It’s been such a crazy week around here and I am SO relieved it’s finally Friday.
If you’re a longtime reader, you may remember that my entire family (literally everyone) lives in Orlando and it was a nerve-wracking week with Hurricane Milton. I am so grateful that everyone safely made it through the storm with minimal damage — just lots of yard work and power outages. And I’m praying for the west coast of Florida which got hit the hardest.
In other hurricane news, Western North Carolina is still very much suffering from Hurricane Helene and if you’re local to Charlotte, I wanted to highlight an event you may be interested in taking your family to this Sunday, October 13 (between 12 – 5 pm).
The Chop Shop Butchery (which has locations in both Asheville and Charlotte) is hosting a BBQ fundraising event at Lower Left Brewing Company with all proceeds going to businesses and farms directly affected by Hurricane Helene. The event will feature live music by Side Effect, amazing brews, and delicious food from local farms and the Chop Shop! The suggested contribution is $25 and you can make your donation at the event or via their GoFundMe (use your confirmation email as your ticket).
In Case You Missed It
This week I shared…
- 6 Halloween Traditions & Reminders
- Easy Halloween Recipes
- Amazon Prime Big Deal Days
- Helping in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene
1. Prime Big Deal Days
I had so much fun shopping Prime Big Deals 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? I always love seeing which items y’all loved most. Here they are:
- Laneige Lip Mask: This is one of our go-to birthday party gifts for Caroline’s friends. The grosser the flavor, the better — think candy cane or cotton candy or sweet candy. The tween girls LOVE these.
- Touchland Hand Sanitizer: Move over Bath & Body Works, this is the new trendy hand sanitizer for the tween girls — and is another birthday party gift we love (paired with Nerds Gummy Glusters)! Like many of you, I grabbed these for stocking stuffers!
- Beauty Blenders: A frequent re-stock item for me, and on Prime Day these are just SO cheap — practically free.
- Bead Kit: The bead kit that has been a best-seller the last two Prime Days. This kit really is SO good and inexpensive. This was previously our go-to birthday party gift before skincare, and is also just really great to have on hand for rainy days, snow days, teacher work days, etc.! It’s still 70% off and has a coupon — so VERY cheap!
- Pine Garland: Also still on sale, and always goes out of stock by the end of October. Our first Christmas in our new home, I was short one strand for our staircase and ended up ordering it late October…and it arrived in January!!! I also use this exact garland on our mantel (see below)! Once you go faux, you’ll never go back to fresh!
2. Pickleball Date Night
Last weekend we got together with 4 other couples from our street for the most fun pickleball date night! We started with happy hour at my house — I whipped up a pitcher of Hugo Spritz (a fun and light champagne cocktail — see #3), Caroline made us a delicious goat cheese cracker spread (also see 3!) and McKinsey brought over a few yummy apps too! After drinks, we headed to the court, drew names out of a cup to pick teams, and pickleballed for a few hours! Then we went out for dinner together. It was a great night.
3. Happy Hour Hugo Spritz & Goat Cheese Crisps Appetizer
Two easy recipes for gatherings!
Pitcher Hugo Spritz
If you’re looking to make a batched cocktail for a crowd, this Hugo Spritz is super easy, refreshing, and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 bottles prosecco
- 10 oz elderflower liqueur
- 5 oz fresh lime juice
- fresh mint + sliced limes
- just a little ice to keep it chilled
Directions: Mix all of the below ingredients together and then serve in glasses filled with ice and garnish with sprigs of mint and a lime slice! Tip: Add the prosecco just before serving so it doesn’t go flat!
Goat Cheese Crisp Appetizer
This is the appetizer I served for our happy hour last weekend that Caroline made! It’s super easy and delicious! I will say, these cannot sit out longer than a happy hour without getting soft, so save these for when you can serve immediately and you know they’ll go fast!
I grabbed most of the ingredients at Trader Joe’s:
- Raisin Rosemary Crisps
- Blueberry Goat Cheese Log
- Pure Honey
- Thyme
- Flakey Sea Salt
Instructions: Spread goat cheese on top of crackers. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and sea salt.
4. Magnetic Bats
We decorated our home for Halloween! In case you missed it, I shared a reel on Instagram of these MAGNETIC BATS! They are such an inexpensive easy Halloween hack that transforms your garage door in 5 minutes!
5. Ben Rector Concert
Last weekend we took the kids to a Ben Rector concert at The Amp Ballantyne! The concert was SO good, the venue was incredible, and the kids ran into so many friends to run around with on the lawn. Highly recommend attending an event at The Amp — it’s set up so well and the lawn is lovely.
We’re headed out of town for a little weekend adventure! I’ll be sharing some snippets on Instagram! Have a great weekend friends!