Things I’m Loving Friday #408

Friday is here! How are you guys doing? Did you have a good week? Our week was a decent one over here. I was actually phoneless for a few days which was weird and frustrating and, in another breath, kind of nice.

I missed using my phone to stay on top of work emails and missed it most for staying in touch with friends and family every day but one thing I didn’t find myself missing much at all was social media. It’s been a hot second since I’ve completely disconnected from Instagram and without the ability to mindlessly scroll through IG, I felt lighter.

I utilized my computer to sign into Instagram to respond to DMs once every day and this ended up being GREAT. It was such a nice alternative to trying to stay on top of my DMs and always falling behind. I may try to implement this in the future — setting aside a block of my work time to answer DMs from my computer every day versus opening the app to respond to as many DMs as I can when I’m out and about in my daily life. It didn’t realize how much I stress over replying to DMs in a timely fashion which can often feel impossible. I respond to probably 90 percent of the Instagram DMs I receive but the 10 percent that go unseen or unanswered weigh on me.

Anyway, that is a long winded way of saying that going without my phone for a few days ended up being a good thing and revealed boundaries I may need to implement in my day-to-day life.

On a brighter note, this week included some fun house updates! Ryan and I met with our builder and the tile layer at the house on Wednesday and we talked through tile installation. I cannot wait to see our tile and think it will really begin to make our house feel like a home! We also got an update on our anticipate move-in date: September.

As for the weekend ahead, we are planning to dedicate a decent amount of time to our house-selling checklist. This involves decluttering, deep cleaning, cleaning… the works! Other than that, I’m sure we’ll sneak in some family fun. I hope to have a recap up on the blog for you guys on Monday but until then, feel free to scroll on down for a small roundup of things that are making me smile this week!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Recent Thrifting Finds

I’ve long been a lover of consignment shops for inexpensive finds and my love for local thrift shops, Goodwill and online resale retailers like thredUP has only grown since having kids. I am constantly blown away by the apparel, toys and kid + baby finds I find at a fraction of the price of new items when I shop consignment.

I wanted to share a few recent finds with you guys today because I’ve had some major luck in the past few months!

From Goodwill: 

Nike shoes ($3), Land’s End swim trunks ($3), New-with-tags striped tee ($3), Panthers jersey ($3)   

From thredUP: 

Agolde jeans ($50), Puma slides ($11), H&M denim jacket ($14), Zara pullover ($18), Vans sneakers ($16), Nike slides ($11), Lululemon shorts ($31), Zara button-down top ($13), Adidas sneakers ($15), Art Class high tops ($12), Native shoes ($15), H&M henley ($10) 

From local consignment shops (Kid-to-Kid for any locals): 

Crocs rain boots ($14), New-with-tags snow pants ($25) 

• Bissell AeroSlim Handheld Vacuum

You know those houses you visit that are impressively immaculate? That is my friend Carrie’s house. I’ve known Carrie since elementary school and she’s always been impressively neat and tidy so it shouldn’t surprise me that her home would be the same way but maybe it was the fact that I left my home of three boys and lots of clutter and crumbs to find myself at her home with her new baby and zero messes but man oh man I was in awe of how clean her house was during my visit to Idaho last weekend! She was also the queen of organization and her home was peppered with little gadgets that made life and cleaning a little easier. When I saw this little handheld vacuum charging in her mudroom, I asked her about and and when she gave it rave reviews, I ordered one of our home on the spot!

It arrived earlier this week and you guys this thing is a GEM. It’s amazing for keeping my car clean (something that feels like a pipedream with three boys) and also for vacuuming up little spills and countertop messes. It holds a charge well and the suction is powerful. I’m finding it particularly handy for vacuuming up small messes from craft projects, dusty bookshelves and desktops. Perhaps the biggest bonus is the fact that Chase and Ryder keep begging me to use it! (It legit seems like a toy to them!) Anything that gets them excited and motivated to help clean is a win for me.

• Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

Note: I’m going to begin leaving ratings for the books I mention on the blog for anyone interested in a quick glance at my opinion on the novels I read.

My rating: B+ 

When you find a book that has you looking forward to the end of the day just so you can climb into bed and immerse yourself in the story, you know you have a good one! This was most certainly the case with Golden Girl, Elin Hilderbrand’s latest novel.

The author is known for her Nantucket-based novels and this book delivers a perfect mix of mystery, intrigue, high-society scandal and Nantucket charm. It kept me fully captivated from start to finish and I loved the premise. (Note: I easily guessed the main “mystery” of the book but there was a twist at the end that definitely caught me off guard!) Keep this one on your radar if you’re looking for an easy spring break read.

Golden Girl begins with the shocking hit-and-run death of Vivian “Vivi” Howe, a prominent author of more than a dozen Nantucket-based beach reads. Since her death was a shock, when she ascends to the Beyond, she’s granted three “nudges” to help alter life on earth for those she cares for deeply — namely her three adult children, all of whom are struggling in one way or another. Willa is newly pregnant and terrified of losing her baby after her third miscarriage. Rebellious Carson seems more concerned with drinking and drugs than making anything out of her life. Leo is about to leave for college but seems lost and confused about his long-time girlfriend.

Vivi watches her children and other prominent people in her life as her hit-and-run death is under investigation by the police. Who killed Vivi? Are Vivi’s three nudges enough to keep her children off a path of destruction? And will the truth Vivi’s been hiding her entire life suddenly come to the surface when a man from her past reads her final book?

• The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

My rating: A

I read this book in two sittings thanks to long travel days to and from Idaho last weekend. Having read and enjoyed Final Girls by Riley Sager (in a twisted kind of way), I had high hopes for The Last Time I Lied, a thriller by the same author. He knocked it out of the park with this one and I was invested in the story from the very beginning. I love a good thriller and when that thriller comes along with not one but two big twists, I’m all the more excited.

The Last Time I Lied begins 15 years after the disappearance of Vivian, Natalie and Allison, three teenage girls who, in the middle of the night, sneakily left Dogwood, their cabin at Camp Nightingale, and never came back. Emma bunked up with the three missing girls in Dogwood and is forever changed by the disappearance of her friends. Fifteen years later Emma is an artist on the rise and unbeknownst to her clientele, hides her three missing friends in every one of her paintings. When the owner of Camp Nightingale purchases one of Emma’s paintings and invites her to return to the camp that still haunts her, Emma is conflicted.

Emma eventually agrees to attend the camp as a painting instructor and is surprised to find Camp Nightingale mostly unchanged. Her childhood crush is there, a counselor she remembers is there… but the security camera pointing directly at her old cabin is new, as are the creepy and increasingly questionable things that begin to happen all around her. Will returning to Camp Nightingale offer Emma answers to her lingering questions or is going back to the place she left 15 years ago a very, very bad idea?

• Friday Flashbacks

Amazon Haul #2: 12 Recent Amazon Finds (One of my first Amazon hauls and filled with lots of things we still use and love!)

What I Wish I Knew Before My Baby Was Born (A throwback post I wrote after I had our first baby.)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you are loving this week?