Friday Favorites: A snack, a purse and a ritual

Sometimes it’s okay to play favorites.

Today, I’m sharing with you my first installment of a popular feature I’ve seen from other bloggers called “Friday Favorites.” Basically, it’s a chance to talk about things that I love, without really needing a full post about each.

I’ll make this first one short and sweet.

My favorite go-to healthy snack

Hands-down, it’s an organic fuji apple with some mixed roasted nuts. For a long time, I ate protein bars for snacks in the afternoon before teaching a work-out class, but these days I’ve switched to mixed nuts and fruit. My mission to eliminate some processed foods meant cutting out protein bars, and I’ve been going strong for six weeks. Truthfully, I don’t miss them.

I’ve sampled a few different mixed-nut combinations, and the best by far is the one shown above with almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans and pistachios from Safeway. It’s slightly roasted and slightly covered in sea salt. Alongside a juicy apple, it’s the perfect combination of salty/sweet.

My favorite purse

Most of the time I use my backpack as a purse when I am trucking around the City, especially because it contains all of my group fitness necessities. However, I do have a current favorite purse, which I bought in December.

I’m always partial to the simple and classic lines of everything from Michael Kors, and this one’s called the Michael Kors Large East West Tote. It’s still available, if you fancy it.

I used to have a bit of a designer purse habit and have quite the collection. However, little-by-little I’ve sold older ones online to keep some space in my small city closet (and because I LOVE to sell things online, which I just may write a full post on in the future). I think this purse has some staying power.

And for the final favorite of the day …

My favorite daily ritual

Breakfast, a mug of hot tea and reading the newspaper online. I know, I know, who actually reads a local newspaper anymore? Well, this Lady does.

During my first year working at a public relations firm in Orlando, I was required to read a print copy of the Orlando Sentinel every day before work to know what news would affect my clients. It’s a habit that I have kept throughout the years, even though no one is quizzing me on it anymore. These days I read the San Francisco Chronicle online. Politics, local issues, tech industry updates, real estate, you name it, and I read it.

I love to know what’s going on in the world, and I love breakfast. So I pair my reading with some tasty overnight oats, and that’s how I start my day right, every single day.

Questions of the day

What are some of your favorite snacks? Do you have a daily ritual that you look forward to?

*Special thanks to Heather for hosting “Friday Favorites” as a link-up.