Things I’m Loving Friday #507

Friday is here! Hooray! How are you guys? Did you have a good week? We had a fairly typical week over here and are looking forward to the weekend. We have friends in town visiting us through Sunday which will make the next few days extra fun! The weather looks a little dreary which may put a damper on our plans to head to the Whitewater Center but I’m sure we’ll still fill our weekend with something fun even if we get rained out of our tentative plans.

I need to log off to get this Friday rockin’ but keep on scrolling if you’d like to see this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Road Track Magnetic Tile Toppers

I’ve raved about our boys’ Picasso Tiles for years and stand by magnetic tiles as a 10/10 toy recommendation for kids. They’re something our boys reach for over and over again and I cannot even begin to guess how many creations they’ve made with their tiles. From castles and animal hospitals to multi-story garages and mazes for our leopard gecko, they’re the best for imaginative play! When the boys saw these road track magnetic tile toppers at a friends’ house during a play date, they thought they were the coolest. I ended up ordering a set for the boys for Christmas and they’ve been such a hit! They incorporate them into their playtime constantly and since tiny toy cars and magnetic tiles are the toys our boys play with most in our house, the tiles are getting a lot of use. I actually ordered a second set as a surprise for the boys for Easter because they use them so much and I think they’ll enjoy making longer roads for their little cars to drive on. And if your little one is more into trains, they have train tile toppers, too!

• Moon River Denim Skirt

(Skirt: Anthropologie via Nuuly / Booties: Target but old — these look identical / White tube top: Anthropologie via Nuuly / Cardigan: Target but old / Purse: Amazon)

I’m sharing this denim Moon River skirt for my Nuuly girls out there! This is one of those I-love-it-so-much-I-had-to-buy-it Nuuly finds! It arrived in my latest Nuuly rental with the tags still on (love it when that happens) and it’s the perfect denim maxi because while many denim maxis can look and feel bulky, the basque waist on this one is slimming and so flattering. I’ve dressed it down with a tee and sneakers and also wore it out to dinner last night with my girlfriends to celebrate my friend Carrie’s birthday in Davidson. It’s a gem of a find!

• The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

My rating: A

The Grace Year came highly recommended to me by my friend Macie who claimed the book was her favorite read 0f 2023. Macie is an avid reader like myself so when she said it was the best book she read last year, I knew I had to dive in. When it became available through my local library, I began reading it… and I pretty much didn’t stop until I was finished. It is a dark dystopian novel that roped me in immediately and kept me reading late into the night. I read it in two sittings, staying up hours past my typical bedtime, because I could not put it down. It’s thought-provoking, immensely creative and completely enthralling. It’s also horrifying and maddening and The Grace Year takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of hope and hopelessness, heartbreak and love. I found myself fiercely rooting for the main character in the novel.

The Grace Year is a period of time when the young women of Garner County are banished from the town during their 16th year of life. It is believed this time in their lives that they come into their magic and have the ability emit a power that lures the men of their town into their beds. It is only through the time they spend banished in the woods during the grace year that they are able to rid themselves of their magical powers and return purified and ready for marriage. Only not everyone returns. What happens during the grace year is never talked about again.

As the grace year approaches for 16-year-old Tierney James, she has her own plans for her life. Determined to never marry and live her life on her own terms, Tierney is shocked when her grace year begins with an unexpected reveal. As she heads into the woods with the other grace year girls, Tierney quickly realizes the dangers they face alone in the woods may not come only from the poachers determined to hunt the girls for their youthful powers. It may come from the very women she must lean on to make it to the other side of the grace year alive.

• Mini Cup Holder Trash Cans

Well if this isn’t just an ingenious little invention! These mini cup holder trash cans popped up as a recommended item for me on Amazon and while I’m trying to ignore the fact that Amazon apparently knows the inside of my car looks like a dumpster, I couldn’t resist adding them to my cart. It’s my hope these mini trash cans can serve as a place for our boys to put their snack wrappers in the car in a contained spot rather than alone in their cup holders (because then they inevitably float onto the car floor) or smooshed into the sides of their car seats for me to find many moons later. Let us hope this new system will help the dumpster fire that is my car.

• Amazon Spring Sale

Amazon’s spring sale is in full swing right now, as I’m sure you’re well aware if you spend any time on social media. I took advantage of the sale to get a few things I’ve been eyeing, namely summer pajamas for the boys (the next size up in our favorite super-soft jammies), this tabletop paper roll dispenser (because we use butcher/easel paper constantly in our house for banners, art projects, etc.), shoe organizers for our closet (I have high hopes for these!)… and my big purchase was a walking pad! I figured this might come in handy when I work from home and want to move my body a bit so I scooped it up while it was on sale. I also wanted to round up a few other finds I saw from the sale but limited my shares below to only things we already have and love in our house that I can vouch for myself! You can also easily browse everything in one spot in my Amazon shop here: Amazon Spring Sale Finds. I hope this helps!

Kitchen/Home: Tineco Wet Vac (a better deal than I saw for this one on Black Friday!) / Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker (the one we have an love) / eufy Handheld Vacuum (helpful for cleaning car messes, crumbs in cabinets, etc.)

Fashion: Button-Up Cover Up (perfectly gauzy and lightweight)/ Colorful Beaded Necklace / 6-Pack Claw Clips / Petal Sleeve Tee / Favorite Bralettes / Midi Slip Skirt / Linen Pants / Waffle-Knit Jumpsuit (comfy and great for travel)

Beauty: Beauty By Earth Sunless Tanning Drops (I add this to my hyaluronic acid PM creme before bed a couple nights a week and wake up with a healthy glow!) / Travel Mirror / Living Proof Dry Volume/Texture Spray (I use this to add volume and grit to my otherwise super fine + soft hair)

Kids: Softest Summer Pajamas / 100-Piece Picasso Tiles Set (10 points for toys kids will play with for years and years) / Mini Digital Camera / Large Steel Dump Truck (indestructible — awesome for outdoor play) / Step2 Push Car (worth its weight in gold for toddlers)

• Friday Flashbacks

Easy Easter Rice Krispie Treats (These photos could use an update but the recipe is still a good one!)

10 Easter Brunch Recipes (A few of our family’s favorites!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing making you smile this week?