Things I’m Loving Friday
My friend Danielle bought this Malin + Goetz hand soap from a little boutique located in the panhandle of Florida and gave it to us as a housewarming gift. I was already familiar with Malin + Goetz products (they’re a clean beauty brand and I love their shampoo and conditioner) but had never tried their rum hand soap. This hand soap is going to be a new staple in our powder bathroom! It smells incredible, feels wonderful on my skin and I love the simple packaging.
I’m not sure what I was thinking with my latest Nuuly rental because I included a lot of not-too-casual dresses and skirts and, um, where do I think I’m going exactly!? Thankfully I did find an excuse to wear one of the nicer dresses in my order on Monday night when I went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday! This dress is definitely one of my top three favorite Nuuly rentals to date! It’s an older Anthropologie dress (I sized down to an XS which worked but the arms were a little tight) and the color is just so gorgeous. I honestly would’ve purchased this one if the arms were a little looser but it was such a lovely dress that I had to share it here, too, because I know a bunch of you are Nuuly renters as well! The exact dress is Anthrpologie Marais Printed Chiffon Maxi Dress in case you want to add it to your next delivery or try to find it resale. I packed it in my bag to bring with me this weekend, too!
My rating: A-
A couple of weeks ago, while sharing a VRBO and cheering on our husbands as they completed a Half IronMan together, my friend Merri and I began chatting about books. We swapped recommendations and she highly encouraged me to read Before We Were Yours, explaining that while the book is heartbreaking, it is also an incredible story. (Note: I typically avoid books where horrible thing happen to children and if you’re the same way you may prefer to avoid this one as well.)
Before We Were Yours ripped my heart right open. It’s based on the true horrors surrounding the Tennessee Children’s Society, a Memphis-based adoption organization that kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country in the first half of the twentieth century. While this book is historical fiction and the characters are not real, it’s horrific to read about because it’s so strongly based on the atrocities behind this organization.
That being said, the book is a really, really good book. The writer is very talented and I especially loved the chapters that followed Rill, an incredibly brave 12-year-old girl, whom I found myself fiercely rooting for throughout the novel. Rill’s life changes when her mother goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital by her father, leaving Rill in charge of her four siblings on a shantyboat in the Mississippi River. When Rill and her siblings are discovered and taken to the Tennessee Children’s Society under the pretense of reuniting with their parents, Rill is terrified, devastated and more determined than ever to keep her siblings close and her family in tact.
The book flip-flops back and forth between 1939 through Rill’s story and Avery’s story in the present day. Avery is a successful lawyer poised to continue her family’s political legacy as her father, a prominent senator, is struggling with his health. When she comes into contact with an elderly woman at an assisted living facility who recognizes the dragonfly bracelet she’s wearing on her wrist, a treasured gift from her Grandma Judy, Avery is flooded with questions about her grandmother and her family’s history… and her future. As Avery begins to dig, she learns more about the Tennessee Children’s Society and her curiosity has her wondering if what she uncovers could change everything she’s ever known about her family and flip her sure-thing future upside down.
Chase and Rhett lucked out last weekend because we gave them their big birthday presents a little early! We wanted to give Ryder the gift we were most excited to give him on his real birthday but knew it would be 10,000 times more fun if he could use it with his brothers. We made the decision to do early birthday gifts for Chase and Rhett and it was a great decision because our boys have been 100 percent obsessed with their new ride-on toys! They’ve been zooming all over the place!
A friend of mine who also has three boys but is a few years ahead of us in life(her youngest son is the age of our middle son) has been a great resource to me for gifts our boys might like but actually continue to use for years. She highly, highly recommended these Nighthawk ride-on toys for our big kids, promising her oldest child still loves his at 10-years-old. Her recommendation was spot-on and the first thing Chase and Ryder have asked to do every single morning since they received their new gifts is ride their Nighthawks. (Yup, at 7 a.m.) The learning curve was practically non-existent and after a short wobble or two they taught themselves how to fly around on these things! They love them and so far the battery life has lasted well over and hour which impressed me for a kids’ rechargeable toy.
And that brings me to Rhett’s surprise…
I wasn’t sure what to do for Rhett because I knew he was too young to handle a Nighhawk so when a quick Google search lead me to these little bumper cars, I had a feeling I found a winner. This little bumper car is an absolute slam dunk with Rhett right now! He shockingly doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that it’s not nearly as fast as his big brothers’ ride-ons (this one goes up to 2 miles per hour) and he was able to figure out the controls and musical buttons on his own after a few minutes as well. I grabbed his bumper car when it was on a lightning deal on Amazon and the blue color Rhett has is on super-sale again today, too! Set up was a breeze and battery time appears to be great with this one, too. Rhett isn’t doing any camps this summer so with so much at-home time on the horizon for our little guy, I know this little bumper car is going to get a LOT of use!
Chocolate Chia Seed Protein Pudding (I made this for breakfast/an afternoon snack twice this week!)
Sesame Cucumber Salad (Pairs so well with so many things!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this week?
