Hi friends! Happy Friday! Quick alert: Summer Shape Up plan goes out this afternoon! I’ll be posting the workouts here on the blog each Sunday but if you want everything in advance + the meal ideas, get on the list here!! I can’t wait to do this with you all!

What’s going on this weekend? How was the week?

Ours was a great one. We got back from Vegas late on Sunday and hopped into the adventures of the week. The girls have been taking a kickboxing class with some friends – they love it!!- and we met up with some friends at the pool, lit fireworks in the front yard for 4th of July, I took the girls on a nails and movie date, and we have been getting ready for visitors today. The Pilot’s sis, mom, dad, and our niece and nephew are visiting for the long weekend and we can’t wait for some Tucson adventures with them.

Friday Faves and Vegas Recap

Before the standard Friday Faves post, I wanted to share some Vegas adventures! We met up with Betsy and Jeremy (our San Diego besties and travel buddies) last weekend and had the best time shopping, gambling, people-watching, and eating all of the ridiculous food. It was our 5th trip to Vegas together (!) and we wanted to try a new hotel. We typically love the Venetian and Bellagio, but decided to stay at the Wynn and were NOT disappointed. It’s definitely our new place. I wish I would have snapped a pic of our room with the panoramic view. Everything was recently renovated, the rooms and property were gorgeous, and the service and food were excellent. Highly recommend it if you’re planning a trip to Vegas anytime soon.

Also wanted to mention here that I booked the trip using our AMEX platinum card, which has SO many benefits. We get free access to multiple airport lounges (clutch when traveling with the kids) and also get resort credit, late checkout, and room upgrades when available. It’s by far my favorite credit card, especially for hotels and travel.

Friday afternoon, the Pilot and I walked around the Strip and into the Caesar’s Forums shops, then stopped for appetizers and iced tea at True Food. It was that tricky point of the day when you don’t want a full lunch to ruin your dinner, but definitely want a little snack to hold you over. True Food was perfect! We had dinner reservations that night at the Mirage, which is where we met up with Betsy and Jeremy.

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The summer months are a great time to rethink our relationship with social media and incorporate more mood-boosting time outdoors. So when Very offered us the opportunity to try a five-day reset, we jumped at the chance…

I admit that, in recent months, I’d become a self-care hypocrite. My phone tells me as much with weekly usage reports creeping up and up and its tiny screen being my first and last sight every day.

I write and speak about mental health and wellbeing every day but I’ve become adept at preaching and not practising what I know to be important. I’m good at making excuses about why I can’t get outside more (something that brings me joy) and away from my laptop beyond working hours. I tell myself that I don’t have the time, there are other things I should be doing and it’s too hot/cold/rainy and my hiking boots leak and rub and I don’t have time to replace them.

Then, like a gift - quite literally - the team at Very contacted us with an offer to work together to highlight the wellbeing benefits of spending more time outdoors, and a challenge was born! I would prioritise stroll time in nature over scroll time on my device for five days and reflect upon the impact it had.

My task was to challenge my ‘productivity’ and technology-focused mindset while Very kindly and swiftly addressed my incessant procrastination around buying new outdoor gear. Just a day after I selected them, two new beautiful pairs of Adidas hiking shoes and a lightweight Berghaus jacket from their sports clothing and equipment range arrived on my doorstep. I no longer had any excuses left…

Day one

With the high-summer morning sun peeking through the blinds at 5.30am, I wake up earlier than my alarm and consider reaching for the phone. I could easily spend an hour scrolling through reels but, instead, I throw on some clothes and the Adidas Terrex Hikster low hiking shoes (I love the colours - beige, purple and white), wake up my dog, Zac and head out.

It’s already a warm day and, as I walk by the Thames, I notice how the river sparkles and witness two cygnets swimming alongside their parents. I remind myself that I wouldn't have seen this if I’d indulged in my regular morning social media binge.

I sit down on the grass while Zac sniffs the ground around me and I close my eyes for a moment and breathe deeply before turning back towards home. It’s not yet 7am and I’ve felt the sun on my face, connected with nature and spent some quality time with my canine chum. I feel like I’ve achieved something already but, more than that, I feel calm heading into a new work week.

Day two

To raise awareness of Samaritans and the support they offer to everyone, listening volunteer and previous caller Kay shares her story of picking up the phone and the difference it made to her life

“I can say without irony or agenda, that person I spoke to saved my life,” Kay asserts on Happiful’s podcast I am. I have. Kay is now a listening volunteer for Samaritans and dedicated to helping people when they need it. She knows from first-hand experience the perspective changing power of a conversation when you are at your lowest ebb.

Kay’s own call to Samaritans changed what was an overwhelming and frightening situation for her into a series of interactions that helped her recover from a potentially life-changing illness and subsequent low mood and fearful feelings.

It all began with a health emergency that took place on her daily commute into London. Kay collapsed on board her train after unknowingly developing sepsis from a tick bite on a dog walk, and had to be rushed into hospital as a result. This experience was understandably very traumatising for her.

“When I woke up in the hospital I was physically on the mend,” Kay explains. “Mentally, I was challenged.”

Kay shared her feelings with her GP who offered antidepressants but it wasn’t a route she wanted to take at that time. However, Kay was looking at an eighteen month waiting list for counselling with the NHS and six weeks through her work’s medical insurance. Even the shorter period of time, Kay shares, felt far too long for her to cope with.

Kay found herself waiting on a train platform during this period and this is when she noticed the sign for Samaritans. “As luck would have it that day the train was delayed. I called and got through within three minutes,” Kay says. “Suddenly I had someone actively listening to me. That call was the conversation that triggered me to think that there is support available.”

I knew I was supported and could always call Samaritans at any time all year around

The Samaritan’s listening volunteer explained to Kay that she could contact them whenever and however she needed to, as her train arrived. “I emailed them and phoned again,” Kay says. “Then, I ran speaking to Samaritans and the wholesome support alongside the therapy I started to have. When I felt strong enough to finish my course of talking therapy, I knew I was supported and could always call Samaritans, at any time, all year around.”

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With cases of Covid-19 on the rise, the BBC has announced a new documentary that seeks to understand why five million people are yet to receive the vaccine

In recent months, Covid-19 infections have been increasing in the UK. Following several lockdowns and over 197,000 deaths, the experts are warning that we could be entering the fifth wave, yet 8% of the UK population is still unvaccinated. A documentary due to air on Wednesday 20th July at 9pm, on BBC Two, BBC Factual, and iPlayer aims to determine why this is the case.

The documentary will be presented by Mathematician, Professor Hannah Fry. Hannah worked on the data that contributed to bringing the UK out of the first lockdown in 2020 and, together with leading experts, will try to uncover what the nation thinks of the vaccine roll-out today.

This complex debate has been around for a few years now, and Hannah wants to unearth these long-held opinions, beliefs, myths, and fears that have prevented people from getting vaccinated. Looking at the latest statistics and science, alongside how media misinformation spreads, Hannah will bring in seven unvaccinated participants, all of which will be asked if their opinions have changed and if they would be more likely to take up the vaccine, after the experiment.

“With covid infections on the rise again, there couldn’t be a more important time to examine the reasons why so many adults are still not getting the vaccine.” Tom Coveney, BBC Commissioning Editor, Science.

Scientists have said that we are likely to face more pandemics in the future, meaning further vaccine roll-outs. With this in mind, now is the best time to explore the views of the nation.

The documentary commissioned by Jack Bootle is made by STV Studios and will be a one-hour feature exploring how this debate has become the “heart of modern life”. It will look at the views from both sides in an “open and sensitive way”, says Craig Hunter, Creative Director of Factual, STV Studios. It will reveal why some people are hesitant, and teach these reasons to those who advocate the vaccine so, collectively, we can get a better understanding of what the vaccine means to the UK population.

If you have been affected by the pandemic and are looking for further support, reach out. Visit the Counselling Directory.

Bite-size chunks of Monster Cookie dough are more irresistible than ever when tucked into the Best Ever Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

Best Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Let’s talk cookie dough. I have a weakness. Hand me a spoon, a fork, or a mixing bowl, there’s no cookie dough that doesn’t have a siren call for me.

That said, I do play favorites. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream is a classic that I do love. However, it will never trump Monster Cookie Dough for me.

We’re celebrating three weeks of new ice cream recipes this summer with a very cool ice cream maker giveaway! Enter to win the Cuisinart ICE-100 1.5-Quart Compressor Ice Cream Maker by CLICKING HERE and submitting your email. The giveaway ends July 8th, 2022.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

Monster Cookie Dough

I’ve had a weakness for Monster Cookie Dough for about as long as I can remember.

I’ve mentioned it before, but a particular friend and I have a history that includes eating almost the entire batch of the dough for our Monster Cookies at times in the past.

This love of the dough led to making Monster Cookie Dough Bites many years ago and now it has led me to the best ever Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

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