Welcome to the Friday 5!
Every Friday I will highlight 5 things I am currently loving. This can be anything from habits that are currently serving me, clothes, apps, people I am currently loving, podcasts, food, mom hacks and everything in between!
What I am currently loving:
Spicy Honey
If you have been following me for any amount of time, you know how much I love spicy beverages. From a margarita to coffee, if its spicy, especially a sweet spicy, I want it. Most weekends, we try to hit up our local farmer’s market; the girls love it and I just love supporting all the local vendors and being out in our community. Our obsession with the farmer’s market all started with me wanting to buy local honey for my coffee. Local honey is a great way to manage seasonal allergies, but you need to get it from a beekeeper that is relatively close to where you live. We found our newest beekeeper at the Madisonville farmer’s market, he sells regular honey, creamed honey (which I talk about here) and spicy honey. I LOVE the spicy honey. It is just so good. I put it in my coffee, on toast and pizza. Spicy honey on pizza is really having a moment, don’t knock it till you try it. I keep Mike’s Hot Honey on hand too, just in case I run out of my local stuff. If you can’t find spicy honey, locally check Mike’s out, it’s delicious!
Goorin Brothers
Do you wear hats? I’ve really just started getting into them, having admire from afar for a while now. I love both the felt hats for winter and straw for summer, but just never really had any luck finding a hat that I loved. That is, until I walked into our local Goorin Brothers shop in New Orleans. The girl who worked there was AMAZING! They were having a pretty large sale, almost half the store was on sale and she helped us weed through just about every style and find exactly what we were looking for, even though we had no idea ourselves. Having someone who was knowledgeable about the sizing and fit of each hat was priceless. These hats are amazing quality and timeless in my opinion, you will not be disappointed. Hats are now a staple for me and Matt even got a few too. We are huge fans of Goorin Brothers for their quality and service. If you are local to New Orleans, go check out their store on Magazine or in the French Quarter. They are amazing.
MZ Wallace Backpack
This is a public service announcement to anyone who is pregnant, you do not need a “diaper bag.” There, I said it. A diaper bag is just a backpack or shoulder bag with a few extra pockets (that usually don’t hold what you think they will) that designers charge way too much for. Sometimes, they come with a changing pad you can use when changing diapers in public restrooms, but you can buy them separately and probably save some money. Having three kids in three and a half years, as well as having 2 kids in diapers twice, I feel like I have tried it all. A backpack is the way to go, trust me. I avoided getting one for a long time, because I really wanted something that looked more like a purse, but I just had to get over that. Being hands free and not constantly struggling to keep a bag on your shoulder is golden. Once I decided I wanted a backpack, I started doing some research. I wanted something lightweight, not too big and not too small. Enter MZ Wallace. A local boutique, Emma’s carries MZ Wallace bags and they are constantly raving about their quality. I had purchased one of their Metro totes a few years prior that I used for a gym bag and for travel, so I knew they were great. I ended up asking Matt for the Metro Backpack for Mother’s Day the year after I had Stella. And I’ve never looked back. It is so good, best part is that it is washable and cleans up great. Which is essential, because it usually has some spilled milk and goldfish crumbs in the bottom of the bag. It comes with a removable nylon pouch that can also be washed. These bags are an investment, but I’ve had the tote for over 5 years and the backpack for almost 4 and they both still look brand new. And trust me when I tell you, they’ve been all over the country, thrown around in airports, on the ground, bottom of the stroller… you name it, these bags have done it.
Conair Curling Iron
I’m team curling iron, forever and ever, amen. I am impressed by all of you who can curl your hair with a flat iron or a wand. My hat is off to you. Me, I’ve mastered the curling iron and I am not turning back. I’ve had the same curling iron since I was in college, more than 15 years ago. I am sure there are all types of fancy curling irons out there, but this one from Conair is my favorite. I can curl my whole head of very thick hair in less than 15 minutes and with enough hairspray and dry shampoo, I can wear those waves for 4-5 days. I use a 1” barrel, and curl it pretty tightly in small sections, leaving the last inch of my hair straight. Then shake it out once cooled for the perfect beach wave effect. I’ve been wearing my hair like this for years and it is my go-to look. So, if you are in the market for a great curling iron at an even better price point, look no further.
The Lazy Genius Way, by Kendra Adachi
I had heard of this book a handful of times over the past few years, but just never got around to reading it. I find it really hard to find the time to read for the purpose of learning, I like to read to check out of reality for a while or to put myself to sleep. Then I remembered that Matt had a subscription to Audible that he wasn’t using as much since he wasn’t commuting to work during the pandemic. So, I figured out how to download a book and the app on my phone and voila! I am now obsessed with audiobooks, read my post here about how much I love audible. So, my first book to listen to was The Lazy Genius Way, by Kendra Adachi. It’s so good, I felt like she was talking directly to me. If you are a mom, it is a must read. There are so many good tips about everything you can imagine. If you feel like you are constantly playing catch up or just cannot get ahead of the grind of motherhood, you need to read this book. It is all about figuring out what’s important to you, in your day to day life and how to put the most effort into those things. It is also about how to automate or let go of the things that don’t matter to you. The way she explains each principle is brilliant and will really make you think about how you go about your days.
I hope you found something helpful or inspiring in this week’s Friday Five! I’ll have 5 new favorites to share with you next week, have an awesome weekend!
