Things I’m Loving Friday #509

Hello, hello! Friday is here and we are ready for it! Our big plans for the day aren’t anything crazy but they’re certainly something we’re looking forward to later this afternoon. Some of our closest friends adopted a puppy yesterday and we get to meet him! Frankie is half German Shepherd and half Great Pyrenees and one big ball of adorable fluff right now. Ryan and I believe we will eventually get a bigger dog as a playmate for Pepper but we’re still planning to wait a few years when the boys are a bit older, so Frankie can fill our bigger dog love tank for now.

As for the rest of the weekend, after quite the rainy week, the SUN is arriving. We have a few activities in mind but nothing final, though I hope to snap pics and share our weekend wrap up with you guys on Monday. Enjoy your weekend, my friends, and keep on scrolling if you’d like to check out this week’s roundup of favorites.

Things I’m Loving Friday #509

• McCormick Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning

A while back, I mentioned my love for Pinch of Yum’s air fryer chicken recipe. It’s a recipe I made on repeat for weeks but when I noticed a recommendation to try McCormick rotisserie chicken seasoning as a “shortcut” version of the recipe, I figured it was worth a shot, as I’m all about anything that makes getting dinner on the table a little easier. Let’s just say this seasoning knocks it out of the park in the flavor department. I’ve been sprinkling a hefty amount of the seasoning on a plate and coating boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the seasoning before cooking them in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes. I admittedly haven’t made the original recipe again since discovering this recipe because this seasoning blend makes things just a little too easy. Highly recommend!

• Comfy Jumpsuits

(Jumpsuit: Amazon — just ordered this one in black as well! / Sandals: Sam Edelman / Tennis Bracelet: Madewell / Layered Bracelets: Anthropologie / Tank: Old Navy — but old) 

(Jumpsuit: Amazon — I have this one in olive green, too! / Tank: Target / Cardigan: Amazon / Bag: Free People / Sneakers: Reebok / Colorful Beaded Necklace: Amazon / Tiny Heart Gold Necklace: Gorjana) 

I’ve been on the jumpsuit bandwagon for years now and still find myself reaching for them again and again. They’re my favorite to wear this time of year when the weather is chilly in the mornings but warmer by the afternoon because they’re cute layered with a long cozy cardigan on top but just as cute with a simple tank underneath. And you cannot beat the comfiness!

• Coloring Time (aka Calm Family Time)

I’ve slowly come to realize something about our boys. If I notice things are escalating in our house and think the boys could benefit from a more relaxed activity, if begin to do a quiet or calm activity on my own, an activity I know they’ll enjoy, too, more often than not they’ll sit down and join me without me saying a thing. (Of course, I’ll invite them to join me, too, but it’s been fun to see them join me on their own.) It’s a semi-subtle way of encouraging some quiet time and I’ve noticed it really seems to double as connection time which, as the boys get older, is something I really hope we can maintain.

I’ve noticed that Chase, in particular, is much more likely to chatter away while we’re doing a puzzle together, making a melty bead creation or coloring a picture than he is during the drive home from school. It’s been a fun thing to notice and when Chase asked where my “hard coloring book” went (it was a holiday coloring book I packed away with our Christmas decorations), I realized it’s something he seems to enjoy doing together, too. I recently bought another “hard” coloring book for us to work on and have loved coloring with all three boys. It’s relaxing for me and has been a great way to connect, too.

• Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

Genre: Women’s Fiction / Romance 

My rating: B+

So much of what I enjoyed about Practice Makes Perfect is what I enjoyed about the book’s prequel, When In Rome. It’s another sweet little Hallmark movie of a book where you have to suspend your belief a bit but you have no problem doing so because the book reads like a cozy little hug.

The book begins when Annie Walker finds herself on a terrible date. She overhears her date on the phone calling her boring and it’s all the proof she needs to reiterate in her mind that she is socially awkward and in need of help if she’s going to survive the dating scene. She’d love to meet someone to share her life with in her beloved tiny town and who better to serve as her dating coach than Will Griffin, her future sister-in-law Amelia’s bodyguard who is temporarily back in town as he provides protection to Amelia as she plans her marriage to Annie’s brother. Will is all muscles and tattoos and clearly has no trouble with dating butwhen he agrees to help Annie, he quickly realizes he’s in over his head.

There’s so much more to shy, sweet Annie and as the friendship between the two grows and Annie learns more about herself, she begins to wonder if the man she thinks she wants — someone settled and ready to start a family immediately — is really what she wants after all.

• First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

My rating: B+ 

First Lie Wins is everywhere right now! Whatever Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club touches turns to gold so I suppose that’s to blame but seeing so many people recommend this novel had me going into it with high expectations. Worth mentioning: I listened to the audiobook version of this book which may play into my review a bit because, while I enjoyed the creative plot and the fact that the book was definitely not your typical formulaic thriller, I didn’t feel overly invested in the story. I didn’t love any of the characters (and there are a lot of them!) which made me glad I was listening rather than reading, as it made for a good background story to listen to while I did the dishes, laundry, etc. It was definitely an entertaining thriller though and one I think most readers who typically love mysteries would enjoy.

From Amazon: 

• March 2014 Top 10

Last year I began sharing a top 10 list at the end of every month as a way to give you guys a glimpse back into some of the blog posts you may have missed or some of my favorite finds you may have had on your radar that got lost in blogging and social media mayhem. A handful of you said it was helpful so I’m doing the same again in 2024. Please see below for March’s top 10!

Top 10 Blog Posts

• Easy Orange Juice Chicken Marinade
• Non-Toy Easter Basket Ideas for Kids
• Egg White and Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
• A Tuesday in the Life (March 2024)
• Burn Boot Camp Review
• Reunited Weekend
• West Jefferson Baby Shower Weekend
• Gluten-Free Weekend Menu for Guests
• Everything Bagel Seared Tuna
• Girls’ Weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona

Your Top 10 Favorites

• Tangle Teezer Brush (I ordered this brush this instant I tried my friend’s brush during a girls’ weekend. It does the most incredible job effortlessly untangling knots!)
• Pumice Stone Cleaner (This gave new life to a pan I thought I ruined!)
• Colorful Beaded Necklace (Such a happy little necklace and perfect for layering.)
• Illuminating Nail Concealer Polish (The nail polish that blew me away and made my sad nails look healthy and luminous, eliminating ridges, peeling, etc.)
• Gorjana Tiny Heart Gold Necklace (I haven’t taken this off since I bought it and love the dainty little hearts.)
• PackIt Portable Freezer Snack Pouch (Our solution for keeping on-the-go snacks nice and cold.)
• LCD Writing Tablet (A must for travel with kids. We use this to play “name that picture,” tic-tac-toe, hangman and random doodling.)
• Magnetic Tiles Road Track (This fun find turns your little ones’ magnetic tiles into a road, perfect for their little cars, trains, etc.)
• Vuori Boyfriend Joggers (Next-level comfortable and somehow make sweats look stylish and not at all sloppy.)
• Target Toddler Swim Trunks (The retro-inspired Target find we love for our boys — currently on sale for $7!)

 

• Friday Flashbacks

Summer Kid Favorites (Our summertime staples! I need to do an updated version to include some bigger kid favorites but still absolutely stand by all the items in this post! )

Question of the Day

What is one thing making you smile this week?