Friday, September 10, 2021

FRIDAY FAVORITES | OUT OF QUARANTINE!

Hey, girl hey and happy Friday!!

Girls, I am coming to you today feeling like a new woman. Let.Me.Tell.You. My kids have been on lockdown over here for the past 10 days because Covid hit them early last week. And while I'm unbelievably thankful and relieved that they didn't have much more than basic cold symptoms for a few days, it was a long week and a half that really took the wind out of my sails and completely knocked me out of the new routine I'd been doing so well at since school started. 😖 Yesterday was my first day home ALONE in what was starting to feel like forever and it was so peaceful. Even the hubs, who works from home a lot, had training sessions with some of his quarterbacks all day and it felt divine having all that peace and quiet. The introvert in me was in Heaven. Ahhhh, bliss.

Also, I know I mentioned this at the end of my Book Review post HERE earlier this week but feel it's worth repeating. Both boys had weird pink streaks/pink eyes toward the beginning of their Covid issues. Isn't that random? I found lots of other local moms on a FB group saying their kids had the same thing and some of their kids tested positive and only had that one symptom. So just keep an eye out for pink eyes! 🤷‍♀️ 


On happier notes, it's Friday Favorites day and as always, I'm linking up with Erika and Andrea!! This is basically when I go in and round up the fun stuff I've found, loved, liked, listened to, bought, tried, watched etc from the week. I love seeing what other people are into at the moment so I hope you enjoy!




Tomorrow is the 20 year anniversary of 9/11 and I know we all have our memories of that horrific day. A couple of years ago, I posted my own memories from that day here on the blog and I'm so glad I did so that I can always go back and read it when things start to fade.

Last week, I watched the new documentary series called 9/11 One Day in America on Hulu although I'm sure you can find it in other places too. There's a National Geographic logo at the bottom so definitely check that channel. I cannot recommend this enough.

I know there are so many documentaries that have come out over the years about 9/11 and they are all truly terrifying to watch. But this is the best one I've ever seen. And I think I've seen them all.

It starts with real footage from a news crew of some firemen on a routine gas leak call on a street somewhere near the towers that morning. There is a news guy that's basically on a ride-along with the unit so they are filming the gas leak and how the firefighters are handling it, etc. Looks like it was set up to be kind of like a "day in the life of the NYFD" type story. 

But as they are standing in the middle of the street and checking you can hear this incredibly loud plane go flying overhead...they all stop what they are doing to look up because it's obviously not right to hear that flying so low...and then the camera just happens to be trained on the WTC as it crashes. Absolutely chilling. The news crew is with them as they rush into their trucks and arrive on the scene as one of the first units there.

They show so much footage that I have never seen before like what it looked like in the lobby of the tower after the plane hit it and they were trying to figure out how to handle the situation and evacuate the building. All of the windows blew in the lobby so people were bleeding and burnt from a second explosion that came from an elevator shaft that exploded into the lobby as well. 

It shows footage of the firemen standing in the lobby as bodies are crashing on the metal roof above them and their absolute shock and horror each time they hear it as they try to be brave and hold it together so that they can formulate a plan.

There are interviews with some of the same people from the footage as they talk about that day. It is incredibly personal and emotional and your heart will absolutely break all over again for the victims and the heroes and everyone who was affected.

If you only watch one documentary from 9/11 this year, let it be this one. It is by far the most comprehensive one I've ever seen. I don't see how any others could ever top it.

Matthew walked in as we were watching it one day and couldn't take his eyes off the screen. It has never been "real" to him before but if you want your kids to get a sense of what it was like, this is it. (Older kids.)

 Clearly, I could go on and on but I will stop and just tell you to go watch it.

#neverforget

Ok, changing direction here to books!

If you saw my post from Tuesday, I listed my Top 8 Five-Star Books that I read this summer.


And this week, I started The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives because the storyline just grabbed me when I was browsing through Audible. I'm about halfway through and it's very "Desperate Housewives" but a lot more sinister. Really good so far! Can't wait to see how it ends! UPDATE: Just finished this and it definitely had me going "WHAT?!". Loved the way this one wrapped up. Two thumbs up!



Anyone looking for some good body firming serums/lotions? I'm always trying new things when it comes to this stuff and after some googling recently, I decided to try the Boscia Peptide Youth Restore Body Firming Serum. It's not crazy expensive (but not super cheap) and has really great reviews which I happen to very much agree with! It just takes a little to spread all over your legs/arms/stomach/butt...wherever...and it gives an immediate toning, tightening, and firming effect. Plus it makes your skin SUPER soft. It also smells amazing!! I haven't been using it long enough to know if these are permanent results or just results you get when using the product but either way, I'll keep using it! It's definitely one of the best I've ever used. 


It says you can use it alone or layered under a body lotion so I decided to pair it with the Juice Beauty Firming Lotion because it also smells amazing (and the light scents work together) and it's thicker and creamier than the serum. The reviews are really great on this too. 


Try one or both! They are both great finds!! Definitely recommend!

I also needed a new tube of my favorite "expensive" mascara so I bought that and while I was browsing added a couple other goodies to my cart. ;) (This one HERE is my favorite cheap mascara that is also so good and just $5!)


I've been wanting to try a Laura Mercier Caviar Stick for so long so I picked this one in Copper. It's so pretty and so easy to just swipe across your lids. And because I couldn't resist, this Juice Infused Lip Oil also found its way into my cart. It smells yummy and looks natural and pretty with a hint of color. 


I was #influenced earlier this week and ordered these little drawer dividers off of Amazon. I think it was Darryl Ann Denner who had them on her stories. (I could be wrong.) But I knew it was exactly what my messy kitchen drawer needed!


Before... (it stressed me out every time I opened this drawer...)


...and after. Much better. I tossed a couple of things (like the little blue sandwich cutter that used to cut the crust off the boys' sandwiches...) but for the most part, it all went back. Still looks a little messy but let me tell you, it is SO much better. And the dividers extended long enough to where I could actually use them in this deep drawer. It's the little things that make the almost 40yr old mom happy, y'all. 😂


I had one divider left over so I used it for this slightly messy drawer. (My cabinets are so beat up! At some point, we're going to paint. For real. Someday...)


Better. I took the big ziplocks out of the box too to give it a little more room. The small bags on the bottom left are crockpot liners.


Quarantine life has been boring but thank goodness we've had a pool to entertain with! Mason has been flinging himself all over it and I'm over here constantly saying "Please be careful! Don't do that again. Please stop doing that. You're going to get hurt." And so on...


Chuck has been loving having the boys home again though. He's so spoiled. (Also, please note my one burnt orange fall pillow and the Christmas blanket we use year round. 😂)


Wednesday night was our first night back with baseball though!! Mason had a game and we were all pretty happy to get back to normal.


PS: The teenager is much harder to gets pics of so if you see more of Mason than Matthew, that's why. #teenagers

The Colleen Rothschild sale was definitely my favorite of the week! If you missed my hyperpigmentation/melasma help post, you can find it HERE. These glycolic acid peel pads combined with this mask are helping my stupid forehead melasma so much right now. 


As I was linking these, I also saw that they have so me select products on a weekend flash sale right now if you want to check that out! The Cleansing Balm, Age Renewal Super Serum and the Vitamin C Treatment are favorites of mine and they are all included and marked way down! Plus the Discovery Kit is $26 off! That is a great way to try out a bunch of the products before you commit! It's what got me hooked!

Well, definitely no actual outfit of the week this week since the majority of it was spent at home but these are new arrivals at Closet Candy! I picked up the green top (sold out but the purple one is here), white top and flirty black top and wanted the leggings but they sold out in about 10 minutes! I'm trying to calm down on the jeans b/c I have so many already but these are both so cute! You can shop it all HERE


Everything is free and fast shipping and there's also a special where you can join for $50 (half price) right now and you'll get 15-25% cashback on all your purchases starting from your very first order. Or you can share your links and get commissions. Totally up to you. No minimums or fees anything like that. I say it all the time but I'm my best customer it's working out well for me when it comes to saving! ;) Check it out HERE if you're interested in that.

My insulated mugs are on sale right now for 15% off if anyone wants to grab one! I just restocked in both black and white so you're good to go for Fall or Christmas!

Fall listing HERE.


Christmas ones HERE. (Never too early, right?!)



I couldn't choose just one! They were all too funny. 







Happy Friday, friends!


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4 comments

  1. Anonymous3:49 PM

    So glad to hear your boys are doing ok! Did you or your husband get sick? I have a friend that had the pink streak in her son's eye as the only symptom- so weird!
    I'm ordering those drawer dividers and just love how you keep it real- my cupboards look the same way, after my boys are grown I swear I'm going to repaint and get some new furniture- ha!
    Have a good weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, both of us are fine! Made it out unscathed! 🎉

      And yes, once these kids get a little older we are going to redo so much!! Carpets and paint will be first on that list followed by updated furniture!

      Delete
  2. Glad your kiddos are all feeling better. It's not fun when they're sick.

    ReplyDelete

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