Our family left yesterday afternoon for Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina where we will be spending the next few days immersing ourselves in all things Ironman.
The boys and I will be cheering for Ryan and doing our best to find him along the course (no small feat, I’m told) and also hope to explore the small beach town a bit, too!
We only had about two hours to spend out and about before the boys’ bedtime last night but we made our way down to the beach and picked up pizza and frozen custard to bring back to our condo.
The boys were all majorly amped up and there was a lot of talking and giggling before they settled down and finally fell asleep last night. I have such vivid memories of staying up late laughing and talking and being goofy with my sister when we were little and seeing our boys acting similarly together is one of those full circle moments that fills me with gratitude. I’m really looking forward to the next few days with our crew and hope to have a recap of our weekend away to share with you on Monday!
Until then, let’s dive into this week’s roundup of weekly favorites, shall we?
Things I’m Loving Friday
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Ultimate Chapped Lip Fighting Duo
I swear I first saw this on some random Instagram Reels video a while back because there’s no way I would’ve thought to do this myself but since the internet is a black hole, I have no idea who was the original source. Anyway, I owe a big thank you to whoever created this combination because it did wonders to help my dry, chapped lips this week.
For a week or so, my lips have been seriously dry and chapped and when I layered a ton of lip balm on my lips followed by a thick layer of Aquaphor before bed two nights in a row, I awoke to find them a million times better! I just wanted to share this here because we’re heading into the time of year when chapped lips seem more prevalent and this was such a simple solution. Oh and I used Ryan’s favorite Helen Knows Best extreme weather lip balm which is seriously legit. The key is making sure to apply the lip balm before the Aquaphor (I’m not crazy about petroleum but in this case it helps lock the lip balm on overnight) and then you’ll awake to baby-soft lips in the morning!
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Ranch
I’m not a huge fan of ranch dressing in general (unless I’m pregnant which I am not!) but THIS ranch is a different story. I bought it at Whole Foods for Chase because one of his favorite snacks is carrots dipped in ranch I was surprised when I ended up loving it myself! It’s thicker and I’d say it’s more of a dip than a salad dressing but I’ve been loving it on grilled chicken and salmon. I know sounds gross but trust me on this one! The ranch has a heavy dill flavor I adore and I’m already dreaming of more ways to use it.
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I Spy Books
The boys and I popped into the library after school on Wednesday to load up on some books to bring in the car during our travels and the I Spy books I loved when I was a kid ended up being a road trip slam dunk! Chase and Ryder loved searching for the various items on each page and since many of the items are challenging to spot, it kept Chase (6) entertained for quite a while. For anyone with little ones on their hands, the books were a little too hard for Ryder (3) but he still loved them. I just called out random items I saw on the pages for him to find instead!
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Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
I saw Janae recommend these pumpkin bars and immediately saved them to make for our family. The bars were easy to make and the buttery cream cheese frosting takes them to the next level. Definitely keep this recipe in mind if you’re looking for a festive treat to make this fall!
- Friday Flashbacks
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli (A warm, comforting recipe perfect for chilly autumn nights!
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Overnight Oats (I made this for breakfast twice this week and need to make it part of my regular rotation again!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing you’re loving right now?
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It’s an old pinterest hack, but one of my favorite things to do is to mix regular Greek yogurt with ranch packet dressing (or you can make your own!). I don’t love thin ranch, but the thickness of the yogurt makes it perfect for dipping carrots and what not!
Love that idea!! Yesss I loved the thickness of this and how much the dill flavor came through. I’ll have to try that hack!
There is nothing fancy about it and it’s not a natural product but Bag Balm has helped save my dry cracking lips,feet,knees,and hands!!! I tried everything natural and non natural and the Bag Balm is the only thing that helped!!!
Heads up, while it is fragrance free, it has a smell similar to that of a leather couch in my opinion.
Wanted to share!!! If you try it please let me know what you think!!!
https://bagbalm.com/products/vermonts-original-bag-balm-for-dry-chapped-skin-conditions-8-ounce-tin
Good luck to Ryan on his Half Ironman!!!
Y’all have a wonderful weekend!!!
I saw a TikTok yesterday that actually recommended Lanolin for severely chapped lips (yes the nipple cream!) I was reminded that a friend of mine (coincidentally a Labor & Delivery nurse) said she uses Lanolin on her lips when she goes on ski trips. Just another idea!
Good luck to Ryan; that’s so awesome!! Enjoy the beach, too 🙂
First off, good luck to Ryan! Hope he enjoys the experience, and you all enjoy the beach!!
I am curious to know about the stack bracelets you are wearing. Looks like they are custom, where did you find those? You have such a knack for finding cute and clever gifts, and I would love to get a set of these for the moms in my tribe! 💖
Good luck to Ryan!! What an epic experience for the kids to have. One of my proudest moments was finishing a half marathon (which is small beans compared to an IronMan) with my kids cheering me on at the finish line. Hope you all have a great weekend!
Lanolin
Good luck to Ryan! I love your green initial bracelets? Would you mind sharing where you purchased?
Thank you so much!
Good luck to your hubby! Mine did the 70.3 Des Moines in June and it was such a fun whirlwind adventure trying to cheer him on!
Here;s my theory about petroleum….(I grew up in a petroleum-based-economy-city).
1. we buy gas for our car that comes from petroleum
2. there are always by-products …like petroleum-based health and beauty items
3. better they be used than them buried as waste in the ground or burned off as waste like lanolin is often disposed of.
…just my 2cents worth.