I hope you are all safe and looking forward to a good weekend ahead. Our weekend will be low key but springtime weather is in full swing over here and we’re starting to see flowers blooming and little buds popping up on the trees. Bring on the green and bring on the sunshine!
Now, without further ado, after an unintentional one week hiatus, I am back in action today with my weekly roundup of Friday favs! See below for a few things that are making me smile this week.
Enjoy the weekend, my friends, and I hope to see ya back here on Monday!
Things I’m Loving Friday
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St. Patrick’s Day
We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day low-key style with green outfits, festive decorations, some new Dragon Masters books and a couple of sweet treats! (A little #MomHack I picked up from my mom — When the kids stop playing with the random holiday-themed goodies like little necklaces or headbands, stash them away and reuse them the next year. They never remember them and they always add to the fun!) We also did a little St. Patrick’s Day crafting thanks to my friend Lauren who accidentally ordered a dozen St. Paddy’s Day wreath crafts and shared her overflow with us. I’ve always loved little holidays like St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day and celebrating them in some small way with the boys is just so fun!
I am not a jeans person… at all. (#LeggingsForLife) I’m not sure if it’s my body type or what but I never find them that comfortable. I have hips and a booty and a slimmer waist and the fit of most jeans is all wrong. Right before I got pregnant with Rhett, I discovered AGOLDE denim and it’s been like a breath of fresh air in the denim department. The fabric is softer than most denim and the pocket placement on the booty is perfect. I have this pair of straight leg jeans (pictured above) and this pair of denim shorts and love them both! The denim shorts are the perfect length and look like cute cut-offs without showing any butt cheek. (File that under things I never thought I’d have to say but here we are.) Note: I think both the jeans and shorts fit true to size.
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Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Kindred is a novel that I’ve seen on numerous “must read” book lists when I’ve looked for books to read by Black authors. The premise immediately intrigued me as it seemed to blend sci-fi with historical fiction and the reviews were amazing.
Dana is a young Black woman living in the 1970s when she finds herself abruptly transported to the south by Rufus, the young son of a plantation owner who owns many enslaved people. Rufus is drowning and Dana rushes to save the boy and, despite saving his life, her skin color causes her to find herself at the other end of Rufus’ father’s rifle. When she fears for her life, she is transported back to her 1970s home in California. What follows is a series of time travel for Dana back and forth from her present life to the antebellum South whenever Rufus’ life is in danger.
When I began reading Kindred, I knew it would be a hard novel to read as it is a book that highlights the horrors of slavery, sexism and white supremacy. It was challenging to get though in parts when the atrocious behaviors of the plantation owner directly impacts Dana and the enslaved men, women and children on his plantation, and yet reading about slavery in this context felt important. While I wish racism wasn’t a thing we have to worry about anymore, it is and it’s awful. I am a white woman and reading about slavery in this novel made me cry and simultaneously check myself because I knew I was reading about something that I never would’ve experienced and it made me think deeply about how the Black men and women reading this book may have felt. It’s a book I would highly recommend to anyone, as it made me think, cry, question myself, reflect and, perhaps most importantly, listen and read poignant words about about slavery and racism from a Black author.
You guys, I am honestly shocked I haven’t mentioned this on a TILF post yet. How did this amazing hair towel slip under the radar when it’s something I’ve been using and loving for years!? Yesterday, after I showered and washed my hair, I got out of the shower and wrapped my hair up in my Hero microfiber hair towel and it finally occurred to me to tell you guys about it!
The VOLO Hero Microfiber Hair Towel was a Christmas gift from my mom to me and my sister a few years ago and we both fell in love! It’s incredibly soft and gentle on your hair and the plush microfiber material makes it incredibly absorbent. It dramatically reduces drying time (by 50 percent!) and reduced frizz and breakage. I wrap it around my hair while I do my makeup (it has a handy little loop built into it so it always stays securely on my head) and I truly believe it helps my hair dry a million times faster by ridding it of excess water when my hair is all wrapped up in it. My mom has also gifted this towel to her sister and cousins and we all sing its praises!
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Friday Flashbacks
One Pot Chicken Cabbage Bowl with Sesame Ginger Broth (A great way to use up any leftover cabbage you might have on hand after St. Patrick’s Day!)
Strength + Plyo Leg Workout (This one is guaranteed to leave you with Jello legs!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this week?
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TGIF! I was excited to see your post this morning Julie.
One quick question for you – the hair towel looks awesome but my daughter lives in a dorm right now. If you hung it up after using it, would it dry well enough to use again the next day or one after that before washing it? I know my daughter would love this but not sure if it would work well in the dorm for her with doing laundry twice a week.
We are excited to go see our daughter in college for the day tomorrow (thankfully she is at a small college just 90 minutes from us) and we are going to the zoo. It is supposed to be 56 and sunny and we could not be more excited (we live not far from where you grew up in IL and we are not anywhere near having spring weather yet -lol!).
Absolutely!! It’s dries really fast and would for sure be ready to use again the next day!
Also I hope you have the best time during your visit!!! Enjoy every second! 💗
Thank you Julie – we had so much fun visiting our daughter and hanging out at the zoo today. I just placed an order for a towel for her. Thank you so much.
I have made that chicken in ginger broth at least 2x a month for a couple of years. I’ve passed it on to so many people too. Its a family favorite!!! I give it 500/5 stars 🙂
Is there a source that indicates all eight victims in Atlanta were of Asian descent? From the media I’ve reviewed, six women of Asian descent were killed in Atlanta, not eight. There were eight total victims. Whether all the victims were of Asian descent or not does not impact the need for Asian hate to stop. I would just like to be clear on the facts.
I’m so sorry, yes, you are absolutely correct. Six women of Asian descent were killed and I have updated my post.
No apology necessary! Thanks for updating.
I love that chicken cabbage bowl recipe, so easy and delicious!
Kindred is on my list to read. I know it’s a difficult one which is why I haven’t read it. But once I’m done with school this month I’m going to start. No more excuses! As a black woman, I really appreciate you taking the time to post topics like this on your blog, to include the rise of hate crimes that have been committed against Asian Americans. It’s despicable
What made me smile this week? 1. We have our summer vacation booked—a week with family at a lake! And, 2. My 3 year old says ‘leopard-chaun’ and I refuse to correct it. I hold on to the kid words as long as they let me!
Thank you for posting about important issues. Your continued effort to learn more about others’ experiences is so motivating and inspiring!
Just wanted to say I really appreciate how you continue to share books by black authors. Now that I’m expecting, I’ve been thinking about the world we live in and how I want to raise our baby to be anti racist. Don’t know if you’ve shared already, but would love any posts or info on talking to kids about horrific current events or racism.
I have been looking for a new hair towel! The one I have doesn’t fit all my hair in it and this one looks so much better for long hair!
We’re on Spring Break so I have had many reasons to smile but my favorite has to be my son having playdates with two of his classmates he’s never met before! We’re remote schooling and it was so, so special. I hope you have a great weekend!
P.S. Your kitchen is gorgeous!
Just read two great fiction books you and your readers might like: The Key to Happily Ever After by Tif Marcelo about the 3 De La Rosa sisters who recently took over their parents former wedding shop; their different personalities come alive as they learn to run the shop. The other is Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams- sort of reminiscent of Bridget Jones Diary but I actually liked Queenie better I think!
Just got a new perm tonight. So fun to spend time with my hairstylist friend and catch up!
Looking forward to warm spring weather this weekend!
Thank you for these recommendations!! Always on the lookout for new great reads! I actually read Queenie last summer but haven’t read The Key to Happily Ever After so I’ll keep that on my radar!
Thank you for speaking out about racism. I think it really does make a difference when white people with visible platforms take the time to acknowledge these issues. If you’re looking for another book recc (though this one is non-fiction), I just finished Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and I highly recommend it!
Kindred is one of my favorite books, though I also sobbed through parts. As a Black woman, I wanted to just say I appreciate and am moved by you continuing to read, watch, listen, and reflect on the experiences of Black and other People of Color. One lighter nonfiction book about anti-racism, So You Want to Talk about Race was highly impactful for me and for my non-Black or POC friends. Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl will make you laugh at time uncontrollably, Ali Wong’s Dear Girls is both lighthearted and deals with the pressures of motherhood, a career, and anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. For spoken word, YouTube, Alex Dang’s “What Kind of Asian Are You?”
thank you so, so much for these recommendations, audrey! <3 i appreciate them so much!
I think I’m going to pull the trigger and try those jeans, fellow big hip and booty girl here and jeans are such a struggle!! Just curious what brand those sneakers are? They’re very cute!