Five on Friday

Happy Friday!

It’s been a big birthday week over here!

On Monday, Matt turned 44 and Caroline made him the best 3 layer golf themed birthday cake with his two favorite flavors (2 layers of funfetti and a layer of red velvet), we went out for a delicious birthday dinner, and I surprised him with a new swimsuit! Oh, and I hope you saw his birthday race against the kids! His Achilles has been sore ever since.

On Thursday, Thomas turned 9! His party is tomorrow, but we’ve been celebrating him pretty much all week with sleepovers, gifts, and a birthday dinner at his restaurant of choice (Olive Garden)!

Tonight we are celebrating both of the boys with an extra fun dive-in family movie night! I’ve got their favorite candy ready to go and they are pumped to watch Dune 2. We watched Dune 1 last weekend after Thomas came home from sleepaway camp (where they had a Dune themed sock war) begging to watch it and see what the Shai-Hulud (giant sandworm) was all about.

Funny side note: Both Dune movies have been in our watchlist for a bit but I have somehow managed to skate around this pick every weekend with various excuses. Finally, while the kids were at sleepaway camp, I agreed to watch both Dune 1 and Dune 2 with Matt. And honestly, I thought both movies were really good (with #2 being slightly better). And now I get to watch them again…

A Few Announcements!

Two quick announcements before we dive in!

As a reminder, the Amazon Prime Day sale is this Tuesday and Wednesday (July 16-17). I am so excited to cover the sale again this year — it’s an adrenaline-filled two days for me! I get up as early as possible to start covering it and collapse into bed after my fingers go numb. If you don’t need to shop for anything, skip my stories those days because they will be filled exclusively with sale coverage. And if you do need something, make sure to let me know on the first day of the sale when I put my question box up so I can search for you! I will again be giving away $1,000 in Amazon gift cards on Instagram. Oh, and newsletter subscribers, check your inbox for a little treat on Tuesday morning (and check your spam folder if you don’t see an email from me in your inbox)!

One more announcement — my Teacher Wish List post has lots and lots of wish lists for Title 1 or first-year teachers who could use some help getting their classrooms ready. I know the needs these teachers are facing can be overwhelming and heartbreaking with items ranging from basic needs like underwear and laundry detergent to snacks, school supplies, and so much more. Even the smallest purchase would help them (and their students) tremendously!

1. Top 7 All-Inclusive Family Resorts

Last week I polled y’all on Instagram for all-inclusive family resorts and lots of you asked me to share the responses. There were 30+ resort recommendations (a mix of AI and non-AI), but I thought I’d share the top 7 most popular all-inclusive resorts! In order of popularity…

Beaches Turks & Caicos (*Many of the recommendations came with the caveat that the food is just OK. We took our kids a few years ago and thought the same thing!)
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana Dominican Republic
Grand Velas Los Cabos
Westin Reserva Conchal Costa Rica (*If you are planning a trip to CR, I highly recommend reaching out to Meg of MH Custom Travel. She is an expert on Costa Rica and has lots of local connections there as well.)
Grand Moon Palace Cancun
Finest Punta Cana
Hotel Xcaret Mexico

2. Grilled Peach Margarita

My latest favorite margarita!! I’ve been making so many peach recipes lately and this margarita is worth the effort of grilling peaches. Here’s the recipe:

Shake the first 4 ingredients together in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a glass filled with ice and an agave brushed tajin rim. Garnish with a grilled peach.

1.5 oz tequila
1 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz orange liqueur
1.5 oz grilled peach syrup
agave brushed tajin rim
grilled peach for garnish

Grilled Peach Syrup Instructions: Sprinkle 2 sliced peaches with brown sugar and grill until you see grill marks. Add to a sauce pan with 1.5 cups water and bring to boil, then add .75 cup cane sugar. Remove from heat and let sit for at least 15 minutes (the longer the stronger the flavor). Blend well and then strain.

3. The Crust Pizza

Charlotte friends, if you haven’t tried The Crust Pizza, you MUST!!!! And if you are gluten-free, you especially need to try it. A location recently opened next to my house and we ordered it for a poolside dinner with our neighbors and I was blown away by how good the gluten-free crust is. It doesn’t even taste gluten-free — at all!! They describe their pizzas as crispy on the bottom, fluffy in the middle, and loaded to the brim with toppings which is spot on.

We’ve ordered a few pizzas (gf and not gf) recently and all have been really good. The salads are also really good — and cheap too.

Anyway, I’m pretty picky about pizza. If I’m going to eat pizza…it needs to be delicious and The Crust is right up there with Inizio and 800 degrees for me (all VERY different pizzas and very good for different reasons). The only drawback is The Crust doesn’t deliver.

Here’s the veggie pizza which is dang delicious. But also the BBQ chicken pizza is even better (and prettier)!

4. Outdoor Cooler Side Table

This cooler side table is one of our favorite summer purchases for our backyard. They were a targeted ad for me for awhile and Matt kept sending me ads for them too. We decided to purchase 1 to try out and liked it enough to purchase a second! This cooler table has a swivel top, is weather resistant, and has a large storage capacity (55 cans). They do require quite a bit of ice since they are so big, but the double-walled insulation keeps drinks chilled for a long time (all day)! Available in 4 colors.

5. Summer Reading Log Update

Reporting back on our Summer Reading Log! I shared this experiment a few weeks ago and have been blown away by how much it has incentivized the kids to read!! Caroline has finished 4 books in her Nancy Drew Starter Set and Thomas finished the I Survived Series!

So now I’m working on redeeming all their prizes. We checked off Sips & Dips, both kids had their 1-friend sleepover this week, and it looks like we’re heading to Ulta this weekend. Since they are on a roll, I am going to create another reading log for each of them — but I need new prizes!!! If you have any ideas, please share!