Do you guys have anything fun planned for the weekend ahead? We’ll be keeping our birthday celebrations for Ryder simple as he said he just wanted a family birthday party so we’re honoring his wishes and will be celebrating with a family slug party (yup, you read that right), presents and lots of love for our Ryder man!
As for Sunday, we’ll be celebrating Ryan and we’re excited to have my mother-in-law in town for all of the fun. I hope to have a moment to sneak away and recap the weekend for you guys to share more about our adventures on Monday (or at the very least Wednesday) but until then, keep on scrolling for this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!
Things I’m Loving Friday
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Small Summer Goal: One Small House Project a Day
BEFORE (random closet where we store luggage and extra bedding/blankets):
AFTER: 
A little more than a week ago, a few of my friends and I were chatting about one of the chapters in M is for Mama, the book we’re diving into as part of our latest Bible study. One of the chapters encouraged us to list three of our strengths as a mother and three of our weaknesses. It then asked us to make a goal to do something to play to our strengths and something to challenge us in our weaknesses.
One of my weaknesses is the way I occasionally let clutter, kid toys and household messes from simply living overwhelm me as a mother. In one breath, this is something I’ve actually leaned into during motherhood — the fact that Ryan and I live in a home that’s perpetually 10-20 minutes away from being clean is something I’m mostly okay with on a day-to-day basis. Truly! But I struggle when I can feel mess (both the boys’ messes and my own) adding to my stress. I hate it when clutter and disorganization contribute to me feeling less patient and more on-edge as a mother.
One mini challenge I’ve set out for myself is to tackle one small, manageable cleaning project a day during the summer. (Yes, I very much realize this challenge is about to escalate in a MAJOR way as we prepare to move, but right now this is my focus.) In addition to the regular household upkeep (vacuuming, wiping counters, laundry, etc.), every day I’m selecting something small — a junk drawer, an over-flowing kitchen cabinet, clothes the boys have outgrown — to tackle and organize.
Can I just tell you how amazing it feels to really dive into cleaning out spaces that desperately need attention!? This may need to become a mini challenge I implement more often because I oddly enjoy it once I get into it and the way it makes me feel after the fact makes prioritizing these mini cleaning sprees majorly worth it.
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Affordable Shorts (Roomy in the Hips and Not Too Short!)
I have some awesome, affordable shorts to share with you guys today and this is coming from someone who admittedly doesn’t love shorts. I’m not sure if it’s my body type or what but shorts have always been a struggle for me because they rarely look flattering and often hug my body in the wrong places. I’m very different sizes on the top and on the bottom and this can make shorts challenging because they’re often way too short, too tight on my hips and too loose on my waist.
Within the past three weeks I’ve had some stellar summer shorts discoveries and wanted to share them with you, especially those of you who may have a similar body type to my own:
- : A-line cuts are flattering on pear shapes so you know I was instantly intrigued by these shorts! I saw them in-store which allowed me to try on multiple sizes and oddly enough THREE sizes fit but I went with the biggest of the three (size 8) because they were the roomiest in the hips. The cut of these shorts is amazing if you have hips as they almost flare out at the bottoms and leave plenty of room for hips and quads. They were on super sale — and they’re still under $15! — and I bought the cut-offs in and the . LOVE them.
- The Gym People High Waisted Workout Shorts: These popped up as a recommended item for me on Amazon (probably because I order a LOT of my workout tops from Amazon) and the style immediately appealed to be because they looked like legit high-waisted shorts that still had some decent length to them. (As someone with a long torso, high waisted shorts almost always hit below my belly button and if I pull them up they ride up waaay too high.) I sized up in the shorts (I selected the white color in a large) and instantly loved the fit. The rise is high and easily hits above my belly button. The shorts are lightweight and roomy and flow over my hips and booty.
- Haowind High Waisted Workout Shorts: This fit of these shorts is similar to The Gym People shorts above but the waistband is ribbed and the price point is even cheaper ($11.99)! I ordered these in the denim blue color (in a large) and am eyeing the pink, too!
- : These were part of a slam dunk Memorial Day Weekend sale order. I love comfy, breezy shorts and thought the high rise looked legitimately high and the hips looked nice and roomy. I actually ordered them in a size medium TALL because I thought that might give me more length and loveeed this tactic because they weren’t too crazy short!
- : The fit of these shorts is similar to the above shorts but they have a longer inseam so I did not order them in the “tall” size. (I ordered a medium regular.) They are comfortable enough to sleep in and don’t look too sloppy or overly baggy, despite the longer length. Big fan!
(Note: I also still swear by my for denim shorts but they are a splurge for sure! They’re worth it for me since I wear them all the time but I’m so glad to have some more denim shorts in my rotation at a better price point.)
File this under impulse purchases at Target that majorly paid off! I love hard chocolate coating on frozen treats so these frozen white and dark chocolate covered cherries majorly appealed to me and I couldn’t resist adding them to my cart. I ripped into the bag in the car and ate quite a few on the way home because they are so good! They’re sweet with a little bit of tangy tartness from the cherries and I loved the crisp crunch of the rich, creamy chocolate. These popable treats are a flavor and texture win! One important note: I MUCH prefer them when they’ve had a 15 minutes of thaw time (this is what the package advises) so definitely let them thaw a bit before digging in if you give them a try! It takes some of the iciness out of the cherries and makes them juicy and wonderful.
My rating: B
I clearly need to do more research before diving into new books because what happened to me with the first book in the American Royals series happened to me with Rivals, the third book in the American Royals series. The book ended in a way that sets it up for the next book… a book that’s not out yet. Gah!
Rivals is the latest release from Katharine McGee and since I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books in the series, I was excited to dive into the third book when it came out a couple of weeks ago. (I assumed the series was a trilogy but that does not seem to be the case!) Rivals had the framework of the prior two novels — the American royal family, complicated relationships, revenge and drama — but it was admittedly my least favorite of the three. It’s still a fun escape novel and one I very much looked forward to reading. I do not want to share too much in my recap as it would likely give away too much about the first two novels but suffice to say if you liked the first two books in the series, it’s still worth a read.
Teriyaki Salmon Bowls (I used leftover teriyaki salmon to make these for lunch twice this week!)
10 Outside Activities To Do With Kids (For anyone else living outside this summer!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing you’re loving this week?
