Things I’m Loving Friday #547

Hello, hello! Friday is here and I am coming to you from Florida! Yesterday afternoon, we made the drive to Florida to spend a long weekend with my parents and my sister and her crew. We’ve had this trip planned for a while and couldn’t wait to get down here to see everyone and finally hug my mom after her surgery. It is so, so good to be back together and I’ll be soaking up every second of the next few days.

We’ll also be celebrating something very special during our time here — baby #4 for my sister and brother-in-law! My mom and I have a small diapers + wipes sprinkle planned to celebrate Leslie on Saturday and I’m really looking forward to making Leslie feel a little extra loved.

And now it’s time to dive into my latest roundup of favorites so if you’ve stopped by this morning for my usual Things I’m Loving Friday fun, keep on scrolling! Have a great weekend, my friends!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Best of LKN Podcast

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Jeff, a local blogger and podcaster, for his podcast, The Best of LKN. We had such a great conversation all about the business side of blogging, the creation and evolution of Peanut Butter Fingers, social media (aka my lack of passion for it – ha!), our shared passion for writing and connecting with others, and more. If you’d like to give it a listen, you may check it out here: Best of LKN Podcast.

• Chase’s Stitch Fix Delivery

Earlier this week I went through the boys’ warmer weather clothing and did the whole hand-me-down dance as I shifted some of Chase’s too-small clothing into Ryder’s side of their closet and moves Ryder’s too-small items into Rhett’s. As I was looking at their clothes, I realized a handful of the items we’ve loved for all three boys have come from past Stitch Fix deliveries. (Bonus points for the fact that these are some of the items that have held up and passed the hand-me-down test!) I haven’t done a Stitch Fix delivery for the boys in years, but opted to order one for Chase, as he was in need of some larger spring and summer apparel. I loved so many of the items included in his fix, and Chase was particularly excited about some updated graphic tees he thought looked cool. We ended up keeping a few tees, a pair of shorts, the sweatshirt-material teal button-up (so cozy and cute!), the long-sleeve smiley face top and pair of leather Reef sandals (unpictured). Chase also really liked the whole process and enjoyed giving his opinions and feedback on the items he received. I’m definitely planning to order another delivery heading into fall/winter. If you’d like to order a Fix (for yourself or a child!), my affiliate link will give both of us $25 off our next orders.

• Road Trip Games

(Pic of Pepper, the cuddly passenger princess on our way to Florida yesterday)

During our Florida drive yesterday, I did a quick Google search to find some additional road trip games for our family outside of 20 Questions and “I’m Going Camping and I’m Bringing…” I stumbled upon this blog post with some suggestions and we ended up playing a bunch and having so much fun with them. Our favorites: The Name Game, The Grocery Game, Name That Tune, and Who’s Most Likely To… Keep this one in your back pocket the next time you’re on a road trip or simply looking for something fun to play with kids while you’re waiting.

• Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

Genre: Domestic fiction/Mystery/Romance / My rating: B+

Elin Hilderband has long been a favorite author of mine to turn to when I’m in the mood for a light, beachy read. She’s the queen of weaving together characters from past novels in an interesting way and always incorporates beautiful Nantucket imagery into her novels. The reason I keep coming back to Elin’s novels, however, is the element of mystery she includes in her books that often center around some kind of family/friend/Nantucket local drama. She has a whole cast of characters involved in her mysteries with multiple plotlines going at the same time so her books are never dull. Swan Song took a hot minute to grab my attention (it felt like almost too many characters in the beginning for me to latch onto) but once I was in on this book, I was all-in. I felt like I had a first-class ticket to some crazy island drama centering around ridiculously wealthy Nantucket newcomers, Leslee and Bull Richardson.

From Amazon: 

Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is about to retire. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But when a 22-million-dollar summer home is purchased by the mysterious Richardsons—how did they make their money, exactly?—Ed, Sharon, and everyone in the community are swept up in high drama. The Richardsons throw lavish parties, flirt with multiple locals, flaunt their wealth with not one but two yachts, and raise impossible hopes of everyone they meet. When their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms.

• The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

Genre: Mystery/Suspense / My rating: B

Lucy Foley is a mastermind in the mystery/thriller space and after enjoying The Paris Apartment apartment so much, I was excited dive into The Midnight Feast next. This book was a disturbing and twisty but thoroughly entertaining. There were a handful of unexpected reveals which I appreciated (I always loved it when a book can surprise me!) but there were also a handful of predictable moments. The pace of the book is solid as it kept me invested from beginning to end and I think anyone who typically flies through a good mystery will fly through this one, too.

From Amazon: 

It’s the opening night of The Manor, the newest and hottest luxury resort, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; the “Manor Mule” cocktail is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And it’s not too long before the local police are called. Turns out the past has crashed the party, with deadly results.

• Friday Flashbacks

Simple Summer Chopped Salad (The salad my aunt made for my baby shower that we all loved so much.)

Road Trip Favorites for Kids (I need to do a more current version of this post now that our boys are a bit older, but this list still has a bunch of their travel favs included. You may also quickly browse additional favorites here — I just updated this list yesterday! )

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?