Five Thoughts, Five Things
Happy Fri-yay! Trying out a new thing today in which I piggyback off the alliterative "Friday Five" to share with you five things I'm currently loving, and five thoughts on my mind this week. So many times I have things I want to share with y'all but it's not enough to warrant a full blog post ya know? So let's try this new 'Five Thoughts, Five Things' format as a way to give these happy thoughts a home, and to share in some Friday fun!
Things
1 | Sleepswag sleep mask + spray. The straight up truth is that I never liked or used sleep masks until I tried Sleepswag's mask and WOWOWOW it changed everything. I was battling new mom insomnia at the time (solutions for that HERE!) and the sleep mask helped so much. Love this hot pink eye mask and excited to try their new crystal-infused sleep mist. It's made with therapeutic-grade essential oils and sonically-tuned crystals to enhance sleep. Maybe woo woo for some of y'all but really: if it gets you a good night of sleep isn't it worth a try?
2 | Rosé season. Make that "cheap-but-delicious Trader Joes rosé" season. Once I ponied up for Whispering Angel and wow -- underwhelming. TJ wines do the trick for next to nothing. Which is great considering rosé on a hot day with some girlfriends can flow like water...or is that just me and my frands?
3 | Target Skirts. Tarjay is crushing the patterned skirt game this spring. I love this green polka dot skirt -- so comfy, doesn't wrinkle at all! Wore it with my black bodysuit for a totally no-fuss outfit over spring break. (Sharing some scenes from our trip below!) This copper polka dot skirt is another big fave and this denim pencil skirt. All these skirts are under $30 y'all!
4 | Pacha Soap Whipped Soap Scrub. My MIL put these in my welcome basket last time we visited and good grief are these things little pots of heaven. They smell like the best cookies you've ever tasted and feel so good on your skin. Plus they're free of synthetic fragrance, parabens, sulfates, all the yucky gunk. Next I want to try the Cucumber Seaweed (with arnica extract!) and Honeysuckle Rose. You can get them at Whole Foods and Amazon as well as their own website.
5 | Straw bag time. Nothing converts an everyday outfit to vacay mode quite like a straw bag. They pull together summer looks so well. Your swimsuit and cover up get a major chic upgrade with a straw beach tote, but so does your casual weekday OOTD. I got this round straw tote from Target last year and it's back but selling quickly! It holds a ton, has two open pockets, and a zippered one for storage. Also haven't gotten tired of the arc bags yet! I got the OG Cult Gaia bag but there are some crazy-good dupes on Amazon in the ark and circle shape for a fraction of the price.
Thoughts
Wow was the past week a roller coaster! We traveled east to the Triangle for Harlow's spring break to visit family and friends round-robbin' style, four cities in four days. I thought I'd do a mini 'life lately' recap with my five thoughts and share some things we did, places we went, and some personal thoughts along the way!
1 | In Raleigh we drove through NC State's campus so Mike could see the changes, and got a picture with Harlow at their bell tower. I took it and felt very 'good sport/team player' about the whole thing. Then we went to Raleigh Brewing and the Lynwood Brewing Concern. The whole Dock 1053 area was super cool and kid-friendly. Plus the burgers AND veggie burgers at Wilson's Eatery were on point y'all!
2 | The next day we went to Chapel Hill to visit our friends who live right next to campus. Chapel Hill in the spring is a-maa-zing and it brought back so many awesome memories. We went to Top of the Hill for lunch so the boys could watch Tiger complete his comeback Master's win. I hadn't had their beer in forever and really enjoyed all of them! The Kenan Lager and IPA were my favorites.
3 | Harlow met my friend Ashlee's little girl, Gray, and they were instant besties. Those girls love to dress up, paint, read books, and splash in mud puddles together. It's such a cool feeling to see our second generation bond in friendship just like Ashlee and I did 15 years ago! And in Chapel Hill, too, where Ash and I met. My Tar Heel heart runneth over.
4 | So traveling with a bad back, by yourself, with a toddler and a dog, in a white knuckle rainstorm, is not for the faint of heart. Our trip last Friday was straight out of hell. I have to leave some details out because I'm not ready to share certain personal, bodily low-points on the internet. However, this was my first time traveling solo with Harlow because I've been intimidated by it in the past. I truly believe God put me through the ringer to show me what I'm capable of; that if I can survive last Friday's inferno I can do anything! And FWIW, Harlow was a dream the whole time and had nothing to do with the bad experience.
5 | Where can I start a petition for Asheville to get a dang Costco??? It seems like every time I ask my bestie Kim where she got something the answer is always Costco. We're talking everything from nice cheese to mattresses! Then we go to Chapel Hill and Ashlee tells me Costco blew up a beautiful photo of theirs on to canvas for next to nothing! I need -- WE need -- a Costco in the 828. We can't support a J. Crew or Banana Republic, but dang it, we will show up for a Costco. Believe that!
Where friendship meets mad cheese plate skills. Love the McKenzies so big!
Happy weekend and happy Easter friends! What are your plans? We're having family over for an Easter egg hunt and a lunch catered by Rocky's. Given my back issues I ain't cooking and I'm not asking anyone else to, either. I just want us to celebrate the day as it should be, with family, and to let Harlow go nuts over her first Easter egg hunt that she'll really enjoy.
Have fun, and grab those antihistamines because pollen is coming!
xxBrooke