(Flashback pic to shopping for Carrie’s wedding dress in October!)
As far as this week’s Things I’m Loving Friday blog post goes, clearly the number one thing I’m loving this week is all the family time Chase, Sadie and I have enjoyed in Florida! I’ve loved every second of inhaling the salty sea air and feeling the sand in between my toes and am already trying to figure out the best time for another visit before travel gets a little more challenging with a newborn in the mix!
Aside from the Florida family fun, a few other things made me smile this week and you will find them listed below. (Side note: I was going to include our toddler road trip favs in this post but they completely took over, so stay tuned for those next week!) Have a fantastic weekend!!
Things I’m Loving Friday
- Leg Workout
I managed to make it to the gym for a fast leg workout yesterday and it was a good one, so I wanted to be sure to share it on the blog today! It’s kind of all over the place in terms of formatting but I think that’s why I liked it so much. I never had the chance to get bored and loved the varied numbers of reps and sets.
- Mini Love Notes
Since Ryan was traveling for work this past week, I broke into my small love notes stash to sneak a little something into his travel bag that I hoped would make him smile. About a year ago, during a visit to see a friend in Atlanta, I picked up a small assortment of mini love notes from Sugarboo & Co. and love using these tiny cards to send a little love Ryan’s way when we’re going to be apart for a few days. Many of them are simultaneously sweet and quirky and I wish they sold more of them online because I’m down to my final three and would love to replenish my supply. If you know of a company that makes and sells something similar, let me know!
- Pool Time
We spent a solid hour splashing around in the pool with Chase yesterday morning and it has me feeling way too excited for spring and summertime swimming! I’m also thinking it may be time to sign Chase up for swim lessons again since it has been nearly a year since our last round of lessons and he loves the water. I’d also like to see him become more familiar with some safety skills in and around water so that’s a good motivator to sign up for another round of lessons, too.
- Crafting
I haven’t had the chance to get a little crafty outside of toddler crafts in a while so it was a lot of fun to put some effort into a bachelorette party surprise for my friend Carrie! If you’re a longtime PBF reader, I’m sure you can guess what I was working on (I have a feeling Carrie knows this one is coming since it’s a bit of a tradition in our group of friends) and I really hope she loves it!
- Florida Seafood
I am a seafood lover through and through and while Charlotte has some decent seafood options, it doesn’t hold a candle to fresh Florida seafood. I ate my fair share of shrimp, fish and shellfish this week and it was wonderful! I’m fairly certain I could eat seafood nearly every single day of the week!
- Friday Flashbacks
10 Blogger Recipes I Make Again and Again (A delicious roundup of a few of my favorite recipes from some fantastic food bloggers!)
Hidden Cauliflower Smoothie (Frozen cauliflower is the secret ingredient to this otherwise naturally sweet strawberry smoothie and does not alter the taste one bit!)
- Around the Web
Food: Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas / Vegetarian Lasagna Roll-Ups / Vitamin Glow Warm Squash Salad / Instant Pot Maple Mustard Chicken
Fitness: Total Body HIIT Circuit / 3 Set Dumbbell Strength Workout
Weekend Sales: Extra 25% off Nike sale items with code 25OFF
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this week?
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I just wanted to say that if you can find swim lessons that are everyday for 2 weeks (that was the setup I found) or intensives – Chase could learn to swim this summer. My daughter is a year older (also a July baby) and she learned to swim last May. I didn’t really think it was a possibility but she’s brave and loves the water! 🙂
Ah, the pool time sounds wonderful! I’m so ready for it to warm up a little bit too. My girls are ready to SWIM! Well, Hailey is and Kaitlyn is apparently terrified of putting her head under 😉 Have a blast in Florida and thanks for linking to my roll-ups! You’ll have to put in an order for what you want once the new baby arrives <3 😉
Erin Condren has little cards with notes on them! They’re not necessarily all centered around love but they all have a sweet little saying on them! Enjoy your weekend!
I added frozen cauliflower to my smoothie for the first time this week and I was very surprised it didn’t affect the taste at all!
Hi Julie,
I can’t wait for the toddler road trip favorites post! I have a road trip with my two year old planned for this summer and would love if you could include any tips in your post. I’m stressing about how to hand stuff back to my kiddo or the best way to have things easily accessible?? Or maybe it’s not that difficult and I’m overthinking it… I appreciate any advice!
I’m loving those mini love notes! I always leave my husband love notes, but I would love to have those cute note cards to leave around for him! So sweet! I hope you have a great weekend! Xoxo
thanks for the link love, friend. have a great trip!
Please let us know if you find more cards like this. My boyfriend travels every week and I would love something like this.
I am smiling today because I woke up to find that schools were closed because of wind, yes we have a wind day lol. So excited to do things around the house and sit and read on this unexpected day off. And have so much fun in Chicago with your girlfriends over the weekend.
Have so much fun in Chicago! Right now I”m smiling because my hubby is on the way home from Starbucks with a feta wrap 🙂
You should visit http://www.goloweco.com for cards. Its Catherine Lowe’s card company….shes married to Sean Lowe. They have love notes as well as plantable cards….eco friendly cards that u plant afterwards!
Girl! I live in Palatine!! I’ll keep an eye out for you this weekend :). Have fun!
I love putting frozen cauliflower in my smoothies! You definitely don’t taste it! Have fun in Chicago! I’m from the northwest suburbs but haven’t been back for a few months. I definitely miss my friends and family there! I have to go back soon and visit.
Aww love the mini love notes 🙂 A few weeks ago, I met my husband in Atlanta for the weekend while he was there for work. My flight to come home on Monday wasn’t until late in the day so I had most of the day by myself while he was working. I left him in a little love note on his nightstand for him to find when he got back to the hotel after work (he was driving me to the airport but wouldn’t be coming back to the room). My plan was spoiled, though, when he came back to the hotel early and found the note before I left lol. He still loved it.
Love those little things.
Happy Friday! Loved reading all about your week (all this week). I wouldn’t mind if you shared an InstaPot tutorial here! Pass on what your mom taught you (I also really dislike reading cooking gadget directions.)
Love the cute love notes. I leave random post-its for my husband all over the place. I’m sure your husband loves receiving these.
Glad you had such a great time with your family, it always puts a smile on my face to see your adventures with family and friends. Hope you have an excellent weekend!
I’ve been a long time reader, and your Friday posts are my favorite!!! I finally created my own lifestyle blog, and decided to do something similar! I tagged you for credit 🙂 here’s the link!
http://extraordinaryroutine.com/2018/03/02/five-friday-faves/
This week I’m loving walks with my snow-suited toddler (yup, still tons of snow here!). The way toddlers walk in snowsuits always makes me laugh because it’s so cute and awkward at the same time.
Papersource sells the most adorable tiny cards! Usually they have them around most holidays- I always stock up at Thanksgiving for the gratitude ones and Valentine’s Day for more mushy ones!
They actually still have some Thanksgiving ones on sale- $3.50 for 10!
https://www.papersource.com/item/Calligraphy-I-Am-Thankful-Letterpress-Cards/3929991197.html
I am wondering if you could make your own mini cards? I found blank mini note cards in the dollar bins at target- when my toddler and I need a craft I pull these out to decorate for loved ones- we’ve used fruit as a stamp, crayons, markers, and I have been saving up daycare art work to cut and paste on the front of a notecards as well- this would add another dimension of love since it would be from Chase too ?. And we could all use another way to busy our toddlers ?
Not quite “love” notes – but similar idea! https://www.papyrusonline.com/just-because-lunch-box-notes