Things I’m Loving Friday #575

Friday is here!? Anyone doing anything fun today? This weekend? We have a weekend filled with kid birthday parties on the agenda but we’re also hoping to spend a lot of time outside because woohoo for sunny + 70-degree weather, especially after we had quite the cold front come through (I actually loved it).

As for today, let’s get right to the fun stuff and dive into this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Slow Roll Christmas Decorating

I began doing this last year and I am now convinced this is the only way I’ll tackle holiday decorating in the future. Rather than spend an entire day/weekend decorating for Christmas, it’s been sooo much nicer to simply tackle 1-2 boxes of Christmas decorating every day for a week or so. When we moved houses, I got better about specifically labeling our holiday decor (aka “Christmas living room” versus just “Christmas”) which makes it infinitely easier to pick a box for a specific area, carve out a little bit of time each day and go to down. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re someone who loves decorating for the holidays but have found yourself feeling a little overwhelmed by it at times, too.

• OPI Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around Nail Polish

(Nail Color: OPI / Tennis Bracelet: BaubleBar — I have the 1.5mm stones and love the delicate look. I haven’t taken it off since I got it and it’s held up perfectly. / Mini Gold + White Bead Bracelet: enewton) 

When fall and winter roll around, I immediately dive into dark nail colors and then, inevitably, get sick of them and want a break with something lighter… but not too summery, you know? I finally found the perfect fall/winter pink: OPI Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around. It has muted gray undertones that give it a cooler feel that seems more appropriate for fall and winter and looks absolutely gorgeous on the nail. This color will officially be in my regular rotation!

• Lake Norman Fishing Trip

Last weekend we had such a fun Sunday! We headed out on Lake Norman with Captain Clint of Carolina Blue Guides for a half-day fishing trip!

 

(Denim jacket is a J.Crew Factory find with the perfect subtly oversized fit that doesn’t look sloppy. I’m in a small and it easily fits over sweatshirts nad sweaters.) 

Chase wanted to book this trip for Ryan for his birthday after one of his best friends raved about it and all the giant catfish he caught. Since Chase and Ryan share a love of fishing, I thought it would be a great gift and we could not have had a better experience with Captain Clint!! We caught 40+ perch (a handful of which we kept to donate to the raptors at the Carolina Raptor Center) and four large catfish. (And yes, catfish still majorly creep me out so I’d like some major mom points for booking this trip.) Clint was also so wonderful with our family and you can tell his passion for fishing is off the charts. He was patient and excited for our catches and even let us stay out for an additional 90 minutes longer than we had scheduled. If you’re local and love fishing, I cannot recommend him enough!

• Favorite Pen Restock!

I have no idea what the heck happened to all my favorite TUL gel pens but I just did a major restock earlier this week and I am so happy. A pen that writes like a dream is one of those little things that brings me a lot of joy and these are the very best! I discovered them years ago thanks to one of Ryan’s coworkers who let him keep the pen after he borrowed it and commented on how awesome it wrote. He knows I’m a pen nerd and brought it home knowing I’d love it and I ordered a pack so fast! I love including them in gift baskets (so cute with a little notepad or one of these stitched notebooks) and when I tell you I always hear back about these pens, I mean it! People love a good pen!!

• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / My Rating: B+

What a thoroughly entertaining read! I added this to my library holds list after one of you very highly recommended it and it’s the kind of novel that pulls you in from the very beginning. The story is told through a series of letters written by Sybil Van Antwerp, a woman in her 70s, to myriad of people of all ages. As Sybil says at one point, she finds that when you write someone a letter, most times they will write back, and the words she exchanges with people are filled with heart, humor, depth, vulnerability, growth and intrigue as you learn more about Sybil’s life and wonder where things are headed in her future.

(I would be remiss if I didn’t mention parts of the story center around Sybil’s loss of her son when he was 8-years-old which made my heart ache as a mother. I personally often avoid books where bad things happen to children so I just wanted to point this out as I didn’t know this would be part of the story when I began reading.)

• Friday Flashbacks

High Protein Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Because soup season is here!)

Pumpkin Icebox Cake (Such an easy dessert to make for Thanksgiving and a huge hit, especially with whipped cream lovers)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?