Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  It's been a week of surprise snow days and freezing cold weather here.  It was fun to have some bonus days off together.

The best parts of our week were:

1. I bought the boys matching closet organizers and they have been so helpful!  I fill them up with outfits - everything from socks, underwear, pants and shirts - on the weekends.  Then they can just grab an outfit for the day without any help.  The organizers are so affordable and have made getting ready in the mornings so much easier.  Max Houser 6 Tier Shelf Hanging Closet Organizer - it's marked down and has a coupon to clip!  Each section is very roomy and they hang so easily on any closet system.

2. The boys went to bed hoping for snow and got to wake up to this sign in their room!  They were thrilled for a home day.  Olive had to doing some virtual learning and the boys will get make up work.  It was so cold that we didn't play in the snow very much.  Kevin took the big kids out for a quick sledding adventure.  They about froze their faces off.

3. I've been doing a good job at framing favorite pictures.  I hung this family picture from Wisconsin in our little coffee corner of the kitchen.

4. I've been on a chocolate chip bread making kick.  It's so good.  I like to add a little whipped cream cheese to mine and the kids like their bread plain.  It's almost like a giant chocolate chip bagel, but better because it's soft and chewy.

5. We found some cute holiday shirts at Wal-Mart.  The sweatshirt was $8.98 and the t-shirts were $4 or $5 each. What a deal!  I try to stock up on St. Patrick's Day shirts so the kids will have cute Irish shirts to wear during the football season when we're cheering for Notre Dame.

6. Mr. Mittens loves a good blanket pile.  We could have all the cat beds possible and he always chooses a blanket on the floor.

7. Leo loves his Wizard of Oz Little People.  I smile every time I find them lined up somewhere.

8. We went to my nephew's birthday party and my MIL made the most delicious homemade chocolate cake.  Layer cakes aren't my specialty so I really appreciate when someone makes a good one.  It was so yummy that grabbed a piece to go.

9. The king of freezing funny things for me to find in the fridge.  This week it was a water balloon with a tiny rubber duck in it.

10. My valentine roses are still looking so beautiful.  Even after being knocked over a time or two by the cats.

11. A work friend gifted me two of the cutest silk scarves this week!  One in our school colors and the 2nd with my favorite Fall colosr + cats.  It was the sweetest surprise!

12. Find Mom.  Sit on Mom.  Lots of snuggles on this snowy week.

13. We put a little bit of birdseed out on our patio and the cats went crazy watching the birds on the patio.  They sat by the door all day chattering at the birds.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  See you back here on Monday :)

Linking up with Momfessionals

Friday Faves

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you've had a good week.  

Life is busy over here still taking things one day at a time and we are all ready for the weekend.  

The best parts of our week were:

1. This PRETTYGARDEN dress from Amazon.  It needs a moment.  It's gorgeous, lined, such pretty patterns and details and it is HALF OFF right now.  I own it in this pretty navy floral colorway and the purple colorway.  I'm tempted to add the orange to my wardrobe for Fall.  The quality is so good.  Wouldn't it be so pretty for all of your Fall events or family pictures or tailgates??  I wore it for picture day at school and church and it always draws tons of compliments.  It runs true to size and comes in size XS-XXL.  The material is so soft and comfy and looks way more expensive than it is.  RUN and grab this dress for yourself ASAP!

PRETTYGARDEN Boho Dresses - Navy floral

PRETTYGARDEN Boho Dresses - Purple floral

PRETTYGARDEN Boho Dresses - Orange floral

PRETTYGARDEN Boho Dresses - Wine red floral

2. Topher.  He hasn't been feeling 100% lately.  Life is hard when you are 15.  We have been trying to give him extra love and pampering.  I'm still his favorite person and his favorite time of day is still when everyone goes to bed and he has my full attention.

3. Fall treats!  I grabbed all the Fall treats for school lunches this week.  The kids went crazy for the candy pumpkins and Reese's pumpkins.

4. One of my students broke his armt his week so I had my mom dig through her photo album archives and send me this gem.  Kindergarten Whitney with a broken arm.  We bonded over our kindergarten broken arms.  I didn't tell him that I followed this broken arm up with two more in the following years! Yikes.  I still remember this like it just happened.

5. Bundt cakes.  My kids finally love cake.  Hooray!  They love anything I bake in a bundt pan.  Who can blame them?!  Bundt cakes really are superior cakes.  My favorite combo is homemade buttercream with a jazzed up box cake mix.  The kids picked Funfetti + vanilla buttercream.

6. Mommy train.  That's what we call it when I'm in charge of getting the boys to school.  Everyone ride the Mommy train!  It leaves earlier than we'd like, but we try to make the drive fun.  They love to roll down the windows, watch the tractors work in the fields as we drive and pick the songs we listen to.  It's sweet to get to go to school together.  Here is us waiting at a stoplight heading to school for Western Day.

7. Mr. Mittens is very proud to announce that he can now jump up on the counters.  Darn it.  I was hoping we'd have more time before he figured this out.  His cute little furry face is my favorite.  Don't tell my family, but he's been sleeping with me at night so I think that means I'm his favorite.

8. Back to school dinner.  We joined Kevin's department for their annual back to school dinner at a local pizza spot.  The Slice was yummy and the kids loved trying a variety of pizza slices.  We won a Fall candle from the prizes which delighted the kids.  I rarely buy candles or anything scented so it was a treat.

9. I don't want to forget this face.  Leo makes it when he's asking for something that he knows should be a no.  Like can I have another PBJ?  One more Hawaiian roll?  A few more gummy bears??  He raises his eye brows, sits up extra tall and hopes that you'll be hypnotized into saying yes to his request.  It's my favorite.

10. Our okra stash.  Our freezer is packed with okra and it makes me so happy.  Our okra plants and seeds did so well in our garden this year.  A year of composting really helped.  We have been harvesting like crazy and have all this okra to enjoy in soups and as side dishes this Fall.

11. Bougie nap.  I found Mr. Mittens napping on one of my favorite pillows this week.  We both squeezed in a Saturday nap.  I like his style!

12. The weather has been so nice in the evenings.  We're playing outside after dinner and soaking up the cool temps before the time changes for Fall.

13. Nana turned 88 this week!  We got to celebrate with her on Sunday.  We're so thankful to have her in our lives.  She's the best host, the sweetest lady, she always wants to hear about you and is always thrilled to see you.  Nana is the best.

14. Road trip dinner with friends.  I drive an hour north and they drive an hour south and we have the best evening together every quarter.  We work in a little shopping, dinner and drive thru dessert.  It's one of my favorite nights to catch up with some of my favorite mom friends.  I'm so thankful that despite our busy lives we are still able to make time to see each other.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for being here.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Watermelon Fries

Do you want your kids to eat more fruits and veggies?

Ask them to help you prep them!

My kids had been asking to make watermelon fries all Summer.  We finally got around to doing it this month and they quickly inhaled two watermelons.  I helped cut the big chunks of watermelon for them and then they used my 20 year old Pampered Chef crinkle cutter to make fries.  It was so fun and so easy.  I think this is our new favorite way to eat watermelon.

We stored the watermelon in containers with lids in the fridge.  Then we added watermelon fries to lunch boxes, snacks and dinners all week.

We love to use the crinkle cutter on cucumbers, carrots and any melons.

If I was replacing my crinkle cutter, I'd buy one of these:

HIC Kitchen Crinkle Cut Blade - very similar to mine.

Joie Crinkle Cutter - perfect size for kids!

ZYLISS Crinkle Cut Knife - with almost 12k reviews

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope it's been a good week for you.  We were busy!

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Northern Lights in Our Backyard - the coolest surprise!

Mother's Day Highlights

Exercise with Mom

Now onto my favorite moments of the week:

1. Emily Henry Books!

I picked up Happy Place on a whim - darling cover and Emily Henry is so popular - and I loved it!  The friendships, the romance, the themes and the adventures.  And who doesn't love a book that leaves you feeling HAPPY!?  I loved it so much that I promptly ordered two more Emily Henry books.  I'm reading Book Lovers now and People We Meet on Vacation next.  They all have amazing reviews.

2. Amazon Favorites

I had a tiny blush crisis this week.  Have you ever gone to reorder a favorite beauty item and it's GONE??  My favorite Tarte blush/highlighter combo is out of stock everywhere so I went to my instagram friends for help.  A good friend told me I had to try the ELF Glow Blush Beauty Wand cream blush in Pinke Me Up.  I had never tried a cream blush before so I was excited.  It's so lovely!  Look at this pretty glow.  I can't recommend this blush enough.  Blush crisis averted.

I picked up this PRETTYGARDEN Women's Summer 2 Piece Outfit on a whim and it's DARLING.  So good that I have already ordered it in black and red.  I'm debating which color to order next. 

The quality of the set is so nice.  The fabric feels expensive and you'd easily pay $40 for each piece.  This set is around $40 for the top AND bottom.  You could easily mix and match sets or wear each item on its own.  The pants are really flattering, have pockets and look so professional and put together.  It runs true to size so grab your normal size. 10/10 must have outfit for the Summer.  I promise!  You'll love it.  I'm thinking of ordering the olive green set or the mustard yellow set next.  All of the colors are SO pretty and many of them are on sale right now.

PRETTYGARDEN 2 piece set in black

PRETTYGARDEN 2 piece set in red

Adoyi Gold hoop set.  I got this pack of 7 different gold hoops for Mother's Day and I am SO impressed.  The quality is great and they look so high end.  I've worn them all week with zero complaints.  They are light, easy to wear and so pretty.  This set is perfection - every gold hoop style and size you could ever want and the price is shocking!!  Another Summer MUST HAVE!

3. Teacher gifts.  I grabbed some cute Summer zipper pouches for our teachers, added in some bakery cookies and a handwritten note.  I had the kids make their teachers these darling note paper gift bags and I love the way they turned out.  Just precious!

4. The Northern Lights.  I'm still not over this cool night sky.

5. Summer flowers!  I'm eager to plant my flowers, but it has been too rainy this week.  Hopefully these pretty blooms will get potted this weekend.

6. Makenzie-Childs vibes.  I found this darling checked vase at Marshalls this week and couldn't wait to use it. Kevin surprised me with Mother's Day flowers that matched perfectly without even knowing about my new vase.  I love it so much!

7. Backyard Lemonade.  My kids love lemonade as much as I do so I love serving some afternoon lemonade to them.

8. Dig N Roll.  Remember this cute indoor play place?  Leo and I went with some friends this week and it was EMPTY.  Going during the day when school is in session is so nice.

9. New plants!  I got some new plants this week for free!  My new motto is - if someone is offering free plants, I say YES!

10. Jordan Bakery Box.  I had some yummy orders this week!

11. Rescue Fletcher.  He saved a nest full of baby birds when crazy rains knocked them to the ground.  He's also keep an eye on some bunnies, saved us from a snake and is on the lookout for a turtle to save.  Poor Fletcher fell hard on his arm yesterday so we are still icing it and hope he gets back to animal rescuing soon.  

12. Blooming landscape!  It makes me so happy to see our landscaping thriving and not looking so new.

13. Double braids.  Olive requested that I learn how to do this for her this week.  I'm pretty pleased with the results!  She's got the prettiest hair.

14. King Leo.  No one loves a recliner more than him.

15. Crumbl Cookies.  Kevin took the big kids out to grab some cookies for dessert one night.  They picked out a yummy mix.  They were sad that there weren't more iced cookie options, but we devoured this assortment.  If you go to Crumbl - make sure you are earning rewards.  They add up fast!

16. Now that Leo is 4, running errands is fun and mostly easy.  Old Navy made his day this week with this fire safety set up.

17. Lunch dates make me smile!  We squeezed in one more lunch date before Summer with our favorite person - Jacque - at our favorite spot - Jason's Deli.

18. School!  The kids have packed in field trips, fun runs, fundraisers, dress up days and foam parties during their last few weeks of school.  We've got one more busy week before Summer break.

Have a wonderful weekend!  See you back here on Monday!

Linking up with Momfessionals