I’m especially excited for Saturday as Ryan and some of my friends have planned a kid-free Legends of the Hidden Temple-themed day at the Whitewater Center! (Please tell me some of my fellow millennials remember this Nickelodeon gem!) Ryan and I will be reporting for duty as the green monkeys and I cannot wait for the fun!
As for the rest of the weekend, we’ll spend it at the soccer fields, at a birthday party, cheering for Chase and Ryan in a local 5K and hopefully planting our spring garden. It should be a good one!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and please keep on scrolling to check out this week’s roundup of favorites!
Things I’m Loving Friday #550
Back in January, I ordered this $4 e.l.f. lip balm, following a list I saw of the 2024 most popular creator favorites from Amazon. (I concur, it’s great!) This purchase lead me on a bit of an e.l.f. product journey, as I’ve since ordered and loved two additional products by this affordable beauty brand.
Up first, e.l.f Multistick which apparently can be use on the cheeks, lips and eyes, though I love it as a creamy blush. The color is beautifully pigmented and the Glimmering Guava color I ordered gives my cheeks a beautiful pinky glow. And ya cannot beat the $4.85 price point.
Up next is the e.l.f. Hydration Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm. This one popped up and piqued my interest as it seemed like a much less expensive alternative to the ELEMIS Pro Collagen Naked Cleansing Balm I love so much. While I still prefer the ELEMIS balm, the e.l.f. version is a fraction of the price and works very, very well. It glides all over my face and, much like the ELEMIS balm, the application process feels oddly luxurious and relaxing. (I rub it all over your face — it basically melts into my skin — and then I use a gentle washcloth to wash it off with warm water.) I’m a fan!
Pretzels with a decent amount of protein that actually taste good? Sign me up! One of my girlfriends was snacking on Kindling protein pretzels during a playdate with our kids at the park and gave me a handful to try. I ordered a big box of my own SO FAST. I’ve loved every single flavor in the multi-pack I bought (especially the honey mustard) and will definitely be re-ordering. These pretzels are also majorly kid approved so I consider that a win!
(Sneakers: Reebok / Bag: lululemon / Water Bottle: Amazon / Electrolytes: Ultima)
A few Instagram DMs asking me about the shoes I was wearing in a gym pic I posted made me realize I never shared my latest favorite strength training shoes on the blog! I bought my Reebok Nanos months ago (back in September) and they’re my preferred shoe to wear on days when I’ll be lifting in the gym or doing more strength-based workouts at Burn Boot Camp. (I actually bought them after I saw a couple of the Burn trainers wearing them!) The flatter sole of the shoe makes them ideal for stabilization during lunges, squats, deadlifts, etc. and they’re also lightweight and very comfortable. (Note: They’re currently on major sale for $50 less than I paid! I have the white with the rubber gum bottom.)
And yes, my love for the larger 5L size of the lululemon festival bag I shared years ago is still going strong. It’s held up so well and is still a favorite of mine as a gym bag/mom life bag/everythinggg bag because it’s nice and big (it can easily hold one or two of the boys’ water bottles) and has lots of pockets (both interior and exterior) which I appreciate for easier organization.
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Girl, Alone by Blake Pierce
Genre: Mystery/Suspense / My rating: B
I love a good FBI mystery so I was looking forward to diving into Girl, Alone by Blake Pierce when I saw the Kindle edition was free on Amazon. (It still is free for Kindle readers, as of right now!) It hooked me immediately the solid pace of this book kept up from beginning to end. I liked the main character and, perhaps a little morbidly, learning a little bit more about the mind of a serial killer, though this book was far from a deep-dive on the subject. I found Ella Dark, the main character, intelligent and courageous and was excited to learn there are a LOT more books featuring Ella as the heroine.
Also, a quick little aside: I love reading about the author behind a book once I finish reading, but Blake Pierce is somewhat of an anomaly. It’s impossible to find out whether the author is a man or a woman or find any photos or real information about them online. A Reddit thread led me to realize I’m not the only crazy reader whose interest has been piqued by this Blake mystery!
But back to the book summary…
Girl, Alone takes off running when FBI agent Ella Dark’s intelligence and pension for knowledge of serial killers and patterns gets her noticed by the Behavioral Crimes Unit, the FBI branch of her dreams. Ella is asked to make her way to a backwater bayou town in Louisiana following the murder of a middle age woman. Ella has trained and studied for this moment but finding herself in the middle of a crime scene has her quickly realizing there are somethings she simply cannot prepare for outside of real experience. Will Ella’s trial run as a rookie help her prove herself as an asset or will her lack of real experience cause her to fumble when faced with very real crimes and very real killers?
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April 2025 Top 10
Sharing your top 10 favorites from April, featuring blog posts and best sellers!
Top 10 Blog Posts
- How to Make Salmon Bites
- Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes
- Everything I’ve Read So Far This Year: Ranked
- Day Trips from Charlotte
- High Protein Breakfast Burrito
- Egg White and Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
- Carrot and Apple Slaw
- Week of Weeknight Meals (April 2025)
- Graphic Novels for Kids
- Red Velvet Cake Mix Recipe
Top 10 Favorites
- Comfy Tee (The Amazon tee with wide open + flattering sleeves)
- Target Buckle Sandals (Equal parts comfortable and cute. Loving them paired with jeans, sundresses, skirts, shorts, etc.)
- Light Blue Matching Set (Lightweight set perfect for spring + summer travel, mom life, lounging, etc.)
- ILIA Eyeshadow Stick (I ordered this as a clean-beauty alternative to the eyeshadow stick I have and love and it’s been wonderful. More pigmented but still helps me achieve a natural, smudgy look when I glide it over my eyeliner.)
- Batter Dispenser (For mess-free pancakes, waffles, cupcakes, etc.!)
- Target Leopard Jeans (I love the fit of these and the lighter wash of the print.)
- Rechargeable Rocket Launcher (Such a fun find for our boys — launches so, so high!)
- Pink + Red-Orange Stripe Beach Bag (This has been selling out every time I’ve linked to it, but it also seems to restock within 48 hours or so!)
- Beach Catch-and-Release Aquarium (A huge hit at the beach for kids who love to catch + release various creatures)
- Divided Kid Plates (Our favorite, especially for after-school snack plates. I also love that they come with lids for on-the-go car snacking.)
- Sephora Watermelon Lip Balm (Super moisturizing with the perfect pop of light color.)
Friday Flashbacks
- Our Summer Staples for Kids (The summer kid essentials we swear by. I need to do another round of this post with bigger kid favorites, too!)
- Simple Summer Chopped Salad (What we’re having for dinner tonight!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing you’re loving this week?
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