Tag: friday fav

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Friday Fav: Birthday Traditions

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

Mr. 4 year old becomes Mr. 5 year old this week! I can’t believe my “baby” is already five. On one hand, he feels like he’s lived with us forever. On the other, he is my baby, and he’s already so big! Stop growing, kid!

We have traditional annual rituals during birthdays in this house, like cake and presents. The birthday boy or girl gets to pick dinner and the type of cake. Presents are typically ripped open over breakfast. In normal years, we celebrate the children’s birthdays by inviting extended family over for a fun afternoon of food and play time with cousins.

However, regardless of the year, I always print 40-70 pictures of the child and put them on display. Our kitchen table has a glass top (an idea I got from a friend of mine – genius! – so easy to clean), so I slip the printed images between the tabletop and the glass. Now, at every meal, we can see a year in the life of the birthday kiddo and remember the fun times we’ve had together.

It takes me about 30 minutes to go through my phone and send them to Costco’s photo center for printing. I just pick up the prints on my next Costco run, and the whole thing costs me about $7. Win, win, win!

I love this tradition, so it is definitely my Friday Fav this week.

Happy Friday!

Photo by Becky Fantham on Unsplash

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Friday Fav: Christmas PJs!

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

Even though it feels like March 285th, Christmas PJs are already out and available for purchase! When the kids were young we started the family tradition of receiving new Christmas PJs every Christmas Eve. In the beginning, I didn’t know where to find what I wanted or I’d forget and wait so late that I couldn’t get the sizes I needed.

Not this year!

Arriving today are these plaid hooded moose onesies. I don’t know what it is about the onesie PJs, but the boys love them.

I’ve found The Children’s Place to have nice quality PJs that are cute and comfy, which earns them the title of my Friday Fav this week. I’m extra excited to have one Christmas present purchase crossed off the list.

Happy Friday!

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Free Magazines

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

Years ago I stumbled upon the knowledge that you could get access to many popular magazines for free. They arrive at my door every month as a nice surprise and a reminder to unwind and perhaps end the day curled up on the couch with a cool beverage and some freshly printed reading material.

Sites like Mercury Magazine and ValueMags offer free subscriptions to many popular magazines. You either pick a free magazine currently available on their site or sign up with your email address to receive email alerts when free subscriptions become available. Over the years, I’ve gotten subscriptions to Popular Mechanics, Men’s Health, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, Redbook, Southern Living, Martha Stewart Living, and HGTV magazine. It’s been great!

What’s the catch? Well, you obviously have to give the company some of your personal information to get the subscription, and they try to upsell you on other magazine subscriptions. (“Get X now for only $2!”) It just takes a few clicks of saying no before you can order the free subscription. For me, it’s a price I’m willing to pay to have free reading material delivered to my door.

I highly recommend checking it out if this sounds like something that might interest you.

Happy Friday!

Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Self-Care Products

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

Given the sameness of every day, I have found that “spoiling” myself with some self-care products has been a nice stress relief. Here are some of my favorite products for an at-home spa day.

  • Sally Hansen’s Diamond Strength nail polish, particularly the Brilliant Blush color. It’s under $4 at Walmart! I love how long this brand lasts and its light shade with a shimmer. I’ve even attempted my own french manicure with this color as the base. I need some practice, but it’s certainly cheaper than a spa manicure.
  • Baby Foot Exfoliation Foot Peel is awesome! Stay with me here. It is kind of gross, but it’s so worth it. This is the best brand I’ve tried. You wrap your feet in these booties with “6 types of natural extracts” for one hour, wash it off, and wait for your feet to peel over the next several days. (You’ll want to wear socks.) Afterward, your feet are extra soft and worth the gross peeling feet stage.
  • Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer keeps my skin moisturized without feeling sticky like you can sometimes with lotion. It is quick and easy with a sweet subtle scent.
  • Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Water Gel is a great facial moisturizer that is light and feels hydrating. A little bit goes a long way, which makes the small bottle last a while.
  • The Bow Ties and Bourbon scent from Bath and Body Works is one I love that my husband even tolerates well. It’s a seasonal scent, which means when I see it, I need to grab it immediately. I particularly like the “wallflowers” room air freshers and leave them in my bathroom so every time I walk in I get to smell the scent.

Husband, if you are reading this, bookmark this page for Christmas! *wink*

Happy Friday!

Photo by Camille Brodard ~ Kmile Feminine Creative Designer on Unsplash

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Weighted Blankets

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

I am a huge fan of weighted blankets. So much so, that the 15 lb. one I use comes with me on road trips so I don’t have to sleep without it. They are often noted as a tool to help people relieve their anxiety, which I could see being helpful. I didn’t purchase one specifically for that reason. I had just heard they are relaxing and wanted to see for myself.

Given my addiction to it now, I’d say it works as described! It’s not like you put it over you and immediately feel calm. It is more that it feels like a hug….or perhaps like the weighted cover that the dentist puts over you before an x-ray. The first time I used it, I declared it did nothing for me and then feel asleep on the couch 15 minutes later.

Now I have my own 15 lb. weighted blanket, and I purchased two other 5 lb. weighted blankets for the kids. It works really well for one of them, but less so for the other kiddo. However, if either one of them starts to stir a lot when they have snuck into bed with my husband and me, throwing a weighted blanket on them keeps them still. That alone makes it worth the purchase to me!

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Comfy Outfits 24/7

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

I’m so behind on this “fashion trend” of wearing loungewear or athletic gear as the day’s outfit. Even though I’ve exclusively worked from home for years in my consultancy role, I’ve always taken the time to put on a decent outfit, perhaps a touch of makeup, and “put myself together” before logging into work for the day. It has helped me feel confident and ready to tackle my work tasks.

Once COVID hit our area in mid-March, I ditched all of that. I’m rolling out of bed at 5:55am to get a few hours of uninterrupted work time in or some exercise before the house begins to stir. I’m lucky if I’m out of my pajamas by 9am. I never wear makeup anymore.

When I get around to throwing on fresh clothes, it’s all leggings, sweats, t-shirts, and hoodies. I’ve purchased several of Costco’s 32 degrees clothes in the past few months, including the lightweight hoodies and ladies shorts. They are great for working out in or just wearing around the house. Who is going to see me anyway?!?

The 32 degree shirts work well for work video conferences. I can throw a nice blouse on overtop for client video conferences, and they work just fine alone for my video calls with colleagues who don’t care what I’m wearing as long as I’m dressed. (I totally have a nice shirt stashed in my office space that I can quickly thrown on if I need to unexpectedly join a video conference.)

I doubt I’ll keep this trend of wearing exclusively comfy clothes every day when some more formal sense of “normalcy” returns, but it works for today. Whatever gets us through each day is all that matters to me right now. I might as well be comfy while I transition from making erupting volcanos with the kids one minute and presenting a multi-faceted plan for teaching a three-day training exercise the next.

I’m so glad it’s Friday. I may need to celebrate the end of the work week with some dessert…. Yet another reason I love my comfy clothes. They stretch.

Photo by Mnz on Unsplash

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Banana Bread

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

It has become a running joke online that everyone is home during the pandemic learning how to bake banana bread. Well, I’ve been baking banana bread for years, but we have been making it significantly more frequently since COVID started. It is a family favorite, so I figured this Friday I would share our favorite recipes.

  1. Our most popular recipe of the moment is a chocolate banana bread. It claims to be “secretly heathy.” I mean….I wouldn’t go that far. It’s not as unhealthy for you as it could be. We’ve tried it a few different ways, substituting applesauce for fruit and veggie squeeze pouches stolen from the kids’ snack drawer and swapping out maple syrup for agave. All versions have been enjoyed by all.
  2. These maple sweetened banana muffins were also yummy, though next time I’ll use coconut oil instead of olive oil. The olive oil was just a touch too overbearing in the flavor.
  3. The banana nut crunch muffins are more traditional and were probably the first ones we tried making this Spring. I’m a sucker for any muffin with a topping.

Happy baking! Now I need to go walk for an hour to work off my most recent slice of banana bread.

Photo by Whitney Wright on Unsplash

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Friday Fav: Painting

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

I am not the family artist. That title definitely goes to my little sister who has the real talent, but I do enjoy abstract painting on occasion. Well, really, I like having the finished product hung in our home so we display something more personal than a store-bought art piece.

Ages ago I bought a huge canvas at Michael’s to paint and hang in the hallway. I stumbled across it when clearing out the basement during one of our COVID home projects, and I figured if I can’t find time to paint when stuck at home for months, then I’m never going to do it. So, one weekend afternoon, I dragged the canvas and art supplies outside and got to work.

The finished product

I didn’t really have a plan on what I wanted besides the paint colors. We had leftover house paint from rooms we’ve redecorated and sample cans for rooms we plan to redo. So, after priming, I added the grays and greens. The splatters were integrated by flicking the paintbrush at the canvas. I started to see the image as different generations of our families, so I added the subtle A in silver around the middle for ancestors and the gold lines to separate the main colors. The five overlapping circles represent our family (including the pup!), which I made by dipping the top of a red solo cup in ivory paint used for our interior trim.

Mr. 7 year old pointed out that my initials in the corner look like SS but also S5, so I said the S5 is for our five family members. As Bob Ross would say, it was a “happy accident.”

Now the canvas is hanging in our hallway. It’s my Friday Fav today, but it makes me smile to see it there every day.

On full display

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Alexa

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

Several months ago, something my husband bought online came with a free Echo. That’s how Alexa was adopted into our family. Since her arrival, she has become a daily part of our lives.

I love her because she listens and does everything I ask her to do! Well, that and I love that I can be making a meal and realize we need to add something to the grocery list, and I don’t have to stop everything to manually add it to my Cozi grocery list or write it down. I just tell Alexa, and it’s magically added to my grocery list.

Here’s how we’ve integrated Alexa into our daily lives:

  • Play games like 20 Questions and Name that Tune
  • Spell words or pronounce words (She’s a great reading and writing assistant.)
  • Count down to Christmas (one of Mr. 4 year old’s favorite questions to ask her)
  • Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, and music (like Hamilton)
  • Set timers and alarms
  • Give regular reminders (like take your vitamins every morning)
  • Tell jokes
  • Set the house temperature
  • Turn on/off and/or dim automated lights around the house
  • Change the color of our deck lights
  • Lock and unlock doors
  • Open and close the garage door
  • Activate the robot vacuum and security system
  • Turn the TVs on or off
  • Add items to our lists
  • Determine debate winners (e.g., how many Pokemon are there?)
  • Read choose-your-own adventure stories (The kids found a Scooby Doo mystery that they enjoyed.)
  • Give weather reports

The kids like her so much that Mr. 4 year old often declares his love to her, to which she replies, “Thank you. I’m flattered.” Now if you want to have some more fun, ask Alexa who she loves.

Posted in Blog

Friday Fav: Hamilton!

Posted on by Stephanie Spinapolice

I fully admit I jumped on the Hamilton love train when the filmed version of the hit show dropped on Disney+ July 3. I was not familiar with the music before this month, but the more I listen to the show and read about its creation, the more I love it.

I’ve enjoyed many a musical in the past, so I’m not surprised I like Hamilton. I didn’t realize the entire show is sung, and I had a hard time catching the lyrics at first. Once I turned on the closed captioning, it was great!

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s telling of founding father Alexander Hamilton’s story is smart and well constructed and the music is catchy. I learned Mr. 7 year old knows many of the lyrics already thanks to friends at school, and I’ve caught my husband (who did NOT seek out Hamilton) humming some tunes he’s heard on Alexa dozens of times by now.

I’ve listened to the soundtrack on repeat since early July but only seen the movie twice. I laugh every time I hear King George sing, I tear up when I hear The Story of Tonight, and my heart breaks during Satisfied and It’s Quiet Uptown. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend it.

Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash