Things I’m Loving Friday #525

Hello friends! Guess what? We officially have a FOUR year old in our house! I have a little too many words to say about Rhett and while I’m planning to save my mom gushing for his little birthday post update I plan to share on the blog soon, below you’ll see a mini birthday recap along with a few additional things I’m loving this week.

As for the weekend, I’m really looking forward to it because we’ll be spending some time in Greenville, South Carolina where the big kids will be participating in their first kid triathlon. We cannot wait to cheer them on and also explore Greenville as a family, too! If you have any recommendations for things we should do during a brief 48-hour trip, please let us know!

I’m hoping to recap everything on the blog next week, but until then, keep on scrolling to check out this week’s Things I’m Loving roundup of favorites!

Things I’m Loving Friday #525

• Rhett is Four!

Rhett turned four yesterday and I’m trying not to dwell too hard on the fact that we (very, very likely) will not have a three-year-old of our own in our house again. Whyyy am I like this!? I already know from experience that each passing age brings about a new wonderful phase but birthdays hit me hard and I cannot help but think back over the innocence and sweetness of the baby and toddler years even though I freaking LOVE the big kid years. Mom emotions are wild, I’m telling you!

But RHETT. Oh our little Rhetty Roo! He is so, so easy to celebrate.

On a little questionnaire I had to fill out for Rhett’s new preschool class teacher, I was asked to use five adjectives to describe him and one of the first words I thought of was excitable! He’s so enthusiastic about everything these days and you better believe the fact that his birthday was Thursday (which just so happens to be his favorite day of the week — yes, it’s a thing, and yes he cheers whenever we say it’s Thursday) was just the icing on the *birthday* cake!

We celebrated Rhett with a trip to the slot car track in Kannapolis, an activity he fell in love with after Chase wanted to do the same thing for his nineth birthday. And, after much deliberation that included requests for at least 10 different kinds of cake, Rhett settled on requesting a “cookie cake from Publix” for his special day. It was a very, very good one!

• Press Start! (for New or Reluctant Readers)

I mentioned Press Start! books on Instagram a few weeks ago when I was highlighting some chapter books our big kids love and the response I’ve received via IG DMs was so overwhelmingly positive, I figured they deserved a highlight here as well. We first discovered Press Start! graphic novels when Chase was in first grade. When I volunteered to read with kids in his class, I am not lying when I say 95 percent of the boys in is class came up to me with a Press Start! book from their classroom library in their hands to read together because they were all absolutely obsessed. These books are some kind of magic for kids, especially reluctant readers, and seem to absolutely captivate them.

One important disclaimer: They’re annoying to read as an adult. Well, Ryan doesn’t think so but I don’t love reading them aloud because of all the thought bubbles (I prefer the seamless flow of a more traditional novel) BUT for kids reading alone, they’re an absolute dream and hold their attention so, so well. Anything that gets my kids to park their butts on the couch and excitedly dive into a book is a WIN for me! Chase (9) and Ryder (6) both adore them and they’re the books they both reach for to flip through before bed more than any other books we have in our house. (Owl Diaries is another winning series!)

And for anyone looking for additional young reader chapter book recommendations, you may find a few of our boys’ favorites here: Favorite Chapter Books for Young Readers.

• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

My rating: A- / Genre: Rom-Com / Women’s fiction

Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite writers. I’ve called her the queen of dialog in the past and that continues to hold true in her latest novel, Just for the Summer. She manages to write conversations between characters that feel realistic yet incredibly witty and often laugh-out-loud funny.

Her romantic novels have more depth than your average beach read and I love the way she so clearly researches the topics she chooses to address and the battles her characters face in a way that (at least for me) leaves me feeling like I have a deeper knowledge of what it might be like for someone struggling with a certain particular set of issues in the real world.She does just this in Just for the Summer and while this book is probably my least favorite of the books I’ve read by Abby Jimenez, I still loved it and really loved the way characters from her Part of Your World novels popped up in the most unexpected places throughout the story. If you love Abby Jimenez’s past books, I have no doubt you’ll love Just for the Summer, too.

Synopsis

Justin and Emma are both plagued with a similar curse: Every person they date goes onto find their soulmate in the next relationship they have after they break up with Justin or Emma. It would be funny if it didn’t like every relationship Justin and Emma enter into is destined to fail. But then they come up with a plan to break their curse wide open. They’ll date each other and break up. Each of their curses will cancel out the other’s curse and they’ll both finally be free to find their true love after a bit of fun. 

And then Emma’s mother shows up, bringing drama and years of hurt along with her, and Justin assumes guardianship of his younger siblings and saddening the “fun” they’re having feels very real. They have to work through serious issues and when they begin to do so together, relying on each other and realizing they might very well have real feelings, they begin to wonder if this relationship might be more than just a plot to break a curse.

• August 2024 Top 10

A little more than a year ago, I began sharing these top 10 recaps at the end of the month to help showcase some of the previous month’s most popular blog posts as well as some of your favorite finds that may have been lost within blog posts and social media mayhem. See below for August’s top 10!

Blog Posts

• Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes
• Recent Looks #7
• How to Make Salmon Bites
• Simple Sides for Your Summertime BBQ
• Meals I Make When We Have Guests in Town
• Banner Elk Mountain Weekend + Kid Olympics
• Picture an Hour: August 2024
• Banana Bread Protein Pancakes
• A Just Us 5 Weekend
• A Day at Magic Kingdom (From the Perspective of Someone Overwhelmed by Disney)

Your Top 10 Favorites

• Epicurean Cutting Boards (mini, medium, large): I have and love all three! The cutting boards of my dreams! Non-toxic, doesn’t retain smells/flavors of food, dishwasher safe and thin!
• Skoy Dish Scrubber: Sustainably made, incredibly effective and easy to clean (just pop them in the dishwasher), these little scrubbers work hard without scratching the surfaces of pots and pans.
• Friendship Bracelet Bead Kit: The kit the boys love to use to make keychains, bracelets, necklaces, etc. We use these keychain links and attach them to birthday gifts for the boys’ friends!
• Large Bead Necklace: The happy Amazon find I’ve been wearing all summer. Great for layering!
• Press Start: The book series I mentioned above!
• Nodpod: My favorite lightly weighted gentle pressure sleep mask! I swear it helps relax my entire body and helps me get back to sleep when I put the little pressure pouches on my eyes and temple when I wake up in the middle of the night. I gave one to my mom for Christmas and she loves it, too!
• Honeycomb Mesh Laundry Bags: The only way I wash my sports bras and workout tops. Keeps the removeable pads in and helps them maintain their shape.
• Striped Oversize Sweatshirt: The slouchy oversized sweatshirt I love for cozy days! I have the small and medium in two different colors and prefer the fit of the medium.
• Retainer/Mouth Guard Natural Cleaner: Apparently I am not the only one who was horrified by the state of my mouth guard and retainer. This stuff WORKS and that’s all there is to it.
• Thomas the Train Mini Advent Calendar: The teeny train advent calendar that is, without a doubt, the best advent calendar we’ve ever bought for the boys. The mini trains continue to get played with all year round.

 

• Labor Day Weekend Sales

Rounding up a few Labor Day weekend sales that caught my eye!

• 20% off clothing + Up to 50% off home at Target: Our favorite tank on sale for $6.40 / These $10 sandals are nearly identical to the TKEES I have and love
• 50-60% off at Old Navy: My recent purchases: These curvy loose jeans! The butt pockets are super flattering. I sized down. / These comfy sweats / For Rhett (toddler size): This long-sleeve checker-print top / Jogger sweats / For Chase/Ryder (big kid sizes): Blue check-print zip-up hoodie / $6 graphic tee / This $4 teal tee / These neutral hoodies
• 40% off sale + 25% off designer denim at Anthropologie

And then because Amazon has a million Labor Day deals of their own, below you’ll see a few finds I thought were especially good deals. I also have them rounded up here on my Amazon storefront and will continue to add more here as I see them:

Labor Day 2024 Weekend Sales:

• Ring Stickup Camera: Wireless and you can easily move it around! Plus it works indoors and outdoors. I love it so much for keeping an eye on the boys.
• Julep Eyeshadow Stick: I’ve been using this eyeshadow stick for years. I apply it directly over eyeliner to make my eyeliner less severe and a little more smudgy. Taupe shimmer is my favorite shade.
• The Honest Co. Halloween Pajamas: Oh my gosh this adorable Halloween donut print!
• Hanging Toiletry Bag: Great for travel but also awesome for organizing kid craft/entertainment supplies on long road trips.
• Cargo Sweatpants: These look identical to the Target sweats I love so much and a clickable coupon makes them only $15! Hooray for comfy + cute!
• Oversize Long Cardigan: The cozy cardigan you can style a million ways. I wore it on repeat last fall/winter with jeans, midi skirts, dresses and even sweats! The clickable $15 off coupon makes it $20 and I’ve never seen it this low!
• Ring Video Doorbell: We love ours more than I ever thought we would.
• Laslulu Hoodie: Our favorite cozy sweatshirt for the past 2 years! Aka the sweatshirt that’s super similar to the lululemon scuba hoodie.
• 100-piece Assorted Charms for Crocs: We love adding these to birthday gifts for the boys’ friends, Christmas stockings, Easter eggs, etc.

 

• Friday Flashbacks

Simple Sides for Your Summertime BBQ (Just in case you’re looking for something to make this holiday weekend.)

Recent Beauty Favorites (Beauty + skincare favs I love!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?