Friday Faves – Edition 16

Friday.

Edition 16.

It’s Friday!

And I’m up and typing earlier than normal.

Why?

Because around lunchtime today I’ll be heading toward the outskirts of D.C. for the girlie’s soccer tournament.  It’s looking to be a weekend of soccer and rain, so I’ll be packing up my umbrella, raincoat, and rain boots!

On top of sick kids and regular mom stuff, I’ve spent part of the week gathering a few things for my trip to Scotland.

You might recall from last week’s Friday Faves that I thought I might carry my camera in a backpack.

Camera Bag.

In the end, I’ve decided that isn’t quite going to work for this trip. I opted for this Lowepro Toploader Zoom 50 AW II.

While my Sony a7II would fit in a slightly smaller bag, I chose this one because my phone fits into the front zippered pouch and I can also fit my financial and identity necessities alongside the camera.

This frees me up to carry only this bag out during the day.

It has a crossbody strap, but another reason I chose the slightly larger model is that has attachments for a chest harness (sold separately) that I think will be a good choice when hiking.

I also like that stowed in the bottom is its own rain cover.

Scotland is known for its rain and I want to protect my gear.

It does appear quite utilitarian and due to its construction, it has a lunch box feeling to me (probably because the exterior feels like all of the lunch boxes I pack).

My husband likes to remind me that “function is beauty”.

Which is true. But…

Black Crossbody Purse.

I still want to look cute when we go out to dinner at night. My purse collection is actually quite small as I usually carry cloth totes. I have the green bag shown on my About page, a black bag of similar size (both of which I won in a silent auction at an American Cancer Society event over 6 years ago) and a small brown Coach bag that my husband bought me for Christmas about 10 or so years ago (its size makes it a date night purse, which is why it’s held up so long).

I will be wearing predominately black in Scotland and therefore wanted it to be a black crossbody purse. It also needed to be small enough so that if I wanted to wear it along with my camera bag, I would not be killing my shoulders and back.

Enter this cute little Rebecca Minkoff bag. I will tell you that I found this at TJMaxx. I don’t know if that means it’s out of season or if there’s a slight flaw.  However, I saw no problems and its classic style means I don’t care if it is the current seasonal trend.

Scale.

Another purchase that showed up this week was a new scale. We’ve had our old scale since right after my oldest was born (he’s 17). I’m not a fan of diets, but I am a fan of body awareness. I was increasingly frustrated by the body fat % portion of the scale. While I know that these are typically inaccurate and watching the movement is the better way, the fact that it showed my percentage as being in the “obese” category aggravated the heck out of me. Given the fact that I fall within the healthy weight and normal BMI for a 5’8″ woman, I wondered if it was because the scale was so old.

I ended up purchasing this Balance scale from Amazon based on its reviews and also because it is listed as a #1 Best Seller. When it arrived I was happy to learn that the company who makes the scale, Greater Goods, sets aside a portion of every purchase for charity. The Balance brand is built in collaboration with Love146, which is a non-profit dedicated to ending child trafficking. They provide long-term care for survivors and also operate prevention programs.

The scale was accurate in its weight feature and my body fat % was around 13% lower. I think this is probably slightly lower than what is accurate, but puts me a lot closer to what I thought the reality should be.

One Piece Swimsuit.

Which leads me to my next fave of the week. I can’t say that I’m ever thrilled as bathing suit season comes upon me. I have plenty of self-conscience issues when it comes to my body in a bathing suit. Last year was the first year that I’ve worn a bikini in public since I saw a photo of me in one back when my daughter was 2. And last year I only wore a bikini at the beach. I’m still not prepared to wear one at smaller gatherings like our local pool.

Each year I go through the torture of finding one that fits properly. Standard assumptions about ratios do not work with my body. I like a slight ruching across the belly to detract from the “pooch that just won’t go away” that I earned birthing three giants. A lot of suits are in the “no” pile because my cup runneth over (also earned by birthing said giants).

The J. Crew Clearance store in Lynchburg closed this year. I was so disappointed as that’s where I found some suits last year. I’ve often had good luck with Michael Kors shirts as he seems to know that some women have slightly larger chests and doesn’t then assume that there is no waist. He worked his magic in this swimsuit as well.

Now I just need a little sun on these pale legs that have been hidden all winter and I’ll be all set!

Game of Thrones.

My next fave isn’t so much about the mug. In fact, it was one of the gifts I purchased for my husband at Christmastime. It’s because the quote is from Game of Thrones. We decided to watch Game of Thrones a little over a year ago while I was fascinated by some medieval research I was doing with my genealogy. We were hooked and binge-watched the first 6 seasons right in time to watch season 7.

If you are familiar with the show, then you have likely heard of Winterfell. The castle used for Winterfell in the pilot is Doune Castle located in the village of Doune, Scotland. The castle is also the well-known film location for Monty Python and the Holy Grail as well as Outlander. Even though it was only used in the pilot, I plan to make my way to Doune Castle as we already had plans to visit nearby Stirling.

Now I’m off to pack. I have limited time after I return from the tournament before I head to Florida to meet my mother and aunt and we fly off to Scotland!

Music.

Couldn’t leave you without a song this week:

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend and find many moments of peace and relaxation.

Let your light shine!

Amy