Friday Favorites - Highlights of My Week

Happy Friday! I'm so thankful that the weekend is right around the bend. Looking forward to some rest and time outside with my boys in the beautiful weather that is headed our way. Here are my favorites from the past week:

1. My husband's employer featured him on their company's blog! You can read the post here. We're really proud of him and the hard work that he puts in to do his best and be a light in the workplace.

2. We received Emmett's 12 month pictures from our favorite photographer, Elizabeth, from Sweet Life Studios. Elizabeth is so talented and sweet and easy to work with. She was our wedding photographer but since then has also done our maternity, newborn and little man's one year old photos. We are so thankful for her and blessed by her talent. You can check out her work here and stay tuned for more of Emmett's most recent photos to be displayed soon on our blog.

3. In honor of my favorite season quickly approaching, I've been enjoying peanut butter M&M's in fall colors and a Yankee Candle, Apple Spice Potpourri, that I found at Homegoods for a steal. There is something about the smell of a candle burning that makes things all better, even on the worst of days!

4. We had another great playgroup this week! I am quickly coming to love and look forward to my Thursday mornings when a few of us mamas gather together and let our babies play, eat and fuss, all under one roof.

5. On Tuesday evenings, we normally have dinner with my mom, either at her house or ours, since my dad travels so much for work. Well, this week he was in town, so we enjoyed his company for dinner along with free entertainment by a silly little boy named Emmett.

6. This week is the last week of my online Bible study. While that's not exactly something I like, I am thankful for the past 6 weeks and what I've learned from the study and the tools that I've gathered and tucked away for the future. It's feels good to have accomplished something, to be in the final stages, to near the end and close the chapter, and to move on and look forward to what's next.

7. On Wednesday, I had a doctor's appointment, so my mom came over and stayed with Emmett while I was gone. When I came home, we headed out for lunch and shopping. We are on the hunt for a lamp to go on my new piece of furniture. I know exactly what I want; now the challenge is to find it. We thought we found it when we stopped at Homegoods, but I happen to glance down and see a large crack across the base. We hit several stores before and after Emmett's afternoon nap, but had no success. The best part about this? Spending the day with my mom, and having a little man who was easy and willing to go along for the ride. He loves to be out and about and I love how "portable" he is becoming as he gets older.

8. I think I've finally got a better planning system underway for our meals. I've been looking for a way to get better at this for a while now. Sometimes, I'm really good at having a plan for our meals, and feeling prepared to cook, but lately, it's more of an "off the cuff" approach, and if you know me, you know I don't like to work like that. I need a plan. I came across a tutorial for a meal planning binder that makes sense and seems easy enough to put together. It also has free printables! So, this week I've started to organize my recipes on Pinterest and gather the supplies I need for the binder. Here's to making a meal plan work and to no more dinner anxiety! It's back to using coupons, being organized and staying on a budget that doesn't make me sweat. You can find the tutorial and printables here.