Things I’m Loving Friday #538

Hi friends!!! How are ya? How was your week? We are especially psyched for today because Ryan returns! He’s been in India for work since last Thursday (he left the day after we got back from Disney — ooph!) and we’ve missed him tons. The 16.5-hour time difference will never not blow my mind when we communicate during his travels to India (he is basically living a full day ahead of us and goes to bed soon after we wake up) but thankfully we’re still able to chat twice a day.

The boys got it in their head that they want to make him a welcome home cake (he doesn’t arrive home until after they’re in bed tonight) so baking a sprinkle cake is on our agenda for today, as well as usual Friday school commitments and martial arts.

As for the weekend ahead, I have plans to celebrate a friend’s birthday and then Ryan and I have a double date planned with one of his childhood friends and his wife who will be in Charlotte for the weekend. It should be a good one and we’re certainly glad we’ll all be back together again!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends, and enjoy my first roundup of Friday favorites in 2025!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Eucalyptus Oil Shower Spray

This shower spray is one of those simple luxuries that makes me feel so incredibly pampered and relaxed. I love a hot, steamy shower this time of year and a couple of sprays of this eucalyptus oil shower spray as the steam in my shower begins to accumulate makes my whole shower feel like a high-end spa. While several different oil/scent options are available (all made with 100% pure essential oils), the eucalyptus is the most spa-like for me and transports me back to the incredible spa experience I had in Las Vegas last year. It’s the definition of a little indulgence = big happiness “modest splurge” for me!

• Big Kid Sleepover + Wicked

Last weekend, after Rhett went to bed, since Ryan was in India, the big kids and I had a “sneaky sleepover” in my bed and cuddled up to (finally!) watch stream the movie Wicked together! I thought the movie might be a little too much for Rhett but the big kids were really interested in watching it with me after hearing the soundtrack and listening to me explain the plotline I remembered from the musical I loved so much.

I’m sure this is no surprise to fellow Wicked fanatics out there, but I thought the movie was incredible!!! I’m so glad I was finally able to see it and had so much fun singing along to the songs (a perk of streaming it in bed) and Chase and Ryder got really into it as well. We’ve been playing the soundtrack non-stop at home again all week long and we all get a little too excited when “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” or “What Is This Feeling?” come on. Also, the “It’s me… It’s MEEEEEE” part!? Chills everytime.

• How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

My rating: B / Genre: Romance 

There is so much I liked about this book: A peek into the screenwriting industry. (<– My favorite aspect of the book!) A vulnerable, raw and intriguing main character. Laugh-out-loud dialog. Beautiful and memorable writing. But there one main thing that held me back from absolutely loving this (steamy!) book: It was frustrating. I am all for will-they-won’t-they plotlines between characters and while this one was very emotionally fraught and complex in a way I haven’t read in other novels before, it felt very drawn out (especially in the second half of the book) and went on a little too long for me to enjoy. The book wasn’t crazy long but it felt like the author really tried to squeeze every last morsel out of the main character’s struggle to embrace love. I realize this is very likely realistic in the “real world” but it detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel and the way I felt about the main character overall.

From Amazon: 

Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever.

Now a bestselling author, Helen pours everything into her career. She’s even scored a coveted spot in the writers’ room of the TV adaptation of her popular young adult novels, and if she can hide her imposter syndrome and overcome her writer’s block, surely the rest of her life will fall into place too. LA is the fresh start she needs. After all, no one knows her there. Except…

Grant has done everything in his power to move on from the past, including building a life across the country. And while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he’s well liked around town as a screenwriter. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but it will open doors to developing his own projects that he just can’t pass up.

Grant’s exactly as Helen remembers him—charming, funny, popular, and lovable in ways that she’s never been. And Helen’s exactly as Grant remembers too—brilliant, beautiful, closed off. But working together is messy, and electrifying, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven Grant, have no idea he’s in the picture at all.

When secrets come to light, they must reckon with the fact that theirs was never meant to be any kind of love story. And yet… the key to making peace with their past—and themselves—might just lie in holding on to each other in the present.

• December 2024 Top 10

It’s the final roundup of Top 10 blog posts + favorites in 2024!

Top 10 Blog Posts

• Great Wolf Lodge Review
• How to Make Salmon Bites
• Oreo Peppermint Ice Cream Dessert
• How to Make German Pancakes
• Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes
• PBF Gift Guide 2024: For Her
• PBF Gift Guide 2024: Stocking Stuffers (for Kids, Him and Her)
• Holiday Pretzels
• Egg White and Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
• One Week of Kid Breakfasts In 5 Minutes or Less

Your Top Favorites

• NodPod Gentle Pressure Sleep Mask (A game changer for my middle-of-the-night wakeups and my mom’s favorite, too!)
• Time-Stamp 64 oz Water Bottle (The monstrosity that actually makes me drink enough water throughout the day.)
• No Show Ankle Socks (I’ve been so impressed with the quality of these socks and the fit reminds me so much of my no-show BOMBAS but for a fraction of the price.)
• KUR Illuminating Nail Concealer (I will forever be grateful to you guys for introducing me to this stuff! It makes even the most damaged nails look beautiful.)
• Amazon Lululemon Lookalike Hoodie (The sweatshirt I’ve reached for above all others for years.)
• Walmart Cane Cabinet (The cabinets we’ve had and loved for years that we use to hide our boys’ craft supplies, games, puzzles, etc.)
• Sashibo Shape-Shifting Cube (Our big kids think this shape-shifting cube is the coolest! We especially love it for travel entertainment.)
• IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream (I call this my “hot girl makeup” as it’s full-coverage and the makeup I reserve for nights out when I really want to bring the heat.)
• Epicurean Cutting Board (The non-toxic cutting board of my dreams that we all fell in love with this year!)
• Puzzle Track (The hit of Rhett’s 4th birthday!)

 

• Disney Links + Apparel

On Instagram, I received a handful of messages asking me for Disney apparel + other links during our Disney trip but I wasn’t the best about responding to DMs in real-time while we were in the parks. I apologize for the delay but today I’m going to do my best to tack what I remember people asking about onto the end of this blog post below.

Since our trip was so last minute, I did a Target pick-up order the day we booked our trip for Mickey tees for the boys and one for me but everything else was stuff we had from last year that we re-wore or were able to pass down from kid to kid. (I’ve loved the kids’ Disney apparel from GAP, Gap Factory and H&M the most if you’re able to shop ahead!)

BOB Double Stroller: Worth every dang penny. We’ve had ours since Ryder was a baby (6+ years ago) and have taken it all over the place. It’s a monstrosity, yes, but it’s the best dang stroller we’ve even owned by a million miles. It holds a ton (we added this Amazon handlebar attachment for water bottles and easy access snacks — it’s way better and bigger than the one sold by BOB) and it’s comfortable for the boys and easy to push for the adults, even when we max it out with three kids (one in the “jump seat” which isn’t a seat at all but somehow still works to hold one of our kids in a pinch). LOVE it and would highly recommend it a million times over to those with two (or even three!) kids!

On Julie: Red Mickey Long-Sleeve Top / Target White Mickey Tee / Minnie Ears / New Balance Sneakers (forever my favorite for lots of walking!) / Pink + Red Heart Beanie / Garmin Lily 2 Watch (I owe you guys an update on this one — I LOVE IT.)

On Ryan: Green Mickey Tee / Goofy Movie Tee

On Chase (9yo): Target Gray Mickey Tee / Target Tan Mickey Tee with Red Embroidered “Mickey”

On Ryder (6yo): Target Gray Mickey Tee / Red and White Mickey Baseball Shirt (GAP from last year)

On Rhett (4yo): Target Green Vintage-Inspired Mickey Tee / Target Lots of Mickeys Tee / Mickey Socks (GAP from last year and they’re not available anymore but they do have Minnie socks!) / Mickey Pajamas

• Friday Flashbacks

Southwest Shrimp Soup (The pics from this 2014 recipe finally got a little refresh! It’s still a big-time winner, especially if you’re looking for a protein- and veggie-packed recipe.)

Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes (For anyone else once again hopping on the meal prep train!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week? 

What is one thing you’re looking forward to in 2025?