Do you guys have any plans this weekend? Tonight is Chase’s last soccer game of the season and I’m really looking forward to cheering for our biggest kid as the season wraps up. It’s been an awesome experience and he already convinced us to sign him up for the winter league. Soccer mom status = Activated!
In keeping with Friday tradition around here, below you will find a roundup of things I’m loving most this week! It’s a small collection of a few small things that made me smile and I’d love to hear more about what you’re loving in the comments section of this post as well.
Enjoy your weekend, my friends!
Things I’m Loving Friday
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Halloween 2022!
For the vast majority of the day on Halloween this year it rained. The drizzle turned into heavy rain and alternated in this pattern for hours. We were all triple crossing our fingers and hoping the rain would let up and somehow we got lucky! Right around 5 p.m. the rain stopped and we made our way to my friend Pamela’s house for Halloween fun. We dove into pizza and Prosecco while the kids played and before we knew it, the sun went down and it was time to trick-or-treat.
The boys had a blast and it was so cute to see their different trick-or-treating styles in action. I think it was Chase’s mission to “win Halloween” as he sprinted from house to house collecting candy with two of his best friends. True to his sweet personality, Ryder oscillated between trying to keep up with the bigger kids and checking in with me and Ryan for some help with his heavy pumpkin bucket and hand-holding. Rhett was in his element big time and LOVED trick-or-treating so much. He didn’t want to skip a single house and proudly marched up behind the big kids to collect candy in his Paw Patrol bucket. He didn’t quite understand the whole concept of “trick-or-treat” so he’d yell out, “ME! Thank you!” And he cracked us up all night long by taking his time combing through the candy bowls at each house as he selected his candy of choice even though he knew nothing about what was inside each wrapper. (“Olly-pops” aka lollipops were the only candy he knew because he gets one every time he gets a haircut. You’ve never seen a kid more excited about a Dum-Dum on Halloween.) It was a damp, fun and memorable Halloween!
Flare leggings! Ohhh my early 2000s-loving heart is on fire! True story: At the boys’ preschool’s trunk-or-treat there was girl volunteering at the face painting station who looked to be about college age. She had on the cutest little cropped sweater and flare leggings and I could not resist asking her about her pants! (I also felt 10,000 years old as a mom of 3 asking a 20-something about her clothes but whateverrr I loved them.) She told me she got them at Aerie and I ordered them that same night! (I actually ordered a few things because Aerie/AE is killing it with comfy fall and winter apparel! My order: 2 flare leggings mentioned below, this mock neck sweater and this waffle quarter zip + waffle lounge pants set.)
Okay, back to the leggings! I ended up ordering two pairs — the High Waisted Crossover Super Flare and the Foldover Flare. Pros for the crossover flares (pictured above): They are crazy flattering because they go in a decent amount at the knee. This is super picky, I know, but often flares billow out above the knee which doesn’t give them as slim of a line on my leg. This pair was super flattering, very comfortable and has a nice high rise. Win, win! (I am 5’7” and after reading reviews I ordered a medium long. I’m glad I did because I am very weird about flares that are too short!) Note: I got the super flare pair but they also come in regular flare if you’d like them to look less bell-bottomy.
As for the foldover flares, the material on these flares is thicker and great for hiding any lumps and bumps. (This is the pair I wore to the Carolina Raptor Center last weekend.) The foldover waist is awesome because it allows you to make them high waisted or not or just adjust them to fit your body in the most flattering way. I also love the pockets! This is a great pair for winterwear as the fabric is thicker, warmer and more substantial. I like the look of these flares for more of an activewear look whereas I’ve found myself reaching for the crossover flares to pair with sweaters. (I ordered the foldover flares in a small based on reviews and am very rarely a small in bottoms so if you’re between sizes, I would size down.)
Every month, right around that time of the month, my skin lets me know my period is coming. I’ll get a few of those hard, painful zits on my chin and it takes everything I have not to pick them like crazy even though I know picking them does nothing other than irritate them and cause scarring. Even though I can’t prevent the pimples from popping up, Mighty Patches make them a little less horrific. These little patches majorly exceeded my expectations and when I apply one to a hard, painful zit and leave it on overnight, it always seems to be better in the morning (not gone but definitely better and I’ll take that)!
The patch is quite small — just small enough to just cover a zit — and uses medical-grade hydrocolloid to “absorb pimple gunk.” The adhesive patch stays put all night and removes easily and painlessly in the morning. They’re now a staple in my skincare routine when I see a zit pop up!
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The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
My rating: B
This book came highly recommended by you guys when I shared how much I enjoyed The First Mistake by the same author. The Other Woman was an interesting read for me. I found most of the characters highly unlikable which made me feel irritated and itchy as I listened to the audiobook version of this one… and yet, I found myself looking for small moments in the day when I could listen to this book. It was a bit of a maddening read because the main character puts up with so much but I was definitely interested the whole time.
The book follows the relationship of Emily and Adam as they begin a whirlwind romance that seems perfect… until Emily meets Adam’s mother. Pammie is sweet and lovely at first but Emily quickly sees through her helpless aging mother act and realizes there’s more to her seemingly innocent jabs than meets the eye. As Emily begins to uncover more about Pammie’s life, she begins to question everything — her relationship, the past and her safety.
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October 2022 Top 10
Top 10 Blog Posts
- North Carolina 70.3 Half Ironman + Half Ironman Relay
- Crock Pot Chicken Corn Chili
- Easy Orange Juice Chicken Marinade
- Carolina Raptor Center + RenFest
- Tuesday in the Life
- Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
- Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Beef Stew
- Oatmeal Apple Crisp
- Winning Cornbread Recipe
Your Top 10 Favorites
- UGG Ultra Mini Boots (Warm feet, no cankles! Love the smaller profile of these boots!)
- 100-Piece Picasso Tiles (Without a doubt our boys’ most played with toys!)
- Portable Charger (Charges multiple devices at once and the cords are included. Great stocking stuffer!)
- Bounce House (The hit of Christmas for our boys a few years ago. Low enough to fit indoors and great for indoor winter play!)
- Amazon Lululemon Dupe Hoodie (My most-worn purchase of fall by far! I now own it in three colors. Fantastic quality and fit and oh so cozy!)
- Folding Travel Mirror (The mirror I never knew I needed! I use this almost every day to do my makeup at the kitchen counter while the boys eat breakfast. Wonderful for travel, too!)
- Plaid Black-and-White Camera Bag (I don’t think I’ve use another bag since I bought this one earlier this fall. They just came out with a white sherpa version I ordered this week, too!)
- Ziploc Bag Organizer (I never realized how annoyed I was by boxes of baggies in our pantry until I bought this lovely organizer and got rid of all of them!)
- Old Navy Curvy Extra High-Waisted Jeans (Bought these last year and they’ve been my go-to pair of jeans ever since. Great for pear shapes with a slimmer waist + hips and a booty.)
- Dohm White Noise Machine (Our kids morphed us into people who need white noise to sleep and this machine is the best. The noise comes from a real fan so there’s no weird ticks or looping noises.)
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Friday Flashbacks
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Chicken Curry (So good and veggie-packed!)
Gift Guide for Him (Sharing last year’s gift guide for guys to give you some ideas heading into the holiday season!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing you’re loving this week?
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I have seen so many different brands of the magnetic tile toys its rather overwhelming! What made you decide on the Picasso tiles over the other ones?
Looking for my kids some.
Hi Julie! I feel like you stated in the past that you and Ryan decided to only have your kids do activities that don’t interfere with weekends??? If this is true, are you still following this rule or as Chase’s love for soccer increases have you reassessed? I know my 7 year olds competitive soccer and other activities consume our weekends, but I personally enjoy it and it’s how my husband and I also spent our weekends as kids so maybe we are just used to it. Just curious. Also, I totally agree that the hardest part is entertaining the younger ones…Yeesh.
Hi! Yes!! We I have held pretty strong on that one for a while. Chase’s soccer games are only on Fridays (he had one make-up game on a Saturday but that was an exception) but we also very much recognize the fact that our weekends will likely include kid activities as the boys get older! We’ve always known that but just didn’t want to rush into it bc we love wide open weekends right now!
I always look forward to your posts!
I love Aerie, and those leggings are very flattering on you.
I am loving watching Ansley grow and absolutely thrive. She is crawling, trying to sit up, trying solids, and she has two bottom teeth coming in now!! I could not tell if it was just one, but as best I can tell, girlie is getting two at once.
Soccer moms rock. Both of my sons played soccer, but my granddaughter is the only one of my 4 grandkids that has the passion for it. She is a senior in high school and started playing recreational club soccer at age 7, then advanced to travel/competitive soccer as well as playing middle & high school. She was sidelined for 13 months due to an injury (torn ACL/meniscus). We really missed being at games during her recovery. She is back at it as of this week and we love being a part of the soccer family.
As your boys get older it will get a little bit crazier to follow their passions, but you will love it! Love that you expose them to so many different experiences.
Aw I love reading this!! I’m glad your granddaughter is back on the field and recovering well! <3 I'm sure it was hard for her not to be able to do something she loves so much and am glad it sounds like she's going better now!
I love Mighty Patches too but I’ve also been using Hanhoo ones from Walmart and I love them even more. Plus it’s like $2.50 for a pack of 36 or so!
oh that’s awesome!! thanks for the recommendation!
My dermatologist recommended a daily Niacinamide oral supplement for hormonal acne, and it actually WORKS!
hi Julie! I am loving the nostalgia you just gave me regarding the flare leggings. I was a buyer at a premier running store in Boulder CO from 99-2016 and vividly remember the trend in the flared legging during some of those years. I could never understand it from a purist running standpoint but we sold so so many of that style. Athleisure style was on fire then and it hasn’t seemed to ever let up! I love it, may stylish comfort always be an approved option 🙂 Glad you all had a great Halloween.