Things I’m Loving Friday #295

Hello, hello! This week passed by in a bit of a blur but mid-week travel always seems to have that effect on me. I flew to NYC for less than 24 hours but it was a great trip. I was there for an Instagram collaboration but also managed to squeeze in a very quick visit with Merri and Cherayne, two of my BFFs from college! It always feels like a big-time bonus when work trips take me places where my friends live.

I arrived home on Thursday afternoon and morphed right back into mom mode. I also had two recipes I needed to photograph which made Thursday feel a little bananas (Chase and Ryder aren’t exactly the most helpful photography assistants) but it all got done and now the weekend is HERE!

As for our weekend plans, they mostly center around Ryan’s birthday! He turns 36 on Saturday (I LOVE it when family birthdays fall on the weekend!) and we’re looking forward to celebrating! I’m also a little too excited about two very random gifts I got for Ryan (both less than $10) and will share more about them on Monday because they’re total blasts from the past I think he’ll love.

Now it’s time to get this Friday rolling! Below you will find my usual roundup of Friday favs and, as always, I’d love to hear about some of yours. Have a fantastic weekend, my friends!

Things I’m Loving

• Peanut Butter Fingers Amazon Store

This little project has been on my to do list for months. Months! And it’s finally here! I finally compiled a bunch of my favorite Amazon finds in one place through a Peanut Butter Fingers Amazon Store. I created this store as a way for you guys to be able to easily find the stuff I mention and recommend on the blog because I know it easily gets lost when I’m constantly sharing new posts. I frequently receive comments/DMs/emails from you guys with questions about x, y, z that I previously mentioned on the blog so I hope this helps make some of my Amazon favs easier to locate should you find yourself on the lookout for a past recommendation.

This store will continually be updated with my favorite finds — we’re talking everything from my latest book recommendations, the stain remover I swear by and the collapsible tote we use for travel to baby product must-haves or a fun fashion find — and I really hope it’s a good resource for you guys! And if you’re looking for my store in the future, you may find it under the “Shop + Favs” tab at the top of my blog or you may click the “Follow” button beside my name at the top of my Amazon store to follow along for any current updates.

• Clear Cosmetic Case

Speaking of Amazon, my latest find is this clear cosmetic case! I ordered it two weeks ago after falling in love with a large clear pouch I’ve been using for the boys’ snacks. Corralling all of their snacks into one place is a Mom Hack I’ve used for a while (it makes locating a specific snack in my bag a billion times easier) and finally purchasing a large clear pouch felt like a big upgrade from the freezer-size Ziploc bag I was using. I figured the same thing might apply to traveling with my cosmetics so I randomly ordered this clear travel case and it was an instant hit! I am thinking I may need to order two more — one for hair products/accessories and one for skincare — for my next travel adventure because I loved it so much.

• Bitty Brah Hats

How cute are these Bitty Brah hats!?! I am in love with them for a myriad of reasons, mostly centering around the drawstring that keeps them on the boys’ heads (even during boogie boarding and sprinting all over the beach) and the baseball hat style that’s made of a material that floats if the hat ever happen to find its way into water.

Our boys are not good at all about wearing hats which kills me, especially when we’re at the pool, on the boat or playing at the beach when the summer sun feels so intense. When Larinna, founder of Bitty Brah (and a longtime blog reader!), reached out to me about her company’s hats for children and babies, I figured they were worth a shot since they were different from the traditional bucket style hat the boys never seem to tolerate well. (Plus, I admittedly liked the style a lot more than the bucket hat style.)

When I opened the package from Bitty Brah, Chase’s curiosity was immediately piqued by the shark fin design and I milked that for all it was worth! It clearly paid off because Chase kept his hat on during our beach and pool adventures in Florida last week. Chase said he “looks like Dad” in his hat which I’m pretty sure sealed the deal for him! Ryder has been a harder sell (he’s still very grabby with his hat) but we’re working on it and the drawstring absolutely helps.

If you want to give these hats a try, you can use this affiliate link + the code pbfingers15 for 15% off your Bitty Brah purchase! You can also feel good about buying one of their adorable hats because for every hat sold, 10 diapers are donated to a nonprifit to benefit families in need.

• Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

I gave a shout out to an Elin Hilderbrand novel in my recent post where I shared 12 books I recently read and loved and couldn’t resist reading another one of her novels earlier this week since easy, breezy reads are most appealing to me at the moment.

Beautiful Day centers around the Nantucket wedding of Jenna Carmichael and Stuart Graham who appear to be a match made in heaven. Their families, however, are struggling. The Carmichaels are navigating through the grief that remains after the passing of Jenna’s mother Beth seven years ago. When Beth was sick, she detailed all of her wishes for her youngest daughter’s wedding day in The Notebook, which as become Jenna’s go-to guide for wedding planning. It’s the source of inspiration for Jenna but also a source of pain and grief for her unhappily remarried father and her sister Margot who is doing her best to give her sister the wedding of her dreams as her somewhat reluctant maid-of-honor. The Graham family is dealing with their own set of issues, as Stuart’s mother and father reunited following a horrible betrayal that nearly ruined their family forever.

• Well Rested Mama Giveaway Winner 

Congratulations to Kalena, the winner of the Well Rested Mama giveaway! Kalena was emailed first thing this morning. Thanks so much to all who entered.

• Friday Flashbacks

Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow (So addicting and a big-time crowd pleaser! Think Biscoff spread meets pumpkin spice!)

Butternut Squash Grain Bowl (Adding this one to our family’s dinner menu next week. It’s one of my all-time favorite blog recipes!)

Question of the Day 

What is one thing you are loving this week?