Friday Five {January 2023}

Happy Friday Everyone!

One – Christmas & New Year Recap

Happy Friday, friends! WELL, we are going to cover THREE holidays today AND a birthday! Since I did my last Friday Five in mid-December due to a little blogging break at the end of the year, I’m a little behind! I am going to recap our Christmas, New Year’s AND I have a little Target Valentine’s Day Dollar Spot lovin’ at the end of this post. Don’t worry, I will only share the really fun stuff!

My mom watched the teens the day before we hosted Christmas at our house. Brian and I (well, mainly me) decided we needed a little caffeine boost before all the baking and cleaning. We stopped by Teleo Coffee in Kirkwood and we each enjoyed our own flights of holiday coffees.

I always try to pick a fun holiday outing for us as a family each year. This year we went to the GLOW at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. It was SO fun and we even got a photo of ourselves in a snow globe!

We had fun hosting Christmas for our family… we just missed my dad! My brother and Tracy brought over their English Bulldog Hickory, he is such a sweetie!

And, I can’t not share a couple food photos from Christmas. I put together a quick charcuterie board (AND found out I must be the only one in the family that likes olives!) and Brian made a cherry pie from scratch. Yes, we had a food coma!

On New Year’s Eve we typically find ourselves at The Melting Pot. It is SO fun. For the first time in AGES, I actually stayed up this year till midnight!

Then, on New Year’s Day, we typically find ourselves at Top Golf. It is SUCH a great way to kick off the New Year. The food is good, they have heaters (even the table is heated!) and cocktails! I got their spiked marshmallow hot cocoa and it was SO good!

Two – Brian’s Birthday!

Brian’s birthday is in January, RIGHT after the holidays! We have a tradition of going to the Ritz for a night and it is such a nice way to unwind and celebrate after the holidays. We decided to try the espresso martinis at the Italian restaurant inside the Ritz and they did NOT disappoint!

Three – The Ultimate Bath Kit

A few times a year, I do a gift swap with Jessica from Rural Cute Creations. She did SO good on our Christmas Swap, I couldn’t believe how cute the adorable tin bin was that she put everything in!

So, in the bucket of goodies she gave me was this Mama Detox bath KIT from Salty Tub Co.! WOW! Look at everything that was inside it! Let me tell you… this was a complete bath experience. If you are wanting a fun spa day at home, pick one of these bath kits up!! If you read the reviews on it, you can tell that it makes for a wonderful bath experience!

Four – Latest Books I’ve Read & Shows I’ve Watched

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FINISHED: It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover. I read It Ends With Us in 2016, I believe, so I was excited to read Colleen Hoover’s new book, It Starts With Us. If you loved the first book, you will love this book too. It shares how Atlas and Lily learn to navigate Lily’s recent divorce and her being a new mom around her volatile relationship with her ex husband Ryle. The book includes a lot of flashbacks/diary entries to their childhood when Atlas and Lily first became friends and what really happened when Atlas moved away.

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Currently Reading: I started an audio book too: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (which is read by her, which I always prefer the author to read the book to you when I listen to audio books). I’ll share more about this book once I finish listening to it.

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Currently Reading: I’ve read several books from Taylor Jenkins Reid and if you’ve read Malibu Rising, THIS Carrie is the one that Nina’s husband left her for!! I didn’t make that connection until later. My favorite book from her is Daisy Jones & The Six and I have The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo on my to read list. I am still reading this book, but I’ll give a little recap once I finish it.

Since I took a little blogging break the last two weeks of December, I had some time to spend on Netflix. NO ONE in my family would watch the new Harry & Meghan show with me! NO ONE! So, I plopped myself down in bed and watched it myself! Ha, ha! Am I a fan? Do I care? I don’t know! I think I was just CURIOUS. Curiosity may lead me to reading his book too, but I feel that the news has spilled all of the good stuff in it already.

AND, I have read on countless blogs how much you all loved Emily In Paris, Season 3. And, I have to agree… I LOVED IT! The fashion, the music was even sweet… and, it’s Paris! I must say, I just love Emily’s boss Sylvie! And, every episode just gives me a good chuckle. The cliff hanger on the last episode was WILD. Ohhh! I can’t wait for season 4!

Five – Some Fave Finds!

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I was in World Market the other day and I finally found one of these square pebble candles! I haven’t decided where I’m going to put it yet, but I will probably put it in my new at home office! I don’t think I will burn it, though… it is unscented and I think it is more of a ‘decor’ candle.

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Ashley from Make Life Marvelous got me hooked on this NutPods flavor! I found the Toasted Marshmallow creamer variety at my local Fresh Thyme store. It is completely clean AND sugar free, however, I do use 4 tablespoons in my iced coffee… yet, it is only 10 calories with no fat, so I can splurge a little with it! You can find it on Amazon HERE.

I follow WAYYY too many Ennegram accounts on Instagram. MaddieDoodle is one of my faves! She just did this whole Ennegram Desktop Series and here is mine (I’m a Six!). The multiple drinks is SO me!!

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I’ve been working on our Master Bedroom for a few years… it takes me FOREVER to decorate a room. Really, the last thing we need to do in this room is get some new carpet in it, which will happen this Spring or Summer. But, I was a little unhappy with the pillows on the bed. I wanted maybe one more pillow, but I couldn’t decide what to get. I finally decided on this SUPER SOFT Waffle Knit Lumbar Pillow in Charcoal from Sunday Citizen. I first ordered it in Cloud Gray, but it was a soft gray with greenish tones and I didn’t like the color at all with the rest of the bedding. The Charcoal is a darker gray and it goes perfectly with the gray sheets/pillows on the bed. Yay! They let me ship it back to them for free and they sent me a new pillow in the correct color!