Things I’m Loving Friday #479

Hey friends! Friday is hereee! We are ready for it because Ryan took the day off of work as a surprise for the boys and we’re heading to Carowinds, a local amusement park/waterpark, as a summer sendoff before Chase begins school on Monday. I’ve only been to Carowinds one time (fellow Bachelorette fans, it was when I met Emily Maynard!) and Chase was not even a year old so I’m excited to check out the park with bigger kids along for the ride since we’ll be able to do a bit more. I’m sure we’ll be hot and sweaty but hopefully the waterpark will be the perfect way to end our day at the park this afternoon.

As for our week up until now, it was great! I am trying not to be too bummed that summer is coming to a close but I really do love it so, so much. We made the most of our week and visited a local trampoline park, went to Discovery Place Kids with friends, attended a back-to-school ice cream social at Chase’s school and Ryan and I even managed to squeeze in a date night to the Beyoncé concert on Wednesday night when he got us last-minute tickets!

Thursday’s headache was worth the late night fun.

I hope you all had a great week and have an even better weekend! Keep on scrolling for this week’s roundup of Friday favs!

Things I’m Loving

• Electronic Junk Drawer Organization

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

This little project was inspired by my mom and sister. They’re label maker queens and seeing all of their little organization projects neatly labeled and sorted in their homes during our time in Florida prompted me to want to tackle some of the spaces that always feel cluttered and overwhelming in our house. Up first: Our electronic junk drawer.

No matter how many times I’ve organized and sorted this drawer, it always ends up a mess within a few weeks and I realized this was due, in large part, to the fact that so many of the cords and chargers look the same. We’re often left digging through the drawer to find exactly what we need which leaves the drawer a disaster. No more!

I ordered assorted sturdy mesh pouch storage bags off Amazon in various sizes and colors, busted out my label maker and got to work. The joy this little project brought me on a Tuesday morning was intense. Oh happy day! An organized drawer that I fully believe has the potential to actually stay organized.

• Tarte Liquid Blush Tape

A month or two ago, I dropped my Honest Company powder blush and it cracked into a million pieces and was completely destroyed. I put a call out on Instagram for blush recommendations and Tarte’s Liquid Blush Tape received a lot of love from you guys. I am officially declaring this the perfect summer blush! It looks so creamy and natural with the perfect amount of glow. It adds a gorgeous pinky color to my cheeks and applies easily (once you learn to twist and squeeze the applicator). I’ll be a repeat customer on this blush for sure and while I’m using the peach color for a more bronzy-pink during the summer months right now, I’m thinking the pink or berry colors will be lovely in the fall and wintertime.

• The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix)

I previously loved the movie The Lincoln Lawyer and when my parents recommended the show during our time in Jacksonville I began watching it with them. They filled me in so I joined them about a third of the way through the second season and immediately liked it! It reminded me a little bit of the show Scandal in that there are subplots between the characters with an overarching case at hand at the same time which held my interest. The rest of the second season was released while I was in Florida and while I’ve watched all the recent episodes, now I want to go back and start it from the beginning to see all the episodes I’ve missed. It’s been a hot second since I’ve found a show I enjoy so I’m oddly excited about this one.

• The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

My rating: B- 

Let me begin with this: I almost abandoned this book about halfway through. And then let me add this: The last third of the book redeemed every last bit of the first half. While I’d consider this book a “slow burn” as it took a while to really hook me, I flew through the last third. I loved the twists and turns that popped up toward the end of the unique ride I went on with two unlikely women from completely different generations who found themselves together based on unusual circumstances.

The book begins when Tanner, a 21-year-old woman, moves in with Louise, an elderly woman who, her children insist, needs someone living with her at all times to ensure her safety. Both are reluctant to the arrangement as Tanner would much rather return to the college she left after her soccer scholarship was pulled following a knee injury and Louise was very content to live in her house on her own. But Tanner needs the money and a place to stay and Louise realizes Tanner living with her is the only thing keeping her from moving into an assisted living facility. The unlikely duo’s relationship quickly morphs into something neither of them anticipated when Louise appears in Tanner’s room after midnight insisting she leave the house immediately. Tanner is on alert as all the oddities she’s noticed about Louise mesh together to make her question everything; most notably the photo of a woman looking nearly identical to Louise featured on the local news in relation to a decades-old jewelry heist.

• July 2023 Top 10

A while back I began sharing a top 10 list at the end of every month as a way to give you guys a glimpse back into some of the blog posts you may have missed or some of my favorite finds you may have had on your radar that got lost in blogging and social media mayhem. See below for July’s top 10!

Blog Posts

• Amazon Prime Day Deals
• Cheesecake Cookies ‘n’ Cream Ice Cream
• Simple Summer Weekend + No More Paci
• House Tour: Our Laundry Room
• A Farm Day, A Waterpark Day and a Triathlon
• Egg White Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
• My Simple Skincare Routine
• Weekend Eats: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Easy Orange Juice Chicken Marinade
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Your Top 10 Favorites

• $10.99 Paperclip Chain Gold Necklace (I’ve had this since 2021 and it has yet to tarnish which honestly surprised me at this price point! Love it!)
• Apple-Certified iPhone/Earbuds Charger (Clearly we all took advantage of picking up a few extra chargers during Prime Day.)
• Silicone Water Bottle Name Bands (Easily labels your kids’ water bottles with silicone bands you can move from one water bottle to the next. So helpful!)
• Colgate Optic White Renewal Toothpaste (A whitening toothpaste that actually produces results.)
• Cane Storage Cabinet (This continues to be a best-seller and for good reason. It’s even more gorgeous in person — the color isn’t nearly as orange as it appears online — and the price point is fantastic. We ordered two and my sister actually ordered two for her living room as well!)
• Rollplay Nighthawk (Ah! I love that this was a best-seller last month! Hopefully your kids are loving it as much as our boys! They’re obsessed.)
• Kid-Friendly Digital Camera (Aka the camera I bought for Ryder and all of the boys’ summer birthday friends. Huge hit!)
• True & Co. Racerback Bra (The crazy-comfy, wire-free bra I loved so much in beige I nabbed it in black, too. My mom bought and loves this one as well!)
• Faux Leather Storage Bins (I mentioned these on the blog months ago so I was surprised to see them pop up as a bestseller but also happy because we love them so much. We have them in every single size and are using them in the big kids’ bedroom, our foyer, our bedroom and our home office. They’re gorgeous!)
• Clear Plastic Drawer Organizers (We love these in our bathroom, office and kitchen junk drawers.)

 

• Friday Flashbacks

Ceviche Inspired Shrimp and Edamame Salad (I made a batch of this to have on hand for lunches again this week and loved it so much!)

10-Minute Weighted Core Workout (For when you want to feel your abs on fire!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?