Frugal Friday + Weekend Things
Good morning friends! So, I find myself in this lovely position (seriously, no sarcasm here!) of having two Friday features that lots of you love and want to see. Some of you are really into Frugal Friday and look forward to guilt-free shopping treats with which to ring in the weekend! And then there's another group (though not one that's mutually exclusive) that loves the weekend round-up of links to great articles on parenting, recipes to try, and some random thoughts from my week. It means so much to me that you all are invested in this blog in one way or another, so let's make it a party and combine the two things!
We'll start with the links and then the Frugal Friday shopping edit will be last but not least!
THOUGHTS AND THINGS FROM OUR WEEK
Last Friday Harlow and I drove with Granny and Al to eastern Tennessee for lunch at The Farmer's Daughter. Their food is sourced from the farms around them and it is pure southern goodness! The drive is about an hour and totally gorgeous!
Once you get there you order whichever meat you want -- fried chicken, country ham, fresh trout, buttermilk baked chicken, those sorts of mouth-watering mains -- and then you get one of every side they offer! I wore elastic-waist pants on purpose :D Harlow kept lifting up her dress to show her belly button and I was laughing so hard because I thought 'no one would want me to do that after I just ate a little bit of everything on the table!' Shoo law!
Staying on the subject of food comas, I took Harlow out for an ice cream treat on Tuesday to Cold Stone Creamery. We split a small cake batter ice cream and I ate 90% of it. Even with the little bit she ate she turned into a CRAZY sugar monster! It was all cute and fun until A) she stopped listening and almost ran into the road, and B) couldn't go to sleep and started screaming.
I'm caught in between two thoughts: should I not give her any sugar to prevent fall-outs like this from happening again, or should I gradually introduce small amounts over time to get her body used to the sensation? I just read an article on a parenting site I like and it said that science refutes the claim that sugar causes bad behavior. Bulls**t. I just witnessed it. Now I've gotta decide what to do...and I do so love to go on mommy-daughter outings for treats but at what cost??
Ummmm....did y'all hear me talking about our bear incident on my Instagram stories? We had a giGANtic bear rifle through our trash and walk through our front yard. My dogs were outside trying to be all bad ass and bark at it and I was terrified it would climb the fence and get them! My neighbors just so happened to be driving down our shared driveway at the time and snapped these pics. Look at the size of that thing! And we live on a main, busy road in south Asheville!
On the fashion front, I'm now two pairs deep into my mule collection. I just got these black leather horse bit mules for under $25 and they look almost identical to the over $600 Gucci pair. Some reviews said to get a 1/2 size up but I took my normal size 8 and they're great! LOVE these for a quick and cute shoe option -- they're like the flip flop of fall ha!
Some other quick random thoughts....
I just watched the live-action Beauty & the Beast on Netflix and holy heck y'all...it's incredible! It's like an epic movie musical on par with some of the classics. The sets, the costumes, the effects...the whole thing is unreal. I can't wait to see what they do with the upcoming Aladdin movie!
Another movie I recently watched is Hidden Figures, the story of three African-American women who worked at NASA during our country's first attempts at sending a man to the moon. The story was amazing, and let me just tell you: Taraji P. Henson is one BA actress. Her range is incredible! I just kept thinking how talented she is that she can play both the mousy Katherine and the ferocious Cookie Lyon convincingly.
Welp are we all excited This Is Us is back on or what? I've only watched one episode so far so I'm waaay behind -- no spoilers please! In a weird way, one of the reasons I'm glad it's on is that it makes me cry and sometimes you just need the release of tears when life has a lot going on. This show is therapeutic in some ways...IDK...
RECIPES
Lots of you messaged me about the Peanut Chicken Zoodles recipe I shared on IG. It IS delicious (and low carb!) BUT a word of caution: be sure to cut down the amount of peanut butter you use in the sauce! It was way overpowering -- I suggest cutting the PB by a 1/3 to a 1/2 and adjusting the other sauce ingredients accordingly.
We made Steak Fajita Bowls and these are so simple! I use the Bird's Eye frozen cauliflower rice and pre-sliced steak strips to cut down on my prep time. The recipe calls for shrimp but I made it with steak but either-or :D
Do y'all like 'no bake' desserts like me? These No Bake Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes look amazing and super easy! These would be great to make for a party or holiday get-together.
Did you know Rainbow Cheese Boards are a thing? Apparently there are several ways people are getting fancy with their fromage. I think I wanna do the rainbow thing for a dinner party!
READS
Some thoughtful tips on diffusing a toddler's tantrums...even if I do disagree about sugar's role in misbehavior (see above ice cream story).
How about this quote from Claire Danes on motherhood:
“Being a mom is incredibly challenging. But, we still feel a pressure to talk about it in very romantic terms. We all have that resentment at times and anxiety about being trapped by the role, that responsibility....."
True words, Angela Chase! You can read the rest of the quote here!
Mike and I set up an email account for Harlow so we can send her notes and tidbits about her childhood in real-time that she can look back on one day. This mom is doing the same thing and here's the how and why she writes emails to her kids.
A good friend of mine recently opened up about her two miscarriages. Though I haven't experienced this type of loss, I know many of the women who have want to talk about it openly to help remove the stigma and process their grief. Here's her incredibly moving story about her most recent miscarriage and how she's processing it.
SHOPPING -- IT'S FRUGAL FRIDAY Y'ALL!
This week's $50-or-less edit is all about tees and tops. I love these options for how easy they make an outfit. Some are long enough to cover the bootie if you want to wear leggings all day. Others have a detail or are made in a fabric that set them apart. And even though I know not everyone is into them, I swear by turtlenecks for fall -- they look so cute layered under blazers or sleeveless shift dresses!
Raise your hand if you want the Blame it on the Boos tee! May have just found my Halloween 'fit LOL!
You can click the item directly to get the details or click on the text below!
BURGUNDY SWEATER // FLORAL TOP (add. 40% off!) // PINK RUFFLE SLEEVE // EMERALD POET BLOUSE (add. 40% off!)
DARK FLORAL TOP // SHIMMER STRIPE TOP (add. 40% off!) // YELLOW STRIPE TEE (add. 40% off!)
I hope you all have a beautiful weekend! If you live in Asheville, it's supposed to be gorgeous here! My MIL is coming into town so we're gonna show her some fun, fall-y things around town, then maybe even squeeze in a date with just me and Mike! What's that like, it's been so long LOL!
See you next week with a post about our trip to the flower farm!
xxBrooke