We’ve had such a wonderful trip and its felt absolutely incredible to unplug a bit and immerse myself in time with my very favorite people. (More on that below!)
As for the weekend ahead, it’s our only weekend we’ve had where we’ll be 1.) at home and 2.) not hosting guests since May and through the beginning of August so you better believe we are keeping our agenda very, very clear. Though most of our summer days aren’t technically busy (no camps or anything like that), our weekends somehow filled up fast but with lots of fun stuff.
I hope to get back into a more regular blogging groove next week now that we’re back in town! Until then, let’s dive into this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!
Things I’m Loving Friday
Meeting Baby James + Cousin Time
A HUGE highlight during my trip to Florida was meeting my sister’s fourth baby, a little boy named James. Though he’s the biggest of all my parents’ grandbabies he still felt so teeny tiny to me and I soaked up as much time with him in my arms as I could.
I was wondering why it felt like I got to spend more time with James as a newborn than my sister’s other babies and it finally clicked: This time, when my sister had a baby, my youngest child is four-years-old and not a baby/toddler! Leslie and I love having kids who are similar ages but sometimes its felt like we’re so deep in the trenches of motherhood with our own babies/toddlers that we cannot get as much quality time as we’d like with our nieces/nephews during short visits. It felt like a gift to me able to hold James for extended periods of time, babysit all the kids and give more attention to all of my nieces and nephews.
We also had the best time watching all of our kids play together!
They put on lots of performances for us, splashed around at the beach and pool and created some of the coolest imagination games together. I’m trying not to let the “post family time blues” set in but whenever we leave, it always feels a little hard and I’m always left feeling a little sad we don’t all live closer.
When we come to Florida, we always stay with my parents and I cannot tell you how much our boys adore spending time with their grandparents. Between knitting lessons and puffy painting/tie-dying shirts with Mae to chasing Pop at the pool and discussing all things Tour de France and Formula One, they’re in heaven with all the extra love and attention coming their way.
We also managed to sneak away to Orlando for two days and booked a suite with connecting rooms at the Gaylord Palms hotel as a surprise for my mom’s birthday and had the most incredible time. We spent time out and about in Orlando, swimming and just enjoying each other.
Oh! And another highlight: The Capybara Cafe! My mom found this gem of a spot in St. Augustine and we had the best time taking the boys and their cousins to the Alligator Farm and then popping into the Capybara Cafe one afternoon. The capybaras were 4 months old and all kinds of curious and adorable.
Genre: Fiction/Mystery / My rating: A-
Whoaaaa what a read! One of my biggest reader friends recommended this book to me with glowing reviews so my expectations were very, very high. I’ll admit that for the first half of the book, I recognized the writer’s talent for capturing beautiful imagery and characters so realistic you felt like they could climb right off the pages… and yet, I was a little bored. This book is the definition of a slow burn for me because it took a while to get going but when it did, my goodness I could not put it down. I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. reading and reading away once I hit the halfway point because so many important smack-you-in-the-face things started to happen, one of which I never saw coming. The second half of this book had me so wrapped up in the story and characters that it completely redeemed the slower start.
From Amazon: Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.
Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.
But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.
A roundup of your top favorites from June!
Blog Posts
Your Top 10 Favorites
- Salt & Stone Deodorant Sample Set (The aluminum-free deodorant that blew up my college girlfriends’ group text. Every single scent smells lovely and my armpits smell fresh all day long. My code PBFINGERS15 saves 15% off everything on their site, but the deodorant is also included in the Amazon Prime Day sale!)
- FRE Skincare Vitamin C Serum (Feels velvety smooth when I apply this to my face every morning. A skincare must for me! Code PBFINGERS saves 35% off site-wide!)
- True & Co. Bra (The bra I wear nearly every day that feels like a second skin. You pull it on — no wires! — and the straps are convertible.)
- ZSupply 100% Cotton Set (Possibly my most-worn purchase from the past few months. I swear the minute it’s washed and clean again, I put it back on.)
- DIY Squishies Kit (The crafty activity we gave Ryder for his birthday that all the boys ended up loving. I bought a second kit to do in FL with the cousins, too!)
- Marker Storage Craft Bin (So helpful for crafty organization. The interior tubs are big enough to hold Crayola Clicks markers and colored pencils which wasn’t the case with other bins I tried.)
- Watermelon Ball Pool Toy (The hit of last summer and this summer with our big kids.)
- Clare V Petit Moyen Bag (The gorgeous bag I got from my parents for my 40th birthday. It’s stunning and I’ve been wearing it with absolutely everything.)
- Gemstone Beaded Necklace (The necklace I’ve been wearing with everything. I love the way it adds a pop of color to neutral outfits, too.)
- Garmin Lily Smartwatch (The watch I’ve been wearing daily since I got it in October. Love that it looks a little more feminine and still cute with outfits outside of just athleisure.)
- Flowy Caftan (A fabulously flowy find. I’m the newest member of the caftan fan club!)
Jacksonville Beach Kid Activities (A roundup of some of our favorite things to do with our kids when we visit family in Jax Beach!)
Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp (For my fellow seafood lovers)
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this week?
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