Posted in Friday Favorites, Kids

Friday Favorites {#304}

Hello and happy Friday!

I can’t believe I’ve already had two full weeks of summer. I felt like the school year would never end, and of course, now I don’t want the summer to go by too quickly. Surprisingly, so far, most days have moved at just the right pace with some downtime, productivity and other odds and ends.

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

I have quite a few favorites this week…

One thing about teenage boys is they both drive you crazy but also make you so proud. Hayden took it upon himself to reach out to a local basketball league (that he played with for years!) to see if he could help coach one of the summer league teams.

I have to be honest and say that at first I felt anxiety when he told us he was doing this…only because he had to communicate with parents, not be too intense as a coach (ha!), and keep up with the commitment.

One stop at Dick’s Sporting Goods for a whistle, a coaching dry erase board and some cones, and he was on his way.

Of course, I shouldn’t have worried. He’s stayed on top of this responsibility.

Coach White is coaching a fifth grade team, and they are 1-1 after their first weekend of playing. I hope to catch one of his games, but a friend sent me this pic as Hayden was coaching against her son’s team.

Speaking of Hayden, the baseball team had their banquet this week, and Hayden won the “Most Improved Player” for the JV team. What makes this honor even better is that it was voted on by his teammates. We all really enjoyed this re-entry into baseball life more than we thought we would.

I shared in Monday’s post that I’m obsessing over these new candles. I shared the lemon ones, but I also got a box of these pretty blue flowers too.

The lemon box with a Sweet Lemon candle is what’s on my coffee table right now.

I gave my mom one of those watercolor books for Christmas (I purchased it at local store, but I believe it’s this one that I also found online) as she’s pretty creative. She’s been painting quite a bit, and she knows my love of hydrangeas, so she sent me one of her creations. Last week, I was at Target, and found the perfect frame for it.

Speaking of flowers, it’s peony season at Trader Joe’s. Yay!

We had beautiful weather this week which meant I had three pool days!

Hadley’s been out and about and even played pickleball with a friend.

On Monday, we went to my brother’s house for cookie cake and to celebrate his birthday.

My friend texted me a couple of items in the “Aldi Finds” aisle that she thought I’d love, so I went there on Wednesday. While there, I spotted my favorite flavor of Chobani creamer, and it was even a bit cheaper than at Target. I grabbed a couple of them!

Now, on to the fave finds.

Uh…how cute are these icon glass candles? There were quite a few, but I picked up strawberry and gummy bear ones. I’ve been burning the strawberry one, and it’s heavenly!

Then, I also picked up one of these red/white/blue Popsicle icon glasses. There were quite a few options, but I showed restraint and just got this one.

Somehow, it made my morning coffee even better!

It’s not fall, but look at the lovely heart leaf I found by the pool. What a pleasant surprise.

Yesterday was such a rainy day that I let myself be lazy for most of the morning. I’d added Ticket to Paradise to my Netflix list and figured yesterday morning was the perfect time to watch it. This movie might just be a new favorite of mine. I love Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and this movie didn’t disappoint!

Favorite Mom Meme:

Happy summer! (LOL!)

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week if you’re interested:

I hope you have the best weekend!

Posted in Tuesday Talk

Tuesday Talk: Icon Glasses

Hello and happy Tuesday! Yesterday was fine, but it felt like the longest day…like how is today only Tuesday?!

Today’s Tuesday Talk is a bit random, but I’m sharing about my new fave obsession: icon glasses…and a little tip that Amy shared with me.

I first saw icon glasses in the fall when, I believe, it was Anthropology had a few with ghosts and pumpkins. Then, they started popping up everywhere, but seemed like some were more expensive or hard to find.

Flash forward to Christmastime, and I was at Target, and saw a few cute ones, and I bought the Christmas tree and gingerbread man. Not too long after that, I was”kicking myself” for not getting at least one more because they were then sold out.

Amy shared that she saw some at World Market, so I went there and got the holly and candy cane glasses.

They’ve been fun to use to drink my iced coffee, but I’ve also used them for other beverages too.

Here’s my current line up :

Christmas themed…

Valentine’s themed…(one from Target and one from World Market)…

…and this cute flower one that I got at World Market to use in the spring.

These glasses have now become my entire personality! haha

Remember in the 80’s when McDonald’s had drinking glasses you could collect?…I feel like this is my version of that.

You know I’ll continue to check back and maybe add one more for summertime and then I definitely want to round out my collection and get a couple of cute ones for the fall.

Amy also shared, via an Instagram reel, that Yeti lids fit on icon glasses. Say what?!

It’s true!

Now, disclaimer ….I’m finding that some of the glasses are bigger/wider which means the lid doesn’t fit snugly. The lids I got don’t seem to work on my holly, gingerbread or tree glasses…but they fit perfectly on the others? Anyway, I still think it’s fun because I can take the icon glasses on the go if I want.

Have a great day!

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday Favorites {#285}

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!

Screenshot

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!)

I hope you have a fabulous and festive Friday.