Weekend Favorites

June 04, 2022

Happy weekend my friends. I am wrapping up over a week of family time between our trip to Florida and having my mom travel back with us. I’m going to keep it light and share a round up of favorite things that is truly all over the place. I’ve got everything from my mom’s clinic update to shorts to a new bakery and much more!

A GOOD CLINIC VISIT

My mom and I made a day trip to Durham yesterday for outpatient clinic visits at Duke. Clinic is something that all transplant patients have to do. At the base level you have blood draws for labs, a chest x-ray, pulmonary function tests and an office visit with a transplant pulmonologist. They may add additional tests and procedures into your clinic days. The most important reason for clinic is to catch any signs of rejection or other complications as quickly and early as possible. It’s also very important for them to monitor all of your bloodwork due to all of the medications that transplant patients are on.

My mom is about five and a half months out from her double lung transplant and we had a solid clinic visit this week! Her x-rays and PFTs looked super great! No major issues, just some minor medicine adjustments. She’ll return to clinic in 2-3 months and will have a bronchoscopy procedure so that they can take a closer look at her lungs and get tissue samples. This is all the normal course for lung transplantees. As she gets further out from her transplant, her visits will begin to space out more as long as there are no complications.

CHAMBRAY DRAWSTRING SHORTS

I got quite a few questions about the shorts that I was wearing in my photos with Finn from Florida. They are these chambray drawstring shorts from J. Crew Factory and they are just $26. These shorts are super lightweight and comfortable and a good length for me. Note, they run a little big so you may want to size down one from what you think you need. I also have my eye on these linen-blend drawstring shorts. I’m all about comfort when it comes to shorts and sometimes jean shorts with buttons and zippers can feel a little restrictive to me. (Says the girl who lives in Align pants and pretty much refuses to wear jeans during cooler months.)

FRENCH BAKERY DATE WITH MY MOM

I’d been hearing lots of great things about a new French bakery in SouthPark so I surprised my mom with a mid-afternoon date earlier this week! Chez Marie is an upscale cafe and patisserie that is inspired by French culture. They specialize in desserts, pastries, sourdough breads and viennoiserie. They offer a full espresso bar along with a selection of savory sandwiches and quiche. Everything is made from scratch with high-quality ingredients.

My mom had the lemon basil meringue tart and I had the frasier entremet. The pastries were not only pretty but tasted wonderful too!

The space is small but very aesthetically pleasing. I think Chez Marie is a perfect place to pop in for a coffee, sweet treat or lunch. I could totally see myself meeting up with girlfriends here to catch up. Highly recommend checking out if you are local to Charlotte!

DINOSAUR EGG DIG KIT

My dino loving child received this dinosaur egg dig kit for his birthday and he is obsessed! We soak the eggs in water for about five minutes and then use the chisel and brush to find the dinosaur inside.

SUNSET STROLLS

Evening dog walks have a permanent spot at the top of my favorites list. It was a hot week in Charlotte so we took our walks late. Two evenings I didn’t get home until after 9p.

GLOWING SKIN + FRESH BROWS

I’ve been very spoiled in the skincare department lately! Three weeks ago I had Dysport and filler injections at Carolina Facial Plastics and today I had waxing and a feel-good facial done with the amazing woman who’s been doing my waxing for over 12 years! I took this photo tonight after my waxing and facial – no makeup and no filters!

While I am religious about my at-home skincare routine, I had not had a proper facial in probably a year or so. It was 60 minutes of bliss! We kept it simple with an enzyme peel but Ariana’s facials are over the top. Here’s an overview of what she did…

cleanse
enzyme peel
while the peel was on, arm and hand massage
rinse
extractions – she removed three milia and some blackheads
facial massage with oil – heavenly
mask
while the mask was on she did a neck, head and scalp massage
rinse
toner and moisturizer
done!

Ariana is a one-woman show and rents space in the SouthPark area near Whole Foods. She splits her time between Charlotte and LA so she’s on a month, off a month in Charlotte. If you want her contact info, leave a comment below or shoot me an email!

And with that…I think I am done! It’s nearly midnight and time to read and rest.