Things I’m Loving Friday #572

Hi friends! How are you? I hope your Friday is off to a great start. This week was a busy one as we had visitors in town and then some odds and ends pop up throughout the week that pulled me away from the blog. I apologize for not checking in until today. You know I missed ya!

But, on a very positive note, our visitors were some of our favorite people — Nona and Papa!

(Pic from a Hogwarts dinner — you can’t really see their wings, but Rhett was the golden snitch and Ryder was Errol, Ron’s silly owl!) 

We filled their visit with some fun activities — a Hogwarts-themed dinner, Owl-oween at the Carolina Raptor Center and the Renaissance Festival — and enjoyed six days with Diane and Les!

(Top: Old Navy / Pants: Ruti / Bag: Clare V. / Shoes: adidas)  

(Henley Top: American Eagle — This top is such a good lightweight basic staple if you need one, especially transitioning from fall to winter. I sized up! / Overalls: Free People / Sneakers: Reebok / Bag: Clare V.) 

This coming weekend will be a little more low key, though we still have a few things on the agenda including soccer games, a Trunk or Treat at Rhett’s preschool and a fall festival at the big kids’ school.

But now it’s time do dive into this week’s favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style! I hope you all have a wonderfully festive fall weekend!!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Finally Making a Physical Therapy Appointment

For about a year now, I’ve had on and off pain in an area near my left hip that has prevented me from doing pretty much any running. Whenever I’d run, it would flare up and be really painful for a few days, but eventually it would dissipate and be tolerable again. It’s been one of those “I can deal with it” type of injuries, but it’s lingered for long enough that I finally made an appointment with a physical therapist after I tried to do a short round of sprints two weeks ago and this weird little muscle in my body just said NO.

My physical therapist identified the muscle causing my pain (tensor fasciae latae) and believes it’s been an ongoing strain that has never fully healed and cannot properly heal due to my natural way of walking and running. I am so, so thrilled to have “homework” (aka stretches and light exercises) and a game plan to try to strengthen this area, increase my hip mobility/flexibility,  and also work to correct some issues with my gait I’ve had my entire life.

Also, I have to say this entire physical therapy appointment made me all the more pleased with my decision to sign up for the Tighter Together Madeline Moves workouts because a lot of the exercises in my new physical therapy plan are incorporated into her workout program already, reiterating my belief that this programming is incredibly purposeful, well-done and a great way to proactively train our bodies for life/longevity/a stronger and more stable/mobile body as we age.

• No Makeup Makeup

This No Makeup Makeup instantly intrigued me when I saw an ad for it pop up on Instagram featuring a woman whose complexion was similar to mine (fair with pinky undertones). She shared a tutorial where she used the makeup on half of her face and it looked SO GOOD. The makeup still had her skin looking like her skin (super natural) but all of the uneven pinky undertones and dark spots were gone. Consider me sold!

This is one of those products I loved from the very first swipe. I could instantly tell it was going to be a great find for me because one layer of the makeup covered my redness and dark spots well enough that I didn’t even need concealer! It blended effortlessly on my skin and felt light and natural which is very important to me as I cannot stand thick, cakey makeup. It is also a fragrance-free buildable makeup, so if you do happen to prefer more coverage, you can add another layer or two for greater coverage. The No Makeup Makeup is a creamy product you apply with a brush (they recommend their foundation brush which I used and thought worked well – it almost looks like you have NO product on it when you use it but you do, so don’t be fooled and double down!) and it gives your skin a soft, no makeup look that still looks like YOU, just without some of the discoloration, dark spots, etc. I would prefer to have covered.

The makeup has a shade match guaranteed but the shade I selected (“light”) was a slam dunk. I’ve used it every single day this week and can 100 percent guarantee this will be a staple makeup product for me. I do wish it had added SPF protection but that’s not a super big deal, as I just use my Supergoop! SPF glow drops underneath before applying.

• It’s Mint to Be Chip TRUBAR

We’re an ALOHA bar-loving family in this house and while the white chocolate peppermint bar forever has my heart, Ryan’s favorite flavor is the chocolate mint. He eats one every single day and when one of his coworkers noticed this habit, he brought him a chocolate mint TRUBAR to try. Ryan brought it home and we split it after dinner one night and thought the flavor was fantastic!!! The ingredient list is pretty stellar as well and I also love it when a protein bar is high in fiber (this one has 11 grams). This bar will be making it into our protein bar rotation for sure! If you’ve tried any other TRUBAR flavors and would recommend them, please let me know as they seem to have a lot of options.

• Salt & Stone Candles + Body Mist

I feel like I owe it to you guys to report back on a couple other Salt & Stone finds I’ve recently tried since I all but threw a party when I first discovered Salt & Stone deodorant and it completely captured my heart (and my armpits). And yes, I definitely used my own discount code when ordering these finds — PBFINGERS15 will still save ya 15% site wide!

Up first: Salt & Stone candles. I initially ordered one of these candles to include with an electric lighter in a birthday gift for Ryder’s teacher but threw in another one for our family because I couldn’t resist (ya know, now that I actually LIGHT our candles instead of saving them). I cannot tell you how much I adore having our house lightly scented with my beloved santal & vetiver scent. It’s truly one of my all-time favorite scents ever ever ever. It’s just the perfect hot-guy-mixed-with-a-luxury-hotel scent that somehow isn’t too masculine or feminine but just this delightfully clean, warm, comforting scent even Ryan adores. Guys, I even have HIM hooked on their deodorant now!!

Up next: Salt & Stone body mist. Alright, where are my former Bath & Body Works cucumber melon/sun-ripened raspberry body mist girls at? Those body mists from our youth walked so Salt & Stone body mists could run. I am NOT a perfume lover (ever since I had babies too much fragrance makes me itchy and sneezy) but these body mists are the perfect light, subtle-but-still-noticeable scent. I keep the my santal & vetiver body mist on my bathroom vanity but also ordered the discovery set so I could keep a smaller one in my car (the saffron & cedar is another fav scent of mine but they’re all lovely!) and I plan to use the others as fun little gift toppers during the holiday season.

• Friday Flashbacks

Pumpkin Icebox Cake (One of my all-time favorite fall desserts!)

Butternut Squash Chicken Curry (The reviews on this one don’t lie! Velvety, comforting and packed with veggies!)

QUESTION OF THE DAY 

What is one small thing that made you smile this week?