Happy Friday from Minneapolis! We got in last night and had breakfast with friends this morning. Now we're relaxing a bit at my brother-in-law's place before we head out for more food, a walk around a lake, and happy hour later tonight! It's unseasonably warm here this weekend so people are out and about enjoying the day. I'm so happy to be here.

Just wanted to pop in quickly with a few links I've been collecting. Enjoy!

To Read:

• Why Refusing to Change is Killing You
• I found this really beautiful: Why Doctors Die Differently (I'm also a sucker for anything that makes a reference to Dylan Thomas.)
• An important piece: Why We Need Fairy Tales More Than Ever.

To Watch/See:

• My wonderful friend (and wedding photographer) Ashley is hosting a photography workshop in March, and Rob and I will be there acting as models in the styled shoot (the photo above is from my own bridal session with her)! If you are a photographer anywhere near Richmond, Virginia, I'd love to see you there! You can get more information here (and today's the last day to save $100 on your registration)!
• Lost and hound! This dog is the best.
• Aziz Ansari on saying you're a feminist.

Wish List:

• Now that New Year's Eve is over, I'm pretty much ready for spring. I've got my eye on the following:
  • This little jumpsuit.
  • This adorable pie dress.

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I hope you all have a great weekend! We'll be here through Sunday, so as always, feel free to follow along with me on Instagram.

I've been a big fan of Crest's Whitestrips products for years and years, so I was totally thrilled when they reached out to me to work with them on their 2 Weeks to Your Whitest Smile program. And what better way to start a new year than with a sparklier smile?

Crest sent me a box of their 3D White Supreme FlexFit Whitestrips and I've been using them for the past two weeks as directed. You wear a pair of strips once a day for an hour and after fourteen days, you have significantly whiter teeth! I was surprised by a couple things: first, how quickly I saw results; and second, how easy they were to wear--you stretch them a bit before applying, which allows them to custom fit your smile (and provides 30% more coverage). They stay where you put them, they don't slide around or make a mess, and you can talk normally and even drink water while you're whitening.

I've included some before and after photos and, even more exciting, a giveaway! Crest is going to send a box of 3D White Supreme FlexFit Whitestrips to not one, not two, but three lucky Freckled Italian readers; so enter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is brought to you in partnership with Crest 3D White.

My brother and I always used to make fried rice together. It was one of my favorite dishes, and it was always a team effort--we'd get the pan super hot and keep adding tablespoon after tablespoon of butter, spreading the rice out in one thin layer and pressing down with a spatula so it got super crispy. 

Sean and I haven't made fried rice in a long time, especially since I've gone grain-free, although to be honest white rice isn't something I lose sleep over if I eat it here and there, because what exactly is a life without sushi? But that's beside the point--I was grocery shopping last week and picked up a couple daikon radishes, which I almost never eat. Then I picked up some green peas, which I never really buy, and I realized it was time to make fried rice again, only this time, a Paleo version.

This recipe involves using a spiral slicer to make noodles out of the daikon radish before chopping them up, but if you don't have a spiralizer, you could use a food processor (for both steps) instead.

Ingredients (serves one for lunch or maybe two as a side dish):

• 1 1/2 cups "riced" daikon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup carrots, diced
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (but I won't tell anyone if you use gluten-free soy sauce)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon grass-fed butter

Instructions:

1. Peel your daikon radish and use spiral slicer to create noodles. Then chop liberally until you have daikon rice!
2. In a large pan, saute the daikon rice in the sesame oil. Spread the daikon rice out into one layer and let it cook for a minute or two, then mix it up and repeat several times for five to seven minutes.
3. Add butter, garlic, and ginger. Stir until well incorporated. Add the carrots, peas, crushed red pepper, and coconut aminos. Continue to stir.
4. Crack an egg over the pan and scramble it right there in the pan, incorporating it into the fried rice.
5. Continue to cook until daikon rice starts getting crispy (feel free to add another half tablespoon or so of butter if you wish). Season with pepper and maybe some salt, just taste it first because the coconut aminos is pretty salty.
6. Enjoy hot, straight out of the pan, and don't forget to tell your brother all about it.