Soccer is truly a passion for Chase and he’s beyond excited to be on a real team. I’m so interested to see how the game goes because he’s only ever played games through Soccer Shots where he gets to play the whole time and wasn’t overly challenged. I think this will be a great thing for him (it’s still just a rec league — still nothing too serious) and I’m hoping he walks away from this season of soccer with an appreciation for the “team” aspect of the sport more than anything. (Can you tell I’m the least competitive person on the planet? Haha! I mean of course I hope he gains some skills, too.) I’m sure I’ll have more to say about the game and our weekend on the blog next week but until then let’s keep things consistent around here and dive into this week’s roundup of Friday favorites!
Things I’m Loving Friday
I have zero doubts that this hoodie is going to be a staple in my fall + winter wardrobe. The material is wonderful — thick, soft and oh-so-cozy — and I’m already tempted to order it in another color or two. Apparently it is a lululemon dupe (for which sweatshirt, I’m not sure, this is just what @christineandrew said and she’s the one who influenced me to buy it — haha!) and I love it with leggings, joggers, denim shorts and looser-fitting high-waisted jeans with my Reebok club sneakers!
Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean highlighted this freezable snack box on Instagram a few weeks ago and I couldn’t order one fast enough. I’ve been packing yogurt for Chase for an afternoon snack at school in a bag with an ice pack but felt like there had to be something out there that would do a better job keeping the yogurt and possibly a few extra snacks nice and cold. Enter this freezer snack box! You simply pop the entire freezer pouch into the freezer overnight and add your snacks to the pack in the morning and they’ll stay cold for hours! Chase said this was SO much better than my previous ice pack system and I love that the snack box is big enough for a handful of snacks for the times I want to use it to hold snacks for all three boys. It easily fits several yogurt pouches, string cheese, a couple of apples, a small baggie of grapes and more. LOVE it!
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Alaska Animal Rescue
A few weeks ago, I mentioned our family’s love of Secrets of the Zoo, a show we’ll often view during one of our family movie nights because it appeals to every single person in our family. In the comments section of that post, Audrey recommended we try out Alaska Animal Rescue and I owe her a huge thank you because this show has quickly become our family’s favorite! (We stream it on Disney+.) Not only does the show offer stunning views of various parts of Alaska but it highlights the rescue and rehabilitation of a variety of animals native to Alaska. Our boys are especially excited about episodes that include the rescue of bald eagles and mischievous baby otters. (I also love that this show seems to inspire a lot of imaginative play for Chase and Ryder. I’ve overheard them reenacting rescue missions from the show with their stuffed animals a number of times.) Alaska Animal Rescue is really well done and a great family-friendly show, especially for animal lovers! I’m just bummed there are only two seasons because we love it so much!
There are geniuses out there improving super simple products every day, I’m telling you. During our move (1.0), I got rid of a colander I’ve been using since I graduated college that I’m 95 percent sure I picked up at Goodwill. It was time for an upgrade and a Instagram Reel I saw sold me on this bad boy. It’s a collapsible colander (duh) that lays on top of your sink and it’s nice and thick and easily holds a full box of cooked pasta, a ton of grapes, etc. It’s a new kitchen staple in our house!
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Friday Flashbacks
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins (We make these year-round in our house, but ’tis the *official* season now!)
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Beef Stew (Another fall + winter fav!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this week?
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We have the PACKIT lunch bag and it’s awesome! I throw the whole bag in the freezer and it keeps her lunch cool into the afternoon, when my daughter usually finishes up leftovers from lunch. I also keep a yogurt drink in there for afternoon and when she comes home, lunch box and yogurt still feels cool! I may need to look into this snack pack….
Ahhh and I may need to look into the bigger one! Would be a great for soccer practice/game days when we want to pack food for the whole family.
Love the sweatshirt! What color and size did you get? Thank you:)
I got a medium and was happy with that size! My color is the “khaki” one. Hope you love it. I’m wearing it again today!! Ha!
This is a random recco but I think you’d love the book Lucy On The Wild Side by Kerry Rea it’s a romance/women’s fiction novel that takes place in the Columbus zoo. Plus you’d learn facts to impress your boys!
This is a random recco but I think you’d love the book Lucy On The Wild Side by Kerry Rea it’s a romance/women’s fiction novel that takes place in the Columbus zoo. Plus you’d learn facts to impress your boys!
Thank you for this recommendation!! I am truly always on the lookout for good book recs and this sound interesting!
Do you think the sweatshirt zips low enough for nursing access??
I don’t think it’s the most nursing friendly sweatshirt unfortunately!
So we loved Alaska Animal Rescue so much in our house my 4 year old was a bald eagle for halloween last year! After finishing that we went to Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet on Disney + (finished that) and now have taken your recommendation and are half way through Secrets of the Zoo with my 3 girls!
No lie, Chase has been saying he wants to be a bald eagle for Halloween, too!!! Who knows if it will stick since we’re more than a month out, but clearly Alaska Animal Rescue impacted him in the same way! And thank you for the show recommendation — we’re always on the lookout for good family-friendly shows, especially ones that center around animals.
Years ago you recommended a North Face zip up that I absolutely love and wear all the time! I ended up giving it to my daughter to take with her for her freshman year of college! I am desperately in need of a replacement, so I will follow your recommendation once again!
Aw, I love this so much, Paula!! Hope this hoodie is a hit as well!
Oh WOW I am SUPER pumped to be on the blog!! I’ve been reading for 11 years! I texted both my twin and my fellow pbfingers loving friend Emily (we totally bonded over our love and longtime following of your blog!!) immediately to tell them! hehehe. SO HAPPY you guys are loving Alaska AR!! it seriously is our favorite and we are also super sad its only two seasons!! I want to contact them. Also – LOVE the pack it bags! We put the small yogurt cups, a metal spoon, chopped up grapes in a stasher bag, and a tiny yeti ice pack in the snack bag and it fits easily! great invention for sure!!!!
oh yeah – the imaginative play from the show is wonderful! we now have many animal rescues here too! love it!!
Seriously we are obsessed with that show!!! Best recommendation!
My kids love all the secrets of the zoo (my husband and I too!). We recently made it through Dr. Oakley Yukon bet on Disney + and it is super great! I bet your boys would love it too.
We will have to check out Alaskan animal rescue for our “movie nights”