Friday Favorites!

WHOO HOO!!! It's FRIDAY folks, and HOW LONG has it been since I've done Friday Favorites?! 

I'm going to milk my energy and good health for all it's worth right now....because I feel like I was in a long season of just YUCK, and I know the newborn stage is just 3 months around the corner....so the blog will yet again, likely take the back seat....

But for now, let's chat about my favorites this week! 

1) I am LOVING some Emily Ley right now.  She is the designer behind The Simplified Planner, which I do not have (they are sold out), but I just finished her book Grace over Perfection.  It was a breath of fresh air.  She talks about all the aspects of mommyhood and the challenges that come with it, but combats it with how to give yourself grace in all the seasons. It's not over complicated or super-theological, just good ole fashioned godly encouragement.  This week, I received her second book, A Simplified Life.  This is more of a logistical book about how to purge and declutter...from your mind, to your schedule, to your kitchen cabinets.  I'm in full nesting mode right now, so I'm super eager to purge and organize. This book is a great is a great guide on how to make that happen.  Even better, I got an alert on Facebook that Emily herself is coming to Dallas next week for a book signing! So I'll be there with bells on! You can find her books on Amazon here. 

2) Speaking of purging, I had a Come To Jesus meeting with all of Greyson's toys while he was at Mother's Day Out on Tuesday. After his birthday in October and then Christmas, it was OUT OF CONTROL. This place looked like Toys 'R Us had thrown up.  I just couldn't take it anymore. I ended up with a bag of trash toys (like JUNK), and two boxes and a bag of giveaway toys.  I reallocated the several of the favorites to the new upstairs playroom.  And it was so freeing.  We ended up with ONE basket on the floor that is not overflowing with mountains of toys.  

                                            

The playroom is starting to take shape.  I still have lots of fun decorative details to add, but at least we have storage space where all toys can be tucked away.  This sight just makes me take a deep breath.  WHEW. It took several trips to multiple Ross stores, but I managed to end up with all matching bins.  They were just such a good deal that it was worth the hunt.  (Cute storage stuff is SO expensive if you need a lot of it!) 

                                

3) Another victory this week was in the closet under the stairs.  As you recall, THIS used to my "baby jail"....

Once Greyson got old enough to conquer the baby gate, it ended up being a toy closet.  And you know how that goes.  After a brief attempt to keep it organized and straight, it ended up being a  dumping ground for EVERYTHING.  ALL THE THINGS.  Toys, gloves, hats, jackets, swim bag, balls, and costumes, which are IN ABUNDANCE right now.  Everything just ended up on the floor in a panic-attack-inducing pile. So after my toy purge, I hung hooks on the walls and now everything is off the floor ! I realize this would be much more effective with a "Before" picture, but I was pretty much too embarrassed to take one.  So here's the end product, everything has a home and is easy to get to.  And all the mamas said....#AMEN.

 4) Another thing that is making my life easier is my new Apple Watch.  I have been "watching" : )  these for a LOOOOONG time and couldn't WAIT to get one.  I'm typically not the techy-new product guru, but this thing has changed my life.  With a two story house, I no longer need to carry my phone around with me every time I switch floors.  I can read text messages on my arm without going around to look for my dinging phone.  (This is especially handy for the ones that don't need to be responded to right away.) I can even take/make calls on it and continue doing what I'm doing! Since I DON'T have my phone near me as much, I tend to look at it so much less, and therefore, not waste time sitting there scrolling/trolling while G is wanting me to be "involved".  And when I DO start working out again, it'll track my heart rate, Fitness goals, etc.  I"m totally a fan.

5) This week I also simplified our meal planning and signed up for the Six Sister's Meal Plan service. I don't mind cooking but I'm in a menu rut so I tend to procrastinate meal planning, which leaves us eventually coming full circle and eating the same thing every week because then I'm just trying to get food on the table.  I always thought-if someone would just tell me what to make, I'd do it! Well, this service is exactly that.  It's $10 a month and sends you 6 main dishes, two sides, and a snack recipe each week.  (I signed up for the Healthy Plan option which is all 500 calories or less per serving.)  They send you the menus on Friday, so I was able to order all the necessary groceries/make my list at the beginning of the week.  I was scanning through all the ingredients and making my list, when I finally scrolled down to the bottom....and found a pre-made grocery list already there!!!! I could have literally taken it to the grocery store OR just gone straight to it to start adding those items to my cart.  The recipes were simple ingredients and instructions. Our first few meals have been really good, so I am certainly a fan so far! It really was a relief for me this week, and come on..I'd spend more than $10 on one trip to Chick-Fil-A! Can't wait to see next week's menu! 

So that is my week of favorites.  Clearly there is a "simplify" theme here, and I sure hope it keeps up! Well....until Baby Taylor gets here...and then I KNOW our lives will be turned upside down! 

I hope you had an amazing week, and I'd love to hear some of YOUR favorites! 

10 On The 10th: Back to School Supplies

Last month, I linked up with Perfectly Port Family for "10 on the 10th".  I love all the different topics for each month, so I decided to join again this month!  This month is 10 Back to School Must Haves!

Even though Greyson isn't in "Grade School" yet, he does attend a Mother's Day Out.  And while I don't have to search kingdom come for a "Non-Perforated spiral notebook" and 12x18 WHITE drawing paper (this DOES NOT EXIST BY THE WAY), we do our MDO packing down to a science so I figured I'd share!

1) Backpack: I actually got his backpack on sale at Pottery Barn this year, but this Wildkin Backpack has been a good this past year! (The pictures on Amazon don't really do it justice.) It has held up SO WELL! We use this DAILY, so backpacks really only last about a year around here.  Before potty training, of course it was full of diapers and wipes.  To me bacpacks MUST have a cupholder and front pouch for snacks! Wildkin has SO MANY PRINTS!

2) Lunch bag/box: The other great thing about Wildkin is that they have the matching lunch box! This one has held up really well.  I loved the inside net pocket...it perfectly fit one of those flexible ice pouches. 

3) Napmat: Y'all, nap mats have come a LONG WAY since the red and blue ones of the yesteryear. (I overheard one mom ask another if they got the Memory Foam this year!.....WHAA..Me and Jeremie JUST got a memory foam bed!) Anyway, I WILL admit I tried to go cheap with this last year and it was pitiful.  After Greyson didn't sleep the first couple times at school, Jeremie made me buy a REAL one.  And HEAVENS, I would certainly be happy to nap on the thing.  It's the most plush nap mat you ever did see. 

4) Big bag to carry everything: This Medium Utility Thirty-One tote fits everything perfectly so I'm not trying to wrangle Greyson and carry 50 things at one time. If you know anything about Thirty-One, you know it's amazing and that they also have the Large Utility Tote (a little bigger) and even the Deluxe Utility Tote (the mama jama!) My BFF Mary sells Thirty-One, so if you're interested check out her website here!

I realize there's A LOT of prints going on here. Listen.  I would love everything to match as much as the next mama.  But that's just not reality for us, so we work with what we got. ; ) 

5) School Clothes: I LOVE  Carter's (they have great sales), but I also like to stock up on some cheap Garanimals brand clothes from Wal-Mart for school season. It's SO REASONALBE and let's face it, I'm NOT sending my cherub to school in a customized shirt when I know he's gonna be fingerpainting! 

6) "Bento Boxes": I mean, this Bento Box trend can be as expensive as you want. (Who went and named it, anyway...isn't it essentially a good ole fashioned divided Tupperware?!) Again, I admit, I tried to go with the good ole fashioned Ziplocks like my Mama did, but I can imagine that it's much easier and more time efficient for the teachers to pop a top off a Bento Box than unwrap every single thing form a Ziplock.  (Yes, last years teachers are probably still cursing me.) So I did find these on Amazon that reasonable and actually big enough to fit more than 2 bites in each compartment. 

7) Sippy Cup labels: These are obviously a MUST, and not only for school, but church too....or anywhere your kid goes! Last year, I meant to order some personalized ones from Inchbug (I want to try their orbit labels too), but I procrastinated and ended up finding some Cars themed ones at Wal-Mart. They actually withstood the dishwasher really well and I made it the whole year with one pack! I love these on Amazon too! They are "self-laminating"...

How clever is THIS?!

8) Planner: Now that we've got all the littles ones read, Mommy needs some "school supplies" too! A new school year means that there's 17 theme days that need to go on the calendar!

I am on year 2 or 3 of using the Mead large planner from Target.  I love this planner because it's flexible and BIG so I can fit all my dates AND my daily to-do lists! 

There's a large monthly view...

                         

And then lots of space for each day to list individual tasks! Event extra space at the bottom for our weekly menu!

9) Small Notebook- I've also been using these Mead Five Star small notebook for years. Small and light enough to throw in your purse, but also has dividers with pocket for things like invitations and bills.  (And a pen holder!) 

10) A little inspiration: My Mother-in-law have me this book for Mother's Day and I absolutely love it! Emily Ley is a designer and creates of The Simplified Planner (which I want to try now) and this book is the neatest combination of faith based inspiration on how to make your life simpler.  From emotional clutter to logistical clutter! It's such a great and useful book! Definitely gets me in a fresh state of mind to start out a new "year"..cuz let's face it, the new year is the school year, right?! 

Ok! That's all I've got! Happy Back-to-School and I'd love to hear your favorite school supplies and tips too!