Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#291}

Posted on February 13, 2026February 12, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

It’s been a good week once we got back into a routine. I know we just had two (unexpected) weeks off of school, but I’m not mad about the upcoming three day weekend.

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

Here are some faves from the week:

The Olympics!

I’ve planned my evenings around watching the Prime Time coverage, and that means I’ve also been going to bed later than I should. I’ve enjoyed watching as many events as possible, and I always love learning more about the athletes.

I almost missed out on my (half off) birthday discount, but on one of the final days of January, I ordered a Kendra Scott ring that I’d had my eye on. My local store didn’t have it, so I just ordered it online. It arrived this week, and I love it.

Hadley’s club volleyball photos came in, and they turned out so cute.

I’m not sure what took me so long to do so, but I finally bought a couple of bags at Trader Joe’s to haul my groceries in. We do like using the paper bags because we’ll use them for our recycling, but I do like having these bags, and they’ve come in handy for carrying my Kroger and Aldi groceries too.

I went to Walmart on Monday to make a return, and of course I had to look around. How cute are these (salad and dinner) plates? They are the Pioneer Woman brand, so of course they’re cute! I was so tempted to buy them, but I showed restraint. I guess I can always go back!

I’ve shared these Threshold brand candles a couple of times. I have the pink one, and I was placing a Target pick up order, so I thought I’d go ahead and snag a white one. Well, how could I resist the green one?!…and Target had a buy one get one half off sale. These are already reasonably priced, especially for the quality, so I just couldn’t say no.

With the Chiefs not being in the Super Bowl, our Super Bowl traditions were all out of whack. We did still go to my brother’s house, but instead of ordering a cookie cake, I made Valentine’s Day(ish) brownies. They were a hit.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, my mom gave me these little heart tea lights via my Gma. So festive and cute.

We have a lot going on this weekend, so I went ahead and made our “Valentine’s Day” family dinner last night. Heart shaped chicken nuggets for the win!

Both kids love nuggets, and Hadley loves mac and cheese, so this was an easy meal to make. On a whim, I added some of the Sister Schubert rolls to my Kroger order, and we made little chicken minis!

The Valentine’s Day card for our family tradition continues! I snapped a pic of the kids on one of our snow days, and then I ordered the cards from Shutterfly. I love sending these to family every year.

The way to my heart…

Favorite Mom Meme:

I feel seen! Why is it like this? haha

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

I’m sure I share this every year, but I loved dressing the kids up for Valentine’s Day when they were younger. This pic is from 2011…their second Valentine’s Day. Pinchy cheek cute.

Weekly Recap:

I’ve still been a busy blogger….

It’s Friday the 13th. Let’s hope it’s a low-key day at school. haha!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#290}

Posted on February 6, 2026February 5, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Well, it’s official…we haven’t been to school in two weeks. “Winter break 2.0” has been very unexpected. I guess our only shot at normalcy will be the fact that we’re supposed to be in the 50’s next week!

While I appreciate the downtime, we all need to get back into a routine!

Speaking of routine…as I do every Friday, I’m linking up with Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Buckle up, y’all…I have lots of faves and lots of randomness…

I saw this on Instagram, and my Type A personality loved it:

As I shared in my post on Tuesday, I’ve been out and about to a few faves stores. I saw this cherry icon glass at Home Goods and just couldn’t say no. I’ve already used it a few times, but I was thinking it would be a good spring/summer glass.

Hadley went to a birthday party last weekend, and they made pretty bouquets of flowers. Her bedside table has a lovely pop of color(s).

Speaking of Hadley…she got some Lego flowers for her birthday, and she’s been working on them with her friend over the past couple of months. Her bouquet is finally finished…so she has lots of flowers in her room.

…and speaking of her room, I left to run errands on Tuesday and came home to her room rearranged. She’d told me she wanted to move things around, but I was surprised she did so on her own. Honestly, I was a smidge annoyed because I knew I was going to help get everything put away/purged/organized/thrown out, but I guess we did have time…and that’s how we spent most of Wednesday. I do remember moving my room around a lot as a kid, so I guess she gets that from me!

*Sigh* I was so bummed to hear about Catherine O’Hara passing away (obviously, not a favorite)….I spent most of Saturday morning watching Schitt’s Creek (a favorite show of mine). My dad told me to watch it a few years ago, and I chipped away at it that summer. Anyway, it’s such a great show…and she will be missed!

I found more Dizzilicious…this time at Target. This variety pack was with the Valentine’s Day candy, cards, etc…so I snagged it right up. I think it’s mostly at Sam’s Club or Costco, and we don’t have memberships to either. I hope Target always has this. The birthday cake flavor is my fave.

Trav picked up Crumbl cookies on Friday, but he left them in his car overnight! He found them on Saturday morning…haha!

Still, it was a very sweet thought to pick some up, and we enjoyed those last weekend.

Speaking of sweet treats, I went to fill the kids’ car up with gas yesterday morning, and I decided to pick up some donuts too. They appreciated having something different for breakfast…I thought the one with strawberry icing was delish!

I went to Michael’s last week, and I spotted so many cute “book club” paper goods.

How funny, right?!

This serving tray was so precious, and they had so many cute napkins: library book check out card, “My wine club has a book problem,” and “So many books, so little time!” I didn’t get any of these, but I was tempted!

Tuesday night, we went out to dinner. You all, when I tell you that we never eat out during the week, I mean it. I really always try to make dinner, and occasionally we will pick up carry out, but we literally never go out to eat on a Tuesday night. Anyway, I told Trav we needed to get out of the house and do something, and we hadn’t tried this new(ish) restaurant. (Also, while planning the dinner out, I really did think we were going back to school on Wednesday, so I this would be a nice was to wrap up “Winter break 2.0”)

The food was really good. Trav got a BBQ sandwich, I ordered a burger salad, Hadley got a chicken bowl, and look at Hayden’s burger…so good!

We’ll definitely go back! (And as we exited the restaurant and made our way to the car, it started to snow just as we received the text that we didn’t have school the next day.)

My mom gave me this mug for my birthday. Maybe I should sit it on my desk once we get back to school. ha!

You know who loves the snow? (Well, once he “braves” the back steps?) Part-Husky Homer can be seen zooming around the backyard!

I heard the kids in the kitchen chatting and came in to see them making their own “dirty sodas.” The Cream Soda Dr. Pepper is a new find, and I like it. They added some creamer to make it “dirty,” and I guess it was a hit.

One of the things I always embrace about time at home is eating whatever I want for lunch…and often times I make a “snack plates.” This isn’t a snack plate, but it was my breakfast, brunch, or lunch often the past two weeks. I love the Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread…and I’ve been scrambling two eggs (using Amy’s microwave method)…and I’ve added some cheese and avocado when I have those things on hand).

Favorite Mom Meme:

Like, why does it have to be like this? haha

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

Oh…Valentine’s Day is only about a week away, and this is one of my fave photos. Hayden’s “bachelor” shirt makes me LOL every time.

Weekly Recap:

Today is my 40th blog post in a row! While my goal was to blog every day in January, I had some posts at the end of the December and then I’ve posted every day this week to start February…

Valentine’s Day Decor

Will the streak continue? I don’t know. Nothing is really popping in my head to write about tomorrow, so we’ll see. It was a good run…and I still have lots of posts planned for February.

Share Our Lives:

Monday, we have our second Share Our Lives link up of the year. This month’s topic is…binge worthy shows. I do watch TV, and I definitely have some fave shows to share, but I don’t really binge watch a lot of TV, so I can’t wait to see what others share.

Have a great weekend!

Everyday Life, Friday Favorites, Monthly Moments

Friday Favorites/Monthly Moments: January 2026

Posted on January 30, 2026January 29, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

This has been an unusual week with online learning days, and today we have a snow day. The roads are improving and the sunshine has been helping, but the mess tends to refreeze overnight and we’ve even had some snow showers too.

Next week will be quite the reality check!

I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for to share a few faves…

…but I’m also taking a look back on the month of January…

I’ve already shared most of these faves in various posts throughout the week. We’ve had lots of time at home thanks to the weather. Trav worked from home on Monday, we made dinners with whatever we had on hand, we’ve played games, read books, watched shows, slept in, done school work, and the list goes on.

I always enjoy writing the yearly recap, but last year I started incorporating the monthly recaps as a fun look back in smaller snapshots. I’m going to continue doing the same this year!

I always want January to be a slow month after the busyness of November and December, and January was overall just what we needed.

Here’s what we were up to in January…

Lots of purging, re-organizing, and refreshing…

In mid-January, we celebrated my birthday by going out to dinner a couple of days beforehand.

Jeff Ruby’s is always a fave…as are bubble letters on my card and a cookie cake.

Hadley had her first volleyball tournament of club season, and they played well overall, making it to the gold bracket on Sunday. She was supposed to have her second tournament last weekend, but it was canceled due to the snow.

We’ve had lots of Homer snuggles…

We finally found a car for the kids. Trav brought it home last Friday night, and they were surprised and appreciative. It arrived just in time for the snow, but they finally were able to drive to their activities yesterday.

January started out with pretty warm weather. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if we’d have any January snow days. Well, joke is on me. As I’ve mentioned we were supposed to get 12 inches of snow last weekend, and instead we got about five…plus some ice. Bitterly cold temps have followed, and many of our roads still haven’t bounced back yet. We had four NTI days, and today is a traditional snow day.

January was good to us.

Weekly Recap:

My blogging streak continued…

Y’all, I’ll be back tomorrow with one more post for January. I did it! I set a goal to blog every day this month, and I made that happen. Thanks for reading!

Friday Favorites, Kids

Friday Favorites {#289}

Posted on January 23, 2026January 22, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

TGIF! I swear, the short weeks feel the longest. No school on Monday is always a fave, but then it threw my week off. Also, we have lots of hype right now about the storm headed our way this weekend, and let’s just say the students have been a little crazy this week.

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

Here are five faves from the week….

Volleyball

Hadley and I went to Ohio last weekend for the first volleyball tournament of club season. Since she didn’t play until the afternoon, we were able to leave around lunch time on Saturday to drive two hours to the tournament. It was nice having Saturday morning at home before leaving.

Her team played three games in pool play on Saturday and made it to the gold bracket on Sunday.

We got “lucky” that her Saturday games were over around 7:00, so we had Chipolte for dinner and were in the hotel room by 8:00. Since they made the gold bracket, she didn’t have to be back to the facility until 11:30 on Sunday. It was just nice having some down time, and not being up too late or too early…that doesn’t always happen at a tournament.

Overall, they had a great weekend, and she said it “exceeded her expectations.” We got home around 6:00 on Sunday, and I was very thankful for no school on Monday.

2. New sheets!

My Gma gave me my wrapped birthday present when we went to KC for Thanksgiving. I showed restraint and actually didn’t open it until my birthday. One of my gift ideas for Christmas/birthday were these sheets. I’d forgotten about them, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the gift. I love the gingham print, the ruffle detail is so cute, and they are so soft. Mine are the gray gingham, and they are perfect.

3. Book trackers!

I know January is almost over but I never shared my book trackers. Here are a couple of them.

I’m almost finished with two books, and I’m off to a solid start reading in 2026! (I keep the book trackers in a highlight on my Instagram; if you use them, feel free to tag me. I always love seeing what others are reading!)

4. Bookstore

Speaking of books, I went to one of my favorite bookstores on Monday to look around. I always look at the cute stickers, and I bought this one to add to my Kindle cover….

I didn’t get this one, but it made me laugh. I immediately thought of the movie Teen Witch that I used to watch on repeat as a kid!

5. Homer!

Homer has been extra snuggly on these recent cold mornings. I always think he looks like a little fox when he curls up like this.

Hayden loves saying goodnight to Homer, and Homer loves the extra attention.

Friday Funny:

Monday, I was at Target, and saw this mug. It made me laugh…but I didn’t buy it.

Favorite Mom Meme:

Wow…why do I relate to this one so much?!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday…

PJ day at school in 2017. So sweet! They don’t seem to participate in pj day in high school like they did in elementary school.

Weekly Recap:

My blogging streak continues!

Well, if you need me, I will be prepping NTI assignments for my students. It seems we could get 10-16 inches of snow, and the ice is just south of us. I can deal with snow, I hope the ice stays south of us (Sorry to my southern readers!).

I hope to blog over the weekend, so I will see you back here then.

Friday Favorites, Holidays, Me

Friday Favorites {#288}

Posted on January 16, 2026January 15, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Shew! We’ve almost made it to the weekend. We had a good week, but I felt so tired all week…and a little run down. The cold weather is back, and it certainly feels like winter.

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

Here are my favorites from the week:

I’ve seen others share these Drizzilicious rice cakes, but I think they are mostly at Sam’s/Costco? Anyway, when I was at TJ Maxx last week, I saw them in the snack aisle, so I bought a box. They’ve been a great “sweet treat” to pack with my lunch this week.

Amy shared about this hydration brand, and I spotted a little three pack at Target last weekend. She suggested mixing with Fresca. I had the watermelon flavor this week, and it was so good…very refreshing.

Wednesday was my birthday, and we went out to dinner on Sunday night. Jeff Ruby’s “spoiled” me again with my name on the menu.

Trav and Hayden split a steak, Hadley ordered the salmon, and I got sushi.

Why do my babies look so grown up?!

When it’s your birthday (or any other celebration), you get dessert and a photo. Besides the cupcake, we ordered cheesecake and creme brulee.

I’ve been trying to “refresh” a few spaces, and I saw these candle sticks (tall and short) at Target that I couldn’t pass up. I thought they were just my style and a fun mix and match. I also updated a couple of frames in the house including the one on the kitchen buffet that I found at TJ Maxx.

I feel like we’re back to being all over the place as far as schedules are concerned and with the kids being able to drive themselves, we’re not all together after school very often. We all went home at the same time on Monday which was nice.

Wednesday evening, we celebrated my birthday and I opened a few gifts, and then my brother and his family came over for cookie cake.

It was a nice evening, and we had the UK basketball game on one TV and the Mizzou game on the other. Both teams came out on the winning side.

Favorite Mom Meme:

This meme definitely fits one of my kids more than the other…but it rings true.

Weekly Recap:

I’m on a January blogging streak…

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I hope to blog over the weekend too, so see you then!

Friday Favorites, Gift Ideas

Friday Favorites {#287}

Posted on January 9, 2026January 9, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Shew! We made it to the weekend. As much as I dragged my feet going back to school, it’s been good to get back into a routine…and it’s been nice seeing my students again.

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

Today, I’m sharing a few favorite Christmas gifts I received.

First and foremost, I don’t need anything, but of course I appreciate all that I received. I give some ideas, but I also have some very thoughtful family members 🙂

I had seen this “I love Diet Coke” sweatshirt at Old Navy, and never purchased it. So, I suggested it to my mom and Gma as an idea, and my Gma got it for me. Honestly, I’d forgotten about it, so once I opened that gift, I immediately put it on. I’ve worn it to school, and so many students commented on how much they like it. Compliments from teens? Can you believe it?

My Gma also gave me some Betty White stamps. I loved using them to send out our Christmas cards this year.

I try to be practical with gift requests sometimes too…I knew we needed a couple new blankets for the living room, so I suggested these Sherpa ones as an idea. My mom got me two, one for each ottoman, and oh my…they are better than I expected.

I’ve never felt one of the popular Lola blankets, and I’m guessing those blankets are heavier, but these are oh so soft and seem like they’d be similar to that brand. Hadley has already claimed one as hers….which is now a constant battle! haha

I give these a 10/10 rating!

My mom is really good about finding perfect random gifts (and I don’t mean “random” in a bad way…I mean it in a thoughtful way)…anyway, she got me some pencils with my name on them! Also, they are “left handed” pencils…meaning when you hold them, the name faces that direction.

These are perfect for school, and I won’t be sharing them with my students. haha

I also got some of my favorite eye gels from her too. I’ve already used up this whole pack since Christmas.

I suggested this fleece when my mother-in-law needed gift ideas, and I have zero regrets. I’ve already worn it quite a few times. It’s the perfect thing to just throw on with leggings, but I’ve also worn it with jeans too.

My niece made some of the girls in the family a few things…like this pretty key chain…

…and this bookmark. I love both so much.

Trav has always been a good gift giver, but having a teen girl really has worked out to my benefit in the gift receiving department.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m loving my new tennis shoes…

Trav and Hadley spent some time in Sephora choosing a few perfumes they thought I’d like. So far, I’ve loved all three.

Hadley went to one of my favorite boutiques and picked out these pretty gold hoop earrings for me. I wear these stud earrings nearly every day, but I’d suggested a pair of hoops because sometimes I do change things up, especially if I’m dressing up a bit.

Truly, I felt the love this holiday season.

Mom Meme:

Tuesday was tough for the kids, but we made it!

Bonus Fave: Go Tigers!

I’m not very popular in my house this week. My MIZZOU Tigers came to Lexington to play the CATS…and they won! Trav and Hayden went to the game, and they came home kind of grumpy! I was invited too, but I had a hair appointment that had me getting home right at game time. Honestly, I don’t love a hostile environment anyway…haha!

I’m proud to be a Tiger!

Weekly Recap:

I’ve kept up my (self-induced) Bloganuary challenge of blogging every day in January.

January

Organization

Prime Purchases

Day in the Life: Winter Break

Currently

Healthy Teacher Challenge

Share Our Lives:

We have our first Share Our Lives link up of 2026 on Monday!

Our topic is – Ways to Stay Warm in the Winter. Well, we’ve had temps in the 60’s the past ten days, so it’s been pretty easy to stay warm! Anyway, I’m looking forward to the link up, and we hope you’ll join us.

I’m ready to have a great Friday at school and then have some down time this weekend. After this weekend, I feel like we get pretty busy with kids’ activities.

I hope to continue blogging this weekend, so see you back here then!

Everyday Life, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#286} Winter Break Edition

Posted on January 2, 2026January 2, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Well, all good things must come to an end…or so they say!

Of course, I still have the weekend left, but it’s hard to believe that our two week break is almost over.

I’m linking up with Andrea for the first Friday Favorites of 2026.

I’ve shared some recent tid bits (Christmas Recap post), but today I’m sharing some of the “smaller” favorites of break.

I had time for a few appointments, and it was nice to go during the day rather than after school. I’d missed my monthly facial in November, so I was happy to have this appointment scheduled on the first Monday of break.

I love the Reformer Pilates classes I take in the summer, but unfortunately, the class times don’t work for me during the school year. I was able to go to one class over break which I really enjoyed.

I also decided to try something new…Solid Core. I’d love to find classes that I can take one evening a week to break up my workouts, so I thought I’d try one of these classes. Thankfully, they had an intro class this past Tuesday, and I hung in there…but I’m still sore! haha

I definitely think I will try more classes in the future.

I got a few lovely Christmas gifts, but I think the best thing I received was a new pair of tennis shoes. Travis took Hadley and she picked out these Brooks tennis shoes, and the second I put them on my feet, I didn’t want to take them off. I said, “I feel like they are giving my feet a hug!” I guess I didn’t realize how worn out my other pair had become.

Also, these were a surprise in the sense that I asked for shoes, but I assumed I’d get a gift card…they did a great job picking these out, and I appreciate that they checked my other shoes to know I size up a half a size in tennis shoes.

I’ve put these to good use going on walks and with workouts.

I had lots of time to read, and I finished a book and then I started this one that my mom gave me.

Y’all, I’ve purged most corners of this house! I typically do this in December and June, and it’s felt so good to get rid of things and get organized. On the years we stay home for Christmas, I tend to have more time to purge a little more.

My spice cabinet is looking great…

….as is the office cabinet.

When I was in the basement tidying up, I even organized some of our books by color.

I’ve watched some of my favorite movies. I watched Home Alone with Hayden on Christmas day…

…and You’ve Got Mail with Hadley this week.

I shared that I picked up a pack of three cross stitch ornaments at World Market, and it’s been so fun to complete these mini projects. I found the set on Amazon too, so I placed an order, so I could complete the other three patterns. So far, I’ve stitched four of the six patterns.

The day after Christmas, I ran a few errands, and I tried Dunkin Donut coffee for the first time…yes, you read that correctly! haha

I’ve never had Dunkin coffee. I ordered one of their festive holiday drinks that is probably too many calories, but I loved it. Next time, I will try something more simple.

We baked Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle cookies before Christmas…

…and Peanut Butter Blossoms for NYE!

I’ve loved having “snack plates” for lunch.

We’ve had lots of Homer time!

…which included snuggles on the couch while I sipped my coffee and eased into the days. I will definitely miss waking up without an alarm!

I finished my daily 2025 word search (I love this gift from Trav and the kids last Christmas)

…and I started 2026 completing the first one in my new calendar. (The bookstore where they got mine last year didn’t have one, so I ordered this one…it’s not the same, but it will do!)

I always look back on these stretches of time off and wish I’d done more or accomplished a few more tasks on the list, but I guess it’s also time for rest as we gear up for going back to school. Overall, I’d say it’s been a pretty good break.

Favorite Mom Meme:

It’s going to hurt, but it’s time for these kids to get back to school…haha

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from the week!

Today, I have a couple of errands to run, and then it’s time to take down all the Christmas decor. I’m ready for a fresh start!

Also, I’m going to try and post every day in January which means I should have some posts on Saturday and Sunday!

See you then,

Blog challenge, Friday Favorites

2025 Blogging Recap and Fave Posts

Posted on December 26, 2025January 1, 2026 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

How was your Christmas? Ours was good and very uneventful. We had a fun Christmas Eve Eve and a lovely Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was just the four of us at home not doing much.

I can’t believe it’s already Friday. Why do the weeks of break seem to fly by?

I’m joining Andrea for the final Friday Favorites of 2025…

…to recap some of the favorite posts I’ve shared this year.

A few stats from the year:

Posts: 195 (it seems I blogged a bit less this year…probably due to the fact that in 2024, I posted every day in January for Bloganuary and the same in November of that year sharing gratitude posts). Anyway, still a great year of blogging for me!
Total words: just over 138K
Average words per post: 709
Best day: Friday, Best hour: 8 am
Most popular day: I think it will forever be March 14, 2023 with 931 views.
Most popular post in the past year: September 10th’s Let’s Look “managing teenage life” post.

Some all time stats include:

Views: 610, 963
Visitors: 158, 760
Posts published: 1,381
Countries: (This always blows my mind!) At least one person in 153 countries has read one of my posts. So crazy cool.

As I say every year, blogging is a hobby of mine, and I still really enjoy finding the time to share my thoughts and share a snapshot of my life. I’m still really grateful for those who choose to read my posts, ask me about my favorite books, comment and support me via links. Thank you!

New in 2025:

One thing new to my blog this year was I decided to recap the end of every month. Traditionally, I share a recap of the year, and I still plan to do a condensed version of that next week, but I loved the little snapshots of every month…

Now, on to some of my favorite posts from the year…

1.

With all the snow we got in January, it made me reminisce on snow days in the past.

2.

In February, I shared a few simple things that I love …

3.

SSYS is still where I find so many of my clothes, and I had fun sharing a Fashion Files post all about what I’d been wearing that was SSYS.

4.

We had lots of fun in Isle of Palms, SC for spring break…

5.

After the spring break recap, I shared what I wore on vacation. Of course, I over packed, so I like having this post as a reference for future vacays!

6.

I enjoyed writing the May Let’s Look post where we looked at wellness.

7.

I love a “recap” (can’t you tell?!), so I enjoyed writing a Teacher Talk post about the end of the school year.

8.

We hadn’t done a “major” renovation/update project in a while, but I’m oh so thankful we *finally* tackled the hall bathroom. It went from drab to fab, and I still love it so much.

9.

May was just a really good month. The kids had track, and both got their driving permits. We finished the hall bath project, and we also finished the school year! We had a few other things going on as well, so I enjoyed writing that Monthly Moments post.

10.

June’s Share Our Lives topic was to share unique things about where we live. I think Lexington has a lot to offer!

10.

In June, Trav and I celebrated our twenty year wedding anniversary. That’s hard to believe!

11.

In July, I had fun creating this this or that summer template and sharing my answers.

12.

4th of July is still one of my fave holidays, so this was a fun recap.

13.

Another favorite Share Our Lives post…all about vacation memories. I’m thankful we’ve been able to go so many places and show our kids so many different places as well.

14.

Trav and I traveled to the Lake Michigan area to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We’d always wanted to go, but we weren’t sure which town to visit. So, we visited four towns in our five days that we were gone. We loved Michigan and definitely hope to go back there sooner rather than later. (Part one, two and three)

15 and 16.

Right before the kids started their sophomore year of high school, I started thinking about when they were about to start kindergarten. I spent a day with each one doing things I thought they’d like to do. That was a sweet time for sure.

Throwback Thursday: Hadley’s day and Hayden’s day.

17.

I can’t imagine living somewhere that didn’t have all four seasons. I love something different about each one, so that was a fun topic for Share Our Lives in September.

18.

The “unfortunately I do love” trend was all the hype on Instagram, so I loved writing this post about random things I love.

19.

We had another awesome fall break in Seaside, Florida with friends, and I always love writing those recaps. (one and two)

20.

Home from fall break, and immediately finished decorating for fall.

21.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do, so I loved sharing some of my reading habits.

22.

It’s really still hard for me to believe it, but the kids turned 16 in November. We had a nice family dinner, and then Hadley celebrated with her friends. Overall, I think they felt loved and celebrated!

23.

Just like with the fall, I look forward to the cozy Christmas decorations.

24.

I think Enneagram posts are fun, and my 5w6 tendencies were confirmed with this post.

25.

I had a really great first semester of school, so I enjoyed writing this recap too.

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from the week:

Monday Memes

Merry christmas

These favorite posts were a fun way to look back on the year. I know the time between Christmas and the new year can be quiet in the blogging community, but I still have a couple more favorite posts to share next week…including recapping our Christmas and the books I read this year!

I hope you have a great weekend. I’m going to spend today trying to get this house back in order!

Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday Favorites {#285}

Posted on December 19, 2025December 18, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Today is a great Friday because only a few hours stand between me and winter break! I’m very much ready to turn off my alarm clock, have some time to finish up Christmas things, and embrace a slower pace for a couple of weeks.

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

I have lots of favorites to share this week…

Last Friday was a snow day, and Trav and I had a quick breakfast before an appointment I had scheduled.

I rarely eat breakfast, but this bagel hit the spot.

My mom and Gma came to visit, and we spent a few hours on Saturday decorating cookies, and making our traditional waffle cookies. My Gma brought the waffle iron that my great-great-grandfather brought from Germany.

Everyone was in on the fun…

These kids were busy cookie decorators…

The grandkids with GG and Gma….

Sunday afternoon we went to my brother’s house to celebrate an early Christmas.

One of my gifts from my Gma was some Betty White stamps! I immediately sent a pic to one of my friends who had told me about them when they came out…and I’d forgotten about them. If you’re receiving a Christmas card from me this year, the Betty White stamps will be the chef’s kiss!

They left on Monday morning, and we had yet another snow day. Truly, I don’t think I’ve ever had a December snow day as a teacher, and this year, we’ve had three in December!

I’ve been loving my holiday icon glasses from Target, but I wished I’d gotten a couple more while they were in stock.

Well, Amy shared about the ones she found at World Market, and so I went there on Saturday and got a candy cane and holly one. I also got a couple for my mom as one of her Christmas gifts. Since then, Hadley broke my holly one. ugh! #thisiswhyIcanthavenicethings

On Monday, we had some “Merry Mail” as our new ornaments arrived. A few years ago, I ordered quite a few ornaments from Shutterfly with the kids with Santa through the years and pics we used for our holiday cards. The shipping price is stupid, so I just wait until I order my Christmas cards and then add in the ornaments to that order.

Anyway, since we looked nice twice this summer for our niece and then nephew’s wedding, I ordered two ornaments.

The Monday snow day was also what I needed to get started on wrapping. How cute are my new Etsy gift tags? Jen Reed had shared about the labels she’s used the past few years, and I thought they’d be a fun way for the kids to know which gifts are theirs. I probably should have ordered some for Trav too!

The biggest news of all on Monday is that we officially have another new driver! Hayden passed his driver’s test! He then drove himself to the gym and then to Walgreens for a snack. haha!

Y’all, if loving peppermint is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

It was my first time using it, but I baked the Trader Joe’s chocolate peppermint cake mix, and I took it to the English department lunch/gift exchange last week. It was a hit!

Last Friday, Hadley went to Chick-fil-A and the only thing that sounded good to me was the seasonal peppermint milkshake. I usually get one or two a season.

Speaking of CFA ice cream…I then saw on Insta that you can order a cup of ice cream, and add crushed peppermint (and cookie crumbles) to the top. This is definitely a lower calorie option. Hayden and I got some ice cream after school yesterday.

Lastly, I always make Shay’s peppermint Bundt cake for Christmas, and the past couple of years I’ve made it to share with my KC family. Last year, I baked the cake in KC, and this year I took it to my brother’s house when we opened gifts.

I actually went to Trader Joe’s the other day to pick up another box of the cake mix to make a smaller cake for Christmas Day, but it seems they are out of stock? This is my lesson learned to stock up on seasonal items when they were available.

Favorite Mom Meme:

LOL!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday…

Oh…I miss these days…

Weekly Recap:

I was a busy blogger this week. It felt nice to have some fun posts to share. (Sometimes, I feel like I’m in a writing rut!)

MoNday Memo

Teacher Talk Tuesday

Monthly Musings

I hope you have a fabulous and festive Friday.

Friday Favorites, Gift Ideas, Seasonal

Friday Favorites {#284}: Fave Gifts

Posted on December 12, 2025December 14, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

TGIF, am I right? I’m typing this on Thursday when there’s a good chance for snow and a possibility of a snow day on Friday. What could be better than that?

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites.

Today’s Friday Favorites post is a little bit different, but with less than two weeks until Christmas, I thought I’d share a few favorite gift purchases from the past and a few that are on current wish lists.

First of all, have you heard of the Giftful app? This is the second year Hadley has used it, and it sure has come in handy. She added some ideas for her birthday and Christmas, and they are linked with sizes. Then, you can “claim” the gift, so no one else purchases it. Also, you can follow people on Giftful which makes for easy shopping.

Her little captions are too funny…and she has a wish list for car accessories too. (FYI – the kids don’t have a car…yet) She’s a hoot!

So, let me start with her…

Teen Girls:

This sunrise alarm clock is on her list…and honestly, she needs some help waking up in the morning! haha

She loves hair tools, and this hair waver is something she has her eye on.

Are you even a teenage girl if you don’t ask for a portable speaker?

This compact vanity mirror was a hit a few years ago. She did get rid of it once we updated her room and got the bigger vanity, but this smaller one worked well too.

Teen Boys:

Well, Hayden is definitely harder to buy for, and certainly doesn’t give many ideas.

He didn’t ask for Ugg slippers, but I see so many boys wearing them. Of course, there are more budget friendly options too.

He hasn’t really entered the cologne world, so I thought this pack of solid colognes might be a good stocking stuffer.

I can’t remember a time when Hayden hasn’t had a mini basketball hoop. He had an over the door one forever, and then a couple of years ago he got one for the basement. Even though he doesn’t play basketball as much as he used to, he still will play on the mini hoop.

Are you even a teenage boy if you don’t ask for a Nike hooded sweatshirt?

I don’t even want to tell you how many water bottles I’ve purchased through the years, but this stainless steel one is very durable and has lasted him quite some time.

Husbands:

I bought Trav this “Battery Daddy” a few years ago, and it truly was a favorite. We keep it stocked and in the hall closet for whenever we need batteries.

I got Trav some “Goodr” sunglasses from a local running store a few years ago, and I see so many people wearing them. Some shops have quite the variety of colorways and styles. These seem popular too.

My brother had these joggers last year, and highly recommended them, so I bought them for Trav last year too. They are great! The fabric is smooth and stretchy perfect for jogging and working out. They have side and back pockets that zip as well. Trav wears them a ton.

Joggers (affiliate link)

These beer mugs are perfect for a frosty beverage. Trav loved this gift.

These grilling baskets seem popular.

A few other ideas:

Trav has horse sales in the winter, and these rechargeable hand warmers are something I got him a few years ago.

I gave a similar fleece wrapped shawl to my mom or Gma a couple of years ago. I love the pockets!

This electric tea kettle was something I asked for a few years ago, and then I got one for my mom. We use it quite a bit for things like Ramen and hot chocolate, and it’s perfect for tea drinkers.

A few other ideas: candles, pretty stationary, Story Worth subscriptions, and photo calendars are other favorite gifts I’ve given through the years.

These wireless earbuds are my current faves. I purchased them for myself last summer, and they have worked perfectly for my needs. They are wireless, waterproof and noise canceling. I love using them to listen to podcasts or my audio books.

Wireless Earbuds {affiliate link}

I feel pretty good about where I’m at with gifts, but I still need to purchase a few more. Mostly, now I’m just waiting for gifts to arrive. Then, it will be time to wrap everything…which isn’t really a favorite, but I did buy a couple of new rolls of wrapping paper….maybe that will put me in the spirit.