Friday Favorites {#306}

Hello and happy Friday!

I know I’m going to sound like a broken record over the next few weeks, but summer needs to slow down! I still have a few weeks before I go back to school, but I do feel like I should probably start checking my school email…haha!

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Since last week’s Friday Favorites post was a recap of our few days in Siesta Key, my favorites list is a bit longer with some faves over the past couple of weeks.

While we were on vacation, it was our 21st wedding anniversary. Once we got home, my mom had sent us a gift…she’d been at a market and spotted a water color painting of the church where we got married in KC! So cool.

Out of town cousins were in town, and the kids had lots of time hanging with them. It’s wild that they are old enough to hang out and not need us…they all hop in the car together and are out on their own. We did crash their “pool party” last Friday night!

On the 4th, the kids were in and out of the house, but we did grill out and then I caught some of the fireworks show in NYC. I love the 4th of July, and in some ways, I’m sad that it’s not the same as when the kids were little. I almost didn’t even go watch fireworks at our local traditional spot, but Hadley wanted to go as did Trav.

The fireworks show was spectacular, so I’m glad we went!

We’d borrowed a few sparklers from Trav’s brother, and Hadley had fun with those when we got home.

After celebrating America’s 250th birthday, it was time to celebrate Trav’s birthday…on Tuesday!

As a family, we went out to dinner…to a pizza/pasta place we’d never been to. It was delish.

Once my nephew was finished with baseball, my brother’s family came over for ice cream cake. Happy birthday, T-rav!

That evening, the sky was so pretty….the pic doesn’t even do it justice.

Fave beverages:

I went to Trader Joe’s last weekend, and I saw this sparkling watermelon juice, and it’s delish.

Amy shared about this flavor of Chobani creamer, and I found it at my Kroger a couple of weeks ago. I just cracked it open, and I like it! I still think S’mores is my favorite, but this flavor is #2, and I will definitely buy it again. It’s great for summer.

House Updates:

As I shared in Wednesday’s post, this summer we had a few “to do’s” that we really wanted to get crossed off our list: finish the landscaping out front, paint the primary bathroom, get a new driveway, find new rugs for kitchen and living room, and find new bar stools for the island. Well, we’ve been busy the past couple of weeks, and the only thing not accomplished now is finding a neutral rug for the living room.

While we were out of town, we had someone paint the bathroom, and we also got a new driveway. Adulting is so fun.

On to the actual “fun” stuff. I almost purchased a rug from Wayfair because they were having a sale, but then I remembered I’d saved this rug on the Walmart app after someone shared it. Well, there were a few in stock locally, so Trav and I went to pick it up on Sunday.

We got it laid out on Tuesday, and I love it. It’s an indoor/outdoor rug like what we had before, but the raised pattern is so soft, and the quality is amazing. It’s a 10/10.

A couple of months ago, I spotted some Pioneer Woman dishes at Walmart, but I didn’t get them. Then, a few weeks ago, I was back at Walmart, and the dishes were marked down, so I couldn’t resist! I bought eight dinner and salad plates as well as eight bowls. In our twenty years of marriage, this will be our third set of dishes….so I feel like this is justified, and each piece was $3-$5. (My Walmart didn’t have the set, but it’s only 12 pieces anyway)

Also of note, so far not a single person in my family has mentioned the new dishes 😂

Also, we still use some Pier One plates that we had on our gift registry, and I don’t think I will ever get rid of those.

You know I can’t say no to a hydrangea dish towel, and Drew Barrymore’s “Beautiful” brand never disappoints.

When I say we’ve been looking for new bar stools, I’m not exaggerating that we’ve been looking off and on for a couple of years. The other ones we’ve had for years were stools, and the fabric on top had seen better days. Most of our “issue” was we just never wanted to spend the money on new ones. I could always find a few I liked…and this time I did want to get a stool with a back. Patience paid off…I found these at World Market a couple of months ago, but Trav and I finally went last Friday when he was off work.

I still wasn’t 100% sure, but once we got them home, I knew we made the right choice.

I love them!

Sandals:

Well, you know since I cleaned out my closet and got rid of things, I couldn’t resist adding some sandals back to my closet. My sister-in-law had these, and my Target had one pair left in my size…I saw that as a sign. They are so comfy, and the “jelly” sandal rage is taking me back to being an 80’s baby growing up in the 90’s.

Book Trackers:

Like I do every month, I shared my book trackers on Instagram. They are are saved in a highlight, so just screen shot, use them, tag me and let me know what you’re reading!

Favorite Mom Meme:

Why do I relate to this so much?!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

I’ve shared this pool photo in a previous Throwback Thursday post…

…and here the kids are in 2012. This just popped up in my Facebook memories. We got a lot of use out of that plastic pool!

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts this week in case you missed one:

Share Our Lives:

Monday is our monthly Share Our Lives link up, and the topic is…favorite room in your house. We’d love to have your link up with us…I love seeing other people’s homes, so I can’t wait to read those posts!

I hope you have a lovely summer weekend!