Five on Friday - Favorites

I have to say that I’m kind of glad that this week is over.  It’s just been… weird.  Do you ever have weeks where lots of things out of the ordinary happen and things just feel different?  Yeah, that’s been my week.  It’s been day after day of slight schedule changes, weird things overheard, and strange events.  Nothing drastic or earth shattering.  Just “off.” 

Anyway, I thought today I would share some of my random favorites this week to get me into weekend mode and out of twilight zone mode.

O N E – Our Festive Tree

I have been asked a lot recently about the tree with lights that we have in our living room so I thought that I would share a little bit about it today. 

I’ve always loved “setting the mood” in the evenings when I’m at home (especially during the fall and winter when it’s cold out), and I like for my surroundings to reflect that.  When I get home from work I typically light a candle, pour a glass of wine, turn on some good tunes (typically jazz or old standards), and turn on all of our lamps and other special lights… marquee lights in the kitchen, a single marquee letter on a shelf in the living room, and the strand of lights on the tree that I’m about to talk to you about.  I’ve never been a big fan of overhead lights.  We never turn on the overhead light in our living room or our bedroom because it’s just too darn harsh, so we use lamps and other fun lights (like the marquee lights) instead. 

My favorite time of year is obviously the Christmas season when we have a Christmas tree full of lights as well as a lighted garland on the mantle and a fire in the fire place, but since I can’t have a Christmas tree year round I have the next best thing…

A fake ficus tree with a single strand of white lights. 

You guys, I’ve had one of these in every living room I’ve had since I moved out of my parents’ house years and years ago.  I typically get my fake ficus trees from Michaels, but Hobby Lobby usually has pretty good ones as well.  They come in a pot or basket, so all you have to do is sit it in a corner, pop a single strand of Christmas lights on it, and BOOM, a festive atmosphere year round. 

I turn them on every night and I don’t think I’ll ever have a living room without one ever again.

T W O – Jacob’s Well Visit

Jacob had his five year well visit at the doctor yesterday and he got a great report!  He passed his vision and hearing screenings with flying colors, which was a bit of a relief because there have been a few occasions lately where he has been squinting and telling us that his “eyes can’t see.”  The doc said that they are most likely just tired or he could be having problems with them because of allergies.  He hasn’t been having the issues for the last couple of weeks, so fingers crossed that it was just an odd phase that he’s already grown out of.

He received four vaccines – his last ones until he’s eleven – and he cried, which, of course, made me tear up as well.  I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time when I don’t cry when my children get shots.  I cry every single time.  I just can’t stand seeing them in pain.    

He weighed in at 34 lbs. and he’s 40 inches tall, which is the 10th percentile for both so he’s still teensy tiny… a far cry from the 80 and 90 percentiles that he pulled when he was a baby.  Even though he’s tiny, he sure is mighty and I love my little mighty munch!

T H R E E – The Gym

So, I joined a gym.  Never thought I would hear myself say that!  You may have already read that yesterday in my confessions post, but I felt it was worth mentioning again because yesterday I went for the first time and y’all, I love it. 

The gym I joined is brand new – like, it literally just opened two days ago – so everything in there is new and clean and nice.  They focus on working out for the health aspects – not the body-building or the meat-heading like Chad – so their motto is zero intimidation.  All of the people in there look totally normal, and all of the employees are super nice and very helpful so I know I won’t feel dumb asking them to show me how to use any of the machines. 

The locker room and bathroom are really nice and fancy.  The mirrors have these bright lights around them so I felt like I was in a dressing room at some photo shoot when I was getting changed to go back to work.  I may have taken a selfie right as I was getting ready to leave…

The best part about it, though?  It’s really dark in there.  That way when you’re working out you don’t feel like you’re on display and that everyone is staring at you.  It actually reminds me of a Buffalo Wild Wings because it’s so dim and there are TVs everywhere.  Every single one of the machines has a TV on it so yesterday I got to watch The Price Is Right while I was trucking along on the treadmill.   I fast-walked on an incline for 30 minutes and I burned 200 calories.  I think I’m going to love this.

My original intention was to go once or twice a week, but I loved it so much today that I think I’m going to try to go more often than that if I can. 

Now to find a cute water bottle and a lock for the lockers…

F O U R – Paint Refund

You might remember that when I painted Jacob’s room a few weeks ago, I hated the color and had to repaint the whole thing the next day.  Well, turns out that Valspar paint at Lowe’s has a guarantee that you will love your color, or you can get a full refund.  All I had to do was snap a picture of the first and second colors of paint side by side on the wall, and snap pictures of each of the receipts.  I just uploaded them to the website (http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/guarantee/) and my refund already arrived in the form of a Lowe’s gift card!  That, at least, took the sting out of having to repaint the entire room.  Eeeesh. 

And in case you missed it, Jacob’s big boy room is now complete and you can see the tour here.

F I V E – Those Cookies, Tho

I made my favorite cookie recipe this past weekend and we ate them all up in two days!  I wish I had made a double batch!  If you missed the recipe, you can see it here.

Well friends, the weekend is upon us and we don’t really have any huge plans, so I’m just gonna relax, love on the hubby and my babies, and just be. 

Amen.

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday, and Our Pretty Little Girls for Rewind Friday!