Five Friday Favorites

Welcome back to my Five Friday Favorites! It's been a crazy busy last few weeks with work and some extra training added into the mix. Fun, fun...not! :) Any whoo.... let's get down to business!

1. Sam Adams Summer Ale 

If you haven't tried it yet, it is a must for summer time. It's our new go-to beer this season. So smooth and refreshing! While I can't believe it's basically summer already, I am excited for summer brews and parties in our backyard at our firepit! Oh and of course going to the beach! 

2. Sushi Dates

We are officially fans of sushi! You don't know what a feat this is for two very "meat and potatoes" kind of eaters but we officially like sushi, and no not just the California roll ;). Plus, I've found out that if you make it for the lunch specials, or in this case early bird dinner specials (thanks, night shift schedule!), sushi can be really affordable! Delicious food and not too expensive  are two of my favorite things. 

3. Oil Pulling

If you were clicking around on Pinterest like I was this past week or following me on Instagram, you may have seen the pin below or the picture above. Seeing as I have never been in good graces with the dentist (or I have a GREAT relationship with them, whichever way you look at it ;) ), I figured I would give it a quick read. What I found is this thing called Oil Pulling. 

Via

Apparently, swishing a tablespoon of organic, unrefined Coconut Oil in your mouth (I found mine at our local health food store) for 20 minutes preferably as soon as you wake up in the morning helps detox any bad things left in your mouth as well as helps to prevent or reverse cavities. Then, you just rinse your mouth with warm water and brush your teeth like normal. 

I have only done a few rounds of this so far, so I will keep you updated, but my mouth did feel pretty darn clean after. FYI, even if you really don't like the taste or flavor of actual coconut like myself, the oil is not too overwhelming tasting so by microwaving it for a few seconds, the butter consistency of the coconut oil becomes liquefied and is easier to swish. Apparently, this oil pulling is becoming a trend too because the lady at the health food store where I got my Dr. Bronner's Organic, Unrefined Coconut Oil said that lots of people have been coming in to purchase it and that it can also be used on your face, I'm assuming as some sort of mask. 

4. Nike + App 

I have been using this app since last December and it is really my favorite. I don't use any other workout apps because this one does everything I could want for my routines. I do not have the sensor to put in my shoe that would be useful for running on a treadmill, but for outside runs, you don't even need it (although I would like to get one eventually for use at the gym) because the GPS tracks your phone. 

I like this app because it uses pretty accurate GPS to track my outdoor runs, updates me when I hit each mile giving me my pace per mile and total time running, and syncs directly with my iTunes playlists allowing me to pick a playlist and skip around to different songs while running (which I do a LOT of!). 

I also really like the way Nike + tracks your runs and shows you stats. Above, is what the app shows you after you have completed your run. It shows a map of where you ran, the total distance, allows you to put how you felt (shown by the emoticon), shows the weather for the day, how many miles you have on your specific pair of running shoes, and obviously the final time and calories burned. Below it also shows you the breakdown of each mile pace and how each one differentiated which is helpful. 

Being the Type A personality that I am, I love looking at the stats, so I try to use the app every time I do an outdoor run so that I can compare it all afterwards. The app also tells you when you've beat your own records for things such as mile time, 1k time, and 5k time so I like to use that to motivate myself to get my times down. Finally, it shows you in bar graph form all of the runs you've done each month and the difference in mileage which can also help as a motivating factor. 

I have recently read a lot of great reviews for the Fitbit, so I am anxious to get one and try it out for myself in the near future. Have any of you tried it? I'd be anxious to hear your thoughts.

5. Breaking Bad

 We just finished the first season of Breaking Bad, thanks to our neighbors for lending us their DVDs after we had heard so many good reviews from my cousins, our neighbors, and lots of friends over the years. We literally watched the entire season, minus one episode, in one night thanks to our night shift schedule. I'm not sure why it took us so long to check it out because we are officially hooked! Gonna have to get some Netflix, at least for the free month trial, to indulge our new addiction. :) 

Hope you have a great weekend!

Peace, 
Allison