Things I’m Loving Friday #601

Friday is here and with it the first full week back at school for all three boys is coming to a close. I’m so, so happy to report this week was a good one. Rhett marched into kindergarten like the confident little youngest brother he is, bouyed by feel of his big brothers at his side and the knowledge that his teacher was the same beloved teacher Ryder had before. We celebrated with after-school doughtnuts and lake swimming and eased back into the school year before the craziness of fall activities begins.

Our weekend ahead is relatively open but with super-hot temperatures raging right now, I’m sure we’ll spend most of our time in the pool or lake. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead and I’d love to see ya back here on Monday!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• This or That Day (Final Mom + Rhett Friday)

For the past few years, every Friday was a “Mom and Rhett” Friday, as the big kids headed off to school and Rhett’s preschool had off on Fridays. Our Fridays together were simple but wonderful in their simplicity. As Rhett’s first day of kindergarten approached, I realized our Fridays together were coming to a close. I found myself wanting to make our final “just the two of us” Friday feel a little extra special and figured he’d love a “This or That” day! When I mentioned the idea to Rhett last Thursday at bedtime, he absolutely lit up. He then started throwing out ideas for “this or that” choices and surprised me when his ideas were all simple but special things we’d do togehter on a typical Friday: A walk with Comet, board games, puzzles, baking something, building something, etc. I absolutely LOVED that this was where his head went because what better way to spend our final Friday together than to spend it doing all the things we’ve loved doing together for years? We filled our day with a scooter walk with Comet at a local park. We played Outfoxed for the 100th time. We curled up on the couch and flipped through a cookie cookbook until a recipe for edible cookie dough caught Rhett’s eye. We whipped up a batch, eating more than a few spoonfuls of dough when it was done. It was simple but it was special… just like all of our Mom and Rhetty Fridays.

• The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs

I think our boys have cracked the code on how to get sweet treats in their life on a regular basis: Just ask Mom if she wants to bake something together. I’ve always enjoyed baking and it’s something that all three boys seem to enjoy as well. From the mixing to the taste-testing to the finished product, baking is more than just making cookies or cakes together; it’s an activity, an experience and something we’ve loved doing together since the boys were young enough to stand by my side on their little kitchen helper cooking stand.

Fast foward to having three bigger kids in the mix and now they’re more proficient and more opinionated about what we make together. They love flipping through my collection of cookbooks for new recipes to try (Cookie Club is a recent addition we’re loving) and we’ve found a lot of favorite recipes this way! One cookbook they come back to time and time again is a cookbook I actually got for them: The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs. It’s easy to read and understand and packed with lots of kid-friendly recipes. We’ve made a ton of recipes from this cookbook and they all turn out so, so well! While the cookbook is a baking cookbook, it’s packed not only with sweet treats and desserts but rolls, pizza recipes and more savory baked goods as well. We’ve loved it!

• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / My rating: A- 

If only I’d finished reading this book before sharing my summer book rankings, this book surely would’ve claimed a top spot. What a cozy, warm hug of a book! This is another one that I read before bed and also listened to the audiobook version during my walks with Comet/household chores and I’m honestly not sure which version I preferred! (Meryl Streep is the narrator of the audiobook and of course does a phenomenal job.) The book is just a lovely escape of a novel but with plenty of intrigue sprinkled in as the narrator, a woman in her late 50s, recounts the summer she spent with a famous actor to her three adult daughters. There is so much warmth and love in this novel but the undercurrent of youth, young love and this missteps and lessons we learn along the way made this novel one I deeply enjoyed. About halfway through the book, I found myself texting my mom who gravitates toward mysteries above all other novels to please give Tom Lake a try because it felt like so much more than a woman’s story about her past. The mother-daughter relationship dynamic, the peek into an actor’s life, the way the book kept circling back to the play Our Town, the movie star intrigue, and the trusting, deep love between the narrator and her husband all swirled together to make Tom Lake a novel I absolutely loved from start to finish.

Note: My college friends and I were split on this one! One of my girlfriends described this book as “great storytelling, just no major excitement” when we were texting about it. Tom Lake is definitely more of a character development novel so keep that in mind because I can see how this book is one some would love and some would find borning. I’m in the L-O-V-E camp for sure!

• Tubing On the Lake!

 

At long last, the lake was high enough for us to get our boat out last weekend!!! Woop, woop! While we’ve absolutely made the most of a super-low lake this summer and still managed to swim and kayak, we’ve missed boating and jumping off our dock. When Ryan realized the recent thunderstorms we’ve had were enough to finally raise the lake level enough to get our boat out, our weekend plans were all but decided! We stopped by West Marine last Saturday morning and left with a giant tube, determined to get out on the water and whip the boys around! To say they had a blast would be a serious understatement and I don’t think I’ve smiled or laughed so hard this summer. We’re now planning to cram as much boating and tubing into our days as possible until the weather cools down. Bring it oooon!

• Weekend Sales + Fun Finds

50% off Lands’ End Backpacks with code FLANNEL: We’ve been so happy with the two backpacks we ordered for Rhett (this racecar one) and Ryder (this pop camo one) this year and I’ve heard nothing but great things about their durability. I think the sale pricepoint is so great for higher-quality backpacks.

Beyond Yoga Glowzone: Beyond Yoga’s new glowzone fabric is soft, smoothing and supportive without feeling restrictive. I was sent a few piece to try and can confrim they are wonderful!!! I have this top (in fuschia) and this top + coordinating leggings (in pine) and love them all! I also have and love these pants which remind me loosely of my beloved RUTI pants but with a wide (but not too wide) leg versus a barrel fit.

20% off Material: If you love Epicurean cutting boards like I do, I think you’ll love these as well. I ordered this one when I was looking for a non-toxic, super-slim, non-porous and dishwasher safe larger cutting board with a lip to catch juices from fruit, meat, etc. and have really loved it.

End of Summer Sale at Athleta: I prefer a slightly longer 4” inseam on my short and ordered 2 pairs of these after seeing them on one of my friends. I also ordered this pullover because I cannot resist a little matchy-matchy coordination.

New Corkcicle Designs: I love this mug for COLD beverages (my daily afternoon kombucha, iced matcha latte, etc.) and have two! They just launched a few new designs and I think this Rifle Paper Co. Halloween mug is so fun for fall + this floral print is so cute and feminine.

• Friday Flashbacks

Favorite Home + Kids Finds of 2025 (Some home + kid gems we discovered and loved last year!)

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins (Easy to make and easy to grab for busy weekday mornings + snack time!)

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What is one thing you’re loving this week?