Things I’m Loving Friday #353

Hey friends! How are ya? How was your week? We’re doing well over here though I must admit I cannot believe there are only two weeks left until Christmas. What!? Time needs to slow down a bit because I love this time of year so much and hate for it to pass by too fast, even if this season admittedly does feel a little different than usual. We are looking forward to the weekend ahead in our house, as we have plans to check out Christmas lights at a local botanical garden. The sheer fact that we actually have real plans (we had to purchase advance tickets and everything) feels like a treat in and of itself. Hooray!

I’m sure we will fill the rest of our weekend with outdoor fun, hot chocolate and random household chores… and I’m also hoping to get a jump start on some present-wrapping! I hope you guys all have a great weekend and enjoy today’s roundup of weekly favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Gingerbread House Decorating

Last year, during our family mountain vacation, we had a pretty epic gingerbread decorating contest! It was so fun reminded me just how much I enjoy decorating gingerbread houses this time of year. I remember Chase, in particular, got really into decorating his house, so I knew I wanted to get a couple of houses for us to decorate with the boys. Last weekend, we put out lots of different kinds of candy as well as icing for the boys to use to decorate their houses and they had a blast. (Yes, yes, I did let my children eat icing for breakfast.)  The fun has continued through the week, as they’ve thought of new things they’ve wanted to add to their houses, like a candy cane chimney! And I maaay have another house on hand to continue the decorating fun since we’re clearly all-in on this holiday tradition this year!

• Delivery Driver Snack Baskets

Earlier this week, on a walk with Rhett and Sadie, a basket on a neighbor’s front porch caught my eye. When I looked a little closer, I realized it was a basket filled with snacks for delivery drivers! I thought this was such a wonderful way to show some gratitude to our local delivery drivers during a season when they’re working incredibly hard to deliver so many packages to so many homes. I made sure to stock up on some extra snacks at the grocery store and now Chase, Ryder and I are a little too excited to check the basket to see which snacks are the most popular at the end of every day. Spoiler alert: So far the Reese’s Trees are #1… to the surprise of absolutely no one. Those things are the jam!

• UnbuckleMe Car Seat Buckle Release Tool 

I saw UnbuckleMe recommended by a car seat expert (@safeintheseat) on Instagram and instantly ordered a two-pack. Chase can buckle himself in his car seat but really struggles to unbuckle the buckle between his legs. This seemed like the perfect solution. You guys, I cannot sing its praises enough! It worked like a charm and makes unbuckling a car seat a breeze for big kids. Chase even uses it to help unbuckle Ryder, too, and anything that fosters independence and saves me from buckling or unbuckling kiddos a million times a day is a big win in my book! I also think it’s worth mentioning that this product was initially invented by an occupational therapist who has thumb arthritis and might make a good stocking stuffer for anyone out there with kids or those caring for children who struggle with unbuckling kids from car seats. It’s a genius product, that’s for sure!!

• Fire Station Delivery

We recently read The Giving Manger book with our boys for the first time this year and I loved the message of the story. It talks about the importance of giving and serving others and, in the back of the book, provides ideas of ways young children, older children and families can give together. When we read the ideas to Chase, he immediately latched onto the idea of baking something sweet to bring to our local fire station. We drive by the fire station on the way to and from preschool and the boys always comment on the engines and love it when the firemen and women wave to them. They’ve also flipped on the lights of their fire trucks a time or two which absolutely makes the boys’ day so it was really nice to be able to bring something to them after preschool yesterday to thank them for both the big and the small things they do to serve our community so well.

Well, our boys were in for quite a treat when they happily accepted our sweet treats and homemade banners and invited Chase and Ryder to check out the inside of a firetruck. It was such a kind gesture that meant the world to our boys and they spent the rest of the afternoon pretending they were firemen outside at our house.

• Dark Chocolate Peppermint Dipped Cookie Thins + $7.99 Candle (Recent ALDI Finds!)

Since I know more than a few of you out there share my love for ALDI, I wanted to highlight two recent ALDI finds I recently nabbed at my local ALDI. First, check out the beautiful balsam and cedar copper candle! Aesthetically, it’s stunning — I love the copper color and the gold lid — and it reminds me so much of the $30 Anthropologie candles but it was only $7.99! What!? The scent is wonderful and smells like a Christmas tree so you better believe I scooped up a few to have on hand as holiday gifts this season.

My second stellar find was a bag of Benton’s Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Thins. I am such a sucker for anything chocolate + peppermint this time of year and these cookies thins are perfectly sweet and crunchy. The remind me a lot of Thin Mints but without a full coating of chocolate. I used the broken pieces on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream last weekend and they were  fabulous!

• Afternoon Hot Cocoa or Tea Lattes

It’s that time of year when a hot beverage becomes a staple for me around 3 p.m. Something about cold temperatures outside make me crave a warm little pick-me-up in the afternoon and I’ve been gravitating toward hot cocoa (usually Four Sigmatic Mushroom Hot Cacao topped with whipped cream) or tea lattes made with a variety of favorite teas and whole milk. It’s one of those small things that always seems to have a way of lifting my spirits. And just in case tea lattes sound good to you, back in February I wrote a blog post all about how I make mine which you may find here: How I Make My Tea Lattes

• Friday Flashbacks

Peppermint Icebox Cake (An easy, festive, peppermint Oreo delight!)

Large Batch Holiday Puppy Chow (A great recipe to keep in mind if you’re contributing something sweet to a class/childcare holiday party or simply want a deliciously sweet snack to have on hand at home throughout the holidays.)

Question of the Day

What is one thing making you smile today?