Loving Lately [Alternately Titled Favorite Food Finds].

I was going to include these in my Friday Favorites post from a few weeks ago, but then I decided to break it up it to it's own "themed" post. So, without further ado, a few of the food finds that I've been loving lately!

ONE.
Brownies with peppermint essential oil.

I saw someone comment on one of the essential oil Instagram accounts that I follow about adding one drop of peppermint to regular brownies and I tried it a couple weeks ago and OH MY GOODNESS. Make this. MAKE IT. It is SO GOOD and so, SO easy. All you do is prepare the brownies like normal and then add one drop of peppermint, bake, and then ENJOY. Seriously amazing and would be perfect if you need a dessert to bring to Christmas dinner!


TWO.
Trader Joe's pasta and sauce.

If you haven't tried either of these items at Trader Joe's, you need to. These butternut squash raviolis are my absolute favorite pasta and this sauce is amazing. Neither are healthy, but they taste amazing together. You can always throw some broccoli in there if you want a little health benefit 😉


THREE.
New Disney mug and Thrify's ice cream.



On our last trip to Disneyland, I saw that Starbucks had a new 'You are Here' collection Disneyland mug so of course... I needed it, right? I actually quite like the different look and the purple on this mug.

The ice cream is because we recently found this new-to-us ice cream shop. There is this flavor called "pecan praline" that is TO DIE FOR. One night when we were there, they were restocking some of the flavors and we noticed that the carton said "Thrifty" on it. The horror thinking that this shop was just using Thrifty ice cream and passing it off as their own, buuuuuuuut then I got thinking. If this amazing pecan praline is just Thrifty, why not buy a carton AT Thrifty? So, Seth bought this one day. I thought for sure it'd be identical and I'd be in love, but sadly it's not the same. Maybe they just use Thrifty vanilla or something because the ice cream shop's ice cream is SO MUCH better.


FOUR.
Rose finds.

I mean... how do you say no to a wine that has so many good things to say about you? Right?

In all seriousness, I've been on a total rose kick lately and have been wanting to try a bunch. My very favorite comes from Trader Joe's but I was recently gifted some Total Wine and More gift cards for my birthday so I figured I'd check out their selection. I picked up these three kinds and while I liked them all, the Sunday Funday was definitely my favorite of the three.

FIVE.
Kind people and Starbucks cards.



Not to end this on a Debbie Downer note, but I feel like there is so much sadness and negativity in the world these days that when I was at work one day and opened an envelope to find this inside, I was beyond surprised. It's a reminder that there are still good people out there.

A new vendor sent this Starbucks card to me and included a little note. A portion of the note said "Your customer service skills are off the charts. From your first greeting, you have displayed a warm and welcoming disposition. You have continued to assist us in a professional, yet down to earth way. You are very knowledgeable and never seem too busy to assist us (yet we know you must have many other things to do). We are grateful for you!"

I was blown away. I don't even have words. To me, I'm just doing my job. I treat everyone with respect and help to the best of my ability. I don't think I'm doing anything special, but they wanted to let me know they appreciated it. And I appreciate that. Thank you notes are such a lost art. I almost feel like politeness is a lost art these days. I went out of my way that day to say "thank you" and "have a good day" to everyone I spoke to. We need to love more. We need to say thank you more. We should hold the door for people. We should tell people when we appreciate them. We should just smile and say hi. It takes just as much energy to be nice as it does to be mean. Let's choose to be nicer. Be more kind. Help each other. Come together to support each other.

Any food finds that you've been loving lately that I need to try?
Any good recipes recommendations you want to share?

Friday Favorites.

I've been wanting to share a few of my favorite things as of late, so I thought I would do that today. What better day than Friday for a little Friday Favorites post?

ONE.
The perfect door mat.

Anyone else a fan of online shopping? Just me? Well as of late I've had... a few packages showing up on our door step. In my defense, Amazon and Target like to ship things one at a time so I could have ordered three things and they ship in three packages, which really makes it look worse than it is. Or at least that's what I tell Seth. I'd love to get this door mat and maybe the FedEx and UPS man can help me out? I'm not sure where they'd hide the packages though, so maybe I should just be thankful that I usually get home before Seth does.

TWO.

Scholastic book orders.

I mentioned this on my Instagram stories a couple weeks ago, but did you all know that they still had Scholastic book orders?! I had NO idea! And maybe it's just because I didn't have a school age kid yet, but I remember having these when I was a kid and somehow I just assumed they didn't exist anymore! I was pleasantly surprised to see the order form in Mason's Friday Folder and happily looked through it (as did Mason!) to pick out some books to order for him.

THREE.

New black cardigan.

I recently bought this sweater from Old Navy and loved it so much, I bought one in gray too. And now that I went back to get the link, I kind of love it in maroon too and might need that one as well. It's so soft, the length is perfect, and the pockets make it wonderful. I highly recommend it!

FOUR.

Mason's school picture.

Mason got his very first (non-preschool) school picture taken a couple weeks ago and we recently got it back. Funny enough, this is not how I sent him to school that day. I dressed him in a super cute button down shirt (that he told me he hated) and I begged and BEGGED for him to keep it on JUST long enough for the picture and then... this. But you know what? At least he's smiling! I'm calling it a win.

FIVE.

Football season.

It's officially football season which means we've moved our cheering from the Angels to the Steelers! To be honest, I'm not even really sure how well they're doing since Mason has soccer on Sundays and it's almost always during game time, but from what I understand, I think they're doing pretty well. Regardless of the score though, I can't resist a good photo op when my boys are dressed alike :)

SIX.

Decorating for fall.

Speaking of football season, it's also fall which means I get to start decorating the house again! I just love decorating for the holidays and love it when everything is all festive, so when I found some goodies in the Target Dollar Spot, you better believe I snatched those babies up. The banner and the pumpkins on the TV stand all came from there and since this photo was taken, we've added some real ones as well. I'm also loving coming up with some "fall sayings" for my beloved letter boards!

SEVEN.

Decorating for Christmas.

One final thing... moving right along to Christmas here. I saw these at Target the other day and while I'm not really one to change bedding for the holidays, I just miiiiiiiight have to make an exception and get these for Mason. I mean... $19.99 and cars with trees on top? Sold. Take my money!

Happy Weekend!

Five Friday Favorites.

Hello Friday! It's been a fun week celebrating Mason's birthday and my niece's birthday, but I must admit, the birthday hangover is real and I am pretty excited that it's Friday and the weekend!

Today I wanted to share some of my favorite recent purchases with you. I currently own and love every single one of these items.

ONE.
Swim suits.

Merona High Neck One Piece

Merona Strappy Back One Piece

I don't think it's necessarily because I'm a mom, more because I'm not 100% comfortable showing off my mom bod and I could use to eat a few less Oreos before my body is bikini ready, so I decided to get some one piece swim suits for the summer. I rarely opt to go in the pool with Mason, mainly because I am not really all that comfortable in a swim suit, but I found a couple black (go figure - my "color" of choice) one pieces at Target that I LOVE. I own both of the above options and LOVE them. They are super flattering on!

Thank you to Sarah and this post for giving me the idea to check our Target's swim selection!


TWO.
Swim suit cover up.

Tie-Dye Cover Up

Now that I've got a swim suit that I plan to wear, I need something to cover it up as we walk to the pool, right? Right. That and we're going to Hawaii in a few months and I'm of course going to need one there too, right? Right. I don't normally shop at Macy's, but I saw a couple people rave about this cover up so I ordered it and I LOVE it!


THREE.
New sandals.

Sandals

Speaking of Macy's, I found that cover up but it didn't get my cart to enough to get free shipping, so I kept searching in hopes that I could find some new sandals. I wear my black ones almost every day, but I've been looking for brown/cognac ones for forever and thought these looked cute online. That and the $14 price tag not only got me to free shipping for my whole purchase, but $14 for sandals was right up my alley. I'm kind of picky about how my sandals look so I didn't have high hopes for these, but upon trying them on, I loved them too! I ordered them a half size up per the reviews and they fit perfectly.


FOUR.
New iPad case.

We recently got a new iPad and I knew we were going to need a case for it -- a protective case to keep my five year old from breaking it when (not if) he drops it. Since the iPad is pretty new, there still aren't a lot of options, especially from the big names that normally make super protective cases, so I searched on Amazon and finally found this one. We got it in the mail the other day and I LOVE it! I love the color, I love the protection, I love that it comes with a screen protector, I love the stand. I mean, we've only been using it for a short while, but so far I'd totally recommend it!


FIVE.
Over-the-sink dish drying rack.

Our new place's kitchen is A LOT smaller than our old place. We were using a dish drying rack that sat to the side of the sink in our old place, but because there is a lot less counter space here, I knew that wouldn't work. So I searched on Pinterest for space saving ideas and then I searched on Amazon for options and I found this over-the-sink dryer rack. We've been using it since we moved in almost two months ago and we LOVE it. It's pretty big and holds a bunch of stuff. It's also pretty strong. We've had no problem with storing pots and pans on it to dry. If you have a small kitchen or limited counter space, I'd highly recommend this!

And these are just a few of my recent deliveries! #oops #onlineshoppingaddict
Maybe I'll round up more favorites next week 😉

Five on Friday.

Happy Friday and Helllllllo long weekend! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about my four day weekend that is about to commence. I was really only supposed to have Tuesday off, but Mason's school is taking Monday AND Tuesday off for the holiday, so twist my arm, I'll take an extra day off. We currently have no specific plans for Monday besides enjoying our day together!

But before we start celebrating with red, white, and blue everything, here is a little randomness for your Friday.


ONE.
Letterboard accessories.

I was shopping for actual necessities at Target the other day when I came across these babies. You all know how much I LOVE my Letterfolk board and I literally almost bought one of each of these to spruce up my board. But somehow I managed to use some self control and I walked away... empty handed. Shocking I know. BUT before I walked away, I made sure to take a picture because I want to remember these! I mean, look how cute! I love the pop of color that they would add to the letter board!

TWO.
Scarf hanger.

Did you know that they make ACTUAL scarf hangers?! I had no clue until I stumbled upon this one at Target the other day! I've just been hanging mine on my "over the door hanger", but I may need to invest in one of these!

THREE.
Paw Patrol electric toothbrush.

So, we took Mason to the dentist a couple weeks ago (which was terrible, just like last time) and we found out that he has a cavity (#momfail). We brush his teeth every night BUT we've been using the non-fluoride toothpaste because basically the second that he puts the toothbrush in his mouth, he licks/swallows/eats the toothpaste. Seriously disgusting, but I guess it tastes... good? Kids are weird, so who knows, but anyway, I wanted to try to find a way to brush his teeth better. My friend suggested this toothbrush. I figured, hey, why not? It's Paw Patrol so I knew he'd love it and I know I feel like my teeth feel cleaner when I use my electric toothbrush, so I got one and Mason loves it! He still eats the toothpaste, but hey, I'll take the win where I can. We've also added using toothpaste with fluoride every other day because the dental hygienist said with the pea sized amount that we use anyway, it won't hurt him if he eats it.


FOUR.
A Walk to Remember Reunion?

Did anyone else love this movie as much as I did? Because I loved it. A LOT. Apparently it just hit it's 15 year anniversary and Mandy Moore hinted that there might be a reunion in the works. PLEASE. YES.


FIVE.
Microwave S'mores Cake.

via

I saw this microwave s'mores cake on Weelicious' website the other day and HOLY COW. Sign. Me. Up. I LOVE the Pioneer Woman's chocolate cake in a mug (made in the microwave!) so I totally have to try this! Microwave + s'mores = YES.

And on that note... I'm off to make some dessert! Happy Weekend and Happy 4th of July!

Fivin' on Friday.

Helllllloooo Friday! I look forward to this day every week and every week it takes forever to get here and then is gone in the blink of an eye.

Mason has the day off school today so we will be out and about, but before we get to the weekend, how about we talk about five random things, shall we?

ONE.
Hello Fresh wine.

I haven't scheduled a Hello Fresh box in a while, mainly because we were moving, but also because as much as I love them, they are kind of expensive. But then. Then I got this email the other day and it intrigued me! I looked in to it a bit more and sadly you can't get a bottle of wine delivered with your food shipment, but you can get a shipment of wine to your doorstep! I imagine its kind of like a wine club where they deliver wine to you (though I don't do that, so I don't fully know), but it sounds awesome!

Unfortunately you have to be home to sign, so unless I change my delivery day to Saturday, I'm going to have to hold off on this service for a while. Still super cool they offer it though!

PS In the last box that I ordered, there were 3 coupon codes for friends to try Hello Fresh and get one FREE box! (Offer valid for new customers only in the US (excluding HI and AK).) So, if anyone wants to try Hello Fresh out for free, leave me a comment below (make sure your email is associated with your account or leave your email in the comments) and I'll send you a free box coupon code! (First three people to leave a comment/their emails will be sent the coupon code.)

Disclosure: I'm sure I get something out of it if you sign up to get a free box, but the coupon doesn't specifically say... just an fyi ;)


TWO.
Dry Bar champagne.

At the risk of sounding like an alcoholic, I also got this email a couple months ago and was super excited about it! I mean... someone doing my hair and making me pretty AND I get a free glass of wine or champagne?! Sign. Me. Up. Now I need an excuse to go get my hair done!

THREE.
First Podcast.

I listened to my very first Podcast a couple weeks ago! Shocking, I know. I think I'm like the only one not listening to podcasts. Anyway, if you follow me on Instagram, you know my love for my Letterfolk letter board and guess what podcast was my first? The one on Joanna and Johnny - the owners and creators of Letterfolk. Yep, clearly I have a problem. BUT I will say that even though I don't plan to be a small business owner or an entrepreneur, I did think their podcast was super interesting and I would highly recommend it!

You can find it here if you're interested (#25 on the list from 4/17/17).


FOUR.
My new ring.







I feel kind of weird sharing pictures of my ring on the blog, but after I mentioned that I got a ring with Mason's birth stone in it, a bunch of people wanted to see pictures, so I thought I'd share here. I'd been wanting to get one of these for FOREVER (or well, more accurately, almost five years now I guess lol), but I couldn't find one that I loved. My engagement ring and wedding ring have a special design on the inside (you can see in the picture where I'm holding the rings and you can see the side) and they are also "square rounded" on the bottom, so none of the ones that I found that were pre-made would line up quite right for my liking. I'd find one and I'd like it, but I didn't love it. So, for Mother's Day-ish (I say ish because I got it before Mother's Day), I had one custom made to match my wedding ring, but with rubies (the birth stone for July). It was a bit more expensive than I thought it would be, but I will wear it forever and have since worn it every single day and LOVE it, so I think it was a good investment. I was wearing it below my wedding band, but my sister in law suggested it engagement ring, ruby ring, wedding ring, and I love it that way and have been wearing it that way ever since. I love having reminders of both of my boys with me at all times!


FIVE.
Cars 3 and Despicable Me 3.

I am irrationally excited about these two movies coming out. I seriously think I am more excited than Mason. Cars 3 comes out today and Despicable Me 3 comes out on the 30th and I'm super excited to take Mason to the theater to see them. He actually has the day off school today for a teacher in service day, so I took the day off work. Seth also has the day off since it's his 'every other Friday off' Friday off, but he has plans with his dad and he straight up said "you better not take Mason to see Cars 3 without me." LOL! Clearly we are more excited than Mason!

With that, here's hoping we make it to the movie theater this weekend!
Happy Weekend and Happy Father's Day!

[Five on Friday] This and That.

Hello Friday!!! I've been waiting for you all week. It is Friday, isn't it? Goodness I was confused yesterday and thought it was Monday again after working last week Monday - Saturday and then again Sunday - Tuesday with a random Wednesday off in the middle for a funeral and back to work yesterday. It's been a whirlwind!

I feel like I've had a Friday Favorites type post in the works for a while, like I have TONS of random to share, yet all of a sudden, I can't think of anything. I really need to start a list. I'm old.

Let's start with what I'm most excited about...

ONE.
Museum of Ice Cream.

Yes, you read that right. A WHOLE museum dedicated to ICE CREAM! Sadly it's only in LA for a short time and they only have a certain amount of tickets a day so I'm not sure if I will get to check it out, but their Instagram makes it look epic. I mean, there's a pool full of SPRINKLES!


TWO.
The Postal Project Instagram.

In my Instagram browsing the other day, I found this account. I mean, how perfect, right?! I've been debating posting, but most of the pictures are JUST the post office and I like Mason to be in the picture and also, I don't necessarily want to post the city I live in. Maybe I'll hit up a local city's post office and then post it for them to add!


THREE.
Key hook.

We're moving in about a month (long story, not sure if I'll share it on the blog or not, but same city, different place) and when we were looking at places, we saw this on the wall at once of them. I secretly loved it, but didn't say anything about it, and apparently so did Seth because he took a picture! I thought maybe it was from Pottery Barn, but I looked on the website and didn't see anything like it. Does anyone know where I could get something like this? Or maybe a little smaller?


FOUR.
Ausome Sauce.

My boss told me about this news story that she saw and then I saw them post about it on Instagram as well. This boy has autism and is an entrepreneur. He makes his own sauce that he called Ausome Sauce (autism/awesome combined). He has a passion for cooking and actually has a local restaurant sell and USE his sauce at the restaurant. Seriously such an inspiring story. There really is no limit to what you can do when you put your mind to it.


FIVE.
Loft shirt.

I got this Loft shirt the other day (in two colors because I loved it so much!) and had to share. I don't know if you've ever tried the Lou and Grey line at Loft, but it is amazing. I'm obsessed. The shirts are seriously SO soft and so comfortable, but are also sadly so expensive. I happened to be coerced (they didn't have to try very hard lol) by my sister in law, mother in law, and niece the other day to tag along with them and go to Loft when they were having a sale. Lou and Grey is rarely on sale, but I happened to get lucky and pick a shirt that was a part of the sale. They had this green color in my size in store (50% off!) and then I was able to order a ship-to-home of the gray color and get the sale price AND free shipping! #winning . I've been wearing them non stop since the gray one has come... at least once a week (sometimes more if I do a mid-week load of laundry)!

Happy Friday!

Five on Friday.

Happy Friday!!! I decided to take today off as I am currently coming off of a 12 day in a row work week (work weeks?) and decided I could use a day off. At this point, I'm not really even sure what day it is, let alone what day of the week it is, but according to the calendar, today is in fact Friday, so I thought I would share five random things with you.


ONE.
Despicable Me 3

The day after Christmas, we went to see the movie Sing. The movie was super cute and the kids all enjoyed it; however, I thought it was a little long for a kids movie. BUT, having said that, one of the previews for the movie was Despicable Me 3. Normally I'm either SUPER in to the movies on the trailers or SUPER anti the movies on the trailers. This movie? I'm super in to! I bet I am more excited than Mason, but I can't wait for this movie to come out this summer! I loved the first two (Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2) as well as the Minions movie, so I know we will be taking Mason to see this in theaters!

TWO.
Blue Apron vs Hello Fresh.

I decided to try out one of these meal delivery services. And by I... I mean, I decided that Seth would try it out (lol). But really, I did consult him before ordering, especially since I was volunteering him for the unknown. I've been getting tons of coupons in the mail for Blue Apron, but read this review from Carolina Charm on her experience with Hello Fresh and Blue Apron and so I was torn. Since the coupon that I most recently got in the mail from Blue Apron doesn't expire until February, I thought I would try Hello Fresh first since she seemed to lean towards liking that one more. Our first box comes next week and I'll for sure report back on how we like it (maybe after I get the other one too so I can compare?). Has anyone ever tried either service? Likes? Dislikes? I thought if nothing else, I would use the discount and try out the service and maybe get some new recipes that we could add into the rotation of the same five meals a week :)


THREE.
Girl Scout Cookies New Flavor.

via

I heard on the radio the other day that the Girl Scouts were coming out with some new cookies this year. As a Girl Scout cookie lover, I was intrigued. And then they said the magic word -- S'MORES. And not only one kind, there's TWO. Oh man am I in trouble. I am SUCH a sucker for s'mores!


FOUR.
JulieAnnArt Valentine's Day Cards.

all images from JulieAnnArt

One of my favorite shops on Etsy is JulieAnnArt. Her tagline is "straight forward sentiments" and her cards are seriously SO funny. I would buy one of each for every occasion. I can't remember how I first found her, but I follow her on Instagram as well. I love that her cards are meaningful, yet funny, and lighthearted and can make a serious situation just a little bit lighter. My current favorites are all her Valentine's Day cards! I might or might not have bought Seth one of the above cards for Valentine's Day.


FIVE.
Valentine's for Mason's School.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I was searching Pinterest the other day for things to do for Mason for his school (you know, TRYING to be proactive and start early this year) and I found tons of cute things but then... I was at Target the other day and saw these Paw Patrol valentines and I was done. I wanted it to be non-candy and the puzzle just seemed so fun and I was SOLD. Sometimes you just have to take the easy way out and give yourself some grace. But then I didn't know what to get his teachers... I'm sure they'll get TONS of candy, but really, who doesn't love these Lindt balls? #iknowido

And that's all for today! Have a great weekend!