Five on Friday - Carolina Charm

Happy New Year, friends!

As I kick off my first Five on Friday of the year, I’ve been reflecting on how refreshing it was to step away from my computer for a bit at the end of 2024. The holidays are always a whirlwind of magic-making—hosting, gifting, cooking, and soaking up family time. On top of that, the December work sprint left me feeling pretty burned out. Finding the energy to dive back in has been a challenge, but I’m grateful for the chance to reset and step into the new year with fresh purpose and inspiration.

Earlier this week, I polled y’all on Instagram about your favorite content from 2024 and what you’d love to see more of in 2025—recipes, tips, products, specific posts, you name it! Reading your responses was the perfect way to kick off the year. Knowing my content resonates with you and sparks joy means so much to me. Your feedback is just the creative boost I needed to dive into 2025 feeling inspired and motivated.

My Wool Blend Pullover Sweater (via Nuuly)

In Case You Missed It…

One of the things I’m focusing on this year is refreshing some of my favorite older posts to share with you again. When I did my Instagram poll recently, so many of the requests were for topics I’ve already written about in the past! I realized it’s the perfect opportunity to update and re-share those posts—recipes, tips, and ideas that you might have missed the first time around or would enjoy reading again. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of new content coming your way too, but I’m excited to breathe new life into some old favorites!

Our Annual Family Planning Meeting: First published in 2019, this post has been heavily updated to cover everything you need to know about how we tackle our annual planning meeting. From why we do it and what we discuss to the template we use for goal setting and planning the year ahead, it’s all here! See #4 for the highlights from our recent 2025 meeting!
How I Plan Our Family Travel & Activities: This was one of the most requested topics when I polled y’all for ideas! I refreshed this 2021 post to reflect how much our approach has changed over the years.
Sausage & Cheese Tortellini Soup: Our #1 family favorite soup since 2016 deserved a front-and-center spot on the website, so I gave it a little refresh! This hearty, cozy recipe is perfect for chilly nights and is always a hit with the whole family. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re in for a treat!

Our Top 2024 Favorites

I’m so excited to share our Top 25 Amazon Best-Sellers from 2024! This curated list is packed with the products you all loved most last year—from home essentials to beauty must-haves and gifts that were total hits. I’m highlighting MY personal top 5 favorites from the list, but I definitely recommend checking out the full list and see if your favorites made it!

My Walking Pad: Had to start with my VERY favorite purchase of 2024 — my walking pad! My productivity has increased so much, and so have my steps! Unless it’s a content filming day, I’m usually at my desk in my office for most of the day. Despite daily walks with Mabel and workouts, I often struggle to hit my steps goal. So, I decided to invest in a walking pad and desk riser, and I absolutely love it. I’ve been walking almost every day and consistently hitting between 8-16K steps! Stepping onto the walking pad for the first time felt odd, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to type and walk simultaneously. I started out at just 1 mph, but by lunchtime, I had completely forgotten I was even walking. Now, I’m comfortably walking at 3.0 mph if I’m concentrating, and even faster if I’m in reading mode.
Rotary Cheese Grater: This cheese grater has completely elevated my kitchen routine and was the #1 seller overall for 2024 (and for good reason!!!). With three interchangeable blades for slicing and shredding cheese, veggies, fruits, and nuts, it’s so versatile. I especially love using it to thinly slice cucumbers for salads! And let’s talk cheese—shredding a fresh block tastes noticeably better than pre-shredded cheese, which is loaded with additives. It’s quick too—about 90 seconds per block. Pro tip: shred multiple blocks at once, store the extras in freezer bags, and enjoy fresh-tasting cheese anytime!
Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré: I discovered this holy grail face cream at the beginning of 2024, and have purchased it 4 times since! It’s a 6-in-1 French moisturizer with over 30K+ glowing reviews, and I can see why. It’s creamy yet lightweight, smells clean, and delivers intense hydration without feeling heavy. Not only is it a great everyday moisturizer, but it also doubles as a primer, makeup remover, and more. It’s perfect for travel since it combines so many products into one—I always keep one in my travel kit. For the price, it’s honestly unbeatable, and I reach for it more than any of my other skincare products!
The Game: This fast-paced, addictive card game is all about teamwork and strategy as players work together to beat the deck—but it’s also perfect for playing solo, which is one of my favorite ways to unwind (a much better alternative to me scrolling Instagram!)! Quick to learn and fun to play, it’s great for game nights with family, friends, or just some quiet time to yourself. With a 20-minute playtime, it’s a win for kids and adults alike
Portable Touchscreen TV Monitor: We technically got this portable TV in 2023 but it was a 2024 best-seller and still a top 5 home favorite of mine! It’s like a cross between a TV and a tablet, with a touchscreen display, a built-in battery, and a wheeled base so you can roll it anywhere you want. It even comes with a remote! We originally bought it for our bedroom, but it makes the rounds—laundry room for folding clothes, back porch on weekends, kid bedrooms for special occasions — you name it. You can stream directly on it or mirror content from your phone or tablet, making it super versatile. It does tend to sell out quickly, but it’s finally back in stock, so don’t wait if you’ve had your eye on one!

1. Winter Break Rewind

Winter break already feels like a distant memory, so instead of a full recap, here’s the condensed version of the highs and lows:

Highs:
This Christmas was so special. With the kids another year older, I didn’t expect much Christmas morning excitement—but wow, they blew me away! Despite Matt battling a nasty cold and assembling Caroline’s vanity on Christmas Eve hopped up on Mucinex (with a pounding headache, no less—shoutout to him!), the kids’ joy made it all worth it. Caroline was over the moon to get her dream vanity, and Thomas couldn’t stop grinning over his new Lamelo Ball shoes and football passer machine. It was one of my favorite Christmas mornings ever! Another highlight was heading to Florida to see my family. We soaked up lots of laughs, snapped some hilariously awkward “JCPenney style” photos after a few cocktails, and even planned our summer vacation together.

Lows:
The plague swept through our house—but thankfully, I dodged it! Oh, and Rainbow, our beta fish, died…on Christmas. (Though, to be fair, we think he actually passed a day earlier in his little rock house. It just took us some time to realize he wasn’t hiding. RIP, Rainbow.)

For my longtime readers, you may remember the story of our school carnival fish prizes…

2. Soup Sunday is Back!

One of my favorite winter traditions is officially back—Soup Sunday! Each Sunday, I whip up a big pot of soup for the family, and it’s the coziest way to end the weekend. There’s just something so comforting about gathering around the table with a warm bowl of soup, especially this time of year. The best part? It pulls double duty, feeding me all week for lunch! Whether it’s a family favorite or a new recipe to try, Soup Sunday is my little way of making the cold months feel a little warmer and tastier. You can find all my soup recipes HERE!

Favorite Soup by Family Member

3. Flu & COVID Rapid Test Kit

Over winter break, we went through quite a few of these Rapid Test Kits to make sure everyone was healthy and flu-free before traveling to see family. This 3-in-1 combo kit tests for Flu A, Flu B, and COVID-19, delivering results in just 10 minutes. It was such a relief to have these on hand, and the same-day delivery was a total lifesaver during the holiday chaos! With flu season hitting school so hard this year, we’re keeping a few of these stocked for quick answers, especially for the kids!

4. Our Annual Family Planning Meeting

Over Winter Break, Matt and I had our annual Family Planning Meeting!! It’s something we look forward to every year—reviewing last year’s goals, setting new ones for 2025 (personal, family, marriage, business, finance, and kids), and mapping out the year ahead. We tackled everything from vacations and holiday travel to budgets, summer plans, and house projects. It was such a productive meeting, and I’m really excited about the goals we’ve set for the year!

This year, we added a fun new twist—kid participation! While Matt and I set a few goals for the kids during our meeting, we followed up with a fun lunch out to hear their goals too. It was so interesting (and adorable) to hear what’s on their minds! We also used the time to decide which sports and activities to stick with (basketball, flag football, dance, athletic development training, and the school play), which ones to let go of (sorry, guitar lessons!), and their goals for the year. Some favorites included making a 3-pointer basket and completing a 25-yard football pass. It was such a great way to start the year feeling aligned as a family!

5. Product Refill: Shower Thoughts

I just purchased my third shower notepad—just in time for a fresh start to the new year! I’m always coming up with ideas—tasks for Carolina Charm, grocery list additions, or random to-dos—and would completely forget them by the time I stepped out. Not anymore! With 40 waterproof, perforated sheets, I can jot down my thoughts, tear off the page, and keep all my ideas intact. It’s such a simple yet brilliant way to stay organized, even in the shower!

January Promo Codes

ShopMy: The affiliate platform I love for linking products. If you’re a creator looking for an affiliate platform, I have a referral link that can help get you in the program!
Nuuly: Get $30 off your first month’s subscription. I have had so much fun renting all my holiday party outfits this year and now using it for some fun winter sweaters that I wouldn’t normally splurge on.
Cozy Earth: Before the holidays, we replaced both kids’ bedroom sheets since their rooms doubled as guest spaces. Thomas’s sheets were completely overdue (his old set was literally ripping apart!), and I didn’t expect him to care much about new ones. But he’s mentioned several times how much he loves his new sheets! The pintuck print is so pretty, and they’re just as soft and cozy as you’d expect from Cozy Earth. Use code CE-CAROLINACHARM at checkout for 40% off!