Things I’m Loving Friday #588

Hey! Hello! Hiii! How are you guys? How was your week? Our boys were off from school for spring break all week, Ryan was in Texas for work and I was holding down the fort with quite a finish line in sight: A Disney cruise!

Ryan, the boys and I will be joining my parents and my sister’s family on a Disney cruise next week and to say we are psyched is a serious understatement! (Yes, the timing of our cruise is one week after the boys’ spring break, but we had to go with dates that worked for our whole family and their schools were totally fine with it, especially since they almost ever miss.) We cannot wait for this cruise and have been bursting with excitement as we’ve been packing all the things, planning our outfits for pirate night, assembling “pixie dust” prizes, ordering door magnets and more.

We have never done a big extended family vacation like this with all of the kids (other than our fall mountain weekends that have been on pause) and since I’ve only heard rave reviews about Disney cruises, I cannot wait to experience the magic with my very favorite people. I’m hoping to share a recap of our cruise once we’re back but in the meantime if you have any last-minute Disney cruise tips or any specific things you’d like to see me include in my cruise recap, please let me know.

And now let’s dive right to my weekly roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Things I’m Loving

• Disney Cruise Prep

We’ve done two trips to Disney World with our kids (you may see our recaps here: Last Minute Disney Vacation and here: First Time at Magic Kingdom with Kids) and we’ve slowly picked up on the fact that there are little (very optional) things you can do to “enhance the magic” of your Disney experience. Apparently the same thing applies to Disney cruises and we’ve had fun reading about some of them. A few things we’re doing:

Disney Pin Boards: Our kids got SO into collecting Disney pins during a past Disney trip (pin trading stations are located all over the parks and resorts), and apparently pin trading is alive and well on Disney cruises. I ordered pin boards for all of our families off Etsy and an assortment of pins (if you buy all your pins at Disney, you’ll spend a gazillion dollars — Etsy has pins for way less) and hot glued super-strong magnets to the back of our boards so they can adhere to our metal cruise ship room door. Our boys are already so, so psyched to wander cruise ship halls, swapping pins.

Door Magnets: Apparently cruise ship room door magnets are a thing and I ordered a little pack of Disney-themed magnets for our door to add to the fun!

Pirate Night: Rather than a traditional formal night on a cruise, Disney does a pirate night and I’ve been told repeatedly by people who have gone on Disney cruises that dressing up is not mandatory but something it seems like everyone really embraces! Our boys are still very much in the pirate-loving phase of life, so we’re definitely packing our pirate costumes. (I may or may not be dressing up as Mr. Smee.)

• Glass Air Fryer

We are a big air fryer family and use our air fryer multiple times a week — truly like 5x a week most weeks. I prefer it to the oven because it heats up soooo fast (no preheating time) and gives fish and meat a slightly crispy exterior (similar to grilling) but with a juicy interior. We’ve been in the market for a bigger air fryer for our family as our previous one was ideal for cooking for two people. I also wanted a glass air fryer this time around for a myriad of reasons (non-toxic and the ability to see my food as it cooks being the top two). I’ve been incredibly happy with the Boswell Glass Air Fryer I bought a little more than a month ago. It allows me to cook a lot of food at once (hooray for no longer cooking chicken thighs and salmon in batches) and I love that the base and rack within the air fryer are both dishwasher safe!! My only knock is that I think the pre-sets for food slightly overcook food so I’d recommend following your own air fryer recipes or previous air fryer knowledge (or just check your food every so often). I love this thing!!

• Melty Bead Keychain Crafting

Chase has an economics fair coming up at his school at the end of April and was tasked with making approximately 25 items to “sell” to classmates for fake money. He came up with the idea to make melty bead keychains and didn’t have any trouble coercing his little brothers and me into helping him because we all find melty bead projects oddly relaxing.

To turn our little creations into keychains, we’re just leaving one bead out before ironing. I then ordered these chains off Amazon to seal the deal! Who knew we’d find an economics fair project so fun!?

• Amazon Big Spring Sale: Creator Favorites

At the end of every big sale, Amazon sends an email with a recap of what items were “creator favorites” from the sale to everyone who is a part of the Amazon influencer program. I am always so intrigued to see what ended up being the most popular finds across all platforms for all creators every year and just in case you’re the same way, here are Amazon’s top creator favorites from their spring 2026 sale:

Top 3 Overall Best Sellers: Medicube Toner Pads / Owala Water Bottle (our boys use these daily) / Beckham Hotel Pillows (we have these in our guest room)

Fashion: Levi’s Cinch-Waist Baggy Jeans / Levi’s 501 Denim Shorts / CRZ Yoga ButterLuxe Leggings / Ribbed Cotton Tank Top

Shoes & Accessories: Nike Court Legacy Sneakers (Ryder has the kid version of these!) / Retro Oval Sunglasses / Project Cloud Flip Flops (these look just like my TKEES) / Woven Mary Jane Flats

Home & Kitchen: Bissell Little Green Machine (we are falling in love with this thing all over again with a puppy in the house) / Bedsure Cozy Throw Blanket / Shark PowerPro Vacuum (If you have this, please let me know what you think! Our Dyson is on its last leg.) / Pro Veggie Chopper

Beauty: Mighty Patch Blemish Patches / Medicube Pink Peptide Glow Serum / Snail Mucin Repair Serum / Sol de Janeiro Hair & Body Mist

Sports & Outdoors: HydroFlask Travel Tumbler / Stanley Cooler (we love ours so much) / Speedo Kid Swim Goggles / LifePro Vibration Plate

• The Names by Florence Knapp

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / My Rating: A- 

This was such an interesting and incredibly unique read. When I hear glowing recommendations from you guys, I’ll often add a book to my library holds list and then dive in on my Kindle once it’s available without reading anything about it. This one had me scratching my head for the first two chapters but once I understood the premise — the book essentially follows three alternate storylines that diverge after one pivotal moment in the beginning of the book — I found myself fully invested. The character growth and development and the way this book makes you think deeply about the impact of certain moments and interactions gives this novel a depth I loved so much.

From Amazon: In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son’s birth. Her husband, Gordon, respected in the community but a controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and name the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates…

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of their lives, shaped by Cora’s last-minute choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

Through a prism of what-ifs, Florence Knapp invites us to consider the “one . . . precious life” we are given. Full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

• March 2026 Top 10

Below you will find a brief recap of your top 10 blog posts and favorite finds from the blog and social media shares from last month. <3

Top 10 Blog Posts

• Losing Pepper
• Something Must Be Special About That Dog
• Lasagna Recipe Using Cottage Cheese
• What Has Helped Us Most
• One Week of Kid Breakfasts in 5 Minutes or Less
• Cottage Cheese Baked Pasta
• Greek Yogurt Biscuits
• Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
• Dog Training, Flag Sparring and a Sleepover
• How to Make German Pancakes

Top 10 Favorites

• Glass Air Fryer (My recent upgrade mentioned above. We needed a bigger air fryer for our family and I wanted a glass one — hooray for non-toxic cooking! — and have really enjoyed being able to see our food as it cooks.)
• No Makeup Makeup (One of my top beauty finds from last year. I love the way this makeup covers my pinky undertones and dark spots in the most natural-looking way. Code PBFINGERS15 saves 15%)
• Stuffed Animal Storage Tower (Bless this thing for keeping our boys’ stuffed animals organized in one place)
• Artificial Front Porch Flowers (The realistic-looking faux flowers we have on our front porch.)
• Watermelon Ball Pool Toy (Our boys’ fav pool toy!! You can bounce and pass this ball underwater. We have both sizes and the smaller size is the one they reach for most.)
• Clean 10 Cleansing Balm (Melts my makeup right off! Works very similar to the ELEMIS cleansing balm I’ve loved for years but for a tiny fraction of the price.)
• Timeless Vitamin C (The patent ran out on the $$$ Skinceuticals vitamin c serum and this one is apparently a fantastic dupe! I couldn’t justify the cost of the Skineuticals one despite loving it and finding it the most effective after one purchase years ago, so this one was an instant order for me!)
• Ruggable Kamran Rug (The rug we have all over our house in different colors and sizes. We have the Kamran Coral runner + mats in our kitchen and the Kamran Ivory Opal large rug in our family room + the mat sizes in multiple bathrooms. Code PBFINGERS15 saves 15%)
• Eby Underwear (The briefs I wear almost every day. 5 for $60!)
• ARMRA Colostrum (I began taking this a few months ago to support immune health, gut health, lean muscle mass, hair/skin health, lean muscle mass, etc. It’s a powerhouse supplement! I honestly crave it in the mornings now and just dry scoop the unflavored colostrum directly into my mouth. Code PBFINGERS saves 15%.)