Friday Favorites: Florida, tech, tea + more
Greetings from the Sunshine State! Dave and I got into Florida last night, were greeted by my Momma and happily whisked home to my parent’s house for a good dinner.
It wasn’t exactly seamless travel though. Although we arrived at the airport an hour before our flight, the lines were so long in both ticketing and security, that we had to run to get on our plane and were the last ones onboard. Because we flew Southwest, that meant middle seats for both of us. And the second leg of our journey was delayed too. But the good news? The Wifi was only $8 on the first flight, so I typed up much of this post in the air, feeling like I had gotten a great deal!
A weekend full of wedding fun
This morning, I’m heading to meet with the bride and other bridesmaids for manis/pedis and lunch to begin the festivities of the weekend. After that, I’ll be fitting in some family time. Tomorrow, we have the wedding rehearsal, Greek dancing practice (it’s a Big Fat Greek Wedding) and the rehearsal dinner, with the main event taking place on Sunday. It’s going to be a fabulous couple of days of celebrations!
My latest “Friday Favorites”
But you’re here today to look at this week’s round of “Friday Favorites,” so let’s get to it …
My favorite handy gadget
Have you ever been out-and-about when your phone ran out of battery and then you felt helpless? Well, you don’t have to worry about that when you have one of these trusty little gadgets. My brother got me this super-cool portable charger as part of a Christmas present, and I’ve finally been putting it to good use. Last Saturday, when I attended that amazing all-day Les Mills group fitness event, I charged my phone a couple of times during the day as the battery began to drop, and I was quickly back in business to Tweet, post on Instagram and take pictures.
I highly recommend this Poweradd Ultra Slim Charger
, which not only charges your devices and fits in your pocket, but also acts as a flashlight.
This little thing comes with adapters to hook up to most types of phones. All you have to do is charge it for a few hours, then take it with you on-the-go, and you’ll never run out of juice for your small electronics again. What a great invention! And thanks, Brother, for the useful gift! Oh and P.S. This is an awesome gift for Father’s Day, which is right around the corner!
My favorite soothing tea
My name is Ashley, and I scream at the top of my lungs for about 15 hours-a-week. True story. Being that I’m a group fitness instructor, who has to use my voice and project on a microphone, I have to do a few preventative things to keep my vocal chords in check. Other than hydrating and sleeping, I also load up on herbal tea.
Loving this herbal Yogi Tea Throat Comfort as a soothing nice warm beverage with wild cherry and licorice flavors.
I recently started buying and drinking this tasty and soothing decaf tea in the afternoons and love that it has some gentle throat-coating properties. Even if you don’t need throat help, you’ll probably like the taste. Good stuff!
My favorite group of people
You all! Just wanted to thank you out there for reading this little blog, commenting, sharing and showing up. I love you guys! And that is all.
My favorite piece of mail
With free snacks, cheap WiFi and no baggage fees, Southwest is just about my favorite airline (except those cushy seats on Virgin planes are pretty nice). Dave and I almost always fly Southwest, so we can accumulate the loyalty points. Well because of that, you can imagine my delight when this came in the mail just in time for our latest adventure across the country …
Free adult beverages on a flight? I mean, twist my arm.
Thanks, Southwest. Now if only you served hot matcha lattes and carrot cake, then you’d totally be my favorite airline.
My favorite links of the week
Did you miss out on some of the good stuff on A Lady Goes West this week?
- Fun and fitness — My great weekend and my weekly workouts
- The best day — An amazing day of group fitness at the Les Mills Super Q
- Beets and my eats — How to eat beets and a look at a day of my food
- Exciting stuff — Finding your passion and some fab news
Also, thanks for the team at Fit Approach and Sweat Pink for featuring me in their weekly spotlight article — check out this “#SweatPink Spotlight.”
And here’s a great article from Gym Geek featuring my advice as part of “Experts Tell Us the Biggest Mistakes Newbies Make in the Gym.” And don’t make those mistakes!
I hope you have a wonderful Friday and long weekend, my friends! Check me out on Instagram to see some fun Florida and wedding photos. See you soon!
Read more Friday Favorites
If you’ve enjoyed browsing through this post, see below for previous editions or visit the the link-up hostesses, Heather, Clare and Katie.
- A snack, a purse and a ritual
- A delivery, a bra and a guy
- A sweet, a wine and a read
- A drink, a gadget and a plan
- A time, a bottle and a powder
- San Francisco edition
- Beauty edition
- Beach vacation edition
- Hidden meanings
- Kicks, a book and a bowl
- The very best sweatshirts
- Party hosting and froyo
- Fourth of July daytime activity
- Beauty basics edition
- Workplace edition
- Shopping, sales and a show
- The foods I always buy
- Sushi, a game and pants
- Fitness apps
- Delicious and healthy products
- Comfort, fitness and function
- Beauty, buddha and blog events
- Dining, the city and gift ideas
- POPSUGAR, sweets and such
- A bunch of fun stuff
- e-book, food, picnic and tunes
- A link, a superfood and a mask
- Pants, shoes, food and links
- Dining, protein and goodies
- Shopping, events and a book
- A gym bag, pumpkin and juices
- Workout gear, a top and a massage
- prAna, a watch, tea and more
- Tasty stuff and gift sales
- Decor, bars, boots and a drink
- Flowers, music and more
- Coqueta, a brush and food
- My people and the holidays
- Beauty, bling and entertainment
- A hodge-podge of goodies
- Just a few special things
- Tasty food, drinks and moving
- A bunch of feel-good stuff
- Home, car and fitness finds
- Sweets, cooking, beauty and blog
- Gold, yoga, photos and more
- Celebs, scents, games and more
- Food, shoes, stretches and fun
- Purse, snack, plant and more
- Fresh, healthy, clean and square
- Pilates, sneaks and much more
- Quite a few good things
- Food, jewels and sweat etc.
- Fun stuff and a giveaway
- Goodies and a yoga giveaway
- Orange, bikes and healthy food
- Food, tech, sparkle and more
- Clothes, home, a roller and more
Questions of the day
What’s something cool you’re loving lately?
Do you have a preferred airline to fly?
Do you have any plans for the Memorial Day weekend?
Yay! I’m included in the group of your favorite people!
Have a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait to see pictures of all you girls! I bet your Mom is one happy camper right now.
Hi Court! Yes, you are TOTALLY a favorite! And I’m at home with my Momma right now. It’s the BEST. Yes, I’ll share a ton of pics! Happy long weekend to you, my friend 🙂
My iPhone loves to have it’s battery life go from 100% down to 50% just by me going on any type of social media. Grr! But thanks to you (and the very reasonable price of that charger), I’m going to order one today! Thanks for sharing and have a great FriYAY!
Awesome, Carrie! You’ll love that charger. Happy weekend to you! 🙂
Those power banks are clutch–we give them to our clients when they move into their new houses/apartments! It has saved me on trips before 😀
Hi Susie! Great gift for new clients! Hope you have a good weekend, lady! 🙂
I agree with Susie – a little power goes a long way! I get nervous when my phone drops below a certain % 😛 I have started preferring Southwest for a number of reasons: no bag fees, price, customer service. It’s nice that they value their passengers.
So true, Doc! And I HATE when my phone drops below!
Hope you have a lovely weekend!! 🙂
I hope you have fun at the wedding! A Greek wedding sounds like it’ll be fun if it’s anything like the movie LOL. I’ve been seeing these portable chargers lately…seems like a worthy investment! I have no airline loyalty, sigh…those vouchers from SW airlines are too cool!
Hi Janelle! Yes, Greek weddings are quite big and fun! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, lady! Thanks for saying hi! 🙂
My husband and I only fly Southwest, too! We have the cc and rack up the points like crazy. Love those free drink tickets, we have so many we get to split them up between all our flights, woohoo! Have fun with your family!
Hi Pinky! Ahhh nice work! It’s good to have the Southwest credit card for extra point! Hope you have a nice weekend, lady! 🙂
I love having an external battery for my phone! Mine is actually my phone case (it’s a juice pack) and it’s AMAZING!
My favorite airline is definitely Lufthansa for international flights and United for domestic.
I hope you have a great weekend! I’m really excited to go see America Ninja Warrior being taped tonight and tomorrow! Can’t wait 🙂
Hi Gretchen! You’re seeing America Ninja Warrior being taped? Totally awesome! I’ve caught some of that on TV before — crazy folks! Hope your weekend is just lovely! 🙂
I love yogi tea and you just reminded me to buy some. I really like the berry detox. Did you just discover those chargers? You’ve been missing out! I’ve had one for 3 yrs. I traveled to China for work and found one of those. I always have it on me. I’m glad the southwest wifi worked for you. It didn’t work for me last weekend. It took 30 minutes for a website to load. Have a fun weekend in Florida!
Hi Megan! Yes, I know these chargers have been around but didn’t think I needed or wanted one until I finally got one ehehhe! And it’s definitely a good thing to keep on you. Yes, I had fast WiFi for most of my first flight, then it was a bit patchy toward the end. Hope you have a nice weekend! 🙂
*FAVE PEOPLE!*
Oh I seriously have three of those books from SWAir. Harry and I are going to have a great flight to Puerto Rico this summer.<3
Plans = Bike the Drive here in Chicago, and resting!
Hi Tiffany! Your plans sound just perfect! And yay for a Puerto Rico trip! Enjoy your weekend lady! 🙂
Have a great time at the wedding! Being Greek myself, I have to say Greek weddings are always a blast! Greek dancing is my favorite! I grew up Greek dance performing since I was in preschool and it is always a blast!
Hi Brie! No way — bet you’ve been to a lot of Greek festivals! And I love Greek food and Greek weddings! OPA!!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Greek Lady!
Southwest is truly the best– glad you made it on your flight!! Have a great time at the wedding- can’t wait to hear about it!
Thanks, Katie! We don’t have as many weddings as you this year, so we’ll be sure to enjoy this one to the fullest hehhe! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I just got one of those portable chargers at a bloggong conference last week. I actually won it in a drawing- I never would have gotten one on my own as I didn’t know they even existed. So clever- I have a feeling I won’t be caught without it anywhere from now on!
Hi Anna-Marie! Awesome! You must have good luck to win a drawing! Love that. Hope you have a nice weekend! 🙂
Hehe I fly Southwest a LOT since I come up there to visit and I got my coupons too! Such a treat 😉
That’s why it’s so good to continue to fly Southwest, because they make it worth your while! Hope you have a nice weekend, lady! 🙂
I have never been to a Greek wedding, but I love that movie. I actually met John Corbin a few years ago when he was on his country music tour.
I hope you have an awesome weekend!
Hi Heather! Totally cool! And this is my second Big Fat Greek Wedding, and I will say they are something else! Lots of ouzo, dancing, dollar bills in the air and more. Have a lovely weekend, lady! 🙂
Have fun at the wedding! Looking forward to seeing pictures of the beautiful bride. Please wish her luck for me and say hi to your wonderful mom!
Ohhh thank you so much Principal Jividen!! You are too sweet. I sent your love to Melissa already and will do the same to my Momma! Have a great weekend! 🙂 Thanks for commenting too!
What a treat that you got those drink coupons! Just in time for your trip – perfect! I’ve always loved Southwest too. They just make things easy, which I appreciate. Have a fabulous time this weekend with family and friends. P.S. Got your email … thanks so much, Girl! I’ll be responding soon. xo
Thank you so much, Ash! It’s good to be home. Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂
I’m happy to hear you made it to FL without any issues! And yes, I love flying with Southwest too. They’re awesome! I just wish they flew internationally so we could get point for Brandon’s conference travel.
Anyways, I hope you have a blast this weekend! It sounds like it will be a great time. 🙂
Thanks, Sarah! I’m having a great time already. Happy weekend to you! 🙂
Flying Southwest gives me anxiety if I can’t check in early enough! The dreaded middle seat lol! Enjoy your trip!!
Hi Marielle! I totally understand how you’d feel that way. I prefer to have my seat ahead of time too, but you can’t beat the no baggage fees and free snacks that you get on Southwest heheh. Hope you have a nice weekend!
Enjoy your time in Florida! I wish Southwest flew into my area airport. 🙁
I like Delta. I’ve never flown Virgin but cushy seats sound amazing!
Hi Lindsey! Virgin is a pretty nice airline, so I hope you get to try it out one day. And have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Have a great weekend at home. Enjoy the sunshine for me!!
Thank you, Katie! I sure will! 🙂
Oh my gosh how great would it be if they served carrot cake?! I also always fly southwest. Did you see they step up their peanut game? They are now honey roasted. Have so much FL and at the wedding 🙂
Hi Sara! How did I not notice the peanuts were honey roasted? Maybe mine weren’t hahah! LOVE THAT though! Hope you’re having a good weekend! 🙂
Yogi tea is my favorite. I keep Throat Coat in my desk to cope w/ my office air conditioner and have their ginger tea every afternoon!
Ginger tea? Yummy! And tea is a great way to stay warm in a cold office.
Portable phone chargers are seriously the best invention ever! Have a fun time at the wedding!!
Thanks, Brittany! The wedding was AWESOME! Hope you’re having a good weekend! 🙂