It’s Monday again! Time for another Inspire Me Monday link-up where you can link your best work from the week AND be inspired by others. We all have something to offer, right?
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Girl’s Weekend
How was your weekend? I had the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Blogger’s favorite things party on Saturday. It’s a pretty awesome idea; you bring 3 of your favorite things and then you go home with 3 things from the other group members. I had almost forgotten about the party (err wasn’t sure if I was going to go because of social anxiety slash stranger danger) until my friend Katie texted me that morning. Knowing a friend was going to be there, I resolved to get out and meet some new people!
I even changed out of gym clothes which was documented with a couple of selfies.
Cookies are one of my favorite things (duh), so I decided to whip up a batch pretty last minute to bring to the shindig. I made the cookies I’ve been obsessing over lately: my Lemon Snickerdoodle Funfetti Cookies.
The thing about me bringing 3 plates of these delightful cookies was that there were already treats there to be eaten that weren’t part of the exchange…I was the only one who brought something homemade. Awkward.
Oops.
The real tragedy is that my kitchen is still a ginormous mess from all the hurried baking. 
(Edit to add: Thanks Morgan for the group shot! And to the lovely hosts Lauren and Meg for arranging all of this! And especially Lauren who was the only one to take a plate of my cookies. Ha! Another thank you to J. Arthur’s Coffee shop in Roseville, a seriously cool spot to hang out..must keep this in mind!)
Aside from that, I caught up on some blogging stuff and watched some Netflix with Miss Zoey Cat. Dave left town for a bit to see his grandparents in Nebraska, so it was a ladies’ weekend! 
(Turned out I could have used Dave’s help since Sunday I was battling crazy cramps and a Zoey Fluffy Butt with stuff coming out of both ends I had to clean up…TMI?)
For awhile I went through a phase where the only new shows I would watch were The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory. Netflix was simply for turning on TV shows I had seen a million times in the background of whatever I was working on. But there have been some shows that I’ve gotten into over the past year or so JUST by watching them on Netflix!
3 Netflix Shows to Watch
These shows are all worth investing some binge-watching Netflix time in. (does that sentence even make sense? and to think I call myself a writer.) I also noticed a common theme–strong female leads.
1. Parenthood. I am in love with Lauren Graham and while listening to the podcast Gilmore Guys (<-highly recommended after episode 5ish), one of the hosts recommended the show. I’d suggest you watch with a box of Kleenex because this show tugs at your heartstrings. I think one of my favorite parts is how real the characters talk. The actors are all amazing and hardly anything seems scripted if that makes sense. But yeah…I definitely find myself bawling while watching.
2. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. First of all, Tina Fey is one of the creators and she is a genius. (totally unbiased opinion, obviously.) The main character is played by Ellie Kemper (who also played Erin on The Office) and basically she has been locked up for 15 years with a couple of other girls and this crazy preacher who had convinced them it was the apocalypse. This sounds kind of awful, but Kimmy’s attitude is so positive and she never sees herself as a victim. That’s inspiring to me.
Of course it’s a comedy, so the whole show is a quirky, funny, upbeat mix that just makes you happy after watching.
Also, the theme song is both empowering and hilarious and I always get the “females are strong as hell” part in my head. (I keep singing it to myself Sunday when my stomach killed and/or I found another piece of poo on the carpet. Don’t feed your kitten cheese. No matter how cute they are.)
3. Parks and Recreation. This is another show where the lead character is a female and she is played by Amy Poehler, another genius. I don’t know why, but I always saw this show on after The Office years ago, but never got into it. Now I’ve watched it so many times that it’s become one of the shows I can have on in the background while I work. Amy Poehler’s character is so ambitious and positive that it always makes me feel like I can (and should) be bolder and pursue my goals more fiercely. Plus the characters are all hilarious. Especially Ron.
[Tweet “3 shows to watch on @Netflix with strong, positive female leads!”]
Inspiration from the Blog/Social Media
Things I’ve been pinning lately.
Lemon Snickerdoodle Funfetti Cookies
These are the cookies I’ve been obsessed with and brought to the Favorite Things party.
The Leprechaun Chase 10K Recap
What do you guys think about this race? Should I do it again next year?
This photo is now possibly my most liked photo on Instagram. Not only that, but Asics now wants to feature it on their account. If someone could tell me the reason this photo is so amazing…I would be very grateful. The colors? The lighting? The funny caption? The awesome socks?
Inspiration from Last Week’s Link-Up
Kate Spade Inspired Gold Eggs + Chalkboard Eggs via Ash and Crafts
Both of these ideas take my breath away. We definitely never did anything this fancy for Easter as kids!
Most Popular Post from Last Week’s Link-Up
Easy Crockpot Meatloaf via Do It All Working Mom
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PS I’m all about Pinterest this year, so I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images! Pin with me!Follow SemiHealthNut
Linking up to: (All of the lovely link-ups I participate in here.)
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Erin from Table for Seven || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
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I just started listening to Gilmore Guys and I think it was episode 4 that had some extra random guys on and I wasn’t a fan of that…but overall I think it will be my favorite podcast ever. I’m so glad we were able to get together on Saturday, and we will have more things together in the future!
haha yes I should keep recommending people start on episode 5! Or maybe 7..there’s another one with a girl that it gets crazy long with tons of tangent and apparently they get complaints about it all the time.
So so glad you texted me!! Good to hang out with you!
I’m so glad you came to the MN Bloggers Fave Things party! It was nice to briefly meet you and I hope to see you again soon! I really wish I had tried one of your cookies, they sound so good, but since you shared the recipe I will have to give them a try now! So sorry your kitty was sick, it’s so fun cleaning up after them isn’t it? And Parks and Rec and Parenthood are two of my favorite shows, they’re both so good!
You too, Beth! I think my favorite item was the mug!! (if you couldn’t tell on IG)
You definitely have to try the cookies. And yeah…it’s like having a baby sometimes lol although you can’t leave a baby home alone all day! 😉
It was lovely meeting you this weekend! I can’t wait for future events. Your cookies looked delicious, if I wasn’t cutting sugar from my life I totally would’ve went for them! I may have a cheat day and bake them for Easter this weekend. Yes to all three of your Netflix suggestions! I just finished binge-watching Kimmy Schmidt. It was hysterical.
It was good to meet you, too! So glad you commented so I can go check out your blog now! 🙂
Yes, please make them for Easter and let me know what you think! Also, I definitely finished the whole first season in like 2 days. So good.
I’ve heard only the best things about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt! Adding that to my to-watch list!!
Yes, you have to watch it, Jess!!
So glad you were able to make it to to the blogger party – I had a really nice time chatting with you! 🙂 And your cookies sounded so good…but sadly one of my highest food sensitivities is to lemon of all things!
Are you all caught up on Walking Dead?! The finale was last night! Can’t wait for the next season. I’ve also seen Parenthood and Gilmore Girls through a few times now, definitely a few of my favorites. I also love the period pieces like Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Peaky Blinders, Call the Midwife. House of Cards is pretty great too if you like political. I also highly highly recommend watching The Good Wife. 🙂 … super tv/netflix junkie over here.
Anyway, again, glad you were able to make it out to the party – hope to see you at future events too!
Oh no!! I have another friend who is sensitive to lemon and of course I brought her these lemon cookies HA! I mean I didn’t know about the sensitivity, but it was just ironic.
YES. That finale was seriously the best episode ever. I almost died like 4 times…especially with what happened to Glenn!!
Definitely ironic! And what a coincidence, I don’t know many others with lemon sensitivities. 🙂
The finale was good! I was kinda shocked they didn’t kill off more main characters like they usually do haha can’t wait to for the next season though!
It was so nice to meet you at the MN bloggers party! I totally understand what you mean about being nervous & almost letting that stop you…I almost let fear prevent me from attending the MN Bloggers conference last fall. I got so much out of it & met such amazing people, I’m so glad I went. Isn’t it funny how it typically works that way? So excited to follow along with your blog–love finding new friends to read! 🙂
I’m really glad I went and it was nice to meet you! I’ve definitely had the same experience when going to conferences..it’s always worth the semi-panic-attacks though haha!
I have been binging on Netflix so much this past year! Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was a brilliant show–I’ve watched the entire season. I’m currently watching Friday Night Lights and really enjoy it. My 2 favorites from Netflix, though, are Scandal and The Blacklist. The Blacklist is so intense!
I really like the blogger meetup idea to bring 3 favorite things and swap them with others! And I would have taken a plate of cookies. I don’t turn down cookies. Especially homemade. Especially with sprinkles.
It makes me so happy that you would take my cookies! I was feeling a little bad about it, but I eventually realized that there were already plenty of snacks there so they probably weren’t as enticing with a full belly. 🙂
I haven’t even heard of Blacklist..I will have to check it out!
Thank you so much for featuring my eggs! And thank you so much for hosting! 🙂
You are so welcome! I wish I was half as crafty as you!