Things I’m Loving Friday #470

Hello from Roanoke, Virginia! We arrived in Virginia last night and will be here through Monday for a very special reason: Ryan will be completing his third Half Ironman! He was convinced to do this race by my friend Merri’s husband, Andrew, and we’re making a whole weekend out of it and rented a house with Merri, Andrew and their one-year-old son. It will be a fun and full weekend and I’ll try my best to recap everything on the blog next week when I have a moment to share everything with you guys!

Until then, let’s keep things moving and dive into this week’s roundup of weekly favorites. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• End of the School Year

It’s official: First grade wrapped up for Chase on Wednesday so all three of our boys are done with school for the year! The end of the school year never ceases to hit me hard and this huge happy-sad feeling that washes over me every time. I’m happy for the boys because they love all of their end-of-the-year activities and celebrations and are so joyful as they celebrate but it’s impossible not to be sad about cherished chapters coming to a close, especially when our boys love their classmates and their teachers with such ferocity. New years bring new memories and new friendships and I suppose the end of the year just reiterates in my mind how grateful I feel for the teachers who have poured into our children and the wonderful friends they’ve made who bring them so much joy. It’s happy and sad and all the things at once.

• Lululemon All Night Festival Bag

This bag! Ah! I love it so much. I actually have an old version of the bag I adored for years that I bought through thredUP but it’s slowly falling apart. When I mentioned my love for my old bag on Instagram a few months ago, I had a couple of you guys tell me the name of the bag and assured me the new large-size version of the festival bag is amazing, too. I kept it on my radar and eventually added it to my cart when I was ordering a pair of the new ribbed align leggings. You guys, this bag is a DREAM. I loved it so much I ordered it for my mom for Mother’s Day, too! I could never get behind the lululemon belt bag so many love because it holds practically nothing and as a mom, I need my bags to hold ALL THE THINGS. The bag holds a ton — we’re talking water bottles, all the snacks, diapers, wipes — and has a bunch of different sections for ultimate organization. I especially appreciate the exterior pockets; there’s a little slip pouch on the back that’s perfect for easy phone access and a small zip pocket on the front where I keep lip gloss and hand sanitizer. The fabric is also water repellant and wipes clean. I’ve been taking this thing everywhere!

• A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: A-

I’ve been savoring the final book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas but I’m finally done. While the second and third books remain my absolute favorites, the fifth and final book in the series redeemed the fourth book which I found to be more or less a filler and included a lot of what I loved so much about the series — heart-pounding battles, romance, thought-provoking themes and characters you grow to truly know and adore. The fifth book in the series was a little different in that Feyre is no longer a main character but rather her sister Nesta who is at times infuriating but layered and poised for dramatic growth throughout the book. Cassian also takes center stage and is the brave and wonderful warrior we’ve come to know and love from the prior novels. I once again won’t share a plot summary here for fear of revealing too much to anyone new to the series but I enjoyed the final book though I still have enough questions I think another book in the series would help answer. Crossing my fingers on for that one!

• May 2023 Top 10

Below you will find a recap of the top 10 most popular blog posts and your top 10 favorite items from May 2023. Hopefully this will help you discover some blog posts you may have missed or help you easily locate an item I’ve mentioned in the past that got lost in blog/social media mayhem.

Top 10 Blog Posts

• Roundup of Recent Looks
• Easy Orange Juice Marinated Chicken Thighs
• Tuesday: One Picture Per Hour
• First Fishing Derby + A Cardinal Fledgling
• Transition from 2 to 3 Kids: Q&A
• Egg White and Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
• Mother’s Day Weekend 2023
• 3 Minute Egg White Oatmeal
• Best Paleo Chicken Thigh Marinade
• Ceviche-Inspired Shrimp and Edamame Salad

Your Top 10 Favorites

• Target Linen Tee (The $12 tee that’s lightweight, flowy, flattering — I have all four colors!)
• Quilted Black Crossbody Bag (Aka the bag that had me sprinting across the preschool parking lot to ask another mom where she got it!)
• Target $8 Tank (Pairs so well with shorts, jeans, skirts, overalls, skirts… everything! Another one I couldn’t resist ordering in multiple colors.)
• Kids’ Kayak (Our big kids’ current obsession. They’re easy to use and the perfect size for both Chase and Ryder.)
• TUL Gel Pens (The pens that write like a dream!)
• XL Makeup Bag (Love the divided sections for ultimate makeup organization.)
• Bulk Pack of Pop-It Keychains (So great for tying on top of kid birthday presents, adding to goody bags or piñatas, etc.)
• The Circus Ship (10/10 children’s book recommendation!)
• Floral Skirt (Comfortable, feminine and flattering)
• Nike Daybreak Sneakers (Neutral enough to pair with everything and comfortable enough to walk in for miles.)

• Friday Flashbacks

Summer Staples for Kids (A collection of our summertime favorites we swear by for the boys! Everything from the best goggles and life jackets to our favorite sunscreen, beach tents, towels and more. I’d definitely add our new favorite kid kayaks to this list!)

Ryan’s First Half Ironman (In honor of Sunday’s race, I figured I’d share this recap of Ryan’s first Half Ironman today!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?