Category: Friday Favorites

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays, Traditions

Friday Favorites {#280}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday! …and happy Halloween!

Wow! I feel like this week flew by…and I’m not mad about it. Overall, we had a great week.

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

I have so many favorites from this past week. I feel like we actually did more than just be at home, sports or school!

Ok, well, “starting off strong…” last Friday night I was at home. haha!

Anyway, I was so excited to start the second season of Nobody Wants This. I was able to watch a couple of episodes, and I love it.

Saturday morning I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get up and just read for a bit before starting my day. Last weekend really was the first time it started to feel like fall, so it was a nice cozy morning reading by candlelight.

Hadley celebrated a sweet friend’s birthday on Saturday…PJs and pancakes style.

While she was doing that, I ran quite a few errands…including going to Walmart. I don’t go to Walmart often, but I wanted to check out their fun ornaments. I didn’t get this one, but how cute?!

I did see this cute mini pumpkin cocotte by Pioneer Woman…and just knew it would look cute on my stove. I couldn’t decide between the orange or the white, so I picked up both.

The orange one provides a cute pop of color on my stove top.

I put the white one on the kitchen table.

It looks so cute in the tray.

Obviously, I can use them as cookware, but for now, I’ve used them more as decorations.

On Saturday, we also went to the pumpkin patch. Hadley drove us!

My happy place!

Travis said this was the first time we’d been in a while where the weather felt like fall. We appreciated the cooler temps.

I just love these fantasy pumpkins.

Hadley found the perfect pumpkin, and we picked Hayden up one since he was mowing the neighbor’s yard.

We saw people carrying a lot of pumpkins, and then saw this sign! This is a fun idea.

Sunday morning breakfast was elite…an apple cider donut and coffee in my cute pumpkin mug.

My mom went to Scotland with a friend, and she brought me home this candle. It certainly smells like fall.

Sunday afternoon, we went to see Legally Blonde, Jr…the musical.

My niece played Rufus, the dog…and of course she knocked it out of the park!

We gave her some flowers and candy after the performance.

Tuesday night was pumpkin carving night! First, we had mummy dogs and macaroni and cheese “brains.”

Hadley had a “vision” for her pumpkin…she wanted stars all over it, and she used a snowflake cookie cutter to trace her stars. Hayden carved his pumpkin within a few minutes, turned it around and said, “I’m done!” I just laughed because for whatever reason, the face just made me laugh. Simple and to the point. He went back in and added the little nose.

They looked perfect on the porch…

…and even prettier the next night in the rain.

Yesterday, at school, we had a “crocktober” potluck for lunch, and it was a great way to spend time with my teacher friends. One of my friends made this “boo sheet” cake which made me laugh. It was delish.

Favorite Mom Meme:

Maybe with the time change, the kids getting up will be a bit easier? A mom can dream!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

Two flashback Fridays this week…in honor of our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch, here the kids are in 2010…their first time at the pumpkin patch…

…and their first Halloween. 2010 was a big year of wagon riding!

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from the week in case you missed one:

Monday Memes
October Books
Monthly Musings

I typically share my Monthly Moments post on the last day of the month, but I had too many other great things to share today! I’ll post an October recap tomorrow.

Halloween is actually on a Friday…let’s do this!

See you back here tomorrow for a bonus post!

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#279}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

This week was a good one, but it’s always good to see Friday!

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

Here are some favorites from the week:

Trav and I found some time to make it to Keeneland for the fall meet.

I’m usually lucky to go to the races once a meet, but Travis pops in a lot for work. He actually had a TV interview, so he needed to go for that…

…and I tagged along.

We made our way over to the Clubhouse and saw many of our friends. It was a lovely day at the track, and it was nice to watch up with them.

Saturday night, we sat on our back patio and flipped back and forth between the UK game and the Mizzou game. My Tigers won…but unfortunately for the CATS fans in our house, UK lost. Both games went into overtime which made for a late night. The weather was nice, so I’m glad we sat outside for a few hours.

Sunday was a rainy day which was honestly a favorite. I watched one of my favorite movies…

…while Hadley baked “6-7” cookies. If you have teens, you know “6-7” is all the rage! It literally means nothing, but the kids are always saying it…just Google it or find an Instagram reel, and you’ll have your answer of how it came about…but why it’s stuck around so long or is all the rage, I’m not sure.

Pumpkin cold brew hit the spot on Friday. I hope to get another one this weekend.

A few school faves…

One of my friends has been sharing her seasonal agenda slides, and they are so fun.

During my planning or while my students are working, I like to put up a You Tube seasonal background with instrumental music. Fall and winter are the best background, in my opinion.

Speaking of school, my Adv. English 1 students mapped Odysseus’s travels in part 1 of the text, and they did such a good job. I did this assignment last year too, and it’s one I will keep in the rotation for sure.

Favorite Mom Meme:

Why do I feel this one so deeply?!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

With Keeneland’s October meet wrapping up, I’m sharing this pic which has always been a favorite. Let’s just say Hayden’s horse lost the race…and Hadley’s probably won! haha

Weekly Recap:

I got back in a blogging groove this week:

Monday Memo
Teacher Talk Tuesday
Halloween This or That

I hope you have the best fall weekend!

Posted in Friday Favorites, Kids

Friday Favorites {#278}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

I don’t think I’ve needed to make it to Friday this badly in quite some time! This week has been a doozy. I feel like re-entry after fall break the past couple of weeks has felt like the first few weeks of school all over again.

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

Here are some favorites from the week:

HoCo:

Last weekend was all about Homecoming! The kids went to the football game, and had a great time.

Saturday morning, Hadley and friends got together for “brunch and bouquets.” One of the moms hosted, and I thought it was such a thoughtful idea and a fun way for the girls to hang out.

They had a great time eating brunch and arranging their flowers.

After that, one of Hadley’s friends came over for a bit before they joined a few friends to finish getting ready for the dance.

Around 5:00, a big group of kids met up for pictures. Hadley’s date had a beautiful bouquet for her which was a lovely gesture.

They’ve been friends for quite a few years, and he’s one of Hayden’s friends too.

Hadley and her bestie and their dates…

All the girls looked so pretty…and loved taking all the photos. The boys were good sports about it.

We snagged a pic with Hadley before she went to dinner with her date.

He actually goes to another school, but both of the Homecoming dances were on the same night. So, they took pictures with Hadley’s friends (he knows quite a few of them too), and then they went to dinner with his friends and the dance at his school.

Afterwards, Hadley came home and gave us a few details of the evening. Then, she went to a friend’s house for the after party. Hayden went too and joined some of his friends there. He was home around midnight while Hadley spent the night at the friend’s house. I had to wait up until midnight, and I guess I’m getting a glimpse of my future.

After the pics, Travis and I went out for an early dinner at a place we’ve only been to once before. We sat on the patio, and said “cheers” to surviving all day HoCo prep!

Other faves:

While we were on fall break, one of the breakfasts that was planned was cinnamon rolls. I buy Sister Schubert rolls often, but I’d never seen the cinnamon rolls. Once we got home, I added a couple to my Kroger order. I made a pan on Sunday morning…

…and they were delish!

I went to Hobby Lobby (again) this week, and picked up a couple of LED pumpkins for my classroom. I have these same ones at home, and just thought they’d be a nice festive touch at school. Some of my students have commented on them!

I have this cute one on my desk:

Yesterday, our principal treated us to ice cream which was so thoughtful. It truly has been such a long week, so this was a great way to cap off the day.

Favorite Mom Meme:

Oh…we really need to get it together in the morning…all of us! haha

Weekly Recap:

Well, I didn’t mean to ghost you this week. I shared a post on Monday, and I had good intentions of at least writing one other this week, but it just didn’t happen.

Share Our Lives

This weekend, Hadley has one final volleyball tournament, and then it’s a wrap for the JV team. Sunday looks to be rainy, and I hope to spend some time reading and maybe watching Father of the Bride in honor of Diane Keaton’s passing. What a legend!

Have a great weekend!

Posted in Friday Favorites, Home Decor, Seasonal

Friday Favorites {#277}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

TGIF!! I had a great week back to school, but not having students on Monday threw me off all week. I never knew what day is was, but I sure do know that today is Friday.

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

This week, my post is all about my favorite fall decorations.

I don’t think I shared a fall decor post last year because most everything was the same as when I shared my 2023 fall home tour.

Just like with that post, much hasn’t changed, but I did move a few things around this year and made a couple of small purchases.

I typically spruce up my front porch mid to late September, but I just didn’t have time to do so before fall break. Trav got the mums right before we left, and then once we got back from the beach, I purchased pumpkins and cornstalks.

I love how it turned out…

I’m still loving the new doormat.

I got “fantasy” pumpkins at Trader Joe’s, and then purchased a couple more at Kroger.

These pumpkin pillow covers were such a pleasant surprise when they arrived. I mean, I ordered them so I wasn’t surprised to receive them…I just mean that I was really pleased with the quality and cuteness!

I usually have different fall pillows here, but I loved these so much that I wanted them to be in a central location. I’d forgotten that I had this blanket, and it’s a nice pop of color between the neutral chairs and pillows.

My living room coffee table tray stays the same year to year.

Fall me thanked summer me when I went to my candle shelf in the hall closet and remembered that I’d purchased an Antique Candle Co “apple butter” candle on sale a few months ago.

I made a couple of small purchases a Michael’s a few weeks ago including this gold metal pumpkin bucket.

I also purchased two of these pumpkin vases because I wanted a little height on the mantel.

This pumpkin votive was the last Michael’s purchase that I made. It’s a nice festive touch on our wine rack in the kitchen.

I have two of these “morning pumpkin” pillows, but they typically go where the new ones go. Anyway, I used one on the chair in the kitchen.

Last weekend, I did make it to Hobby Lobby and found four of the embossed pumpkin plates that I had my eye on. I only see the salad plates online, but this plate is more medium sized…so bigger than a salad plate, but smaller than a dinner plate.

I wanted some new place mats, and these that I found on Amazon are so cute.

These mini pumpkin cocoettes are a few find and so cute.

I don’t do much in the basement, but I decided to use a couple of pillows that I typically put in the sun room down there.

When I was at Hobby Lobby, I picked up two of these fall LED candles to put on the basement bookshelves. I love the glow of them when we’re watching TV in the basement.

In our bedroom, I have one of my favorite raffia pumpkins that I got a Michael’s years ago. Its twin is on the living room coffee table.

One last Hobby Lobby purchase…this cute mug! I couldn’t resist.

I have a few more decorations here and there, but I really only put out a few of my favorite things this year.

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts last week…and yesterday’s post (Fall break trip recap part 2) went out late yesterday. Ooops!

Prime Purchases
Fall Break Trip Recap 1
Fall break Trip Recap 2

Share Our Lives:

We have our Share Our Lives link up on Monday; we’d love to have you join us.

This month’s topic is go to snacks!

What are your weekend plans? Ours are full of Homecoming festivities! No rest for the weary!

Posted in Friday Favorites, Travel

Friday Favorites {#276}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Today is our last official day of fall break, and it’s been a good one!

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

This week we spent time in one of our favorite places…30A/Seaside. This is the fourth year we’ve spent the week here for fall break, and it was another great year.

The weather was in the upper 80’s all week, and we only had one cloudy day.

Seaside showing off…

The one cloudy day, but it was still a good one at the beach!

We caught the sunset every night which is my favorite thing to do on vacay.

We had many great meals, and the moms snuck away for a happy hour on Monday night in Rosemary.

We always have one night where the parents go out for a nice dinner, and we caught the sunset while we waited for our table.

The kids are with us, but rarely around 🤣

We’re headed home today, and I will share a trip recap next week…although it was pretty much sunshine, sunsets and seafood like always.

A few other faves….

October is my favorite month, so I always share this quote to kick off the month:

Per usual, I have a few new book trackers saved to a highlight on my Instagram.

Feel free to screenshot them, use them and tag me! I always love seeing what others are reading.

Weekly Recap:

This week I had a few posts:

September Books
Wednesday Hodgepodge
Monthly moments

We’re ready to get back home, do laundry, sleep in our own beds, and see Homer!

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#275}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!!

TGIF! This week has been a good one, but students start acting crazy when they know it’s almost time for a break. haha!

Thankfully, we’ve made it to Friday, and only an all day freshman field trip stands between me and a week off from school.

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

Since this week was our first official week of fall, I’m sharing some fall favorites. I truly look forward to this time of the year.

Favorite quote:

Favorite sweater:

My favorite cardigan is soft and comfy. It comes in many color ways, and I own four of these cardigans!

{Grace Karin cardigan (paid link)}

Favorite recipe:

Turkey rice soup is a favorite recipe. We have it after Thanksgiving, using our leftovers. I also make it with chicken too.

Pumpkin sausage penne pasta is another fall recipe that I look forward to making for dinner. It’s a fall favorite for sure.

Favorite dessert:

Apple cider donut cake was a fave Pinterest find a few years ago. Now, I bake this delicious cake a few times in the fall.

Favorite candles and hand soaps:

I love switching out candles and hand soaps seasonally.

Favorite mug:

I’m a fall lovin’ girl…what can I say?

Favorite fall decorations:…old…

I have had two of these pumpkins from Michael’s for years, and they are my favorite to set out.

…and new…

Y’all, for the life of me, I can’t find my fall doormat. I looked all over the garage, and it’s not with my other seasonal mats. So, I turned to Amazon and purchased this cute doormat. It arrived yesterday, and it’s perfect. It’s actually really soft and oh so cute.

Fave fall flower:

The mums have arrived on my front porch. Now, I just need to get the corn stalks and pumpkins.

Fave find:

Speaking of pumpkins…I saw Tina (@to_mimishousewego) share these cuuutee embossed pumpkin plates from Hobby Lobby. I haven’t made it to my local store, but I’m hoping they still have them.

Screenshot

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week:

Monday Memes
Tuesday Talk
Monthly Musings

Next week is fall break, but I hope to continue blogging. I’m ready for a little bit of down time!

What’s your favorite thing about fall?

{This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog.}

Posted in Friday Favorites, Kids, School

Friday Favorites {#274}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Where did this week go?…but also…TGIF! We had a good but busy week. I feel like we’ve finally gotten into a school and evening routine which feels nice. Of course, this is just in time for us to have one more week and then a week off for fall break! I’m not complaining, but after that week, we’ll have to get back into a routine again.

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

Here are a few faves from the week:

Last week, I went to Bath and Body and picked up a few fall things…three hand soaps and one candle. See, I can show restraint in Bath and Body! haha!

One of my favorite seasonal things to do is to swap out the hand soaps in the bathroom and in the kitchen. I only purchased one candle, because I have quite the fall candle stockpile in my hall closet.

I also purchased a set of three candles from Trader Joe’s, and they’ve quickly become a favorite as well.

Last week, I had a dermatology appointment. It had been over two years since I made a skin check appointment. The PA had no concerns, and I was happy to cross this off the list. I did joke with her that they should just team up with a gynecologist, so we can get two awkward appointments over with at one time!

Last weekend, I spent time in Tennessee with Hadley and the volleyball team. They had a fun weekend of volleyball, but they also were able to hit up the indoor water park. I had fun with some of the moms, and I also enjoyed a bit of downtime at the hotel.

The girls were 5-2 on the weekend and the runner up in the silver bracket. Overall, they played well, and I feel like they found their groove.

The weather was pretty and the views were pretty too. I got a walk in on Saturday morning before the games.

The kids’ school pics were available to download this past week, and they turned out sooo good! I asked Hayden to wear something besides a t-shirt, and he obliged!

Hadley “understood” the assignment too!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared Hadley’s volleyball pics….

…and Hayden his pics last week! My boy is growing up!

We had breakfast out one morning at one of our favorite places. Not the best food pic, but it hit the spot!

Other than that, this week has just been about school, sports and family time.

Favorite Mom Meme:

How many times do you all go to Chick-fila-A in a week?!

Weekly Recap:

After taking a few days off from blogging, I bounced back with a couple of posts this week:

Trader Joe’s
Thursday Thoughts

I hope you have a great weekend! It’s so hot here, our pool decided to stay open for yet another weekend! I’m ready for some fall temps, for sure!

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#273}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

How was your week? I started the week sick, but I am feeling better now. The short weeks always throw me off, and I was only at school three days this week…and I’ve constantly had to remind myself what day it is.

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

Here are some favorites from the week…

Honestly, I’m finishing up this post pretty late, so I will just get to it…and it’s mostly kid related favorites since we’re back in the thick of all the sports.

Hadley and friends went to the first UK tailgate of the season, and they had so much fun. Travis and Hayden went to the game as well.

Hadley’s volleyball pics came in, and they are so cute…

I love this one too!

I stayed home from school on Tuesday, and this is what Hadley sent me from Spanish class. lol

One of the dads takes pics during the games, and it’s been fun to have a few action shots of Hadley on the court.

This is another fun one too…

Hayden had his second race of the season last weekend, and he ran well overall. He was bummed to miss a PR by two seconds, but it was a beautiful morning and a great course. He’s just getting started.

Yesterday, Hadley had small group early in the morning, so I decided to drop her off and then head to school. I don’t know that I’ve ever been to school at 7:15…but it was nice.

My room was so peaceful, and it was nice to have an hour before school started! Maybe I can try doing this a bit more often. I’m having a really great start to the year, but I truly feel like I can’t get caught up. So, this extra hour was nice.

Earlier this week, I shared my September book trackers on Instagram. I love when others use them and tag me in them!

They are saved in a “August” book highlight. Feel free to use them and tag me. I enjoy seeing what others are reading.

Favorite Food:

On Tuesday, I placed a Kroger delivery and threw the ingredients in the slow cooker for a new recipe…This is a version of the Tomato Feta Pasta that was going around on Tik Tok. It was easy and delish! I will definitely keep it in the rotation. It would also be delish with chicken or shrimp added in it.

Favorite Mom Meme:

This! LOL!

Share Our Lives:

We have our monthly Share Our Lives link up on Monday. This month’s topic is 5 things we like to do in the fall/winter/spring/summer. We’d love it if you link up with us!

Weekly Recap:

I had a random week of posting, but they were all fun ones to write:

Monthly Moments
Prime PUrchases
Fashion Files

Well, thankfully, we don’t have too much going on this weekend…at least nothing that entails an early wake up call….and, for that, I’m appreciative! I might pull my fall decorations out. I usually don’t do that for another couple of weeks, but we’ll see!

See you back here on Monday! Thanks so much for reading.

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#272}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!!

How was your week?! Ours was good…but the busy Thursday nights are catching up with me…I’m hitting “publish” a bit late on this Friday morning!

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

My favorites are short and sweet this week.

I spent Saturday afternoon at the pool which was nice. Admittedly, I’m not the best at going to the pool once school starts, but I’ve been making an effort to go on the weekends. I’ve reminded myself it’s ok to take a little time to relax even if I have a to do list. The pool closes soon.

Sunday, we had more pool time to celebrate my nephew’s birthday.

Shay shared these Trader Joe’s crepes on her blog a couple of weeks ago, and when I went to TJ last week, I picked some up. They are good! Hadley loves a crepe, so I bought them for her, but I’ve had a couple too.

{Screenshot from Shay’s blog, so I would remember to buy these!}

Hayden’s cross country meets have started, and my mom was in town to go to his first meet last Saturday. He ran well, and I was happy for him to start the season off strong.

Hadley’s regular season games have also started, and we’re hoping for a great season.

{Shes’s near the net passing the ball}

Favorite Mom Meme:

LOL –why do I feel this at home and at school?

Actually, I must say that I’ve had a really great start back to school…and my classes seem really good. I have two Adv. English 1, two co-teach English 1 classes, and two English 2 classes. We’re all still getting the hang of block scheduling, but my students seem great!

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week:

Monday Memes
What I’ve Been Reading
Monthly Musings

I hope you have a wonderful three day weekend. Unfortunately, this is me today:

I feel like I’m fighting off a back to school cold! Ugh.

I’m hoping to feel better soon and share my Monthly Moments post on Sunday to wrap up August.

Posted in Friday Favorites, School

Friday Favorites {#271}: Back to School

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

I can honestly say that even though the first two days back to school have been great, I’m also very happy to say, “TGIF!” Your girl is Tired…with a capital T! I’m very much looking forward to this weekend.

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

I’m keeping it short and sweet this week and just sharing our back to school traditions and photos.

Last week, the stars aligned, and we could actually have dinner together. We took advantage of that opportunity and headed to IHOP for dinner. This is the second year we’ve done this, and while the kids still had a few days left of summer, I appreciated the tradition.

This week, the night before school started, I baked a Krusteaz cinnamon coffee cake for the kids to have for breakfast on Wednesday morning.

I thought these plates and napkins were so cute. I picked them up at Target or Michael’s…I can’t remember now.

These kids are really growing up! All set for their sophomore year…

I appreciate the first day of school smiles.

And, we always take one more pic without the signs.

I actually saw both kids a couple of times on the first day because my room is a little more centrally located now.

One of my friends from my former school is now at my school, and she’s my classroom neighbor…and Hayden is actually in her class. Anyway, she snapped our picture after school which I really appreciated.

One thing about block scheduling is that I realized I now have two first days of school. I was ready to roll yesterday to meet my other classes.

Hopefully, we’ll all have a great year.

Favorite Mom Meme:

WHY can I relate to this one so much? haha

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

With it being back to school, of course I’m sharing first day of school pics through the years…

Kindergarten, sixth grade and ninth grade.

Time flies!

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week:

Share Our Lives
Teacher Talk Tuesday: classroom
Throwback Thursday: Hayden’s day

I hope you have a great weekend. I’m looking forward to not setting an alarm and hopefully doing what it takes to feel like I have my life together next week!