Friday Favorites – Sweet Summer

Who doesn’t love Friday especially when it’s National Donut day? But there is always something extra sweet about Fridays in the summer. Even though it is projected to be a super hot one, I’m excited for a couple of days with few worries and sleeping in.

Here are a few bits of sweet summer I’m loving right now!

Did you know National Donut day started back in 1917? The original “Salvation Army Doughnut” was first served by the ladies of the Salvation Army.  It was during WWI that the Salvation Army Lassies went to the front lines of Europe.  The doughnuts were often cooked in oil inside the metal helmets of American soldiers.  American infantrymen were then commonly called “doughboys.”

We had the array of donuts above during our trip to Anna Maria Island over Thanksgiving. The Donut Experiment was all about creating your own concoction and you can see we were creative.

If I’m being honest, though, a cake donut is just not my favorite. We are big fans of Shipleys Donuts here and I honestly can even pass on those unless it is the donut holes! What is your favorite donut?

Summer dinners also bring me joy as it’s the perfect time to keep things simpler. When I’m pulling together a platter of food my favorite thing is to keep it colorful. I love how this veggie tray turned out for our fish fry last weekend.

Pineapples have also been amazing and our local HEB had tiny ones for 77 cents last weekend! I grabbed several because ever since I bought this pineapple corer we don’t hesitate to buy them whole.

We used the leftovers all week and made little snack tray lunches using these meal prep containers. The containers were filled with salami, cheese, leftover pasta salad, fruit, veggies and it made the perfect little lunches.

A few weeks back I shared 5 ways to experience adventure this summer and one of those was to get out in your community and volunteer. We served with our National Charity League sisters this week serving meals at a local mission.

If you are looking for a dressing option that passes on the sugar, I’ve really fallen in love with Tessemae’s brand. The Ranch and Avocado Ranch are my favorite! This made a tasty topping for fish tacos too. It is a little pricey but, trust me, a little goes a LONG way with this stuff.

The sunrise and sunsets have been gorgeous this week. It is hard not to feel joy when God paints a picture like this! As always our days may be filled with loads of joy but also with sadness and heartbreak. Being able to view something like this and remember God is still by our sides even through the pain definitely brings me joy.

I hope you are all soaking up a little sweet in your summer days!