Things I’m Loving Friday #298

Hello from Jacksonville! Ryan, Chase, Ryder, Sadie and I arrived in Florida yesterday evening after making the drive down from Charlotte. We are in town for three reasons — obviously to see my family but also because my Aunt Barbara flew in town from Washington and it’s the Sea and Sky Air Show. Chase has been talking about seeing the “jet fighters” for months since we told him about our plans and I have a feeling the next few days are going to blow his mind.

The weather for the weekend looks like it should be beautiful so I’m crossing my fingers for some pool and beach time with my family as well. I will definitely recap all of the Florida weekend fun on the blog next week but until then, let’s dive right into my weekly roundup of favorites on the blog!

Hope you all have the best weekend!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Amazon Sweaters

Since I found myself gravitating toward this olive green sweater for the second time in less than a week on Wednesday, I figured it was worth a shout out! I’ve had good luck with two recent sweater purchases from Amazon — the first being this leopard-print find — and think both sweaters are perfect for fall. They’re both lightweight and not too heavy so they’re ideal for doing the whole casual front-tuck thing which I struggle to be able to do with most of my sweaters since they’re so thick! I also feel like the quality of the olive green sweater is fantastic for only $29 and love that it comes in a variety of colors (gray, burgundy, white, black, pink, beige, etc.) and know I’ll be wearing this Amazon find on repeat in the coming months.

Note: Both of these sweaters have been added to my Amazon Shop which I’m doing my best to keep continually updated with my Amazon finds! I hope this helps you guys easily locate things I mention in the future when you may want to check out book recommendations, a random product I mentioned in the past, etc.

• Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

After reading and loving Daisy Jones & The Six so much, I was immediately on the lookout for another Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. The premise of Maybe In Another Life intrigued me. Hannah Martin, a 29-year-old woman who is still trying to figure out her life, moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles. She moves in with her best friend, Gabby, and Gabby’s husband and following a night out at a local bar to celebrate Hannah’s arrival back home, Maybe In Another Life splits into two storylines.

In one scenario, Hannah leaves the bar with her first love, Ethan. In another, she heads home with Gabby. As the story unfolds, Hannah lives out the effects of a seemingly small decision and the profound impact it has on her life. Hannah falls in love with a different man in each scenario and the beauty of Maybe In Another Life is the story’s ability to make you question what aspects of our lives are determined by our decisions and which, if any, are determined by fate? And do soul mates truly exist?

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a wonderful ability write books that leave me thinking about them days, weeks and months later.

• Kid-Only Afternoon Play Dates

Well, it finally happened. Chase is no longer napping. I know I was incredibly lucky to have a napper on my hands as long as I did but as of two (maybe three?) weeks ago, Chase’s nap is officially done. To be honest, it’s almost a relief because afternoon naps were so unpredictable for him though I’d always go through the whole nap time unwinding process. Now that we’ve thrown in the towel on his naps, afternoons feel wide open for him and we’ve been loving after school play dates with our friends!

A few of my girlfriends and I have been swapping houses for kid-only play dates and dropping our oldest kids off once a week for an afternoon play date and they just LOVE it. Chase immediately tells me it’s time for me to leave when I take him to Claire or Lilly’s house (he thinks it’s extra special when Mom doesn’t stay) and watching our biggest little ones run around and play so well together is just the best. We had Claire and Lilly over on Tuesday afternoon for a little over three hours and the three of them played so well together. Their imagination games were adorable (they were “roasting cookies” and packing up a suitcase full of toys for a “vacation to Florida”) and listening to the way they communicate is equal parts hysterical and precious. (Oh and in the above picture they were being Popcorn Monsters… obviously. Ha!)

• Default Mood = Happy

Just sharing some random mushy mom thoughts with you guys… The other day Ryan said, “Man, Ryder sure can light up a room,” and with this statement he perfectly captured the way Ryder’s smile hits my heart. His default mood is pure joy and something about the way he waves hello to everyone and runs to me as fast as his chubby toddler legs will carry him makes me realize time and time again what a blessing this rainbow baby is in our lives.

• Burn Boot Camp Upper Body Workout

It’s been a while since we’ve done a killer upper body workout at Burn Boot Camp and Wednesday’s workout reminded me why they’re my absolute favorite. It was a triple set workout and we spent 8 minutes going through three different triple sets. I love the way this workout combined heavy lifting with resistance band work for the ultimate burn!

• Around the Web

Food: Instant Pot Maple Mustard Chicken / White Bean Chicken Chili / 33 Throw-Together Meals / Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich

Fitness: Yoga-Inspired Core Workout / 15-Minute At Home Barre Workout / Last call for Gina’s HIIT Bootcamp enrollment

Weekend Sales: 20% off certain $100+ items at Madewell with code NEWLEAF (includes many of their gorgeous jackets and coats) / Extra 20% of at Kohl’s with code YOUR20 (amazing prices on Nike + Adidas sneakers / these are the fireman rainboots Chase loves + the same brand also makes these adorable glitter rainboots for girls / love these leopard-print slip-on sneakers / these are the slip-on Converse Chuck Taylors I have and wear with everything)

• Friday Flashbacks

Winning Cornbread Recipe (Always a hit! Keep this one in mind if you have a chili cook off to attend or want to contribute a slightly sweet and delicious cornbread to a fall gathering.)

Exercise Ball Ab Workout (9 minutes and done!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you are loving this week?