Hiii! How’s it going? Are you settling into a routine? Feeling like real life came at ya a little too fast after the holidays? Maybe a little bit of both? I always feel like the week after a weekend away feels a bit frazzled but things are settling into a normal groove and going well. But it’s COLD. Like, temperatures in the 20s cold! (All the northerners are laughing at me right now, I know, but with icy winds whipping, it feels freezing!) There’s a teeny chance of some snow this weekend so we are triple crossing our fingers because the boys are dying for snow over their three-day weekend. We’ll see!!
As for now, let’s dive right into the meat of this post and chat about some of the simple things bringing us joy these days. Feel free to chime in below because I always love reading about what you’re loving each week!
Things I’m Loving Friday
Fresh Notebooks, Planners, etc.
Anyone get get a little giddy over fresh notebooks, new planners, a new pen, a fun set of highlighters, etc.? I love the fresh start feeling that comes along with a new planner or a completely blank notebook. I’ve sworn by these thin stitched notebooks for years and fill them with daily to-do lists, blog post/work ideas and pretty much anything else I need to get out of my brain and onto paper. A new notebook is one of those fresh restart finds that isn’t a big thing but also kind of feels like a big thing thanks to the little spark of joy it brings me whenever I use it!
Also, I realize I still owe you guys a Skylight calendar update but, honestly, we still haven’t really had the chance to fully utilize it yet. (Can I blame holiday craziness? I’m blaming holiday craziness.) I’m still relying on my paper calendar for my personal work stuff but for the kids’ stuff, the Skylight has been great. Plus, the boys absolutely love it and use it every single day to stay accountable with their responsibilities and chores. My overall opinion is currently undecided so I’ll try to plug into it a little more before fully reviewing.
Custom Alpha Tote
Bag Details: Size: Large: / Color: Blue Denim / Letter Color: Pure White
What a fun tote! I got this custom alpha tote late last year and I’m fairly certain I never mentioned it on the blog. I’m not quite sure why because I adore it! I ordered the large size so it’s not a tote I use daily but it works great as a catch-all for family life when I need a vessel for all the things and it was also perfect for me as a carry-on bag option for my trip to Anna Maria Island last weekend.
(Outfit + Accessory + Luggage Details: Everything linked here)
Here’s a little peek inside for anyone curious about how much it holds:
Can ya tell I put basically everything I own in a pouch when I travel? And yes, yes I do still have my Vera Bradley curling iron cover from my college days. It’s goin’ strong over here!
Air Fryer Scallops
Fellow seafood lovers, please promise me you’ll make scallops in the air fryer if you haven’t already. They’re so good and so, so easy! I just sprinkle them with a little garlic salt and air fry them at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. And for my ALDI shoppers out there, I cannot recommend ALDI’s Specially Selected scallops enough. They’re wild caught, large and so, so good (and, in true ALDI fashion much cheaper than most wild caught scallops I’ve found). I find them in the freezer section near the frozen shrimp.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Genre: Family Saga/Domestic Fiction / My rating: B+
I finally got to finish this one! I initially started reading Black Cake back in early December but began reading it at the end of the borrowing time limit through Libby so it was automatically returned when I was only halfway through (I was kicking myself for not putting my Kindle on airplane mode to avoid this). I clearly wasn’t enthralled with the boo...
