Five on Friday

1. Monday night I decorated for Fall. Little early for my taste as I usually prefer Summer 365 days a year. I did something different this year. I put my big bin of decor out and let the kids pick out of it to decorate their rooms. They LOVED this!! You can see some of what Molly Anne did to Grady's room in this pic! He had some opinions but in typical boy fashion let her run the show!

2. Also this week I changed all of the air filters in the house. Got my ladder out and went to town. Always good to get that knocked out. 

3. Last year I picked up similar sheets on sale after Halloween for the kids. They glow in the dark. They freaked out when they got home one day this week and they were on their beds. PS - Molly Anne LOVES when I mess with her bed and arrange her things all cute!

She still is rocking my coverlet that I had when I was growing up. She loves it! The right side of her room is alllll American girl!


4. Mills got another good report at the doctor this week. Next visit is X-rays in early November but he is doing great and is so happy. A HUGE win!

5. The kids are loving tennis lessons. Makes my tennis loving heart happy. I like tennis for them so much because one it's a life sport meaning they can play until they're much older and only need one person to play with (not a team). And two because it's a great way to learn ball/hand/eye coordination which will benefit them with any sport they end up playing. As long as they like it, I'm good with it! We can only guide them and give them opportunities then let them decide!

Happy Weekend!!

Thursday Finds

ONE - I have decided that I prefer dresses for work. Shift dresses just make you look put together and are so easy to throw on in the morning. I take no longer than 15 minutes to get ready every morning (you can probably tell ha) so I need something quick quick! Anyway, I ordered this one and since I already have it in hunter green from last year, I know it's a good dress. $55

TWO - total splurge but also on sale the lowest I've seen them. I kinda sorta yes I ordered these. I just feel like I'll have them for a zillion years for any special event. Pretty excited I must say. 

THREE - my niece wanted these shades for her birthday and I think they are super cool. You know I ordered them for her! ;)

FOUR - this velvet blouse screams put together. I see it with a long black skirt to dress it up or like how she is wearing it with jeans. Classy.



FIVE - I ordered this headband ($12) for Molly Anne. I figured she can wear it this Fall and for the holidays. They also have it for women!

Wal-Mart Haul

I find it interesting to see what other people get at the grocery store and I know we can always use ideas. This was what I picked up early on Sunday morning from their Drive Up. I already had a bunch of vegetables from last week and Kevin got a bunch of fruit at Sams Club mid week so I didn't need a ton. Also, I don't really buy meat at Wal-Mart. I mostly use Wal-Mart to restock basics because they're truly cheaper there. Anyway, here's what I got....

If you're not use the Method All-Purpose grapefruit spray - put it on your list!

MadeGood bars and packets are top of my kid's list for favorite snacks for school and I don't feel too terrible with them having those.

I love that bag of mini potatoes - easy to throw in the air fryer to cook!

Smoked almonds - for my desk drawer!

Pumpkins to decorate inside with. We love the Marys crackers and the Good Thins. Reasonably healthy crackers. 

Stok iced coffee - the only coffee I pretty much will drink. I have no time for hot coffee because I'm a nut and think it's a waste of time waiting for it to cool!

Spinach for egg scrambles or I put it in the kids smoothies. 

They've been into the Chobani Flips

Cottage cheese with everything but bagel seasoning - yes!

I like to have the strawberry banana blend in the freezer for smoothies when I run out of the fresh stuff!

Molly Anne likes the mini pepperonis in her lunch box.

Sweet potato cubes for a dinner one night this week. Same with the chopped romaine.

New Bike and a Soccer Goal

Friday after school we played at the neighborhood playground and about 10 other moms and kids showed up. It ended up being an extra fun time. We had breakfast for dinner that night and got in bed super early. Grady was exhausted. I remember these very tired Fridays from when Molly Anne was in Kindergarten!

Saturday morning soccer and he scored his first goal!

Kevin took Molly Anne on a daddy daughter date since they missed the dance at our club last weekend. That gave Grady and I some time to hang out which is always super fun for me. First we did some errands then traded his 12" bike in for a big boy 20" bike. Thank you Nannie and Poppa for his birthday present!



Kevin took Molly Anne to iFly and they pretended to skydive in the big tube. They loved it!



Then he took her to Porters House for a fancy dinner!



Grady and I went over to our club for dinner.


And he showed them his bike skills when we all got home!


Sunday morning churching. They matched so I had to take a pic!


Some more bike riding in the hood!



Then we were the goofballs at the pool for the second to last weekend that it's open. It was cool water but it was hot outside. My kids did not care and loved having a fun afternoon!



We ended up at our next door neighbors pool for about an hour then Kevin grilled us sliders for dinner. 

It was a low key easy weekend! Today is a teacher work day which is always a good time on a Monday when we are trying to work. Splitting the day and we'll figure it out. 

Five on Friday

1. Molly Anne was sooo happy that Mills got on her bed! She loves him beyond. 

2. Green Day at school this week!

3. That handwriting though!

4. Had a fun tennis match last night and it restored my love of tennis. 

5. I leave you with this for the weekend. Amen and amen. 

Five For Thursday

ONE - this is such a pretty top that comes in several colors. Something you can always have in your closet to pull out and wear. 

TWO - with these jeans?! I like that they aren't frayed at the ends so they're a bit more put together. 

THREE - I'm not usually a flowers kind of gal but this dress is pretty. 

FOUR - my friend Hilary told me this candle was good and she wasn't kidding! It's this particular smell that is so amazing. And cheaper than the Nest. I found mine at Nordstrom in the store (couldn't find it online). 



FIVE - a regular black tee with a little zaz!

Things I've Learned in Business

I was driving around doing work last week and I was just thinking about things that have worked well for me over the years. And things that haven't. I'm not a pro but I've been in the business world for almost 20 years now and I've seen some things. But I kept making a list in my head of things I don't want to forget. So here it is:

1. Treat everyone the same. I'm in the commercial real estate business. We are the owner so we build for national retailers but we also hire a lot of people to help us. We all put our pants on the same way. 

2. No titles. Why do people have titles? Our company used to not have them when I started (ya know back in 2007!) but they've happened over the years maybe because the business world thinks we should have them to validate people's jobs? No title in my email signature. Maybe that changes one day but I'm kind of a big believer in this.

3. Pitch in - be the one the just gets it done. No need to always have others do it all for you. I learn from the best on this. There is one person I work with who does this better than anyone I know. 

4. Always do the right thing - yep sometimes it's hard to make that phone call to say you messed up but do it anyway. People respect you more. I'll own it. Makes me better long term. No one is perfect. Most things are fixable any way. 

5. Be honest. I'm in a guy's world with what I do. Tell them straight up what you want to see. I don't like fluff. Give it to me straight. We are not in the make people feel good world. I live in the get it done world so we can make money. But sure, be nice along the way, of course! As a female in this land, I've had to pony up sometimes my friends!

I'm still learning every day. It's good to do and be open to. And yep tomorrow is a new day for us all! Whew! Thankful for that some days more than others!

Weekend Rewind

Rewinding to Thursday first...Molly Anne got her swim team jacket and it's so cute on her. A true athlete!! She loved getting to wear it to school and was so proud of it. These are the things that matter!! 

Tennis lessons for both kids before we left town on Thursday evening!

Friday we headed to the beach since the kids were out of school. My brother and SIL gave us this hammock for our wedding. It lives on!


We checked out our friends house that is getting built. They're going to have beach and intracoastal views. It's incredible. 


A gorgeous Friday night fishing on the dock. Then our friends slid by on their boat. That's always super fun! One of the best parts of being right on the water. 


Grady and I picked up chick fil a.  I love their new drive thru concept. Makes a lot more sense. I also grabbed a Walmart pick up order and found a site for a client at work. Many purposes!


Beach life! Our fav beach store to go walk around and look at junk!


In November 2022. He has grown up SO much!!


We live close to the end of our street and the kids can bike and play outside. It's pretty awesome. I found their "mobiles" at a neighbors house haha! 

Kevin's friend Ken came to stay the night with us. Mills loved having him too!

We had a bunch of people over for the Georgia game. Tailgating food is always a good idea! Nice hair day Hilary and Charley is a cool girlie. 


Arm wrestling!


The four stooges! Saturday night was gorgeous too. 


That's a tired boy!


And it's also how we felt on Sunday!! Back to Charlotte and ready for the week.

Five Good Ones

ONE - my friend found this bag for she and I to give as a birthday gift. how fun right? I feel like it's an upgraded and bigger belt bag. Perfect for the ball field or going out for a day of errands. 

TWO - a classic navy pullover. 

THREE - I think a leather skirt is super cute with a casual tee. Could dress it up with fun earrings for a night out.

FOUR - I think this dress in navy is going in my cart. Plus it's on sale 30% as I post this. Just a simple easy dress to throw on for work.

FIVE - I have thought about getting a light jacket for the early mornings when I'm out walking. I love this green and I really like how it's a bit longer and not cropped like everything else in the world these days!

The Lilly sale is back again today and they keep restocking! I do think that this has been one of their better sales!