Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

Short and sweet this week because your girl is booked and busy.  This week was our middle school spirit week and I've been running around like crazy doing #allthethings

Monday was House color day so I had to wear every house color to be as impartial as possible ;) 

glasses/headband

Apple Cider Cake

I made this apple cider cake a couple of weekends ago and it lasted about 2 days in my house ;) I've made it twice since then and this is the best picture I have because it goes that fast.  It's the PERFECT early Fall dessert!

SaturDAY In The Life

This past Saturday I decided (on a whim) to take pictures and do a DITL post since it's been a hot minute since I've done one!

Griffin had an 8 am dance rehearsal so I was up around 7:30 to help her pull her hair into a bun before Dave took her to the studio.  While they were gone I gathered up some laundry....

Amazon Lately

 We're deep in the throes of school spirit weeks and Homecoming and all the fun things so my list is extra fun today!

Griffin has been working on her core and balance for cheer and when I saw this stunt trainer I knew that she'd love it.  She can practice some of the skills she's working on at home, while watching TV, etc.  She loves it and LOVES the sparkles! If you have a cheerleader this would make a perfect Christmas gift!

G and I both LOVE the Gimme beauty hair ties and I just reordered a set because we're down to our last couple ;) 

Luke and Mason are both in Student Government and needed Buddy the Elf costumes for something next week.  These onesies were the only ones I cold find in both of their sizes that didn't have the shoes priced separately (which, according to them both, are a MUST).  I know one day I'll miss things like this! hahahaha

Griffin got a Hally hair gem applicator and gems for camp in the summer and needed a refill of the gems for our spirit week...

.... and I ordered another set of clip in extensions and love them just as much as the red, white and blue ones I used earlier in the year. They're such an inexpensive and fun way to participate in a theme day and I love that I can reuse them!

 

Y'all know that we do special ornaments to commemorate things that have happened in our family over the year and this birkensock ornament DEFINITELY sums up this past year with all three of our kids ;) 

This is such a random recommendation - but these tissues are an absolute essential for me and are something that I am going to recommend any chance I get. hahaha They smell SO STRONG so if that Vicks smell helps you out but you don't want globs of vapo-rub on your face these are for you!  Just breathing them in helps clear some of my congestion and I can't live without them in the Fall/Winter.

Another "spirit week" purchase - these gold glitter speckles landed in my cart for cheer and spirit days.

HAPPY Tuesday, friends!!!

Halloween Touches

 It's October which means my Halloween touches are out and I'm LOVING IT!  I've definitely gone more neutral over the years and have pared down my decor quite a bit, but couldn't be happier with it! 

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

First up on my list of FAVORITES is the best birthday celebration idea of all time! A few weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a reel showing an "anything but a birthday balloon" idea and I knew EXACTLY who I wanted to do it for.  Our middle school admin assistant has a summer birthday which means we don't get to celebrate her actual birthday or her half birthday since it's over Christmas break so we surprised her with a 1/4 birthday celebration and it was SO MUCH FUN!

Baked Potato Soup

I first shared this recipe 11+ years ago and to this day it's still one of my family's favorite soups.  This soup is hearty and rich and NOT part of any diet plan, but sooooooooo worth it when it's cold outside and you're craving some crazy good soup.

Seasonal Puzzles

 So this may be the most niche post of all time but I am SO EXCITED because I'm not sure there's anything I love more than a seasonal puzzle. I'm super picky about puzzle designs and feel like I've curated my preferred brand list down to *chef's kiss* so here we go with my seasonal recommendations in case you like to have a fun puzzle going on your table at all times but especially during the "ber" months ;)

I literally can not with this Halloween puzzle.  I ordered it as soon as I saw it and can't wait to do it!

Meal Planning - JUST DO IT

 I've had several questions about meal planning lately (typical for the start of a school year) and what a week of meals looks like at our house and so I thought I'd share my process and a few little tips and tricks that I use.  

First of all - I was anti-meal planning for YEARS but then it got to a point where I literally dreaded dinnertime not because I hate cooking (I actually love to cook), but because of the mental energy I was spending figuring it out every single day to say nothing of the grocery trips, etc.  

I decided just to suck it up and be a grownup and start meal planning and it has been the BIGGEST HELP OF ALL TIME! It's such a streamlined process now and we're not making 5 trips to the grocery store every week and while it feels like "a lot" to plan it every week it really takes the guesswork out daily which was my big struggle. 

Weekend Happies

Happy Monday! Today I'm sharing a few "weekend happies" because I can't wait until Friday to share ;) hahaha

This weekend was McKinney's Oktoberfest festival and Frank competed in the weenie dog races!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us every week.  Make sure that you're grabbing our graphic, linking back to us and sharing your own Friday Favorites post ;)

Short and sweet again because this week has been BUSY and your girl is tired!

Chapel this week was a FAVE...

Homemade Hamburger Helper

I made this for lunch last Saturday and all three of my kids gobbled it up. It was quick and easy and one pot which I LOVE! This is on my keeper list and think it should be on yours too!