Things I’m Loving Friday #587

Friday is here and, along with it, some H-O-T weather. Our big kids will be playing soccer tonight in 85-degree sunshine and likely sweatin’ up a storm. Is the weather all over the place where you are? We had 50-degree days on Monday and Tuesday and then BAM. Such is spring in Charlotte, I guess.

As for the weekend, it’s another sports-filled weekend with some Easter egg hunts and dog training sprinkled in. I hope to share more on Monday but until then, keep on scrolling for this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style.

Things I’m Loving Friday

• JUNO Clean 10 Cleansing Balm

Okay friends, THIS is a recommendation I’m particularly excited about. You know the ELEMIS cleansing balm I’ve loved for years? The fragrance-free version? I saw JUNO Clean 10 Cleansing Balm pop up on Amazon and it seemed so, so similar. It claimed to melt off makeup and I loved that it’s made with only 10 clean ingredients and (drumroll please), it’s only $12.74!!! Whaaaat!? Compared to the much heftier price tag of ELEMIS ($70+), I figured it was worth a shot. And you guys, it’s fantastic and works the same way as the ELEMIS balm. I massage it gently onto my face (without water) to begin to dissolve my makeup. I then add a splash of warm water to emulsify and then wipe everything away with a damp washcloth. It’s been such a great find I’ve already ordered 3 times!

• Absolutely Mindy Radio Show (Sirius XM)

There is so much we love about The Absolutely Mindy morning radio show. We’ve been avid listeners for years and I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to give it a dedicated TILF shout-out. Clearly that had to change! The show is upbeat and joyful and does the best job at inspiring fun and silly conversations between me and the boys on the way to school. The host, Mindy, is so creative and original in her topics and just a little ray of sunshine! It’s truly the only reason we keep our Sirius XM subscription. If you have Sirius, you can listen to it every weekday morning on channel 134 from 7-10am(ish).

• Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

Genre: Romance / My Rating: B+ 

Woo-weee that was a steamy one! I adore Ali Hazelwood’s romance novels and the way they often marry the worlds of academia or science with romance and light beachy reads. After Pepper died, I was in no place for a heavy novel and when this one became available through my local library, I immediately dove in. It was a fun little escape of a book though it admittedly did have a bit of an “ick” factor you may have to overcome at times as there is a 15 year age difference between the two main characters. (The author does her darndest to squash this, especially making sure to reiterate there was no romantic interest when the main woman was a minor.) It wasn’t my favorite Ali Hazelwood novel but if you like her other books, you’ll find this one enjoyable as well (and may recognize some characters if you’ve read Not In Love).

From Amazon: Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists. When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

• Amazon Big Spring Sale 2026

Earlier this week, I spent some time combing through Amazon’s Big Spring Sale and have some of the stand-out deals listed below. I’m only highlighting items we have and love (or items I bought) and I take your trust in my recommendations seriously. It’s me behind all of these links (still a one woman show over here) and that feels important to me, as I know there are so many people with teams behind them selecting links for big sales like this. I really hope this is helpful to anyone out there looking to do a little springtime shopping or even some Easter basket prep for next month!

Kids

• Watermelon Ball Pool Toy: The BEST pool toy! Our boys flip for it and kids at the pool always want to play with it. You can pass and bounce the ball underwater! We have both sizes and they tend to play with the smaller (6.5”) size more.
• Glow in the Dark Zip String: I’ve heard the BEST thing about Zip Strings and got the glow-in-the-dark version for our boys’ Easter baskets.
• Maamgic Swim Trunks: These pass the hand-me-down test and the compressive layer helps with chafing if you have especially active kids who like to run on the beach.
• Magentic Tiles Idea Book: I put this in the boys’ Easter basket last year and it breathed new life into their magnetic tiles!
• Adidas Crew Socks: $10 for 6! Chase has these and they’ve held up well.
• Peeps Eggmazing Rotating Egg Decorator: 10/10 recommend for easy egg decorating. All 3 of our boys think it’s the coolest.
• Llama Naturals Organic Kids Gummy Multivitamin: The gummy vitamin our boys have taken daily for years. They have no added sugar and great ingredients.
• Genius Square: A dice-rolling puzzle game that’s been a big hit with our big kids.
• Bentgo Kids’ Lunchbox: The best preschool/kindergarten lunchbox all of our boys used for years. (Rhett is still using his!)
• Walk the Dogs: One of our all-time favorite games to play!
• Beat the Parents: Our big kids beg us to play this one and it always results in a LOT of laughs. (It’s also a blast to do with grandparents!)
• Small Glider Airplane: A slam-dunk for any Easter basket! And they’ve shockingly survived in our house with 3 boys for years!

Fashion

• Leopard Drawstring Pants: Such a flattering fit and very comfy. You may see them on me here.
• Matching Set: One of my favs. Comfy enough for all-day travel and super cute for mom life, too! See it on me here.
• True & Co. Bra: My all-time favorite bra for years. Zero digging + the most comfortable fabric.
• Flowy Maxi Dress: The one we all love so much!! Lots of patterns (I have two!) and you may see it on me here.
• Printed Wrap Skirt: Such a cute find with Farm Rio vibes for $14! You may see it on me here. (I’m in a medium.)
• Colorful Gemstone Necklace: So fun for spring/summer. I’ve worn this in the pool multiple times and its held up well.
• Track Pants: A fun take on athleisure. A great athletic pant to wear when I’m running around after the boys. See them on me here.
• Dolman Sleeve Tee: Comfy and flattering and only $12! See it on me here.
• Stripe Drawstring Pants: I adore the fit of these pants. You may see them on me here.
• Flowy Caftan: You won’t find a more comfortable caftan! You may see it on me here.
• SOJOs Sunglasses: One of my all-time fav pairs of sunglasses — only $13.75! See them on here.
• Longline Sports Bra: I have this in two colors and it’s so comfortable and flattering. I sized up!
• Stripe Button-Down: Light and breezy and a favorite of mine for spring.
• Heart Charm Necklace: I love this one for adding interest to an outfit.

KITCHEN

• Glass Oil Sprayer/Pourer: I haven’t bought a spray can of oil in years! This works so, so well. (The “oil” word on the front is a sticker I just left off for a plain look.)
• Rubbermaid Brilliance Glass Food Storage Containers: The leak-proof glass food storage containers we’ve had and loved for years. They’ve held up great!
• Rotary Cheese + Veggie Grater: I use this multiple times a week to grate or thinly slice everything from cheese and carrots to zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers and more. (It’s so helpful for incorporating veggies into pasta sauce.) And all parts can go in the dishwasher so it’s super easy to clean.
• Epicurean Cutting Board: Thin, non-toxic, dishwasher safe and non-porous so it doesn’t retain smells/flavors. There’s a clickable coupon available for this one which is a rarity as I’ve never seen a discount offered on these cutting boards.
• Our Place Personal Blender: This price is fantastic!!! I recently ordered this smaller size blender and it’s increased the number of smoothies I make by a lot! I love that you blend everything in the same vessel you use to drink your smoothie. It’s ideal for a make-and-take smoothie and very high powered. It’s also great for sauces and salad dressings.
• Geometry Kitchen Towels: 2-packs of my fav kitchen towels on sale!
• Ice Cream Maker: This is the one we’ve had for 10 years! It’s fantastic.
• Garbage Disposal Cleaner Tablets: Random but we needed it so I ordered!
• Meat Thermometer: So helpful, especially for anyone who gets extra freaked out by the possibility of undercooked chicken like me.

HOME

• Driveway Pickleball Net: 10/10 recommend! Our kids use ours all the time for pickleball, tennis and lots of made-up games.
• Stanley Soft Cooler: My favorite cooler for carting around kid lunches and snacks, especially in the summer. The mini size can hold 3 Bentgo lunchboxes if you use it with these slim icepacks.
• Velvet Jewelry Pouches: So handy for travel! I fill these pouches with my jewelry and then just toss them into a larger pouch. It prevents everything from getting tangled and feels much more organized.
• Joseph Laundry Hamper: I know it’s weird to geek out over a laundry hamper but I love ours so much. It’s beautiful and I love that you can section off clothes and pull individual sections out when you’re ready to wash them. I paid over $100 for ours so I’m a little jealous of this deal!
• Nodpod: A game changer for my middle-of-the-night wakeups. The gentle pressure is so soothing and truly makes a difference in my sleep. I use it every single night and have gifted it a bunch as well — all to rave reviews. A great Mother’s Day gift idea!
• Mesh Pouches: My organizational must-have. I use them to organize everything from electronics junk drawers to keeping things separated and organized during travel, etc. Mom tip: The big pouches hold a LOT of Hot Wheels cars.
• Carbon Monoxide Detectors: One of my middle-of-the-night mom anxiety purchases.
• Beckham Hotel Collection Pillows: I took advantage of a Black Friday sale on these pillows for our guestroom after reading the thousands of positive reviews and they feel wonderful.
• Kid Craft Storage Bin: The one with the sections tall enough for markers and colored pencils.
• Portable Charger: Small but mighty! And I love that it shows you how much power it has in it.

Beauty

• JUNO Clean 10 Cleansing Balm: The cleansing balm mentioned above! Melts makeup right off your face and reminds me of ELEMIS naked cleansing balm but for a fraction of the price.
• Timeless Vitamin C Serum: Apparently the patent on the $100+ Skinceuticals CE Ferulic serum (which I tried and loved but couldn’t justify the cost for repeat purchasing) is up and this is a fantastic swap! I ordered it because this price point is unreal and I’ve seen at least 3 dermatologists I follow on Instagram highly recommend it.
• ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wipes: I use one after I wake up every single morning.
• Paula’s Choice Exfoliant: I truly believe this has made a difference in my skin clarity, texture and coloring. I use it 2-3x a week so it lasts forever.
• PUR Eyelash Primer: A clean beauty find I apply before mascara for longer, fluffier lashes.
• Julep Eyeshadow Stick: I run this overtop my eyeliner to lessen its severity and make it look a little more smudgy/soft.
• BaBylissPRO Blow Dryer: I’ve had mine for over a decade! It uses ionic and porcelain technology to help hair dry faster with less damage than traditional blow dryers. I swear it also makes my hair feel softer/silkier.
• Living Proof Triple Bond Complex: I use a pump of this every time I wash my hair after I get out of the shower. I swear it has increased the strength of my otherwise fine and fragile hair.
• Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip Stain:  The coolest lip stain! It adjusts to your own chemistry and provides a long-lasting, custom color that compliments your skin’s undertone.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What is one thing you’re loving this week?