Friday, February 2, 2018

Five Loves on Friday // Celebration, Encouragement, Food Finds, & Chick Flicks



Happy first Friday of February, friends!  Is anyone else ecstatic that we have (finally) moved past January and are now into the month of all things red, pink, hearts, and glitter?  Love it!  

Today's loves are a good mix of celebration, new food finds, encouragement and entertainment! 

One  //  My Mom's 60th Birthday

This week we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday!  We let her decide how she'd most like to celebrate this milestone occasion.  She said she could think of no better way than spending a relaxing evening at home with her family.  You've gotta love that!  We ordered takeout from the restaurant we got pizza from nearly every Friday night growing up.  My sister's family and my own gathered in the home where we grew up and have created so many cherished memories over the years!  We enjoyed a fantastic evening together chatting, chowing, reminiscing, and laughing over pizza, cake, and gifts for the birthday girl!


How cute is this sign my sister made for the occasion?  So "sweet"!




Happy Birthday Week to you, Mom!
I will forever be grateful for your love, support, care, thoughtfulness, hospitality, generosity, and to have learned from you how to celebrate life, every holiday or occasion, big or small!  I hope you know how much we love and appreciate you!


Two  //  Daily Gems from an Excellent Devotional


I picked up this daily devotional book a while back and have been thoroughly enjoying it!  It's definitely earned its way onto a "loves" list!  One portion that particularly struck my attention and caused me to praise God this week was this:

"... Hebrews 1:3 adds that when Christ had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Old Testament priests didn't sit down while on duty because their work was never finished.  Repeated sacrifices were necessary because of the priest's own sins and the sins of the people.  Christ, on the other hand, made one all-sufficient sacrifice, then sat down.  His atoning work was completed."

That is good news!  It is FINISHED.  He paid the debt of sins of all those who trust in Him, completely and perfectly sufficient, once for all time.  It's a done deal!  Nothing could make my heart lighter than that!  To learn more visit: NeedGod.com


*You can find this daily devotional in digital form for FREE here or if you're like me and prefer the physical copy you can find that here.


Three  //  A New Recipe



One of the goals I've had over the past couple years is to try a new recipe each week.  Sometimes this doesn't always happen, but even two or three new dishes a month is fun and often results in adding fresh additions to our meal rotation.  This recipe is one such keeper!  It made for a perfect Sunday night breakfast for dinner, or as we call it, brinner.  You can find the recipe here.  The only alteration I made was halving the green onions which we thought was just right to our tastes.



Four  //  Hallmark Love


During the year of January (that wasn't a typo, it felt like a year) I spent much of my down time snuggled up in my favorite blanket watching a DVR full of sweet chick flicks.  What better way to prep for Valentine's month, am I right?  Here are a handful of my recent faves.  Any other Hallmark channel fans out there?  


Speaking of delightfully cheesy things ....


Five  //  Nacho Fries at Taco Bell

*screenshot captured from this Taco Bell commercial

You guys, do your taste buds a favor and grab an order of this limited time scrumptiousness from Taco Bell!  I was so impressed with these that I may have had them twice this week!  They are seasoned with "bold, Mexican spices", perfectly crisp, and deliciously dunkable with the accompanying cheese sauce! For a buck, they can't be beat!


Thanks so much for visiting today!  Wishing you a lovely first weekend of February!


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21 comments:

  1. Ummmm, i’m so watching my cAlories but Totally want fries. And yes January did feel like a year! Happy birthday to your beautiful mama! Mine is 60 this month

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  2. I will be watching more cheesy Hallmark movies in the coming weeks when my husband's schedule gets busier! Congrats on being featured on H54F!! Happy Friday!!

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  3. Happy Fri YAY my sweet peep! Happy belated to your mama, I thank her for giving the world such a darling daughter, I love how you celebrated her! Gimmie all the Hallmark movies, you just feel happy after watching them. So glad you shared those sticks of dunkable goodness, I’ve been wanting to try them and they look soooo good! Again, you fill my heart and the hearts of all those around you with joy! Thank you! Enjoy your weekend! xo

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  4. I am SO glad that I am not the only one who wanted/wants to try the nacho fries. I mean c'mon! It's pretty much the best idea ever. Such a sweet way to celebrate your mama friend. I hope you ladis (and your fellow) have an awesome weekend.

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  5. That birthday sign is SO cute!! :-) Glad that you had a fun time celebrating your mom. I don't eat fries very often but I may need to try those!! I hope that you and your family have a wonderful weekend!! :-)

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  6. Happy Friday and Happy Birthday to your mom! It sounds like it was a nice family celebration. Those are always my favorite and there's nothing like ordering in and relaxing. I hope you have a great weekend, Brenda! Sierra~Beautifully Candid

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  7. Happy Birthday to your mom! Those nacho fries actually look delicious!! Happy Friday!!

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  8. Happy Birthday to your sweet Mama! Yay! Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! xo

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  9. Oooh those nacho fries!! Yummmm. I've been looking forward to trying them, and I love seeing a positive review. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Taco Bell nacho cheese, so this is going to be amazing :) Happy birthday to your mama, too!

    Meg, Borrowed Heaven

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  10. I heard the Nacho Fries from Taco Bell were good, but I haven't tried them yet. That breakfast casserole looks delicious. I'm trying to branch out with my cooking too. I got some cookbooks for Christmas and I'm trying to make more an effort to cook from them more rather than just falling back on old standbys.

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  11. That casserole looks DELISH! Happy Birthday to your mom, that sounds like my way to celebrate too <3
    Green Fashionista

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  12. Happy birthday to your mom - what a sweet present for her!!! That casserole looks delicious, and now you have me craving Taco Bell! Yum!

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  13. Wait, what? Nacho fries?! I need to try these! I need to pin that casserole dish, too. I am always looking for new devotionals, so thank you for the recommendation. I need to finish my current one, though. You are SO sweet to your mom! Wow! And a relaxing birthday dinner of pizza and cake is my cup of tea!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  14. I'm already a fan of that devotional after only a few days AND I shared it with someone else looking for a devotional! It's so nice to have a fluff-less devotional, but rather one that focuses on God's Word rather than using it to support their own ideas. Thanks for sharing with me, sweetest friend! Happy Birthday to "Party Mama"! I'm thinking that looks like a great PG meal! ;) I love ALL things Hallmark, although I haven't been able to catch as many movies as I'd have liked this month. I sure wish I had DVR. ;) And finally, as I told Trav that we needed to grab some Nacho fries to go with our chili for dinner, he said, "Brenda got us hooked on McGriddles, so I trust her judgment!" You're the best! <3

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  15. I was thinking about the old candy bar cards this week!!! I heard about the Nacho fries they they are not anything I eat. However, a try? Well sure I'd do that. Have a great weekend!

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  16. Happy Birthday to your Mom! Sounds like you guys had a wonderful time celebrating and I love the candy poster! I was wondering what those Nacho Fries tasted like. They look pretty tasty so I am going to have to give them a try! Have a great weekend, Brenda!!

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  17. Love, LOVE that truth from your devotional. I'm so grateful His work is DONE! Amen!

    My mom turns 60 this year, too! :) My sister and I are planning a special surprise for her and I have my hands full keeping my sister from spilling the beans. LOL. Happy birthday to your mom! <3

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  18. I am so excited about starting the month of hearts and glitter too! Your mom's birthday celebration sounds delightful!

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  19. My Mom's birthday was this past weekend and she wanted to celebrate the same as yours with family and take out. Happy belated to your mom!

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  20. Please tell your mom I said happy belated birthday! Somehow I got behind on your posts again. *facepalm* Haven't tried the Taco Bell nacho fries yet - we don't have as many Taco Bells around (lots of Del Taco and mom & pop mexican places), but they're on my list to try eventually. I love me some nachos and heard lots of great things about it, so I can't wait!

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I would love to hear from you today! I enjoy reading each and every comment I receive. (I do moderate them before they're published. Gotta keep it family friendly! ;)) Let's chat! B.Y.O.C. {Bring Your Own Chocolate!}