Five on Friday - Barefoot Dreams Throw Dupe, Perfect Coffee at Home, and Disney+

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Happy Friday, y’all!  Well, we survived this crazy busy week and now we’re heading into an equally crazy busy weekend!  Here are some favorites from the week for you…

O N E – Barefoot Dreams Throw Dupe

I’ve seen this Barefoot Dreams throw all over social media (along with their cardigan) and as I’ve said many times before on the blog, I just can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on those items.  Well, I’ve recently seen a couple of different people mention that Pottery Barn now has a throw that’s equally as wonderful as the Barefoot Dreams throw, but for a fraction of the cost. 

I hopped on over to the website to have a look and saw that for a limited time you can snag their cozy pom pom throw for just $29 and they’re also offering free shipping!  It comes in seven different colors, it’s made from 100% polyester exactly as the Barefoot Dreams throw is, and in my opinion the Pottery Barn throw is even better because it has pom poms, y’all!  I mean, $29 verses $147?  #NoBrainer 

It would be the perfect gift for your momma, your mother-in-law, a girlfriend, or your child’s teacher!  So cozy!  And so affordable.  :o) 

T W O – Perfect Coffee at Home

I don’t drink coffee every day but I do love to treat myself to Starbucks every now and then since I love it so much.  My favorites are the “frou-frou” drinks like the PSL, the Salted Caramel Latte, and the Peppermint Mocha… I obviously don’t need coffee for the caffeine so I pretty much just drink it for my enjoyment. 

I’ve tried for years to find a way to make something equally as tasty at home, but I’ve failed time and time again.  I’ve just never been able to find a creamer that holds a candle to my syrupy-sweet lattes from the real place. 

Well, I stumbled upon these Peppermint Mocha k-cups last week at Target and decided I’d give them a whirl although I didn’t have high expectations since I didn’t love their at-home version of the PSL that I tried last year.  Well, surprise!!  These are so good… I’d say they’re about 90% as good as the real thing straight from Starbucks.  That is a huge win in my book since I’ve tried (and wasted) so many coffee and creamer combinations over the years.

Now if I could just figure out a way to make a healthier version that tasted as good…

T H R E E – Disney+

Well, we drank the Koolaide, y’all.  We signed up for Disney+!  We honestly weren’t even sure that we would need or want it, but after discovering that the new Disney Christmas movie, Noelle, was only available on Disney+ I told B I wanted to sign up for one month so we could watch that and explore what all they have to offer.  Well, B took it a step further and he just went ahead and signed up for the entire year and I’m not complaining.  (If you sign up for a whole year, the cost averages out to just $5.83 per month which is cheaper than the $6.99 you would pay month to month.) 

Let me tell you, we are loving it!  We’ve already gotten our money’s worth of the first month and we’re only a few days in!  Haha.  The first night we had it we did lots of exploring and I was thrilled to see that they have the Home Alone movies, the Santa Clause movies, the Mighty Ducks movies, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids movies, and so many other favorites from my childhood that I want to watch with the kids.

Since we started our subscription last week, we’ve already watched Noelle (so cute!) and many of the Pixar shorts (some multiple times) as a family, and the kids have already delved into Puppy Dog Pals as well as one of the Star Wars movies.  Oh, and let’s not forget The Mandalorian!  B is loving that.

I’ve had several people ask me if I think the cost is worth it and right now I’m going with a resounding YES.  Unlimited access to the entire Disney collection for only $6.99 per month??  Yes, please!  Our kiddos are choosing it over Netflix every single time that they get the chance to watch TV now. 

B did a little digging to see if there was any way to get a deal on Disney+ and he found that Rakuten (formerly Ebates) does give you cash back if you sign up for Disney+ through them.  They have the following deals right now:

$10 cash back on Disney+ Annual Subscription ($69.99/year)

$7.50 cash back on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Bundle Subscription ($12.99/month)

$5.00 cash back on Disney+ Monthly Subscription ($6.99/month)

If you’re not a Rakuten member, you can sign up here for free, and by using our referral link you’ll get $10!  That’ll pay for your first two months of Disney+!

F O U R – Home Alone 2 Children’s Book

This is Peter McCallister, the faaaather. 

My gosh, Home Alone 2 is one of the best movies of all time.  I’ve seen it hundreds of times and it never gets old.  I love it so much I even dragged Brian to The Plaza Hotel when we went to NYC the first time because I just had to visit the famous hotel from the movie.  :o)

You may remember that last year I told y’all about this Home Alone children’s book?  It’s one of our favorites!  Well, I just found out yesterday that the Home Alone 2 children’s book was just released in October!

I bought a copy for our house as well as my brother’s kiddos and I’m eagerly awaiting our copy.  It is a must-have for our household and it’s one that I’m sure I’ll save forever and ever.  Yet another great gift idea for so many people on your list!

And Cheryl, if you’re reading this, just act surprised at Christmas.  Lol.

F I V E – Ancestry DNA

My dad received an Ancestry DNA kit as a gift a while back and he finally got his results a few weeks ago.  We were all surprised to find out that we’re part Norwegian!  None of us were aware of our Norwegian roots, so it was definitely unexpected… especially since the percentage is that high.  My father-in-law is fully Norwegian so Brian should be about 1/2 Norwegian which means our kiddos are probably about 1/4 Norwegian, but now we know they get it from my side of the family, too.  Crazy!

I’ve been wanting to do one of the DNA tests to find out my makeup, and now I’m even more curious to see what other stuff pops up from my mom’s side of the family!  Add it to the wish list!  They're 40% off right now!

Friday funnies… 

Yes, yes it is more cat memes.  And this past week I've become obsessed with all of the college football ones.  I literally LOL at every single one.  I think I have a problem.  Hahahaha.  And, AU, Bama, and Florida fans, please know that I love all of y'all... these are just too funny not to post!  And yes, I've seen ones making fun of Georgia and, yes, I laugh at those, too.  Haha.

ICYMI, this week’s blog posts…

A Rainbow Christmas Tree for My Office

Our Week – The One with All the Christmas Decorating

What I Wore – October Recap

Happy Friday, y’all! 

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites and Della Devoted for High Five for Friday.