Happy Friday!
We’ve had a busy second-to-last week of school that has absolutely flown by. Even though I’ve been planning our summer since January, I kind of can’t believe the kids will be done with school in one week! I am feeling mostly excited but also a little panicked. I am so ready for summer, and yet I feel like I’m not quite fully prepared yet either.
Our weekend ahead is filled with 2 sports tournaments (softball and flag football), 3 birthday parties (including Mabel’s 1st birthday — and yes, I’m having her besties over for a play date to celebrate!!), and I’m hosting some girlfriends over later this afternoon for mahjong in the POOL! I am finally breaking in my Christmas gift)!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
PS – For those of you haven’t finished the school year, this is your reminder that the grocery store bakery can make you a cake to celebrate summer that is inexpensive and so fun — just be sure to bring a photo of exactly what you want it to look like! This was our cake from last year!
In Case You Missed It
This week I shared…
- All the Restaurants We Ate At in Wrightsville Beach NC last weekend!
- How I stock my car with Summer Essentials. Tip: The post is worth checking out just for the trunk organizer I’ve had for 2 years and still swear by!
- Easy Whipped Feta with Honey appetizer for your summer gatherings.
- A round-up of product refills and new finds from Amazon.
Top 5 Reader Favorites This Week
- Bead Bracelet Kit: The friendship bracelet kit I’ve purchased approximately 72 times over the past year for birthday gifts (and again this week to send with Caroline to sleepaway camp so she can make bracelets with her cabin mates). This kit is super cheap and is a great activity to scoop up now to have ready for a rainy summer day!
- Lash Princess Mascara: An under $5 mascara that is truly amazing (more than 363K reviews!!!!). I’ve tried the purple tube (curl and volume) too and love it just as much. The purple tube provides an insane amount of volume and can get clumpy if you aren’t careful, and I use the green tube for my everyday mascara.
- Trunk Organizer: Get your car organized for summer NOW to make these next few months so much easier for yourself! Two years ago, I spent way too much time researching which organizer I wanted to purchase for my trunk and ended up picking this one! I really like how it has multiple compartments, can be fastened down so it’s not sliding around, has a waterproof liner to catch sunscreen bottle leaks, and can be resized depending on how much trunk space I have available.
- Walmart Bento Box Note: Moved down one spot this week! This is the absolutely best lunch box we’ve used for years and years now. I have shared this inexpensive lunchbox more times than I can count and promise you this is the ONLY lunchbox you need. It’s so much better than any others we’ve used. It comes with multiple removable and stackable compartments, locks into place, and is dishwasher-safe!
- LL Bean Adventure Duffle: If you aren’t required to use a trunk, I will pass along a tip I received from a very season camp mom — THIS IS THE DUFFLE BAG YOU NEED. It’s the XL Adventure Bag from LL Bean and holds everything we need for our kids in ONE bag (including sheets/pillows/etc.). Order soon because it sometimes take extra time to ship — especially if you are personalizing/monogramming.
1. Swim Team
We had our first two swim meets this week! I LOVE SWIM TEAM. Drawing bubbles all over Caroline’s back, the excited energy around the pool deck, watching the kids swim their little hearts out, timing and cheering on a lane (this year I volunteered to time every meet), and celebrating with ice cream and margaritas…it is the most fun ever.
I cannot get over how much both kids have improved since their first season last year. Last year Thomas hated swim team and took his sweet time getting down the swim lane doing whatever stroke he felt like, but this year he is ALL IN. He’s friends with all the boys on his team now and loves the thrill of a competition — and he cut his time in HALF from last season!
2. Book Review: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Rating 4/5: A really good fast paced read with short, punchy chapters. Loved the narration and mixed media formats! Lots of twists and turns that are unpredictable.
Book Summary: What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn’t matter?
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie,” and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.
3. Post-Sun Skincare Recommendations
A few days ago I polled y’all for recommendations for skincare products after prolonged sun exposure and cannot thank you enough for all the responses!!! The older I get the more sensitive my face seems to become to the sun. Even though I hide under an umbrella, wear a hat, and lather myself in SPF, the combination of heat/sun/products dehydrates my skin severely and my face breaks out into a rash then flakes for dayssss afterward. So I turned to my internet friends and asked y’all for products or tips on how to soothe my skin and I bought so many things to try. At this point, I will honestly try pretty much anything.
The first to arrive was the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask since I purchased it from Amazon and it arrived in 4 hours so it’s the only product I can review so far! This mask felt SO soothing on my face and I saw a noticeable difference in my skin texture the following morning. I’m going to continue using it until the rest of my products arrive!
Here is a list of products that were recommended if you’re in the same boat…
- Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
- LED Light (I am very interested in this but don’t really know where to start — so many options)!
- Avene Cicalfate+
- Rose Hip Oil
- Arbonne Skincare Products
- La Rache-Posay Triple Repair Cream
- Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum
- Clinique Moisture Surge 100 H Moisture (I forgot about this cream!!! I used to use this as my daily moisturizer and loved it)!
- Sunday Riley CEO Afterglow Vitamin C Cream
- Soothing Skin Balm by Earthley Wellness
- Rowe Casa Summer Line
- Burt’s Bees After Sun Soother
- Weleda Skin Food (forgot about this one too. I tried in 2018 and liked it. It’s super thick but effective)
- Sun Bum Aloe (keep in fridge)
- Stop all retinols a week or so before vacation
- Solar Recovery After Sun Moisturizing Spray (bought this for myself, but to spray on my kids when they get too much sun)
4. Life Skills for Big Kids
I love this skills list for big kids that Days with Grey posted on Instagram and have decided I am going to incorporate some of these into my summer bucket list!
5. Father’s Day Gift Guide
Father’s Day is in a few weeks! I’ve rounded up a few items if you’re looking for an idea for a gift!
Also, don’t forget I have SO MANY MORE ideas you can find here:
Father’s Day Gift Guide Items
