Things I’m Loving Friday #527

Hello from Florida! We arrived in Jacksonville Beach yesterday evening and it’s wonderful to smell the salty air and know we have a few days with family on the horizon. The big kids have today off from school for a teacher workday. And since Rhett never has school on Fridays, we decided to take advantage of no school on the calendar and head to Jacksonville for a long weekend with Mae, Pop and my sister and her family. We are so ready for some fun in the sun with some of our very favorite people!

I’m keeping things short and sweet today so I can maximize family time. So please keep on scrolling if you’d like to check out this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style. Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Things I’m Loving Friday #527

• Seven Sundays Maple Sea Salt Cereal

I was first introduced to Seven Sundays maple sea salt cereal during our weekend in the mountains with friends back in August. My friend Carrie’s kids loved the cereal and after watching Rhett and Ryder eat it by the handful, I began buying it for our family, too. (I order it through Thrive Market or buy it at Whole Foods.) I honestly think I’m the one who eats more of it than anyone else in our house as evidenced by this story:

A couple of weeks ago, I grabbed a bag of Seven Sundays cereal for me and Rhett to snack on as we dropped Chase and Ryder off at school. We passed the bag back and forth a couple of times until he called me out and said, “Mom, why do you shove handfuls of it into your mouth?” followed by his demand, “And don’t eat all of it this time!” Kids will humble you every single day, I’m tellin’ ya. Needless to say, this cereal has become a recent favorite in our house, especially by me.

• Personalized Charm Necklace

(Thin gold heart necklace / Small gem necklace — my color is “citrine” / Personalized charm necklace)

Targeted ads get me every time. I couldn’t resist this personalized charm necklace when I saw it on Amazon. Because I instantly had visions of charms on the necklace representing things the boys’ love. There are a ton of charms to choose from. I ordered a charm representing each of our three boys (butterfly for Creature Man Chase, turtle for Ryder who adores catching and releasing turtles, lemon for Rhett who loves to make lemonade together), plus a fourth charm with three faux-diamonds for our three boys. It’s a personalized necklace I love wearing. And even the boys noticed it and thought the charms were really cool when I explained why I chose them!

• Ted Lasso (AppleTV)

We are a million years late to the Ted Lasso phenomenon, but Ryan and I finally gave the show a shot last weekend.  So many of our friends recommended it to us over and over again. And let’s just say, we now understand the hype. Oh my gosh, is Ted not just the most delightful human!? We are absolutely loving this show and the episodes frequently make us laugh out loud. I don’t think Ryan and I have found a funny show we’ve liked since we fell in love with Schitt’s Creek years ago. And it’s been so fun to watch an episode before we read at night before bed.

• Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister

Genre: Mystery/Suspense / My rating: B+

Having recently read and loved Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, I sought out another book by the same author and added Just Another Missing Person to my library holds list. It became available last week and I flew through it! While this book didn’t shock me the way Wrong Place Wrong Time did, I still found it to be a creative, unique and twisty read. It’s filled with flawed characters (none of whom I absolutely loved which was a bit of a bummer), difficult decisions, missing women, secrets and lies.

The book begins when 22-year-old Olivia has been missing for one day. Detective Julia Day is assigned to the case and it’s clear from the beginning. It’s going to be a challenging one. Olivia was caught on camera entering a dead-end alley and when she never emerges, everyone is puzzled. But Julia has experience and expertise on her side. She’s dedicated to her job and determined to find Olivia. And then Olivia’s case merges with a secret from Julia’s past and everything changes. Julia finds herself at a crossroads, forced to make decisions she never imagined herself making. How can she find Olivia when she’s being blackmailed with the very secret that could destroy her life and the life of someone she loves more than anything?

• The 5-Year Lie by Sarina Bowen

Genre: Mystery/Suspense / My rating: B

This book was highly recommended to me by one of my book-loving friends so my hopes were high! While I mostly enjoyed it, I found it extremely predictable which took away some of my enjoyment of the novel. I love to be surprised and this one failed to do that for me time and time again. It felt a little too obvious to me but I love a dual timeline mystery and still found myself looking forward to reading this book before bed every night.

The book begins when an old text is sent to Ariel Cafferty from Drew, a dead man and the father of her son who ghosted her five years ago. Ariel is shaken and shocked but the content of the old text causes her to begin to question everything. As Ariel begins digging, she uncovers lie after lie. Told to her not only by Drew but by her multi-millionaire family. As answers begin to come to the surface, more questions arise and the danger Ariel finds herself in only grows. Will she uncover the truth? And if she does, what will it cost her?

• Friday Flashbacks

Oatmeal Apple Crisp (Sharing our favorite recipe for anyone with apple picking on your agenda this fall!)

A to Z Family Workout (A fun way to move your body with the whole family)

Questions of the Day 

What is one thing you’re looking forward to this weekend?

What is one thing making you smile right now?