Now that we’re back in action, let’s dive right into my usual roundup of Friday favorites!
Things I’m Loving Friday
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Fourth of July Weekend Celebrations
I didn’t share a typical Fourth of July weekend recap on the blog on Monday but still wanted to share some pics of the holiday with you guys because we had such a nice time with my family. We spent the morning at the pool before making our way out to the beach around lunchtime where we remained until dinner. It was an all-day outside kind of Fourth of July and despite overcast weather, the rain held off and we managed to spend hours on the beach, swimming in the ocean, chasing the kids in the tide pools and snacking in the shade of our canopy.
The fireworks on the beach were canceled this year but that didn’t stop people from assembling their own firework shows in nearby neighborhoods. We managed to see a bunch of them from my parents’ place which had us feeling festive despite the fact that everything feels so different right now.
We ended up saving our family’s sparklers for the fifth of July because all of our little ones hit a serious wall after dinner so it felt like the holiday fun was extended a bit!
(Note to self: Put the self-timer to use and somehow get a pic of our whole family together before we head back to North Carolina!)
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Creature Man’s Little Critters
Florida is a jackpot for little critters and Creature Man Chase is loving collecting as many as possible. The tide pools are the perfect hunting grounds for little fish — he even caught one with his hand to put in a bucket — and lizards are incredibly plentiful in sunny spots near the pool at my parents’ place.
My sister gave Chase his birthday present a little early and the Melissa & Doug Bug House she ordered has been the perfect temporary home for lizards and bugs during our stay. We’ve caught a lizard or two a day since our arrival and told Chase he can keep his lizard friends for one day before we need to release them into the wild. Since Chase began catching lizards, we’ve had our fair share of lizard friends stay with us for the day — Silly Tail (a lizard with half of a tail), Teeny and Tiny (two baby lizards), Crazy, Long Tail, Feisty and Catchy!
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Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Queenie was such an interesting book and one that had me feeling increasingly invested with each page I read. Queenie is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman currently navigating a break (or is it a break up?) with her long-term white boyfriend. Their break sends Queenie into a downward spiral at her job at a national newspaper and into the arms of numerous men as she tries to distract herself from her pain. As she spirals further and further out of control, she begins to deal with crippling anxiety and her journey to self-improvement is one that kept me incredibly engaged and interested. With our country’s current climate and my desire to learn more about Black culture and ways to combat racism, I found Queenie especially interesting as it showcases racism and struggles Queenie faces in her day-to-day life that, while fictional in the book, read incredibly true and heartbreaking.
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Streaming Hamilton
I’ve listened to the Hamilton soundtrack more times than I can count and have been dying to see it on stage for YEARS. Ryan actually had tickets for us to see the show in NYC when I was pregnant with Ryder around Christmas time but I got the flu and we had to cancel our entire trip. I then tried in vain to get tickets when it came to Charlotte (text alerts, waking up at the crack of dawn to purchase tickets, entering the lottery daily, etc.)… and then we had tickets to see the show again when it came to Jacksonville this spring but it got canceled due to the pandemic. I’m beginning to wonder if I will ever see the musical in person, though I have my fingers crossed for the rescheduled Jacksonville performance in the fall of 2021.
Needless to say, I was SO incredibly pumped to have the ability to watch the original cast perform Hamilton via Disney+! Though the soundtrack is incredible, there’s so much I feel like I missed by not seeing the musical and was blown away by the talent of the actors as well as the choreography, lighting and costumes. One thing is for sure: My love for Hamilton only continues to grow and I cannot even begin to imagine how amazing the musical is in person! Have you seen Hamilton? Please tell me its as amazing as I dream it will be!
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Friday Flashbacks
Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake (Dinner doesn’t get much easier than this simple recipe!)
Cardio HIIT Workout (This workout incorporates three blocks that you will rotate through four times. The first round is the longest (I always like to get the hardest part of the workout done first!) and the duration of each subsequent round decreases a bit. It’s a serious sweat fest!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this week?
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I saw Hamilton on Broadway it was amazing!!! We walked into the show without tickets right before it started and they let us stand in the back for 40 bucks. The most amazing show I ever saw!
I hope you get to see it. I got to see it last summer & loved it!
Hi Julie! I have been reading your blog for years (since your Ocala days) and I genuinely enjoy the peeks into your life and you’ve taught me a lot about food, that’s for sure! I did want to share a few thoughts about the 4th of July. I know you’ve made it a goal to work towards being more anti-racist and have been open and accountable about blind spots before now — both of which are amazing and so necessary, not to mention a great model for others. But, the 4th of July is a day where white people celebrate “freedom” that enslaved Black Americans did not have at that time (Frederick Douglass had a whole speech about it, if you’re not familiar) — and what does “freedom” mean today for the Black community, when Black children have to wonder if their fathers will return home after work alive? Where Black Trans folx are murdered at a massive rate and it barely makes the news? The “freedom” songs are written about is not something everyone experiences. I would encourage you to acknowledge this in future posts or writing about the 4th of July. I know you are aware of the power of your platform and are committed to using it for good, for which I thank you. A few great videos I’d recommend for watching that I’ve learned so much from:
Daveed Diggs [who is in Hamilton!] asks “What to My People Is the Fourth of July?” Brief video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WuCeUyItpzE
Frederick Douglass’ Descendents Read His Fourth of July Speech
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/03/884832594/video-frederick-douglass-descendants-read-his-fourth-of-july-speech
Thank you! PLEASE keep doing this work and don’t let this feedback stop you. White people have to be willing to mess up and learn from it to actually work towards change. Thank you for modeling that courage and vulnerability.
Thank you for this! It’s so hard to reprogram from 4th of July celebrations that you grew up with to actually acknowledging these things .
thank you so much for taking the time to share this with me and for your thoughtful and educational comment, katherine! i definitely have a lot to learn and appreciate you sharing this with me in a kind and informative way.
I saw Hamilton in person last summer, and I watched it on TV just last night. It was great on TV, but I thought it was SO much better in person! It’s cool to see everyone up close on TV, but that just doesn’t capture the power of their voices and energy of the theater. Definitely definitely try to see it after life (hopefully) returns to normal.
Hamilton in person is an actual DREAM!! When you finally get to see it live you will fall in love with it even more (trust me, i know!!). It is a true work of art! a MASTERPIECE! You will absolutely love it!
i am ALREADY excited and it’s more than a year away!! haha!
I have to confess I was a little concerned when I didn’t see this post first thing this morning. Glad everything is ok!
I was able to snag box seats for the performance when it was here in Orlando, FL a couple of years ago.
It was amazing seeing it live, you are in for a real treat!
Okay – what workouts does Leslie do? holy abs!
Lol I literally was thinking the same thing! She looks awesome
i definitely read your comment to her! she says thank you for the compliment!! <3
If you never got to see the original cast, this streaming version is better than the follow up casts. I saw the original cast on Broadway and a follow up cast also on Broadway…the original is the spine tingling chills version. So enjoy.
I love that sausage and sweet potato bake recipe. And you must have sooo many photos up after years of blogging!
We first tried your sausage/sweet potato/apple bake a couple months ago, and now it’s become a new favorite around here! So good, and so easy! Just writing about it makes me want to make it this weekend, lol
aw so glad you like it!!! we are big fans in our house for sure!
I saw Hamilton in Chicago last summer and was SO excited when I heard it was coming to Disney+. Both are amazing! Streaming was good because of the original cast. In person is good since it’s in person. Both are magical!
yes! it felt like such a treat to be able to see the original cast!
Hamilton is amazing! We had tickets to see it a second time but it got canceled due to the pandemic. You will LOVE it. It gives me chills. One of the best things about the streaming version (other than the original cast), is you get to see so many camera angles and the cast’s facial expressions and mannerisms up close, which wouldn’t happen in the theatre (well unless you were front row)!!
Hi Julie! Where did you buy those blue slides for Chase? My son would love them, but I haven’t been able to find his size. Thanks!
Hi! I got them on Amazon last year — they were too big for Chase at the time but fit perfectly this summer! I cannot find the exact pair anymore, but these are incredibly similar: https://bit.ly/3fDEih7
We were fortunate to see the original cast in NYC right after it moved to Broadway as a birthday present for my husband . We immediately wanted to see it again , told everyone they HAD to see it and bought tickets to the Jacksonville performance. Watching it on Disney over the July 4 weekend gave me goosebumps all over again. I loved the timing of it being streamed over July 4th weekend. Steaming makes this incredible story available to many more people, which I think is fantastic. Hope you can see it live next fall because the live experience is something I’ll never forget and truly cannot be duplicated on TV .
One tip : if you close caption the words while streaming or read the words printed on the liner notes included with the CD, you will realize how creative and clever Lin-manuel Miranda is and will get so much more out of the performance.
Oh I love this tip!! Thank you! I swear every time I listen to the musical, I find something new that blows my mind and seems so ridiculously intelligent/clever. There really are so many layers to the lyrics!
I feel you. Like how many times I have wanted to do something nice quickly and then fate intervenes and something goes wrong and I am stuck doing it for two days. Anyway glad everything got sorted out. Your family is amazing. Thanks for sharing the lovely pics. Hamilton was indeed great.
You and your sister have the best core genetics. Your sister’s abs and FLAT FLAT FLAT tummy after baby?? How?? I need to know what her workout regimen is, HA! Amazing.
Loving seeing your beach pics and baby belly! I’m so excited for you guys still – this fall is going to be so exciting!
I think it’s great that your son loves wild animals, but wild animals should stay in the wild. Taking them out of the wild, even for one day, as that could disrupt their entire life cycle or the life cycle of other animals they are caring for, such as if they have babies somewhere. I think teaching children about nature should include teaching them to respect nature and not to disrupt it. There is plenty to admire about wild animals from an arm’s length (also books, documentaries, classes/tours at sanctuaries and animal rehab places once covid is over of course).