Things I’m Loving Friday #231

Hey friends! Another Friday is upon us. How was your week? Ours ended on a good note as we celebrated Ryder’s second birthday (see more below) and I’m thinking the fun will continue through the weekend as we celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday. Are you guys doing anything exciting?

The boys are already up for the day due to a brother sleepover (more on that below as well!) so I have to fly through my post this morning because I’m not sure how long they’ll happily chat and sing away in Ryder’s room together. Even though I’m in a bit of a rush to begin Mom Duty for the day, I still wanted to share my weekly roundup of favorites with you guys, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

I hope you all have a good weekend and hope to see ya back here next week!

Things I’m Loving Friday 

• Ryder Turns Two

We had such a nice day celebrating the birthday boy yesterday! Ryder is officially TWO years old and we filled his second birthday with some of his favorite things including an evening swim in the lake and lots of watermelon and capped it off with cake and a brother sleepover. (You may see a video of Ryder singing along to us singing “Happy Birthday” to him on the fourth image in this Instagram carousel. Love our sweet little guy SO much!!)

(I had a few requests for links via IG when I posted the above picture, so I figured I’d share them here as well in case you are interested: Toddler Inflatable Mattress / Space Nap Mat Sleeping Bag / Cloud Pajamas) 

Earlier this week, Chase came up with the idea for a brother sleepover with Ryder to celebrate his special day and Ryan and I thought it was such a sweet idea. The boys were both so excited — Chase said, “Mom, is it okay if we chitter chatter for a while tonight?” as I was leaving the room — and even though they were up yell-singing “Happy Birthday to You!” for nearly 2 hours after bed time, I think they had a blast! (And no, Ryder did not share the toddler mattress with Chase all night! He slept right beside him in his crib.) It’s not even 5:45 a.m. as I’m typing this up right now and they’re already awake and talking sooo clearly the excitement of a sleepover is still going strong. Ha!

• Simple Vanilla Cake from Scratch

I just wanted to give Shiran’s blog a shout out for her light and fluffy vanilla cake recipe because we all loved it yesterday! During Ryder’s afternoon nap, Chase and I made the birthday boy’s cake together using this vanilla cupcake recipe from Shiran’s blog but poured it into a single cake pan and baked it for 30 minutes since we wanted a cake for Ryder’s birthday versus cupcakes. We topped it with her homemade vanilla buttercream and then Chase went to town decorating the cake with an assortment of sprinkles. I’ll absolutely use both recipes again in the future!

• Leg Day Superset Workout

I did this workout in our garage last week and since I found myself scrolling through my phone to find it again to repeat on Thursday morning, I figured it was worth a share! I created four supersets to target my glutes, hamstrings and quads and loved this one! Both times I did this workout, I rounded it out with this quick bodyweight booty burn by Jessica Valant and thought it was a great finishers that left my glutes on fire!

• #BlackoutBestsellerList #BlackPublishingPower Campaign 

Earlier this week, I saw a few women I follow on Instagram share the #BlackoutBestsellerList #BlackPublishingPower Campaign created by @AmistadBooks in an effort to draw attention to Black authors. As an avid reader, it immediately caught my attention and also made me think about the authors I typically choose to read. As longtime blog readers can attest, I love getting lost in a book at the end of the day and reading (mostly fiction) is one of my all-time favorite things to do on the planet. I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t given much thought to whose books I am buying or reading beyond reading summaries, skimming reviews and listening to recommendations from friends. This means that I’m often completely unaware of the race of the author’s books I’m reading (I typically read on my Kindle and often never even see an author photo) but after reading so many lists of recommended books by Black authors, I’m looking forward to making more of an effort to incorporate books by Black writers and POC into my nightly reading routine.

Since fiction is my jam, I opted to purchase the following two novels as part of the campaign: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré and Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson. (Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams is also on my list.) I’m about three quarters of the way through The Girl with the Louding Voice and it’s heartbreaking but very good so far. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a full review of that one pop up on the blog next week!

• Around the Internet

Food: Orange Mango Shrimp Bowl / Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream (this one is next up for me as my homemade ice cream obsession continues!) / How To Roast Frozen Vegetables / Lemon Lavender Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

Fitness: TONS of At Home Workouts from @GymHooky’s Pinterest Board (SO helpful!) / 30 Minute Barre Booty Workout Video

• Friday Flashbacks

Triple Chocolate Protein Oatmeal (I first fell in love with this recipe during my pregnancy with Ryder and it’s another staple for me this time around as well! Oatmeal almost always sounds appealing to me during pregnancy — so warm and comforting! — and I love the way this recipe tastes like dessert for breakfast.)

15 30-Minutes-Or-Less Workouts You Can Do At Home (Perfect for those looking for some at home workout inspiration!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?