Top Five Friday #25

Happy Friday everyone!  I'm really excited for this weekend because it's going to be a long one!  Thank goodness for Monday holidays and Labor Day sales.  I hope you all have a great weekend, now let's get into some favorites from this week!

US Open

The final major in the Grand Slam started this week, and I couldn't be more excited!  There have been so many great matches so far, and I can't wait to see if Serena will win and make history.  It has been a bit disappointing to see so many matches retired because of cramping and heat exhaustion.  I've seen a lot of debate if this is due to ATP not having a heat rule like the WTA has, or if the players are just not conditioned well enough.  Who is everyone cheering for?

Trader Joe's Chocolate Bars

This should be both a favorite and unfavorite, because I absolutely love all the different chocolate bars from Trader Joe's and can't stop myself  once I start eating them.  There are so many great flavors that I've tried, and my favorites are Milk Chocolate Truffle and Swiss Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts.  I'm warning you- these are addicting!

Neutrogena Stubborn Acne Spot Gel

This may not be a glamorous thing to talk about, but I have to mention this product!  In the past, I've talked about the problems I've had with my skin in my adult years, and it's definitely improved with my current routine (Cerave foaming cleanser and oil cleansing for removing makeup), but I still had a pesky spot that never went away on my cheek.  I decided to try this product, and it immediately disappeared!  I can't believe how well this worked (usually spot treatments don't work for me) and I'm SO HAPPY!  It's definitely worth a try if you have a stubborn spot or two and have tried everything.

Labor Day Sales

I'm thinking about stocking up on fall clothes (you can check out my wish list here) and upcoming Labor Day sales will definitely help out!  Thanks to Gina, I'll definitely check out Express (see her recent posts here and here).  I also picked up a dress and bathing suit from Target's sale, and will stop by Madewell this weekend as well!  Where is everyone else shopping?

Happiness Project Update

Gold Star of the Week: As I mentioned above, I just bought a bathing suit!  I'm still nervous about starting to swim (I love water and I'm a decent swimmer, but trying new things is always really intimidating for me!) so taking that step was huge.  I also bought goggles a few weeks ago, so hopefully my gold star next week will be actually swimming!  Baby steps here, people!

Demerit of the Week: Long story short, my FitBit that I raved about a few months ago stopped working and I got a new one in the mail this week (side note- FitBit has the best customer service ever).  Unfortunately, I haven't felt motivated at all to walk recently and haven't hit my step goals any day this week.  I'll blame it on the hot weather and working from home, but next week it's time to get back in the groove and forget the excuses.  If you have a FitBit, please add me and taunt me when I'm not walking enough!

Shows

So You Think You Can Dance

I am very, very sad to see one of my favorites (Jim) go home this week, but I have to admit that I love all four dancers that are left!  They're all incredibly talented and have fantastic personalities.  I have no idea who will end up winning but I can't wait to find out!

Dancing with the Stars

The cast for the upcoming season has been released and I can't wait!  I'm most excited to see Andy Grammar and Nick Carter (even though I was an N'Sync girl!)  Who else is excited and who is your early favorite?

America's Got Talent

It's semi final time!  This week was full of great performances and huge shockers (did anyone predict Siro-A would get eliminated?  Crazy!).  I really like the magician Derek Hughes and the CraigLewis Band.  Those guys are AMAZING, but I'm not sure they're the best act left to headline a show in Las Vegas.

Masterchef

I missed a few weeks of this show, and now all of a sudden they're down to the four contestants!  When did that happen!?  My favorite from the beginning was Derrick, so I'm really excited to see he's still in the competition.  I think the final chefs are all amazing and have done consistently well the entire season, so I can't wait to see what will happen next!

America's Next Top Model

This is usually my favorite show of the summer (no shame), but this season is irritating me.  I miss the days when the competition was about modeling and the show was really about giving the girls a launching pad to the modeling world.  Now, it just seems like every other reality show- full of drama, love triangles, and scripted plotlines.  I'm kind of over it, but will still finish out this season (still no shame).  

Songs

Real Life : The Weeknd

I'm so excited that The Weeknd finally released his CD, and it's a perfect album to listen to at work.  Great songs that I can't stop listening to!  I especially love the first track, which reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson's sound.

Hula Hoop : OMI

How can you not love OMI's songs!?  They're so fun and upbeat, and the perfect music to listen to when you're feeling down or need a pick me up.  I call this my "2:00 feeling" music.  For some reason, at 2:00 every day I get in a funk and am ready for the day to be over.  Cue the happy music!

Downtown : Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

I've been waiting and waiting for Macklemore to release more music, and this song didn't disappoint!  I love the horns and funky feeling of the song.  His new album should be coming out soon, and I'm downloading it the minute it's available!

Black Magic : Little Mix

This song is just fun!  I added it to my workout playlist and it gives me a little pep in my step when it comes on.

Honey Bee : Blake Shelton

A little throw back (to 2011)- and I still love this song!  It's funny to look back and see that this song lost the Grammy for best country performance to Taylor Swift.  Hmm...

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Mar, Cynthia and Court 
as well as Heather!