Thankfully my mom is still in town (she’s leaving on Sunday) and having her here to help with Chase when I was feeling a little under the weather was such a blessing! Spending time with my mom during her visit is what I am loving most this week, but in true Friday fashion, below you will find a list of a few other small things that are making me smile in your weekly Things I’m Loving Friday blog post. As always, I’d love to read a little bit about what you are loving in the comments section of this post!
Things I’m Loving Friday
- Sunflowers
I’m convinced sunflowers are the happiest flowers on the planet and something about a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers always makes me smile. They remind me of summertime and my sister (they’ve always been her favorite) and I couldn’t resist picking up a small bouquet of the beautiful flowers when they were on sale at Whole Foods last week. They’re still going strong a week later! Fresh flowers are definitely one of those little indulgences that lead to big happiness for me.
- Hand-Me-Down Clothes From Friends
I feel so lucky to have met some wonderful women through my local Burn Boot Camp and I recently received the sweetest gift from one of the moms who also brings her little ones to BBC childcare regularly. She’s the mom of twin boys and was kind enough to give me three bags of adorable clothes that no longer fit her boys. Chase has already been sportin’ some of the cute summer clothes and since he seems to grow out of his clothes in a flash, I’m grateful to have a handful of clothes in the next few sizes on hand for Chase as he continues to get bigger.
When I first blogged about adding collagen into my diet for a myriad of benefits (—> promotes hair/nail growth, reduces wrinkles, improved digestion, helps joint and cartilage health, provides a boost of protein and lots of amino acids), I said I heard great things about the solubility of the green container of Great Lakes collagen but I was still using the orange container. Since I typically add a tablespoon of collagen to my morning cup of coffee, I had to stir it like crazy to keep it from getting thick and gelatinous which worked fine but I decided to give the green container a go after reading rave reviews and it’s WAY better. A tablespoon of the collagen dissolves into my coffee in an instant and is completely undetectable. I still owe you guys a more detailed blog post about collagen and changes I’ve seen, so stay tuned for that in the coming weeks!
- The Olympic Trials
I have been loving watching the Olympic trials and am constantly amazed with the talent level of the athletes in this country. The summer Olympics are the best – I was a diver in high school and diving and gymnastics have always been my favorite sports to watch – and watching athletes who train so hard for these events achieve their goals and put everything on the line is so inspiring and exciting. I can’t wait for the Olympics to begin in August!
I’ve been ordering healthy food and household staples from Thrive Market (<—affiliate link!)for quite a while now and love the awesome discounts I continue to find on some of my favorite organic and non-toxic products. My most recent order arrived this week and included coconut oil, coconut oil cooking spray, EPIC bars (<—think high-protein jerky bars), maple syrup and dish soap – all available from Thrive Market for significantly less (typically 25-50% less) than what you’d find at your local grocery store! Just in case you haven’t heard of Thrive Market yet, I wanted to put it on your radar because it’s a great resource I use regularly to save money on healthy staples! The site is a membership site, but your first month is free and after that it’s only $59.95 for the year which I easily made up for in savings after a couple of orders. I also love that Thrive Market donates a free annual membership to a low-income family for every membership purchased through their site.
- Fourth of July Weekend Sales
Here’s a short roundup of some awesome sales happening this weekend that might be of interest:
Kate Spade: Up to 50% off plus + extra 30% off all sale with code SUNSHINE (Love this wristlet for only $35!)
Anthropologie: Extra 30% off sale with code EVENBETTER
LOFT: 50% off everything + Free shipping with code JULY4TH
Sephora: Choose 1 of 4 deluxe samples with $25 purchase with code SPARKLE
Minted: 15% off select items with code JULY4 (I gave Ryan one of their framed photo art gifts for Father’s Day and he loved them!)
Macy’s: 20% off + free shipping on orders $50+ with code FOURTH
- Friday Flashbacks
Edamame and Black Bean Salad (Sharing this recipe just in case you need a delicious recipe for a Fourth of July BBQ! This one is always a crowd pleaser and requires minimal chopping.)
At Home Jumping Jacks Circuit Workout (A quick 30-minute workout you can easily do at home!)
Question of the Week
- What is one thing you are loving this week?
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I have a big time love for sunflowers too!! They are SO bright and cheery!
Would love a post on collagen. I’ve tried it & know most people rave about its goodness. Unfortunately, I can’t use it. It must mess up my hormones because it totally delays my period by at least a week. Also very strange, it makes my teeth hurt terribly! I’ve tried it several times now & always have those same 2 symptoms. While I love what it does for my hair, I don’t think I’ll be using it anytime soon. I may try the other brand I’ve seen some bloggers using though.
I would like to hear your take on collagen, it has really helped quite a lot. I also always hear other bloggers/podcasts talking about its benefits but they don’t actually mention what it has done for them in particular. It would be interesting to hear!
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/07/01/be-my-bridesmaid/
I love haven fresh flowers, I always get mini carnations, but the sunflowers look gorgeous. I have always thought of trying Thrive Market, good to hear you’ve been able to save some money using it. Have a great 4th weekend!
Your sunflowers are so pretty! I wish I could have more flowers in my house but with three cats who love to not only knock them over but eat them its just not possible!
Thanks for sharing about the sales! I would also love to hear more about collagen – I’ve been reading about it on blogs but to be honest it kind of weirds me out to think about eating it. But I bet I can be persuaaded!
I’ve been loving getting back into my workout routine after two weeks of the flu and then cold. Slow going, but it feels good to move! Hope you feel better!
I”m a huge flower person too! Although I don’t buy them very often. when I do they always make me smile when I walk past and see them.
Relaxing sounds good to me! We have tickets for the Knights Game on the 4th !! I am so excited since we are taking Ollie with us. My 1st Knights Game was with my Dad on the 4th. So it will be nice to start that tradition maybe. We will see how Mr. Ollie does at a game/fireworks! (cross out fingers!!). Hope you have a Wonderful holiday weekend with you family! I love seeing the Snaps of Chase, keep them coming!
Have fun at the game, Nikki!!! And feel free to send me snaps of your little one! I always love baby/dog snaps!! <3
David Boudia!! Sorry, David and Steele are from Purdue, my alma mater, and I get so proud seeing how much they’ve accomplished for all of their hard work!
He is SO talented!!!
Fresh flowers are my favorite too! I love picking some up at the farmer’s market. I’ve heard a little bit about Thrive but I was never really sure what it was. I’ll have to check it out!
Hand-me-downs are the BEST! Kids grow like weeds so I don’t love buying brand new clothes for them! I’ve been so blessed by other mommas that I can’t wait to one day pass down all our baby gear to someone who needs it! 🙂 I’m totally loving the POOL this week! We’ve gone swimming almost ever day and it is so fun to watch my kids have an absolute blast!
I was a diver and a gymnast so those are my favorite sports to watch! When the gymnastics trials were on I rushed home from work so I wouldn’t miss one minute haha!
They are so incredible!
Do you have a video of you diving somewhere?! That would be pretty cool to see. Have an awesome holiday weekend. Can’t wait to hear about it!
I’m definitely interested in hearing more about the collagen and your experience.
We’re anxiously awaiting the Olympics also; a swimmer from my hometown qualified last night, so these games will be extra exciting!! 🙂 Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Ahhh ever since you mentioned the collagen, I went ahead and ordered the green one! I have been drinking it in my morning matcha everyday (and literally am currently sipping on an iced matcha latte with the collagen in it!) and I’ve definitely noticed subtle but helpful changes. Got to also love that extra protein boost! With my inflammatory side effects of my autoimmune disease issues, I will gladly take anything that helps calm things down and I’ve noticed this helps the occasional joint pain that comes up too, along with improvements to my skin health, thank GOODNESS!
Thanks for sharing, Julie, and hope you have a great holiday weekend! Hopefully that bug is cleared from your system to enjoy the festivities!
I’m loving the circut cardio workout you just posted! I completed it this morning and was drenched in sweat, and it felt so good! Thanks for sharing! : )
Where is the lamp from in the picture with the sunflowers?
HomeGoods!
Definitely need to get a tub of the green container with my next iherb order!
Hand me down clothes are the best! We received a big box of clothes from a friend at church this week as well. I do not think I’ve bought our boy 5 new outfits! I am thankful for all the clothes too! I underestimated the drool!
I also would love to hear your collagen benefits. I bought he green can but haven’t started using it yet.
I’m rooting for David Boudia!
Did you take the collagen when you were pregnant? I’m 25 weeks along and this sounds like something I want to try! Everything I’ve read online says it is safe…
I didn’t take it while I was pregnant but I would ask my doctor and consider continuing it in the future if we get pregnant again!
Thrive Market seems like such a great deal, but is it possible to see whether you’ll make up the membership cost if you mostly order certain items? That’s what stops me!
I think you can see how much the retail value is of the items and how much Thrive Market sells them for and compare? That might be helpful!
Okay the fact that your friend organized the hand me downs using cardboard divides is adorable! What a great idea! I need to try Thrive Market stat.
A little chlorine bleach in the water makes ? sunflowers last longer!!!
…my mom swears by that.
Really!? I’ve never heard of that!
My grandfather was a veggie farmer … and my grandma on other side spent summers in country.
Found this — read about it here
http://www.sunflowerselections.com/what-technique-gives-optimum-sunflower-vase-life/
I know this is an older post from a few weeks ago, but my family just suffered the flu bug all last week (first my 21 month old daughter brought it home from daycare, and then my hubby got it). Since I know you and Ryan ended up getting sick earlier this month, I thought I would ask you how you went about disinfecting your home with a baby around. Pre-babies (and I am also currently 35 weeks pregnant), I would douse my house in either bleach or lysol, but I tend to be more health conscious now that I have a toddler (and am also pregnant). What was your method of cleaning and disinfecting your house (i.e. what products did you use)? I used lysol in our master bedroom where my hubby was, and he ended up cleaning our bathroom with bleach, but with my daughter’s stuff I used limited lysol in the air in her room, and then I used the Thieves essential oil on her toys, crib, etc. Just seeing what other people do because asking google isn’t so easy sometimes. Thank you in advance!