We’ve been loving every second of our time at the beach — especially all of the quality time with my two nieces!
I know everyone out there has opinions related to travel and the pandemic right now and realize that doing basically anything outside of staying home elicits judgment these days… and even that elicits judgment. With most of the adults within our family vaccinated, we felt like driving to Florida and only stopping once (we packed a potty for the kids!) would help make this trip as cautious as possible while still fulfilling our strong desire to spend time with family. This decision was not made flippantly and we’re just doing our best to figure out a way to live one year into the pandemic without it completely isolating us from loved ones.
Clearly being with family is the thing I’m loving most this week x 1,000 but there are a few additional things that made up this week’s roundup of favorites which you may see below!
Things I’m Loving
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Cousin Time
To say our boys have loved spending time with their two cousins over the course of the past week is a serious understatement. They love Callie and Colette so much and seeing our boys with my sister’s daughters feels surreal and amazing and so special. The cousins spent a lot of time lizard hunting, splashing around in the sprinkler splash pad we gave Callie for Easter and creating the best kind of cousin chaos. We love this crew of kiddos so much and hope they grow up with the same kind of a strong bond I feel fortunate to have with my sister. Though we absolutely love North Carolina, it’s admittedly hard not living close to family and these moments we have together always feel like the biggest blessing.
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LastTissue Reusable Organic Tissues
Okay, okay, I know this sounds gross at first but hear me out! This resuable tissue pack is actually kind of amazing! It comes stocked with six handkerchiefs made of 100 percent organic cotton (they get softer with every wash) and the genius little barrier allows you to stuff used tissues back into the pack without them touching the remaining clean tissues. I keep my pack in my bag so I have them on hand for everything from burp messes from Rhett to a seasonal allergy sneeze! Once they’re all used up, simply wash them, give the silicone case a quick clean and stuff them back into the pack!
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The Firm by John Grisham
Okay, okay so I know I’m waaay late to the game with this novel (30 years!) but since I’ve never seen the movie and the book was also new to me, I’m going to go ahead and pretend this is a brand new find, okay? The Firm caught my eye when I found myself in the mood for a legal thriller and it certainly delivers!
One major caveat to this book recommendation: I rolled my eyes as I read it no less than 100 times. Some of the descriptions of women and the way the characters speak and the things they idolize made me cringe big time. Though I found the plotline of the story really interesting, just know that if you read it and find yourself annoyed and frustrated with the writer and questioning how some aspects of the book made it past editing, I feel ya on that one 100 percent.
The book follows recent Harvard law grad Mitch McDeere as he interviews with top law firms in the country. He selects the Memphis-based firm, Bendini, Lambert & Locke, after partners in the firm promise of extreme wealth complete with a new BMW and boast of the firm’s non-existent turnover rate. When Mitch and his wife Abby move to Memphis, they quickly realize life as a lawyer with Bendini, Lambert & Locke is not what it seems. When Mitch becomes suspicious of the deaths of former lawyers within the firm and an FBI agent seeks him out, he quickly realizes the decisions he makes as a new lawyer within the firm may be the difference between life and death.
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Blogger Friends Doing Awesome Things!
A bunch of my blogger friends are doing awesome things lately and I wanted to share a few of them here with you!
Mama Knows Nutrition’s Simply Satisfying Meals
I’ve loved following Kacie on Instagram (@mamaknows_nutrition) for years because of her low-stress approach to feeding little ones. If you’re interested in feeding your kids healthy food 80 percent of the time but don’t stress letting them have cupcakes or chicken nuggets, too, she’s your girl! (And so am I!) Kacie is a pediatric registered dietician nutritionist and, together with experienced recipe developer Heather @heather.happykidskitchen, created Simply Satisfying Meals! You guys this is a GIFT for anyone out there looking for EASY family-friendly dinner recipes. My favorite part of the 30-recipe e-book is the way the recipes are given “Lazy Level” designations with level one being NO chopping or serious prep work (aka dump it all in a pot and go!), level two noting the need for minimal prep and level three designating the most involved recipes. But, you guys, even the level three recipes are super simple. This e-book needs to be a real book because it’s so helpful!!
The Fitnessista’s Barre Bootcamp 2.0
The Fitnessista’s Barre Bootcamp 2.0 kicks off Monday, April 19! It’s a group accountability and coaching program, complete with new workouts, weekly Zoom calls with fitness and nutrition experts, and daily motivation via a private Facebook community.
Gina’s barre videos always light my muscles on FIRE (this barre booty video from years ago is still a fav!) and her Barre Bootcamp 2.0 program offers a boutique studio workouts designed to increase muscular endurance at home with minimal equipment. Gina also offers access to the workouts without the coaching component for a discounted price if that is of interest as well!
Kath Eats Real Food’s Digital Clutter Course
Kath’s Digital Clutter Course is majorly on my radar because my email inbox is truly horrifying. (I know I’m going to make a bunch of you cringe out there but I honestly have more than 10,000 emails chillin’ in my inbox at the moment. Gah!) Kath is the queen of organization and I can remember YEARS ago talking with Kath about her passions on a blogger trip and she talked all about organizing. I’m so excited that she’s putting her passion in action with this course! Her course addresses organizing the “digital clutter” in our lives and touches on everything from storing photos (all 5 million of them you have on your phone) to keeping a clean inbox and aims to tackle digital burnout with a plan you can implement immediately. YES!
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Peanut Butter Runner’s Fit Revolution: On Demand Fitness Platform
Jen is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to fitness programming and she recently created Fit Revolution, an online fitness platform offering strength, HIIT and barre classes, yoga flows, recipe tutorials, mindfulness practices and more!
Jen, along with a team of creators, fitness instructors and influencers, leads the various classes and they can be streamed on-demand at any time via your laptop or phone with the Fit Revolution iOS and Android apps. Bonus: Jen was kind enough to offer you guys 50% off three months after the 14 day free trial with the code PBFINGERS! I am excited to try one of Jen’s flows because she has made quite a name for herself in the yoga community in the Charlotte area!
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Friday Flashbacks
Grilled Scallops with Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad (A favorite spring/summertime recipe that is simple to make but feels a little special, too!)
Total Body Workout (Arms, Legs, Abs, Cardio): When you want a little bit of everything in ONE workout!
Question of the Day
Do you have anything special on the agenda for this weekend?
What is one thing you’re loving this week?
The post Things I’m Loving Friday #365 appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers.
