element. Here's the a first look video:

four. Penne Aurora.

Penne Aurora is a dish at one of the Italian restaurants in my parent's town. Well, the dish has been off the menu for the last five years or so but they still make it everytime I order there. I was craving a pasta dish this week so I picked up some Vodka sauce, salad fixings, and garlic bread since I had the rest of the ingredients already. This is a super quick weeknight meal. You simply combine vodka sauce, deli ham, and mushrooms and let them simmer while you boil your pasta. Combine the sauce with the pasta, top with Parmesan and enjoy! If you want to make your own sauce rather than grabbing a jar this recipe is amazing.

five. Aldi Quarter Keeper.

If you shop at Aldi, you know that you use a quarter to rent a cart. This is one of the ways that Aldi helps keep costs low. I typically keep a quarter in one of my car's cup holders but at the beginning of the year I saw some cute quarter keepers ( I loved the little cart keychain) by the checkout. I just kept forgetting to pick one up and then they were gone. Well, Aldi released a summer line and I picked up the pineapple quarter keeper. I now always have a quarter on me in case I swing by Aldi after work or while I am out and about.

I also picked up this wine glass one for my Mom. Although she doesn't go to the Aldi in her town that often, she loved seeing my quarter keeper on Sunday. We used to always go to Aldi when we were living abroad.

Other things:

If you are looking for books to add to your library holds, I posted my June reads Wednesday.

I have been loving my nails painted bright pink. Currently, I am wearing this color, Shorts Story by OPI.

If you need great background noise while you are reading or at the office, I highly recommend the night rain or nightstorms playlists on Spotify. They are both under the sleep playlist section.

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale opens today for all card holders. I am going to post on Tuesday what I actually purchased and that will be the only content from the sale from me. I plan to pick up my favorite leggings, some sweaters, and browse the homegoods.

Link up with Erika, Narci, and Andrea

Also linking up with Tif, Becky, and Katie.

What does your weekend look like?