Things I’m Loving Friday #501

Good morning, friends! Happy Friday to Y-O-U! I hope your week was a good one and that you’re going into the weekend looking forward to the next couple of days. We have a quieter weekend on the agenda (our only real commitment is a birthday party) and that is intentional because we have so many jam-packed weekends on the horizon. Our boys are begging us for a trip to the bowling alley/arcade so we’ll likely head that way at some point. I’m mostly just looking forward family time and our weekly cozy movie night! Ryder’s love for the Encanto soundtrack resurrected this past week and I was not mad about it in the least, so I have a feeling Encanto may be the movie of choice on Saturday night! “I’m the strong one, I’m not nervous, I’m a tough as the crust of the Earth is…” It’s a good one.

Before diving into this week’s roundup of Friday favorites, I wanted to thank you guys for sharing your healthy at-home nails tips. Clearly I’m not alone in experiencing horrific nails following a gel manicure and I am grateful for tips from those of you who have been there and those who have mastered beautiful painted nails at-home. I’ll definitely report back if anything works particularly well for me!

Now let’s chat about a few things we’re loving this week, shall we?

Things I’m Loving Friday #501

• Hobnail Glasses

Talk about an amazing ALDI find! I was loading up my grocery cart yesterday when the ALDI Finds section called to me (as it always does) and when these vintage-looking hobnail glasses caught my eye, I could not add them to my cart fast enough. This is incredibly random, but I’ve only recently come to realize I prefer drinking my sparkling water out of a glass versus a can which has unlocked my appreciation for beautiful glassware. For fellow ALDI fans, they have them in clear and pink, too! I also received a few DMs on Instagram that they look identical to this Pottery Barn set — talk about an ALDI steal! (Note: I did find this set of 6 hobnail glasses on Amazon that are more affordable but ALDI’s prices are always and forever the best.)

• Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

It’s been a while since a book made me cry (I typically intentionally avoid sad novels) but Last Christmas in Paris did just that but for the sweetest reason. My friend Jess recommended this novel to me and the format was so unique — it’s written as a series of letters between the main characters — and it pulled me in right away. It’s a historical fiction novel and begins in 1914 when Evie Elliott says goodbye to her brother Will and his best friend Thomas Harding, as they depart to fight in World War I. At the time everyone believes the battle will conclude in only a few months but when the war goes on for years, everything and everyone changes.

Evie remains at home and is increasingly frustrated by her inability to make a difference when the letters she receives from Thomas tell her about the horrific things he is experiencing in his role as a lieutenant. Thomas is facing unimaginable horrors and, in addition to dealing with the atrocities of war, is also plagued with worry about his ailing father and the newspaper he’s set to inherit back home. Through it all, Thomas and Evie continue to write, spilling out their emotions and sharing their true hearts with each other, though never crossing the line from dear friends into something more. Is there more to their letters than the support of a lifelong friend?

• Crayola Twistables Crayons

When the boys are fighting or fussy or things seem to be escalating in the wrong direction in our house, I will often take out a quieter activity and place it on the kitchen counter. Sometimes I ask if anyone wants to color or do a puzzle or melty beads, other times I’ll start in on the activity myself and almost every single time, at least one (and more often than not all 3) of the boys join me.

Coloring calms all of us (myself included!) and I wanted to highlight one of our recent coloring discoveries: Crayola Twistables Crayons. I put these in Rhett’s stocking for Christmas but all three boys like them because they’re easy to use and don’t flatten out as quickly as other crayons, so they’re better for more precise coloring which is increasingly important to our big kids. (Chase and Ryder have also really gotten into these watercolor colored pencils lately after my mom showed them how vibrant the color gets when you dip the tip in water!) I’ve noticed all three boys reaching for the Twistables over traditional crayons so I’d say they’ve been a hit in our house!

• January 2024 Top 10

Last year I began sharing a top 10 list at the end of every month as a way to give you guys a glimpse back into some of the blog posts you may have missed or some of my favorite finds you may have had on your radar that got lost in blogging and social media mayhem. A handful of you said it was helpful so I’m doing the same again in 2024! Please see below for January’s top 10!

Top 10 Blog Posts

• Three Minute Egg White Oatmeal
• A Day at Magic Kingdom (From the Perspective of Someone Overwhelmed by Disney)
• Top 10 Best Sellers of 2023: Home and Kids
• Egg White and Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
• Training for a Half Marathon on a Treadmill (I was shocked to see this one pop up! Talk about a throwback!)
• Top 10 Best Sellers of 2023: Fashion and Beauty
• Christmas 2023
• Crockpot Chicken Corn Chili
• Favorite Books of 2023
• What to Expect at Orangetheory

Your Top 10 Favorites

• Amazon Crew Socks (Our fav for a reason! Perfect thickness and height and a lovely trio of neutrals.)
• Walmart Cane Storage Cabinet (Fantastic price point and even prettier in person.)
• Crazy 8s Card Game (Great for little ones, as it relies on colors and familiar shapes. We’ve been playing this game on repeat over here!)
• TUL Gel Pens (These continue to top the monthly list of favorite things for good reason. They write like a dream!)
• Multipack Mesh Pouches (The pouches I used to organized our electronics junk drawer but they have so many purposes!)
• Brilliance Glass Food Storage Set (Our favorite glass containers for leftovers and food storage.)
• 100-Piece Mario Puzzle (Ryder got this one for Christmas and he reaches for it over and over again. Perfect for little Mario fans!)
• True & Co. Lace Racerback Bra (So soft and comfortable and perfect for under our fav Target tanks.)
• Nighthawk Ride-On Toy (Our big kids’ obsession and the hit of every play date they have at our house.)
• Mesh Beach Tote (One of my favorite pool and beach bags. Makes it super easy to find everything you need and holds a surprisingly large amount of stuff.)

 

• Friday Flashbacks

Favorite Healthy Pantry Snacks for Kids (Shel-stable snacks our boys love that we almost always have on hand.)

Edamame Black Bean Salad (Delicious as a salad but also as a dip! We love this one with crispy tortilla chips.)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you are loving this week?