Things I’m Loving #500

Hello and Happy Things I’m Loving Friday #500! What in the world!? It’s crazy how time flies and it’s crazy to me that I’ve sat down at my computer and typed up 500 blog posts centered around sharing small things that make me smile every week. I’ve been writing these blog posts since we lived in Florida am especially grateful for those of you who tune in every week for this mini series and keep this tradition alive on my little corner of the internet. I appreciate you and hope you know that week after week you guys are one of the things I love most in my life.

As for this week, I think it’s going to end on a good note because we’re off to the mountains today! My friend Carrie a invited our gang to join her family at her parents’ mountain home and we cannot wait to fill our days with winter fun. We’re hoping to take the kids snow tubing (fingers crossed the rain stays away) and skiing but also plan to build in plenty of time to explore and simply hang out together. I cannot wait!

I’m hoping to recap our weekend adventures on the blog next week but until then, keep on scrolling for this week’s 500th roundup of favorites!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• ThriftBooks.com

I am likely very late to the party on this website but my sister turned me onto it over the holidays and it’s such a gem. Thriftbooks.com has a huge inventory of used books (many are practically brand new) and it’s quickly become a go-to site for me for certain kinds of books. I love book stores, libraries and the used books section of consignment stores and thrift shops but I admittedly read most of my books on my Kindle. (I never thought I’d be into an e-reader until my mom gave me her old Kindle after my second miscarriage and encouraged me to give it a try because reading was a source of peace and escape for me and I was devouring books faster than I could buy or borrow them.) That being said, I still constantly shop for (or borrow) certain kinds of books.

I love cookbooks, self-help books, devotionals and parenting books in real book form. They’re the kind of books I prefer to hold because I often like to mark them up, highlight certain passages, dogear pages or make notes to reference in the future. And children’s picture books are a must in real-book form for me because I love curling up on the couch or in our bed with the boys with a beautiful book in my hands and watching them react to the images on the pages. I’ve been so impressed with all of the books we’ve ordered from ThriftBooks.com and shipping is free over $15 and that’s an easy number to hit when you have a family of 5 who all love books! If you would like to shop ThriftBooks.com, my link will give us both a free book after a purchase of $30+. Happy reading!!!

• Cozy Fleece

(Fleece / Shoes / Socks / Leggings / Tank) 

It was such a dreary week in the Charlotte area this week. It rained every single day and the skies were gray but I felt like a little bit of sunshine found its way into my day when I threw this cozy bright orange fleece on over my tank top on Wednesday. It was the perfect outfit to wear to work from a coffee shop while the boys were at school because it was super comfy but still felt a little fun. Considering I had three people stop to ask where I got it on Wednesday, I figured it was worth sharing here as well! I know orange isn’t everyone’s favorite but it’s also available in pink and a bunch of neutrals as well (tan, black, navy and brown). Bonus: It’s 20% off today with a clippable coupon!

• Disney Clothing Roundup

A few of you asked me to share where I found the apparel our family wore during our Disney trip so if this was you, heeere ya go! A LOT of people told me to buy Disney apparel before visiting the parks because simple things like Mickey or Minnie ears will cost you a pretty penny if you wait until you step foot on Disney property. They were right and I checked the price tag on the Minnie ears that looked nearly identical to the $10 ears I purchased before our trip and they were $34.99 in our hotel gift shop! I bought most of our apparel for less than $20 (and even lucked out with 2 thrifted finds) and we were happy with everything we had! Was it necessary to wear Disney apparel during our trip? Absolutely not. Was it fun? Absolutely!

For me: Red Long-Sleeve Mickey Shirt (I actually wore this both park days because it was chillier than expected) / Minnie Mouse Ears / Minnie Bow Baseball Hat / Mickey + Minnie Patches (I did a little DIY and attached these patches to this puff heart bag for a little Disney flare!)

For Ryan: Goofy Movie Tee / Green Mickey Tee

For the Boys: Mickey Tee (Chase — I especially loved this one. The “Mickey” word is stitched and it felt like a great quality tee!) / Mickey Tee (Rhett + Ryder) / Mickey Sweatshirts (Ryder + Chase) / Mickey Sweatshirt (Rhett) / Mickey Baseball Tee (Ryder — another fav! Love the back!)

• Happy Place by Emily Henry

My rating: B-

This book was a slow burn for me. I thought it was a little slow to start and it took a little too long to pick up speed but I flew through the last third of the book and am glad I stuck with it. I know a lot of people love this book (and I’ve loved some of Emily Henry’s past novels!) but I was mostly frustrated by the fact that it took the two main characters a little too long to have a real, heartfelt conversation when they were alone together a lot. There was a lot of suspending belief which I’m typically okay with because readers are asked to do this a lot, but in this case it frustrated me because it felt unnatural for a couple who has been together for 8 years to not discuss something so huge between them. That being said, it was entertaining enough for me to finish but it would not fall in the “must read” category for me.

The book begins when Harriet and Wyn find themselves in Maine on their annual friend trip with their college best friends. The problem? The formerly engaged couple hasn’t been a couple for 5 months… and no one knows. This isn’t the weekend to break the news and blow up their friend group for a myriad of reasons and so Harriet and Wyn are forced to play “happy couple,” a ruse that’s increasingly hard to uphold when intense feelings are always just below the surface and so many questions go unanswered between them.

• Friday Flashbacks

Chocolate Chia Seed Protein Pudding (Sharing because amping up protein seems to be a January “thing” — I love this easy prep-ahead recipe and made it for breakfast yesterday!)

30-Minutes-Or-Less At Home Workouts (Keep these in mind when you’re short on time and don’t want to leave the house but still want to sneak in a quick sweat session!)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week? Any fun weekend plans to share?