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Posted in Weekly Report

Weekly Report

Hello and happy Monday!

How was your weekend? Ours was a good filled with most weekend things like errands and chores around the house. I did go to the pool on Friday, and did a Target run as well as some organization. We also watched World Cups soccer games as well as game 5 and the big Knicks NBA win.

Yesterday, Hadley asked me when grocery pick up was, and I was like, “Oh yeah, I need to do that!” I’m already getting “lazy” with my regular mom chores.

Anyway, I’m sharing a little Weekly Report update. As usual, I’m using the template, but also putting my own spin on it in some parts.

Reading:

Y’all, look at my Summer Reading List

…and now look at my Kindle. FIVE of the books on my list ended up being available this past week, so I’m ready to chip away at this reading list.

I did finish Our Last Summer at the Vineyard this weekend, and I couldn’t have loved it more.

Enjoying/Eating:

I’m enjoying pool days before it gets too hot. Last year, I felt like I barely went to the pool in June because we were busy, but this past week was a little slower paced.

Monday and Tuesday were rainy, but I went to the pool Wednesday and Friday. On Friday, Hadley was working!

I also like finding the right time to go to the pool when it’s less crowded, providing a better chance for a seat with an umbrella. I find that most of the younger kids are gone by around 2:00 because they go early for swim team, or little kids take afternoon naps. I’m not opposed to being at the pool with lots of kids…but it’s just nice going when it’s less crowded with optimal seating selection.

You know I love snack plates for lunch but I’m also enjoying plating up my breakfast and having slow mornings.

Planning:

I’m planning my summer “to do” list. Honestly, my summer list can look similar summer to summer. I always take time to:

  • Purge/organize closets like the hall closet, my bathroom closet, and my bedroom closet.
  • Clean up/delete Gmail storage. I keep getting emails that my storage is full. I think all my photos and videos back up on Google, but I only need videos to back up and not the photos. I don’t think there’s a way to make that selection? I use Shutterfly for my photos. Anyway, I need to sit and delete some things to free up storage.
  • Label blog photos (I get behind on this)
  • Go through my Amazon lists and delete out of stock items or ones I’m no longer interested in.
  • Schedule appointments

Then, I end up having other specific tasks like:

  • Take pics of the kids’ artwork through the years and make a Chat book. (This was on my “to do” list last summer, and I never did it)
  • Find new bar stools for the kitchen
  • Figure out Amazon Storefront (Which I think I have this pretty much figured out!)

Obsessing:

I’m currently obsessing about matches….

I blame finding these at Christmastime:

…and now I want seasonal matchboxes…

I light candles every day, and I can of course use a lighter, and I do. That being said, when you can have a cute matchbox sitting out, why not do that?

I found this plaid matchbox at Target a couple of months ago (Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia line), and I wished I bought at least a couple more.

I got on Etsy and ordered this lemon matchbox, and it arrived this week. It is a square box, so the matches are shorter, but it’s still a lovely seasonal touch to the tray on the coffee table. (I ordered from this shop, but maybe the lemon is sold out?)

Organizing:

I’m proud of myself for tackling some of my “to do” list early in the summer. Sometimes, I procrastinate until July!

Years ago, I saw someone share the idea of keeping their skincare in a cleaning caddy, so it’s easy to pull out of vanity or closet and keeps everything organized. I ended up using it more for overflow things, extras, travel supplies, etc. I wanted a way to store things that I needed often in one section, and other supplementary things in a second section.

Hence my Target trip where I purchased two of these Brightroom clear turntable organizers.

Excuse under the sink photo but I’m loving this new system. I have things I/we need most often on the top one and then extra and refills on the bottom one. They just stack on top of each other.

Recommending

Have you seen the show The Four Seasons? Tina Fey was on Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast, and she was talking about season 2. I realized that I hadn’t watched season 1 even though I’d added it to my Netflix list. This week, I watched season 1 and loved it! What a fun cast!

I can’t wait to start season 2 this week.

Treating:

I treated Hadley to a pedicure. She rarely gets a pedicure, but since she’s still playing volleyball (club season still isn’t over), she opted to get a pedicure rather than a manicure. Well, if she was a getting a pedi, I was too!

If Hadley gets her nails done, she either pays for them or at least pays the tip. This time, I said I’d pay as a treat for good grades (especially while juggling volleyball and track…since November!) and kicking off summer.

Have a great week!

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#303}

Hello and happy Friday!

Well, with the first full week of summer under my belt, I can say that I’m settling in nicely to some much needed downtime!

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

Here are some favorites from the week…

First of all, last Friday, I packed up my classroom for the summer. This doesn’t take too long, but this year it seemed to take less time thanks to a few extra shelves and the storage room I have in my classroom. If you didn’t know, the custodians pull out most of the furniture to wax the floors during the summer months, but I have a couple of permanent bookshelves, so it was nice to just stack things on them, and then I was able to put other things in the storage room.

Hadley and friends had the best time at the Railbird Festival. Last year, she only went one day, and this year she went on both Saturday and Sunday. While I would have loved the live music, I would not have loved the heat and thousands of people! Trav actually went Saturday night with his brother to hear Mt. Joy and the Lumineers.

Sunday was another fun day for her and the main headliners were Zach Top, Ella Langley, and Tyler Childers. She said Sunday was more crowded, but she had a great time.

Also, Hadley had a vision for her Railbird outfits (lol!) Sunday’s outfit is all Amazon. We bought these boots last year, and she’s worn them many times for hours on end, and says her feet haven’t hurt at all (of course, she has young feet!) (For some reason, I can’t link them, but the brand is Coconuts by Matisse, gaucho style) Her knit ruffle shorts, and peplum waffle knit top were just what she was wanted to be stylish but comfy! (The dress she wore Saturday is from Altar’d State, and it’s one I know she’ll wear time and time again)

I’ve been enjoying slow mornings with breakfasts on my new fave plates.

I’ve had porch reading time every day this week…

…as well as some pool reading time.

Travis has continued the front yard landscaping. He wasn’t going to tackle this part, but decided to go ahead and just do it. He and Hayden ripped out the boxwoods, and then Trav planted a variety of bushes and flowers. Thankfully, we’ve had some rain this week, so it hasn’t been a full time job getting everything watered.

I’m loving my new rechargeable lamp from the At Home store. It’s the perfect addition to the end of our hallway.

Fave Mom Meme:

Hadley always knows when it’s the best UV time. haha!

Weekly Recap:

While I seem to be posting late most days, I had some posts this week:

I hope you have a great summer weekend!

Posted in Blog challenge, Everyday Life

Everyday Images Challenge

Hello and happy Thursday!

I’m trying to find my summer blogging groove, and I didn’t finish yesterday’s 10 on the 10th post until the afternoon.

Over the weekend, I was reading Jenn’s blog, and she shared her everyday images that go with Kym’s challenge…and I thought I’d join in.

Here are the prompts:

Flag:

I just put out my Hello summer! flag this weekend.

I did have out my apple flag which is what I have out on the first and last days of school.

Simple / complicated:

I made a new but simple recipe for a neighbor’s meal train. Joanna Gaines’ Chicken Enchiladas couldn’t have been easier to make. My family wished I’d made double, so we could have had it too. We were having Tuesday night’s leftovers, so I will make it again next week.

Not that it’s really complicated, but I did hesitate before sprinkling cilantro on the finished product or adding it to the rice I made…I know people either love or hate cilantro, but I did add some in.

At home:

One of my first errands to kick off summer break was to go to Lowe’s for a bird bath. With all the landscaping we’re doing, we had a little room by the porch, and my dad suggested a bird bath. I liked that idea, so I went and picked one up from Lowe’s. Now, I just need the birds to come take a bath!

Also, Travis is moving and grooving on the new landscaping. He wasn’t going to pull out the boxwoods, but he decided to, and then planted all of these pretty flowers and bushes. In high school and college, he did landscaping, and he really enjoys doing these types of things.

Wednesday weather:

Wednesday was my first pool day of the year for me. I went to the pool around 11:00 and stayed until about 1:30. I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay if it was super hot, but the mid-80’s weren’t too bad, and there was some cloud coverage off and on.

Doorway:

Do you follow @stoopandthecity on Instagram? This husband and wife change up their New York City stoop for holidays, seasons, and apparently for the Knicks being in the NBA finals! The stoop and the doorway are covered in flowers and basketballs!

Movement:

With a little wind yesterday and lots of kids playing in the pool, the water was moving a bit yesterday.

Branched:

You might remember that we had two trees in our front yard that were my absolute favorite in the fall.

In October of 2024, we had horrible storms while we were at school, and quite a few neighbors texted us to tell us one of our trees had fallen down.

The one tree remaining is a little “stunted” on the the side where the other tree was, but there’s this one branch that’s sticking out. I told Travis I notice it every time I come out the front door, and it’s starting to get on my nerves. ha!

Unfortunately, we don’t have a way to trim this branch at the moment, but hopefully we can get that taken care of this summer.

And, another form of branched, this was my view when I walked in the pool yesterday. I always love the tree coverage and the glimpse of the pool!

This was a fun way to capture some of the daily things that we see but don’t necessarily share. I hope to link up with Kym again in the future!

Posted in 10 on the 10th, Blog challenge

10 on the 10th

Hello and happy Wednesday! Why do the days seem to fly by in the summer? I know it’s only my first week of break, but time already needs to slow down a bit.

Today I’m linking up with Marsha for…

This month’s topic is…

Well, it’s summertime, and I’m here for it! I will say that I hate being hot, so I love pool days, a beach day with a breeze, or being inside! That being said, here are some favorites

1. More reading time:

I always look forward to a summer reading list in the summer as I love a theme, and I have more time to read. I don’t tend to read all the books on the list, and I will read other ones, but I still like going into June and July with a plan. Of course, August is still summer, and I usually get a couple books read, but by early August, I’m having to unfortunately think about school. I even have a “summer reading” shelf on Goodreads where I keep book ideas for summer reading.

    One of my favorite places to read is on the front porch. Just this weekend, I sat out there for an hour and read; I typically find thirty minutes a day to read outside if possible.

    2. Not setting an alarm and 3. Slow mornings

    There’s nothing better than just waking up on my own. I will say I don’t go to bed too much later in the summer, but during the school year, I try to go to bed by 10, and that tends to be 11:00 in the summer. I don’t sleep in a ton, but even just sleeping until 7-8 is so nice!

    Then, I like to have at least an hour to sip coffee, start laundry, read, watch TV, read blogs, etc.

    I even love the occasional rainy day. I always say rainy days are “permission to be lazy.” While I would have loved to have some pool time to start the week, both Monday and Tuesday were really rainy. I spent a lot of time inside, doing some things around the house, reading, and watching shows that I’ve fallen behind in watching.

    4. Pool time!

    Pool time is certainly different as a mom with older kids. We used to start our mornings early with swim team practice and then stay a couple of hours most days. I’d pack snacks and lunches, make sure we had goggles and swim toys, wrestle them with sunscreen, and then mostly have to bribe them out of the pool when it was time to go.

    Now, we all kind of come and go as we please to the pool. Just today, I was there for a couple of hours, and Hadley was arriving as I was leaving. I enjoyed a couple of hours of reading, and thankfully it wasn’t too hot. (This new swimsuit is a 10/10 on price, cuteness and quality)

    Sometimes, we go to my sister-in-law’s mom’s house, and that’s an extra special treat because it’s easier to float in the pool to beat the heat!

    5. Being tan

    I know this sounds superficial, but I’m happier when I’m tan! haha!

    Don’t fret…I do wear sunscreen, I always have a hat on, and many times I have a swim cover up on unless it’s really hot. It’s just nice to have some color on my legs which makes wearing shorts easier for me. I go to the dermatologist once a year for a skin check, and so far, so good. The only issue I’ve had removed was from my college tanning bed years. Never again!

    6. Fresh fruit

    I love all the fresh fruit options summer brings from Cuties to cantaloupe to watermelon and more. It’s just nice to have so many options. Plus, fruit becomes an automatic side dish for dinner. I just bought my first watermelon of the season yesterday.

    7. Vacation!

    We usually take some type of vacation every summer. In recent years, we’ve been to Mexico, the Pacific northwest, Florida, and Michigan. It’s nice to take some time as a family and go somewhere for a few days.

    8. Sandals (and pedicures!)

    I love sandal season. Usually from spring break until fall break, you’ll find my feet in sandals unless I’m working out or going for a walk. Even when we do road trips in the colder months, I tend to wear sandals. I hate having hot feet! These Cushionaire sandals are my absolute fave. I’ve shared them time and time again. (I size up one full size from a 9 to a 10). I try and get monthly pedicures April to October…it’s such a treat!

    9. Variety of time/more time for workouts

    Just like not setting an alarm, slow mornings, and having more time to read, it’s nice having a bit more time and variety for working out. Obviously, I do some of these things throughout the year, but just going to walks in the evening, going to the gym to use the elliptical or taking a Pilates class when I can. I still love my Bodi workouts in the basement, but in the summer, having some variety is nice too.

    10. 4th of July and fireworks

    The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday. I really truly enjoyed dressing the kids in their red, white, and blue when they were little. Like most things, this holiday looks a bit different since sometimes Hadley is at camp or the kids have their own plans, but I do still tend to make the red, white and blue waffles and we go watch fireworks to end our day.

    What about you? What’s something you love about summer?

    Posted in Gift Ideas, Home Decor

    Summer Shopping

    Hello and happy Tuesday!

    When I’m out and about running errands, I like to snap pics of cute things that catch my eye…and I’m sharing some of those with you today.

    One of my favorite things about summer is having time to run errands whenever I want. Friday, after I cleaned up my classroom for summer, I kicked off my summer break by going to Walmart, Lowe’s and Target. At Walmart, I was looking for some PJs, at Lowe’s I was looking for a bird bath, and at Target, I was looking for my favorite Chobani creamer…S’mores flavor. I had success at all three places!

    Here are some of my recent finds…(and my apologies in advance for the number of times I say “cute” or “fun”!)

    Homegoods:

    While I didn’t buy this pouch, I couldn’t love it more!

    How cute are these patriotic finds at Homegoods?

    This Laura Ashley bag was less than $20, and I couldn’t resist it. It might be my new school bag, or it’s just a good overnight bag.

    These melamine plates stopped me in my tracks. The set of four are just my style!

    I’ve used them for my breakfasts lately, and they are a lovely way to start the day.

    Walmart:

    I love the Joyspun brand, and I have many Walmart pjs. I actually purchased two sets of this ruffle shorts set in the blue and white striped and the green pin dot color way.

    Speaking of ruffles, how cute is this ruffle hem tank? I sent a photo to Hadley because I thought it looked like something she might like. She approved, and it was only $20, so I got her the xs. It’s super cute, and I knew she’d get lots of wear out of the blue/white for the 4th and/or Kentucky games!It also comes in “popsicle orange,” but it looked more red/white (to me) in person. There’s a matching skirt as well, but I only purchased the tank.

    Aerie:

    Ok, Aerie gets me every year…especially in the summer. They have a great sales, and I love their lightweight sweatshirts and shorts.

    This was my fave combo last summer:

    And, over the weekend, I went to the mall, and got this mockneck sweatshirt in yellow and light blue.

    I also got the shorts in black and light blue. I love these types of shorts because they are perfect for summer…running errands, sleeping, lounging or poolside. They can’t be beat.

    At Home Store:

    I went to our local At Home Store a couple of weeks ago searching for new stools for our island. While I didn’t find any that I liked, I couldn’t say no to this rattan rechargable lamp. The end of our hallway doesn’t have electrical outlets, so I love that rechargable lamps are all the rage! This is the 20 inch lamp, but they also have a 12 inch one. I might just have to go back for it too.

    I charged it once I brought it home, and I have the lamp on quite often and haven’t charged it again yet!

    World Market:

    In the past six months, I’ve become a World Market girl! I just love going and looking around. I’ve found so many cute icon glasses there as well as candles, cards, and holiday decor.

    Whenever I see anything in this light sage color, I stop and contemplate buying it!

    I love my white Dutch oven that I have had for a couple of years, so I was practical and didn’t get this one…but I love it so much.

    This pineapple basket is so fun…perfect for a patio. (I didn’t notice these glasses in store, but I couldn’t love these more!)

    If I had a beach house, these lobster jars would for sure come home with me! (There’s a matching serving bowl too!)

    I did peruse the the icon glass selection, and resisted, but the palm trees are so fun. The floral glass mugs are too pretty, and the Care Bear tumbler was a blast from the past!

    I’d never seen the icon glass canisters, but they are also so fun!

    It’s almost Father’s Day, and the “Dino-mite Dad” and “Papa Bear” mugs are too sweet. The tools and mustache icon glasses would be great for a dad who loves bourbon on the rocks!

    These pillows add a touch of whimsy, and all could apply to me. haha!

    At World Market, I showed restraint and didn’t purchase any of the above items, but I did buy some colorful matches, a graduation card, some butter knives (because, like forks, they seem to disappear around here!), a marble spoon rest, and a votive candle.

    I enjoy “window shopping” even when some of these fun finds are hard to resist.

    Posted in Not Just a Mom

    Share Our Lives: June 2026

    Hello and happy Monday!

    It’s my first summer Monday, so this is the best kind of Monday! As a matter of fact, I’ve kind of already lost track of days, and I’m a bit late publishing this post. So, let’s get to it!

    Since it’s the second Monday of the month, I’m co-hosting the Share Our Lives link up with some of my favorite bloggers.

    So far this year we’ve discussed…

    • Ways to stay warm in winter in January
    • Binge worthy shows in February
    • Grocery list frequent buys in March
    • Favorite cleaning products in April
    • Go to lunches on the go in May

    This month’s topic is…emojis used most often.

    Listen, I’m an emoji girl…almost to a fault. Sometimes I have to remind myself not to use an emoji to end a text or in a social media post. lol

    Here’s a quick screen shot of my phone with recent emojis I’ve used…

    Obviously, there are sports emojis and being a mom of teens I feel like the eye roll and crazy eye emoji are self-explanatory. (also maybe the prayer hands. ha!)

    😂 The laughing emoji is probably my most used…

    ☠️🙅‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ – the skull is a favorite…and a couple of others like palm to head emjoi.

    Seasons – seasonal emojis are always a fave, and here are some I tend to use most often season by season:

    Fall 🍁👻🎃

    Winter ❄️☃️🎅🏻

    Spring 🌸💐

    Summer ☀️😎

    And…who doesn’t love vacation (beach!) emojis…I always look forward to using those whenever possible:

    Vacay 🏖️🐚🌅⛵️⚓️

    I guess technically I’m Gen X, but I’m more like a millennial, and I think the current generation would think that using emojis is very much what a millennial would do. Gen Z loves their GIFS (which I still don’t know how to pronounce). My texts from my kids are filled with GIFS more than emojis.

    Have a great Monday!

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

    Click here to enter
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    Posted in Friday Favorites, Kids, School

    Friday Favorites {#302}: Last Day of School

    Hello and happy Friday!

    TGIF! Well, this morning my alarm clock is going off one more time as a faculty meeting stands between me and summer break. Yesterday, I cleaned out my room and prepped it for summer, then my school’s graduation was in the afternoon. It was a nice ceremony as always, and it’s hard to believe I will have two graduates in two more years!

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

    This post will be short and sweet because your girl is tired, and the only favorite I need at the moment is that…

    I wrangled the kids for the last day of school photos in the afternoon…

    Truth be told, their summer started a bit earlier than mine thanks to some early finals and exemptions…Hayden did have two finals on Wednesday, but Hadley’s last final was Monday.

    Anyway, the last day of school photo tradition had to continue no matter what…

    First day of sophomore year…

    I joked that we were “marked safe” from sophomore year because truly it felt like a marathon there at the end and we were surviving more than thriving. But, we made it to the finish line.

    I was so bitter about being in school in June that I refused to put my June date on the board…Monday-Wednesday this week were known as June 32nd, 33rd, and 34th. haha

    Being in school in June should never be an option. I know we had a crazy January/February with two weeks off due to the weather. My frustration is that we left five NTI days on the table that we could have used. I knew once the end of the year got pushed to June, attendance would be spotty…for students and for teachers. We had so many teachers that were out the last three days because they were doing AP grading, there were kids out because families had planned vacations and so on. By Wednesday, I had maybe ten students in every class. We give final exams the last few days, but students can take them early and some teachers give them early. Anyway, I hope we have a better plan for next year.

    I know many areas of the country have school into June, but I believe they go back later. I will be back to school on August 5th, and I just know that will be here before I know it.

    Favorite Mom Meme:

    Ugh!

    Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

    This sweet memory from 2012 popped up on Facebook, and I love it so much. These kids are all still friends, and the other set of boy/girl twins just graduated high school last week! Hadley is still really good friends with the other little girl; I’m friends with both of their moms. We don’t all see each other like we used to when we taught in the same building, but I love that we’ve watched the kids grow up together.

    Share Our Lives:

    Monday is the second Monday of the month, so I’m co-hosting the Share Our Lives link up with some of my favorite bloggers.

    This month’s topic is…emojis used most often. This will be a fun post to read…I love to use an emoji!

    Weekly Recap:

    Here are my posts from the week:

    I hope you have the best summer weekend. I’m looking forward to not setting an alarm, enjoying the sunshine, and getting my life together after the end of the school year busyness.

    Posted in Books and Shows

    Summer Reading 2026

    Hello and happy Thursday!

    Well, we did it…we finally finished up the school year. Today, is the first official day for the kids…although they’ve been summering off and on the past couple of days thanks to a few early finals in some of their classes. I still have a work day with graduation today and a faculty meeting tomorrow, and then I can officially say hello, summer break.

    Speaking of summer break, I always look forward to having a few summer books to read during my couple of months off.

    This is one of my favorite posts to write because I just look forward to having some downtime to read and a list to look forward to checking off. That being said, I will sprinkle in some other books that are on my TBR list…like right now, I’m reading Mad Mabel which I’ve been looking forward to reading even though it’s not on my “official” summer list.

    This was my summer reading list for 2021:

    2022:

    2023:

    2024:

    2025:

    Here’s my list for this summer…2026:

    I hope to read all of these, but most summers, I fall a couple short. We’ll see how it goes this summer, but I’m looking forward to checking as many of these off my TBR summer list as possible:

    To me, it’s not summer without reading a new Carly Fortune book, and the same with Kristy Woodson Harvey. I want to watch People We Meet on Vacation, but I want to read the book first! I’ve read a few books by Ali Brady, Brooke Lea Foster, and Meg Mitchell Moore, so I’m looking forward to their books as well. The Sandy Page Bookshop sounds sweet, and I’m currently listening to Our Italian Summer.

    I just need school to quit getting in the way of my reading/listening time!

    What’s on your summer TBR list?!

    Posted in Amazon

    Prime Purchases

    Hello and happy Tuesday!

    Did you catch my post yesterday? It published a bit late, but I’ve enjoyed starting a new month with a few reminders!

    Honestly, this time of the year makes more so thankful for Amazon. It’s so nice to be able to order things (and make easy returns if needed) during the hustle and bustle of May.

    Here are my purchases from the month:

    In another post, I shared about this travel sound machine, and I want to also include it in this post. This little thing is amazing. There are settings for length of sound and various sounds. I keep it on the “infinity” setting, and it’s been the perfect addition to my bedside table. I’ve also taken it with us when we’ve been out of town, and it’s so easy to pack, and even Hadley approves of the sound machine noise, so she didn’t pack hers.

    Screenshot

    This is the 18th time I’ve ordered these eye masks as they are my “go to” every morning. I keep the jar in the fridge, and they are the perfect way to start my day. I still keep a pack of these in my bathroom closet to take a few packs when we travel.

    Travis ordered this Under Armour bag for overnight travel. Really, he can pack for quite a few days in a duffle. I wish I could be that good of a packer.

    I shared before that I needed to get a new lunch tote for next year. Well, I’ve had this one for a couple of years, and I ended up spilling in it again! I just couldn’t handle the stains anymore, so I went ahead and ordered a new one. It’s the perfect size (and comes in a few patterns). I appreciate the pockets on the outside too.

    After Labor Day, I’d made a note in my calendar to order some bunting/ banners for the front porch for Memorial Day. (Does anyone else make notes in their phones for things for later?) I knew whatever I purchased I could use for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day.

    It’s a three pack, and I only needed two, but I love how it turned out.

    I have this set in gray, and I wear it so much. It’s so comfy, the fabric is so soft, and I always get compliments when I wear it. So, now I own it in army green too!

    I needed more facial sponges, so I purchased a pack. I still love the towels I’ve been using too!

    I had a gift card, so I purchased another bottle of this whitening gel. I’ve ordered it for my dad as his dentist suggested it, and it works so well. It’s a bit pricey, so when I’ve ordered it, I’ve just purchased the single two ounce bottle, but a little goes a long way. I just add the gel to my toothpaste at least once, sometimes twice a day, and it really helps whiten my teeth. I can be really sensitive to teeth whitening, but this gel has been fine. I do use Sensodyn toothpaste, so I think that helps as well.

    Full disclosure, we returned this top but…

    It was so cute…just not Hadley’s vision for what she was looking for. She ordered a couple of things from Amazon to prep for an outdoor music festival, and she’d hoped this one would work. Honestly, I thought it did….but what do I know? lol

    She wanted a little tighter fit, but I still wanted to share it because it was so cute, and it didn’t even show her midsection like in this picture.

    Last week, I shared some favorite Summer Staples.

    In that post, I shared these Turkish towels. I’m a big fan of Turkish towels, and we’ve had two for a couple of years. Those weren’t available, so I tried two of these, and they’ve already passed the pool test!

    Have a great day!

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    Posted in Inspiration, Seasonal

    Hello, June!

    Hello and happy Monday!

    How was your weekend? Ours was busy with errands, house chores, and activities. Well, that’s a pretty normal weekend these days, I guess. Did you catch my post yesterday? I recapped May; it was a good month of all the things.

    Now it’s time to usher in a new month.

    Honestly, June has always been one of my favorite months. It’s the start of summer which typically means having a little more downtime. I think that’s why I’m struggling so much with still being in school this week. July will now be the only month with no school. Anyway, just like always, I want to make the most of my summer.

    Here are a few good reminders:

    …and a checklist…

    • Refresh your space: June and January tend to be the months I set aside some time to declutter. I can’t wait. My closet needs a good purge!
    • Drink more water: I think I already do a good job with this, but I’m sure I can always drink more water. My trusty tumbler is my sidekick year round.
    • Try something new: I love making summer lunches and incorporating new lunch ideas since I have more time.
    • Plan one fun summer memory: Hopefully, we’ll have a few summer memories.
    • Update your goals: Summer is always a good time to reset. I sure hope to get back to working out regularly and getting more steps in again.
    • Get outside and soak up the sunshine: I can’t wait for pool time and sipping my morning coffee on my front porch.
    • Practice gratitude daily: I’m going to start with being thankful for not setting an alarm when that time comes. haha! Truly, I’m grateful for a little downtime soon.
    • Set social media boundaries: For sure!
    • Romanticize your routine: I think that’s easier to do when I have a little more time, which summer provides. Also, it will be nice to go for walks when I want, take more time for my skincare, have a second iced coffee, etc.
    • Take care of your mental health: This is such an important focus. For me, getting more sleep and having some downtime are instrumental.

    I’m soooo ready to wrap up this week and get summer started.

    What’s your favorite thing about the month of June?