Things I’m Loving Friday #600

Our final full week of summer break is coming to a close today and I’m unsure how I feel about it. The work side of me is looking forward to a routine, more regular blogging (I’ve missed this space so much!) and more time to focus on parts of PBF I’ve neglected for months. But the more prominent side of me is wishing for more time. More schedule-free days. More afternoons at the pool, more sunshine and more chances to simply soak up time with the boys. Their ages have made this summer my favorite yet — a sentiment I hope I feel for every single summer to come — but right now the boys are in this beautiful stage of still being very much kids but also so clearly their own people without some of the hands-on neediness that comes along with toddlers and babies. (I loved those years so much, too, but this is a sweet spot I could truly live in forever.)

We filled our final full week of summer break with so much summer fun. It was a good one from start to finish and included a handful of sleepovers at our house with the boys’ friends, lots of fishing, play dates, pool time and KITTENS! (More on the cats below!) The one bummer is that Ryan was in India all week for work but he arrives home this evening and we’re so ready for him!! (Ryan flew to India the day we got back from Key West like such a freaking trooper.)

As for this weekend, we have a few things on the agenda but we’re also hoping for some chill time as we prep for back-to-school madness next week. Keep on scrolling if you’d like to catch up on a few things we’re loving around here this week!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Our Foster Kittens: Maple and Waffles!

Wanna know what happens when you show up at the pet store to buy crickets for your leopard gecko and find out a local animal shelter has a influx of cats and is in desperate need of fosters through the weekend? You end up leaving with two 3-month-old kittens. Meet Maple and Waffles, two of the sweetest kittens on the planet. We absolutely adore this brother-sister duo and they’ve been such a spunky, cuddly, fun addition to our household this week.

Long story short, we went to the pet store for crickets for our leopard gecko and found out that the animal shelter they partner with was in desperate need for more room for their cats, as they were getting an influx of rescues on Thursday. There is a cricket shortage in the area (yes, really), so we ended up leaving the pet store with zero crickets and two cats (yes, really).

We brought Maple and Waffles home on Monday with the understanding our home is not the right fit for a longterm home for the kittens for a myriad of reasons. Of course now we adore these little babies and would love, love, love to help them find a perfect home. We’ve had them in our house for five days now and they’ve been absolutely fantastic with the boys. They’re playful and hilarious together but also do so well when the boys hold them and pet them. They’re a blast and a half to watch together and have all of us laughing as they pounce, climb, jump and spook each other. I am MORE than happy to help fascilitate an adoption for these kittens because they are so wonderful and deserve to live in a loving forever home. We are hoping and praying they find a loving family to give them the best life… and if they could be adopted together, our hearts would soar because they’re such a sweet duo.

• Biscuit Donut Holes

When I was a kid, and even into my teenage years, my mom used to make homemade donut holes using canned biscuit dough for breakfast in the morning after I’d have friends sleepover. They’re one of those special core memory breakfasts I associate with childhood, the excitement of sleepovers with close friends and, now that I’m older, a mom who loved me so much that she wanted to sprinkle extra special experiences into everyday life. Fast forward to being a mother myself, I cannot resist making fun breakfasts for the boys and their friends when they have sleepovers at our house. Sometimes this looks like cinnamon rolls (the viral cinnamon rolls with heavy cream we love) or, if we’re feeling extra fun, my mom’s biscuit donut holes!

These donut holes are really easy to make. First you just need a can or two of biscuits. Cut the biscuits into quarters and then roll the pieces between your hands to form them into a circular donut hole shape. Then you’ll just fry them up in oil (vegetable or canola oil work well) in a skillet, turning them as they start to brown which happens FAST! From there, the fun really begins as you can then dip your donut holes into a variety of toppings. We love glaze (just powdered sugar mixed with a splash of milk), cinnamon-sugar, sprinkles and icing. Glaze and powdered sugar are always the most popular and tastiest, especially when you roll one in the glaze and then toss it in the powdered sugar. A double whammy of deliciousness!

• Glass Tumbler

While my unicorn mug has yet to exist, I am seeing some progress on the non-silicone/plastic tumbler front! There are more and more ceramic and glass options out there these days and while they do feel a little bit like a disaster/crash waiting to happen when I try to juggle too many things in my hands at once, I cannot deny I’m loving them! Since I am very much one of those people who like to have multiple different beverages going at all times, I am embracing my glass tumblers for my “special” beverages — aka my iced matcha lattes and my afternoon kombucha. Forever a sucker for pink + orange or red, I couldn’t resist this Anthropologie tumbler and it’s felt like such a joyful little find.

• The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Genre: / My rating: A 

The best way I can describe The Calamity Club is to say it’s simultaneously very long and yet not long enough. I love, love, loved it. From start to finish, this book had me absolutley enamored and deeply rooting for both main characters. I spent the first half of the book not really knowing where it was going but also not caring because I adored Meg and Birdie so much. I ended up getting the audiobook version of The Calamity Club through my Libby app halfway through reading it and then went back and forth between the book and the audiobook, as I read before bed at night but listen to audiobooks while multitasking during the day. For this book, I felt like the audiobook version took my enjoyment of the story to another level. The women reading as Meg and Birdie did such a phenomenal job adding dimension to the character’s voices in a way that had me reading in their voices in my mind when I would switch back to reading this book. This book is officially claiming my top spot for my favorite book of the year so far! It was captivating, thought-provoking, heartbreaking, unexpectedly funny at times and a truly memorable read.

• Weekend Sales

25% off site wide + 20% off custom items at BaubleBar: Some of my favorite jewelry (layering bracelets and necklaces!) + bags are from BaubleBar! For easy browsing, I rounded up a collection of the BaubleBar items I have and love here: BaubleBar Favorites. Any for anyone in search of a gift idea for girls, we’ve gifted this DIY bag charm kit to two of Chase’s friends and it was a big hit!

Up to 40% off Everything at Lands’ End with code SPORTKNIT: MAJOR sale on Land’s End that includes their backpacks! I’ve only heard rave reviews about their backpacks in terms of quality + durability. Rhett picked out this race car checkered backpack for kindergarten this year (50% off and only $24.96) and Ryder selected this gray/neon camo one (50% off and only $27.47) because the old backpack he’s been using since preschool was falling apart. I also ordered these easy on sneakers with the same discount code for Chase because that kid knows how to destroy sneakers at warp speed.

Extra 40% off Sale at Anthropologie: A great time to browse their jeans + dresses + sneakers!

5 Pairs of Underwear for $60 at Eby: This is the sale I used to transition my underwear drawer to 95% Eby underwears. The seamless briefs are my favorite; I love the way they don’t slip and slide around but still offer comfortable, seamless coverage. I also recently took a chance on this colorful sheer matching bra + panty set and looove the way it fits. It’s equal parts cute and sexy!

All Denim on Sale + Extra 30% off with code EXTRA at Old Navy: Sale includes the viral low rise jeans I couldn’t resist! I rounded up more sale favorites here: Old Navy Sale.

• July 2026 Top 10

Sharing your top 10 from July 2026 below!

Top 10 Blog Posts

• Lasagna Recipe Using Cottage Cheese
• Currently July 2026
• Azores Itinerary
• Cottage Cheese Baked Pasta
• Day Trips from Charlotte
• Certified Scuba Diver, Carowinds and a Simple Sunday
• Greek Yogurt Biscuits
• Things to Do in Hilton Head with Kids
• How to Make German Pancakes
• Cottage Cheese Zucchini Breakfast Casserole

Your Top 10 Favorites

• Old Navy Low Rise Baggy Jeans (The viral jeans at a pricepoint I couldn’t resist. I sized down.)
• Quince Boyfriend Sweater (Apparently you guys are shopping for fall already! This sweater is a great staple piece. I have it in two colors and love it dressed up or down. You can see it on me here, here, here, here here. I sized up to a medium for a comfier fit.)
• The Academy Book Series (The series of the summer for Chase! I’m so, so glad so many of your kids are loving it, too!!)
• Child’s Farm 3-in-1 Swim Shampoo (The sensitive-skin gentle + natural swim shampoo/conditioner/body wash our boys have been using all summer long.)
• Lightning Fast Charger (I stand by this one so hard!! Charges my phone a million times faster than other portable chargers I’ve used.)
• Active Skin Repair (The non-toxic no-sting spray we use to help speed up healing on cuts, scrapes, brush burns and even bug bites.)
• Owala Water Bottles (Currently 20% off!! These are the water bottles our boys have used for years. We love that they can fill them themselves through the spout.)
• Stakt Mat Pro (My favorite workout mat of all time that I use in nearly every workout. It’s more cushioned than other mats which my body appreciates and I love the way it folds up and doubles as an elevated surfact. And have you seen the new denim mat tote bag?! I LOVE it for bringing my mat to and from the gym. And yes, I love my mat enough to cart it around with me! My code PBFINGERS15 saves 15%.)
• Fellow Electric Kettle (The electric kettle we use every single day! It’s incredibly user friendly and beautiful on a kitchen countertop. I bought one for my dad for Father’s Day this year because he loved ours so much.)
• TKEES Slides (TKEES rarely go on sale and I nabbed them at this pricepoint! These have worked well for me both at the pool and in day-to-day life. I size up 1/2 size.)

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What is one thing you are loving this week?