Things I’m Loving Friday #511

Hey friends! Friday is here and it’s actually my birthday eve! (Is that a thing? No?) I’m turning 39 on Saturday — my final year in my 30s whaaaat — and we’re spending the weekend away as a family. Our plans are a little unusual but I am so freaking excited! Once Chase is out of school today, we’re heading off on a wilderness retreat in western North Carolina. It’s a true retreat with no wifi, cell service, televisions, etc. and we cannot wait. I think the boys will be in heaven and this kind of thing is right up our alley, though we aren’t really sure what to expect! I hope to share more on the blog next week but until then, I’m off to pack before squeezing in a workout and a playdate at a local farm before our weekend fun begins.

Enjoy your weekend, my friends, and keep on scrolling if you’d like to check out this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Rug Gripper Pads

You know those little household things that bug you that you somehow live with for far too long? That was me with two of the always-moving-around rug runners in our home. The runner in our kitchen and the runner in the upstairs hallway always seemed to shift around and I’d find myself putting them back in place repeatedly throughout the day. No more! I finally found something to keep them in place that doesn’t involve permanently affixing them to our floors. Hello rug gripper pads! I bought a pack of eight of these pads off Amazon and wasn’t sure if they’d work well or not but I’ve been so impressed. They were crazy easy to use (you use peel off the back and stick them to the bottom corners of your rug) and suction well to the floor so your rug doesn’t move an inch. They’re simple and effective and now I’m just kicking myself for not ordering them sooner.

• A Few Play Loft Finds

When we built our home, one of the spaces we knew would be heavily used was the open play loft space at the top of the stairs. Having never had a dedicated playroom before, we had a feeling our boys would use this space like crazy and we were right. One thing I’m glad we didn’t do? Fill up the space with furniture. We used my old IKEA office furniture on the perimeter of the room for toy storage but kept the middle of the room completely clear for play! The only things we bought for the space since we moved in were two Pottery Barn loungers (size large) and a checkered rug. I figured it was time to add a little more color to the space in a kid-friendly way and about two weeks ago, I ordered two prints off Etsy (this rainbow smiley face one and this fruit of the spirit one), framed them in Target frames and hung a felt multicolor garland above our leopard gecko’s cage to display some of the boys’ art. (I hung it using these damage-free command hooks.) Then, last week, I ordered a green storage bench for additional toy storage but also to provide another place to sit by the window in the play loft that’s not on one of the bean bags.

I feel like each of these additions added a nice pop of happy color to the space in a way that felt playful and youthful. Our boys said they like them, too, so I’ll consider them a win!

• The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romantic Comedy 

My rating: B

The Cheat Sheet was my most recent audiobook listen and I’m well aware the fact that I listened to this book may be skewing my review. I had a really hard time with both the male and female narrators in this one but tried hard to overlook their narration as I previously read and loved When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect by the same author. (Both of those books I read versus listened to on audiobook.) Anyway, I say this to say, I think I perhaps felt more easily annoyed by the characters and frustrated by the lack of believability in the story because their voices irked me. Hopefully those who listen to audiobooks regularly understand where I’m coming from with this one! I say all that to say, if I try to remove the impact the narrator’s voices have on my review of this book, I would boil it down to this: You’ll definitely have to suspend your sense of belief to lean into this one but The Cheat Sheet is another fun read I think those who typically like sweet not-too-steamy romance novels (think Hallmark movie style books) would enjoy.

The book follows longtime best friends Bree Camden and Nathan Donelson who are madly in love with each other but both convinced the other person has them firmly planted in the dreaded “friend zone” with no plans to ever let them out. Nathan is a famous NFL player who just broke up with his latest model girlfriend while Bree is a dance teacher who just broke up with her boyfriend. For the first time, both Bree and Nathan are simultaneously single and neither know quite what to do about it. Then, after a tequila-fueled night out, Bree spills her feelings to a gossip reporter, spawning a viral video that has everyone convinced Nathan and Bree would make the best couple. When Nathan’s publicist agrees and presents the pair with a lucrative sponsorship opportunity, they decide to give a fake relationship and sign a contract to pretend to be in love for three weeks. Nathan and Bree finally have an excuse to explore a romantic relationship with each other which feels like a dream but will they allow themselves to lean in or second guess every move the other person makes and destroy their fake relationship and the friendship they cherish so much?

• Recursion by Blake Crouch

Genre: Sci-Fi, Suspense, Mystery

My rating: B

I read this book a month or so after reading and absolutely loving Dark Matter by the same author. It’s safe to say my hopes for Recursion were high but I can fully admit I am having a hard time giving Recursion a fair shot because I loved Dark Matter so much. Recursion just felt too similar to me. From the very beginning, I noticed similar themes which made the book harder for me to buy into, however, I believe I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed this book had I not read Dark Matter first. It just felt too long and too similar to Dark Matter for me to fully enjoy and by the end I felt like the book was just dragging. I can still appreciate its creativity and think it’s a book many would love but if you’ve already read Dark Matter, I would skip this one.

From Amazon: 

Reality is broken.

At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.

In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.

Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.

• Friday Flashbacks

Easy Coconut Granola (So good by the handful but also sprinkled on top of yogurt or a smoothie.)

My Skincare Routine (Nothing fancy, but a simple skincare routine I’ve come to love and look forward to doing every night)

Question of the Day

What is one thing making you smile this week?