Things I’m Loving Friday #476

Hey, hey, hey it’s Friiiday! The weekend is here and we are ready for it! Our crew is Florida-bound today and we cannot wait to spend lots of time at the beach with family. We’ve been craving salt water, surf and sand all summer long and are ready for tide pools, swimming and more family time. Extended time in Jacksonville with family over the summer has become a bit of a tradition and when Chase requested spending his eighth birthday in Florida, we blocked out the dates around his birthday for our visit. My mom’s birthday was also yesterday so we’ll be celebrating a couple of July birthdays during our visit!

I’m sure I’ll take you guys along for the Florida fun during our visit but until then I wanted to share this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style! Enjoy your weekend, my friends!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Personalized Water Bottle Bands

During my sister’s visit to our house a couple of weeks ago, I noticed some personalized silicone name bands around my niece’s water bottles. They immediately stuck out at me because the name decals I’ve been using on our boys’ YETI water bottles recently began peeling after I put them in the dishwasher. (They lasted for quite a while for us without peeling and the shop I ordered them from specifically says they’re not dishwasher safe so I’m not sure why I decided to risk it. Oops!) Anyway, when I saw the water bottle name bands Leslie had for her girls, I asked where she got them and of course she said Etsy! I ordered three for our boys and they’re fantastic!! I love that they can be transferred to various water bottles since, as our boys get bigger, they’re using water bottles of varying sizes depending on the day and activity. (The boys also said the tie dye bands I ordered make it easier to spot their water bottles from a pile of water bottles during camp days which is another perk!) I just thought this was such a genius idea and had to share for anyone else out there who might need to label water bottles for their kids.

• Leather Dog Collar with Personalized Plate

Since Pepper came into our lives very quickly last fall, we didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for our new furry family member. This meant we arrived at PetSmart with Pepper in our arms one day and stocked up on all of the puppy and little dog things we needed that we did not already have on hand from Sadie. Pepper’s collar was a hot pink thing we grabbed that day that was small but not quite small enough. She slipped out of it a number of times but I could never find anything smaller for her at the pet store. I also figured we should have a tag made for her with our phone number on it but they all seemed so huge and dangly for such a tiny dog.

I then realized I should check Etsy because Etsy folks are all kinds of creative. I found exactly what I was looking for in the form of a small leather collar with a personalized metal plate! We needed an extra extra small size for Pepper which was much harder to find than I anticipated but the reviews from other tiny dog owners made me think the collars sold by this shop would work for Pepper. It was a slam dunk and I feel so much better knowing Pepper is properly tagged (she’s also microchipped) and wearing a collar that fits her well.

• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

My rating: A

I listened to the audiobook version of Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez and it felt like such a happy little escape. The dialog between the main characters and one of the main characters and her best friend had me smiling so much and laughing out loud numerous times. It was just a treat and made me genuinely look forward to folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher so I could listen! (I also may or may not have had a “book crush” on Daniel. Haha!) This is the third book I’ve read by this author and it was my favorite of the three.

The narration of Part of Your World flip flops back and forth between Alexis and Daniel, an unlikely pair who meet when Alexis finds herself in a small town in need of a tow after she swerves off the road to avoid hitting a racoon. She’s fresh out of a 7-year relationship with her surgeon boyfriend and no one is more shocked than Alexis when she finds herself making a pre-dawn escape back to her house in the hoodie of the man who saved her, a sexy carpenter named Daniel.

Daniel is a decade younger than Alexis and her complete opposite on paper. Alexis is a successful and very wealthy doctor, tasked with carrying on her family’s 150-year medical legacy, while Daniel is struggling to save the family home-turned-bed-and-breakfast that’s been in his family for years. Despite their differences, they’re drawn to each other with an intense ferocity, both intellectually and physically, even though they both know their relationship can never be more than surface-level. Their lives are too different and their worlds are completely incompatible… so why can neither of them break it off?

• Nordstrom Sale Finds

I’m not dedicating an entire blog post to the finds from this year’s Nordstrom sale but I did take some time to shop the sale earlier this week and wanted to highlight some of my favorite finds for anyone else out there who might be interested!

FOR HER

• True & Co Racerback Bra (This is the bra I love for under summer tanks! It’s super soft, incredibly comfortable and on sale for almost $20 less than what I paid.)
• Bombas No-Show Socks (My go-to socks to wear with sneakers both for the gym and also my casual white sneakers.)
• Sam Edelman Western Boot (I love pairing my western boots with dresses, midi skirts and jeans in the fall and winter months.)
• Beige Yaya Sandals (The perfect simple heel to pair with everything. I wore a similar pair to my cousin’s rehearsal dinner.)
• Barefoot Dreams Socks (A gift I received from Ryan and Chase and something I genuinely look forward to wearing all winter long! I grabbed a pair to have on hand for holiday gifting.)
• Honeydew Star Seeker Pajamas (I ordered these because they just look so happy! Plus, I love Honeydew pajamas and have always found them to be lightweight and ideal for the summer-to-fall transition and very comfy.)
• Bernado Puffer Jacket (I wear my long black puffer non-stop in the winter and this one is cute and looks so warm!)

BEAUTY 

• Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eyeshadow (I’m not a big eyeshadow person but these are my favorite for a natural, easy-to-use, not-too-perfect look.)
• Blissy Silk Pillowcase (My mom gave these to me and my sister for Christmas one year and they’re the best. I sleep on mine every night.)
• Supergoop! Sunscreen (We flew through sunscreen faster than ever this year since we’ve had people over to swim in the lake a lot and like to have sunscreen out for our guests to use. Supergoop! is our absolute favorite so I ordered this set to restock!)
• Slip Pure Silk Scrunchies (The gentle hair ties I use to pull back my hair before bed every night.)

KIDS

• Tucker + Tate Jacket (I ordered this one for Chase during the Nordstrom sale years ago and it’s the perfect transitional fall jacket all of our boys have worn and loved!)
• Tucker + Tate Denim Jacket (Such a cute option for little girls! A friend gave us a similar one as a hand-me-down for the boys and I love the denim style with softer sleeves.)

BABY

• Stokke Highchair (The highchair my sister has for her kids. She raves about it and I love that it can convert to a chair and last for years.)
• Bedside Bassinet (Our boys slept next to our bed in a bassinet for the first 6-ish months of their lives. This one is beautiful!)
• Rocker Chair (A rocker chair was one of the only “new” items we got when we had baby #3 and well worth it!!)

MEN

• UGG Classic Scuff Slipper (A good discount if you want to nab them early for holiday gifting!)

• Friday Flashbacks

My Simple Skincare Routine (Simple is the only way to go for me + my skincare!)

Easy Coconut Granola (Coconut lovers, this is a must-make as it uses equal parts coconut and oats.)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?