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Things I’m Loving Friday #346

October 6, 2020 by Julie 11 Comments

And just like that, another week has come and gone. How are you guys doing? We had a good week over here and I’m looking forward to a fun weekend filled with lots of family time. My mother-in-law and Les arrived in town yesterday evening and we are so glad they are here! Chase and Ryder were more than a little excited to see their grandparents and dashed out the front door the minute they saw their car pull into the driveway! Rhett soaked up some cuddles from them before dinner and I have a feeling he will get lots of love this weekend.

Before I unplug and keep my focus on family, I wanted to share my weekly Things I’m Loving Friday post with you guys where I focus on a few things making me smile at the end of every week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Things I’m Loving Friday

  • Celebrating Ryan’s Birthday

oreo marble cake

We celebrated Ryan’s birthday on Monday and it was a very special day! We did our usual birthday decorations at home and Chase and Ryder also surprised him with birthday banners. (They are banner-making fiends for any and every occasion lately. A giant roll of white butcher paper and Kwik Stix tempera paint sticks were two early quarantine crafting purchase that we’ve used again and again!) We all chipped in and also got to work in the kitchen making Ryan an Oreo marble birthday cake which looked like a hot mess but tasted great. Ryan requested Oreo marble cake which was a bit of a head-scratcher at first but adding crushed Oreos to the vanilla cake mix and the middle layer of vanilla buttercream and decorating the top of the cake with the remaining cookies worked well and had everyone going back for second slices of birthday cake. We all had fun celebrating our favorite guy and hope he felt extra loved on his special day!

  • Family Photo Albums + Ryder’s Baby Book

mixbook photo albums

I finally completed one heck of a big project. I managed to get all of the photos I had on hand between Chase’s first birthday and Rhett’s arrival into a series of family photos albums and I completed Ryder’s baby book. Success!!! This project has been weighing on me for a LONG time and since I know Ryan loved the photo albums I’ve made for him in the past, I made it my mission to complete everything to give to him as a birthday surprise on Monday. He loved the albums and I feel like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders knowing our photos are organized and we can flip through the albums with the boys and have fun talking about past memories anytime.

mixbook photo albums

As I briefly mentioned on the blog before, I used Mixbook to make the albums. It’s the same site I used to make Chase’s baby book years ago and it’s my personal favorite because it makes uploading and organizing photos a breeze and the selection of design templates, fonts and backgrounds available are classic and beautiful and not at all cheesy.

mixbook photo albums

I’ve used a different template every time and love the way every album turned out! In case you’re interested, for Ryder’s baby book, I chose the Hand Painted Baby Book while Chase’s baby book was the Welcome Baby Boy Book. For our family albums, I opted for the Everyday Modern Family Book and the Sweet Memories Book.

  • The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms

After flying through multiple suspense books, I was ready for a break from that particular genre and when The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms popped up as a recommended read for me through Amazon, I was immediately intrigued since I’ve enjoyed other books by the same author. She has a gift for writing books that, on the surface seem lighthearted and funny, but have more depth than expected. The Bright Side of Going Dark is a creative book that felt very current and intrigued me as one of the main characters is a social media influencer on the fictitious platform Pictey, which is very similar to Instagram.

Mia Bell is a popular influencer who lives a covet-worthy life thanks to her sponsored and her adoring fans. Behind the scenes, her life is far from perfect and when her fiancé calls off their wedding, she’s left in a bind, as she has contracts and agreements that hinge on her pending nuptials. She decides to fake her wedding to appease her clients and then decides to go off the grid completely, hurling her phone off a cliff. Her followers notice her absence and when tech-savvy Paige Miller figures out a way to hack into her account, she begins impersonating Mia as a means to get close to her sister, one of Mia’s most adoring fans who is going through something horrible. The façade lasts for a while but when Paige is caught, everything could change… and not necessarily for the better.

  • Pumpkin Porches

Last weekend, we made our way to Josh’s Farmers Market in Mooresville to stock up on pumpkins for our porch! While I love twinkling holiday lights around Christmas, beautiful porches featuring an array of pumpkins, gourds and mums are a close second in my mind when it comes to festive outdoor holiday décor. Driving up our driveway and seeing our little pumpkin porch display never fails to put a smile on my face!

  • Friday Flashbacks

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Chili (5 star reviews from you guys + top prize at a friend’s chili cook off last year make this recipe a must-try this fall!)

Easy Chicken Corn Chili

Oatmeal Apple Crisp (Highlighting this favorite recipe just in case apple picking is on your agenda this weekend!)

Question of the Day

Have you made any delicious fall-inspired recipes yet? Please share! 

Tell me about one thing that made you smile this week! 

Be sure to follow PBFingers on Instagram and Facebook!

I'd love to connect with you! I am always so grateful when you let me know you tried one of my recipes or workouts and tag me in your photos or updates. Thank you so much!!!

Filed Under: Things I'm Loving Tagged With: books, photo albums, Things I'm Loving, Things I'm Loving Friday

About Julie

My name is Julie and I am a full-time blogger, new mama, fitness enthusiast (certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor) and food fanatic (mostly healthy... but also not-so-healthy) living in North Carolina with my husband, dog and baby boy. Thank you for visiting Peanut Butter Fingers! I hope you enjoy little glimpses into my life and have fun trying the sweaty workouts I frequently share and making some of my favorite recipes along the way!

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Weekend Highlights with Nona and Papa »

Comments

  1. Becca says

    October 9, 2020 at 9:00 am

    Enjoy your weekend with your family. I’m sure the boys are so excited! Thank you for sharing glimpses of your photo books – they are beautiful and you are inspiring me to tackle my over abundance of phone photos lol! I’ve been trying to think of a winter Covid project and this will now be it! Great job accomplishing your goal in the midst of being a very busy momma to three sweet boys. Have a wonderful weekend!

    Reply
  2. Nicole says

    October 9, 2020 at 9:45 am

    Happy Friday! Please share your tips and and tricks for organizing photos. I have been putting it off for so long because it seems so overwhelming. Did you keep them organized in some way on your computer? I’d love to hear more! Enjoy your weekend with family!

    Reply
    • Jen says

      October 11, 2020 at 7:25 pm

      I second this, Julie!! I’d love to hear your process for organizing photos. You’re my hero for tackling this while simultaneously caring for three small children (including a newborn!!). My daughter is 19 months old and I’m due with another sweet girl the first week of February so I’d love to make a couple photo albums before life gets even busier! I’ll check out the website you mentioned. Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Jessica says

    October 9, 2020 at 9:57 am

    I love making your pumpkin banana oatmeal recipe from like 1 million years ago! it’s so easy and reheats great!

    Reply
  4. Y says

    October 9, 2020 at 10:01 am

    I just love the Birthday Banners. That’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen. I just love preschooler’s artwork.
    Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  5. Reenie says

    October 9, 2020 at 10:18 am

    Happy Birthday Ryan!!

    Reply
  6. Jen says

    October 9, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    Definitely going to try mixbook! I haver have the time to update the second kiddos baby book! Also, making your chili recipe tomorrow!! Yum.

    Reply
  7. Kristy says

    October 9, 2020 at 1:16 pm

    so impressed you were able to tackle the photo project with a newborn!!! Those projects have been weighing on me for the last few years! I will definitely look into the site you recommended. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend with your sweet family!

    Reply
  8. Emily says

    October 9, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    I need to checkout that book! I read The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by the same author recently and really enjoyed it!
    Enjoy the family weekend!

    Reply
  9. Catherine says

    October 9, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Aside from day of birth, how do you organize baby box? Like a specific chapter or section for each month? Just throw all of the pictures in there roughly an order? I am so lost on how to do this! Help!!

    Reply
  10. janet says

    October 10, 2020 at 11:05 am

    I adore Molly Yeh’s squash tomato soup — so easy to make….
    https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tomato-squash-soup-8303749

    Happy Birthday, Ryan! (those photos books are amazing!)

    As for books, I review them and tend to read months in advance. But I can highly recommend CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 BY LISA UNGER…..WHAT, A. BOOK.

    …I do not think that I have ever seen a photo of Ryan’s mom….

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Julie and I am a mom to three energetic boys and a personal trainer and blogger living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Welcome to my blog! Peanut Butter Fingers follows my life and my interests in food, fitness, family, travel and (mostly) healthy living.
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