Things I’m Loving Friday #368

Friday is here!! Woop! Another week has come and gone and I hope it was a good one for you. We once again had temperatures warm enough for our sprinkler splash pad which the boys — including Rhett! — loved! It was so fun to see Rhett get in on the action and he loved it when I turned the water off and he could inch worm his way around the mat. We did it before bath time one night this week so all of my pictures feature three naked boys so they aren’t blog-worthy but it was so cute and left me, once again, feeling psyched for summer.

As for the weekend ahead, it looks like a gorgeous one in Charlotte! I honestly have no idea what the next few days will hold but I’m sure we’ll have no problem filling them up with family fun and kid chaos. I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Celebrating 36!

I turned 36 years old on Tuesday and had a lovely time celebrating with my band of boys and Sadie. They surprised me with pictures/cards, a couple of thoughtful gifts and ice cream cake — my favorite! It has taken me a solid 36 years to realize that ice cream cake is my favorite kind of birthday cake, mainly because ice cream > cake in my book. We dug into two small cakes from Kilwin’s and both were so darn delicious. There’s no beating the toasted coconut ice cream cake from Kilwin’s for me though!

We also had “family puzzle night” in my honor which I thought was very sweet. Both boys picked out new puzzles for me since puzzling is something we all love doing together and we completed a wild animals puzzle from Chase and a Cars puzzle from Ryder before bedtime. It was a simple celebration and perfect for that very reason!

• Amazon Workout Top Finds (Lavento Racerback Top + Lemedy Yoga Top)

I received quite a few DMs on Instagram about these tops when I popped on IG Stories wearing them earlier this week. I honestly can’t believe I haven’t shared them here yet because they were, for me, quite a surprising discovery! I’ve seen people rave about various Amazon leggings being great “lululemon dupes” and every single pair I’ve ordered (3 maybe?) have been a big bust. Let’s just say my hopes weren’t too high when I ordered this top and this top from Amazon after I saw them being compared to lululemon-quality tops. Well, I’m very happy to report that both the Lavento racerback crop top and the Lemedy thin-strap yoga top are big-time winners. The quality is great — especially for the price point — and I was just happy to find a cropped workout top that wasn’t just a glorified sports bra. The Lavento top also lead me to the whole Lavento Store on Amazon and so many of their items are so darn cute!! In terms of sizing, I would highly recommend sizing UP on both items. I pair both tops with high waisted leggings and love the look!

• Lavender Essential Oil Roll-On

Is it possible to become more sensitive to smell as we get older? I used to wear perfume every single day when I was in my 20s and working a desk job but completely fell out of the habit when I began working from home. Apparently it had been a LONG time since I last wore perfume because when I sprayed a little on my wrists a month or so ago, I was overwhelmed by the scent. I didn’t even use that much and even though I liked the scent, it bothered me until I washed it off. Enter lavender essential oil roll-ons! I actually think I mentioned this find a while back on the blog when I first began using it before bed but I recently started keeping one in my bag to roll onto the inside of my wrists during the day as well and it’s been so nice! The lavender scent is so calming and lovely and waaay less intense than perfume in a good way. I may need to explore more essential oil roll-ons so if any of you out there are a fan of them as well, please let me know if you have any you recommend!

• In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The night after I finished reading East Coast Girls, I got a perfectly-timed Instagram DM from one of you highly recommending In Five Years to me. Since I was on the lookout for a new book, I instantly downloaded it and immediately loved the premise. I devoured this book in two sittings because it was that good.

Dannie Kohan is a driven, methodical, type-A woman who has done her best to create a predictable, comfortable life for herself. She nails the interview for her dream job as lawyer at a top firm and then accepts boyfriend’s predictable proposal. And then she falls asleep — for just an hour — but her dream is REAL. She knows it is. And in her dream she’s living her life five years from the present in a very different apartment with a very different man and a very different ring on her fingers.  When she awakes and finds herself back in the present she can’t shake her dream and goes on living her life as it is until everything is turned upside down.

I loved so many things about this book from the plot to the twists to the characters. It’s the kind of book that I initially thought was going to be a love story — and it is in some ways — but it’s not at all a traditional one and is filled with thought-provoking moments that stuck with me and left me tossing and turning in bed long after I finished reading.

• Around the Internet

Food: Vegan Burrito Bowl / 10 Salmon Dinner Ideas / Banana Zucchini Baked Oatmeal / How to Snack Smarter

Fitness: 5 Tips for Better Workout Recovery / Best Mats for Yoga and Fitness

• Friday Flashbacks

Chopped Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (Love this salad so much! The best part = The fact that it can be prepped ahead of time since there’s no lettuce involved and it keeps its crunch!)

Weighted Core Workout (If you want to feel your ab muscles burn, this is the workout for you!)

Question of the Day 

What is one thing making you smile this week?