Five on Friday

Back to our regularly scheduled programming! Phew — what a week! I had so much fun shopping the Prime Day Sale with y’all and hope you are excited about the boxes showing up on your doorstep!

Want to know what the top 5 sellers were for Prime Day? I thought I would be able to predict them, but I was totally surprised by the results:

1. Clay Bead Bracelet Making Set
2. Rummikub Tile Game
3. Water Bottle Organizer
4. Clothing Stain Remover
5. Makeup Beauty Blender Sponge Set

Alright, that’s enough on Prime Day. Let’s get down to business…

1. Matt is 43!

Last weekend Matt turned 43!

We had the nicest day celebrating him with a delicious breakfast out, lots of pool time, a few gifts, he got to hit some golf balls, and then we ended the day with a super fun date night.

Caroline is the most thoughtful gift-giver and this year she made Matt one of his absolute favorite desserts for his present — buckeyes! She worked so hard on them over two days and they turned out amazing. And the gift from all of us was also a huge hit! We had a watercolor map made of our golf course for Matt! He absolutely LOVES it and it’s already hanging in our home!

2. Thomas is 8!

We also celebrated Thomas turning 8 this week! His birthday party is TONIGHT but we celebrated him earlier this week too with a morning wake-up to lots of balloons and streamers, donuts for breakfast, birthday presents, and I surprised him with a homemade ice cream cake for dessert!

I honestly cannot believe our little man is 8! He is pure sugar, a blast to be around, absolutely hysterical, and sports-obsessed! I really loved age 7 and am hoping this next year is even more amazing.

3. Reader Favorite Books

I recently polled y’all for the best book you’ve read in 2023 so far and had some requests to share the responses. I have added almost all of them to my library list already but can’t decide which one to scoop up in a hardback for our summer vacation coming up. They all look so good!

I’m sharing the top 7 books because these were the ones that were recommended more than once, and I’ll share the remaining 30’ish books in my next Listened To Lately Post (I think next week)!

1. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
2. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
3. Horse by Geraldine Brooks
4. Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
5. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
6. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
7. Taste by Stanley Tucci

The only book I’ve read from the list is Taste by Stanley Tucci! I’ll give it a full review soon, but spoiler…it’s 5 out of 5 stars! SO good and really fun to listen to.

4. Easy Summer Dinner: Homemade Jersey Mike’s Sub Bowls

I wanted to share a quick and easy summer dinner that our entire family has really loved — Homemade Jersey Mike’s Sub Bowls. My friend McKinsey shared this idea with me after she thought to recreate her favorite JM bowl for lunch for her family while they were at the beach. Their family loved it so much that they ended up making them every day for lunch during their vacation, and then she passed the recipe on to me!

I will say, the amount of oregano this recipe calls for definitely had me questioning whether or not this would go over well with the kids…and I was blown away when both of them cleared their bowls and asked me to make this a standing weekly dinner! So we have officially replaced Pasta Wednesday with make-your-own Jersey Mike’s bowls at least through the summer.

The best part about this dinner is that it is totally customizable to each person.

Homemade Jersey Mike’s Sub Bowl Ingredients

• Shredded iceberg lettuce
• Bacon crumbles
• Diced tomatoes
• Sliced banana peppers
• Diced pickles
• Diced ham
• Diced turkey
• EVOO
• Red wine vinegar
• Oregano leaves

I fill each person’s bowl with iceberg lettuce (the pre-shredded lettuce from the grocery store is perfect for this), then everyone can load up their bowls with toppings. The last step is drizzling some olive oil and red wine vinegar over top and then adding WAY more oregano than you think you’d need. Then mix it all up and enjoy.

5. Strawberry Jalapeno Margarita

I shared this strawberry jalapeno margarita on my stories last weekend and wanted to share the recipe here for those of you who want to make it!

Strawberry Jalapeno Margarita

In a blender, mix together:

• 2 oz tequila
• 1.5 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz Cointreau
• .5 oz Agave Nectar
• 1 cup strawberries
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Pour over ice. Top with a splash of Topo Chico. Garnish with lime, jalapeno, or strawberries.

Have a great weekend friends!